Bibliography
Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. HABIBI. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689801491.
Plot Summary
In this story fourteen year old Liyana Abboud moves with her family, her parents and her brother, from America to Palestine. Her mother is an American and her father is an Arab. Liyana is very upset about moving to Jerusalem. She doesn’t want to leave her friends and grandmother and move to the other side of the world. Her father is very excited about moving back and thinks that things have changed over there and that it is more peaceful now. Once they arrive in Jerusalem they find out that it is not as peaceful as her father believed. We see how the family must adjust to this new way of life and how Liyana is able to come to love her new homeland.
Critical Analysis
Seeing the world through the eyes of a fourteen year old girl can be very enlightening. Liyana is a refreshing character with unusual insights. She was raised in America and has to adjust to a new life that is completely different from her old life. She must learn a new language and eat new foods. Even transportations is different. She has a unique perspective because as she explains in Arabic she is “Nos-nos” which means half-half. The characters physical descriptions are another cultural marker. The only reference to skin color takes place when she sees the relatives looking at her mother. She starts by describing her mother as an inch taller than Poppy, and her skin two shades lighter. She goes on to say that her and her brother had inherited her Poppy’s olive skin. She also mentions that her mother has long hair, just like all of her women relatives.
Much of the setting is in Jerusalem. Some of the political struggles of this area are played out in this story. Liyana’s father, Poppy, has his own personal views, and Liyana has hers. The one thing they agree on is that would like to have peace in this area. Liyana meets a Jewish boy, and they become friends. It is difficult for her father to accept this even though he had Jewish friends as a child.
The plot keeps moving through Liyana’s life. There is always an underlying tension and element of danger. Most of the plot moves along with Liyana’s explorations of the city and her life in her new school. At one point a friend of hers gets shot by the police because of a rumor, and her father ends up going to jail for trying to stop it. Her father is a doctor and was still put in jail. They learn that the American way of “innocent until proven guilty” is not a way of life in the Middle East. After this incident her father decides he needs to take a stand and become more active in trying to attain peace in this area.
Most of the characters in the story are American, Arab or Jewish. Many of the people in the story speak at least some English. Liyana has to go to a school where several languages are learned and spoken. For lessons in Arabic she has to go and sit in the Kindergarten class. Her father wants her to learn to love two countries like he does, at first Liyana really dislikes Palestine, but by the end of the story her opinions change. The strong theme of family is central to this story. Liyana’s immediate family is very important and so is her new and extended family. Religion is also an important theme in this story. Various religions beliefs are talked about. The main characters in the story however do not have a particular religion. They do believe in God and describe their religious beliefs as spirituality.
Language is an important part of the cultural authenticity of the story. Liyana’s father must do most of the translating for the family, but Liyana and her brother are both learning to speak Arabic. The author uses many words and phrases in Arabic. She usually seamlessly writes them into the text. The words or phrases are often italicized and then the explanation or translation is given. For example when Liyana is in a bakery the text go like this “Liyana liked katayef best--a small, folded-over pancake stuffed with cinnamon and nuts and soaked in syrup. She took home three half-moons of katayef in a white cardboard box.” Food and eating are also central cultural themes in this story. They often eat as a family and the food is usually talked about. Some of the foods mentioned are: falafel, baba ghanouj, baklava and hummus. The name of the story is also explained in one of the chapters. Habibi means darling, a dearly loved person, a favorite, a charmer. Liyana says her father used the word often and they always new they were loved. Her mother used the English word precious.
This culturally authentic book would be a great addition to any library collection.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 5-9. An important first novel from a distinguished anthologist and poet. When Liyana's doctor father, a native Palestinian, decides to move his contemporary Arab-American family back to Jerusalem from St. Louis, 14-year-old Liyana is unenthusiastic. Arriving in Jerusalem, the girl and her family are gathered in by their colorful, warmhearted Palestinian relatives and immersed in a culture where only tourists wear shorts and there is a prohibition against boy/girl relationships. When Liyana falls in love with Omer, a Jewish boy, she challenges family, culture, and tradition, but her homesickness fades. Constantly lurking in the background of the novel is violence between Palestinian and Jew. It builds from minor bureaucratic annoyances and humiliations, to the surprisingly shocking destruction of grandmother's bathroom by Israeli soldiers, to a bomb set off in a Jewish marketplace by Palestinians. It exacts a reprisal in which Liyana's friend is shot and her father jailed. Nye introduces readers to unforgettable characters. The setting is both sensory and tangible: from the grandmother's village to a Bedouin camp. Above all, there is Jerusalem itself, where ancient tensions seep out of cracks and Liyana explores the streets practicing her Arabic vocabulary. Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident. Habibi succeeds in making the hope for peace compellingly personal and concrete...as long as individual citizens like Liyana's grandmother Sitti can say, "I never lost my peace inside."?Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CTCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The New York Times Book Review, Karen LeggettAdolescence magnifies the joys and anxieties of growing up even as it radically simplifies the complexities of the adult world. The poet and anthologist Naomi Shibab Nye is meticulously sensitive to this rainbow of emotion in her autobiographical novel, Habibi…. Habibi gives a reader all the sweet richness of a Mediterranean dessert, while leaving some of the historic complexities open to interpretation. (Ages 10 and older) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Liyana Abboud, 14, and her family make a tremendous adjustment when they move to Jerusalem from St. Louis. All she and her younger brother, Rafik, know of their Palestinian father's culture come from his reminiscences of growing up and the fighting they see on television. In Jerusalem, she is the only ``outsider'' at an Armenian school; her easygoing father, Poppy, finds himself having to remind her--often against his own common sense--of rules for ``appropriate'' behavior; and snug shops replace supermarket shopping--the malls of her upbringing are unheard of. Worst of all, Poppy is jailed for getting in the middle of a dispute between Israeli soldiers and a teenage refugee. In her first novel, Nye (with Paul Janeczko, I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You, 1996, etc.) shows all of the charms and flaws of the old city through unique, short-story-like chapters and poetic language. The sights, sounds, and smells of Jerusalem drift through the pages and readers glean a sense of current Palestinian-Israeli relations and the region's troubled history. In the process, some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story- -Liyana's emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother's reactions overall--fall away from the plot. However, Liyana's romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Connections
Read more books by Naomi Shihab Nye : 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East and Words Under the Words: Selected Poems
Research the Middle East
Read books about the Middle East including: Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Culture6
Bibliography
De Haan, Linda. 2000. King & King. Berkley, CA: Tricycle Press. ISBN 1582460612.
Plot Summary
This story is written in fairy tale format. It is the story of a prince who is looking for a princess to marry. His mother the queen brings in princesses from all over the land, but the prince is not interested in any of them. He does however find a prince whom he likes very much. He falls in love, they get married, and live happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
The plot of this story is very similar to many fairy tales. A prince goes out looking to find a beautiful princess to marry and live happily ever after with. The only difference with this story is that it has somewhat of a surprise ending. The prince marries another prince, and they become King and King of the land. The pictures could be described as whimsical, but some of them actually look creepy. The characters are all exaggerated, and are not very pleasant looking. I liked the way that the story was written, but the illustrations really put me off. The concept and storyline are well done. The characters are all stereotyped, but that would be typical of a fairytale. The subject matter is presented in a non-threatening and light-hearted way as to not be preachy or insulting.
Review Excerpts
From Publishers Weekly
When a grouchy queen tells her layabout son that it's time for him to marry, he sighs, "Very well, Mother.... I must say, though, I've never cared much for princesses." His young page winks. Several unsatisfactory bachelorettes visit the castle before "Princess Madeleine and her brother, Prince Lee" appear in the doorway. The hero is smitten at once. "What a wonderful prince!" he and Prince Lee both exclaim, as a shower of tiny Valentine hearts flutters between them. First-time co-authors and artists de Hann and Nijland matter-of-factly conclude with the royal wedding of "King and King," the page boy's blushing romance with the leftover princess and the assurance that "everyone lives happily ever after." Unfortunately, the multimedia collages are cluttered with clashing colors, amorphous paper shapes, scribbles of ink and bleary brushstrokes; the characters' features are indistinct and sometimes ugly. Despite its gleeful disruption of the boy-meets-girl formula, this alterna-tale is not the fairest of them all. For a visually appealing and more nuanced treatment of diversity in general, Kitty Crowther's recent Jack and Jim is a better choice. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grades 3-5--In this postmodern fractured fairy tale, a worn-out and badly beleaguered Queen is ready for retirement. After many hours of nagging, the crown prince, who "never cared much for princesses," finally caves in and agrees to wed in order to ascend the throne. Their search for a suitable bride extends far and wide, but none of the eligible princesses strikes the Prince's fancy, until Princess Madeleine shows up. The Prince is immediately smitten- with her brother, Prince Lee. The wedding is "very special," the Queen settles down on a chaise lounge in the sun, and everyone lives happily ever after. Originally published in the Netherlands, this is a commendable fledgling effort with good intentions toward its subject matter. Unfortunately, though, the book is hobbled by thin characterization and ugly artwork; the homosexual prince comes across as fragile and languid, while the dour, matronly queen is a dead ringer for England's Victoria at her aesthetic worst. Some of the details in the artwork are interesting, including the "crown kitty" performing antics in the periphery. However, that isn't enough to compensate for page after page of cluttered, disjointed, ill-conceived art. The book does present same-sex marriage as a viable, acceptable way of life within an immediately recognizable narrative form, the fairy tale. However, those looking for picture books about alternative lifestyles may want to keep looking for a barrier-breaking classic on the subject.Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SCCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Connections
Read the sequel called KING AND KING AND FAMILY
Read other children’s stories like AND TANGO MAKES THREE
De Haan, Linda. 2000. King & King. Berkley, CA: Tricycle Press. ISBN 1582460612.
Plot Summary
This story is written in fairy tale format. It is the story of a prince who is looking for a princess to marry. His mother the queen brings in princesses from all over the land, but the prince is not interested in any of them. He does however find a prince whom he likes very much. He falls in love, they get married, and live happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
The plot of this story is very similar to many fairy tales. A prince goes out looking to find a beautiful princess to marry and live happily ever after with. The only difference with this story is that it has somewhat of a surprise ending. The prince marries another prince, and they become King and King of the land. The pictures could be described as whimsical, but some of them actually look creepy. The characters are all exaggerated, and are not very pleasant looking. I liked the way that the story was written, but the illustrations really put me off. The concept and storyline are well done. The characters are all stereotyped, but that would be typical of a fairytale. The subject matter is presented in a non-threatening and light-hearted way as to not be preachy or insulting.
Review Excerpts
From Publishers Weekly
When a grouchy queen tells her layabout son that it's time for him to marry, he sighs, "Very well, Mother.... I must say, though, I've never cared much for princesses." His young page winks. Several unsatisfactory bachelorettes visit the castle before "Princess Madeleine and her brother, Prince Lee" appear in the doorway. The hero is smitten at once. "What a wonderful prince!" he and Prince Lee both exclaim, as a shower of tiny Valentine hearts flutters between them. First-time co-authors and artists de Hann and Nijland matter-of-factly conclude with the royal wedding of "King and King," the page boy's blushing romance with the leftover princess and the assurance that "everyone lives happily ever after." Unfortunately, the multimedia collages are cluttered with clashing colors, amorphous paper shapes, scribbles of ink and bleary brushstrokes; the characters' features are indistinct and sometimes ugly. Despite its gleeful disruption of the boy-meets-girl formula, this alterna-tale is not the fairest of them all. For a visually appealing and more nuanced treatment of diversity in general, Kitty Crowther's recent Jack and Jim is a better choice. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grades 3-5--In this postmodern fractured fairy tale, a worn-out and badly beleaguered Queen is ready for retirement. After many hours of nagging, the crown prince, who "never cared much for princesses," finally caves in and agrees to wed in order to ascend the throne. Their search for a suitable bride extends far and wide, but none of the eligible princesses strikes the Prince's fancy, until Princess Madeleine shows up. The Prince is immediately smitten- with her brother, Prince Lee. The wedding is "very special," the Queen settles down on a chaise lounge in the sun, and everyone lives happily ever after. Originally published in the Netherlands, this is a commendable fledgling effort with good intentions toward its subject matter. Unfortunately, though, the book is hobbled by thin characterization and ugly artwork; the homosexual prince comes across as fragile and languid, while the dour, matronly queen is a dead ringer for England's Victoria at her aesthetic worst. Some of the details in the artwork are interesting, including the "crown kitty" performing antics in the periphery. However, that isn't enough to compensate for page after page of cluttered, disjointed, ill-conceived art. The book does present same-sex marriage as a viable, acceptable way of life within an immediately recognizable narrative form, the fairy tale. However, those looking for picture books about alternative lifestyles may want to keep looking for a barrier-breaking classic on the subject.Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SCCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Connections
Read the sequel called KING AND KING AND FAMILY
Read other children’s stories like AND TANGO MAKES THREE
Culture 6
Bibliography
Clements, Andrew. 2002. THINGS NOT SEEN. New York, NY: Philomel Books. ISBN 0399236260.
Plot Summary
In this story we meet Bobby, a fifteen year old teenage boy. He wakes up one day to discover that he is invisible. He is physically still there, but he can not be seen by anyone. He can be felt by others, though. As an invisible person Bobby has to make many adjustments. His parents decide that no one should be told because “they” would turn him into a science experiment. Bobby mostly agrees to this until he meets Alicia. Alicia is a teenage girl around his same age and she is blind. Together with her parents they try to find an answer to what has happened to Bobby.
Critical Analysis
This well written story takes place in Chicago. The setting takes place in Bobby’s home and within several blocks of his home that is walking distance. Besides Bobby’s home we only really go to the library and on one excursion to the outskirts of the city. The two main characters have disabilities. Bobby’s disability turns out to be a temporary disability of invisibility, while Alicia is blind and it is a permanent condition.
The plot revolves around Bobby, and trying to figure out the mystery of his invisibility. In an ironic twist the only person to really “see” Bobby is Alicia who is blind. She truly understands what it is like to be invisible. She feels invisible in her own way since becoming blind. She states that people never really look at her and that they avoid her. She feels invisible. This story has a good plot that keeps the story moving. Not only are they trying to find a reason and a solution to Bobby’s invisibility they are being investigated by Child Protective Services. Since Bobby is not going to school and they are not able to get a doctor’s note they are under investigation.
All the characters are realistic and not stereotypes. Alicia is blind, but even though she is technically handicapped, she is the one person Bobby can rely on for help. She even points this out at one point saying how she is usually the one dependent on others for help. Both main characters experience growth. We don’t always see and hear all that Alicia is feeling, but this is due to the fact that the whole story is told by the character of Bobby. We only know what he knows, and he only knows what Alicia tells him. In the end she writes Bobby a letter that sums up a lot of what she has been feeling. It ends like this “i was almost gone bobby. i was almost all the way disappeared. i couldn’t remember if i was real. i couldn’t see who could love me. i couldn’t see anything there to love. i couldn’t find a reflection. anywhere. i needed a mirror so bad. and that was you bobby. invisible mirror. i see me. i see you. love Alicia.”
This well written and often humorous story would be a good addition to any young adult collection.
Review Excerpts
From Publishers WeeklyThe earnest and likable 15-year-old narrator is the principal thing not seen in Clements's (Frindle; The Jacket) fast-paced novel, set in Chicago. As the book opens, the boy discovers that he has turned invisible overnight. Bobby breaks the news to his parents who, afraid of being hounded by the media, instruct him to share his dilemma with no one. But when Bobby ventures out of the house and visits the library, he meets Alicia, a blind girl to whom he confides his secret. Their blossoming friendship injects a double meaning into the book's title. As preposterous as the teen's predicament may be, the author spins a convincing and affecting story, giving Bobby's feeling of helplessness and his frustration with his parents an achingly real edge. As his physicist father struggles to find a scientific explanation for and a solution to his son's condition, husband and wife decide that they will tell the investigating truancy officials and police that Bobby has run away. Bobby, however, becomes increasingly determined to take control of the situation and of his own destiny: "And I want to yell, It's my life! You can't leave me out of the decisions about my own life! You are not in charge here!" Equally credible is the boy's deepening connection to Alicia, who helps Bobby figure out a solution to his problem. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6 & Up--"-I turn on the bathroom light and wipe the fog off the mirror to comb my hair.-I'm not there. That's what I'm saying. I'm. Not. There." Thus starts the adventure of Bobby Phillips, who wakes up one morning to find that somehow he has turned invisible. The 15-year-old and his parents live with the worry of what happens if they can't figure out how to reverse his condition. With a nod in the direction of H. G. Wells's Invisible Man, Clements allows readers to speculate what it would be like to be invisible. As they see Bobby deal with his situation, they also experience his fears of being alone, unable to talk to his friends, or to tell anyone for fear of the consequences. He reaches out to a blind girl, Alicia Van Dorn, and together they begin to fight back as best as they can. The quest for visibility becomes even more frantic when the school officials and the local police decide that Bobby is the victim of foul play. The threat of having his parents thrown in jail for his own murder makes the teen even more desperate to find out what happened to him. Clements's story is full of life; it's poignant, funny, scary, and seemingly all too possible. The author successfully blends reality with fantasy in a tale that keeps his audience in suspense until the very end.Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ
Connections
Discuss the feeling of being invisible at times.
Discuss the connection the characters feel. How are being blind and being invisible connected?
Clements, Andrew. 2002. THINGS NOT SEEN. New York, NY: Philomel Books. ISBN 0399236260.
Plot Summary
In this story we meet Bobby, a fifteen year old teenage boy. He wakes up one day to discover that he is invisible. He is physically still there, but he can not be seen by anyone. He can be felt by others, though. As an invisible person Bobby has to make many adjustments. His parents decide that no one should be told because “they” would turn him into a science experiment. Bobby mostly agrees to this until he meets Alicia. Alicia is a teenage girl around his same age and she is blind. Together with her parents they try to find an answer to what has happened to Bobby.
Critical Analysis
This well written story takes place in Chicago. The setting takes place in Bobby’s home and within several blocks of his home that is walking distance. Besides Bobby’s home we only really go to the library and on one excursion to the outskirts of the city. The two main characters have disabilities. Bobby’s disability turns out to be a temporary disability of invisibility, while Alicia is blind and it is a permanent condition.
The plot revolves around Bobby, and trying to figure out the mystery of his invisibility. In an ironic twist the only person to really “see” Bobby is Alicia who is blind. She truly understands what it is like to be invisible. She feels invisible in her own way since becoming blind. She states that people never really look at her and that they avoid her. She feels invisible. This story has a good plot that keeps the story moving. Not only are they trying to find a reason and a solution to Bobby’s invisibility they are being investigated by Child Protective Services. Since Bobby is not going to school and they are not able to get a doctor’s note they are under investigation.
All the characters are realistic and not stereotypes. Alicia is blind, but even though she is technically handicapped, she is the one person Bobby can rely on for help. She even points this out at one point saying how she is usually the one dependent on others for help. Both main characters experience growth. We don’t always see and hear all that Alicia is feeling, but this is due to the fact that the whole story is told by the character of Bobby. We only know what he knows, and he only knows what Alicia tells him. In the end she writes Bobby a letter that sums up a lot of what she has been feeling. It ends like this “i was almost gone bobby. i was almost all the way disappeared. i couldn’t remember if i was real. i couldn’t see who could love me. i couldn’t see anything there to love. i couldn’t find a reflection. anywhere. i needed a mirror so bad. and that was you bobby. invisible mirror. i see me. i see you. love Alicia.”
This well written and often humorous story would be a good addition to any young adult collection.
Review Excerpts
From Publishers WeeklyThe earnest and likable 15-year-old narrator is the principal thing not seen in Clements's (Frindle; The Jacket) fast-paced novel, set in Chicago. As the book opens, the boy discovers that he has turned invisible overnight. Bobby breaks the news to his parents who, afraid of being hounded by the media, instruct him to share his dilemma with no one. But when Bobby ventures out of the house and visits the library, he meets Alicia, a blind girl to whom he confides his secret. Their blossoming friendship injects a double meaning into the book's title. As preposterous as the teen's predicament may be, the author spins a convincing and affecting story, giving Bobby's feeling of helplessness and his frustration with his parents an achingly real edge. As his physicist father struggles to find a scientific explanation for and a solution to his son's condition, husband and wife decide that they will tell the investigating truancy officials and police that Bobby has run away. Bobby, however, becomes increasingly determined to take control of the situation and of his own destiny: "And I want to yell, It's my life! You can't leave me out of the decisions about my own life! You are not in charge here!" Equally credible is the boy's deepening connection to Alicia, who helps Bobby figure out a solution to his problem. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6 & Up--"-I turn on the bathroom light and wipe the fog off the mirror to comb my hair.-I'm not there. That's what I'm saying. I'm. Not. There." Thus starts the adventure of Bobby Phillips, who wakes up one morning to find that somehow he has turned invisible. The 15-year-old and his parents live with the worry of what happens if they can't figure out how to reverse his condition. With a nod in the direction of H. G. Wells's Invisible Man, Clements allows readers to speculate what it would be like to be invisible. As they see Bobby deal with his situation, they also experience his fears of being alone, unable to talk to his friends, or to tell anyone for fear of the consequences. He reaches out to a blind girl, Alicia Van Dorn, and together they begin to fight back as best as they can. The quest for visibility becomes even more frantic when the school officials and the local police decide that Bobby is the victim of foul play. The threat of having his parents thrown in jail for his own murder makes the teen even more desperate to find out what happened to him. Clements's story is full of life; it's poignant, funny, scary, and seemingly all too possible. The author successfully blends reality with fantasy in a tale that keeps his audience in suspense until the very end.Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ
Connections
Discuss the feeling of being invisible at times.
Discuss the connection the characters feel. How are being blind and being invisible connected?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Culture 5
Bibliography
Yep, Laurence. 1997. RIBBONS. New York, NY: Putman and Grosset Group. ISBN 0698116062.
Plot Summary
Robin is an eleven year old girl that loves ballet. She is a very good dancer and works very hard at being the best in her class. One day she finds out that she will no longer be able to take ballet lessons due to the financial difficulties of her parents. Her mother is from China, and is trying to bring her own mother to America to live with them. Robin does not understand why she has to give up ballet just so her grandmother can come and live with them, but her mother insists that they must all make sacrifices. Once the grandmother arrives, and starts to live with them, things actually get worse for Robin. She has to give up her bedroom, and the grandmother spoils her younger brother. As time goes on Robin begins to understand certain things about her grandmother and they are able to bond and become close.
Critical Analysis
This well written story has many cultural markers. The setting is in today’s modern times. Robin is a typical American teenager who is part Chinese. Her father’s nationality is never stated, only that he is Caucasian. She is living in a culturally diverse community. There are Chinese words used throughout the text. Most of them are italicized and a definition follows, for example: “She’s here! She’s here! He shouted excitedly. Paw-paw’s here! Paw-paw is Chinese for maternal grandmother. He started to race for toward the stairs, but I caught him.” This type of writing keeps the story flowing while adding cultural authenticity. The characters are well defined and are not stereotyped. The Chinese American lifestyle is shown here. They live in America and their lives are like so many typical Americans. They also bring with them the Chinese culture and many traditions. The inter workings of the family are where we get the insights into how a traditional Chinese family might live. The mother in the story feels that she must do everything for her mother and brothers. Her brothers on the other hand just seem to expect things from their sister. At one point Robin’s mother states “It’s Chinese tradition to put the boys before the girls”. Robin also finds out about the Chinese tradition of footbinding. This is what was done to her grandmother. Robin and her grandmother get closer after Robin finds out that her grandmother uses canes and lives with terrible foot pain because of this Chinese tradition. The author explains that this practice is not done anymore, but it was done as late as 1949. Through this story we see Robin learn to appreciate her Chinese side of the family, and in the end she does not want her grandmother to leave. The story does a good job of showing how the blending of different customs and traditions can work well together.
Review Excerpts
Midwest Book Review
Startlingly realistic and refreshingly different is this story of a young Chinese would-be dancer forced to give up her dreams when her family must save to bring an aged grandmother into their home from China. Robin's parents can no longer afford ballet lessons, Robin's grandmother proves a crusty old woman who obviously favors her younger brother, and Robin is forced to compromise her dreams until her actions threaten her future. Yep creates a moving and absorbing drama of cultures colliding.
Kirkus Reviews( December 15, 1995 ; 0-399-22906-X )
Her demanding ballet teacher believes that Robin Lee has real talent, but it's unlikely that she'll be able to develop it soon. Every penny her family can scrape up has to be saved to bring Robin's grandmother from China to the US--an obligation that Robin's mother sees as almost sacred--so Robin's lessons are scrapped. When the crotchety old woman arrives, she quickly establishes herself as the center of the Lees' universe. A frustrated Robin dutifully practices her ballet exercises on her own in the garage, but the combination of ballet shoes that have grown too small and a lack of formal instruction results in little progress and increasingly deformed feet. Her anger builds until the day she finds her grandmother soaking her hideously misshapen feet, which were bound in her youth. The sight sobers and humbles Robin utterly and marks the beginning of a touching and beautiful bond between the old woman and the young one. Yep (Hiroshima, p. 642, etc.) creates an elegant tale of love and understanding with an upbeat resolution that will please the most demanding readers. (Fiction. 10-14)
Connections
Read more stories by Laurence Yep: The Star Fisher
Dragon’s Gate
Research Chinese Americans using Non-Fiction books
Yep, Laurence. 1997. RIBBONS. New York, NY: Putman and Grosset Group. ISBN 0698116062.
Plot Summary
Robin is an eleven year old girl that loves ballet. She is a very good dancer and works very hard at being the best in her class. One day she finds out that she will no longer be able to take ballet lessons due to the financial difficulties of her parents. Her mother is from China, and is trying to bring her own mother to America to live with them. Robin does not understand why she has to give up ballet just so her grandmother can come and live with them, but her mother insists that they must all make sacrifices. Once the grandmother arrives, and starts to live with them, things actually get worse for Robin. She has to give up her bedroom, and the grandmother spoils her younger brother. As time goes on Robin begins to understand certain things about her grandmother and they are able to bond and become close.
Critical Analysis
This well written story has many cultural markers. The setting is in today’s modern times. Robin is a typical American teenager who is part Chinese. Her father’s nationality is never stated, only that he is Caucasian. She is living in a culturally diverse community. There are Chinese words used throughout the text. Most of them are italicized and a definition follows, for example: “She’s here! She’s here! He shouted excitedly. Paw-paw’s here! Paw-paw is Chinese for maternal grandmother. He started to race for toward the stairs, but I caught him.” This type of writing keeps the story flowing while adding cultural authenticity. The characters are well defined and are not stereotyped. The Chinese American lifestyle is shown here. They live in America and their lives are like so many typical Americans. They also bring with them the Chinese culture and many traditions. The inter workings of the family are where we get the insights into how a traditional Chinese family might live. The mother in the story feels that she must do everything for her mother and brothers. Her brothers on the other hand just seem to expect things from their sister. At one point Robin’s mother states “It’s Chinese tradition to put the boys before the girls”. Robin also finds out about the Chinese tradition of footbinding. This is what was done to her grandmother. Robin and her grandmother get closer after Robin finds out that her grandmother uses canes and lives with terrible foot pain because of this Chinese tradition. The author explains that this practice is not done anymore, but it was done as late as 1949. Through this story we see Robin learn to appreciate her Chinese side of the family, and in the end she does not want her grandmother to leave. The story does a good job of showing how the blending of different customs and traditions can work well together.
Review Excerpts
Midwest Book Review
Startlingly realistic and refreshingly different is this story of a young Chinese would-be dancer forced to give up her dreams when her family must save to bring an aged grandmother into their home from China. Robin's parents can no longer afford ballet lessons, Robin's grandmother proves a crusty old woman who obviously favors her younger brother, and Robin is forced to compromise her dreams until her actions threaten her future. Yep creates a moving and absorbing drama of cultures colliding.
Kirkus Reviews( December 15, 1995 ; 0-399-22906-X )
Her demanding ballet teacher believes that Robin Lee has real talent, but it's unlikely that she'll be able to develop it soon. Every penny her family can scrape up has to be saved to bring Robin's grandmother from China to the US--an obligation that Robin's mother sees as almost sacred--so Robin's lessons are scrapped. When the crotchety old woman arrives, she quickly establishes herself as the center of the Lees' universe. A frustrated Robin dutifully practices her ballet exercises on her own in the garage, but the combination of ballet shoes that have grown too small and a lack of formal instruction results in little progress and increasingly deformed feet. Her anger builds until the day she finds her grandmother soaking her hideously misshapen feet, which were bound in her youth. The sight sobers and humbles Robin utterly and marks the beginning of a touching and beautiful bond between the old woman and the young one. Yep (Hiroshima, p. 642, etc.) creates an elegant tale of love and understanding with an upbeat resolution that will please the most demanding readers. (Fiction. 10-14)
Connections
Read more stories by Laurence Yep: The Star Fisher
Dragon’s Gate
Research Chinese Americans using Non-Fiction books
Culture 5
Bibliography
Say, Allen. 1993. GRANDFATHER’S JOURNEY. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395570352.
Plot Summary
This is the story of a young man telling the story of his grandfather. As a young man, the grandfather travels from Japan to the United States of America. The grandfather sees many places and loves California the best. He goes home to Japan, and marries his childhood sweetheart. They both return to the U.S.A. and raise a family in San Fransico. He once again misses Japan and moves his family back to Japan. His daughter falls in love and marries a husband. They have a child and this is the grandson who tells the story.
Critical Analysis
This is a well written story with many cultural markers. The story is told through the grandson. He is describing his grandfather’s journey to America. The book begins with the story being told by the grandson. He describes his grandfather as a young man in Japan. On this first page is a portrait of his grandfather in traditional Japanese clothing. On the next page we see a picture of the grandfather wearing European clothing, and the text that goes with it says that this is the first time he wears this type of clothing. As the grandfather travels through America we see pictures of him in various outfits of these time periods. The illustrations of the people look authentic and not stereotypical. The clothes that the people are wearing are reflective of the various time periods and places that they are at. When the people are in America they wear typical American outfits, and when they are in Japan they wear Japanese style clothing. The illustrations are beautiful and add authenticity to the story. The author is also the illustrator. The illustrations are done in watercolors. Each picture is in a framed box and looks like it could be a picture from someone’s photo album. He does not use Japanese words in the text. The entire story is in English. As the story is being told we see the love that the grandfather has for both Japan and America. At the end of the story the grandson has the same feelings for both lands also. The story ends with the grandson saying “The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.”
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 3 Up-A personal history of three generations of the author's family that points out the emotions that are common to the immigrant experience. Splendid, photoreal watercolors have the look of formal family portraits or candid snapshots, all set against idyllic landscapes in Japan and in the U.S. (Sept., Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews``The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other,'' observes Say near the end of this poignant account of three generations of his family's moves between Japan and the US. Say's grandfather came here as a young man, married, and lived in San Francisco until his daughter was ``nearly grown'' before returning to Japan; his treasured plan to visit the US once again was delayed, forever as it turned out, by WW II. Say's American-born mother married in Japan (cf. Tree of Cranes, 1991), while he, born in Yokohama, came here at 16. In lucid, graceful language, he chronicles these passages, reflecting his love of both countries--plus the expatriate's ever-present longing for home--in both simple text and exquisitely composed watercolors: scenes of his grandfather discovering his new country and returning with new appreciation to the old, and pensive portraits recalling family photos, including two evoking the war and its aftermath. Lovely, quiet- -with a tenderness and warmth new to this fine illustrator's work. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Connections
Read the following books by Allen Say: Tree of Cranes
Stranger in the Mirror
Discuss what it might be like to live in another country and to love both places. (Some students might already have lived in other countries and can share their stories)
Writer’s Corner- Write stories about their own grandparent’s journey
Say, Allen. 1993. GRANDFATHER’S JOURNEY. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395570352.
Plot Summary
This is the story of a young man telling the story of his grandfather. As a young man, the grandfather travels from Japan to the United States of America. The grandfather sees many places and loves California the best. He goes home to Japan, and marries his childhood sweetheart. They both return to the U.S.A. and raise a family in San Fransico. He once again misses Japan and moves his family back to Japan. His daughter falls in love and marries a husband. They have a child and this is the grandson who tells the story.
Critical Analysis
This is a well written story with many cultural markers. The story is told through the grandson. He is describing his grandfather’s journey to America. The book begins with the story being told by the grandson. He describes his grandfather as a young man in Japan. On this first page is a portrait of his grandfather in traditional Japanese clothing. On the next page we see a picture of the grandfather wearing European clothing, and the text that goes with it says that this is the first time he wears this type of clothing. As the grandfather travels through America we see pictures of him in various outfits of these time periods. The illustrations of the people look authentic and not stereotypical. The clothes that the people are wearing are reflective of the various time periods and places that they are at. When the people are in America they wear typical American outfits, and when they are in Japan they wear Japanese style clothing. The illustrations are beautiful and add authenticity to the story. The author is also the illustrator. The illustrations are done in watercolors. Each picture is in a framed box and looks like it could be a picture from someone’s photo album. He does not use Japanese words in the text. The entire story is in English. As the story is being told we see the love that the grandfather has for both Japan and America. At the end of the story the grandson has the same feelings for both lands also. The story ends with the grandson saying “The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.”
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 3 Up-A personal history of three generations of the author's family that points out the emotions that are common to the immigrant experience. Splendid, photoreal watercolors have the look of formal family portraits or candid snapshots, all set against idyllic landscapes in Japan and in the U.S. (Sept., Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews``The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other,'' observes Say near the end of this poignant account of three generations of his family's moves between Japan and the US. Say's grandfather came here as a young man, married, and lived in San Francisco until his daughter was ``nearly grown'' before returning to Japan; his treasured plan to visit the US once again was delayed, forever as it turned out, by WW II. Say's American-born mother married in Japan (cf. Tree of Cranes, 1991), while he, born in Yokohama, came here at 16. In lucid, graceful language, he chronicles these passages, reflecting his love of both countries--plus the expatriate's ever-present longing for home--in both simple text and exquisitely composed watercolors: scenes of his grandfather discovering his new country and returning with new appreciation to the old, and pensive portraits recalling family photos, including two evoking the war and its aftermath. Lovely, quiet- -with a tenderness and warmth new to this fine illustrator's work. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Connections
Read the following books by Allen Say: Tree of Cranes
Stranger in the Mirror
Discuss what it might be like to live in another country and to love both places. (Some students might already have lived in other countries and can share their stories)
Writer’s Corner- Write stories about their own grandparent’s journey
Culture 5
Bibliography
Na, An. 2006. WAIT FOR ME. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780142409183.
Plot Summary
In this story we see two sisters telling their stories. The main character is Mina. She is trying very hard to be the perfect daughter, but in the process of trying to live up to unreal expectations she has told many lies. Her mother thinks she is the perfect daughter and blatantly favors her. Mina’s sister, Suna, is hearing impaired and thus a lesser person in her mother’s eyes. Mina takes care of her younger sister and tries to protect her from her unloving mother. The story is told in alternating views with the chapters going between Mina and Suna.
Critical Analysis
Mina and her sister Suna are Korean-Americans and this is the fictional story of their lives. They were both born in America and have grown up here. The sisters speak both Korean and English. The parents speak some English, both they are more comfortable speaking Korean. The setting mostly takes place in their home and at the family’s Dry Cleaning Shop in a suburb of Los Angeles. Most of the people in the story are Korean-American. In the home they eat Korean food that the mother prepares. They use the words Uhmma and Apa when referring to their parents. The Korean words that are used are not italicized, but are written into the text. Usually the meanings of the words follow the Korean phrases. An example is when the character of Jonathan is talking to Mina’s mother. “Ahn-young-ha-say-yo, Mrs. Kang, Jonathan said. Please come in.” These words and phrases that are used throughout the text add to the cultural authenticity. The plot revolves mainly around Mina. She is the older sister and feels like she needs to look out for her younger sister. She is also the one that her mother has put the most pressure on to be perfect. As a teenager she has a lot of pressure on her and in an attempt to be the perfect daughter she has created a web of lies. In order to try to escape from all the lies she has created she has started to steal money from her parent’s Dry Cleaners Shop. She meets a young Mexican American boy who is following his dreams, and she begins to realize that she has choices that she will need to make. Leaving it all behind her seems to be the most promising, but then she would be leaving her sister behind. The end of the story does not clearly wrap everything up, but it does clear up some things and leaves us with the hope that she will be just fine in the future and that she will not abandon her sister. The characters are interesting and are not stereotypes. The book is good about cultural authenticity, but it does tend to move a bit slow. The chapters that go back and forth are sometimes distracting and hard to follow.
Review Excerpts
From Booklist*Starred Review* Gr. 8-11. The author of the Printz Award Book A Step from Heaven(2001) tells another contemporary Korean American story of leaving home. This time, though, love is as powerful as the intense family drama. The focus is on high-school-senior Mina, trapped in the web of lies invented to satisfy her overbearing mom, Uhmma, who expects Mina to attend Harvard and escape the drudgery of their small-town dry-cleaning store. Mina's brilliant friend, Jonathan Kim, helps her cheat and steal. She uses him, but he thinks he loves her--and he eventually rapes her. Then Mexican immigrant Ysrael, a gifted musician on his way to San Francisco, comes to work in the store, and he and Mina fall passionately in love. Will she go with him and make a new life free of lies? Ysrael is too perfect, just as Uhmma is demonized, but both are shown from Mina's viewpoint, and it is her struggle with her secrets that is spellbinding. Alternating with Mina's first-person narrative are short vignettes from the perspective of Mina's deaf younger sister, who Mina protects. The conflicts of love, loyalty, and betrayal are the heart of the story--and they eventually show Mina her way. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition
Voice of Youth Advocates( June 01, 2006 ; 0-399-24275-9 ) Mina's mother has her life planned out for her. After Mina graduates at the top of her class, she will leave the family's laundromat in California and attend Harvard. Mina, a seventeen-year-old Korean American, does not have the high grades that her mother thinks she does. Mina has doctored her report card with the help of Jonathon Kim, the son of a wealthy friend of the family. She does, however, have a plan: She has been stealing small amounts of cash from the register when she does the nightly receipts, and she intends to run away and live on her own after graduation. She feels responsible, however, for supporting her younger half-sister Suna, whom her mother treats poorly. While struggling to decide what she can do with her life, pretending to study for the SAT, and fending off Jonathon's amorous advances, Mina must hide her developing relationship with Ysrael, a Mexican teen who has come to work in their shop while Mina's stepfather recovers from a strained back. Events come to a head when the missing money is discovered. Ysrael is blamed and leaves for music school in San Francisco, and Mina finally stands up to her mother. This Printz award-winning author crafts a difficult book about a girl in a difficult situation. Mina and her sister share the telling of their story. Mina's chapters are in first person, and Suna's are in third. The flipping back and forth creates a distance from both characters. Mina is not particularly sympathetic. The convention of using quotation marks only when English is spoken makes it tough to distinguish Mina's thoughts from conversations in Korean where no quotes are used. Some teens might see themselves in Mina's struggle to free herself from her mother's control, but most will not bother struggling through the flowery language or the slow-moving story.-Timothy Capehart.
Connections
Read A STEP FROM HEAVEN by An Na.
Research Korean-Americans
Na, An. 2006. WAIT FOR ME. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780142409183.
Plot Summary
In this story we see two sisters telling their stories. The main character is Mina. She is trying very hard to be the perfect daughter, but in the process of trying to live up to unreal expectations she has told many lies. Her mother thinks she is the perfect daughter and blatantly favors her. Mina’s sister, Suna, is hearing impaired and thus a lesser person in her mother’s eyes. Mina takes care of her younger sister and tries to protect her from her unloving mother. The story is told in alternating views with the chapters going between Mina and Suna.
Critical Analysis
Mina and her sister Suna are Korean-Americans and this is the fictional story of their lives. They were both born in America and have grown up here. The sisters speak both Korean and English. The parents speak some English, both they are more comfortable speaking Korean. The setting mostly takes place in their home and at the family’s Dry Cleaning Shop in a suburb of Los Angeles. Most of the people in the story are Korean-American. In the home they eat Korean food that the mother prepares. They use the words Uhmma and Apa when referring to their parents. The Korean words that are used are not italicized, but are written into the text. Usually the meanings of the words follow the Korean phrases. An example is when the character of Jonathan is talking to Mina’s mother. “Ahn-young-ha-say-yo, Mrs. Kang, Jonathan said. Please come in.” These words and phrases that are used throughout the text add to the cultural authenticity. The plot revolves mainly around Mina. She is the older sister and feels like she needs to look out for her younger sister. She is also the one that her mother has put the most pressure on to be perfect. As a teenager she has a lot of pressure on her and in an attempt to be the perfect daughter she has created a web of lies. In order to try to escape from all the lies she has created she has started to steal money from her parent’s Dry Cleaners Shop. She meets a young Mexican American boy who is following his dreams, and she begins to realize that she has choices that she will need to make. Leaving it all behind her seems to be the most promising, but then she would be leaving her sister behind. The end of the story does not clearly wrap everything up, but it does clear up some things and leaves us with the hope that she will be just fine in the future and that she will not abandon her sister. The characters are interesting and are not stereotypes. The book is good about cultural authenticity, but it does tend to move a bit slow. The chapters that go back and forth are sometimes distracting and hard to follow.
Review Excerpts
From Booklist*Starred Review* Gr. 8-11. The author of the Printz Award Book A Step from Heaven(2001) tells another contemporary Korean American story of leaving home. This time, though, love is as powerful as the intense family drama. The focus is on high-school-senior Mina, trapped in the web of lies invented to satisfy her overbearing mom, Uhmma, who expects Mina to attend Harvard and escape the drudgery of their small-town dry-cleaning store. Mina's brilliant friend, Jonathan Kim, helps her cheat and steal. She uses him, but he thinks he loves her--and he eventually rapes her. Then Mexican immigrant Ysrael, a gifted musician on his way to San Francisco, comes to work in the store, and he and Mina fall passionately in love. Will she go with him and make a new life free of lies? Ysrael is too perfect, just as Uhmma is demonized, but both are shown from Mina's viewpoint, and it is her struggle with her secrets that is spellbinding. Alternating with Mina's first-person narrative are short vignettes from the perspective of Mina's deaf younger sister, who Mina protects. The conflicts of love, loyalty, and betrayal are the heart of the story--and they eventually show Mina her way. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition
Voice of Youth Advocates( June 01, 2006 ; 0-399-24275-9 ) Mina's mother has her life planned out for her. After Mina graduates at the top of her class, she will leave the family's laundromat in California and attend Harvard. Mina, a seventeen-year-old Korean American, does not have the high grades that her mother thinks she does. Mina has doctored her report card with the help of Jonathon Kim, the son of a wealthy friend of the family. She does, however, have a plan: She has been stealing small amounts of cash from the register when she does the nightly receipts, and she intends to run away and live on her own after graduation. She feels responsible, however, for supporting her younger half-sister Suna, whom her mother treats poorly. While struggling to decide what she can do with her life, pretending to study for the SAT, and fending off Jonathon's amorous advances, Mina must hide her developing relationship with Ysrael, a Mexican teen who has come to work in their shop while Mina's stepfather recovers from a strained back. Events come to a head when the missing money is discovered. Ysrael is blamed and leaves for music school in San Francisco, and Mina finally stands up to her mother. This Printz award-winning author crafts a difficult book about a girl in a difficult situation. Mina and her sister share the telling of their story. Mina's chapters are in first person, and Suna's are in third. The flipping back and forth creates a distance from both characters. Mina is not particularly sympathetic. The convention of using quotation marks only when English is spoken makes it tough to distinguish Mina's thoughts from conversations in Korean where no quotes are used. Some teens might see themselves in Mina's struggle to free herself from her mother's control, but most will not bother struggling through the flowery language or the slow-moving story.-Timothy Capehart.
Connections
Read A STEP FROM HEAVEN by An Na.
Research Korean-Americans
Monday, July 14, 2008
Culture 4
Bibliography
Bruchac, Joseph. 2000. SQUANTO’S JOURNEY. Ill. By Greg Shed. Orlando, FL: Harcourt. ISBN 0152018174.
Plot Summary
This is the story of Squanto. The story is told from the Native American perspective. The story about the pilgrims is usually told from the perspective of the pilgrims. This is Squanto’s life story. He is a Native American that was born in 1590. He was of the Patuxet people. He narrates his story and tells how the white men came to his land. He became friends with John Smith and several others. One day a man who said that he was friends with John Smith invited him and several of his friends to his ship for a feast. This man, Thomas Hunt, was not a friend of John Smiths, and he took Squanto and the others as captives. He took them all to Spain. Some religious men freed them. Squanto then went to England and learned how to speak English. He is able to then go back to America and live as a guide and an interpreter.
Critical Analysis
This is a much needed interpretation of the story of the pilgrims. It gives a Native American perspective that is not usually told. The plot centers on the life of Squanto. The text is written as if he is narrating his life story. This is a very authentic story and is not the typical sugar coated version of the first thanksgiving. It tells how he was taken into slavery, but was able to make it back to his homeland. The story then continues on about his life and the contributions he made during his life as a friend and interpreter to the English. The author uses some, but not a lot of, culturally authentic words throughout the story. The words are from the Patuxet language. He seamlessly writes these words into the text. The words are usually italicized and then the meaning of the word follows. For example: “I remembered I was pniese, a man of courage.”
The beautiful pictures are a definite bonus to this story. The book says that the illustrations were done in gouache. This is a form of watercolor that uses opaque pigments rather that the usual transparent watercolor pigments. The pictures have a lot of browns, golds, blues and greys in them, adding a soft touch to the story. The characters in the story look authentic for that time period.
The author has a Author’s Note page at the end that shows that he is part Native American. It also shows that he still had to do a lot of research so that the book would be an authentic representation.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 2-5-A picture book that focuses on the young Indian who helped the Pilgrims survive the brutality of the New England winter. When he was 24, an English captain abducted Squanto along with 20 of his tribesmen and took them to Spain to be sold as slaves. Spanish friars helped him escape to England where he learned the language and dreamed of going back to his native land. When he finally returned, he served as translator and mediator between the English colonists and the other Indian tribes. He convinced Samoset, a sachem of the Pemaquid, to accept and work with the white settlers. It was this cooperation that helped the tiny Plymouth Colony to survive. Many authors have given the Native American credit for his role in the survival of the colony. What distinguishes this first-person account is the authenticity of detail. In his author's note, Bruchac describes the research that he used to flesh out the story with dates and names. However, because of the wealth of facts, the text has a stilted quality. Shed's full-page gouache illustrations are beautifully executed in golden, autumnal tones. There is a richness of detail in the pictures that echoes the passion for historical accuracy in costume and interior-and-exterior dwellings. However, the full-bled illustrations tend to overwhelm the text and the uniformity of their size and placement can become somewhat tedious. Still, most libraries will want to own this version.Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From BooklistGr. 4-8. The history is fascinating--the crucial role played by the Patuxet Indian Squanto, who helped the first New England colony survive--but it doesn't work very well in this picture book. The long, first-person, fictionalized narrative is awkwardly contrived to bring in the facts, and the full-page gouache paintings are romanticized, with all the noble Native Americans bathed in a golden glow. The facts are exciting, and Bruchac and Shed have painstakingly researched the events and the details, from the food served at the first Thanksgiving feast to the clothing worn by the Pilgrims ("Not hats with buckles on them!" Bruchac exclaims in his long, informative author's note). Squanto survived captivity and slavery in Europe, then he returned to play a crucial role as mediator in New England, living in the world of the whites and of several Indian nations. Older readers will want to go from here to find out more about the fascinating man and about the history from the Native American viewpoint. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Connections
Compare and contrast the various stories told about Thanksgiving
Research Squanto and the Patuxet people
Discuss how present day Native Americans live
Bruchac, Joseph. 2000. SQUANTO’S JOURNEY. Ill. By Greg Shed. Orlando, FL: Harcourt. ISBN 0152018174.
Plot Summary
This is the story of Squanto. The story is told from the Native American perspective. The story about the pilgrims is usually told from the perspective of the pilgrims. This is Squanto’s life story. He is a Native American that was born in 1590. He was of the Patuxet people. He narrates his story and tells how the white men came to his land. He became friends with John Smith and several others. One day a man who said that he was friends with John Smith invited him and several of his friends to his ship for a feast. This man, Thomas Hunt, was not a friend of John Smiths, and he took Squanto and the others as captives. He took them all to Spain. Some religious men freed them. Squanto then went to England and learned how to speak English. He is able to then go back to America and live as a guide and an interpreter.
Critical Analysis
This is a much needed interpretation of the story of the pilgrims. It gives a Native American perspective that is not usually told. The plot centers on the life of Squanto. The text is written as if he is narrating his life story. This is a very authentic story and is not the typical sugar coated version of the first thanksgiving. It tells how he was taken into slavery, but was able to make it back to his homeland. The story then continues on about his life and the contributions he made during his life as a friend and interpreter to the English. The author uses some, but not a lot of, culturally authentic words throughout the story. The words are from the Patuxet language. He seamlessly writes these words into the text. The words are usually italicized and then the meaning of the word follows. For example: “I remembered I was pniese, a man of courage.”
The beautiful pictures are a definite bonus to this story. The book says that the illustrations were done in gouache. This is a form of watercolor that uses opaque pigments rather that the usual transparent watercolor pigments. The pictures have a lot of browns, golds, blues and greys in them, adding a soft touch to the story. The characters in the story look authentic for that time period.
The author has a Author’s Note page at the end that shows that he is part Native American. It also shows that he still had to do a lot of research so that the book would be an authentic representation.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 2-5-A picture book that focuses on the young Indian who helped the Pilgrims survive the brutality of the New England winter. When he was 24, an English captain abducted Squanto along with 20 of his tribesmen and took them to Spain to be sold as slaves. Spanish friars helped him escape to England where he learned the language and dreamed of going back to his native land. When he finally returned, he served as translator and mediator between the English colonists and the other Indian tribes. He convinced Samoset, a sachem of the Pemaquid, to accept and work with the white settlers. It was this cooperation that helped the tiny Plymouth Colony to survive. Many authors have given the Native American credit for his role in the survival of the colony. What distinguishes this first-person account is the authenticity of detail. In his author's note, Bruchac describes the research that he used to flesh out the story with dates and names. However, because of the wealth of facts, the text has a stilted quality. Shed's full-page gouache illustrations are beautifully executed in golden, autumnal tones. There is a richness of detail in the pictures that echoes the passion for historical accuracy in costume and interior-and-exterior dwellings. However, the full-bled illustrations tend to overwhelm the text and the uniformity of their size and placement can become somewhat tedious. Still, most libraries will want to own this version.Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From BooklistGr. 4-8. The history is fascinating--the crucial role played by the Patuxet Indian Squanto, who helped the first New England colony survive--but it doesn't work very well in this picture book. The long, first-person, fictionalized narrative is awkwardly contrived to bring in the facts, and the full-page gouache paintings are romanticized, with all the noble Native Americans bathed in a golden glow. The facts are exciting, and Bruchac and Shed have painstakingly researched the events and the details, from the food served at the first Thanksgiving feast to the clothing worn by the Pilgrims ("Not hats with buckles on them!" Bruchac exclaims in his long, informative author's note). Squanto survived captivity and slavery in Europe, then he returned to play a crucial role as mediator in New England, living in the world of the whites and of several Indian nations. Older readers will want to go from here to find out more about the fascinating man and about the history from the Native American viewpoint. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Connections
Compare and contrast the various stories told about Thanksgiving
Research Squanto and the Patuxet people
Discuss how present day Native Americans live
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