Book Review: Crossing Bok Chitto

Tingle, Tim. Crossing Bok Chitto. Texas: Cinco Puntos Press, 2006.

Crossing Bok Chitto written by Tim Tingle is a great book for children to learn about the Choctaws, a nation of Indian people and the plantation owners and their slaves. When Martha Tom goes off in search of blackberries upon her mothers’ request, she is unable to find them. Martha Tom crosses the Bok Chitto comes across a black church in the woods. While doing so she meets an African American slave boy and his family on the other side of the river. Little Mo is told by his father to bring Martha Tom back across the river. While doing so she shows him how to cross; by an unseen stone path that was made by the Choctaws. The two form a friendship and soon help each other to freedom. When Martha Tom finds out the mother is going to be sold she helps the family cross the river to the other side where they will be free. After doing so Martha Tom’s family comes out and welcomes the slave family and praises them for crossing and freeing themselves.

This book did not seem to portray stereotypes; it simply told the story how it was. It showed that even though the Choclaws and slaves were on different sides of the river, they were able to get along and help each other to freedom. The illustrations were very accurate showing the Indians and African Americans and how the two cultures got along and helped each other. The pictures are very vivid and colorful and really help the reader to feel as if they are actually part of the story. The pictures as well as the story show a great deal of emotion, especially when the family is told the mother has been sold. During this part of the story the reader feels as if they are actually there experiencing what the family is going through. The way they all come together as a family is wonderful. After they find this news out Little Mo speaks up and suggests going with his mother. This shows young readers that even though they are little they are able to make a difference. This book tells the story of the Bok Chitto River that cuts through the Mississippi and the significance of it. It gives us a look at real events and depictions of what life was like for each group back before the war. It shows and tells us different traditions of the Choctaw Indians, which the author took from his ancestors. This book would be great for teachers when covering the Underground Railroad. This was a great book focusing on unity, acceptance and family.

This author is an insider taking his ideas from his ancestors. Tim Tingle is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He has many other books which have won awards for their excellence. All of his ideas come from stories told and passed down by his ancestors. At the end of the book Tingle gives the reader information on Choctaws Today and also Choctaw Storytelling. This is very interesting and gives more background information.

Looking Back

As the semester comes to an end I have been thinking back on what we have learned and went over in class. I really enjoyed looking through different books and evaluating them as good and bad representations of diverse children’s literature. I think this, more so than anything else, has helped me in determining such. It is helpful to be able to see for myself what a good book consists of rather than just read about “what a good book entails”. I liked to hear what other people in the class had to say about their books and the different opinions throughout the class. There is no way that one person is able to evaluate every book that is offered to us, so it is helpful to have different groups share their findings with the class.

It is also fun to see books that we have talked about in class, in children’s libraries. When I go to ELPL I enjoy seeing books that we have discussed and know what the book is about and if it’s a good or bad representation of a specific group. I also think back on books we went over in TE 348 and do the same thing. I currently nanny for two families with young children and both families have a large array of books for their children. I find it interesting to see the ones they like to read verses the ones they don’t really care for. The other day the boys brought me a book that we had talked about in class a couple of weeks ago. It was Skippyjon Jones In Mummy Trouble. I think the class came to the conclusion that it was a book which seemed to be a mockery of the Spanish language adding “ito” to the end of many words. It does include other Spanish words but also adds “ito” to the end of English words. As I was looking at a website I found some customer reviews of the books. Many people gave it 5 out of 5 stars and loved the book. There were a few reviews that discussed how they could have enjoyed the book more if they had a better background of the Spanish language. They also commented on how this book stereotyped Mexicans to the fullest extent and found the books to be very offensive. I found both of these reviews very interesting and knowing what I know from TE 448, I would have to agree with the second comment noting that the book was full of stereotypes and is not a book I would have in my classroom library.

Boy Meets Boy

I just finished the book Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan and thought it was a pretty good book. It kept my attention throughout and it made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen next. It dealt with many different gay and lesbian issues ranging from coming out to not having accepting parents. The second chapter of the book beginning on page 8, caught me off guard a bit. “I’ve always known I was gay, but it wasn’t confirmed until I was in kindergarten. It was my teacher who said so. It was right there on my kindergarten report card: PAUL IS DEFINITALY GAY AND HAS VERY GOOD SENSE OF SELF” (8). This seemed to me as unrealistic. There is no kindergarten teacher that would tell parents that their child is gay. Throughout the book it made notes that Paul was very accepted in his school and so were the other boys who were gay. Paul was elected to run a school dance and had a very large committee consisting of gay and straight children. The dance also was in memory of a lady who used to be a swinger in her day, and this was known throughout the school. During the dance a senior boy had to dance with a portrait of this lady. This is something that would probably never happen in any type of school. To me, that seems very strange and not something I would want to see at any kind of dance I would attend.
While reading the book, which I did enjoy, I thought it seemed very unrealistic. Thinking back to when I was in High School and Middle School being gay or lesbian was not “as” accepted as it is in this book. I think this could definitely give children misconceptions about coming out thinking that they will be treated no different. As sad as it is young children are treated differently and are not always elected as class president etc. I think this book is great I guess “wishful thinking” about everyone getting along and being treated equally. Infinite Darlene, the homecoming queen and start quarterback also seems like a highly fictional character. If a child went from being a guy and a star quarterback, to a girl it is highly unlikely that “she” would become homecoming queen. If that happened in today’s times there would be a great deal of talk and children would not be accepting of this. Again, it’s horrible that we can not all be accepting of such things, but it is something that students are not used to and have a hard time dealing with. Again, I think the book deals with GLBT issues in a very bright light and makes having gay relationships accepted by everyone. Another thing I found interesting is that Chuck tried to ask Infinite Darlene out. Chuck, knowing that she used to be a guy was still interested in her. Again, this is not something that would normally happen. In a perfect world maybe yes, but in today’s times, it’s very unlikely. All in all this was a good book and I did enjoy it, however I found it very unrealistic therefore making me question the whole issue at hand.

Project Mulberry

The book Project Mulberry I thought dealt with a few different issues, but only seemed to touch on them. Racism is brought up quite a bit throughout the book. It didn’t seem like there was ever a conclusion on the topic. This is not to say that everything that is brought up in the book needs to have a solution, but with something like racism, which I thought was a prominent issue throughout, there should have been some type of closure to the issue. There were many times where Julia questions her mother and thinks that she doesn’t like Mr. Dixon because he is black. She also mentioned that her mother questioned one of Julia’s teachers who was also black. Mrs. Song told Julia that she just didn’t think that her teacher had enough experience to teach the class correctly. Julia thought that this may have been true, but assumed it was because she was black. To me, as a college student it is pretty clear what is going on, but a young child may not pick up on the clues. I think Julia could have went more in depth with the issue and maybe talked with her mom and figured out why she felt such a way and maybe the two of them could have come to some type of understanding on the issue.
I also did not think the authors’ notes in between the chapters were necessary. It did mention that we did not have to read them, but when they are placed between the chapters you can’t help but read them. I did not think they gave much insight or extra information about the characters. It did say how some of them got their names and why they liked certain things but that is about it. I think Park was letting the reader know that she was an inside author, but that is something that could have been researched if it was necessary. While reading the commentary I began to get a bit annoyed and thought that they seemed very childish. This is a children’s book, I know, but it almost made the author seem as if she was immature. There was one point where the author and Julia were arguing back and fourth about a very unimportant issue. I do think the commentary adds something different to the book, and a little extra something, but nothing that is really of interest to the reader. I can’t speak for everyone who has read the book that is just my opinion. I think there could have been more important information placed in between the chapters which would have made it much more interesting and worthwhile.

Personal Philosophy

This class connects to my professional goals in many ways. Being a teacher I will run into many children coming from different ethnicities and backgrounds. It is important for me to have diverse literature in my classroom and know what books are good representations of each culture. Not every book is going to be perfect, I know, but there are definitely some that are better than others. I can use information from this class to evaluate literature. I am also more aware of certain things in books and am able to pick up on certain stereotypes and assumptions that may be put in books whereas before this class I was not able to do so as well.
Issues of diversity play a large role in literacy teaching and learning. They are almost always incorporated in children’s reading in one way or another. I think it is important for children to learn about diverse issues and be able to read and write about them logically.
My personal philosophy about multicultural education is that we all must work together to form a learning environment which suits the needs of all children, knowing that they all come from many different backgrounds. Children’s literature fits into this philosophy in that while teaching I will have to find books and do assignments which cover a wide array of cultures. This is probably not something that will be required of me, but something I think is very important in an elementary classroom. Children should learn about those who are different and be informed of other cultures. This helps in schools when children wonder why someone looks or acts different than they do. Many times children do or do not celebrate certain holidays, and others will wonder why or why not. If I covered some of this information in my teaching there would not be open-ended questions put up by students and they would have a clear understanding of those who are different from themselves.
Some concerns I have with this philosophy is students asking me why it is important we learn about other people. Some students many not be willing to learn about other cultures because it does not directly affect them. I also see this as a challenge, in trying to get them to pay attention and really care about what we are discussing in class. I think it is very important to open young children up to diverse issues and get them thinking about it at an early age. If children begin thinking about diversity they will be more open to issues surrounding it. I truly think if I were opened up to certain issues when I was younger I would have a much stronger opinion on them and be more understanding to certain topics.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone Does My Shirts was by far the best book I have read thus far. It was an easy read, but at the same time a book that was hard to put down. The very first page of the book caught my attention and I wanted to keep reading. The way it was written was very interesting and I enjoyed how the book dealt with many different issues. I do think the main focus of the book was on autism; however it seemed as if it may have been on Al Capone, hence the title. Before I began reading I have no idea what the book was going to be about. I thought something with Al Capone, but then wondered how this would fit into our class and be about diversity. Even as I started reading I felt there was a focus on Al Capone and was still a bit confused. Even as Moose talked about his sister I was confused, it didn’t hit me until a couple chapters in what was going on and how this book fit in with our class.
I definitely think this was a very cleaver way to write the book. I think if the book was written strictly on autism younger children would lose interest and could be a little confused themselves. Having the extra information and real life situations helps students relate to the book and then begin to enjoy it and understand what is going on. I still feel students may be a bit confused as to what is “wrong” with Natalie and why she stays ten years old and why she does things a little differently than the other kids.
I also feel this book could help students who live with or know an autistic child or adult. It could help them see that Moose and his family had to work around Natalie’s disability, but were still able to live a good life and have friends and fun. At times it was hard, but it is like that in really any family. Everyone lives with some type of situation that may change their lives in some way or another. This book places an emphasis on autism, but not too strong of one. I think this is a great way to write a children’s book. It almost makes autism seem like its not that big of a deal and that even if you are or know someone who is living with it, the day will go on and things will all work out for the best. There was a lot going on in the book, but not too much to where a child could get overwhelmed with all of the issues of the book.

Chief Illiniwek

Before watching the movie on Chief Illiniwek I never realized how it could be offensive to those who are Native American. I am from Norton Shores, which is right inside Muskegon. Muskegon High Schools mascot is the Big Reds, referring to Native Americans. The Big Reds are a very good football team and bring in many fans and spectators from all around. Never before have I heard of or seen anyone upset with the mascot or thought it offensive. This I am sure is because the percentage of Native Americans is very low in that area.

The Big Reds as far as I know haven’t had many problems with their mascot; however they did retire the Indian boy dance and logos. I think this was a very respectable thing to do. I don’t think mascots are put out there to be offensive or mock a certain culture. They are more for fun and help get the crowd involved in the game.

After watching the movie I do realize how this could offend some especially having the mascot be for a large university such as Illinois, which gets a lot of press. I was impressed with how hard the woman in the movie worked to get things changed. She really felt strongly about the issue and was determined to do something about it.