Module 15: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

Summary: Arnold, known as Junior, is an outcast on the Spokane Indian reservation, but finds solace in drawing cartoons. He comes to understand that to make more of his life beyond the reservation, that he must be active in his choices and chooses to attend a school more than 20 miles away. He goes through his first year in high school making sense of his identity and the identity of others against the backdrops of his Native American reservation home and his All-White high school.

Response: I found this piece to be an excellent representation of a coming of age tale told in a fluid and cohesive manner. The illustrations depicting glimpses into Junior’s understanding of the world around him accent the happenings in his difficult, real and uplifting life. While it centers on the cultural divisions in Junior’s life, I think that it is a piece that speaks to the outcast nature of young readers who are looking to understand themselves and their role in the larger world.

Reviews:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

SHERMAN ALEXIE, ILLUS. BY ELLEN FORNEY.

Screenwriter, novelist and poet, Alexie bounds into YA with what might be a Native American equivalent of Angela's Ashes, a coming-of-age story so well observed that its very rootedness in one specific culture is also what lends it universality, and so emotionally honest that the humor almost always proves painful. Presented as the diary of hydrocephalic 14-year-old cartoonist and Spokane Indian Arnold Spirit Jr., the novel revolves around Junior's desperate hope of escaping the reservation. As he says of his drawings, "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." He transfers to a public school 22 miles away in a rich farm town where the only other Indian is the team mascot. Although his parents support his decision, everyone else on the rez sees him as a traitor, an apple ("red on the outside and white on the inside"), while at school most teachers and students project stereotypes onto him: "I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other." Readers begin to understand Junior's determination as, over the course of the school year, alcoholism and self-destructive behaviors lead to the deaths of close relatives. Unlike protagonists in many YA novels who reclaim or retain ethnic ties in order to find their true selves, Junior must separate from his tribe in order to preserve his identity. Jazzy syntax and Forney's witty cartoons examining Indian versus White attire and behavior transmute despair into dark humor; Alexie's no-holds-barred jokes have the effect of throwing the seriousness of his themes into high relief.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. (2007). Publishers Weekly, 254(33), 70-71.

Program: During banned books week, create a discussion panel of authors, educators and librarians to discuss the importance of specific Young Adult banned novels that deal with cultural identity. Discuss issues taken with these books and why dealing with truthful and mature content is necessary for teen audiences who may be facing these issues themselves.

Module 14: Karma

Ostlere, C. (2011). Karma: A novel in verse. New York: Razorbill.

Summary: Maya and her father, a Sikh, are traveling to New Delhi to bring home the ashes of her mother Leela, a Hindu. They arrive in October of 1984 when Indira Ghandi is assassinated and chaos erupts between Sikhs and Hindus. Maya is separated from her father, and survives and navigates the country with the help of Sandeep, a boy with his own past to understand. Their stories are told through prose in the form of written journal entries.

Response: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and felt drawn in by the lyrical prose. The book is broken up into three sections, each with its own set of conflicts to resolve. While all a part of the same story, I felt that the book had brought me across a great expanse of time instead of just six weeks. Maya goes through such a journey, both in traveling across India and in adolescence into adulthood, while also providing insight to the complicated and tumultuous history of India. It is as if at the end of the book, we are in the company of another person all together when reading Maya’s thoughts. I think this is a great read and a wonderful opportunity for teen readers to know more about histories of cultures other than their own.

Reviews:

OSTLERE, Cathy. Karma. 521p. Penguin/Razorbill. Mar. 2011 Gr 8 Up—

This epic tale unfolds through the pages of alternating diaries from October 28th through December 16th, 1984. Yet countless layers peel off with the turn of each page, leading readers deeper into the rich and sometimes tortured history beneath the tale's present. Fifteen-year-old Maya, half Hindu/half Sikh, has lived her entire life in rural Canada. Her family's religion and ethnicity set them apart from their community, but also from one another. Maya's name itself signifies the tension between her parents, lovers who forsook their families for each other, but who have lived in different states of mourning and regret since. Her given name is Jiva or "life," yet her mother blasphemously calls her Maya or "illusion," an insult to her Sikh father. Thus, when life and loss lead Maya and Bapu back to India at the time of Indira Gandhi's assassination, they are plunged deep into a nation in bloody turmoil. Maya's sense of otherness escalates dramatically as she is forced to consider it on a personal and near-universal scale. The middle diary belongs to that of Sandeep, with whom Maya experiences love, tragedy, ancestry, and loyalty at an intimate (yet physically innocent) level. The novel's pace and tension will compel readers to read at a gallop, but then stop again and again to turn a finely crafted phrase, whether to appreciate the richness of the language and imagery or to reconsider the layers beneath a thought. This is a book in which readers will consider the roots and realities of destiny and chance. Karma is a spectacular, sophisticated tale that will stick with readers long after they're done considering its last lines.

Maza, J. H. (2011). Karma. School Library Journal, 57(3), 167-168.

Program: Have a creative writing workshop for teens with books like Karma and other books written in prose as the inspiration. Have available samples of writing that are factual or written as a narrative and have teens challenge themselves to write the events in a poetic fashion. Teens can choose any sort of poetic form as long as they are altering the content to express details through ornate description.

Module 13: Stitches: A Memoir

Small, D. (2009). Stitches: A memoir--. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Summary: David Small recalls childhood memories that revolve around his uncommunicative family and their choice to keep from him the fact that he had throat cancer and needed surgery to remove it. He awakes to having no voice, though this time not by choice. This sets the tone for this exploration of his family history through the perspective of adolescence and the voice that art provided him.

Response: Though quite dark, I found this piece to be interesting and therapeutic in its way of making sense of the past through representations of moments and emotions through images. I found the depiction of perception of David throughout different periods in his life to be telling of his state of mind and his ability to communicate to others. I enjoyed this piece so much because it opens up to a harsh reality that moves towards understanding and closure.

Review:

SMALL, David. Stitches: A Memoir illus. by author. Gr 10 Up

Small is best known for his picture-book illustration. Here he tells the decidedly grim but far from unique story of his own childhood. Many teens will identify with the rigors of growing up in a household of angry silences, selfish parents, feelings of personal weakness, and secret lives. Small shows himself to be an excellent storyteller here, developing the cast of characters as they appeared to him during this period of his life, while ending with the reminder that his parents and brother probably had very different takes on these same events. The title derives from throat surgery Small underwent at 14, which left him, for several years, literally voiceless. Both the visual and rhetorical metaphors throughout will have high appeal to teen sensibilities. The shaded artwork, composed mostly of ink washes, is both evocative and beautifully detailed. A fine example of the growing genre of graphic-novel memoirs.

Goldsmith, F. (2009). Stitches: A Memoir. School Library Journal, 55(9), 193.

Program: Hold a panel of graphic memoir novelists to talk to teens about the particulars of writing and illustrating moments from their past. Encourage teens to raise their own questions and get tips on creating their own graphic novels or paneled illustrations.

Module 12: The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

Sís, P. (2007). The wall: Growing up behind the Iron Curtain. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Summary: Peter Sis portrays his childhood in Communist Czechoslovakia through the use of illustration and timelines of events through the Cold War. The lack of color save for red flags to represent allegiance and captions set the stark tone of this time period and are juxtaposed by the colorful infiltrations of Western culture through music, art and ideas. The author illustrates his dreams and aspirations through his young life and the struggle to remain true to oneself while satisfying the demands of the government up until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Response: I was so moved by this piece and thought it was a well-rounded and creative way to discuss livelihoods in the East during this time. Sis does an excellent job of creating visual accompaniments to his changing sentiments of the government as he grows and understands the limitations placed on everyone’s lives. I think that having been influenced by Soviet rule in his young life, that Sis was able to create a book that is relatable to children and communicates the difficulties of that time clearly through text and illustration.

I did a bike tour through the Czech Republic almost 3 years ago and was struck with Sis’ note at the end as to how much the country has changed after Czechoslovakia became free. It was something that I hadn’t thoroughly considered while traveling through the countryside, but the fact that I was able to do it at all spoke to the steps towards freedom that have been gained in the last few decades.

Reviews:

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

PETER, SÍS. FSG/Foster

Born out of a question posed to Sís (Play, Mozart, Play!) by his children ("Are you a settler, Dad?"), the author pairs his remarkable artistry with journal entries, historical context and period photography to create a powerful account of his childhood in Cold War-era Prague. Dense, finely crosshatched black-and-white drawings of parades and red-flagged houses bear stark captions: "Public displays of loyalty--compulsory. Children are encouraged to report on their families and fellow students. Parents learn to keep their opinions to themselves." Text along the bottom margin reveals young Sís's own experience: "He didn't question what he was being told. Then he found out there were things he wasn't told." The secret police, with tidy suits and pig faces, intrude into every drawing, watching and listening. As Sís grows to manhood, Eastern Europe discovers the Beatles, and the "Prague Spring of 1968" promises liberation and freedom. Instead, Soviet tanks roll in, returning the city to its previous restrictive climate. Sís rebels when possible, and in the book's final spreads, depicts himself in a bicycle, born aloft by wings made from his artwork, flying toward America and freedom, as the Berlin Wall crumbles below. Although some of Sís's other books have their source in his family's history, this one gives the adage "write what you know" biting significance. Younger readers have not yet had a graphic memoir with the power of Maus or Persepolis to call their own, but they do now.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. (2007). Publishers Weekly, 254(27), 55-56.

Program: Have a program for teens who are encouraged to create artistic personal histories of their own lives. Provide paper and drawing materials and encourage them to think of major milestones in their personal lives as well as the world at large that would be relevant to their lives. Use The Wall and other books as examples.

Module 11: Tito Puente Mambo King- Rey Del Mambo

Brown, M., López, R., & Dominguez, A. (2013). Tito Puente, Mambo King =: Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo. New York, N.Y: Rayo.

 

Summary: Tito Puente grows up in Spanish Harlem loving rhythm, dance and music and is encouraged by his mother and his neighbors to pursue it. He works hard and achieves his dream of being his own band leader as well as making more than 100 albums and working with several Latin American musical artists. Tito’s story is told in beautiful illustrations that convey movement and the text is in English and Spanish.

Response: I loved reading this book and did so multiple times. There was so much to take in from each picture, each so bright with color and energy. I thought that it did a wonderful job to convey the pursuit of rhythm and music that ruled Tito Puente’s life. I enjoyed reading the text in English and Spanish and thought that it was great to have the availability of this story in both languages.

Reviews:

Tito Puente: Mambo King/Rey del Mambo. By Monica Brown. Illus. by Rafael Lopez. Mar. 2013. 32p. Rayo, K-Gr. 3.

"!Tum Tica! !Tum Tica! The dancers twirled, the lights swirled, and the mambo went on and on." Like so many of Brown's biographies, such as Waiting for the Biblioburro (2011) and Side by Side/Lado a lado: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez/ La historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez (2009), Tito's story introduces readers to a vibrant Latino figure. As a baby, Puente made music with pots and pans, and he later grew up to fulfill his dreams as a musician and beloved bandleader. Award-winning illustrator Lopez brings Tito's story to life in vibrant acrylic salsa reds and oranges, which are splashed behind every shake of Tito's hips and wink of his eyes. The swirling, whirling compositions add to the text's rhythmic beat. To continue the rumba after Tito's story has ended, the last page of the book offers a simple melody to play on its own or alongside the book. An author's note (in both English and Spanish) sheds more light on Puente's life.--Angie Zapata

Zapata, A. (2013, March 1). Tito Puente: Mambo King/Rey del Mambo. Booklist, 109(13), 55.

Program: Have an event for Latin American drumming and music for kids where kids and parents are encouraged to participate and learn about the different rhythms that make up the popular music styles.

 

 

Module 10: Show Way

 

Woodson, J., & Talbott, H. (2005). Show way. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Summary: The story follows the lineage through the women in the family of the author who are bought and sold into slavery but who continue to pass down the craft of memory, storytelling and the path to freedom through their quilting techniques. Though the passage through time diminishes the need for freedom pathways, the historical importance and family heritage is maintained.

Response: I found this book to be extremely powerful and moving. I felt that it really resonated with me because the author is the great-granddaughter of the great-granddaughter first depicted in the story. Though some specifics about the family history is lost along the way, the importance of family history and cultural preservation are maintained. It is the story of survival and of understanding of the struggles that came before us and the hopes for future generations. I really enjoyed the mixed media artwork of the book, especially the pages with fabric or thread depicted and thought that it added another dimension to the story. The fabric is unraveled by families being ripped apart and is constantly sewn back together to maintain what history, story and possibility of survival that is left.

Reviews:

 Show Way

JACQUELINE WOODSON, ILLUS. BY HUDSON TALBOTT.

Putnam

This affecting, poetic paper-over-board picture book stands out from the first glance. On the innovative cover, a montage of black-and-white pictures of African-American captives, arranged to resemble a quilt, act as a background to a diamond-shaped die-cut opening that frames the image of an African-American girl holding a lighted candle. Woodson's (Coming on Home Soon) story, both historical and deeply personal, begins as a seven-year-old girl is sold into slavery and taken to a South Carolina plantation "without her ma or pa but with some muslin her ma had given her." There she learns to "sew colored thread into stars and moons and roads that slave children grew up and followed late in the night, a piece of quilt and the true moon leading them." Later, her daughter also stitches quilts that become "a Show Way" to guide captives escaping to freedom. The quilt becomes a metaphor not only for physical freedom but for freedom of expression. Long after emancipation, subsequent generations of women in this family stay connected through quilting, using needle and thread as a means of support and as a creative outlet. Woodson eventually reveals that this is her own lineage, and "[her] words became books that told the stories of many people's Show Ways." Talbott uses the quilt motif in rousing ways, piecing together quotes or news items for a pair of spreads about one generation "walking in a line to change the laws" as well as in softly quilted patterns that tie together the love of a child, a theme throughout this elegantly designed volume. Ages 5-up. (Sept.)

Show Way. (2005). Publishers Weekly, 252(36), 67.

Program: Have a craft activity of creating a quilting square depicting important family information such as lineage and ancestry, cultural contributions, directions or memories. Provides colorful thread, scraps and shapes for cutouts.

Module 9: The Silence of Murder

Mackall, D. D. (2011). The silence of murder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Summary: Jeremy is an autisitc teenager and a selective mute who has been accused of the murder of the town’s baseball coach. His presence at the scene of the crime and the coach’s blood on his favorite bat lead everyone to believe that he did indeed do it. That is, everyone except his sister Hope. She knows the person that Jeremy is, that it is against his nature to do harm, and will do everything in her power to prove his innocence.

Response: I enjoyed reading this book and was propelled to its finish in order to solve the mystery. I found it interesting to have the story told from Hope’s point of view as the younger and supportive sister to Jeremy. She understands that being his sister makes her different, but it causes her to rise above the immaturity of high school life and drives her to save her brother. I enjoyed that it is not the story of someone who is compelled to snoop into other people’s lives to find out answers, but one who does everything out of love, who gives voice to someone who is voiceless. Hope seeks the truth and in her journey to find it, she find out more about herself and even more about the brother that she knows and loves.

Reviews:

The Silence of Murder.

By Dandi Daley Mackall.

Oct. 2011. 336p. Knopf, Gr. 8-12.

"I have never even once thought there was something 'wrong' with my brother," says 17-year-old Hope Long, but few people share her view. Jeremy, 18, is selectively mute, autistic, and on trial for the murder of a beloved local coach. Wherever their irresponsible alcoholic mother has taken them, Hope has always been Jeremy's advocate, but now, in order to save Jeremy from execution, she must testify to his insanity. Convinced of her brother's innocence, Hope sets out to discover the real murderer. Her investigation leads to the loss of her only friend, a forbidden romance with the sheriff's son, family secrets, and a journey of self-discovery. Hope's first-person narrative pulls readers immediately into the story as she works her way through clues and false leads to the truth. The well-plotted mystery is intriguing, and Hope's determined efforts to solve it have an authentic feel. Secondary characters are a tad one-dimensional, but Hope's compelling voice and the very real sense of danger propel the pace to a solution that will have readers talking.--Lynn Rutan

Rutan, L. (2011, October 1). The Silence of Murder. Booklist, 108(3), 88.

Program: Have a book club discussion about The Silence of Murder. Before the book talk begins, have several jars available and pieces of paper. As that each participant write a pivotal scene or moment from the book that they found pertinent to the mystery or the cohesiveness of the story itself. Have each participant take turns picking a jar and reading the scene described and then discussing its importance.

Module 8: Unwind

Shusterman, N. (2009). Unwind. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Summary: Connor, Risa and Lev are all teenagers who have one thing in common: they are about to be unwound. They live in a world where pregnancies must be carried to full term, but guardians may choose to unwind their children’s physical selves between the ages of thirteen and eighteen and have their parts given out as transplants to people in need. These Undwinds do not die nor do they continue to exist in their previous form. But for Connor, Risa and Lev, heading to the ending of their current lives is only the beginning…

Response: I had this book recommended to me by a Youth Services librarian where I work because she found the idea of the book to be thought provoking. I found it to be just that. The collision of the lives of Connor, Risa and Lev explodes into a vast array of perspectives altered by their coming together and holding onto their lives for as long as possible. I was most touched by Lev’s journey, as someone who is literally born to end, he is reborn into a second life and is able to see that his neatly packaged life is more of a complicated web. I feel that this is a great book to prompt discussion about human lives what the future holds for how we regard it.

(Side note- while I did enjoy the book, I wasn’t as pleased with the mention of skin color occurring only when a character “of color” appeared in the story. If the futuristic designation of white as the skin color sienna, and black as the skin color umber, then it should be mentioned for all characters, not just a given that the central characters will be white by the lack of mention of skin tone).

Reviews:

Unwind NEAL SHUSTERMAN

Shusterman (Everlost) explores one of the most divisive of topics--abortion--in this gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller. After a civil war waged over abortion has almost destroyed America, completely new laws are in effect. Human life can never be "terminated," but between the ages of 13 and 18, a child can be "unwound" by his parents, an irrevocable decision that leads to every single bit of his body being harvested for medical use. As the novel opens, 16-year-old Connor has secretly discovered his parents' copy of his unwind order, and decides to "kick-AWOL," or run away. Connor's escape inadvertently sweeps up two other Unwinds: a ward of the state who is not quite talented enough to merit her place in a state home any longer, and the 10th son of religious parents, who gave birth to him just to "tithe" him. Beyond his pulse-pounding pace, the cliffhangers and the bombshells, Shusterman has a gift for extrapolating the effects of alien circumstances on ordinary people and everyday behavior. He brings in folklore, medical practices, and slang that reflect the impact of unwinding, creating a dense and believable backdrop. Characters undergo profound changes in a plot that never stops surprising readers. The issues raised could not be more provocative--the sanctity of life, the meaning of being human--while the delivery could hardly be more engrossing or better aimed to teens. Ages 13-up.

Unwind. (2007, November 26). Publishers Weekly, 254(47), 54.

Program: Create a book talk of 3-4 books on social topics in fantasy and science fiction that are aimed for teens. Present an enticing summary for each book while highlighting the issues that are framed.

Module 7: Tua and the Elephant

Harris, R. P., & Yoo, T. (2012). Tua and the elephant. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Summary: Tua is a young girl who lives with her always-working mother in Chiang Mai, Thailand and helps her community of vendors by running errands across the night market. While running errands, Tua finds a whole in the wall surrounding the market that leads her to the bustling city where she encounters a chained elephant being mistreated and exploited by its handlers. She connects with the elephant, who she names Pohn-Pohn and is determined find her a safe place to live while outwitting the Pohn-Pohn’s previous owners in the process.

Response: I thought this book was an accurate depiction of life for a young girl of this age and it made it all the more engaging. There are many moments where we are keyed into the thought process of Tua who is respectful of adults, but knows the difference between those who are to be respected and those who are conniving such as the elephant’s previous owners. She also demonstrates quick thinking and resolve when her elephant is captured by two fisherman and she makes the ransom by filling plastic bags with strips of paper. She is aware of her own potential and as a young, imaginative person she is not limited to the boundaries of the adult world that would normally prevent her from taking action on behalf of the elephant’s life. I was also quite captured by the descriptions of tastes, smells and colors of the world around her.

Reviews:
Tua and the Elephant

R.P. Harris, illus, by Taeeun Yoo.

Harris's debut, inspired by a trip to the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, follows nine-year-old Tua and her relationship with an abused elephant, PohnPohn. Tua, whose mother is a hardworking waitress, lives an independent life in Chiang Mai, near a popular night market where she finds--and falls in love with--Pohn-Pohn. The elephant is under the charge of two thieving scoundrels and wordlessly begs Tua to help her escape. As quick-witted and adventurous as she is warmhearted, Tua undergoes hair-raising escapades to keep Pohn-Pohn our of the villains' grasp and find her a sanctuary. Engagingly filled with Thai vocabulary, food, and customs, and peopled by helpful family members, chums, and kind monks, the book maintains a quick, suspenseful pace. The final chapters wrap up the story a little too neatly, however, and border on an infomercial about the sanctuary for abused Asian elephants. Nonetheless, Harris's story, enlivened by Yoo's gently evocative woodcut illustrations in violet and mustard, avoids overt anthropomorphism of Pohn-Pohn while maintaining the sweet connection between elephant and girl. Ages 8-12. Illustrator's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

Tua and the Elephant. (2012, April 2). Publishers Weekly, 259(14), 58.

Program: Have an event on Thai culture with different tables focusing on several cultural aspects represented in the book: Thai food, theater, market life, and wildlife and elephant endangerment. If possible, have food samples of Thai food, pictures or samples of theater clothing and adornment, and information about wildlife preserves.  

Module 7: Eleanor & Park

Rowell, R., & St. Martin's Griffin (Firm). (2013). Eleanor & Park.

Summary: Eleanor is the new girl in school with big red hair and quirky style of dress, waiting to find a place to sit on the bus. Park is a quiet half-white/half-Korean punk kid who dares to have her sit next to him just so she won’t socially flounder on her first day on the bus. Through this chance seating arrangement begins a young love between two awkward and misfit teenagers in 1986 complete with the music of the time. Amidst the complications of teenage emotions, family and circumstance, Eleanor and Park struggle to stay together and make their young love last forever.

Response: I fell in love with Eleanor and Park’s love in reading this book. I felt as if I was transported back to high school when peer opinion mattered so much, when everyone was very self-conscious and wary of their own appearance. The structure of the novel alternating through the perceptions of Eleanor and Park give us a full view of the complications of teenage lives. I felt that I could easily have known both of them as people in my young life and would have been surprised by all of the dramas that surrounded their life experiences.

Reviews:

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Mar. 2013. 320p. St. Martin's/Griffin, Gr. 9-12.

Right from the start of this tender debut, readers can almost hear the clock winding down on Eleanor and Park. After a less than auspicious start, the pair quietly builds a relationship while riding the bus to school every day, wordlessly sharing comics and eventually music on the commute. Their worlds couldn't be more different. Park's family is idyllic: his Vietnam vet father and Korean immigrant mother are genuinely loving. Meanwhile, Eleanor and her younger siblings live in poverty under the constant threat of Richie, their abusive and controlling stepfather, while their mother inexplicably caters to his whims. The couple's personal battles are also dark mirror images. Park struggles with the realities of failing for the school outcast; in one of the more subtle explorations of race and "the other" in recent YA fiction, he clashes with his father over the definition of manhood. Eleanor's fight is much more external, learning to trust her feelings about Park and navigating the sexual threat in Richie's watchful gaze. In rapidly alternating narrative voices, Eleanor and Park try to express their all-consuming love. "You make me feel like a cannibal," Eleanor says. The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship they develop is urgent, moving, and, of course, heartbreaking, too.--Courtney Jones

Jones, C. (2013, January 1). Eleanor & Park. Booklist, 109(9-10), 98.

Program: Have a display for teens regarding trouble home life. Include non-fiction books and Realistic Fiction books representing these issues, such as Eleanor & Park. If possible have a safe-space discussion group for teens regarding these issues led by a professional in social services.

Module 6: Pinduli

Cannon, J. (2004). Pinduli. Orlando: Harcourt.

Summary: Pinduli is a young hyena eager to explore the world around her. She leaves her mama’s side under the promise that she will soon return. In her explorations she meets several animals who are critical of her appearance. Pinduli does all she can to change the way she looks and ends up creating an adventure of her own.

Response: I really enjoyed reading and rereading this book because of its wonderful illustrations. Each page is so well crafted to show each interaction that Pinduli has though interesting angles and perspectives. I really enjoyed the smaller pen illustrations underneath the text depicting Pinduli’s mother being worried and going out to look for her. It is another side of the story that gets told without words.

Reviews:

Cannon, Janell. Pinduli. Sept. 2004. 48p. illus. Harcourt.

Gr. 1-3. Cannon, best known as the author/ illustrator of Stellaluna (1993), here introduces Pinduli, a little hyena who lives in East Africa. One afternoon, Pinduli encounters a pack of wild dogs that make fun of her ears, a bald lion that calls her fur a "prickly fringe," and a zebra that criticizes the haziness of her stripes After transforming her "flaws" as best she can, Pinduli inadvertently tricks these animals into thinking that she is the "Great Spirit." They confess their misdeeds and agree to make amends Children will find Pinduli's hurt feelings understandable and her quick thinking admirable. The artwork, executed in colored pencils and acrylics, uses a restrained palette in the large pictures depicting the main story on the right-hand pages. On the left, below the text, a series of small ink drawings create a visual counterpoint by showing what Pinduli's mother is doing while events unfold. A four-page end-note discusses the various species of hyenas and their characteristics. Though a bit purposeful, the story may give teachers and parents a starting point for discussing insults.--Carolyn Phelan

Phelan, C. (2004, September 1). Cannon, Janell. Pinduli. Booklist, 101(1), 129+.

Program: Have a display of different animals with different attributes listed and a pro’s and con’s list underneath each animal. Children and parents visiting the display area may participate in adding words underneath each category to think about why certain animals are the way they are, what makes them unique or gives them certain abilities for survival. Encourage all those who participate to check out the book and how the animals are made to feel about their particular traits.

Module 5: One Crazy Summer

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad.

Summary: Delphine, who is eleven, and her two sisters, Vonetta- nine, and Fern- seven, are headed from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to see the mother that left them seven years before. For one month during the summer, they will be without the city, the father and the grandmother, Big Ma, that they have known and endure the standoffish nature of the woman who birthed them. As the eldest, Delphine tries to navigate her sisters through the strange new setting as they experience Oakland in 1968 against the backdrop of the Black Panther Movement. Their world is opened up as they figure out what it means to be in a time of revolution, to be young and to be the daughters of a mother they have never known.

Response: I absolutely loved reading this book and experiencing Oakland through the eyes of Delphine. The energy in her narrations translated genuinely of a young person who had to grow up a little too quickly to support her sisters. I felt present in the moments of nervousness when addressing her no-nonsense mother or when feeling guilty for having fun as a kid should do. I especially liked the way that she interpreted what was happening with the Black Panther Party, how it would affect her and her sisters and what she gained from the experience of community pride. I thought the dynamic between her and her sisters was enjoyable and felt real while propelling the events in the story.

Reviews:

One Crazy Summer By Rita Williams-Garcia.

Feb. 2010.224p.Amistad Gr. 4-7

Eleven-year-old Delphine has only a few fragmented memories of her mother, Cecile, a poet who wrote verses on II walls and cereal boxes, played smoky jazz records, and abandoned the family in Brooklyn after giving birth to her third II daughter. In the summer of 1968, Delphine's father decides that seeing Cecile is "something whose time had come," and Delphine boards a plane with her sisters to Cecile's home in Oakland. What they find there is far from their California dreams of Disneyland and movie stars. "No one told y'all to come out here," Cecile says. "No one wants you out here making a mess, stopping my work." Like the rest of her life, Cecile's work is a mystery conducted behind the doors of the kitchen that she forbids her daughters to enter. For meals, Cecile sends the girls to a Chinese restaurant or to the local, Black Panther--run community center, where Cecile is known as Sister Inzilla and where the girls begin to attend youth programs. Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion. Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent's love.--Gillian Engberg

Program: Have a Black History in fiction book talk during the month of February and incorporate this book as well as others to discuss the movements that have taken place over the last several decades and how youth groups have always taken part in them.

Module 5: The Tequila Worm

Canales, V. (2005). The tequila worm. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Summary: Sofia grows up in McAllen, Texas with her Catholic Hispanic family, including her younger sister Lucy, her parents, cousins and many other extended family members and friends. As she grows, she is inspired by books and her studies to learn about the life outside of her small town. When she gets the opportunity to go to a boarding school in Austin, Texas, she must find balance between her pursuit of knowledge and her connection to family.

Response: I have mixed feelings about this book only because I felt like the perspective of the main character, Sofia, lacked self-understanding. At times I felt like the conversations that she had and her responses to what her family would say to her were portrayed in a condescending manner. This made it difficult for me to connect with her experiences throughout the book. What did really bring me into the book were the vivid descriptions of her world- from the details of her Tia’s makeup and giant storytelling bag, to the slow and thorough process of her and her father cleaning and cooking beans. These moments were captivating and made me feel as if I was right there witnessing everything.

Reviews:

The Tequila Worm

VIOLA CANALES. Random/Lamb

(202p) ISBN 0-385-74674-1

This tender first novel suffers somewhat from an awkward structure. Narrator Sofia, whose life story hews closely to the author's own Texas barrio-to-Harvard Law trajectory, begins by relating quotidian childhood experiences as vignettes. Three successive chapters go from first communion to dyeing Easter cascarones to trick-or-treating. A quarter of the way into the novel, she is suddenly 14 and has been offered a scholarship to a boarding school in Austin, Tex., 350 miles from her home in McAllen. The loosely connected anecdotes then shift to a conventional narrative thread about convincing her parents to let her attend. What will keep readers enthralled are the details of Sofia's home life--from the sobremesa, a "sacred time" after dinner in which the family reconnects through conversation, to the worm of the title, a critter soaked in mescal that acts as a "cure for homesickness" when eaten. Readers may well feel unprepared for both a death at novel's end and Sofia's out-of-the-blue neighborhood activism--but the characters are real and engaging, the vignettes funny and enlightening, and Sofia's lack of cynicism is refreshing. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

The Tequila Worm. (2005). Publishers Weekly, 252(46), 49-49.

* Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. 2005. 176p. Random/Wendy Lamb, $15.95 (0-385-74674-1); lib. ed., $17.99 (0-385-90905-5).

Gr. 6-9. From an early age, Sofia has watched the comadres in her close-knit barrio community, in a small Texas town, and she dreams of becoming "someone who makes people into a family," as the comadres do. The secret, her young self observes, seems to lie in telling stories and "being brave enough to eat a whole tequila worm." In this warm, entertaining debut novel, Canales follows Sofia from early childhood through her teen years, when she receives a scholarship to attend an exclusive boarding school. Each chapter centers on the vivid particulars of Mexican American traditions--celebrating the Day of the Dead, preparing for a cousin's quinceanera. The explanations of cultural traditions never feel too purposeful; they are always rooted in immediate, authentic family emotions, and in Canales' exuberant storytelling, which, like a good anecdote shared between friends, finds both humor and absurdity in sharply observed, painful situations from weathering slurs and other blatant harassment to learning what it means to leave her community for a privileged, predominately white school. Readers of all backgrounds will easily connect with Sofia as she grows up, becomes a comadre, and helps rebuild the powerful, affectionate community that raised her.--Gillian Engberg

Engberg, G. (2005, October 15). Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. Booklist, 102(4), 47.

Program: Have this book available as part of the Dia de los Muertos display. Have an event where participants, young and old, can bring some sort of token or items that represents a part of their family history, and share the stories in small groups.

Module 4: I, Juan de Pareja

Treviño, E. B. (1978). I, Juan de Pareja. New York: Yearling Book.

Summary: Juan de Pareja, a slave, tells the story of his life and how he comes to work for the great Spanish painter Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez. Juan tells of his trials through life as a slave, the kindness of his master, and his desire to paint under the tutelage of his master even though it is illegal for a slave to do so. Through serving and supporting his master in Spain and in travels to Italy, Juan gains understanding of the world around him and his role in it.

Response: I found it interesting reading a piece from the perspective of a Black slave that was written during a time (1965) when perspectives in the U.S. on ethnic groups of color were still limited. I thought it to be well written and interesting as it pulled from the historical context of the life of Juan de Pareja as he may have lived it in serving Velazquez as his master. All of his emotions are appropriate- his attitudes towards kindness and viciousness are that of one who understands himself as a whole human who happens to be bound by the shackles of slavery. I especially like the introduction of Lolis, the slave that attends to the wife of Velazquez when she is aging and ill, because Juan is confronted with the realities of the lived slave experience from someone else. He is always approached with moments in his life that help him grow and understand the world around him.

Review:

In I, Juan de Pareja, Elizabeth Borton de Trevino unites two favorite strands of her previous work — her love for the Hispanic people and her interest in their artistic heritage. In 1959, she had already attempted a novel about El Greco, The Greek of Toledo, but I, Juan de Pareja describes the complex relationship between two vastly different painters. Taking as her starting point the famous Velazquez portrait of Pareja which now hangs in the Museo del Prado, the author utilizes portraits of both artists to illustrate crucial moments in their lives. There generally is no historical basis for her interpretation of the genesis of the paintings, but the weaving of historical data, authentic artistic works, and fictional narrative is ingenious and well conceived. Of special merit is the final glimpse of Philip IV, painting, with Juan’s help, the red cross of Santiago on Velazquez’s breast in his masterpiece Las Meninas.

The year of the publication of I, Juan de Pareja, 1965, was one of racial turmoil in the United States. In the afterwords, Borton de Trevino alludes to this strife and expresses the opinion that her story of two men, one black, one white, foreshadows all that can be achieved in the present.

Yet there is no moralizing tone in the novel. The author lets the situation and actions of her characters — the slave afraid to be sold, the princess refusing to be in the same room with a black man, the cruel conduct of a gypsy who is himself an outcast — speak for themselves. If there is any tendency toward sententiousness, it lies in the pronouncements of Velazquez concerning his art.

Besides its interpretation of a past relationship used to prefigure possible harmony in the present, I, Juan de Pareja is original in its treatment of a Hispanic theme. Credible books on historical Hispanic figures are rare indeed, let alone one dealing with two painters of the seventeenth century. The author wished to open children’s (and adults’) eyes to the richness of Hispanic culture. This book is well read with copies of both Velazquez’s and Pareja’s paintings in front of the reader.

Essay by: Charlene E. Suscavage

Suscavage, C. E. (1991). I, Juan de Pareja. Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series, 1-2.

Program: Have a display with the painting of Juan de Pareja by Velazquez and ask children who come in to create a back story for the painting. Why was it painted? Who is the man in the painting? What do his clothes say about him? The expression on his face? Encourage them to read the book after creating the story to see how it compares to what they imagined. All written ideas will be posted with the picture.