Mango, Abuela, and Me

Posted on June 1, 2017 by asanche1

Author: Meg Medina

Illustrator: Angela Dominguez

Publisher and Year: Candlewick Press, 2015

Number of pages: 32

Tags: K-1, 2-3, Fiction, Diversity, Culture, Family, Amy Sanchez

Analysis: Mia’s abuela comes to stay with her and her family from a faraway place. At first, Mia is shy around her grandmother because they speak different languages. Her grandmother knows Spanish and Mia knows English. They struggle to understand each other. However, Mia remembers that at school they helped one of her classmates learn English, and she begins to do the same for her grandmother. One day, Mia and her mother go to the pet store and Mia notices a parrot. She remembers a story her grandmother told her about a bird she had back home. Mia and her mother buy the parrot and name it Mango. Mango keeps her grandmother company while Mia is at school. Mango, Abuela, and Mia together all learn something new. 

This book can serve as window to better understand some of the experiences of people who come from other countries and speak a different language. This book did a good job of demonstrating how one little girl and her grandma could overcome a language barrier and created a bond. At first, Mia was shy because she couldn’t communicate well with her grandmother, but she thought about different ways that they could both learn each other’s language. This book can also serve as a mirror for children who are bilingual. Many children who are born and raised in the United States, but their family speaks a different language, often master English, but struggle to maintain mastery of their second language. The experience of Mia and her grandmother can be very relatable. This book does a good job of showing how Mia celebrates her culture and takes pride in learning Spanish as well as teaching her grandmother English. This book can also be a door to teach children about how people from different places and countries share similarities and differences, but have so much to learn from each other. This book is written in English with Spanish word integrated within the text, which could be helpful for children who speak Spanish and are learning English or even for English speakers to learn Spanish words.

 

The ideology this book explores is bilingualism. This book depicts a bond between a grandmother and a granddaughter who spoke different languages. With patience, care, and love they could overcome the language barrier. This book allowed for both characters to learn each other’s language instead of just one. It was nice that the grandma learned English and that Mia learned Spanish. This made it so that English was not portrayed as inferior to the grandmother’s native language.

The illustrations used in this book use an open frame, so our view is from the outside. The colors used are vibrant colors. They portray very calm and neutral images.  The images are adding to the words. The illustrations changed the character’s facial expressions to capture what the text was describing.

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The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

Posted on June 1, 2017 by ecoppe

The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

Written by Justin Roberts

Illustrated by Christian Robinson

GP Putnam’s Sons, 2014

30 pages, Realistic Fiction

Sally McCabe is the smallest girl in the smallest grade, and even though she is not noticed very often, she notices everything around her. She especially notices the bullying that goes on in the classroom and on the playground. Even though she is so small, she finds the courage to speak out and ask her classmates to be nice to one another. She learns that even a small voice can make a big difference!

This book primarily functions as a mirror and a door. Because Sally is a student who uses her voice to make an extraordinary change, students in any grade can see themselves in Sally and make a change. The students in Sally’s class represent a diverse group of cultures, so lots of children might be able to see themselves represented in this book. The story also provides a door for standing up for others and letting voices be heard. Because Sally’s words made a huge difference, students can see the impact of their words and how they can help other people who are being bullied. The message is for children of all ages, but because the words of the text rhyme, the story can be more accessible for younger children as well.

Award winning illustrator Christian Robinson used colored pencils to create the images for this text. All of the images have bright, highly-pigmented colors that can help to capture the attention of younger readers who would look at the images. Towards the beginning of the book, many of the students in Sally’s class have frowns on their faces because of the bullying that takes place in the classroom and on the playground. Sally herself does not smile until after she tells her classmates to be nice to one another. However, after Sally’s declaration, all of the students are smiling at recess. The images mirror the text in this respect, because even though some of the students are smiling in the beginning, there are many students who are fighting or leaving each other out. The students who are smiling in the beginning are often either alone or are laughing at their fellow classmates. The images reinforce the text that Roberts wrote, and the images could potentially stand alone for children who cannot read.

The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade was written by Justin Roberts, who is also a Grammy-nominated children’s musician, which is why he chose to write the text to rhyme. The sing-song style of writing helps make the text accessible to younger readers.

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Lost and Found Cat

Posted on June 1, 2017 by ecoppe

Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush’s Incredible Journey

Written by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes

Illustrated by Sue Cornelison

Crown Books for Young Readers, 2017

40 pages, Non-fiction

Lost and Found Cat is the true story of a cat who escaped from his loving family but found his way back to them with the help of some volunteers in 2015. Kunkush, the white cat, belonged to a family from Iraq. The family consisted of a mom, named Sura, and her four daughters and one son. The family was leaving Iraq because the country was too dangerous to live in. The family brought Kunkush with them to Greece because they could not bear to leave him behind. After the boat safely arrived in Greece, Kunkush escaped from his carrier and ran off, leaving behind his heartbroken family. One of the volunteers, Amy, noticed Kunkush in the town, and she was determined to find his owners. After utilizing social media to help find Kunkush’s family, Sura’s oldest daughter contacted Amy to confirm that Kunkush was her pet. After traveling to Norway, where the family now lived, Kunkush was reunited with his family!

This book provides a window, a mirror, and a door to different audiences. Lost and Found Cat is a window into the lives of refugees without being overly heavy for children. Because the whole family, besides the father who died before the story began, survived, this story shows the positives that can come from volunteers and kind people who help refugees. The fact that Kunkush is a cat also makes the story lighter; the idea of a child being separated from his or her family would be so much more tragic than Kunkush’s struggle. Even though the situation was very scary and heartbreaking, there was a positive, happy ending for Kunkush and his family. Lost and Found Cat also is a mirror for refugees or children of refugees, because they have a deeper understanding of the struggles that refugees face. This book also offers a door because a portion of the book’s proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. While there is not any information about how to volunteer to help refugees or donate to the cause, there is some action involved with the publication of the book.

The illustrations were done by Sue Cornelison, and while there is not information in the book about the illustrations, they look like they were painted on paper. The colors are highly pigmented, which makes the illustrations seem more realistic. At the end of the book, there are photographs from Doug Kuntz, who was in Greece as a photojournalist, to supplement the illustrations. The photographs are of refugees that Doug photographed while he was in Greece, but there are also some photographs of Amy, Kunkush, and his family.

This book was written by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes, the photojournalist and the volunteer who rescued Kunkush. The two had a relationship with the family that made them qualified to tell the story. While it might have been more effective to have the family tell the story, because both parties collaborated, the whole story was covered. There is information about the refugee crisis and additional information about Kunkush, who unfortunately passed away in 2016 from a feline virus.

 

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The Name Jar

Posted on June 1, 2017 by asanche1


Author: Yangsook Choi

Illustrator: N/A

Publisher and Year: Random House Children’s Books, 2001

Number of pages: 40

Tags: K-1, 2-3, Friendship, Fiction, Diversity  

Analysis: Unhei has just moved to the Unites States from Korea with her family. She is nervous and scared to start school. On her first day of school, Unhei is teased by the children on the bus because of the way she pronounces her name. When she enters her classroom, she is hesitant to share with her classmates her name because of her experience on the bus. She decides she wants to adopt an American name instead and tells the class she will pick a name by the following week. Her classmates decide to help her by filling a jar with names for her to pick from. Unhei decides to keep her own name after learning that her mother and grandmother went to a name master and that her name means grace.

This book can serve as a window to better understand some of the experiences of people who come from other countries. This book did a good job of demonstrating some of the feelings and fears one might have. Unhei was scared to be different and just wanted an American name to fit in, but she realized that her Korean name was already beautiful and she did not need an American name. This book can also serve as a mirror for children who have migrated to this country and feel as though their differences makes them less American. This book does a good job of helping Unhei celebrate her culture and be proud of her name and realize her differences make her unique. This book can also be a door to teach children to be more accepting of others differences and celebrating those differences or even learning from them. It is a good way to introduce the idea that people from other cultures can teach others  about different perspectives.

The illustrations used in this book use an open frame, so our view is from the outside. At the beginning of the book Unhei, the main character is seen at a window. This foreshadowed the tough decision she was going to face in what she would change her name to.  The colors used are earth tones. They portray very calm and neutral images.  The images are adding to the words.

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Working Cotton

Posted on June 1, 2017 by rcauthor

Author: Sherley Anne Williams

Illustrator: Carole Byard

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1992

Length: 28 pages

Genre: historical fiction

Analysis:

This book outlines the story of a family working in the cotton fields from before the sun comes up until after the sun goes down. It follows the day of a young girl who watches her father, mother, and siblings all picking cotton, and learning how to do it on her own, while also looking after her younger sister. The book depicts the harsh reality of these people’s lives, but ends with a note of hope and love.

At first, looking at this book’s publication date (1992), I was very skeptical about how appropriate it would be and was worried that it would portray racial stereotypes. Instead, the text represents very accurately how these families lived during this time. The text accurately demonstrates the language they used, saying things such as: “It be cold. The field fire send up a gay trail to the hazy sky. Everyone speak in smoky whispers”. While some people may argue that this way of depicting how they speak is racist, I believe it is great that the author does this because this truly is how they spoke, and it is how many people speak today. Professor Evans taught me that for some reason in America, people believe that a certain dialect is the only correct way of speaking. However, millions of people grow up speaking in this shorthand dialect, and it is important to show that it is okay to speak this way too! It is simply a different culture.

Another important aspect of the text is the way that the illustrations represent the workers. The illustrations show that they are working very hard, and that the conditions are awful. It also does not hide the fact that they are unhappy with this way of life. Despite this, it also shows the love that the family has for one another, and uses beautiful watercolors to portray these emotions.

It could be easy for this book to have been written as very racist, but the author successfully avoids this, instead accurately portraying what it was like for these families to work in such awful conditions every single day. This book is a window for children to see what this life style was like, as well as a door to provide them with the inspiration to continue speaking up for equality.

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Tar Beach

Posted on June 1, 2017 by rcauthor

Author: Faith Ringgold

Illustrator: Faith Ringgold

Publisher: Crown Publishers

Length: 25 pages

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Analysis

Tar Beach is about a girl who imagines she can fly. She flies from her roof all over town. She flies to the Union Building, claiming it as her own so that her father can join the union. She flies to the George Washington Bridge and admires it and wears it as a necklace. She flies all over town, doing things for her family, and including her brother. This book tells a touching story of what imagination can do for a family, and the power of love.

Since the author both wrote and illustrated the text, it is clear that her intended meaning is portrayed through both modes. I think the most important part of this book is understanding the symbol of her flying. I believe that her flying represents her capability to do anything she sets her mind to. The family is multiracial, and she mentions how her dad doesn’t get promoted because of his ethnicity. Going off this, she flies over to the Union Building and gives it to him. I think that her “flying” is symbolic for her determination to do anything she wants to in life and not let anyone step in her way.

She includes fantasizing about her family being more well-off, and able to afford ice cream or not have to worry about her father finding a new job. The illustrations during this part are very important because even though they may experience poverty, the pictures show how much the family loves one another.

The girl picks up her brother and teaches him how to fly, too. I think this is another crucial part of the text because she is sharing her knowledge and ambition to do the impossible with her younger brother, inspiring him to also follow his dreams. This book is a door for children, encouraging them to do whatever they set their minds to, love their family with all their heart, and help others as much as they can.

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My Brother Charlie

Posted on May 31, 2017 by rcauthor

Author: Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete

Illustrator: Shane W. Evans

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2010

Length: 31 pages

Genre: Realistic fiction

Analysis:

My Brother Charlie is about twins, Callie and Charlie, and Charlie has autism. Callie narrates the story, explaining how her family is still filled with love even though Charlie’s brain works a little differently than hers does. She talks about hardships that they face because of autism, as well as the beauty that comes with it. She concludes by saying that even if Charlie doesn’t explicitly say “I love you,” he shows it in countless ways.

This book is very touching because the text describes this family with complete honesty, not sugarcoating autism, nor depicting it as something awful. By addressing both the beauty of it and the difficulties of it, the text allows the reader to really get a feel for what it is like to live with someone who has autism. On top of this, the text has an underlying message that no matter what, love is love and even if someone can’t express it in the traditional ways, it will be expressed through other means.

The illustrations of this book are also very powerful, because Charlie is illustrated as just a normal looking boy, which is good because it allows the reader to recognize that just because someone looks a certain way doesn’t mean that they are just like everyone else. Also, the illustrator is able to convey the emotions of the family very beautifully in the pictures. Whether it is love, worry, or annoyance, the illustrator brings these emotions to life. Another notable aspect of the illustrations is that the family is Black. This is great because they are just a normal family, filled with love, and could be any race! By having them be Black, the author allows readers to recognize that all families of any color could be experiencing the same kind of love.

This book provides a window for the reader to peek into the world of what it is like living with someone with autism. It demonstrates that even though it can be hard sometimes, the love that they feel for one another is still extremely strong and binds them together.

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A Bike Like Sergio’s

Posted on May 31, 2017 by rcauthor

Author: Maribeth Boelts

Illustrator: Noah Z. Jones

Publisher:  Candlewick Press, 2016

Length: 34

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Analysis:

This book tells the touching story of Rueben, a young boy who can’t afford a bike that he really wants. When he sees a woman drop $1 on accident, he scoops it up, not knowing that it is actually $100. With this money, he can buy the bike he wants! He loses the bill and feels a crushing loss. Then, when he finds it again, he knows he must return it to the woman who lost it. Back at the supermarket, he finds the woman and gives the money back, knowing that he is giving up his bike, but that he is doing the right thing.

The text of this story reels the reader in because it presents Rueben as a very relatable character. As children, we have all desperately wanted something that we’ve considered doing something morally wrong to get it. With having to decide whether to do the right thing or do what he wants to, the text makes the reader sympathize with Rueben and root for him to do the right thing. At the end, the father says, “What you did wasn’t easy, but it was right… We’re so proud” and Rueben says, “I am proud, too.” The ending to this book fills your heart with love for Rueben because he overcame his wants in order to do the right thing, something we all must do. The message of the story is therefore very important for young readers to understand, and this book does a beautiful way of telling it.

The illustrations are also a large part of why this book is wonderful because they depict the family as a multiracial family, which is very common in society today. Also, it is great because it allows children of other races to connect to this story more than they may have if the protagonist was white. When the illustrations depict part of the story in school, the classroom is made up of many different races. Another part of the illustrations which is also very notable is the drawing of the inside of the family’s home. Where some houses could be depicted with wallpaper and furniture and a nice TV and rug, the interior of their home is decorated with sparse furniture and decorations. This helps to depict this family and their social status. Even though they may be poor and not have enough money to get all the items on their grocery list, this family is clearly filled with love.

This book illustrates what it can be like for a child living in poverty, wanting things he can’t have, and having to make the choice to not do immoral things to get what he wants. This could be a window for some readers to see what this could be like, or a mirror for others to know that there are other kids out there who are living with similar experiences as they are.

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The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred

Posted on May 31, 2017 by ecoppe

The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred

Written by Samantha R. Vamos

Illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Charlesbridge, 2011

28 pages, Nursery Rhyme

In The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred, children can follow along with the process of making a dish using vocabulary words in both Spanish and English. In this take on the nursery rhyme “The House that Jack Built,” a farm maiden gets help with making arroz con leche, or rice pudding, from farm animals and the farmer as the narrator goes through the process of making the dish, repeating all the parts of the process. The introduction of Spanish words comes after the introduction of the process in English. That way, children can understand that the words in Spanish replace the words in English from the previous page. The Spanish vocabulary words remain on each of the following pages and are bolded to emphasize the change.

Because this book intends to incorporate Spanish vocabulary into the book, the plot is secondary to the vocabulary words. This book serves as a window to children who do not know Spanish vocabulary or are not familiar with cooking while living on a farm; as Samantha R. Vamos writes, she came up with the idea for The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred when she thought about asking a neighbor for milk and eggs, and then thought that if she lived on a farm, she could ask the animals for milk and eggs. The text also serves as a mirror for students who are familiar with the Spanish language or who live in a rural area and might use help from their “neighbors” as the farm maiden did. Because the Spanish vocabulary words are incorporated into the English text, this book would be perfect in a bilingual classroom, or for English language learners to practice. I could also see a secondary Spanish teacher using the text and asking students to flip it—to write the text in Spanish and slowly incorporate English vocabulary words.  Although there is not a huge social justice action associated with this text, because of the recipe at the end of the story, the text can serve as a door if students want to make the arroz con leche like the farm maiden and her friends.

Pura Belpré Award-winning artist Rafael López illustrated this text using acrylics on grained wood. López used primarily warm colors in his paintings, but he used some blues and greens for accent colors. The emphasis on warm colors can help younger children realize that the location of the story is somewhere very warm. López also drew the animals about the same size as the humans as a way to show that their involvement in the cooking process was vital to the dish’s success. In this respect, the illustrations mirror the text and do not add or contradict Vamos’ words.

The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred was nominated for a Monarch Award in 2013 and received the Pura Belpré Illustration Honor in 2012. The last three pages of the text feature a recipe for arroz con leche and a glossary of Spanish terms used in the text.

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Divali Rose

Posted on May 31, 2017 by ecoppe

Divali Rose

Written by Vashanti Rahaman

Illustrated by Jamel Akib

Boyds Mills Press, 2008

27 pages, Realistic Fiction

Divali Rose is the story of a boy named Ricki who learns about stereotypes and overcoming hatred when he experiences prejudice from his grandfather. In the days before Divali, Ricki looks at his grandfather’s rose bush to see what color the roses will be, but he accidentally breaks one of the roses off. When his grandfather sees that one of the roses is missing, he immediately accuses one of the “India people,” his name for a group of new immigrants from India to Trinidad. Ricki is afraid of his grandfather’s anger, so he does not tell him that he was the one who took the rose, but as Ricki hears his grandfather speak about the India people, he begins to question why his grandfather has so much hatred for someone who is Indian, just like they are. As Ricki and his grandfather talk, his grandfather begins to see that his views are limiting, and he apologizes to their neighbors, at which time Ricki confesses his involvement with the roses.

This story can be seen as both a window and a mirror for a great number of students. This book provides a look into island life and Hindu festivals, which young children might not be familiar with. However, the conflict between neighbors and slightly different groups of people can be a mirror for many students. Although upper elementary school children can handle this material, this book would also be appropriate for middle or high school children to examine and discuss, especially with ideas of immigration and acceptance. Ricki points out that his great-grandparents who came to Trinidad from India over one hundred years ago are not much different than the “India people” who just immigrated from India as well, which can be connected to anti-immigration sentiments today. By having the protagonist see the error in the old ways of thinking, children and adults alike can see how anti-immigration rhetoric does not make sense and is deeply flawed. Divali Rose can also serve as a mirror for students who are of Indian decent, practice the Hindu religion, who are familiar with the island of Trinidad, or who are immigrants or the children of immigrants.

Divali Rose was illustrated by Jamel Akib, who used oil pastels to illustrate the text. Akib focuses primarily on the backgrounds of the illustrations, with particular emphasis on the scenery of Trinidad. In many of the illustrations, only Ricki’s face is fully shown, which emphasizes the fact that he is the character who can see the hypocrisy in the treatment of others. Although the entire Festival of Lights is not portrayed in the illustrations, the family is depicted as preparing for the first night of Divali, which is when one of the younger neighbors brings over a dish of sweet milk curds, syrup, and rose petals.

At the end of Divali Rose, Rahaman includes an author’s note where she explains more information about Divali, Trinidadians, and the language that Ricki and his family speak, which is a dialect of English separate from Standard English.

 

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