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
Culture 4
Bibliography
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2000. JINGLE DANCER. Ill. By Cornelius Van Wright and Yin-Hwa Hu. New York, NY: Morrow Junior Books. ISBN 0688162428.
Plot Summary
Jenna is a young Native American girl who is living in today’s world, yet has a deep love for her Native American traditions. Jenna wants to do the traditional jingle dance at the yearly powwow. She has a dress to wear, but it does not have any jingles on it. She goes around visiting relatives and friends and hopes to find enough jingles to so that she can dance at the powwow.
Critical Analysis
The setting of this story occurs during today’s modern times. Jenna is dressed as a typical young girl with a t-shirt and jeans through most of the story. All the characters in the story are dressed in modern clothes and the houses are decorated with modern furnishings. We see Native Americans and how they live just like everyone else. They live in houses and not Teepees. It gives a realistic view of life and not a stereotypical view. The book shows us that a powwow is a special occasion. The author’s beautiful style of writing creatively incorporates many Native American traditions and cultural markers into the story.
The plot revolves around Jenna getting enough jingles on her dress so that she will be able to dance at the powwow. We clearly see how very important this tradition is to her. She watches over and over the video of her grandmother dancing the traditional Indian dance. As she visits different friends and family members we see that they are just like all typical American families. Jenna’s cousin lives in an apartment and works for a law firm. Her friend Mrs. Scott lives in a brand new duplex.
Throughout the story Native American traditions are woven into the text. The author marks time with sayings such as “As Moon kissed Sun good night”. Jenna eats traditional food like fry bread with honey on it. The story has a beat within it. We hear the tink, tink, tink, tink, of the jingles and the brum, brum, brum brum of the powwow drum throughout the story. This gives it an authentic Native American feel.
The beautiful watercolor illustrations really add an authentic feel. We see how the modern day Jenna looks in her typical day to day surroundings, and then we see her dressed up in the traditional Native American dress for the powwow. The soft colors and muted tones add a southwestern feel to the story.
Review Excerpts
From Publishers WeeklySmith, a mixed-blood member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, convincingly juxtaposes cherished Native American tradition and contemporary lifestyle in this smooth debut. Watching a videotape of Grandma Wolfe performing a jingle dance, Jenna is determined to dance at an upcoming powwow. But she lacks the cone-shaped, tin jingles that are sewn on to dancers' dresses as part of the regalia. The girl walks down a suburban sidewalk lined with modern houses as she sets out to visit her great-aunt, a neighbor, a cousin and Grandma Wolfe, all of whom lend her jingles for her dress. Smith's language consciously evokes legend. For example, "As Sun caught a glimpse of the Moon" indicates the time of day; and Jenna is careful to borrow only a limited number of jingles, "not wanting to take so many that [another's] dress would lose its voice." Van Wright and Hu's (Jewels) lifelike renderings capture the genuine affection between Jenna and these caring older women. Their easy integration of Native and standard furnishings and clothing gracefully complement Smith's heartening portrait of a harmonious meshing of old and new. Ages 4-10. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library JournalKindergarten-Grade 3-Without enough tin jingles to make her dress sing, how can Jenna be a jingle dancer just like Grandma Wolfe at the next powwow? She borrows one row from Great-aunt Sis, whose aching legs keep her from dancing; another from Mrs. Scott, who sells fry bread; one from Cousin Elizabeth, whose work keeps her away from the festivities; and a fourth row from Grandma, who helps Jenna sew the jingles to her dress, assemble her regalia, and practice her bounce-steps. When the big day arrives, the girl feels proud to represent these four women and carry on their tradition. Watercolor paintings in bright, warm tones fill each page. In scenes where she is dancing, backgrounds of blurred figures effectively represent both the large audience and the many generations whose tradition the gathering honors. Seeing Jenna as both a modern girl in the suburban homes of her intertribal community and as one of many traditionally costumed participants at the powwow will give some readers a new view of a contemporary Native American way of life. An author's note and glossary tell more about the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Ojibway origins of jingle dancing, and the significance of the number four in Native American tradition. This picture book will not only satisfy a need for materials on Native American customs, but will also be a welcome addition to stories about traditions passed down by the women of a culture.Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Connections
Students can do research on the history of the Jingle Dance
Students can research contemporary Native Americans
Students can research the Ojibway people who are credited (along with other Native women of Canada) with the Jingle Dance
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2000. JINGLE DANCER. Ill. By Cornelius Van Wright and Yin-Hwa Hu. New York, NY: Morrow Junior Books. ISBN 0688162428.
Plot Summary
Jenna is a young Native American girl who is living in today’s world, yet has a deep love for her Native American traditions. Jenna wants to do the traditional jingle dance at the yearly powwow. She has a dress to wear, but it does not have any jingles on it. She goes around visiting relatives and friends and hopes to find enough jingles to so that she can dance at the powwow.
Critical Analysis
The setting of this story occurs during today’s modern times. Jenna is dressed as a typical young girl with a t-shirt and jeans through most of the story. All the characters in the story are dressed in modern clothes and the houses are decorated with modern furnishings. We see Native Americans and how they live just like everyone else. They live in houses and not Teepees. It gives a realistic view of life and not a stereotypical view. The book shows us that a powwow is a special occasion. The author’s beautiful style of writing creatively incorporates many Native American traditions and cultural markers into the story.
The plot revolves around Jenna getting enough jingles on her dress so that she will be able to dance at the powwow. We clearly see how very important this tradition is to her. She watches over and over the video of her grandmother dancing the traditional Indian dance. As she visits different friends and family members we see that they are just like all typical American families. Jenna’s cousin lives in an apartment and works for a law firm. Her friend Mrs. Scott lives in a brand new duplex.
Throughout the story Native American traditions are woven into the text. The author marks time with sayings such as “As Moon kissed Sun good night”. Jenna eats traditional food like fry bread with honey on it. The story has a beat within it. We hear the tink, tink, tink, tink, of the jingles and the brum, brum, brum brum of the powwow drum throughout the story. This gives it an authentic Native American feel.
The beautiful watercolor illustrations really add an authentic feel. We see how the modern day Jenna looks in her typical day to day surroundings, and then we see her dressed up in the traditional Native American dress for the powwow. The soft colors and muted tones add a southwestern feel to the story.
Review Excerpts
From Publishers WeeklySmith, a mixed-blood member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, convincingly juxtaposes cherished Native American tradition and contemporary lifestyle in this smooth debut. Watching a videotape of Grandma Wolfe performing a jingle dance, Jenna is determined to dance at an upcoming powwow. But she lacks the cone-shaped, tin jingles that are sewn on to dancers' dresses as part of the regalia. The girl walks down a suburban sidewalk lined with modern houses as she sets out to visit her great-aunt, a neighbor, a cousin and Grandma Wolfe, all of whom lend her jingles for her dress. Smith's language consciously evokes legend. For example, "As Sun caught a glimpse of the Moon" indicates the time of day; and Jenna is careful to borrow only a limited number of jingles, "not wanting to take so many that [another's] dress would lose its voice." Van Wright and Hu's (Jewels) lifelike renderings capture the genuine affection between Jenna and these caring older women. Their easy integration of Native and standard furnishings and clothing gracefully complement Smith's heartening portrait of a harmonious meshing of old and new. Ages 4-10. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library JournalKindergarten-Grade 3-Without enough tin jingles to make her dress sing, how can Jenna be a jingle dancer just like Grandma Wolfe at the next powwow? She borrows one row from Great-aunt Sis, whose aching legs keep her from dancing; another from Mrs. Scott, who sells fry bread; one from Cousin Elizabeth, whose work keeps her away from the festivities; and a fourth row from Grandma, who helps Jenna sew the jingles to her dress, assemble her regalia, and practice her bounce-steps. When the big day arrives, the girl feels proud to represent these four women and carry on their tradition. Watercolor paintings in bright, warm tones fill each page. In scenes where she is dancing, backgrounds of blurred figures effectively represent both the large audience and the many generations whose tradition the gathering honors. Seeing Jenna as both a modern girl in the suburban homes of her intertribal community and as one of many traditionally costumed participants at the powwow will give some readers a new view of a contemporary Native American way of life. An author's note and glossary tell more about the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Ojibway origins of jingle dancing, and the significance of the number four in Native American tradition. This picture book will not only satisfy a need for materials on Native American customs, but will also be a welcome addition to stories about traditions passed down by the women of a culture.Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Connections
Students can do research on the history of the Jingle Dance
Students can research contemporary Native Americans
Students can research the Ojibway people who are credited (along with other Native women of Canada) with the Jingle Dance
Culture 4
Bibliography
Dorris, Michael. 1992. MORNING GIRL. New York, NY: Hyperion. ISBN 1562822845.
Plot Summary
This is the story of two children living with their family on an island. The two main characters are Morning Girl and Star Boy. The brother and sister tell their story in alternating chapters. We see life on the island as one of beauty and survival. The family endures the tragedy of losing a baby that does not make it to full term, and we see how each member of the family deals differently with the loss. There is a terrible storm that destroys most of the homes on the island, yet we see the resiliency of these people by seeing how easily they pick themselves up and are able to go on and rebuild their homes. This is all told through the eyes of two children. The end of the book, during the epilogue, hints that times will be changing for the worse for these people.
Critical Analysis
In this story the back cover is the only place that gives clues as to where and when the story takes place and the name of the people. The back cover tells us that this story of the Taino people living on a Bahamian island in 1492. The book starts right away with a young girl talking about her name. Naming a person is a very important cultural marker in this story and its theme is carried throughout the book. Morning girl was given her name because she always wakes up early and with something on her mind. We also find out that on this island a person’s name can change. Morning girl’s brother was originally named Hungry, because he was always hungry and loved food. His named changed as he got older and a more appropriate name was decided on by him and his parents. He becomes Star Boy in the second chapter because he likes the night, and sleeps late into the day. The plot revolves around the daily life of the family. The family faces many difficulties throughout the story, but the close knit family works through all these difficulties as a family. We also see Morning Girl and Star Boy as typical siblings. They annoy each other and often disagree and argue, and like most siblings they also care deeply about one another and are able to work out their differences. After one incident where Morning Girl helps Star Boy retain his pride, Star Boy calls his sister in private The One Who Stands Beside.
The text is well written and flows smoothly. The story does not have many culturally authentic words in it. The author gives good and vivid descriptions of his characters. At one point Morning Girl want to know who Morning Girl really is and her and her mother go over what her face looks like. Morning girl comes to this conclusion “She has a chin like a starfish, and brows like white clouds on the horizon. Her nose works. Her cheeks swell into mountains when she smiles. The only thing right about her is her ears.” There are these types of descriptions used throughout the book. Since it is written through children’s eyes they use what they know when they are describing things.
The abstract at the end of the story is from the diary of Christopher Columbus. In this letter we see that he feels that this group of people needs to be changed. They need Christianity and language. He feels that even though they are kind and welcoming to him that “they should be good and intelligent servants”. He could not just accept that they did not need to be changed. They were happy and self sufficient as they were. It was a sad ending.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 3-6. A story of a Taino girl and her brother, set in 1492 in the Bahamas. Sibling rivalry, jealously, and love?all are related with elegance and warmth, reflecting a simplicity of lifestyle and universality of experiences. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Kirkus Reviews( August 15, 1992 ; 1-56282-284-5 ) Like the quiet lap of waves on the sand, the alternating introspections of two Bahamian island children in 1492. Morning Girl and her brother Star Boy are very different: she loves the hush of pre-dawn while he revels in night skies, noise, wind. In many ways they are antagonists, each too young and subjective to understand the other's perspective--in contrast to their mother's appreciation for her brother. In the course of these taut chapters concerning such pivotal events as their mother's losing a child, the arrival of a hurricane, or Star Boy's earning the right to his adult name, they grow closer. In the last, Morning Girl greets-- with cordial innocence--a boat full of visitors, unaware that her beautifully balanced and textured life is about to be catalogued as ``very poor in everything,'' her island conquered by Europeans. This paradise is so intensely and believably imagined that the epilogue, quoted from Columbus's diary, sickens with its ominous significance. Subtly, Dorris draws parallels between the timeless chafings of sibs set on changing each other's temperaments and the intrusions of states questing new territory. Saddening, compelling--a novel to be cherished for its compassion and humanity. (Fiction. 8+)
Connections
Students can research the Taino people
Discuss the relationship between the Native Taino people and the Europeans
Discuss present day Taino people
Dorris, Michael. 1992. MORNING GIRL. New York, NY: Hyperion. ISBN 1562822845.
Plot Summary
This is the story of two children living with their family on an island. The two main characters are Morning Girl and Star Boy. The brother and sister tell their story in alternating chapters. We see life on the island as one of beauty and survival. The family endures the tragedy of losing a baby that does not make it to full term, and we see how each member of the family deals differently with the loss. There is a terrible storm that destroys most of the homes on the island, yet we see the resiliency of these people by seeing how easily they pick themselves up and are able to go on and rebuild their homes. This is all told through the eyes of two children. The end of the book, during the epilogue, hints that times will be changing for the worse for these people.
Critical Analysis
In this story the back cover is the only place that gives clues as to where and when the story takes place and the name of the people. The back cover tells us that this story of the Taino people living on a Bahamian island in 1492. The book starts right away with a young girl talking about her name. Naming a person is a very important cultural marker in this story and its theme is carried throughout the book. Morning girl was given her name because she always wakes up early and with something on her mind. We also find out that on this island a person’s name can change. Morning girl’s brother was originally named Hungry, because he was always hungry and loved food. His named changed as he got older and a more appropriate name was decided on by him and his parents. He becomes Star Boy in the second chapter because he likes the night, and sleeps late into the day. The plot revolves around the daily life of the family. The family faces many difficulties throughout the story, but the close knit family works through all these difficulties as a family. We also see Morning Girl and Star Boy as typical siblings. They annoy each other and often disagree and argue, and like most siblings they also care deeply about one another and are able to work out their differences. After one incident where Morning Girl helps Star Boy retain his pride, Star Boy calls his sister in private The One Who Stands Beside.
The text is well written and flows smoothly. The story does not have many culturally authentic words in it. The author gives good and vivid descriptions of his characters. At one point Morning Girl want to know who Morning Girl really is and her and her mother go over what her face looks like. Morning girl comes to this conclusion “She has a chin like a starfish, and brows like white clouds on the horizon. Her nose works. Her cheeks swell into mountains when she smiles. The only thing right about her is her ears.” There are these types of descriptions used throughout the book. Since it is written through children’s eyes they use what they know when they are describing things.
The abstract at the end of the story is from the diary of Christopher Columbus. In this letter we see that he feels that this group of people needs to be changed. They need Christianity and language. He feels that even though they are kind and welcoming to him that “they should be good and intelligent servants”. He could not just accept that they did not need to be changed. They were happy and self sufficient as they were. It was a sad ending.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 3-6. A story of a Taino girl and her brother, set in 1492 in the Bahamas. Sibling rivalry, jealously, and love?all are related with elegance and warmth, reflecting a simplicity of lifestyle and universality of experiences. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Kirkus Reviews( August 15, 1992 ; 1-56282-284-5 ) Like the quiet lap of waves on the sand, the alternating introspections of two Bahamian island children in 1492. Morning Girl and her brother Star Boy are very different: she loves the hush of pre-dawn while he revels in night skies, noise, wind. In many ways they are antagonists, each too young and subjective to understand the other's perspective--in contrast to their mother's appreciation for her brother. In the course of these taut chapters concerning such pivotal events as their mother's losing a child, the arrival of a hurricane, or Star Boy's earning the right to his adult name, they grow closer. In the last, Morning Girl greets-- with cordial innocence--a boat full of visitors, unaware that her beautifully balanced and textured life is about to be catalogued as ``very poor in everything,'' her island conquered by Europeans. This paradise is so intensely and believably imagined that the epilogue, quoted from Columbus's diary, sickens with its ominous significance. Subtly, Dorris draws parallels between the timeless chafings of sibs set on changing each other's temperaments and the intrusions of states questing new territory. Saddening, compelling--a novel to be cherished for its compassion and humanity. (Fiction. 8+)
Connections
Students can research the Taino people
Discuss the relationship between the Native Taino people and the Europeans
Discuss present day Taino people
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Culture 3
Bibliography
Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 2000. ESPERANZA RISING. New York, NY: Scholastic. ISBN 043912042x.
Plot Summary
Esperanza has lived a privileged life. She is the daughter of a wealthy land owner. The day before her thirteenth birthday her world comes crashing down around her. Her father is killed by bandits. Her two ruthless uncles plot to take over everything. They burn down Esperanza’s house and threaten to do more damage unless Esperanza’s mother will marry one of them. Esperanza’s mother and Esperanza decide that the only way that they can be together is by going to live and work in America. Their former servants and friends take them to America where they must work long hours. We see how they struggle to survive in this new land.
Critical Analysis
In this 1930’s story we are given a window into the lives and struggles of many Mexican immigrants. In this story we see how Esperanza and her mother must adjust their lifestyle. They go from a life of privilege that included having servants and field workers, to becoming field workers themselves. Their hardships and struggles are vividly painted for us by the author. The language of the book is very realistic and the author often writes a phrase or a word in Spanish, and then gives the English translation. This adds to the overall cultural authenticity of the story. Esperanza is a well developed character and we see her grow from a pampered and somewhat selfish young girl into a caring young woman in the span of one year. We see how in the 1930’s the Great Depression was affecting everyone’s lives and that to be a Mexican migrant worker was to be in one of cultures that suffered the most. The living conditions in the camps were all very bad, but for example the Oakies camp was going to have a swimming pool at it. Discrimination was very evident at that time.
For the most part the setting of the story revolved around what was happening in their camp and their daily struggles, with only bits and pieces of the how the outside world was viewing them. Esperanza has to learn a whole new way of life. Her former servants are now her equals and to a certain extent have even more authority in America since they are accustomed to hard work and are better able to cope in this new environment. Esperanza and her mother do not go to America for the “American Dream”. They go to escape their corrupt uncles, and to be able to stay together. Esperanza’s friend Miguel is more excited about the American Dream, since he figures that in Mexico he can never be more than the “class system” will allow him to be. In America he finds out that because of discrimination towards Mexicans that the American Dream is not that easy to attain. He does not give up on it, though, and continues to believe that he will one day attain his dreams. The story does not have a clear cut happy ending, but it does leave one feeling that there is always hope.
The descriptions of the characters are very good and authentic. The author does a good job of describing the the character’s appearances. She describes Hortencia the servant/friend as a solid figure with blue/black hair in a braid down her back. She describes one girl as plump with a fair complexion, and another girl as delicate and frail, having big brown eyes and resembling a deer. She describes the twins as dark-eyed cherubs with thick mops of black hair. At one point in the story the character of Miguel points out to Esperanza that “Those with Spanish blood, who have the fairest complexions in the land, are the wealthiest.” These cultural markers are present throughout the story. The celebrations and foods also play a very important role. The author pays close attention to the important themes of family and foods. The titles of the chapters are names of fruits. She carries this theme through out the book. In the last chapter as Esperanza is telling her grandmother what has happened to them in the last year she tells the story through the use of fruits and vegetables “like a field worker would tell a story”. In the author’s notes we find out that this fictional story is loosely based on the author’s grandmother. She intertwines some of her grandmother’s stories into the telling of the story of Esperanza.
Review excerpts
From Publishers Weekly"With a hint of magical realism, this robust novel set in 1930 captures a Mexican girl's fall from riches and her immigration to California," said PW in our Best Books citation. Ages 8-12. (June) Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalGrade 6-9-Ryan uses the experiences of her own Mexican grandmother as the basis for this compelling story of immigration and assimilation, not only to a new country but also into a different social class. Esperanza's expectation that her 13th birthday will be celebrated with all the material pleasures and folk elements of her previous years is shattered when her father is murdered by bandits. His powerful stepbrothers then hold her mother as a social and economic hostage, wanting to force her remarriage to one of them, and go so far as to burn down the family home. Esperanza's mother then decides to join the cook and gardener and their son as they move to the United States and work in California's agricultural industry. They embark on a new way of life, away from the uncles, and Esperanza unwillingly enters a world where she is no longer a princess but a worker. Set against the multiethnic, labor-organizing era of the Depression, the story of Esperanza remaking herself is satisfyingly complete, including dire illness and a difficult romance. Except for the evil uncles, all of the characters are rounded, their motives genuine, with class issues honestly portrayed. Easy to booktalk, useful in classroom discussions, and accessible as pleasure reading, this well-written novel belongs in all collections.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Connections
Students can research the celebrations that are talked about in the story
Research the 1930’s and the Great Depression
Read other stories by Pam Munoz Ryan: Becoming Naomi Leon
Riding Freedom
Paint the Wind
Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 2000. ESPERANZA RISING. New York, NY: Scholastic. ISBN 043912042x.
Plot Summary
Esperanza has lived a privileged life. She is the daughter of a wealthy land owner. The day before her thirteenth birthday her world comes crashing down around her. Her father is killed by bandits. Her two ruthless uncles plot to take over everything. They burn down Esperanza’s house and threaten to do more damage unless Esperanza’s mother will marry one of them. Esperanza’s mother and Esperanza decide that the only way that they can be together is by going to live and work in America. Their former servants and friends take them to America where they must work long hours. We see how they struggle to survive in this new land.
Critical Analysis
In this 1930’s story we are given a window into the lives and struggles of many Mexican immigrants. In this story we see how Esperanza and her mother must adjust their lifestyle. They go from a life of privilege that included having servants and field workers, to becoming field workers themselves. Their hardships and struggles are vividly painted for us by the author. The language of the book is very realistic and the author often writes a phrase or a word in Spanish, and then gives the English translation. This adds to the overall cultural authenticity of the story. Esperanza is a well developed character and we see her grow from a pampered and somewhat selfish young girl into a caring young woman in the span of one year. We see how in the 1930’s the Great Depression was affecting everyone’s lives and that to be a Mexican migrant worker was to be in one of cultures that suffered the most. The living conditions in the camps were all very bad, but for example the Oakies camp was going to have a swimming pool at it. Discrimination was very evident at that time.
For the most part the setting of the story revolved around what was happening in their camp and their daily struggles, with only bits and pieces of the how the outside world was viewing them. Esperanza has to learn a whole new way of life. Her former servants are now her equals and to a certain extent have even more authority in America since they are accustomed to hard work and are better able to cope in this new environment. Esperanza and her mother do not go to America for the “American Dream”. They go to escape their corrupt uncles, and to be able to stay together. Esperanza’s friend Miguel is more excited about the American Dream, since he figures that in Mexico he can never be more than the “class system” will allow him to be. In America he finds out that because of discrimination towards Mexicans that the American Dream is not that easy to attain. He does not give up on it, though, and continues to believe that he will one day attain his dreams. The story does not have a clear cut happy ending, but it does leave one feeling that there is always hope.
The descriptions of the characters are very good and authentic. The author does a good job of describing the the character’s appearances. She describes Hortencia the servant/friend as a solid figure with blue/black hair in a braid down her back. She describes one girl as plump with a fair complexion, and another girl as delicate and frail, having big brown eyes and resembling a deer. She describes the twins as dark-eyed cherubs with thick mops of black hair. At one point in the story the character of Miguel points out to Esperanza that “Those with Spanish blood, who have the fairest complexions in the land, are the wealthiest.” These cultural markers are present throughout the story. The celebrations and foods also play a very important role. The author pays close attention to the important themes of family and foods. The titles of the chapters are names of fruits. She carries this theme through out the book. In the last chapter as Esperanza is telling her grandmother what has happened to them in the last year she tells the story through the use of fruits and vegetables “like a field worker would tell a story”. In the author’s notes we find out that this fictional story is loosely based on the author’s grandmother. She intertwines some of her grandmother’s stories into the telling of the story of Esperanza.
Review excerpts
From Publishers Weekly"With a hint of magical realism, this robust novel set in 1930 captures a Mexican girl's fall from riches and her immigration to California," said PW in our Best Books citation. Ages 8-12. (June) Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalGrade 6-9-Ryan uses the experiences of her own Mexican grandmother as the basis for this compelling story of immigration and assimilation, not only to a new country but also into a different social class. Esperanza's expectation that her 13th birthday will be celebrated with all the material pleasures and folk elements of her previous years is shattered when her father is murdered by bandits. His powerful stepbrothers then hold her mother as a social and economic hostage, wanting to force her remarriage to one of them, and go so far as to burn down the family home. Esperanza's mother then decides to join the cook and gardener and their son as they move to the United States and work in California's agricultural industry. They embark on a new way of life, away from the uncles, and Esperanza unwillingly enters a world where she is no longer a princess but a worker. Set against the multiethnic, labor-organizing era of the Depression, the story of Esperanza remaking herself is satisfyingly complete, including dire illness and a difficult romance. Except for the evil uncles, all of the characters are rounded, their motives genuine, with class issues honestly portrayed. Easy to booktalk, useful in classroom discussions, and accessible as pleasure reading, this well-written novel belongs in all collections.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Connections
Students can research the celebrations that are talked about in the story
Research the 1930’s and the Great Depression
Read other stories by Pam Munoz Ryan: Becoming Naomi Leon
Riding Freedom
Paint the Wind
Culture 3
Bibliography
Soto, Gary. 2003. THE AFTERLIFE. Orlando, FL: Harcourt. ISBN 0152052208.
Plot Summary
In this story a young teenage boy is murdered at the beginning of the story. His real name is Jesus, but he goes by Chuy. Chuy goes to a nightclub with a friend and while he is in the restroom he tells another young man that he likes his yellow shoes. Then before Chuy even knows what is happening the man with the yellow shoes stabs him. Chuy dies in the restroom. The story is then told by Chuy’s ghost and the experiences that he has after he dies.
Critical Analysis
Chuy is a Mexican-American. Even though the story is about what happens to him after he dies, there are many cultural markers that link to the Mexican-American culture. In the story we see glimpses of his life and how it was for him and his family living in the U.S. and being Mexican-American. The author writes the story in English, but frequently uses many Spanish words and phrases. There is a glossary at the end of the book, but it not really a necessity since most of the words or phrases are explained within the text. Family is a major theme throughout the story and Chuy often speaks about his family members using Spanish words. His cousin is referred to as his primo, and his family is mi familia. The use of Spanish words throughout the text adds to its cultural authenticity.
The language and style the author writes in gives it an authentic feel. In the beginning of the book we are introduced to the main character Chuy and we get a feel for him and the culture right from the start. On the opening page it begins with Chuy’s insights: “When you’re an ordinary-looking guy, even feo, you got to suck it up and do your best. You got to shower, smell clean, and brush your teeth until the gums hurt. You got to dress nice and be Señor GQ. You got to think, I’ll wow the chicas with talk so funny that they’ll remember me.” The author quickly established the setting and style. The main character uses some Spanish in his thoughts and throughout the book the language is that of a typical teenage boy.
The setting is basically set in Chuy’s neighborhood in Fresno. Since he is a ghost he has the power to get to different places, but except for going to a football game, he stays within areas that he knows. He goes to his parent’s house, his high school, and around the city he grew up in. He describes many of the things he sees while he flying around as a ghost and he often uses Spanish terms in his descriptions. Most of the people that he encounters are Mexican-American and the words that Chuy uses to describe the people give it an authentic and real feel. He often describes the foods that he sees people eating. He tells of Churros, pan dulce, menudo, and chicarrones. The author accurately shows a Hispanic teenager and the struggles he faces both in life and as a ghost. In both places he just wants to find a place where he fits in.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 7 Up–Gary Soto's novel (Harcourt, 2003) about how a 17-year-old murder victim experiences and analyzes his world across the first week or so of his death is capably read by Robert Ramirez who skillfully weaves together the interspersed Spanish phrases with the largely English text. Chuy goes to a local dance hoping to hitch up with a favorite girl, but when he's in the men's room to give his hair a final appraisal, he unexpectedly dies at the hands of a stranger, a young man wearing yellow shoes. Chuy narrates as his own bleeding body is discovered, police are summoned, and his family is informed of his demise. He sets off to solve the mystery of his own death and, along the way, befriends a homeless man and a fellow spirit, a girl who committed suicide. Soto injects just the right amount of lightness into this tale to keep it from becoming morbid or depressing. Chuy, a complex character, continues to develop—and even decompose in terms of his physical identity—as the plot moves along.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Publishers Weekly(April 18, 2005; 0-15-205220-8; 978-0-15-205220-1)"Soto pens a sort of Lovely Bones for the young adult set, filled with hope and elegance," said PW. "The author counterbalances difficult ideas with moments of genuine tenderness as well as a provocative lesson about the importance of savoring every moment." Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Connections
Read and discuss other books by Gary Soto: PETTY CRIMES
BURIED ONIONS
BASEBALL IN APRIL
Research and discuss themes relating to the afterlife
Soto, Gary. 2003. THE AFTERLIFE. Orlando, FL: Harcourt. ISBN 0152052208.
Plot Summary
In this story a young teenage boy is murdered at the beginning of the story. His real name is Jesus, but he goes by Chuy. Chuy goes to a nightclub with a friend and while he is in the restroom he tells another young man that he likes his yellow shoes. Then before Chuy even knows what is happening the man with the yellow shoes stabs him. Chuy dies in the restroom. The story is then told by Chuy’s ghost and the experiences that he has after he dies.
Critical Analysis
Chuy is a Mexican-American. Even though the story is about what happens to him after he dies, there are many cultural markers that link to the Mexican-American culture. In the story we see glimpses of his life and how it was for him and his family living in the U.S. and being Mexican-American. The author writes the story in English, but frequently uses many Spanish words and phrases. There is a glossary at the end of the book, but it not really a necessity since most of the words or phrases are explained within the text. Family is a major theme throughout the story and Chuy often speaks about his family members using Spanish words. His cousin is referred to as his primo, and his family is mi familia. The use of Spanish words throughout the text adds to its cultural authenticity.
The language and style the author writes in gives it an authentic feel. In the beginning of the book we are introduced to the main character Chuy and we get a feel for him and the culture right from the start. On the opening page it begins with Chuy’s insights: “When you’re an ordinary-looking guy, even feo, you got to suck it up and do your best. You got to shower, smell clean, and brush your teeth until the gums hurt. You got to dress nice and be Señor GQ. You got to think, I’ll wow the chicas with talk so funny that they’ll remember me.” The author quickly established the setting and style. The main character uses some Spanish in his thoughts and throughout the book the language is that of a typical teenage boy.
The setting is basically set in Chuy’s neighborhood in Fresno. Since he is a ghost he has the power to get to different places, but except for going to a football game, he stays within areas that he knows. He goes to his parent’s house, his high school, and around the city he grew up in. He describes many of the things he sees while he flying around as a ghost and he often uses Spanish terms in his descriptions. Most of the people that he encounters are Mexican-American and the words that Chuy uses to describe the people give it an authentic and real feel. He often describes the foods that he sees people eating. He tells of Churros, pan dulce, menudo, and chicarrones. The author accurately shows a Hispanic teenager and the struggles he faces both in life and as a ghost. In both places he just wants to find a place where he fits in.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 7 Up–Gary Soto's novel (Harcourt, 2003) about how a 17-year-old murder victim experiences and analyzes his world across the first week or so of his death is capably read by Robert Ramirez who skillfully weaves together the interspersed Spanish phrases with the largely English text. Chuy goes to a local dance hoping to hitch up with a favorite girl, but when he's in the men's room to give his hair a final appraisal, he unexpectedly dies at the hands of a stranger, a young man wearing yellow shoes. Chuy narrates as his own bleeding body is discovered, police are summoned, and his family is informed of his demise. He sets off to solve the mystery of his own death and, along the way, befriends a homeless man and a fellow spirit, a girl who committed suicide. Soto injects just the right amount of lightness into this tale to keep it from becoming morbid or depressing. Chuy, a complex character, continues to develop—and even decompose in terms of his physical identity—as the plot moves along.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Publishers Weekly(April 18, 2005; 0-15-205220-8; 978-0-15-205220-1)"Soto pens a sort of Lovely Bones for the young adult set, filled with hope and elegance," said PW. "The author counterbalances difficult ideas with moments of genuine tenderness as well as a provocative lesson about the importance of savoring every moment." Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Connections
Read and discuss other books by Gary Soto: PETTY CRIMES
BURIED ONIONS
BASEBALL IN APRIL
Research and discuss themes relating to the afterlife
Culture 3
Bibliography
Mora, Pat. 1997. TOMÁS AND THE LIBRARY LADY. Ill. Raul Colón. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679804013.
Plot Summary
Tomás is a young migrant worker who travels with his family every year from Texas to the state of Iowa. His grandfather is a great story teller and Tomás enjoys listening to all of his stories. Tomás’ grandfather encourages him to go to the library to find even more stories. He is very nervous, but he goes to the library by himself, and here he meets a sweet and wonderful librarian who takes Tomás under her wing and shares her love of books with him.
Critical Analysis
This well written story paints a picture for us of a young boy’s experience with the library. In this story we see the struggles of a Mexican-American family. This family is an extended family of migrant workers that travel from Texas to Iowa every year picking fruits and vegetables. Tomás’ family includes his Mamá, Papá, Papá Grande, and his little brother Enrique. We see the important theme of family and how they all live and work together. The story is written in English, but there are many Spanish words integrated into the text. The words are sewn seamlessly into the text for a natural and authentic feel. The author typically says something in Spanish and it is followed by the English phrase. For example “En un tiempo pasado,” Papá Grande began. “Once upon a time…..on a windy night a man was riding a horse through a forest.” The author has a nice way of integrating the Spanish text so that it flows easily. The reader does not have to look up words in a dictionary or glossary because the English phrases follow the Spanish ones. The characters are all authentic and believable. We see Tomas as a likable and polite young boy, and his family is full of hard working and caring people. The librarian enjoys Tomas’s company and loves that she can share her love of reading with him. This theme is central to the plot. In the story Tomas and the librarian bond over their love of reading and Tomas helps the librarian to learn Spanish. We also see in the story that Tomas goes home and reads the books to his family, and it says that he reads to his family in both English and Spanish.
The book is beautifully illustrated with authentic looking pictures. The cover is done in subdued hues with greens and browns. It shows us a Hispanic young boy reading a book with a middle-aged Anglo woman. In the background there are dinosaurs. The whole story is illustrated using these brown and green colors. The pictures are well done and have an authentic feel to them. In one picture we see the car driving through dirt roads, and the reader can almost feel the heat and taste the dust. The illustrations definitely add an authentic feel to the story.
In the Story Notes we also find out that this book is based on the true story of Tomas Rivera who became a national education leader.
Review Excerpts
Booklist(February 1, 1998; Ages 4^-8. Based on a true incident in the life of the famous writer Tomas Rivera, the son of migrant workers, this picture book captures an elemental American experience: the uprooted child who finds a home in the library.
School Library Journal(October 1, 1997; Gr 2-4¿Tomás Rivera, who at his death in 1984 was the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, grew up in a migrant family. Here, Mora tells the fictionalized story of one summer in his childhood during which his love of books and reading is fostered by a librarian in Iowa, who takes him under her wing while his family works the harvest. She introduces him to stories about dinosaurs, horses, and American Indians and allows him to take books home where he shares them with his parents, grandfather, and brother. When it is time for the family to return to Texas, she gives Tomás the greatest gift of all¿a book of his own to keep. Colón's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Tomás's reading adventures in appealing ways. Stack this up with Sarah Stewart and David Small's The Library (Farrar, 1995) and Suzanne Williams and Steven Kellogg's Library Lil (Dial, 1997) to demonstrate the impact librarians can have on youngsters.¿Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Connections
Read and discuss these books by Pat Mora : Confetti
A Birthday Basket for Tia
The Night the Moon Fell
Mora, Pat. 1997. TOMÁS AND THE LIBRARY LADY. Ill. Raul Colón. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679804013.
Plot Summary
Tomás is a young migrant worker who travels with his family every year from Texas to the state of Iowa. His grandfather is a great story teller and Tomás enjoys listening to all of his stories. Tomás’ grandfather encourages him to go to the library to find even more stories. He is very nervous, but he goes to the library by himself, and here he meets a sweet and wonderful librarian who takes Tomás under her wing and shares her love of books with him.
Critical Analysis
This well written story paints a picture for us of a young boy’s experience with the library. In this story we see the struggles of a Mexican-American family. This family is an extended family of migrant workers that travel from Texas to Iowa every year picking fruits and vegetables. Tomás’ family includes his Mamá, Papá, Papá Grande, and his little brother Enrique. We see the important theme of family and how they all live and work together. The story is written in English, but there are many Spanish words integrated into the text. The words are sewn seamlessly into the text for a natural and authentic feel. The author typically says something in Spanish and it is followed by the English phrase. For example “En un tiempo pasado,” Papá Grande began. “Once upon a time…..on a windy night a man was riding a horse through a forest.” The author has a nice way of integrating the Spanish text so that it flows easily. The reader does not have to look up words in a dictionary or glossary because the English phrases follow the Spanish ones. The characters are all authentic and believable. We see Tomas as a likable and polite young boy, and his family is full of hard working and caring people. The librarian enjoys Tomas’s company and loves that she can share her love of reading with him. This theme is central to the plot. In the story Tomas and the librarian bond over their love of reading and Tomas helps the librarian to learn Spanish. We also see in the story that Tomas goes home and reads the books to his family, and it says that he reads to his family in both English and Spanish.
The book is beautifully illustrated with authentic looking pictures. The cover is done in subdued hues with greens and browns. It shows us a Hispanic young boy reading a book with a middle-aged Anglo woman. In the background there are dinosaurs. The whole story is illustrated using these brown and green colors. The pictures are well done and have an authentic feel to them. In one picture we see the car driving through dirt roads, and the reader can almost feel the heat and taste the dust. The illustrations definitely add an authentic feel to the story.
In the Story Notes we also find out that this book is based on the true story of Tomas Rivera who became a national education leader.
Review Excerpts
Booklist(February 1, 1998; Ages 4^-8. Based on a true incident in the life of the famous writer Tomas Rivera, the son of migrant workers, this picture book captures an elemental American experience: the uprooted child who finds a home in the library.
School Library Journal(October 1, 1997; Gr 2-4¿Tomás Rivera, who at his death in 1984 was the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, grew up in a migrant family. Here, Mora tells the fictionalized story of one summer in his childhood during which his love of books and reading is fostered by a librarian in Iowa, who takes him under her wing while his family works the harvest. She introduces him to stories about dinosaurs, horses, and American Indians and allows him to take books home where he shares them with his parents, grandfather, and brother. When it is time for the family to return to Texas, she gives Tomás the greatest gift of all¿a book of his own to keep. Colón's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Tomás's reading adventures in appealing ways. Stack this up with Sarah Stewart and David Small's The Library (Farrar, 1995) and Suzanne Williams and Steven Kellogg's Library Lil (Dial, 1997) to demonstrate the impact librarians can have on youngsters.¿Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Connections
Read and discuss these books by Pat Mora : Confetti
A Birthday Basket for Tia
The Night the Moon Fell
Saturday, June 21, 2008
CULTURE 2
FORGED BY FIRE
Bibliography
Draper, Sharon M. 1997. FORGED BY FIRE. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN 068980699X.
Plot Summary
Gerald is a toddler when the story begins. He is left alone in the apartment by his mother, and while she is gone the young Gerald finds a cigarette lighter and starts the apartment on fire. He is saved by a teenage neighbor. His mother is sent off to jail for abandonment and Gerald goes to live with Aunt Queen. Aunt Queen is a loving and nurturing woman and at the same time she is a force to be reckoned with. Under her care and guidance Gerald is living a happy and secure life, with only occasional flashbacks. His happy life comes crashing down around him on his ninth birthday. On this day his mother, Monique, comes back into his life. She is coming to see him and is bringing a surprise. She has a daughter, who is Gerald’s half sister. This meeting is very stressful especially since she brings her husband Jordon Sparks with her. Gerald instantly bonds with his fragile little sister, but the day goes from bad to worse. While Gerald and his little sister are outside playing Aunt Queen has a heart attack and dies. Monique and Jordan take Gerald back to live with them. Jordon is very abusive to all of them and Monique lives in complete denial. The story goes on to tell about how Gerald goes on to struggle and survive and actually come out on top in the end against all odds.
Critical Analysis
This well written story show’s the difficult struggle that many children of all cultures and races can face. Physical, emotional and sexual abuse is present in all cultures. The story is written through the eyes of a young African-American male. The characters are authentic and believable. The plot of the story is gripping because the characters are so well defined and believable. The character of Aunt Queen is very well defined. She could be found in any culture. The take charge woman with a heart of gold. The author is well aware of many stereo types and often addresses them in the dialog. In the following excerpt Aunt Queen is having a discussion with Gerald’s doctor after the first fire. The doctor says “Are you his only relative? Does he have a father?” Aunt Queen replies: “Of course he has a father!” “Don’t you have a father? I know you doctors are getting pretty good at making test-tube babies, but the last I checked, it still took a mother and a father to make a baby” “What I meant was---“ “I know what you meant. Since this kid is poor and black and his mother is living alone and unmarried, his father must be long gone. Well, I’m here to tell you that not all black men are like that. There’s zillions of black families with a mama and a daddy and two kids like the ‘average’ American family.” “But unfortunately, this ain’t one of them. I don’t know where the boy’s daddy is. I just didn’t want you to assume. You coulda been wrong, you know?” The reader at once feels that if Aunt Queen is going to be in charge that all will be right with the world. Unfortunately Aunt Queen dies. We definitely see how Aunt Queen influenced Gerald throughout the story. The same way that Aunt Queen saved Gerald, we see Gerald save Angel. The language flows naturally, and when the teens talk to each other they sound like typical teens. The author does a good job of accurately portraying the type of life that an inner-city child might have. We see the good the bad and the ugly. We see some very good heroes in this story. Even though life is not easy for them they continue to persevere and come out strong and courageous. The ending leaves the readers with a feeling of hopefulness at the end. I wouldn’t call it a happy ending, but it had a good ending that leaves the readers to believe that even though bad things happen, people can go on and live productive lives.
Book Excerpts
School Library Journal(March 1, 1997; 0-689-80699-X; 978-0-689-80699-5)Gr 7-10¿Gerald, a battered and neglected African-American child, is severely burned in a fire at the age of three, having been left home alone by his single mother, Monique. Upon leaving the hospital he goes to live with his warm and caring Aunt Queen. When he is nine, his mother reenters his life for the first time since the accident. Monique introduces him to Angel, his four-year-old half-sister, and Jordan Sparks, Angel's surly father. When Aunt Queen dies suddenly of a heart attack, Gerald is returned to his mother and takes on the role of loving protector of his little sister. He soon learns that Sparks, who mentally and physically abuses all of the family, is sexually abusing Angel. Gerald and Angel's testimony helps send Sparks to prison, but upon his release six years later, he returns to the family, with the blessing of Monique, whose own life is checkered with bouts of substance abuse. A terse confrontation erupts into a fiery climax when Sparks again attempts to molest Angel. The riveting first chapter was originally published as a short story in Ebony magazine under the title "One Small Touch." While the rest of the book does not sustain the mood and pace of the initial chapter, Forged by Fire is a grim look at an inner-city home where abuse and addiction are a way of life and the children are the victims. There's no all's-well ending, but readers will have hope for Gerald and Angel, who have survived a number of gut-wrenching ordeals by relying on their constant love and caring for one another.¿Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Booklist(February 15, 1997; 0-689-80699-X; 978-0-689-80699-5)Gr. 7^-10. Gerald Nickelby, a minor character in Tears of a Tiger (1994), emerges full-fledged and courageous in this companion story. His stable life with a firm but loving aunt (who is caring for him while his mother serves a prison sentence for child neglect) is shattered when his mother returns to claim him on his ninth birthday. With her is a young daughter, Angel, to whom Gerald is drawn, and her husband, Jordan, whom Gerald instinctively dislikes. When Gerald learns that Jordan is sexually abusing Angel, he risks physical assault and public embarrassment to rescue her. Although written in a more conventional form than the earlier novel, the dialogue is still convincing, and the affection between Angel and Gerald rings true. With so much tragedy here (the car crash and death of Gerald's friend Rob in Tears are again recounted, though Draper, thankfully, stops before Andy Jackson's suicide), there is some danger of overloading the reader. Nevertheless, Draper faces some big issues (abuse, death, drugs) and provides concrete options and a positive African American role model in Gerald. --Candace Smith
Connections
Students can research abuse and neglect- The National Child Abuse Hotline is given at the end of the book
Students can read these other books by the author Sharon M. Draper:
TEARS OF A TIGER
DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN
ROMIETTE AND JULIO
Bibliography
Draper, Sharon M. 1997. FORGED BY FIRE. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN 068980699X.
Plot Summary
Gerald is a toddler when the story begins. He is left alone in the apartment by his mother, and while she is gone the young Gerald finds a cigarette lighter and starts the apartment on fire. He is saved by a teenage neighbor. His mother is sent off to jail for abandonment and Gerald goes to live with Aunt Queen. Aunt Queen is a loving and nurturing woman and at the same time she is a force to be reckoned with. Under her care and guidance Gerald is living a happy and secure life, with only occasional flashbacks. His happy life comes crashing down around him on his ninth birthday. On this day his mother, Monique, comes back into his life. She is coming to see him and is bringing a surprise. She has a daughter, who is Gerald’s half sister. This meeting is very stressful especially since she brings her husband Jordon Sparks with her. Gerald instantly bonds with his fragile little sister, but the day goes from bad to worse. While Gerald and his little sister are outside playing Aunt Queen has a heart attack and dies. Monique and Jordan take Gerald back to live with them. Jordon is very abusive to all of them and Monique lives in complete denial. The story goes on to tell about how Gerald goes on to struggle and survive and actually come out on top in the end against all odds.
Critical Analysis
This well written story show’s the difficult struggle that many children of all cultures and races can face. Physical, emotional and sexual abuse is present in all cultures. The story is written through the eyes of a young African-American male. The characters are authentic and believable. The plot of the story is gripping because the characters are so well defined and believable. The character of Aunt Queen is very well defined. She could be found in any culture. The take charge woman with a heart of gold. The author is well aware of many stereo types and often addresses them in the dialog. In the following excerpt Aunt Queen is having a discussion with Gerald’s doctor after the first fire. The doctor says “Are you his only relative? Does he have a father?” Aunt Queen replies: “Of course he has a father!” “Don’t you have a father? I know you doctors are getting pretty good at making test-tube babies, but the last I checked, it still took a mother and a father to make a baby” “What I meant was---“ “I know what you meant. Since this kid is poor and black and his mother is living alone and unmarried, his father must be long gone. Well, I’m here to tell you that not all black men are like that. There’s zillions of black families with a mama and a daddy and two kids like the ‘average’ American family.” “But unfortunately, this ain’t one of them. I don’t know where the boy’s daddy is. I just didn’t want you to assume. You coulda been wrong, you know?” The reader at once feels that if Aunt Queen is going to be in charge that all will be right with the world. Unfortunately Aunt Queen dies. We definitely see how Aunt Queen influenced Gerald throughout the story. The same way that Aunt Queen saved Gerald, we see Gerald save Angel. The language flows naturally, and when the teens talk to each other they sound like typical teens. The author does a good job of accurately portraying the type of life that an inner-city child might have. We see the good the bad and the ugly. We see some very good heroes in this story. Even though life is not easy for them they continue to persevere and come out strong and courageous. The ending leaves the readers with a feeling of hopefulness at the end. I wouldn’t call it a happy ending, but it had a good ending that leaves the readers to believe that even though bad things happen, people can go on and live productive lives.
Book Excerpts
School Library Journal(March 1, 1997; 0-689-80699-X; 978-0-689-80699-5)Gr 7-10¿Gerald, a battered and neglected African-American child, is severely burned in a fire at the age of three, having been left home alone by his single mother, Monique. Upon leaving the hospital he goes to live with his warm and caring Aunt Queen. When he is nine, his mother reenters his life for the first time since the accident. Monique introduces him to Angel, his four-year-old half-sister, and Jordan Sparks, Angel's surly father. When Aunt Queen dies suddenly of a heart attack, Gerald is returned to his mother and takes on the role of loving protector of his little sister. He soon learns that Sparks, who mentally and physically abuses all of the family, is sexually abusing Angel. Gerald and Angel's testimony helps send Sparks to prison, but upon his release six years later, he returns to the family, with the blessing of Monique, whose own life is checkered with bouts of substance abuse. A terse confrontation erupts into a fiery climax when Sparks again attempts to molest Angel. The riveting first chapter was originally published as a short story in Ebony magazine under the title "One Small Touch." While the rest of the book does not sustain the mood and pace of the initial chapter, Forged by Fire is a grim look at an inner-city home where abuse and addiction are a way of life and the children are the victims. There's no all's-well ending, but readers will have hope for Gerald and Angel, who have survived a number of gut-wrenching ordeals by relying on their constant love and caring for one another.¿Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Booklist(February 15, 1997; 0-689-80699-X; 978-0-689-80699-5)Gr. 7^-10. Gerald Nickelby, a minor character in Tears of a Tiger (1994), emerges full-fledged and courageous in this companion story. His stable life with a firm but loving aunt (who is caring for him while his mother serves a prison sentence for child neglect) is shattered when his mother returns to claim him on his ninth birthday. With her is a young daughter, Angel, to whom Gerald is drawn, and her husband, Jordan, whom Gerald instinctively dislikes. When Gerald learns that Jordan is sexually abusing Angel, he risks physical assault and public embarrassment to rescue her. Although written in a more conventional form than the earlier novel, the dialogue is still convincing, and the affection between Angel and Gerald rings true. With so much tragedy here (the car crash and death of Gerald's friend Rob in Tears are again recounted, though Draper, thankfully, stops before Andy Jackson's suicide), there is some danger of overloading the reader. Nevertheless, Draper faces some big issues (abuse, death, drugs) and provides concrete options and a positive African American role model in Gerald. --Candace Smith
Connections
Students can research abuse and neglect- The National Child Abuse Hotline is given at the end of the book
Students can read these other books by the author Sharon M. Draper:
TEARS OF A TIGER
DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN
ROMIETTE AND JULIO
CULTURE 2
JOHN HENRY
Biblioghraphy
Lester, Julius. 1994. JOHN HENRY. Ill. Jerry Pinkney. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 059053937X.
Plot Summary
This is the folktale of an extraordinary man called John Henry. John Henry is so special that when he is born animals from all over come to see him. Both the sun and the moon come to see him. He grows so big on his first day of life that his head went straight through the roof. He is an extraordinarily hard worked with a big heart. One day he decides to go off into the world and his parents give him two sledgehammers that belonged to his granddaddy. He is easily able to chip away rocks and boulders. He was able to swing his hammers so fast that he created a rainbow that stayed around his shoulders. One day he gets into contest against a new piece of machinery called a steam drill. The magnificent John Henry easily wins the contest, but after giving it his all he dies. The folktale goes on to say that some people say he was buried on the White House lawn.
Critical Analysis
This intriguing folktale is told in a way that demonstrates all the good qualities of life such as strength and determination without being preachy about it. The writing is very poetic in places and there is a song that is repeated throughout the tale. “I got a rainbow RINGGGG! RINGGGG! Tied round my shoulder RINGGGG! RINGGGG! It ain’t gon’ rain, No, it ain’t gon’ rain. RINGGGG! RINGGGG!” The text is well written and stays within the context of the times. His poetic use of words adds to the drama. He says things that can make you stop and think, such as “What he saw was a mountain as big as hurt feelings”. The beautiful pictures that help to tell the story were done with pencil, colored pencils, and watercolor. The illustrations are done in mostly earthy tones with splashes of color. The people are dressed in the appropriate clothes for the time period. The hairstyles look correct for the time period. Some things look exaggerated, but it is because it is a folktale and things are supposed to be larger than life. Overall the pictures and text tell a beautiful, well written story.
Review Excerpts
Horn Book Magazine(; 0-8037-1606-0; 978-0-8037-1606-3)The original legend of John Henry and how he beat the steam drill with his sledgehammer has been enhanced and enriched, in Lester's retelling, with wonderful contemporary details and poetic similes that add humor, beauty, and strength. Pinkney's evocative illustrations -- especially the landscapes, splotchy and impressionistic, yet very solid and vigorous -- are little short of magnificent. With source notes. From HORN BOOK 1994, Copyright © The Horn Book, used with permission.
Booklist(; 0-8037-1607-9; 978-0-8037-1607-0)/*STARRED REVIEW*/ Ages 4 and up. Based on the popular black folk ballad about the contest between John Henry and the steam drill, this picture-book version is a tall tale and a heroic myth, a celebration of the human spirit. Like Lester's great collections of the Uncle Remus tales, also illustrated by Pinkney, the story is told with rhythm and wit, humor and exaggeration, and with a heart-catching immediacy that connects the human and the natural world. ("This was no ordinary boulder. It was as hard as anger . . . a mountain as big as hurt feelings"). The dramatic climax of the story is set at the time of the building of the railroad through the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia, but Lester begins with the hero's birth, when all the birds and animals come to see the baby and the sun is so excited it forgets to go to bed. Pinkney's dappled pencil-and-watercolor illustrations capture the individuality of the great working man, who is part of the human community and who has the strength of rock and wind. John Henry swings his hammer so fast, he makes a rainbow around his shoulders, and the pictures show that light everywhere, "shining and shimmering in the dust and grit like hope that never dies." (Reviewed June 1994)0803716060Hazel Rochman
Connections
Read and discuss a variety of Folktales
Discuss the qualities that make John Henry a hero
Write a folktale
Biblioghraphy
Lester, Julius. 1994. JOHN HENRY. Ill. Jerry Pinkney. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 059053937X.
Plot Summary
This is the folktale of an extraordinary man called John Henry. John Henry is so special that when he is born animals from all over come to see him. Both the sun and the moon come to see him. He grows so big on his first day of life that his head went straight through the roof. He is an extraordinarily hard worked with a big heart. One day he decides to go off into the world and his parents give him two sledgehammers that belonged to his granddaddy. He is easily able to chip away rocks and boulders. He was able to swing his hammers so fast that he created a rainbow that stayed around his shoulders. One day he gets into contest against a new piece of machinery called a steam drill. The magnificent John Henry easily wins the contest, but after giving it his all he dies. The folktale goes on to say that some people say he was buried on the White House lawn.
Critical Analysis
This intriguing folktale is told in a way that demonstrates all the good qualities of life such as strength and determination without being preachy about it. The writing is very poetic in places and there is a song that is repeated throughout the tale. “I got a rainbow RINGGGG! RINGGGG! Tied round my shoulder RINGGGG! RINGGGG! It ain’t gon’ rain, No, it ain’t gon’ rain. RINGGGG! RINGGGG!” The text is well written and stays within the context of the times. His poetic use of words adds to the drama. He says things that can make you stop and think, such as “What he saw was a mountain as big as hurt feelings”. The beautiful pictures that help to tell the story were done with pencil, colored pencils, and watercolor. The illustrations are done in mostly earthy tones with splashes of color. The people are dressed in the appropriate clothes for the time period. The hairstyles look correct for the time period. Some things look exaggerated, but it is because it is a folktale and things are supposed to be larger than life. Overall the pictures and text tell a beautiful, well written story.
Review Excerpts
Horn Book Magazine(; 0-8037-1606-0; 978-0-8037-1606-3)The original legend of John Henry and how he beat the steam drill with his sledgehammer has been enhanced and enriched, in Lester's retelling, with wonderful contemporary details and poetic similes that add humor, beauty, and strength. Pinkney's evocative illustrations -- especially the landscapes, splotchy and impressionistic, yet very solid and vigorous -- are little short of magnificent. With source notes. From HORN BOOK 1994, Copyright © The Horn Book, used with permission.
Booklist(; 0-8037-1607-9; 978-0-8037-1607-0)/*STARRED REVIEW*/ Ages 4 and up. Based on the popular black folk ballad about the contest between John Henry and the steam drill, this picture-book version is a tall tale and a heroic myth, a celebration of the human spirit. Like Lester's great collections of the Uncle Remus tales, also illustrated by Pinkney, the story is told with rhythm and wit, humor and exaggeration, and with a heart-catching immediacy that connects the human and the natural world. ("This was no ordinary boulder. It was as hard as anger . . . a mountain as big as hurt feelings"). The dramatic climax of the story is set at the time of the building of the railroad through the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia, but Lester begins with the hero's birth, when all the birds and animals come to see the baby and the sun is so excited it forgets to go to bed. Pinkney's dappled pencil-and-watercolor illustrations capture the individuality of the great working man, who is part of the human community and who has the strength of rock and wind. John Henry swings his hammer so fast, he makes a rainbow around his shoulders, and the pictures show that light everywhere, "shining and shimmering in the dust and grit like hope that never dies." (Reviewed June 1994)0803716060Hazel Rochman
Connections
Read and discuss a variety of Folktales
Discuss the qualities that make John Henry a hero
Write a folktale
CULTURE 2
THE FIRST PART LAST
Bibliography
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN 0689849222.
Plot Summary
This is the story of a teenage dad named Bobby. The story unfolds in a dramatic way. The chapters are labeled Now and Then. When the story begins Bobby is talking about his baby, Feather. As the chapters go back and forth we see how we are starting with the story of how Feather came to be, and we keep going back and forth between the present and the past. We see how Bobby struggles with so many things, and how his parents are supportive, but do not take over parenting for him. This tough love turns Bobby into the parent that they know he can be. We find out through the flashbacks that Bobby is a single parent because the mother of Feather, Nia, is in a coma due to complications during birth.
Critical Analysis
This is a very realistic portrayal of single parenthood. Many times we see the girl as the single parent, but in this story it is the teenage boy who is the single parent. The way that the story unfolds keeps the reader turning the pages. It is written almost poetically. Most of the language sounds like how real teenagers talk. They speak politely to adults and then they use slang language with their friends and peers. Much of the book centers on what is going on inside Bobby’s head. His thoughts and feelings are all put out there for us. The way he loves his baby is so absolutely touching and so very real. We also see him struggle with the day to day routines and sleep deprivation that come with being a new parent. I loved how since his mother didn’t take over complete care of the baby that Bobby knows it and feels it when “Feather only wants Daddy”. He can fix her, not grandma. Here is one bit of poetry from the story:
“The rules. If she hollers, she is mine.
If she needs to be changed, she is always mine.
In the dictionary next to “sitter,” there is not a
Picture of Grandma.
It’s time to grow up.
Too late, you’re out of time. Be a grown-up.”
I love it that it is Bobby’s dad who is like a mom. Bobby’s father is very loving and nurturing. Bobby’s parents are divorced and at one point Bobby takes Feather and goes to live with his father who meets them at the door with a blanket for Feather in one hand and a cup of coffee for Bobby in the other. The only illustration in the book is the front cover. It shows an African American teenage male holding a baby. It is a modern representation. The hairstyle and clothing look representative of our current society. It received the Coretta Scott King Award and the Printz Award.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 8 Up-Brief, poetic, and absolutely riveting, this gem of a novel tells the story of a young father struggling to raise an infant. Bobby, 16, is a sensitive and intelligent narrator. His parents are supportive but refuse to take over the child-care duties, so he struggles to balance parenting, school, and friends who don't comprehend his new role. Alternate chapters go back to the story of Bobby's relationship with his girlfriend Nia and how parents and friends reacted to the news of her pregnancy. Bobby's parents are well-developed characters, Nia's upper-class family somewhat less so. Flashbacks lead to the revelation in the final chapters that Nia is in an irreversible coma caused by eclampsia. This twist, which explains why Bobby is raising Feather on his own against the advice of both families, seems melodramatic. So does a chapter in which Bobby snaps from the pressure and spends an entire day spray painting a picture on a brick wall, only to be arrested for vandalism. However, any flaws in the plot are overshadowed by the beautiful writing. Scenes in which Bobby expresses his love for his daughter are breathtaking. Teens who enjoyed Margaret Bechard's Hanging on to Max (Millbrook, 2002) will love this book, too, despite very different conclusions. The attractive cover photo of a young black man cradling an infant will attract readers.Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
Horn Book Magazine(July 1, 2003; 0-689-84922-2; 978-0-689-84922-0)(High School) Feather's birth has completely changed sixteen-year-old Bobby's life. He and his girlfriend, Nia, had planned to put up the baby for adoption, but Feather becomes impossible to relinquish after, as the reader learns at book's end, pregnancy-related eclampsia leaves Nia in an irreversible coma. What elevates this scenario above melodrama is Johnson's unique storytelling strategy: she follows the arc of Bobby's consciousness in alternating short chapters labeled ""then"" (before Feather's birth) and ""now."" This allows the reader to measure how far sleep-starved single dad Bobby has fallen, psychically--and how far he's come. While this prequel to the Coretta Scott King Award-winning Heaven isn't bereft of humor (Nia's parents' home is ""so neat and clean you could probably make soup in the toilet""), what resonates are the sacrifices Bobby makes for Feather's sake. Copyright 2003 of The Horn Book, Inc.
Connections
Teen parents can be discussed and researched.
Discuss the Author Angela Johnson, noting that she is a three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner.
Read HEAVEN and LOOKING FOR RED by Angela Johnson.
Bibliography
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN 0689849222.
Plot Summary
This is the story of a teenage dad named Bobby. The story unfolds in a dramatic way. The chapters are labeled Now and Then. When the story begins Bobby is talking about his baby, Feather. As the chapters go back and forth we see how we are starting with the story of how Feather came to be, and we keep going back and forth between the present and the past. We see how Bobby struggles with so many things, and how his parents are supportive, but do not take over parenting for him. This tough love turns Bobby into the parent that they know he can be. We find out through the flashbacks that Bobby is a single parent because the mother of Feather, Nia, is in a coma due to complications during birth.
Critical Analysis
This is a very realistic portrayal of single parenthood. Many times we see the girl as the single parent, but in this story it is the teenage boy who is the single parent. The way that the story unfolds keeps the reader turning the pages. It is written almost poetically. Most of the language sounds like how real teenagers talk. They speak politely to adults and then they use slang language with their friends and peers. Much of the book centers on what is going on inside Bobby’s head. His thoughts and feelings are all put out there for us. The way he loves his baby is so absolutely touching and so very real. We also see him struggle with the day to day routines and sleep deprivation that come with being a new parent. I loved how since his mother didn’t take over complete care of the baby that Bobby knows it and feels it when “Feather only wants Daddy”. He can fix her, not grandma. Here is one bit of poetry from the story:
“The rules. If she hollers, she is mine.
If she needs to be changed, she is always mine.
In the dictionary next to “sitter,” there is not a
Picture of Grandma.
It’s time to grow up.
Too late, you’re out of time. Be a grown-up.”
I love it that it is Bobby’s dad who is like a mom. Bobby’s father is very loving and nurturing. Bobby’s parents are divorced and at one point Bobby takes Feather and goes to live with his father who meets them at the door with a blanket for Feather in one hand and a cup of coffee for Bobby in the other. The only illustration in the book is the front cover. It shows an African American teenage male holding a baby. It is a modern representation. The hairstyle and clothing look representative of our current society. It received the Coretta Scott King Award and the Printz Award.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 8 Up-Brief, poetic, and absolutely riveting, this gem of a novel tells the story of a young father struggling to raise an infant. Bobby, 16, is a sensitive and intelligent narrator. His parents are supportive but refuse to take over the child-care duties, so he struggles to balance parenting, school, and friends who don't comprehend his new role. Alternate chapters go back to the story of Bobby's relationship with his girlfriend Nia and how parents and friends reacted to the news of her pregnancy. Bobby's parents are well-developed characters, Nia's upper-class family somewhat less so. Flashbacks lead to the revelation in the final chapters that Nia is in an irreversible coma caused by eclampsia. This twist, which explains why Bobby is raising Feather on his own against the advice of both families, seems melodramatic. So does a chapter in which Bobby snaps from the pressure and spends an entire day spray painting a picture on a brick wall, only to be arrested for vandalism. However, any flaws in the plot are overshadowed by the beautiful writing. Scenes in which Bobby expresses his love for his daughter are breathtaking. Teens who enjoyed Margaret Bechard's Hanging on to Max (Millbrook, 2002) will love this book, too, despite very different conclusions. The attractive cover photo of a young black man cradling an infant will attract readers.Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
Horn Book Magazine(July 1, 2003; 0-689-84922-2; 978-0-689-84922-0)(High School) Feather's birth has completely changed sixteen-year-old Bobby's life. He and his girlfriend, Nia, had planned to put up the baby for adoption, but Feather becomes impossible to relinquish after, as the reader learns at book's end, pregnancy-related eclampsia leaves Nia in an irreversible coma. What elevates this scenario above melodrama is Johnson's unique storytelling strategy: she follows the arc of Bobby's consciousness in alternating short chapters labeled ""then"" (before Feather's birth) and ""now."" This allows the reader to measure how far sleep-starved single dad Bobby has fallen, psychically--and how far he's come. While this prequel to the Coretta Scott King Award-winning Heaven isn't bereft of humor (Nia's parents' home is ""so neat and clean you could probably make soup in the toilet""), what resonates are the sacrifices Bobby makes for Feather's sake. Copyright 2003 of The Horn Book, Inc.
Connections
Teen parents can be discussed and researched.
Discuss the Author Angela Johnson, noting that she is a three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner.
Read HEAVEN and LOOKING FOR RED by Angela Johnson.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Heaven Shop
The Heaven Shop
Bibliography
Ellis, Deborah. 2004. The Heaven Shop. Allston, MA: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN 1550419080.
Plot Summary
This is the story of a family that is deeply affected by the AIDS academic in Malawi. The main character of the story is Binti Phiri. She starts out as a happy go lucky child who is actually a bit snobby and thinks of herself as “special” since she has a part on a radio show. Binti has an older sister and a younger brother and they all start the story as a fairly happy family. They have already lost their mother to an illness, and they live with their loving and caring father in a home that is attached to the father’s work place. He is a coffin builder and his shop is called The Heaven Shop. In basically the space of a week Binti and her sibling’s world comes crashing down around them. They are living a nice life with a house, nice clothes and private school education. The next thing they know their father gets sick and dies. They have very little money and their father had nothing saved for them since whenever he had extra money he would send it to the “cousins”. Some of Binti’s awful relatives come to get the children. They divide the children up, and take all their money and most of their possessions. Binti has a difficult time accepting her new position in life. She cannot believe how she could go from being so special, to becoming an Aids outcast. The relatives that she goes to live with treat her as an Aids outcast since they believe the children must have Aids, since both their parents have died from the disease. She eventually runs away from the aunt and uncle’s house and finds her grandma “Gogo”. Gogo is a smart and strong woman who is disgusted with the treatment that her children have bestowed on her grandchildren, and declares that she wants nothing more to do with them, and that all her good children have died. Binti is thrilled to be living with her grandmother that loves her, but the situation she is in still far from good. Her grandmother takes in Aids orphans and there is barely enough food and shelter to go around. At this point we discover that these are the cousins that the father had been sending his extra money to. Binti has many things to learn at Gogo’s and she is not always easy to live with. We see her truly become a strong and good person as she begins to see that the world does not revolve around Binti. She has to learn many lessons the hard way, but she comes out a stronger and more caring person because of her life’s twists and turns. She is able to find her brother and her sister, and when Gogo dies she is able, along with several of the “cousins”, to figure out how to keep the place going and provide for her new and extended family. The story ends with the three siblings being together again and opening a coffin building business called The Heaven Shop.
Critical Analysis
Ellis paints a very real picture of the Aids epidemic in Africa without being preachy about it. Her portrayal of this family and the difficulties that they experience makes the story not about Aids, but about people. The life and culture appears to be authentic and feels real. The author incorporates many words seamlessly into the story such as noting that when someone asks Binti if she has a Gogo, that the text explains that Gogo is what Malawians called their grandmothers. Even though the story is fictional the places in the book are real places. In the author’s note at the end, a map is shown of the places that were talked about in the story. She also gives some information about HIV and Aids in the author’s note. The theme throughout the book is that all people need compassion and dignity. Her characters show that it doesn’t matter what race people are, that there will be the good along with the bad, and that the need to belong and be loved is present in all people.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 6-9–When 13-year-old Binti Phiri's coffin-making father dies, a grandmother she hardly knows says what no one in Malawi likes to admit: the man, like his wife, died of AIDS. Now orphaned, Binti and her siblings are sent to relatives far from home. A Cinderella-like existence with an uncle whose family ostracizes them and steals their money proves so intolerable that her older sister runs away. Binti, too, escapes and makes her way to her grandmother's village. There she discovers her Gogo surrounded by children, cousins and pretend cousins, all dealing with the effects of the epidemic. A local AIDS activist eventually finds Binti's brother, in jail, and her sister, working as a prostitute. Reunited, the young people open their own coffin shop. The author's travel in the area informs her work, but the message, though important, threatens to overwhelm the story. Binti is a well-developed character, but the others and the events of their lives seem to have been introduced in service to plot; they don't come alive the way the Afghans do in Ellis's "Breadwinner" trilogy (Groundwood) or the way the AIDS victims and their relatives do in Alan Stratton's Chanda's Secret (Annick, 2004). Readers with an interest in faraway places won't mind, though; they will cheer as Binti, self-centered and self-important when life is good, learns through adversity and through the model of her grandmother to think and behave more generously. Teachers and librarians looking for fiction about sub-Saharan Africa will find this title a useful addition.–Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From BooklistGr. 5-8. Like Allan Stratton's Chanda's Secrets [BKL Jl 04], but for a younger audience, this is a poignant story of a child caught up in the AIDS crisis in southern Africa. Binti, 13, lives in a city in Malawi, attends a private church school, and stars in a weekly radio show. Her mother is dead, and then her father dies. No one talks about why until her tough grandmother, Gogo, announces that they died of AIDS. Binti is taken in by cruel relatives, her sister becomes a prostitute, and her brother lands in prison, but they finally reunite with Gogo in a poor rural community. The plot is contrived, and Binti speaks like a Western child at times. But Ellis, who has written about children in crisis in Afghanistan, Israel, and Palestine, and visited Malawi, creates a vivid sense of the place and characters that are angry, kind, brave, and real. The facts about AIDS--the statistics, denial, discrimination, and ignorance--drive the story. Proceeds from book sales go to UNICEF. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
Age appropriate research on the Aids epidemic in the U.S.A. and in Africa can be done.
Middle school age students can read other books about teens in Africa and the aids epidemic such as :
Chanda’ s Secret by Allan Stratton
Bibliography
Ellis, Deborah. 2004. The Heaven Shop. Allston, MA: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN 1550419080.
Plot Summary
This is the story of a family that is deeply affected by the AIDS academic in Malawi. The main character of the story is Binti Phiri. She starts out as a happy go lucky child who is actually a bit snobby and thinks of herself as “special” since she has a part on a radio show. Binti has an older sister and a younger brother and they all start the story as a fairly happy family. They have already lost their mother to an illness, and they live with their loving and caring father in a home that is attached to the father’s work place. He is a coffin builder and his shop is called The Heaven Shop. In basically the space of a week Binti and her sibling’s world comes crashing down around them. They are living a nice life with a house, nice clothes and private school education. The next thing they know their father gets sick and dies. They have very little money and their father had nothing saved for them since whenever he had extra money he would send it to the “cousins”. Some of Binti’s awful relatives come to get the children. They divide the children up, and take all their money and most of their possessions. Binti has a difficult time accepting her new position in life. She cannot believe how she could go from being so special, to becoming an Aids outcast. The relatives that she goes to live with treat her as an Aids outcast since they believe the children must have Aids, since both their parents have died from the disease. She eventually runs away from the aunt and uncle’s house and finds her grandma “Gogo”. Gogo is a smart and strong woman who is disgusted with the treatment that her children have bestowed on her grandchildren, and declares that she wants nothing more to do with them, and that all her good children have died. Binti is thrilled to be living with her grandmother that loves her, but the situation she is in still far from good. Her grandmother takes in Aids orphans and there is barely enough food and shelter to go around. At this point we discover that these are the cousins that the father had been sending his extra money to. Binti has many things to learn at Gogo’s and she is not always easy to live with. We see her truly become a strong and good person as she begins to see that the world does not revolve around Binti. She has to learn many lessons the hard way, but she comes out a stronger and more caring person because of her life’s twists and turns. She is able to find her brother and her sister, and when Gogo dies she is able, along with several of the “cousins”, to figure out how to keep the place going and provide for her new and extended family. The story ends with the three siblings being together again and opening a coffin building business called The Heaven Shop.
Critical Analysis
Ellis paints a very real picture of the Aids epidemic in Africa without being preachy about it. Her portrayal of this family and the difficulties that they experience makes the story not about Aids, but about people. The life and culture appears to be authentic and feels real. The author incorporates many words seamlessly into the story such as noting that when someone asks Binti if she has a Gogo, that the text explains that Gogo is what Malawians called their grandmothers. Even though the story is fictional the places in the book are real places. In the author’s note at the end, a map is shown of the places that were talked about in the story. She also gives some information about HIV and Aids in the author’s note. The theme throughout the book is that all people need compassion and dignity. Her characters show that it doesn’t matter what race people are, that there will be the good along with the bad, and that the need to belong and be loved is present in all people.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalGrade 6-9–When 13-year-old Binti Phiri's coffin-making father dies, a grandmother she hardly knows says what no one in Malawi likes to admit: the man, like his wife, died of AIDS. Now orphaned, Binti and her siblings are sent to relatives far from home. A Cinderella-like existence with an uncle whose family ostracizes them and steals their money proves so intolerable that her older sister runs away. Binti, too, escapes and makes her way to her grandmother's village. There she discovers her Gogo surrounded by children, cousins and pretend cousins, all dealing with the effects of the epidemic. A local AIDS activist eventually finds Binti's brother, in jail, and her sister, working as a prostitute. Reunited, the young people open their own coffin shop. The author's travel in the area informs her work, but the message, though important, threatens to overwhelm the story. Binti is a well-developed character, but the others and the events of their lives seem to have been introduced in service to plot; they don't come alive the way the Afghans do in Ellis's "Breadwinner" trilogy (Groundwood) or the way the AIDS victims and their relatives do in Alan Stratton's Chanda's Secret (Annick, 2004). Readers with an interest in faraway places won't mind, though; they will cheer as Binti, self-centered and self-important when life is good, learns through adversity and through the model of her grandmother to think and behave more generously. Teachers and librarians looking for fiction about sub-Saharan Africa will find this title a useful addition.–Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From BooklistGr. 5-8. Like Allan Stratton's Chanda's Secrets [BKL Jl 04], but for a younger audience, this is a poignant story of a child caught up in the AIDS crisis in southern Africa. Binti, 13, lives in a city in Malawi, attends a private church school, and stars in a weekly radio show. Her mother is dead, and then her father dies. No one talks about why until her tough grandmother, Gogo, announces that they died of AIDS. Binti is taken in by cruel relatives, her sister becomes a prostitute, and her brother lands in prison, but they finally reunite with Gogo in a poor rural community. The plot is contrived, and Binti speaks like a Western child at times. But Ellis, who has written about children in crisis in Afghanistan, Israel, and Palestine, and visited Malawi, creates a vivid sense of the place and characters that are angry, kind, brave, and real. The facts about AIDS--the statistics, denial, discrimination, and ignorance--drive the story. Proceeds from book sales go to UNICEF. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
Age appropriate research on the Aids epidemic in the U.S.A. and in Africa can be done.
Middle school age students can read other books about teens in Africa and the aids epidemic such as :
Chanda’ s Secret by Allan Stratton
Possum Magic
Bibliography
Fox, Mem. 1983. POSSUM MAGIC. Ill. By Julie Vivas. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0152632247.
Plot Summary
Possum Magic is the engaging story of a young possum named Hush and his grandma Poss. Grandma Poss was able to do all sorts of magic. She could turn wombats blue and kookaburras pink. The magical Grandma Poss works her magic on Hush and turns her invisible. In the beginning of the story Hush is perfectly happy being invisible, but she ends up wanting to be able to see herself. This is where the adventure begins. Grandma Poss wants to turn Hush back to normal, but can’t remember the exact magic that she will need. She eventually remembers that it has something to do with people food. So Grandma Poss and Hush set out to find the people food that will turn Hush back to normal. They travel all over Australia looking for the magic foods.
Critical Analysis
This Australian based story incorporates many Australian components. All the animals in the story such as wombats, kookaburras and dingoes are native to Australia. The talking animals are adorably done in beautiful watercolors adding to the flow and magic of the story. The plot keeps us wondering and moving forward as we try to find out if Hush will ever be made visible again. The setting takes place in Australia. The characters go from city to city searching for the people foods that will turn Hush back to normal. They find in Darwin a Vegemite sandwich and suddenly Hush’s tail appears. As they eat new foods in the various Australian cities Hush slowly returns to normal. The story is written with text that has the possums speaking, yet it is also very lyrical with rhyming verses like this one;
“She looked into this book and she looked into that.
There was magic for thin and magic for fat,
magic for tall and magic for small,
but the magic she was looking for wasn’t there at all.”
This keeps the book flowing and entertaining and makes it a great story to be read aloud. The last page of the book shows a map of Australia and the trail of the journey that the possums took as they went from city to city. It also includes a glossary of Australian terms. All of these things put together make a wonderful children’s story that children from any country would enjoy.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalPreSchool-Grade 2 Grandma Poss uses bush magic to make Hush invisible, but when Hush wants to see herself again, Grandma can't remember which particular Australian food is needed to reverse the spell. Traveling around the continent in search of an antidote, Grandma and Hush sample Anzac biscuits, mornay, vegemite, and pavlova until the right delicacy is found. Although the characters, locales, and vocabulary are thoroughly Australian, Possum Magic has universal appeal. Fox chooses her words carefully, making readers believe that certain foods just might be magical. Vivas uses a variety of techniques, including splatter painting and washes to create full- and double-page watercolor illustrations which complement the text and will entrance readers. A perfect choice for storytimes, but also useful for curriculum enrichment, thanks to a simplified map and glossary. Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.
Horn Book Guide 3/1/1991
Fiction: PB by Abingdon. Mem Fox and Julie Vivas provide a delightful story about the trials of an invisible possum as they take readers on a romp all over Australia. They fuse text and illustrations together so masterfully that it seems like a sleight of hand. Presto change-o: one enchanting book. Horn Rating: Superior, well above average.
Connections
Research the animals in the story to see what the actual animals look like.
Read Mem Fox’s other Australian stories: Koala Lou
Hattie and the Fox
Hunwick’s Egg
Fox, Mem. 1983. POSSUM MAGIC. Ill. By Julie Vivas. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0152632247.
Plot Summary
Possum Magic is the engaging story of a young possum named Hush and his grandma Poss. Grandma Poss was able to do all sorts of magic. She could turn wombats blue and kookaburras pink. The magical Grandma Poss works her magic on Hush and turns her invisible. In the beginning of the story Hush is perfectly happy being invisible, but she ends up wanting to be able to see herself. This is where the adventure begins. Grandma Poss wants to turn Hush back to normal, but can’t remember the exact magic that she will need. She eventually remembers that it has something to do with people food. So Grandma Poss and Hush set out to find the people food that will turn Hush back to normal. They travel all over Australia looking for the magic foods.
Critical Analysis
This Australian based story incorporates many Australian components. All the animals in the story such as wombats, kookaburras and dingoes are native to Australia. The talking animals are adorably done in beautiful watercolors adding to the flow and magic of the story. The plot keeps us wondering and moving forward as we try to find out if Hush will ever be made visible again. The setting takes place in Australia. The characters go from city to city searching for the people foods that will turn Hush back to normal. They find in Darwin a Vegemite sandwich and suddenly Hush’s tail appears. As they eat new foods in the various Australian cities Hush slowly returns to normal. The story is written with text that has the possums speaking, yet it is also very lyrical with rhyming verses like this one;
“She looked into this book and she looked into that.
There was magic for thin and magic for fat,
magic for tall and magic for small,
but the magic she was looking for wasn’t there at all.”
This keeps the book flowing and entertaining and makes it a great story to be read aloud. The last page of the book shows a map of Australia and the trail of the journey that the possums took as they went from city to city. It also includes a glossary of Australian terms. All of these things put together make a wonderful children’s story that children from any country would enjoy.
Review Excerpts
From School Library JournalPreSchool-Grade 2 Grandma Poss uses bush magic to make Hush invisible, but when Hush wants to see herself again, Grandma can't remember which particular Australian food is needed to reverse the spell. Traveling around the continent in search of an antidote, Grandma and Hush sample Anzac biscuits, mornay, vegemite, and pavlova until the right delicacy is found. Although the characters, locales, and vocabulary are thoroughly Australian, Possum Magic has universal appeal. Fox chooses her words carefully, making readers believe that certain foods just might be magical. Vivas uses a variety of techniques, including splatter painting and washes to create full- and double-page watercolor illustrations which complement the text and will entrance readers. A perfect choice for storytimes, but also useful for curriculum enrichment, thanks to a simplified map and glossary. Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.
Horn Book Guide 3/1/1991
Fiction: PB by Abingdon. Mem Fox and Julie Vivas provide a delightful story about the trials of an invisible possum as they take readers on a romp all over Australia. They fuse text and illustrations together so masterfully that it seems like a sleight of hand. Presto change-o: one enchanting book. Horn Rating: Superior, well above average.
Connections
Research the animals in the story to see what the actual animals look like.
Read Mem Fox’s other Australian stories: Koala Lou
Hattie and the Fox
Hunwick’s Egg
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