Category Archives: Uncategorized

Maus

Author(s), Illustrator/Photographer: Art Spiegelman

Publisher and Year Number of pages: Pantheon Books, 1991, 296 Pages.

Genre: Fiction, Autobiography, Memoir, History and Biography.

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features two Polish Jews (Spiegelman and his father) cowering under the shadow of a giant swastika, modified by the imposition of a German-stylized cat’s head emblem. This is a combination of both standard Holocaust imagery and the use of animals as metaphors, which can be seen for the entirety of the graphic novel. Maus is the heartbreaking story of a Polish-American man and his aging father’s experiences in the Holocaust as a Polish Jew, and the continued regret of Spiegelman “using” the death of six million Jews to sell his book to some extent in his mind. As the Holocaust is described to him via his father, Spiegelman also continues to express guilt that didn’t talk to his father more about his experiences on a frequent basis when he had the opportunity to do so when the former was alive. The whole of his father’s trials, from growing up in moderately anti-Semitic Poland to the German invasion in 1939 and the ways in which the population react (or don’t react) to the actions the Nazi regime takes against the Jewish population, are covered in the book. Prior knowledge of what the Holocaust was, and perhaps reading of some more traditional fare on the era such as The Diary of Anne Frank, would certainly be useful in the scenario of students reading this novel in the classroom.

Classroom Application: In this graphic novel, the characters are all played by different animal personas based on nationality, which would be ideal for some upper-level social studies settings. For instance, the Nazis/Germans are cats, the Jews are mice, Americans are dogs, and the French are frogs. The metaphors purposefully don’t work for large portions of the story, i.e. when a mouse is a veteran of World War I for Germany and he flickers back and forth between being a mouse and a cat. This is a teachable moment, since it’s Spiegelman’s way of saying that race and racism, or discrimination of any kind, is very arbitrary because the categories we apply really don’t hold water when held up to scrutiny, or when you consider that people can belong to more than one category.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Spiegelman covers the different ways in which the Holocaust is remembered, and notes that when he published the novel, nobody had used a comic book format to do so before: “I’m not talking about YOUR book now, but look at how many books have already been written about the Holocaust. What’s the point? People haven’t changed…” (Spiegelman, p. 34). Exasperation with people not being able to get the message with traditional mediums of literature drove Spiegelman to write this book, and that is why 27 years later, this is still a widely taught and used piece of work, both in the US and Germany, the latter of which had to be lobbied to permit the public sale of this book due to the display of the swastika being an illegal offense in that country. Another source of controversy is that the animal chosen to represent the Poles was a pig, since that is a common stereotype of people from Poland and from Eastern Europe in general, and the Germans are universally seen as a brutalizing force in the novel as well. The author speaks through one of his characters as unrepentant on the latter, though, stating “Let the Germans have a little what they did to the Jews” (Spiegelman, p. 226). Such an attitude may seem severe to certain readers, but in the context of the experience of Spiegelman’s family and millions of others, it is understandable that they are biased against their erstwhile oppressors and architects of the genocide.

We’re all wonders

Author(s) Illustrator/Photographer: written and illustrated by R.J. Palacio

Publisher and Year Number of pages: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017, 29 pages.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features a simple artistic rendering of a boy with a facial deformity inside a giant white astronaut’s helmet, very similar to the cover artwork of another famous book by R.J. Palacio, Wonder, which features similar cover artwork in a less elaborate design. The lush sketches featured on the cover continue for the whole of the book, and the results are pleasing to both the eye and the heart. As for the book itself, it involves the story of Auggie Wonder, the protagonist of Wonder, who is used to being an ordinary kid that just happens to have an extraordinary face, and a lovable dog named Daisy. Whenever Auggie is sad about how he is not the same as other kids at his school, he is reminded by his family of his true potential: “My mom says I’m unique. She says I’m a wonder. My dog, Daisy, agrees!” (Palacio, p. 10). Eventually, despite this encouragement, Auggie has to decide whether or not to face the bullies who say cruel things about his condition face to face, or take a break from it all. Auggie goes with door number two: “It hurts my feelings. It hurts Daisy’s feelings, too. When that happens, I put on my helmet. I put Daisy’s helmet on, too. And then we blast off!” (Palacio, pgs. 14-18). Out in space, Auggie gets a much better perspective of how big the world is, and sees that “Earth is big enough for all kinds of people” (Palacio, p. 24). He takes this knowledge back down to his fellow kids, and they start to realize that they, too, are all wonders in their own special ways and should treat another with care and respect. No background knowledge is necessary to enjoy this book, but leafing through this wholesome tome may spark an interest in the full novel to be read, which is never a bad flame for an educator to spark.

Classroom Application: Since the book makes the mutual respect of all an enormous priority by depicting kids of completely different backgrounds on the playground and in its text, it’s an ideal text to teach lessons on being decent to one another and not bullying. The author/illustrator also demonstrates that sometimes it is right and just to withdraw from a situation to decompress and take stock. Direct action towards bullies is never good if pursued in anger; one must “look with kindness and…always find wonder” (Palacio, p. 29). One possible lesson after reading the book would be to tie it into school anti-bullying campaigns, and then also review the classroom bullying standards and see if they need to be revised in any way, shape or form. Students would also do well to recognize, as Auggie does, that minds can be changed, and perceptions altered, and how to best go about changing them is always dependent on the situation.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: The book is diversely cast; on page 8, children of every race and faith are depicted with a high degree of accuracy and tact. The unique cultural blend of each school, therefore, can easily fit into the framework of the picture book and be used to great effect in any classroom, regardless of subject. Palacio does a great job explaining how tolerance works to the reader through the simple depiction of all the different groups peacefully coexisting; the only outlier is Auggie, and eventually, the children overcome that difference as well.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind The Iron Curtain

Author(s), Illustrator/Photographer: Peter Sís.

Publisher and Year Number of pages: Frances Foster Books, 2005, 50 Pages.

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features two awards-one Caldecott, and one Robert Siebert, along with a Czech baby in the middle of a giant red star. As a send-up of the sort of books the Soviet and Communist presses made during the Cold War, there are many parodies of Communist Party imagery, the red star on the cover being the first example. This is a combination of both standard Soviet imagery and the kind of cartoons and political drawings that appeared in plentiful quantities in the Prague Spring of 1968, in which control by the Czechoslovak Communist regime was briefly loosened and the free press came roaring back temporarily. The wall is the story of that spring and the effect it had on the author, a Czech-American man and his visit that he took to his homeland with the children he raised in the United States. Their experiences in the city of Prague are much different than those of their father’s: “Now when my American family goes to visit my Czech family in the colorful city of Prague, it is hard to convince them it was ever a dark place full of fear, suspicion and lies” (Sis, p. 49). As his childhood under Communist rule is described to the reader by the use of comic strips on the top of the page and captions on the bottom, Sis also continues to express the fears that tormented him as a young man in the old country, and how he and his family didn’t talk about certain things for fear of the secret police hearing them. The whole of his trials, from growing up in the tightly repressed Czechoslovakia, to experiencing true freedom in the second half of the 1960’s and the subsequent Soviet invasion in August of 1968 and the ways in which the population react (or don’t react) to the actions the Red regime takes against the previously free media and citizenry, are covered in the book. Prior knowledge of what the Cold War and Prague Spring were would certainly be useful in the scenario of students reading this book in the classroom.

Classroom Application: In this picture book, the comic strips depict what is and what is not permitted by the Soviet puppet government at various stages of its existence, which would be ideal for some social studies settings which have students that perhaps had relatives behind the Iron Curtain back in the day, and didn’t get to experience some of the freedoms that we as Americans take for granted. This is a teachable moment since it’s Sis’s way of saying that his life in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s through the 1980s was so drastically different from what students today have to experience (mandatory participation in a scouting movement and collection of scrap metals), it can be hard to teach in some ways. We must try as educators to do so, however, because if we don’t, the same mistakes of the past could easily be repeated again.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Sis covers the different ways in which the Cold War and Prague Spring are remembered, showing the contrast between East and West through maps and exclaiming what a unique experience having the Beatles and Beach Boys was in his country: “But out of the dark came a glimmer of hope. The Beach Boys arrived. America to the rescue!” (Sis, p. 27-28). Exasperated with the new youth movement and fearful that the colorful styles of the West will destroy their socialist paradise, the Czechoslovak police maul and arrest concertgoers who saw the Beach Boys at Prague’s Lucerna Hall in 1969 as they leave. The return of people not being able to get the music they want from the West through traditional means results in a huge black market forming, one that persists in Sis’s telling until his departure for the US in 1984. This should be a widely taught and used piece of work, both in the US and around the former Eastern Bloc, since it shows the profound failure of the latter and the absolute oppression which results from authoritarianism. In the context of the experience of Sis’s family and millions of others, it is necessary that they are brought some peace of mind that this kind of system can never rear its ugly head again and make people scared to live their lives in peace. Artists like Sis, who was a radio DJ and actually toured with the Beach Boys when they visited his country, can never be truly suppressed by the jackboot of hate, but they need our help whenever possible to keep their creative flames alive.

 

 

 

 

Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey

Title: Stepping stones: a refugee family’s journey

Author(s)/Illustrator/Photographer: Margriet Ruurs, stonework done by Nizar Ali Badr

 Publisher and Year Number of pages: Orca Book Publishers, 2016, 27 pages.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features a simple artistic rendering of a refugee family fleeing Syria made out of typical pond stones one could find most anywhere, but done in a way that is culturally sensitive-the artist who made the stone sculptures is from Latakia, Syria, and disassembles his pieces as soon as they are photographed. The author actually went and found him and his work on Facebook, but it took some time to get that process going as far as getting the artwork into the book was concerned. As for the book itself, it is a bilingual storybook (English and Arabic text) that involves the engrossing, yet tragic, story of a Syrian family forced to flee their homeland as a result of the ongoing civil war there (2011-present). Rama, our protagonist, is a boy who is used to his peaceful home life with his mother, father, brother Sami, and his grandpa Jedo being the same for years and years. However, the author notes, “that was then, and this is now” (Ruurs, p. 9). Latakia is the only home he’s ever known, and when the war comes to the village, he and his family must flee the land they love so much with tears in their eyes on foot, then by boat to Southern Europe. The family ends up in Europe and is luckily welcomed with open arms, something not all Syrians could state. It would be beneficial for the reader to read up on why and how the civil war got started, as there isn’t much background knowledge provided in the text and it would help to enjoy this story better. The language is pretty simple, but also profound in its own way when describing the devastating impact of the war on ordinary Syrians, particularly Rama and his family.

Classroom Application: It is an ideal text to teach lessons on the aftereffects and Homefront of wars since too often the media and history books solely focus on the big battles and generals instead of the human impact of war, and its unsustainability for the long run. Good stewardship of those who flee strife and calamity is a must, and the author subtly demonstrates that treating your fellow man with dignity and respect is the way rather than outright militancy and sabotage. The best avenue to pursue is to do as the unnamed Europeans do at the end of the book: “Stay here with us. You will be safe now. No more war” (Ruurs, p. 22). How the children best learn this lesson, of course, would be up to the teacher. The passion shown by the main characters in pursuing their goal of freedom from fear and want is certainly a trait for teaching purposes and could be tied into the Four Freedoms speech Franklin Roosevelt gave during World War II in a history classroom setting. Students could think about laws or supreme court decisions that exist in this country that discriminate, or in the past discriminated, against those who took refuge on our shores, and how to go about changing them.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Since the book is set in Syria and Southern Europe, the culture of the Mediterranean over the centuries is described to a large extent and would be great for a social studies-type course. The traditions of the Syrian people intermingle with those of the host culture they resettle in, but since they are all from the same region to some extent, it is not as much of an adjustment for them as it was for some: “We have a new home now, a home with new sounds and smells, with smiles and people who help” (Ruurs, p. 23). Even though they weren’t part of the group that originally settled the area thousands of years ago, Rama and his family start to readjust, making themselves at home as best they can. Goodness in oneself and others is also a key component in the book, as that kind of lesson never gets old, no matter what sort of class you are teaching, or in what nation-from the US to Sweden to Syria.

Hoot

Author(s) Illustrator/Photographer: Carl Hiaasen

 Publisher and Year Number of pages: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002, 292 pages.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features a simple artistic rendering of a burrowing owl’s white eyes on a sky-blue background, very similar to other minimalist books of Carl Hiaasen’s that feature similar cover artwork. As for the book itself, it involves the engrossing story of Roy Eberhardt, a boy who is used to being a new kid. Florida isn’t the first state he’s lived in, but probably the most interesting place he’s ever been. We first meet Roy with his face being pressed against the window of his school bus by Dana Matheson, the local bully.  While dealing with Dana, Roy meets a boy named Mullet Fingers and learns of a sinister plot involving a pancake house called Mother Paula’s, which is planned to be built on the site of an owl rookery.   Roy used to hate Florida and mope about going back to Montana, but now he doesn’t think it’s so boring after all. Roy and Beatrice, his crush at school, have to decide whether or not to help protest for owls’ rights with Mullet Fingers by sabotaging the Mother Paula’s site, which is not an easy choice to make since he is already in trouble at school for ditching class to chase Mullet Fingers. Luckily for the reader, there isn’t much background knowledge needed to enjoy this story-all they need do is get comfortable in their favorite spot and get to enjoying it. The language is pretty simple but also profound in its own way and could be used for a variety of grade levels due to a mass appeal for readers with many different tastes.

Classroom Application: Since the book makes the protection of the environment at all costs from those who would besmirch or defile it an enormous priority, it’s an ideal text to teach lessons on sustainability and good stewardship of the Earth. The author subtly demonstrates that outright militancy and sabotage towards polluters isn’t the best avenue to pursue, and how the children best learn this lesson would be up to the teacher. The passion shown by the main characters in pursuing their goal of environmental preservation is certainly a trait for teaching purposes. One possible lesson after reading the book would be to review current events and find a story that gets the class excited about environmentalism. Students would also do well to recognize, as Roy does, that “Just because something is legal doesn’t automatically make it right” (Hiaasen, p. 180), and think about laws that exist in this country that may not necessarily have been just or good for every American, and how to go about changing them.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Since the book is set in South Florida, the unique cultural blend formed in that region over the centuries is described to a large extent and would be great for a social studies-type course. The traditions of the Seminole peoples that originally settled the area thousands of years ago are ever-present. Hiaasen explains them to the reader through the character of Mullet Fingers, who is a barefoot young man that ran away from a “special” (read: Indian re-Education) school in Mobile, AL to come and protect the swamp that holds the owls from bulldozers that are coming to build a pancake house on their homes. The Seminole Nation has always been committed to maintaining and supporting the bounties and remaining in sync with those bounties, hence the fierce devotion Mullet Fingers has to the cause: “‘You bury those birds,’ Mullet Fingers said, ‘you gotta bury me, too.” (pg. 267). His zeal convinces Roy to stand up to the corporations as well, and the unity of both boys from drastically different backgrounds is a message that can resonate with many students if taught correctly. Goodness in oneself and others is also a key component in the book, as can be seen in Roy’s conversations with another character on Mullet Fingers: “‘Eberhardt, why do you care about this kid?’ It was a good question, and Roy wasn’t certain he could put the answer into words. there was something about the look on the boy’s face . . . something urgent and determined and unforgettable” (Hiaasen, pp. 74-75). That kind of lesson never gets old, no matter what sort of class you are teaching.

 

Kate Shelley: Bound for Legend

Author/Illustrator: Robert D. San Souci, Max Ginsburg

Publisher and Year Number of pages: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1995, 30 pages.

Genre: Nonfiction

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features a detailed artistic rendering of a girl with a brown coat, tan straw hat, and an orange, glowing oil lamp typical of the mid-to-late 1800s when the book is set. The lush paintings of Iowa featured inside the book continue for the whole of the narrative, and the results are pleasing to both the historian in me for their accuracy and to my inner child due to their exciting events that really drew me in. As for the text itself, it involves the story of Kate Shelley who manages to warn another train hurtling down the tracks to her farm that there has been a wreck at her family’s property and that they need to stop in order to avoid an accident. She is an ordinary kid that just happens to have been in the right place at the right time and is eager to help in any way she can to prevent a preventable tragedy. When Kate sets off on her journey to stop the second accident, she is not helped by anybody. Despite that, she manages to locate some survivors from the wreck, and crawl over the slippery, 700-foot-high railroad bridge that leads to the other incoming train. She does so with full knowledge of the danger that awaits her: “A misstep would send me down below the ties into the flood that was boiling below. I got down on my hands and knees, carrying my useless lantern and guiding myself by the stretch of rail” (Souci, p. 18-19). Eventually, Kate makes it to the station and warns the men inside of the accident waiting to happen, collapsing soon afterward from the exhaustion her ordeal: “Much later she would learn that the train had been halted forty miles to the west, at the edge of the storm. The passengers were safe” (Souci, p. 22). Out in the cold, there are still railroad workers in trouble, and Kate gets up from her resting spot and goes out with the men from the station to help save their lives. Lucky for her and them, the rain and wind that had been blowing that whole time and causing all the trouble stops. This allows a safe rescue of the workers and for Kate to get some real rest, which lasts for a long while until she can get her strength back up: “It was nearly three months before Kate’s strength came back. During this time as she lay in bed, she was greeted by the trains that blew their whistles when they passed the Shelley farmhouse” (Souci, p. 27). She takes this and many other commendations for her bravery in stride, not yet realizing the full power of her actions in a time of need until much later in life. The father of Kate is very proud of his daughter, as is the state of Iowa and most of the country at the time.

Classroom Application: Since the book makes the idea of selfless sacrifice for others and mutual respect of all people an enormous priority, it’s an ideal text to teach lessons on being decent to one another and how to step up when the situation demands one do so. The author/illustrator also demonstrate that direct action towards a problem that needs solving is best, and always good if pursued correctly; one must work hard and think creatively in order to accomplish a “deed bound for legend” (Souci, p. 1). One possible lesson after reading the book would be to tie it into Pay It Forward campaigns, and then also review the classroom bullying standards and see if they need to be revised in order to be more selfless. Students would also do well to recognize, as Kate does, that while actions are important, the intent is what really saves the day.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: The book is set in Iowa, but not in the present-day that we are necessarily used to. There isn’t much of a unique cultural blend of the North American continent in those days, but the differences from our modern-day society come through in the names and clothing of the characters, and could be used to great effect to teach about the historical and present significance of the railroad industry in any history classroom, regardless of grade level. Souci does a great job explaining all this, and his words should definitely be heeded when it comes time to plan your lessons.

 

Kaya’s Heart Song

Author(s), Illustrator/Photographer: Diwan Tharan Sanders & Nerina Canzi.

Publisher and Year/Number of pages: Lantana Publishing, 2018, 30 Pages.

Genre: Fiction, Picture Book.

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features a drawing of a Malaysian girl (our protagonist, a kid named Kaya) with her eyes clamped shut in the middle of beautiful Malaysian flowers, colored both purple and a light pink in her hair and in the garden itself. The title appears over these images of bliss, suggesting that Kaya is humming her heart song as she convalesces amongst nature’s beautiful patchwork quilt of colors. Also included is a large bulb of some sort above her head, emitting what can only be some sort of lovely flower scent into the atmosphere, shown in the same type of beautiful colors. This is a combination of both garden imagery used by mankind for millennia, and the use of flowers in the hair can be seen for the entirety of the picture book.

Kaya’s Heart Song is the heartwarming story of a girl named Kaya and her mother who lives in the jungles of Malaysia in a cozy little village. Her mama is able to hear a heart song from deep within, but Kaya simply cannot yet. She is told not to fret by her mama, though, as she cheerfully reminds her that “When the time is right, you’ll hear it. Learn to quiet your mind so the music can be heard” (Sanders, p. 2-4). As the story goes on, it is evident that while the jungle may be vast, it is still full of friendly faces for Kaya. She runs into somebody from the village named Pak after being guided to him by a butterfly, and he is guarding a gate to something beyond her wildest dreams-an elephant carousel: “It’s the most beautiful carousel Kaya has ever seen. But out here in the jungle, it looks unused, unloved and forgotten” (Sanders, p. 11).  The carousel is covered in vines, and as she and Pak go about clearing them, the carousel comes to life as it hums along, and a soft beat starts to sound in Kaya’s ear-kind of like a heart song. Soon, all of the carousels have come alive, and the elephants unmoor themselves from the poles and start to move throughout the jungle, giving everybody free elephant rides. The music was inside Kaya all along, and it brought a long-dormant attraction to life and made everybody happy, from Kaya to Pak to the entire village that enjoyed the rides. The lesson of self-care in the book-that taking care of yourself and finding peace will help do the same for others-would certainly be a useful lesson for students reading this picture book in the primary school classroom. No real background knowledge needed here-just an open mind.

Classroom Application: In the book Kaya’s Heart Song, the characters are Malaysian, a far-off country that many students will probably not know about, which would be ideal for instructing students from less racially or ethnically diverse communities. Different people find true happiness and self-love in different ways, and being able to share that love is a priority to make our world more harmonious. The last line of the book sums it up nicely: “And thank you, Pak, for helping me find my heart song. I promise to share it for all to hear” (Sanders, p. 27).  Sharing your happiness with others demonstrates how people should simply be authentic in how they interact with each other as well, as authenticity is key in forming long-term relationships. In short, we need more empathy and recognition of where people are in life’s journey when we interact with them, and this book offers a way to start the process of beginning to build this kind of deep empathy at an impressionable age.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Sanders covers the interactions between Kaya and Pak, not to mention her mother and the elephants, in a unique and innovative way, making sure to include culturally sensitive designs, clothes and hair for the Malaysian children without overdoing it in the story. Additionally, not many people have used a picturebook format to communicate the traditional melodies of Malaysia before, so that is unique as well when Kaya ends up hearing her heart song for the first time: “Boom taktak boom taktak boom shick shack shook” (Sanders, p. 21). Another important message in this picture book is the idea of people all moving at their own, individual pace. This is a lesson to be aware of when forming perceptions based on how people act towards us. We never truly know what is happening inside peoples’ minds, and knowing everyone has their own pace and perception helps us better understand and appreciate others that differ from ourselves.

Marvelous Maravilloso

Author(s)/ Illustrator/Photographer: Carrie Lara, illustrated by Christine Battuz

 Publisher and Year Number of pages: Magination Press, 2018, 30 pages.

Genre: Fiction

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features an artistic rendering of the protagonist with her biracial family, done in some lovely shades of pastel paints that are seen throughout the book. There is the father, a Latino, on her left and her mother, a white woman, on the right as they lay in a field of beautiful pink and red flowers on a pea-green background, and they all have blue flowers in their hair as well in a way that is not disturbing the equilibrium that Mother Nature has set in the scene. As for the book itself, it involves the story of the girl and her family as they navigate their relatively happy lives, pursuing “…the big word diversity-diversidad” (Lara, p. 13). The book is filled with a general bilingual vibe, and Spanish words are peppered into the text as it winds on through the countryside and to the city, where the family goes on a trip. The skin colors of the mother and father are compared, with the mom being called cream, or crema, and the father chocolate. His skin color makes the daughter very happy, and she remarks that it is ”… que rico chocolate!” (Lara, p. 17). This means “what delicious chocolate”, which is a nice message for Latino children who read this book and are looking for representation in an industry that has for too long not extended a hand to people who look like them. There is some background information provided at the end to help the precocious reader and their parents truly enjoy this story, as well learn about the turmoil that biracial couples have historically experienced.

Classroom Application: A central theme is the acceptance of others and appreciation of their differences, and the various descriptions of the family simply living their lives together make this an ideal text to teach this lesson to students. The author and illustrator demonstrate that everything must be done in a harmonious manner when it comes to diversity, and ostracization isn’t the best avenue to pursue when new or different people enter your community. How the children best learn this lesson would be up to the teacher, of course, but the passion shown by the main character in pursuing her goals of living a happy life, as well as loving “her own unique and beautiful color” (Lara, p. 1) are certainly some good lessons for teaching purposes. One possible lesson after reading the book would be to ask students who are perhaps coming out of two different backgrounds if this book reflects their lived experiences (if they are comfortable doing so, of course) and tie that into classroom curriculum. Students will also hopefully recognize, as the main character does at the end of the story, that our differences make us strong on this Earth, and at some point, we all need to realize “that’s not only okay…it’s maravilloso!” (Lara, p. 30).

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: The book’s setting is in a very diverse community among the biracial couple that raised the main character, and the unique cultural blend formed in that family unit due to the combination of English and Spanish-speaking cultures from the mother and father, respectively, is depicted and would be great material for a general elementary school classroom, due to the book being geared towards 3-8-year-olds. The traditions of the two peoples that combined to make the family are present in the fabric of the story with the frequent switching back and forth between English and Spanish. Lara explains this concept to the reader through the main character’s family members themselves, which are not only from different cultures but different living areas as well: “My grandma lives in a house surrounded by the deep colors of the forest, y mi abuela lives in the fast and bright colors of the city” (Lara, pgs. 8-9). The contrasts between Spanish and English, city and country, and rural and urban, are never viewed in a negative light; often, they are seen as a strength of the book and a testament to how diverse peoples and communities can get along quite well: “Colors make the world pretty, colors make the world interesting and beautiful. Without them, everything would look the same” (Lara, pgs. 10-11). The main character’s zeal that she derived from her parents to take care of all people and love them regardless of superficial differences are very heartwarming and needed in a world that too often hones in on those differences and uses them as an excuse to discriminate.

The Elephant’s Garden: A Traditional Indian folktale retold and illustrated by Jane Ray

Author(s), Illustrator/Photographer: by Jane Ray.

Publisher and Year Number of pages: Boxer Books, 2017, 31 Pages.

Genre: Folktale.

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features an elephant in traditional Indian coverings, brandishing a mango grown by the protagonist, Jasmine, at her home garden in India. Watercolors depict the apples, kumquats, apricots, peaches, passion fruit, and papayas in her garden, making a beautiful cornucopia of fruit that is only disturbed when somebody starts stealing the very best ones. Making an executive decision on her part, Jasmine keeps watching one night, discovering that the culprit is a large elephant whom she addresses as Mr. Elephant. When called out on this behavior, Mr. Elephant is very apologetic: “I’m very sorry, but I was hungry. And the fruit here is so delicious. Come with me and let me show you my garden” (Ray, p. 9). As it turns out, the titular elephant’s garden is full of enormous fruits that are actually giant jewels. Jasmine is given one large strawberry-shaped jewel to show her parents, and she takes it home and tells them about the garden. However, their end of the bargain is that they can’t tell anybody about it, which they do. They get lost from the elephant on the way over, and nobody ends up seeing the garden except for Jasmine in the end.  However, she at least has no more of her fruits eaten by the elephant, and there is plenty of them to go around for the village. Prior knowledge of the significance of the story would help, but otherwise, kids can simply enjoy this one for what it is a fun folktale from India.

Classroom Application: In this picture book, the role of the elephant is a mystical one, depicted mostly as a creature of the night that can travel great distances in a single bound. Jasmine represents the mortal world, one which is stunned by such magical discoveries as the elephant’s garden in person. This would be ideal for some comparisons to Western and other cultures’ fairytales and folktales and seeing how they compare and have different and similar elements overall. Accompanied by a discussion on the topic, this would be an excellent idea and a way to broaden one’s knowledge of literary traditions for children in an English classroom setting. I certainly never read stories from the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen that contained whimsical passages such as this one: “When he was full the elephant flew up into the night sky with everybody holding hands and trailing after him” (Ray, p. 24).

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Ray covers the legacy of Indian oral storytelling in a way that can easily be remembered, and notes the cultural significance of family and respect towards ones’ elders in Indian culture that results in the elephant’s gift of a fruit jewel to Jasmine’s mother first and foremost: “He offered Jasmine one ruby strawberry to show her mom, and they flew back home” (Ray, p. 17). The author understands Indian culture and gives the characters culturally sensitive names such as Bakool and Kali.  Such a bevy of names that may be new for many students would warrant a discussion regarding how different names look in different cultures and encourage cross-cultural exchanges of what names from different backgrounds mean and encourage tolerance of those differences.

 

A Kids’ Guide to the American Revolution

Author(s), Illustrator/Photographer: Kathleen Krull; illustrated by Anna Divito.

Publisher and Year/Number of pages: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2018, 207 Pages.

Genre: Nonfiction, Chapter Book.

Descriptive Annotation: The cover features a watercolor drawing of George Washington, kitted out in a traditional tricorn and blue frock coat, cradling a US flag (of the Thirteen Colonies) and superimposed over the Declaration of Independence. Also included is a red, white and blue color scheme in the title and author’s name as well, emphasizing the colors that the new nation of America rallied to in the heady days of 1776. This is a combination of both standard unifying American imagery used by our country since its independence, and the founding document of our initial independence being put in a position of prominence, which can be seen for the entirety of the novel.

A Kids’ Guide to the American Revolution is the beginning story of our country, which was a group of men who decided that enough British domination was enough, and despite their many differences, it made sense for them to band together and declare to the world the birth of a new nation, and, in doing so, made a document that changed the world: “It spelled out the reasons why the colonists had to rebel against the mother country and begin to govern themselves. It’s not exaggerating things to say that the Declaration launched America” (Krull, p. 7). As the book continues, it is evident that this American story as portrayed in this novel is the complex, conflicted one as it was in real life, mostly due to its older targeted audience. Also important is that this version of the American tale does have plenty of heart as well, and indeed makes the boosting of morale that George Washington did throughout the war for his troops in the face of difficult odds a key point of focus for the reader: “With these victories he wasn’t just scoring points. He was boosting troop morale and attracting much-needed recruits. Washington was doing more than any other single person to keep the flame of the American Revolution alive” (Krull, p. 139).  The whole of the story is about the acceptance of revolutionary and Enlightenment ideals that posed a serious threat to the British governing order in the Declaration of Independence, and how the war was won based on those ideals even if they weren’t always practiced by all of the Founding Fathers at all times. All Americans of every age group, not just students, should read this book as well, because the author does an evenhanded job of assessing the reality of the Revolution for a book that was designed for children, and the lessons within would certainly be useful for students reading this novel in the primary school classroom.

Classroom Application: In the book A Kids’ Guide to the American Revolution, the characters are all real-life figures from the Revolution, from the top (George Washington, King George III) to the lesser-known heroes of the war, such as a man named Swamp Fox (who was in real life called Francis Marion, who had fought in the French and Indian War: “While battling-and almost losing to the Cherokee Indians, he admired how the Cherokee turned the swampy backwoods to their advantage, hiding until just the right moment for an ambush” (Krull, p. 157).  This demonstrates how people take some of the best ideas from those with whom they may have clashed with before, and that competition can later turn into cooperation, as it did when “Marion’s Men” joined forces with their erstwhile indigenous foes to take down British forces in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War, using those same tactics. This is a teachable moment, since it’s Krull’s way of saying that America was built not on lasting enmity towards one’s foes, but treating them as friends once the current issue at hand has been resolved-just as Britain became a great ally in World Wars I and II, and how Germany and Japan are close allies with us to this day as well after we defeated them in the Second World War as well. In short, we need to embrace the lessons learned of the Revolution and strive towards a world with less enmity and lingering resentment in any way possible. This book is an excellent primer on how to do just that by looking at examples from our primary history way back in the 1770s.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Krull covers the interactions between American and Brits, colonizers and the colonized, slave and freedman, and does so in a way that doesn’t gloss over the real pain that has occurred in our past through many faults of our own. The end of the war didn’t solve the issue of slavery in the slightest-it exacerbated the problem in many ways, as Krull acknowledges: “The institution of slavery continued to be practiced in the original thirteen colonies. Within days of the war’s end, plantation owners were paying soldiers to locate runaway slaves living in the surrounding woods” (Krull, p. 189). This is necessary to do, as many past versions of our founding have glossed over the often-sad realities that plagued our nation for generations and are still not truly solved. The author’s motivation was to do right by the lives of those who were historically ignored in our textbooks, and to do so in an engaging way that is not misguided or skewered to any certain degree: “Treaties  made with the British prior to the war were ignored by the Americans, and years of bloody conflict and expansion destroyed some tribes” (Krull, p. 193). On those pages which cover the aftermath of the war, a nation was born divided between those who had and who had not, and recognizing that not all was peaches and cream is an important step in the telling of American historiography to young readers. In the context of the age group that is reading this book, it is understandable that it is included to help eliminate false truths that may have been taught in other history classes.