Inclusive Literature

October Mourning: A song for Matthew Shepard

 

Newman, L. (2012). October mourning: A song for Matthew Shepard. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0-7636-5807-6

Book Summary: This is a beautifully written book of prose that tells the story from different perspectives of the life of Matthew Shepard. Matthew was a young gay college student who was out at a bar one night when two other college students saw him and their anti-gay attitudes made them do horrible things. They tricked Matthew into going for a ride with them and when they got out to the middle of nowhere they beat him with their fists and the end of a gun. After a horrible beating they took his shoes and tired him to a fence to die. The next day he was found by someone out on a walk and he was taken to the hospital where he was in a coma and soon passed away. Leslea Newman wrote this book from different points of views with different attitudes and is very moving. There are poems from Matthew’s point of view as well as the two men who killed him as well inanimate objects like the fence he was tied to. This is a very powerful book of narrative poems that tell a story about a horrible event of hate.

Culture Analysis: This book is about telling the story of a horrible hate crime that happened to a young gay college student on the opening day of Gay Awareness Week. I love how the author told the story through different points of view and was able to get the feelings of all the different people involved. While the poems about the people were very moving it was the poem titled “The Fence (that night)” on page 16 that moved me to tears. “The Fence” is the poem about what the fences saw and felt that night Matthew was left tied there for dead. The last stanza reads “Their truck was the last thing he saw, tears fell from his unblinking eyes, I cradled him like a mother, I held him all night long” put the image in my mind that I could not erase, it was so moving and horrifying at the same time. This book is a tribute to Matthew and justice for him and in a way a warning for other young gay college students.  

Book Reviews:

From Booklist

*Starred Review* On October 6, 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was lured into a truck, driven into the country, savagely beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die—which he did, five days later. In the 68 poems that make up this novel-in-verse, Newman re-creates the events and circumstances surrounding this unspeakably vile hate crime and offers a moving tribute to a young man she regards as a martyr. Her poems are told from multiple points of view, including that of the fence, the rope that bound the boy, and a doe that stood watch over him. The beautifully realized selections are also written in a variety of forms, ranging from haiku to villanelle, from concrete poetry to rhymed couplets. Each form (discussed in an appendix) matches the tone and mood of its content, creating an almost musical effect that is both intellectually and aesthetically engaging. Written with love, anger, regret, and other profound emotions, this is a truly important book that deserves the widest readership, not only among independent readers but among students in a classroom setting, as well. Most importantly, the book will introduce Matthew Shepard to a generation too young to remember the tragic circumstances of his death. Grades 8-12. --Michael Cart

"This is the one book I've reviewed so far this year that I believe must be read by everyone ages 14 and up. It takes less than an hour to read; but it will likely stay with the reader for a long time to come. Highly recommended for both YA and adult poetry collections." -- Ingram News and Reviews for the Youth Librarian

Written with love, anger, regret, and other profound emotions, this is a truly important book that deserves the widest readership, not only among independent readers but among students in a classroom setting, as well. Most importantly, the book will introduce Matthew Shepard to a generation too young to remember the tragic circumstances of his death.—Booklist (starred review

 

 

 

 

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

 

 

 

Bryant, J. (2013). A splash of red: The life and art of Horace Pippin. ILL Melissa Sweet,  New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-86712

Book Summary: This is the biography of an artist named Horace Pippin. Horace loved to draw pictures at a really young age. He enjoyed looking at something and making it come alive on the paper. Everyone always asked him to draw them pictures. Horace’s pictures made people happy. Horace’s pictures even won him the “Draw me!” contests big prize! He won a paints, brushes, and colored pencils. His family was not wealthy and they could not buy him things like that so these were a special treat. He loved painting pictures and always added a splash of red to them. When Horae got older a war had started and he felt the need to fight for his country so he joined the Army and went overseas. While he was over there he was shot in his right arm and he was not able to life it or move it. When he returned from war he had a hard time finding work because he could not use his right arm anymore. He longed to still be able to draw and paint. One day he took a fire poker and slid it next to his arm and using his left hand, he held his right hand and made it move. He was able to make pictures again. He slowly learned how to draw and paint pictures again and one day he paintings were hung in store windows and restaurants and then made their way into museums where people paid a lot of money for his paintings.

Culture Analysis: This is a great story about how a disability doesn’t have to stop you from doing what you love. When Horace was injured and couldn’t move his right arm he never gave up and kept trying to draw and paint. After a lot of practice and never giving up he was able to live out his dream of becoming an artist. Not only was he a famous artist but also an African American. The collage style pictures done by Melissa Sweet show how Horace grew as an artist and what type of tools he used to create his pictures and where he got his inspiration from. The illustrations also show his growth and perseverance as he grew and learned his skill.

Book Reviews:                                                                                                               

From Booklist-

*Starred Review* Born in Pennsylvania in 1888, Horace Pippin loved to draw and paint as a child. When he was in eighth grade, his father left the family. Horace quit school and worked to support them. Later wounded as a soldier in WWI, he never regained full use of his right arm. Back home, Pippin began painting again, using his left arm to guide his right. Painting subjects drawn mainly from observation, memory, family stories, and the Bible, this self-taught African American artist was eventually discovered by the art community. Major museums display his works, and their locations are indicated on the U.S. map on the back endpapers, along with small reproductions of six paintings. In a well-structured narrative with recurring themes and a highly accessible style, Bryant writes short sentences full of memorable details, from Pippin’s first box of colored pencils to the scavenged house paints he used to paint his wartime memories. Combining drawings and printed elements with watercolor and gouache paints, Sweet’s mixed-media illustrations have a refreshing, down-home style and a brilliance all their own. The artwork incorporates large-print quotes, giving Pippin a voice here as well. Outstanding. Grades 1-4. --Carolyn Phelan

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, February 18, 2013:

“Quotations from Pippin about the psychological scars of war and his artistic process are hand-drawn into Sweet's images, underscoring how art was not only a joyful outlet for Pippin, but also a vital means of interpreting the world.”

Starred Review, School Library Journal, January 1, 2013:

“Bryant’s meticulously researched, eloquent text makes this a winning read-aloud, while Sweet’s vibrant, folksy illustrations, rendered in watercolor, gouache, and mixed media, portray the joys and hardships of the man’s life, using his trademark palette…with just a splash of red.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2012:

“This outstanding portrait of African-American artist Horace Pippin (1888-1946) allows Pippin’s work to shine—and his heart too.”

Starred Review, Booklist, November 1, 2012:

“…a well-structured narrative with recurring themes and a highly accessible style…outstanding.”

 

 

 

 

Does My Head Look Big in This?

 

 

Abdel-Fattah, R. (2005). Does my head look big in this? New York: Orchard Books. ISBN 978-0-439-92233-3

Book Summary: This is the story of a sixteen year old girl, Amal, who is growing up in Australia. She and her family are Muslim and it is time for her to decide if she is going to wear the traditional head scarf the hijab or not. She decides to make a list of all the pros and cons of wearing a hijab and after a lot of thought decides she wants to embrace her family’s religious beliefs and wear the hijab. She is very worried about what everyone is going to think of her at school and is worried that she might get teased for it but decides she is strong enough to handle it.  The first day she wore the hijab to school everyone was talking about it including her teachers. Not everyone was as excepting as she hoped and she had to listen to people calling her names like “towel head” and others, she was also denied a job because of her hijab. She is also just like all the other teenage girls and wants to know what the boys will think about it especially her major crush. This is the story of acceptance of different religions, friendship, and how to overcome hard times.  

Culture Analysis: Wow this is an amazing book that will teach readers about the Muslim culture from why women wear a hijab to fasting for Ramadan and how different religions pray. There was one time in the story when our Muslim main character Amal went to a Catholic church for confession and thanks to the author’s witty dialog and word choice it was a funny experience and one where the reader could learn about the different religions. In the story the author describes the different clothing, food, holidays and traditions of not only the Muslim culture but others as well like Turkish and Christianity. This is a great book that all teen girls will be able to relate to regardless of culture. I also recommend listening to the audio book because you are able to hear the wonderful accent and hear the sarcasm and witty tones of Amal.    

Book Reviews:

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7 Up—Australian 11th-grader Amal is smart, funny, outspoken, a good student, and a loyal friend. She is also a devout Muslim who decides to wear the hijab, or head covering, full-time. The story tells of her emotional and spiritual journey as she copes with a mad crush on a boy, befriends an elderly Greek neighbor, and tries to help a friend who aspires to be a lawyer but whose well-intentioned mother is trying to force her to leave school and get married. Amal is also battling the misconceptions of non-Muslims about her religion and culture. While the novel deals with a number of serious issues, it is extremely funny and entertaining, and never preachy or forced. The details of Amal's family and social life are spot-on, and the book is wonderful at showing the diversity within Muslim communities and in explaining why so many women choose to wear the hijab. Amal is an appealing and believable character. She trades verbal jibes with another girl, she is impetuous and even arrogant at times, and she makes some serious errors of judgment. And by the end of the story, she and readers come to realize that "Putting on the hijab isn't the end of the journey. It's just the beginning of it."—Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* Like the author of this breakthrough debut novel, Amal is an Australian-born, Muslim Palestinian "whacked with some seriously confusing identity hyphens." At 16, she loves shopping, watches Sex and the City, and IMs her friends about her crush on a classmate. She also wants to wear the hijab, to be strong enough to show a badge of her deeply held faith, even if she confronts insults from some at her snotty prep school, and she is refused a part-time job in the food court (she is "not hygienic"). Her open-minded observant physician parents support her and so do her friends, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, secular. Her favorite teacher finds her a private space to pray. The first-person present-tense narrative is hilarious about the diversity, and sometimes heartbreaking. For her uncle who wants to assimilate, "foreign" is the f-word, and his overdone Aussie slang and flag-waving is a total embarrassment. On the other hand, her friend Leila nearly breaks down when her ignorant Turkish mom wants only to marry her daughter off ("Why study?") and does not know that it is Leila's Islamic duty "to seek knowledge, to gain an education." Without heavy preaching, the issues of faith and culture are part of the story, from fasting at Ramadan to refusing sex before marriage. More than the usual story of the immigrant teen's conflict with her traditional parents, the funny, touching contemporary narrative will grab teens everywhere. Rochman, Hazel --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"[A] witty, sensitive debut . . ." -PEOPLE

"More than the usual story of the immigrant teen's conflict with her traditional parents, the funny, touching contemporary narrative will grab teens everywhere." --BOOKLIST (starred)

"Determined to prove she's strong enough to 'wear a badge of my faith,' Amal faces ostracism and ridicule as she dons her hijab with both good humor and trepidation. . . . Abdel-Fattah's fine first novel offers a world of insight to post-9/11 readers." --KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred)

 "Using a winning mix of humor and sensitivity, Abdel-Fattah ably demonstrates that her heroine is, at heart, a teen like any other. This debut should speak to anyone who has felt like an outsider for any reason." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

 

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Asian American Literature

Lon PoPo

Young, E. (1989). Lon PoPo. New York, NY: Philomel Books. ISBN 0-399-21619-7

Book Summary: This is the traditional Red Riding Hood story with a Chinese twist. There was a mom who lived alone with her three daughters, Shang, Tao, and Paotze. One day the mother left to go visit her mother for her birthday and told the girls to stay home and at sunset they were to lock the door and not let anyone in. Well a wolf lived nearby and saw the mother leave and decides he would pretend to be their grandmother who is called PoPo to get into the house and eat the girls. He waits for night time and then goes to the house and knocks on the door. After convincing the girls that he was their PoPo the girls open the door. Once inside the wolf blows out the candle so the girls can’t get a good look at him. They then crawl in bed and the girls feel his bushy tail and get curious. The oldest and wisest daughter decides to light another candle but the wolf blows it out as well but not before she is able to get a look at him. She then decides to outsmart the wolf and convince him that he needs to eat the gingko nuts from the top of the tree outside. The daughters go outside and climb the tree to pick the nuts and there the Shang was able to tell her younger sisters about the wolf. The wolf waited and waited for the girls to come back with the nuts and when they didn’t he went outside to find out why. They wanted him to climb the tree and they knew he couldn’t. They then decided to trick him into throwing a rope up to them and pull him up in a basket. The first time they pulled him up a little and then dropped him. The second time they pulled him up farther and then dropped him. The last time the girls pulled him almost to the top and then dropped him and the fall killed him and his heart broke into several pieces.

Culture Analysis: A lot of the culture in this book comes through the illustrations. The pictures in the book show children of the Asian culture. The children in the story also have Chinese names like Shang, Tao, and Paotze. The term Po Po in Chinese means grandma which help incorporate the culture into the story. The author Ed young also uses the Chinese gingko plant to also infuse the Chinese culture into the classic tale.

Editorial Reviews:

From Publishers Weekly

This version of the Red Riding Hood story from Young ( The Emperor and the Kite ; Cats Are Cats ; Yeh-Shen ) features three daughters left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity. Tempting him with ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which they are hiding, then let go of the rope--killing him. One of Young's most arresting illustrations accompanies his dedication: "To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness." Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are frequently grouped in panels. When the girls meet the wolf, e.g., the left panel focuses on their wary faces peering out from the darkness, the middle enlarges the evil wolf's eye and teeth, and the third is a vivid swirl of the blue clothes in which the wolf is disguised. The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book. Ages 4-8.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5-- A gripping variation on Red Riding Hood that involves three little sisters who outsmart the wolf ( lon or long in Cantonese) who has gained entry to their home under the false pretense of being their maternal grandmother ( Po Po ). The clever animal blows out the candle before the children can see him , and is actually in bed with them when they start asking the traditional "Why, Grandma!" questions. The eldest realizes the truth and tricks the wolf into letting them go outside to pick gingko nuts , and then lures him to his doom. The text possesses that matter-of-fact veracity that characterizes the best fairy tales. The watercolor and pastel pictures are remarkable: mystically beautiful in their depiction of the Chinese countryside, menacing in the exchanges with the wolf, and positively chilling in the scenes inside the house. Overall, this is an outstanding achievement that will be pored over again and again. -John Philbrook, San Francisco Pub . Lib .

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Tea With Milk

 

 

Say, A. (1999). Tea with milk. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-90495-1

Book Summary:

This is the story May a Japanese girl who was born in America and became accustomed to American life. However, when she graduated from high school her parents were homesick and wanted to return to their home country of Japan. May did not like Japan because she did not fit in. She had to attend high school all over again and learn how to speak Japanese. She had to sit learn how to sit on the floor for long periods of time and take lesson on calligraphy, flower arranging and tea ceremonies. The other students in the school called her a foreigner and she felt all alone. Then one day her mother hired a matchmaker to hind May a husband. Her mother was determined that May would marry a good Japanese boy from a good family. She met the young man her mother wanted her to marry and was not happy. The next morning she decided she was going leave home and find her own way. She rode the bus to Osaka. While in the big city it reminded her of her American home in Californian. She went into a department store and filled out an application to work. She was then hired and worked as an elevator driver. One day she was able to use her English to help a family who was having problems communicating with the others in the store. Her boss overheard her and decided he had a better job for her. He made her a guide for foreign businessman. After a few weeks she noticed a young man that had taken her tour a few times. She asked him why and he responded in perfect English that he liked that she spoke English and he wanted to invite her to tea. That began a long friendship where they could both have long conversations in English. They grew closer to closer and then one night several months later he told her that he was being transferred to another city. He told her about how he was adopted and it doesn’t matter what country you are from home is where you make it. After the story ends the readers finds out that the couple got married and had a child and they are the ones who are telling the story of their parents.

Culture Analysis:

This book is a beautiful book about the differences of two countries and one young girl who grows up in both places. The describes how the traditional Japanese children grow up eating rice and miso soup and plain green tea and how at May’s friend’s house she ate pancakes, muffins and tea with milk and sugar. When the author takes the reader back to japan the reader is able to see how the traditional Japanese culture is. The girls have to wear kimonos and have to learn flower arranging, calligraphy and about tea ceremonies. The reader also learns that women do not drive or work in this culture. The illustrations are also beautiful and help tell the story and give the reader a visual of what is being described. The facial expressions of the character show how May is feeling in different parts of the story. You are able to see how unhappy she was when she met the man her mother arranged for her and how amazed she was when she traveled to the big city. The reader is able to learn about the different foods, attire, customs and more in this well written and beautiful story about finding home and where you belong.

Editorial Reviews:

From Publishers Weekly

Say's masterfully executed watercolors tell as much of this story about a young woman's challenging transition from America to Japan as his eloquent, economical prose. Raised near San Francisco, Masako (her American friends called her May) is uprooted after high school when her parents return to their Japanese homeland. In addition to repeating high school to learn Japanese, she must learn the arts of a "proper Japanese lady"Aflower arranging, calligraphy and the tea ceremonyAand is expected to marry well. Declaring "I'd rather have a turtle than a husband," the independent-minded Masako heads for the city of Osaka and gets a job in a department store. With his characteristic subtlety, Say sets off his cultural metaphor from the very start, contrasting the green tea Masako has for breakfast in her home, with the "tea with milk and sugar" she drinks at her friends' houses in America. Later, when she meets a young Japanese businessman who also prefers tea with milk and sugar to green tea, readers will know that she's met her match. Say reveals on the final page that the couple are his parents. Whether the subject is food ("no more pancakes or omelets, fried chicken or spaghetti" in Japan) or the deeper issues of ostracism (her fellow students call Masako "gaijin"Aforeigner) and gender expectations, Say provides gentle insights into human nature as well as East-West cultural differences. His exquisite, spare portraits convey emotions that lie close to the surface and flow easily from page to reader: with views of Masako's slumping posture and mask-like face as she dons her first kimono, or alone in the schoolyard, it's easy to sense her dejection. Through choice words and scrupulously choreographed paintings, Say's story communicates both the heart's yearning for individuality and freedom and how love and friendship can bridge cultural chasms. Ages 4-8.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 6-Continuing the story he started in Grandfather's Journey (Houghton, 1993), Say explores familiar themes of cultural connection and disconnection. He focuses on his mother Masako, or May, as she prefers to be called, who, after graduating from high school in California, unwillingly moves with her parents to their native Japan. She is homesick for her native country and misses American food. She rebels against her parents, who force her to repeat high school so that she can learn "her own language"; the other students tease her for being "gaijin" or a foreigner. Masako leaves home and obtains a job in a department store in Osaka, a city that reminds her of her beloved San Francisco. Her knowledge of English quickly makes her a valued employee and brings her into contact with her future husband, Joseph, a Japanese man who was educated at an English boarding school in Shanghai. They decide that together they can make a life anywhere, and choose to remain in Japan. Say's many fans will be thrilled to have another episode in his family saga, which he relates with customary grace and elegance. The pages are filled with detailed drawings featuring Japanese architecture and clothing, and because of the artist's mastery at drawing figures, the people come to life as authentic and sympathetic characters. This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own.

From Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 6-When her Japanese-born parents leave America for their homeland, an independent girl reluctantly follows and melds her experience and her heritage to find a new meaning for the word "home." This perfect marriage of artwork and text offers readers a window into a different place and time. (May)

From Kirkus Reviews

In describing how his parents met, Say continues to explore the ways that differing cultures can harmonize; raised near San Francisco and known as May everywhere except at home, where she is Masako, the child who will grow up to be Say's mother becomes a misfit when her family moves back to Japan. Rebelling against attempts to force her into the mold of a traditional Japanese woman, she leaves for Osaka, finds work as a department store translator, and meets Joseph, a Chinese businessman who not only speaks English, but prefers tea with milk and sugar, and persuades her that ``home isn't a place or a building that's ready-made or waiting for you, in America or anywhere else.'' Painted with characteristic control and restraint, Say's illustrations, largely portraits, begin with a sepia view of a sullen child in a kimono, gradually take on distinct, subdued color, and end with a formal shot of the smiling young couple in Western dress. A stately cousin to Ina R. Friedman's How My Parents Learned To Eat (1984), also illustrated by Say. (Picture book. 7-9) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review: "Continuing to explore place and home, Say tells the story of his mother, first introduced to readers in TREE OF CRANES. Born in California to Japanese immigrants, Masako is miserable when she moves to Japan with her parents after high school. The illustrations capture Masako's unhappiness and also her eventual contentment as she learns to combine two cultures." Horn Book

 

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The Year of the Dog

 

Lin, G. (2006). The year of the dog: A novel. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-06000-3

Book Summary:

The year of the dog is suppose to be a lucky year for Grace. Her family is the only Taiwanese American family in the neighborhood until the Ling family moves in. The Ling family has a daughter named Melody and she is the same age as Grace. The girls discovered that they have so much in common and become great friends. They are having a lucky year until the boy Grace likes doesn't like her and they don't win the science fair. They start to think that maybe this year isn’t going to be lucky. Grace wins fourth place out of many kids in the nation for a book writing and illustrating contest. Grace realizes that the year has been lucky after all and meeting Melody and winning the contest made a very lucky year for sure. Grace also gets a part in the school play, but won't try out for the Dorothy character because there isn't a Chinese Dorothy. Then, when she is selected as the munchkin to give Dorothy a present, she is afraid people will laugh at a Chinese munchkin. She realizes that there aren't any Asian/Pacific Americans in the stories she reads, so she writes her own and is awarded at the end of the book.

Culture Analysis:

There is so much culture expressed in this amazing book. The story starts off with a family getting things set up and ready for the Chinese New Year. It goes on to give details about the holiday, for example Grace’s mother gave them all Hong Bao or a red envelope with money in it. After the Chinese new Year the reader can learn about what school was like in Taiwan when Grace’s mom tell a story about her time in school. I found it interesting when Grace, which her English name and her family calls her Pacy, says that she is going to be the only Chinese girl in her school next year and actually she isn’t Chinese, her parents came from Taiwan but people don’t understand where that is and just include it with China and consider her Chinese. You are also able to learn a lot about traditional foods from two different Taiwanese families when grace eats dinner at Melody’s house. The reader is also able to learn about different customs like the Red Egg party where they take red colored eggs to symbolize good luck for a new baby. To go to the Red Egg party grace also had to get dressed in her best Chinese clothes. Overall there is so much culture throughout this whole book!

Editorial Reviews:

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–A lighthearted coming-of-age novel with a cultural twist. Readers follow Grace, an American girl of Taiwanese heritage, through the course of one year–The Year of the Dog–as she struggles to integrate her two cultures. Throughout the story, her parents share their own experiences that parallel events in her life. These stories serve a dual purpose; they draw attention to Graces cultural background and allow her to make informed decisions. She and her two sisters are the only Taiwanese-American children at school until Melody arrives. The girls become friends and their common backgrounds illuminate further differences between the American and Taiwanese cultures. At the end of the year, the protagonist has grown substantially. Small, captioned, childlike black-and-white drawings are dotted throughout. This is an enjoyable chapter book with easily identifiable characters.–Diane Eddington, Los Angeles Public Library

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5. When Lin was a girl, she loved the Betsy books by Carolyn Hayward, a series about a quintessentially American girl whose days centered around friends and school. But Lin, a child of Taiwanese immigrants, didn't see herself in the pages. Now she has written the book she wished she had as a child. Told in a simple, direct voice, her story follows young Grace through the Year of the Dog, one that Grace hopes will prove lucky for her. And what a year it is! Grace meets a new friend, another Asian girl, and together they enter a science fair, share a crush on the same boy, and enjoy special aspects of their heritage (food!). Grace even wins fourth place in a national book-writing contest and finds her true purpose in life. Lin, who is known for her picture books, dots the text with charming ink drawings, some priceless, such as one picturing Grace dressed as a munchkin. Most of the chapters are bolstered by anecdotes from Grace's parents, which connect Grace (and the reader) to her Taiwanese heritage. Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today's young readers. Ilene Cooper

Reviews:

* "Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today's young readers."―Booklist, starred review

"This comfortable first-person story will be a treat for Asian-American girls looking to see themselves in their reading, but also for any reader who enjoys stories of friendship and family life."―Kirkus

"Lin creates an endearing protagonist, realistically dealing with universal emotions and situations. Girls everywhere, but especially those in the Asian-American community, will find much to embrace here."―Publishers Weekly

"Entertaining and often illuminating."―The Horn Book

 

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Native American Literature

A Hunter's Promise: An Abenaki Tale

 

Bruchac, J. (2015). The Hunter's Promise: An Abenaki Tale. Ill Bill Farnsworth Bloomington, Indiana: Wisdom Tales. ISBN 978-1-937786-43-4

Book Summary:

This is an Abenaki story about a young hunter who leaves his tribe and travels north deep into the forests to hunt in the fall. Once there he decides that he is lonely there by himself and wishes he had a partner. The next day he finds that there is food cooked for him and his lodge cleaned up. The reader is shown that a woman has joined him to keep him company. When spring came and it was time for the young hunter to return to his village with all the skins and meat he had collected the woman made him promise that he would remember her and return. The young hunter is happily welcomed backed to his village and celebrated for all the meat and skins he has brought back. The moves on and it is fall again and off the young hunter must go again. Once he returns to his winter lodge he is greeted this time by his wife and their son Wadzo. Wadzo is not like other boys because he seems to grow years in just one day and soon is old enough to go hunting with his dad the hunter. With the two of them they are able to gather more meat and skins to take back to his village. Spring came again and he had to return to his tribe and again the wife said “Mikwalniona” or promise to remember us. This time when he returned everyone was so impressed. The chief asked the young hunter to marry his daughter, but the hunter remembered his family and said no. This did not go over very well with the chief’s daughter because she is used to getting what she wants so she had a powerful “poohegan” or spirit helper help her trick him into marriage. Fall came again and it was time to go to the lodge but this time his wife requested that she go with him. He was not happy. When they reached the lodge deep in the forest the hunter saw his other wife standing there with their first son and now his second son Sibo. She then saw who came with him and was not pleased. She said that he broke his promise and so she and her two sons turned and walked into the forest. As they were walking into the forest they turned into moose. The hunter knew that they were who he was suppose to be with and so he joined them in the forest as a moose.

Cultural Analysis:

Joseph Bruchac, the author is a Native American himself from an Abenaki background. This story was his retelling of a traditional story that can be found in many different forms across the northeast. The tale is about loyalty and trust and how it is important to keep a promise to your family. Other people believe that this story is to show how people and nature work together. The author incorporates words from the Native American language like “mikwalmi” to add to the authenticity of the story. The illustrator, Bill Farnsworth, created beautiful pictures to help tell the story and show the traditional clothing of the Abenaki tribe. The pictures also show what the housing looks like and how they tan the skins using sticks and string and how the Native Americans live in the village and at his winter lodge.

Editorial Reviews:

From School Library Journal

Gr 2–5—A solid retelling of a traditional Wabanaki Confederacy story. As a young man heads to his winter hunting camp, he is thankful of the great hunter he has become. While walking along moose tracks he is wistfully aware of his loneliness. Soon after he comes home each day to meals prepared and tasks completed. Unaware of who is doing these things, he continues his hunts until one day a silent woman appears. As he leaves for spring she asks him to promise to remember her. Back in his own village he keeps his promise, and returned the next winter to find his wife and child, who grows each day in years. He know has a hunting companion. Again, as he leaves the promise is mentioned. However, upon his return the chief's daughter, who is used to getting her way, tricks him into forgetting so that she may be his wife. When he returns in the winter, his memory clears and he realizes the importance of the wife and children to him. Farnsworth's oil paintings add depth to this story. The feelings portrayed through the images allows readers to understand the emotions of the characters. Bruchac reinforces the importance of balance in the land, and integrity of the keeping one's word. VERDICT A great addition for traditional tale collections. Recommended.—Amy Zembroski, Indian Community School, Franklin, WI

Other Books:

 
 

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom



Tingle, T. (2006). Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw tale of friendship & freedom. Ill Jeanne Rorex Bridges El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN 978-0-938317-77-7

Book Summary:

This is the beautiful story of a Choctaw little girl and an African American boy and their families. The Bok Chitto River separates the Native Americans on one side and the plantations and slaves on the other side. A Choctaw little girl named Martha Tom is asked by her mother to collect berries and she can’t find any on her side of the river so she goes to the stepping stones in the river that her tribe has placed there right under the water so the people on the other side do not know they are there and so the Choctaw people can cross easily. Once Martha Tom crossed the river and picked the berries she sees a man standing by a clearing with large logs like they were benches. The man called out “We are bound for the promise land” and then all of a sudden several African Americans came from out behind the trees and started singing. This is what Martha called slave church. While she was watching a man found her and asked if she was lost. She had wondered too far away from the river and needed help from him to find her way back. He had his son Little Mo take Martha back to the river. The two children from opposite sides of the river formed a great friendship and would cross the river and share in each other’s culture. She would go to slave church with Little Mo and Martha would take him to see a wedding ceremony. Then one horrible evening Little Mo found out that his mother had been sold to another plantation and they would never see her again. Little Mo’s family was so upset and he decided that this was the time to leave and cross the river to freedom. With the knowledge that Martha Tom had taught him about the stepping stones they had a good chance of getting across the river safely. They each packed a small bag and walked slowly but not too slowly through the forest and to the river. Once they got to the river he was able to cross and then go get Martha Tom to help make sure the rest of his family would make it across. Martha Tom’s mother heard what was happening and aske all the women to put on their white dresses and go to the river. When all the women were at the river with candles Little Mo’s family started to cross. When the guards got to the river what they saw shocked and amazed them. To the guards it looked like Little Mo’s family was walking on water towards angels. The guards couldn’t do anything and Little Mo’s family was able to cross the river to freedom thanks to Martha Tom and the women of the Choctaw tribe.

Cultural Analysis:

This book combines Native American culture and African American culture in a beautiful tale of friendship. The illustrations show the reader the attire of the Choctaw people and how they lived along with the attire of the African Americans and the guards. The illustrations also show the emotion and feelings of the characters in the story. The author describes the Choctaw’s long row of log cabin houses to show the reader that not all Native Americans live in teepees. The author also shows the Native American culture by sharing what a Choctaw wedding is like and what the ceremonies consist of. The author also shows a little bit of the African American history of being a slave and how they had to sneak into the forest to have church. The author also shows how plantation owners don’t pay attention to their slaves as Little Mo and Martha Tom are able to walk right by them during their sipping and sighing on a Sunday morning. The author also shared the experiences of how slaves were often bought and sold given no thought to their families. The ability to cross the river thanks to the Choctaw tribe shows how well the Native Americans thought about nature and how to survive the elements. The author also used music as a way to show the two different cultures. This is a wonderful story of friendship between two different cultures that needs to be shared in today’s society.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-6–Dramatic, quiet, and warming, this is a story of friendship across cultures in 1800s Mississippi. While searching for blackberries, Martha Tom, a young Choctaw, breaks her village's rules against crossing the Bok Chitto. She meets and becomes friends with the slaves on the plantation on the other side of the river, and later helps a family escape across it to freedom when they hear that the mother is to be sold. Tingle is a performing storyteller, and his text has the rhythm and grace of that oral tradition. It will be easily and effectively read aloud. The paintings are dark and solemn, and the artist has done a wonderful job of depicting all of the characters as individuals, with many of them looking out of the page right at readers. The layout is well designed for groups as the images are large and easily seen from a distance. There is a note on modern Choctaw culture, and one on the development of this particular work. This is a lovely story, beautifully illustrated, though the ending requires a somewhat large leap of the imagination.–Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 2-4. In a picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage, a noted Choctaw storyteller and Cherokee artist join forces with stirring results. Set "in the days before the War Between the States, in the days before the Trail of Tears," and told in the lulling rhythms of oral history, the tale opens with a Mississippi Choctaw girl who strays across the Bok Chitto River into the world of Southern plantations, where she befriends a slave boy and his family. When trouble comes, the desperate runaways flee to freedom, helped by their own fierce desire (which renders them invisible to their pursuers) and by the Choctaws' secret route across the river. In her first paintings for a picture book, Bridges conveys the humanity and resilience of both peoples in forceful acrylics, frequently centering on dignified figures standing erect before moody landscapes. Sophisticated endnotes about Choctaw history and storytelling traditions don't clarify whether Tingle's tale is original or retold, but this oversight won't affect the story's powerful impact on young readers, especially when presented alongside existing slave-escape fantasies such as Virginia Hamiltons's The People Could Fly (2004) and Julius Lester's The Old African (2005). Jennifer Mattson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Other Reviews:

"In a picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage, a noted Choctaw storyteller and Cherokee artist join forces with stirring results… the story [has a] powerful impact on young readers." —Booklist, starred review

"Crossing Bok Chitto… tells a tale with a happier ending, but its journey is no less a departure from the narrative of American uplift. In literature for children, this is a lesson as old as the Grimms. But these realities cut deeper than any fantasy." —The New York Times

"Tingle is a performing storyteller, and his text has the rhythm and grace of that oral tradition. It will be easily and effectively read aloud. The paintings are dark and solemn, and the artist has done a wonderful job of depicting all of the characters as individuals, with many of them looking out of the page right at readers." —School Library Journal

"A moving and wholly original story about the intersection of cultures…Bridges creates mural-like paintings with a rock-solid spirituality and stripped-down graphic sensibility, the ideal match for the down-to-earth cadences and poetic drama of the text." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Crossing Bok Chitto is very highly recommended for all young readers as a celebration of diversity, acceptance, and unity in a remarkable production of expert authorship and invaluable illustrations." —Midwest Book Review, starred review

"A very moving story about friends helping each other and reveals a lesser-known part of American History: Native Americans helped runaway slaves...While, this is a picture book; it would make a wonderful read-aloud for middle elementary students." —Children's Literature

 

 

 

 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. Ill Ellen Forney New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-01368-0

Book Summary:

This book tells the story of Junior who is a 14 year old boy growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He was born with hydrocephalus (water in the brain). This causes him many health problems, like an awkward lisp and really bad eye sight so he has to wear thick glasses. He comes from a very poor family and this causes more problems for him throughout the story. Although he has many challenges he also has a best friend rightfully named Rowdy. Rowdy tries to help defend his friend Junior and even cut the ponytail off of a guy who beat up Junior once. Junior is a good student and really wants to learn in school but on the reservation the school is old and out dated so he transfers off the reservation and to an all-white school, thanks to his teacher Mr. P. The move to the Reardan School hurt his friendship with Rowdy but he was able to meet Penelope, a pretty girl and form a friendship with a nerd named Gordy. Junior works hard to earn the attention of Penelope and finally does and is able to take her to the Winter Formal wearing his dad’s old suit.  With Penelope’s help the students start to accept Junior and he decides to try out for the Reardan basketball team and makes it onto the varsity squad. Reardan's first game of the season happens to be against Wellpinit, the reservation school. During the game all the people from the reservation ignore Junior and think of him as a traitor to his tribe. Then tragedy strikes one after another with his dad’s drinking, his grandmother passing away, a family friend being shot and then Mary’s death. Junior is devastated.  Despite all of the trials he has faced during his freshman year at Reardan, Junior does really well in school. In the end he is accepted by his new school and he and Rowdy are able to reconnect with the help of a cartoon drawing and Rowdy being bored.

Cultural Analysis:

This is a very powerful story and look into one Native American environment. This book will take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. The story will have you laughing out loud one moment, bawling your eyes out on the next page and then back to laughing. It tugs at all your heartstrings when you experience the trials of growing up on the reservation and then going to an all-white school. This story gives an insider look at what it is like on an Indian reservation and attacks some stereotypes head on. For example as early as page two the author, Sherman Alexie, writes “our white dentist believed that Indians only felt half as much pain as white people did, so he only gave us half the Novocain” referring to when he had to have ten teeth pulled at one time because the Indian Health Service only funded major dental work to be done once a year.  Alexie has a great way with words and timing to remind the reader that the story is about a Native American boy by saying statements like on page 10 “We Indians really should be better liars, considering how often we’ve been lied to”.  This book is rich in Native American culture; Sherman Alexi takes a look a skin stones, religious ceremonies, dialect, foods and celebrations in a contemporary and teenage point of view that teen readers will appreciate.

Editorial Reviews:

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 7–10—Exploring Indian identity, both self and tribal, Alexie's first young adult novel is a semiautobiographical chronicle of Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, a Spokane Indian from Wellpinit, WA. The bright 14-year-old was born with water on the brain, is regularly the target of bullies, and loves to draw. He says, "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." He expects disaster when he transfers from the reservation school to the rich, white school in Reardan, but soon finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on the basketball team. Meeting his old classmates on the court, Junior grapples with questions about what constitutes one's community, identity, and tribe. The daily struggles of reservation life and the tragic deaths of the protagonist's grandmother, dog, and older sister would be all but unbearable without the humor and resilience of spirit with which Junior faces the world. The many characters, on and off the rez, with whom he has dealings are portrayed with compassion and verve, particularly the adults in his extended family. Forney's simple pencil cartoons fit perfectly within the story and reflect the burgeoning artist within Junior. Reluctant readers can even skim the pictures and construct their own story based exclusively on Forney's illustrations. The teen's determination to both improve himself and overcome poverty, despite the handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race, delivers a positive message in a low-key manner. Alexie's tale of self-discovery is a first purchase for all libraries.—Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Arnold Spirit, a goofy-looking dork with a decent jumpshot, spends his time lamenting life on the "poor-ass" Spokane Indian reservation, drawing cartoons (which accompany, and often provide more insight than, the narrative), and, along with his aptly named pal Rowdy, laughing those laughs over anything and nothing that affix best friends so intricately together. When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one. He weathers the typical teenage indignations and triumphs like a champ but soon faces far more trying ordeals as his home life begins to crumble and decay amidst the suffocating mire of alcoholism on the reservation. Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience, and he doesn't pull many punches as he levels his eye at stereotypes both warranted and inapt. A few of the plotlines fade to gray by the end, but this ultimately affirms the incredible power of best friends to hurt and heal in equal measure. Younger teens looking for the strength to lift themselves out of rough situations would do well to start here. Chipman, Ian --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Other Reviews

"This is a gem of a book....may be [Sherman Alexie's] best work yet."―New York Times

"A Native American equivalent of Angela's Ashes."―(starred review), Publishers Weekly

"Sure to resonate and lift spirits of all ages for years to come."―USA Today

"Realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time."―(starred review), VOYA

"The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally-and hilariously and triumphantly-bent in this novel."―(starred review), Horn Book

"Nimbly blends sharp with unapologetic emotion....fluid narration deftly mingles raw feelings with funny, sardonic insight."―Kirkus Reviews, (starred review)

"Few writers are more masterful than Sherman Alexie."―Los Angeles Times

"Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience."―Booklist