Boyden, Linda. The Blue Roses. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc, 2002
When Rosalie is born her grandfather cares for her while her mother works in a fish cannery. As Rosalie grows older her and Papa, as she calls him, work in the garden together sharing stories about life. Papa explains to Rosalie one day why her pea plants died and that everything eventually dies. Not long before her tenth birthday her grandfather dies. She is very sad, but seems to find some sort of comfort in the garden where she and Papa spent much of their time. While there she claims she can still smell him. This book is wonderful in dealing with issues of death with young children. Many times children don’t understand why people die and as a parent or teacher it is a very hard thing to explain. When Papa talks to Rosalie in her dream he is surrounded by blue roses. Blue roses are something that she had always wanted, but it wasn’t possible. Seeing a deceased loved one in a dream is very common for many people and is something that young children may be scared or confused by. This book does a great job in addressing the issue and showing readers that it is okay and death is really nothing to be afraid of.
The characters in this book are Native American. The illustrations and the story line are great in showing children that everyone goes through these issues. There was nothing stereotypical found in the book and it was one that anyone could relate to and enjoy. It simply showed an ordinary family going through rough times and how they overcame them. This is definitely a book that young children should read or have read to them. It would help them understand life and some of the phases that people go through. The descriptions were great and illustrations very bright and beautiful. This is a book that any child could enjoy and benefit from.
The author Linda Boyden is of Cherokee and French Canadian ancestry. As well as writing Linda is also a storyteller, telling American Indian myths. This was her first book which won a New Voices Award. Linda incorporated her experiences and her nationality into her writing and was able to produce a great children’s book.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Book Review: Moonstick
Bunting, Eve. Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux. Joanna Cotler Books, 1997.
Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux is a wonderful book written by Eve Bunting. It describes a young Dakota Indian boy coming of age under the thirteen moons of the Sioux year. His father has a moonstick which he makes a notch in each time there is a change in the season or new moon. It is meant to represent a new year. During each season the young boy sees how things change and how his tribes way of living changes. This picture book is set up in a way to help the reader understand the different seasons of the Sioux and follow a boy’s journey towards manhood. The way the book is set up is very unique and the pictures depict the different seasons. The book begins with the Moon of the Birth of Calves following through to the Moon of the Thunderstorms, Moon of the Frost on the Tipi and ending with the Moon when the Grass Comes up.
This Native American story allows readers to venture into life as a Native American by the very inviting pictures. It depicts the Sioux culture very realistically while at the same time incorporating a message to children who may not fully know their ancestral background. This book is a great one to have in the classroom helping children to learn about different cultures. This story gives facts of the Sioux culture in a very interesting and poetic way. This is a very fun way for children to have fun with this book and use it to the fullest extent.
Author Eve Bunting is a very versatile author who has written over one hundred children’s books. She has researched different topics and enjoys writing about a diverse array of topics. Illustrator John Sandford has traveled to many Sioux Indian Museums in order to research paintings especially for this book. Through his research he became very informed of the Sioux Indians and their culture. This book has wonderful illustrations depicting very real events.
Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux is a wonderful book written by Eve Bunting. It describes a young Dakota Indian boy coming of age under the thirteen moons of the Sioux year. His father has a moonstick which he makes a notch in each time there is a change in the season or new moon. It is meant to represent a new year. During each season the young boy sees how things change and how his tribes way of living changes. This picture book is set up in a way to help the reader understand the different seasons of the Sioux and follow a boy’s journey towards manhood. The way the book is set up is very unique and the pictures depict the different seasons. The book begins with the Moon of the Birth of Calves following through to the Moon of the Thunderstorms, Moon of the Frost on the Tipi and ending with the Moon when the Grass Comes up.
This Native American story allows readers to venture into life as a Native American by the very inviting pictures. It depicts the Sioux culture very realistically while at the same time incorporating a message to children who may not fully know their ancestral background. This book is a great one to have in the classroom helping children to learn about different cultures. This story gives facts of the Sioux culture in a very interesting and poetic way. This is a very fun way for children to have fun with this book and use it to the fullest extent.
Author Eve Bunting is a very versatile author who has written over one hundred children’s books. She has researched different topics and enjoys writing about a diverse array of topics. Illustrator John Sandford has traveled to many Sioux Indian Museums in order to research paintings especially for this book. Through his research he became very informed of the Sioux Indians and their culture. This book has wonderful illustrations depicting very real events.
Book Review: Home to Medicine Mountain
Santiago, Chiori. Home to Medicine Mountain. San Francisco, California: Children’s Book Press, 1998.
Home to Medicine Mountain written by Chiori Santiago is a wonderful book about two brothers who are separated from their family and sent to live at a government run Indian residential school. The book tells us the hardships that the two young boys faced and how they were able to overcome obstacles. This book is one that can show children what life was like for some Indian children who were forced to leave their families and go to very strict schools where they were not allowed to speak their native language. The story ends with the boys escaping the boarding school by jumping on a freight train heading back home. This shows a great deal of courage and integrity on the boys’ part, which would be appealing to many young children.
This book, a great one for teaching students about life in the 1930’s, could potentially enforce some stereotypes. In the pictures all of the teachers are white and look very mean. Even though this is how it happened, children could become a little confused and angry with white people for treating the Indians as they did. They would not really understand why the young Indian boys were treated so poorly and taken from their families with no way to get home. There was also no glossary in the book to explain some of the traditions, symbols or words that were discussed throughout the book. If this book was to be used in a lesson and children were given a bit more information dealing with Medicine Mountain and all that went with it then I don’t think the confusion would arise.
The first page of the story lets the reader know that it is a true story and the events actually happened to the father and uncle of the author. Chiori Santiago wrote this book based on events that she has heard through her grandparents and their children. She is clearly an insider to Native Americans and their past.
Home to Medicine Mountain written by Chiori Santiago is a wonderful book about two brothers who are separated from their family and sent to live at a government run Indian residential school. The book tells us the hardships that the two young boys faced and how they were able to overcome obstacles. This book is one that can show children what life was like for some Indian children who were forced to leave their families and go to very strict schools where they were not allowed to speak their native language. The story ends with the boys escaping the boarding school by jumping on a freight train heading back home. This shows a great deal of courage and integrity on the boys’ part, which would be appealing to many young children.
This book, a great one for teaching students about life in the 1930’s, could potentially enforce some stereotypes. In the pictures all of the teachers are white and look very mean. Even though this is how it happened, children could become a little confused and angry with white people for treating the Indians as they did. They would not really understand why the young Indian boys were treated so poorly and taken from their families with no way to get home. There was also no glossary in the book to explain some of the traditions, symbols or words that were discussed throughout the book. If this book was to be used in a lesson and children were given a bit more information dealing with Medicine Mountain and all that went with it then I don’t think the confusion would arise.
The first page of the story lets the reader know that it is a true story and the events actually happened to the father and uncle of the author. Chiori Santiago wrote this book based on events that she has heard through her grandparents and their children. She is clearly an insider to Native Americans and their past.
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.
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.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
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.
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.
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