Tag Archives: Family

Dancing in the Wings

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Dancing1 Title: Dancing in the Wings

Author: Debbie Allen

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Publisher and Year: The Penguin Group, 2000

Number of Pages: 29

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Analysis: Dancing in the Wings is about a young girl, Sassy, who loves ballet but is taller than all of her peers. Throughout the book, Sassy learns to embrace her difference leading to her success near the end of the book.

This book could function as a mirror for all young girls who love dancing but do not always feel that their appearance is the same as their classmates. Girls typically struggle more with self-image compared to boys, so this book helps young girls embrace their characteristics. I think that this book could also function as a mirror for African American girls. They could see themselves through Sassy and her family. Having a book that is applicable to African American girls can make these girls feel included and understood. A window is another function of this book because people can learn about some aspects of a different culture from this book.

Perceptually, this book portrays a musical, beautiful and elegant cover that makes one believe that the same types of images will continue throughout the book. However, that is not the case at all. Within the images, Sassy appears to have two different sides to her personality. One aspect of her personality portrays elegance through the dancing images. Another aspect of Sassy’s character that is portrayed in the images is her athletic and tomboy characteristics, as seen in the images below. However, all of the images are beautifully drawn throughout the entire book.

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Structurally, Sassy is taller and larger than her classmates, showing that she is stronger than her classmates as well. This is symbolic to the ending of the book, when Sassy outlasts all of her classmates in a tryout. The unframed images allow the audience to feel included in the story and allow the audience to connect with Sassy and her challenges that she faces throughout the book. Throughout most of the book, Sassy is facing left. This is a way for viewers to see that Sassy is less secure with herself. After Sassy wins the dance contest between other girls she still continues to face towards the left, which can be a sign of the lack of confidence that Sassy has with herself. For the longest time Sassy has been bullied about her height, so her struggle to believe in herself is something that she has learned over time from her peers and teachers.Dancing2

Ideologically, this book expresses the message that one should embrace his or her individuality because what makes him or her unique may be what leads to success. Sassy was successful and won the dance contest because of her height and long legs. What was once a deficit in her mind, became one of her biggest assets. Sassy always worked hard even when her peers would discourage or upset Sassy and in the end all of her hard work paid off. Throughout the book, there were a couple girls who were mean and would upset Sassy. This is a lesson that children should not be taught. Even though this lesson was an essential part of the story plot, children could learn this from the book.

Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat Ella Fitzgerald

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Title: Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat Ella Fitzgerald

Author: Roxane Orgill

Illustrator: Sean Qualls

Publisher and Year: Candlewick Press, 2010

Number of Pages: 38

Genre: Biography

Analysis: Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat Ella Fitzgerald is a biography about Ella Fitzgerald and her swing dancing and singing career. The book goes through a timeline of events throughout her life, some that were challenging, some that were joyful, but all ending with success.

This book could function as a window for many people who are not sure of who Ella Fitzgerald is. Throughout the book the audience can learn about Ella Fitzgerald as a person, her career, success, family and much more. Not only can this book function as a window, but it can also function as a mirror for African American young girls who love singing and dancing. After reading this book, young girls can feel encouraged to continue pursuing their passion like Ella did. Young girls may feel exhilarated or confident after reading about Ella’s success singing and dancing.

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Perceptually, this book has an entertaining and engaging front cover along with a fun title that children will enjoy reading because of the phonics. Initially, the audience is not able to tell that the book is also about dancing, one may simply think that this book is only about singing. While first seeing the front cover, the reader may think that this book is fiction and not a true story about Ella Fitzgerald. It isn’t until reading the first few pages that the true story begins to emerge.

Structurally, there are a lot of words per page resulting in the reading of each page being quite lengthy. However, the author is sharing a lot of information about Ella Fitzgerald. The images throughout the book are unframed, allowing the audience to feel included in the action and connected with Ella Fitzgerald as a book character. Throughout the book, the illustrator portrays a variety of facial expressions, which are understandable to all audiences. The audience can connect with Ella and her story while reading the book because of the true story and connections that can be made throughout the book.

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Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat Ella Fitzgerald ideologically portrays a positive message for young girls, however, there is also a negative lesson. First, the story of Ella Fitzgerald and all of her hard work and success can be inspirational for all girls. This book can teach girls to never give up on their dreams because with hard work they can be successful in whatever they do. A negative lesson seen in the book is that Ella disobeyed the law multiple times resulting in her being sent to a school for orphans. Reading this book, children can understand that even though Ella disobeyed the law she was still very successful.

Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin

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Author: Duncan Tonatiuh

Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh

Publisher and Year: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010

Number of Pages: 29

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Analysis: Dear Primo is a book about two cousins who live in different countries, one in America and the other cousin in Mexico. These boys write letters back and forth comparing the cultural differences in their own country. Dear Primo is also a 2015 Monarch Award Nominee.

This book could function as a mirror for other families whom are separated by country borders. Many families experience separation from one another and have some cultural differences within their family members. For families who are experiencing the same dilemma as Charlie and Carlitos, this book could function as a door because it could encourage them to write letters or communicate more with their families in other countries. However, this book could also function as a window for those who have family living in the same town or even same state because they could learn more about different cultures amongst families after reading this book.

Perceptually, the unique depictions of the characters on the front-page make the audience wonder what the book is about and curious if all the images will have a similar style as the drawings of the boys on the front. Once seeing the cover, the reader may want to dive into the book and read more about the culture seen. From the front cover, people who have learned about Spanish will recognize the word “primo” which means cousin in Spanish. This hint allows Spanish-speaking readers to know that this book will include the Spanish culture.

Structurally, the unframed images allow the audience to feel part of the action, experiencing the moments with Charlie and Carlitos. While reading the book, a reader may relate more to one cousin than the other. Within the book there are a couple pages that have similar instances portrayed with minimal differences. For example on the last page, which Primo2is seen to the right, the boys are both in bed, but the differences of their shoes, lights, beds, shelves, tables and toys all vary based on the culture and country that the boys live in. The images throughout the book add to the words. Often times when Carlitos is writing he will include words in Spanish, so the images help the reader to understand the meaning of those few Spanish words.

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The book ideologically portrays some important lessons about family and culture. The value of family can be seen throughout this book by the letters that Charlie and Carlitos write to each other. The boys care for one another and value the differences within their culture. Even though the cultural differences exist, the boys still love and respect one another. The differences are what make the family special in their own way. This book teaches others about a new culture and some basic language that children may be able to use. The lessons throughout this book are beneficial, informational and intriguing.

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

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Title: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

Author: Paul Goble

Illustrator: Paul Goble

Publishers and Year: Harper Collins Publisher, 2010

Number of pages: 25

Genre: Fiction

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses is a tale about a young Native American girl who ran away with a band of wild horses. Many years later, upon returning to her native village she desperately wishes she were back with her true family, the horses. In the end she is reincarnated as the mate of her favorite horse.

This book serves as a literary window because it gives us an insight into a culture that may not be familiar to all readers. Throughout the story the readers pick up little pieces of Native American culture. For example, through the main character the readers are able to witness the appreciation of animals that is help in Native American circles. Although her story is fictional, it carries very real elements of their culture that serve as windows for children learning to value cultures that are different than their own.

The illustrations also do a good job of capturing the folklore of a tale passed down from generation to generation. The power is evenly distributed between the horses and the humans. This is portrayed in the way our human characters are close in size to the horses. This speaks of the unity in spirit the girl believed to have had with the horses.

The illustrations in this book perfectly speak to the freedom of spirit displayed by the main character. The illustrator used a lot of vibrant colors, which give us the boldness. There is also a lack of framing which allows us to step into the story with the characters. Overall, this book is about finding passions and following them, even if they are non-traditional. The young girl knew where her heart was and what she was passionate about. When she allowed her family to talk her out of it she was miserable. So this story speaks to children about doing what they love and pursuing their passions, no matter what they might be.

A Birthday Cake for George Washington

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Author: Ramin Ganeshram

Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Publisher and Year: Scholastic Press 2016

Number of pages: 28

Genre: Historical Fiction

Analysis:

A Birthday Cake for George Washington is a fictionalized retelling of George Washington’s kitchen slave Hercules and his family. The story takes place on George Washington’s birthday and Hercules, his daughter, and the rest of the kitchen staff are making the president a cake but run into a problem; they have no sugar. They search the kitchen and decide to use the president’s favorite condiment, honey, as a supplement.

The general plot of the book is fairly straight forward and would be a fine story if not for the ideologies presented by this story. This book has received a lot of criticism for both the way it is written and for the illustrations. Because of the breezy nature of the way Hercules’ family lives in the story, slavery is presented as an easy time for slaves where all the slaves were pleased to work for the president. The notion that there is a positive aspect of slavery is also presented through the illustrations in which all of the slaves are portrayed as smiling at almost all times. The only time the characters are not smiling is when there are no white characters present in the story.

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Both the text and the illustrations combine to create a book that ignores and erases the terrors and horrors of slavery. Because this book is a fictionalized retelling of a real slave family, it erases an important part of Hercules’s history. In this book, Hercules’s daughter often tells of how proud her father is to work for and be favored by the president. In reality, almost all slaves were oppressed and mistreated, even Hercules. Hercules’s real story is not one that should inspire hope to fair treatment of slaves because he eventually abandoned his family and escaped slavery, which goes directly against the books idyllic nature that these slaves were happy. It is possible that very few slaves could have lived a life that was not as terrible as typically depicted and rather as depicted in the story, but Hercules was not one of those slaves.

Overall, this plot of the book is not one that is inherently offensive, but the happy slave illustrations and erasure of the actual horrors of slavery leave A Birthday Cake for George Washington to have an offensive ideology.

 

I Am The Dog

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Title: I am the Dog

Author: Daniel Pinkwater

Illustrator: Jack E. Davis

Publishers and Year: Harper Collins Publisher, 2010

Number of pages: 30

Genre: Fiction

This book tells the story of a boy who switches places with his dog for the day.  It goes through the day’s events with the roles reversed, and the readers enter the mind of the dog through the boy.  The story culminates with the conclusion that being a dog is better than being a boy.

I believe that this book is being used as a window. Many children have pets in their homes or know someone who does. By Jacob pretending to be a dog for a day, the readers get an up close and personal look into the mind of a dog. While reading the book I found myself thinking like (the readers assume) a dog would think and focusing on things a dog would focus on. Since children do not always put themselves in someone else’s shoes easily, this book provides an excellent window into the mind of their pet. They are able to realize the things that are important and possibly build more compassion towards them. Not only does this give them a window into the mind of a dog, but it opens them up to being able to step into the perspectives of the people around them as well.

In this book, power is distributed evenly. I noticed from the first time reading it that the illustrator drew the boy and his dog to be equal in size. Throughout the entire book they stay this same size. This shows me the equality between the two. They are switching places but the power never shifts. They remain equally important throughout the book. This speaks of the importance of having as much value for someone else’s’ perspective as your own.

As far as cultures go, there is only one culture represented: white middle class. There is no diversity in the characters throughout the book. Even during the scene at the boy’s elementary school, every single child is white.

The visuals in this text help bridge the gap between the new mindset the readers are being introduced to and the common actions of dogs that the readers see on a daily basis. For example, the readers see the dog excited for food. The readers have all seen that at one point of another. However, seeing that while hearing the intense emotion of excitement from the dog’s perspective gives opportunity for children to connect the new information-to-information they already have. There is not much to be gained through the structure of the text, however. The text is not formatted in any particular way that brings special meaning to the story. However, the text itself does a fantastic job of incorporating sounds and stream of consciousness that a dog might have which helps the message come across in a very clear way. Overall, this book reminds us that it is important for people to view others with as much value as they would view themselves and to be able to view situations through the lens of another.

The Table Where Rich People Sit

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Author(s): Byrd Baylor

Illustrator/Photographer: Peter Parnall

Publisher and Year: First Aladdin Paperbacks edition July 1998

Number of Pages: 27

Genre: Fiction, Poetry

Analysis:

This story is about a little girl, nicknamed Mountain Girl by her parents, who begins the book by stating that her family is not rich but her parents seem to disagree with her. She believes that their kitchen table her parents made is not a table where rich people would sit, because it is not fancy or luxurious. After calling together a family meeting about the financial state they are in, she soon begins to realize that her family is rich in experiences and opportunities and that this is even more valuable than being rich in money.

This book provides the opportunity for children to learn and discuss poverty, but it also provides the platform that being rich is not the only way to be happy. This book allows children to look at their own lives as well and recognize all the experiences they have had that makes them rich. The text of the book does not directly address a particular race or ethnicity, but they do mention that the children were born in Arizona and Mexico and the illustrations depict a family that lives in an area with mountains, cacti, sunshine, animals, and deserts. However, I believe that this story is a criticism of the fast-paced and industrial culture of the U.S. that has been engrained in our society, even among children, who now associate money with success and happiness. The more nature-loving culture in this book is praised because they do not believe that too much value should be placed on material items.

The illustrations in this book are very powerful and emphasize the importance of nature and family. In all the illustrations the characters, scenery, and objects are all connected in some way, which reinforces the idea that this family is very in touch with nature, but also that nature is extremely valuable because it is in every image. This story challenges the idea that the only way to be rich is if you have a lot of money, and it does a great job of showing how Mountain Girl has slowly come to realize that being in nature and all the experiences her family has had in their current job are what makes someone rich.

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Those Shoes

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Author: Maribeth Boelts

Illustrator: Noah Z. Jones

Publisher/Year: Candlewick Press, 2007

Pages: 32

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Analysis:

In Those Shoes, Jeremy, a young African American boy living with his grandmother, wants and dreams of only one thing: getting the high-tops everyone is wearing at school. After his old shoes fall apart, Jeremy is forced to wear a pair of childish and embarrassing shoes from his guidance counselor that other kids laugh at, causing Jeremy to impulsively buy a pair of high-tops that are cheap but too small for him. After much thought, Jeremy befriends his classmate and gives him the high-tops.

 Any child who has ever felt that fitting in with the cool crowd meant wearing certain things can relate to Jeremy’s over-idealized view of “those shoes” and his desperation in trying to snag a pair for himself. Those Shoes can also function as a mirror for children who have made sacrifices because of a tight money situation. Jeremy’s grandma tried to remind him that expensive high-tops are a want, whereas new snow boots are a need. Those Shoes can function as a window in the same way. The story introduces children of a more stable financial situation to how it feels to not have all of ones’ wants satisfied. The story also introduces readers to the experiences of children who live a needs-only based life, such as having to wear free, outdated shoes or shopping at thrift stores for better deals. Finally, Those Shoes provides an admirable model of behavior. Jeremy knew that keeping the cool shoes that did not fit was wasteful so he gave them to Antonio, a classmate who could fit them and who did not laugh in class when Jeremy wore the counselor’s shoes (he too, wore broken shoes). Jeremy’s kind gesture represents a simple way young readers can pay it forward and not hoard things with no practical purpose.

 Those Shoes broadens materialism and conformity to boys, and exposes how girls are not the only ones concerned with fashion and having the “cool” clothes. Boelts gives a nondiscriminatory, yet accurate, portrayal of African American culture. In contrast to the white norm of a nuclear family, Jeremy lives with his grandmother in an urban high-rise apartment. Jeremy and his grandmother are humbly depicted as members of the lower middle class, money-conscious but still happy. Jones modernly portrays cultural diversity (in urban settings) with African American, Asian, Hispanic, Indian, and White characters.

 The repetition of “those shoes” conveys the intensity of Jeremy’s want and how to the impressionable child, there are cool shoes and there are other shoes. The text in Those Shoes mostly mirrors the images, although the images elaborate on the strong emotions Jeremy experiences: hope, happiness, frustration, (stubborn) determination, and intense desire/preoccupation. The large size of the painted advertisement for the shoes (compared to the size of Jeremy) and its placement high on the building help to over-idealize the shoes and represent the power propaganda has over the weak and easily persuaded buyer. Jeremy is often depicted as shorter and smaller than his male classmates, suggestive of his suffering self-image around peers who have the high-tops. Jeremy and Antonio are the same size, signifying both their friendship and similar experiences of having worn-down shoes and being the last to get their hands on the high-tops. On the last page, Antonio and Jeremy are racing each other into the distance and to the right. As new friends, they are moving forward and no longer held back by the shoe dilemma. They can now focus on more important things, such as relationships. Overall, Those Shoes highlights the power of propaganda, and challenges materialism and conformity as the keys to happiness.

 

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.