Author Archives: lzanoni

Why War is Never a Good Idea

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Author: Alice Walker

Illustrator: Stefano Vitale

Publisher/Year: Harper Collins, 2007

Pages: 28

Genre: Poetry

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Without referring to any war in particular, Alice Walker in Why War is Never a Good Idea, poetically personifies war and its devastation. Walker depicts war as an unpredictable, out-of-control, blind, bad-mannered, gluttonous, and unwise force of man that is inconsiderate of the destruction it wreaks on innocent victims.

 Walker’s book certainly functions as a mirror for readers, especially children who have immigrated to the United States in search of safety and security, or felt firsthand the devastation of war (e.g. through death of a loved one, or flattening of one’s hometown). In addition, Walker’s poem introduces readers who have never felt the impacts of war to war’s many unknowing victims: a boy and his donkey, nursing mothers, ancient artifacts, pumas and parakeets, and civilians who are left to die from contaminated water. Walker’s picture book also calls readers, young and old, to not blindly support a tradition or concept (war) simply because it is old. For, as Walker comments: “Though War is Old / it has not become wise,” carrying with it a bundle of unforeseen consequences and striking at a moment’s glance (p. 16).

 Power rests in the personified hands of War, who acts without thinking, attacks without warning, and consumes without asking. The victims, both human and inanimate, are the unfortunate recipients of war’s havoc. Why War is Never a Good Idea shows lower-class native people (Asian, Hispanic, and African American) and their culture to be destroyed by war. While accurate, this depiction does not fully represent war’s devastation. Only on the final page of the book does a white family of three appear as a victim, individuals who will also have to drink the contaminated water. Non-White soldiers are not the only ones exploited by the war.

 The text communicates the differences between what war is and is not, highlighting how unforeseen consequences lie in this difference. The text also emphasizes the innocence of what war destroys, be it a boy dreaming of polenta and eggs for dinner, or a mother singing a lullaby to her baby. Weapons of war and destruction are illustrated realistically (compared to cartoon drawings) and described rather elusively. The photographs interact with hand drawn landscapes for a dramatic effect (e.g. wheel of truck ripping through the paper on which the village is drawn; little green soldier figurines sucked into a wave of grimy, contaminated water…). Images magnify how from all different angles—taste, smell, sight, and touch—war is bad and futile. Images also elaborate on the cruelty of war. All of the pre-war images of villages and natives are illustrated with a rainbow of bright colors to show their momentary peace and freedom. The colors turn more eerie and burnt as destruction ensues. Why War is Never a Good Idea promotes a global anti-war attitude, criticizes the unlimited power of war, and raises ethical concerns regarding the effects of war on victims.

The Artist and Me

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Author: Shane Peacock

Illustrator: Sophie Casson

Publisher/Year: Owlkids Books Inc., 2016

Pages: 36

Genre: Historical Fiction

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Analysis:

In The Artist and Me, an elderly French grandfather writes in a diary about “an ugly thing” he is ashamed of doing as a child: tormenting a starving artist (Vincent van Gogh) for his “awful pictures” and strange style (p. 3, 9). Admitting himself to be a coward and a bully, the aged man recounts how when alone he actually enjoyed looking at the artist’s paintings and admired Vincent van Gogh’s mission. On a trip to a famous art museum with his grandson, the old man finds one of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings—the same painting he had refused so coldly as a boy—and realizes how horrible he had been towards a man of extraordinary and priceless talent.

 The Artist and Me validates any young reader who has felt underappreciated or misunderstood. Readers who have ever missed out on an interesting friendship because they bullied someone can relate to the regret felt by the aged young boy. The Artist and Me also provides a window to the experiences of those who bully and those who have been bullied. One explored idea is how people sometimes bully others in public (to protect image), when, deep down they secretly admire and are curious about their victims. Through the old man’s criticism of his cruel close-mindedness as a boy, Peacock teaches readers to not mock or belittle those who are misunderstood for it not only blinds them from the talent of others, but also ruins their chances at forming valuable relationships. Peacock highlights how although Vincent van Gogh started poor he nonetheless completed his “mission” of telling the truth through art. Peacock gives no evidence, textual or otherwise, that the old man, having wasted his energy bullying, ever completed a mission of his own. The Artist and Me celebrates the culture of artists of all kinds. Individuals who doubt, fear, or mock misunderstood and unconventional artists are depicted as the crazy fools.

 Deep shame is evident through the old man’s criticism and mockery of his own behavior as a child. Although everything about Vincent van Gogh—personality, appearance, and artistic style—made him an eccentric “fool,” the text also conveys the boy’s hidden wonder in and admiration for the artist.  Both text and images communicate the idea that oppression dehumanizes and isolates those who are misunderstood. In his narrative account, the old man never refers to Vincent van Gogh by his name, and only by a “him” or a “someone.” Such a nameless identity symbolizes how the boy did not stick around long enough to know the man as Vincent van Gogh, the artist. Readers never see the front of Van Gogh or his face until he kindly offers the young boy a painting. Casson’s choice to hide the artist’s face emphasizes the isolation felt by the misunderstood and how their oppressors believe them to be feeling-less humans. Unframed, two-page spread illustrations invite readers into the lives of the boy and bullied artist, while warm and electric colors raise sympathy for the misunderstood Vincent van Gogh. The Artist and Me shows the relationship between ignorance, close-mindedness, peer pressure, and oppression, and highlights the effect of bullying on the life of the oppressor.

My Name is María Isabel

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Author: Alma Ada Flor

Illustrator: K. Dyble Thompson

Publisher/Year: Athenaeum Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993

Pages: 57

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Analysis:

María Isabel Salazar López, a third grader born in Puerto Rico, struggles to fit in at her new school in the United States, especially when her teacher insists on calling her “Mary Lopez” to avoid confusion with two other classmates named María. María Isabel wants to make her parents and ancestors proud, but feels incapable of doing so when she must “listen so carefully every time the teacher calls for ‘Mary Lopez’” (p. 27). However, after reading that María Isabel’s greatest wish is to be called by her given name, María’s teacher allows her to participate in the Winter Pageant—a valuable opportunity María was excluded from when she did not answer to “Mary Lopez.

This short chapter book can function as a mirror for all children, as Alma Ada Flor writes in her dedication, “who believed, at one time or another, that they should change their names” against their own will. Such children can personally identify with the frustration María Isabel felt using an Americanized name she did not choose. All new students, be they American or foreign-born, can relate to María’s emotional and mental adjustment after changing schools. My Name is María Isabel acts as a window for American students by illustrating how central a given name or surname is to one’s pride, heritage, and cultural identity. Alma Ada Flor’s book can also function as a door. María Isabel models how seemingly insurmountable problems can be solved through honesty. María Isabel used the opportunity presented by a writing assignment to express how culturally and personally significant her real name is, and her teacher listened and responded.

The illustrations and descriptions of María Isabel and her family accurately represent Latino culture in the United States. Alma Ada Flor exposes young readers to some basic and authentic Spanish words and nicknames, such as Maribel, cariño, Belita, Chabelita, Papá, and Papi. The book also explores other aspects of immigrant and ethnic culture, such as the importance of family pride, special gifts from ancestors in the home country, and the need for both parents to work to make ends meet.

The text communicates the importance of names and surnames, specifically what it means to be named after beloved ancestors and how names keep alive memories of the home country. María Isabel, her Puerto Rican family, and other minority characters do not look like white people and are drawn as individuals with distinctive features and tinted skin. Alma Ada Flor uses symbolism to illustrate how, at school, María Isabel feels trapped in a spider web that grows thicker every time she is called Mary Lopez; this web acts as a backdrop in two illustrations to show this dilemma. Illustrations are framed and drawn in grayscale to emphasize how María’s new name caused her to feel confined and troubled. The value of multiculturalism and cultural diversity is evident in My Name is María Isabel. María Isabel, though Hispanic and most likely Catholic, was thrilled to sing her favorite song about Hanukkah candles at the Winter Pageant. Although Alma Ada Flor’s book seeks to highlight how important names are to identity, it places characters in rather stereotypical roles: a white, female teacher who exercises her cultural ignorance over María Isabel, and a minority victim who passively resists this oppression by never directly confronting her teacher and only explaining her feelings in writing.

Diary of a Wombat

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Author: Jackie French

Illustrator: Bruce Whatley

Publisher/Year: Clarion Books, 2002 & 2003

Pages: 30

Genre: Fiction

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Analysis

The Diary of a Wombat follows the daily activities and spontaneous discoveries of a young wombat over the course of one week. For each day of the week, activities are categorized under morning, afternoon, evening, and night. The wombat’s daily movements, such as eating, sleeping, and scratching, are intermixed with more humorous adventures such as digging holes and attacking laundry.

The Diary of a Wombat indirectly functions as a mirror. Children can see that, although the wombat is an animal, his life is not so very different. The wombat sleeps and eats just like them, has likes and dislikes, gets into mischief, and shares similar needs and wants (i.e. shelter, attention, love). French’s book also functions as a window. By seeing that the daily life of a wombat, or any animal for that matter, is similar to their own lives, children may realize that their friends and neighbors, though different by race or religion, share similar habits as well. The Diary of a Wombat also provides a model for good behavior. The wombat is an active character: always doing, finding, or creating new things around him. The wombat also wants to be closer to others (human neighbors) because he finds their company helpful and enjoyable.

In The Diary of a Wombat, the power rests with the wombat because he trains his human neighbors to reward him with carrots and oats. Whatley depicts these neighbors as a nuclear and stereotypical white family of two parents and two children who live in a two story house. Although the family represents the white norm, it is not significant enough in the plot to influence a child’s understanding of families. What stands front and center is the similarity between wombats and children (humans).

The brief but spunky language of the wombat helps him appear like a playful and relatable character. The wombat, like humans, has a daily routine, incomplete without sleeping and eating. The multiple illustrations on each page and the occasional two page spread illustrate the sequence of activities that make up the wombat’s daily life. Unframed illustrations allow young readers to feel involved in the wombat’s shenanigans and make it easier for children to relate their own life to that of the wombat. Whatley’s illustrations of the wombat at all different angles show how he is a multi-faceted and spunky individual. Although the diary portrays the wombat as innocent and imperfect, French’s picture book conveys an underlying sense of exploitation. The wombat learns to demand food from neighbors and sometimes makes noise until fed. Not only does this mock how humans have similarly trained animals for their own means, but it may encourage children that persistent whining will get them what they want.

The Dot

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Author: Peter H. Reynolds

Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds

Publisher/Year: Candlewick Press, 2003

Pages: 28

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Analysis:

The Dot chronicles the creative endeavors of a young Indian student, Vashti, who transforms a simple jab of her pencil into a diverse gallery of dot masterpieces after her art teacher suggests she “make a mark” (p. 5).  At the end of the story, Vashti instills confidence in a little boy and his squiggle by encouraging him to sign his work, just as Vashti’s art teacher had done for her.

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The Dot illustrates Vashti’s transformation from a young girl who stubbornly accepts her artistic inability to an artist who found her personal calling after taking a leap of faith. Children who have felt racked for inspiration, doubtful of their talent, or motivated to action by the sheer encouragement of an elder can relate to Vashti’s transformation and her relationship with her art teacher. For children who do not identify with Vashti’s inspiration struggle, The Dot can function as a window. The Dot raises the idea that talent does not always come easily, and that not all those who are talented realize it immediately and without fear, anxiety, or a leap into the unknown. The Dot also functions as a door by modeling appropriate behavior and responses; rather than competing with others, Vashti decides to test her own ability. The Dot also encourages readers to pay it forward as Vashti did by inspiring confidence and pride in a classmate who faced a similar struggle.

Power, in the form of confidence, is evenly distributed in The Dot because it is relayed between the art teacher, Vashti, and the young boy. Culture and diversity are represented through multiracial characters; Vashti is Indian, and the art teacher, young boy, and other characters are drawn as African Americans. The Dot assumes a non-traditional view of culture and race; Vashti and her teacher challenge the norms of teachers being white and individuals of Indian descent being geared towards careers in math, science, and medicine.

Adjectives and exclamations add a dramatic feel and describe the creative energy Vashti experiences. The placement of text in The Dot does not influence the readers understanding of the story. In fact, the images can stand alone for they adequately sequence all of Vashti’s trials and successes. A watercolor dot becomes the symbol for Vashti’s creative energy (both positive and negative) and acts as a sort of spotlight and frame. As she moves from stubbornness to success, Vashti is drawn amidst a filled dot; the brushstrokes also get softer and less jagged as Vashti opens up to the creative experience. A filled dot also encircles the young boy during his talk with Vashti, further showing the power of inspiration. The Dot indirectly explores gender roles. Although Vashti and her female art teacher fit the stereotype of women being interested in the fine arts, Reynolds treats this representation with positivity. Vashti, though a girl, is illustrated in relatively gender-neutral clothing, which suggests that any child create art. Reynolds does not demean or objectify women either; the authority to give confidence and inspiration to others lies with the female characters. The young boy even looks up to Vashti as a role model and talented individual.