Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selznick, Brian. 2011. Wonderstruck. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780545027892

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Wonderstruck tells 2 stories intertwined with each other, one through words and one through pictures. After the death of his mother, Ben is struck by lightning, rendering him completely deaf. He leaves his small town of Gunflint Lake, Minnesota and runs away to New York City in an attempt to find his father. While in New York City, he meets a young man named Jamie who lets Ben stay in the American Museum of Natural History. Rose, whose part of the story is told through illustrations, also runs away from her home to New York City to find her mother, a famous actress. Though her mother rejects her, she stays with her brother Walter, an employee in the American Museum of Natural History. Though the stories of Ben and Rose are told 50 years apart, they eventually combine in a surprising way.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Wonderstruck explores the difficult themes: deafness, disabilities, death of loved ones, and the search for one’s identity. The majority of the text in Wonderstruck focuses on Ben’s experiences. Ben has dealt with many tragedies in his young life: the absence of a father, death of his mother, deafness in one ear, and finally total deafness due to a lightning strike. He gets teased very often by his cousin before he decides to go to New York in search of his father. Ben doesn’t know sign language and has a hard time reading lips, he communicates with his new friend Jamie by writing in a notebook. The reader can feel Ben’s frustration as he attempts to communicate with others and can also feel his fear when he doesn’t understand what people may be saying to him. Navigating around New York City is especially difficult for Ben, due to the massive numbers of people and traffic, as well as not knowing the layout of the city.

Most of the illustrated portions of Wonderstruck tell the story of Rose. Rose is deaf and is supposed to be learning how to read lips with a tutor, but runs away from her home to visit her mother, a famous actress. Rose’s mother rejects her and considers her an embarrassment, so Rose runs away to her brother Walter, who works in the museum at the Cabinet of Wonders, the room where Ben stays in the future. Walter finds a wonderful school for deaf children that Rose may attend, so she does not have to go back to being isolated. The action in Wonderstruck goes back and forth in time and between Gunflint Lake, Minnesota and various New York locations as the reader moves from the stories of Rose to Ben.

There are many specific connections between Rose and Ben, and all questions regarding their relationship and the significance of Gunflint Lake, wolves, the museum, and the Cabinet of Wonders are answered in the last few chapters when Rose and Ben’s stories intertwine. Both characters experience growth not only in their personal lives but also in their acceptance of and ability to handle their disability.

Selznick’s pencil illustrations are focused primarily on Rose’s story until Ben and Rose are finally together. There are close ups of Ben making the signs for “my friend” when referring to Jamie. Selznick also starts with a long distance drawing of wolves, and gradually over the next few pages draws close ups until the illustration is focused on the wolf’s glistening eye. This style of illustration is repeated several times, at both the beginning and end of Wonderstruck.

Selznick has included an extensive selected bibliography that contains sections on: deafness and deaf culture, museums and cabinets of wonder, 1927 clothing and objects, stage and screen, world’s fairs, lightening, Gunflint Lake, Hoboken, inspirations, documentary film, and finally websites he believes the reader will find useful.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee 2012-2013

Positive review in Kirkus: “Visually stunning, completely compelling, Wonderstruck demonstrates a mastery and maturity that proves that, yes, lightning can strike twice.”

Positive review in Publisher’s Weekly: “It takes several hundred pages and a big chunk of exposition to connect these two strands, but they converge in an emotionally satisfying way. Selznick masterfully uses pencil and paper like a camera, starting a sequence with a wide shot and zooming in on details on successive pages.

5. CONNECTIONS

* Official website for Wonderstruck: http://www.wonderstruckthebook.com/

* Scholastic official website for Wonderstruck: http://www.scholastic.com/wonderstruck/

This website includes a tutorial for finger spelling your name and a link for star navigation.

* Other books written by Brian Selznick:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret. ISBN 9780439813785

The Houdini Box. ISBN 9781416968788

The Boy of a Thousand Faces. ISBN 9780064410809

The Robot King. ISBN 9780060244934

Review: Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shihab Nye, Naomi. 1999. Habibi. Simon Pulse, An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 9780689825231

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Liyana Abboud, daughter of an American mother and Arab father, receives a shock one day when her father announces the whole family will be moving back to his home country of Palestine, in order to get to know his relatives and ancestry. Liyana, her brother Rafik, mother Susan, and father Kamal leave St. Louis behind them and move to small home halfway between Jerusalem and Ramallah near a refugee camp. Liyana struggles to understand her father’s relatives and learn their pastoral way of life, just as she attempts to recognize both her American half and her Arab half. She is shocked by the violence she sees everyday as well as the strict rules girls living in Jerusalem must adhere to. Liyana’s loneliness is forgotten once she meets Omer, a young Jewish man who becomes a close friend, and possible romantic interest.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Nye has based Habibi on herself and her family. Like Liyana, Nye was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother and struggled to find her identity straddling 2 different worlds. There are so many cultural details in this novel, that it can be somewhat overwhelming to the reader who may be trying to absorb every word. Nye not only educates the reader on the Arab-American teen experience in America, but also in the Middle East. She discusses Muslim issues, Jewish issues, and many other authentic cultural markers of Palestinian citizens. Language plays a crucial role in Habibi and is used to show affections as well as cultural misunderstandings between characters. “Habibi” is an Arabic word meaning “my beloved” or “my dearest one”, and is used regularly in the novel by Liyana’s parents and relatives as a term of endearment. Other than Liyana’s mom Susan, all other characters and relatives have names common to the Palestine region.

Although Rafik fits in to his new environment easily, playing with his cousin Muhammad and learning to speak Arabic quickly, Liyana experiences extreme culture shock. Coming through customs at the airport, her family is targeted by Israeli airport agents to be thoroughly searched, an incident that is common to Palestinians according to Liyana’s father. To get to her grandmother Sitti’s village in the West Bank, they must drive through a military checkpoint manned by armed soldiers. While this is a common enough occurrence in the West Bank, for Liyana it is a shocking reminder that she is far removed from her comfort zone.

Liyana must get used to the new traditions that are common in Palestinian families. At Sitta’s, the entire large extended family sit on the floor and talk at length while waiting for dinner to be ready. They drink maramia (herbal tea), and eat lamb, rice, and pine nuts off a communal plate. Once Liyana’s father, a doctor, moves back to Jerusalem, he is inundated with requests for money and items his family members need. Sitta asks him to sponsor her pilgrimage to Mecca, and other family members expect money to be given to them since he is much wealthier and came from America. According to Liyana’s father, monetary requests and demands are extremely common especially coming from female family members.

Religion is addressed constantly in Habibi and is part of the general theme of acceptance and tolerance for others. Liyana’s extended family is Muslim, and prays on small prayer rugs when a call to prayer is heard from the local mosque. She has extremely in depth and honest conversations with Odem about the arguments between Jewish and Arab people in the city of Jerusalem. Odem’s mother is wary of his relationship with Liyana, but Liyana’s grandmother welcomes him with open arms. His presence in her home gives her confidence that someday Arabs and Israelis won’t fight and Palestine will be peaceful once again. Liyana asks her father why he doesn’t pray the way his family does, and he answers that he prays that way “in my heart.”

Habibi is an excellent novel for younger teens that have an interest in learning more about the Middle East and difficulties assimilating to that culture. With themes of cultural identity and religious tolerance, this novel should be in every school and public library.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

ALA Notable Children’s Book

NYPL Book for the Teen Age

Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly: “A soul-stirring novel.”

Review in Kirkus: “Some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story- -Liyana's emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother's reactions overall--fall away from the plot. However, Liyana's romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own.”

Positive review in School Library Journal: “Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Other books about the Arab-American teen experience:

Bamberger, Davis. Young Person’s History of Israel. ISBN 9780874413939

Bode, Janet. New Kids in Town: Oral Histories of Immigrant Teens. ISBN

9780590441445

Hafiz, Dilara. The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook. ISBN 9780979253126

Mahdi, Ali Akbar. Teen Life in the Middle East. ISBN 9780313361326

* Other books by Naomi Shihab Nye:

Words Under the Words: Selected Poems. ISBN 9780933377295

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. ISBN 9780060504045

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. ISBN 9780060581893

What Have You Lost? ISBN 9780380733071

Review: Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wilkinson, Lili. 2011. Pink. New York: HarperTeen. ISBN 9780061926532

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

After transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence, Ava feels like a new person. She can have a fresh start away from her overbearing and sophisticated girlfriend Chloe, and away from the stigma of being in a lesbian relationship at her old underperforming high school. Ava’s progressive parents have always been excited by the prospect of Ava being in a lesbian relationship and don’t understand that Ava is not exactly sure who she wants to date. Ava re-invents herself at Billy Hughes as a pink, sparkly, feminine teen who wishes to date any number of the handsome, popular boys. After failing at musical tryouts, Ava meets up with the stage crew, a group of misfits and “weirdoes” happy to be themselves. Ava is torn between her feelings for male stage crew member Sam and her girlfriend Chloe, and lies to them both about her confusion. She has to come clean to the people she loves and be honest with herself about that kind of person she wants to be.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Australian writer Lili Wilkinson has created generally relatable characters dealing with typical teenage issues like dating, school pressure, bullying, sexual pressure, and sexual identity. The time period of Pink is not described but it assumed to be modern day Melbourne, Australia. Ava and her friends spend most of their time at school, shopping at the mall, or at trendy coffee shops like many modern teens.

Some descriptions of character personality traits seem a bit far-fetched, but that may be due some cultural differences between Australian and American teens. The focus of Pink is not on the typical elements that can be found in a culture, but rather how teens from various backgrounds interact with one another. Wilkinson has 2 characters in her novel as examples of how gay characters can be homophobic to one another for being “too gay.” At Ava’s new school, there are 2 openly gay teens. Jules, a member of the stage crew with Ava is described as well-groomed, dressed all in black “like Johnny Cash.” Wilkinson describes Miles, the other openly gay teen, as extremely flamboyant and in your face. Jules explains to Ava that there are 2 different types of gay: normal gay like himself and ghey (with an h) in which men wear women’s clothes, groom too much, and have a feminine walk like Miles.

Chloe, Ava’s girlfriend is extremely adult and sophisticated, almost unbelievably so. She is described as wearing all black, with dark black eyeliner. Chloe reads mature, adult literature, drinks coffee, and smokes cigarettes constantly. Ava and Chloe frequent a trendy coffeeshop Ava mockingly calls the “lesbian bat cave” and it is described by Ava as being “scattered with semo-goth emo lesbians drinking thick black coffee”. Sadly, Ava’s stage crew members are written as stereotypical nerdy kids that can be seen in many teen books and movies. The overweight, dorky kid, the female Star Trek nerd with braces, and the studious Asian boy are all stereotypical kids in the stage crew at Ava’s school.

Ava’s actions in the story do have major consequences for her, which is great for teens to read. When she lies to her Chloe about her new school and cheating on her with a boy, Chloe breaks up with her and Ava’s friends are also disappointed in her. They are not upset that she is struggling with her sexuality, but rather that she lied to them all and didn’t trust them with the truth. While Pink has some great messages of self-acceptance, the storylines wrap up a bit too neatly. Cynical teen readers may not enjoy the stereotypical characters, but will appreciate Ava’s search for her true identity.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Stonewall Honor Book 2012

Starred review in VOYA: “A witty, refreshing look at high school and adolescence that obliterates stereotypes along the way. Laugh-out-loud funny, endearing, and heartbreaking.”

Positive review in Booklist: “Written with a great deal of snarky wit, this Australian import never gets overly heavy despite all the hand-wringing. A refreshing addition to the LGBT oeuvre.”

Positive review in School Library Journal: ““An entertaining story about teen angst, sexual identity, and high school relationships from a promising debut author.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Teacher notes for Pink: http://www.allenandunwin.com/_uploads/BookPdf/TeachersReview/9781741758344.pdf

* Other books by Lili Wilkinson:

Pocketful of Eyes. ISBN 9781742376196

The Not Quite Perfect Boyfriend. ISBN 9781742377650

Scatterheart. ISBN 9781846470776

* Other books for teens with themes of sexuality identity:

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. ISBN 9781451696196

Kerr, M.E. Deliver Us From Evie. ISBN 9780780751279

Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy. ISBN 9780375832994

Myracle, Lauren. Kissing Kate. ISBN 9780142408698

Peters, Julie Anne. Keeping You a Secret. ISBN 9780316009850

Wright, Bil. Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy. ISBN 9781416939962

Review: The Junior Thunder Lord by Laurence Yep

The Junior Thunder Lord by Laurence Yep

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Yep, Laurence. 1994. The Junior Thunder Lord. Ill. by Robert Van Nutt. New York: BridgeWater Books. ISBN 0816734542

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Yue, a salesman, must travel far away from his home to sell his goods. His village was under a terrible drought and his neighbors could not trade. While in Thunder County, he stumbles upon a crowd drumming to honor the thunder lords who help dragons bring rain to the land. In a noodle house, Yue offers food to Bear Face, a large man whom most villagers either fear or ignore. Bear Face offers to accompany Yue in thanks for his kindness. While on a ship, a storm blows in and the ship breaks apart. Bear Face throws Yue on his back, swims him to shore then saves the other passengers and Yue’s trade goods. Yue and Bear Face have become and Yue brings him home to his village. As Bear Face witnesses the drought in Yue’s village he becomes angry and shouts to his brothers in the sky for help. Bear Face is actually a junior thunder lord who was punished to live on the earth for insulting a dragon king. To repay Yue’s kindness, Bear Face brings him up to the clouds and shows him how to release the rain over his drought-burdened village. After that time, Yue’s village never suffered a drought again and Bear Face became a trusted friend to Yue and his family.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Yep’s main purpose in re-telling this ancient Chinese legend is to remind his readers that “Those at the top should help those at the bottom.” The setting is based long ago, in a made up land, as seen in many fables from across the world. Yue is a moral and kind character and Bear Face, while originally made out to be a villain, redeems himself by repaying Yue’s kindness. Yep describes Bear Face as big, scowling, and hairy like a bear. His attitude frightens everyone in Thunder County except Yue, who remembers advice a friend gave him in school, that people should help the less fortunate.

Yep adds few cultural markers in his text to emphasize the Chinese culture. The entire story is based on the Chinese legend of the thunder lords, who “with their stone axes, they make the thunder and help the dragons bring rain.” Yue is introduced to junior thunder lord Bear Face due to food. Yue orders Chinese food: noodles at a restaurant for himself and Bear Face, and an additional meal of pork and dumplings.

According to Yep, The Junior Thunder Lord is based on a 17^th century Chinese fable by Pu Songling. Unfortunately, Yep does not provide any sources or references for further reading in his picture book. The addition of reference sources would have been helpful for readers interested in the sources of the Junior Thunder Lord legend.

The majority of the cultural markers and makers of cultural authenticity are located in the illustrations. Robert Van Nutt’s illustrations are beautiful, with rich glossy colors and traditional Chinese elements. Yue and his family have dark black hair, with Yue’s wife shown as having slightly paler skin than her son and husband and other characters have skin in varied shades. The characters have almond shaped, dark colored eyes. All the children shown in the pictures have shaved heads with a pony tail tied up in the back. The background villages and Chinese ship Yue sails on are extremely detailed and accurate to the time period and location the story is based upon. Some of the most striking images are the Chinese dragons drawn with fierce teeth, golden scales and red bellies. The drums of the villagers and thunder lords are bright red and gold, looking very much like the coloring of the dragons.

The Junior Thunder Lord would be an excellent picture book for young children interested in Chinese myths and legends.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Positive review in Publisher’s Weekly: “Yep (The Man Who Tricked a Ghost) here gracefully wraps a 17th-century Chinese fable in a zestful style that speaks immediately to readers and vivifies its moral-that "those at the top should help those at the bottom."

Positive review in School Library Journal: “The quality of the artwork is undercut, however, by the lack of variation in the basic features of all but the main characters. While this detracts somewhat from the book, the story is well written and will appeal to a wide audience.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Other Chinese fables and fairy tales from Laurence Yep:

The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale. ISBN 9780064435185

The Shell Woman and the King: A Chinese Folktale. ISBN 9780803713949

Tiger Woman. ISBN 9780816734658

The Boy Who Swallowed Snakes. ISBN 9780590461689

                       

Review: The Year of the Rat

The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lin, Grace. 2008. The Year of the Rat. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316114264

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

The Year of the Rat continues the story of Grace Lin, begun in the novel The Year of the Dog. Grace, known in her Taiwanese home as Pacy, celebrates Chinese New Year. It is also the Year of the Rat, which means a year of changes ahead. Grace is one of the only Asian children at her New York school and is best friends with Melody, who is also Asian. Melody has to move away from Grace across the country to California and Grace is upset and worried about being alone. During the Year of the Rat, Grace has to deal with many changes: Melody moving, angst about her artistic talent and future as an author/illustrator, ignorance of her classmates regarding the Asian culture. The biggest change is the arrival of Dun-Wei, whose family moves into Melody’s old house. Grace is at first resentful and wary of Dun-Wei, snubbing him and neglecting to protect him from the bullying of other students. Eventually, Grace and Dun-Wei become friends and survive the Year of the Rat. 

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Year of the Rat is a young adult novel based partly on author Grace Lin’s childhood, as indicated in her author’s note. The character of Grace struggles with her identity and what it means to be Asian in a town where she is a clear minority. Her parents are from Taiwan but most of her classmates believe Grace is from China especially since she celebrates Chinese New Year. She also struggles with 2 different names: Her American name of Grace and her Chinese/Taiwanese name of Pacy. Lin puts so much emotion into her text that the reader is able to feel Grace’s confusion and worry over her future. While at school, Grace’s classmates automatically pair her up with Dun-Wei simply because they are both Asian, and make unintentionally racist remarks at times.

Lin fills every page with authentic and accurate representations of elements found in the Asian culture. The story begins and ends with Chinese New Year, covering events occurring over the course of a year in between the 2 celebrations. During the Chinese New Year celebrations, Grace, her family, and friends have a feast: pork, duck, noodles eaten with chop sticks, silver fish, rice, bird’s nest soup, fried dumplings, vegetables, and steamed buns. Following the large meal, everyone is required to stay up late to greet the New Year. According to Grace’s father, “The longer you stay awake, the longer lives you will have.” The importance of food is emphasized again during a wedding feast where “chicken symbolizes the phoenix” which is the bride and “lobster symbolizes the dragon” which is the groom.

Every few chapters, Grace’s mother or father tell different stories related to Chinese mythology or personal tales from their lives before they left Taiwan and how difficult it was fitting into a new culture when they first arrived in America. The origin of the 12 animals represented during Chinese New Year, and how the rat beat out all the animals to be first is explained in humorous detail. A large section of the book is dedicated to the wedding of Grace’s cousin Clifford, presenting an opportunity for Lin to explore the mixing of American and Taiwanese marriage traditions. Grace, a sister and her mother wear high-collared silk Chinese dresses while another sister wears a typical American flower girl gown.  The bride, Lian, is married in a traditional white dress, but changes into her own Chinese silk gown for the reception at a Chinese restaurant. Finally, Clifford and Lian ask Grace and her sisters to jump on their hotel room bed before they sleep, as part of a cultural ritual to insure they may someday have their own children.

Lin includes her own brief pen and ink sketches scattered on every page or so over the course of the book. They are meant to be interpretations of events from the character of Grace as she writes about the Year of the Rat. Lin’s family portrait at the beginning of the book shows happy, smiling children and parents, all with dark hair and eyes. In other sketches, the girls are drawn wearing Chinese dresses covered in dragons and a phoenix.

You couldn’t find a better book to represent the challenges and triumphs of a young Taiwanese girl who is just trying to fit in with her classmates while still maintaining a respect for her Asian culture. Young girls will especially empathize with situations like losing a best friend, school stressors, and middle school crushes.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

CCBC Choice, 2007Washington Post Kid's Book of the Week, 2008

Positive review in Paper Tigers: “This book is a real gem, and we would welcome seeing Pacy again one of these Chinese Zodiac years.”

Positive review in School Library Journal: “Lin's plentiful detailed line drawings add to the story's appeal. This heartwarming sequel will leave readers hoping for more about this engaging heroine and her family.”

Positive review in Kirkus:” Readers of this gentle, appealing sequel will appreciate the way the engaging protagonist discovers she can survive the changes a new year brings.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Use The Year of the Rat to discuss the difficulty of fitting in to 2 different cultures.

* Educator’s Guide for The Year of the Rat provided by Grace Lin: http://www.gracelinbooks.com/files/Year_of_The_Rat_EduGuide.pdf

* Other young adult books from Grace Lin:

The Year of the Dog. ISBN 9780316060028 (Prequel to The Year of the Rat)

Dumpling Days. ISBN 9780316125901 (Third book in the Pacy Lin series)

* Young Adult books based on the Asian culture:

Kadohata, Cynthia. Weedflower. ISBN 9781416975663

Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out and Back Again. ISBN 9780061962783

Park, Linda Sue. When My Name was Keoko. ISBN 9780547722399

Review: Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Say, Allen. 1993. Grandfather’s Journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395570352

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Grandfather’s Journey is the story of Allen Say’s grandfather, as he leaves Japan to visit new places around the United States of America. After spending 3 weeks traveling to America by steamship, he took a train, riverboat, and walked everywhere. Grandfather explored the Southwest, the Midwest, and mountains, finally settling in California. Eventually, he returned to Japan to marry his sweetheart, bringing her back to San Francisco to raise their daughter. Many years later, and overcome with homesickness, Grandfather brought his wife and daughter back to Japan to live in the city. Say’s mother met and married his father in Japan, where Say was born. Although he enjoyed his life in Japan, Grandfather missed living in California. When bombs destroyed their house in the city, Grandfather and Grandmother moved back to the small village where they grew up. Grandfather’s stories inspired Say to move to California when he was grown.  

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Grandfather’s Journey explores themes of immigration and homesickness, but in a way that would be easily understood by children. Allen Say discusses a common occurrence with immigrants, which is the love they have for their home country as well as their adopted country. Grandfather expresses wonder and amazement at the different landscapes and people he finds in America. Although grandfather fell in love with the California coast after exploring much of the United States, he returned to Japan in order to marry his childhood sweetheart (Say’s grandmother). Once grandfather had a daughter of his own, he wanted to raise her back in Japan, where he grew up. The action shifts back and forth between Japan and America as grandfather, his family, and finally Say himself move from place to place and between 2 distinct cultures.

Cultural markers are sparse in the text, but Say does emphasize the love of birds his grandfather has, both in California and Japan. Grandfather kept songbirds in his home in California, so he wouldn’t forget the beauty of his home in Japan. He also briefly touches on the destruction of Japan during World War 2, but without details that may disturb younger readers, saying instead, “Bombs fell from the sky and scattered our lives like leaves in a storm.” There are no mentions of first names or dialects, celebrations, foods, or descriptions of Say’s family. Say very clearly emphasizes that this is the personal story of his grandfather’s experience coming from Japan, and is not simply a generic immigration centered on the Asian culture.

Say’s illustrations show the love and respect he has for his grandfather’s story. These images are where the majority of cultural markers for the Japanese culture exist.

The first image of Say’s grandfather shows him in traditional Japanese dress, while the second image is grandfather wearing “European clothes” for the first time while crossing the Pacific Ocean. Each picture Say created for his book looks like a posed photograph, and all characters appear quite solemn and serious. It is as if Say took photographs from an album and painted the images exactly. In later images with Say’s grandmother and mother, they are all wearing American dresses, shoes, and hairstyles. However, once the story moves back to Japan, Say illustrates his grandparents wearing Japanese styles once again. The clothing, hairstyles, and architecture are all accurately represented in the illustrations as being pre-World War 2. Say paints lovely backgrounds and landscapes, showing he clearly relishes illustrating his family’s story and the locations they treasured the most.

Allen Say writes a moving narrative of his grandfather’s travels between Japan and California and how it inspired his own move from Yokohama, Japan to California. As Say writes, “The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.”

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Caldecott Medal Winner, 2004

Positive review in Publisher’s Weekly: “The tranquility of the art and the powerfully controlled prose underscore the profundity of Say's themes, investing the final line with an abiding, aching pathos: "The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other."

Positive review in School Library Journal: “A personal history of three generations of the author's family that points out the emotions that are common to the immigrant experience. Splendid, photoreal watercolors have the look of formal family portraits or candid snapshots, all set against idyllic landscapes in Japan and in the U.S.”

Positive review in Kirkus: “Lovely, quiet- -with a tenderness and warmth new to this fine illustrator's work.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Other picture books by Allen Say:

Kamishibai Man. ISBN 9780618479542

Erika-San. ISBN 9780618889334

Tea with Milk. ISBN 9780547237473

The Boy in the Garden. ISBN 0547214103

Tree of Cranes. ISBN 9780547248301

   

Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alexie, Sherman. 2007. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Ill. by Ellen Forney. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316013680

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Arnold Spirit Jr., born with hydrocephalus that causes multiple problems, is desperate to go to school outside of the Spokane Indian Reservation, to the nearby town of Reardon. He is being bullied constantly and is told by one of his teachers that he has to leave the reservation if he wants a better life. Arnold, known as Junior, risks the anger of his tribe and best friend to make the 22 mile journey each day to attend high school in Reardon. Junior deals with a number of difficulties including facing bullies at Reardon who make racist remarks, falling in love with Penelope, a popular white girl, and becoming friends with fellow outcast Gordy. After many personal tragedies and deaths of loved ones, Junior eventually triumphs on the basketball court, earning him the respect of his fellow tribe mates and classmates at Reardon. Told in first person as if reading his actual diary, Junior also provides humorous cartoon illustrations.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Alexie based this novel on his on experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. Like Junior, he also transferred to the (all white) high school in nearby Reardon. Alexie, through Junior, explores the darker sides of life on a reservation, including violence, alcoholism, racism, and poverty. Written as a personal journal/diary, Junior discusses life growing up on the reservation with his father, mother, sister, and grandmother. His father is an alcoholic, not uncommon on Indian reservations, and his mother is a former alcoholic. Junior doesn’t take much time describing his physical appearance but does describe his sister and other family members. He mentions the importance of long hair in Native American culture, and the fact that Rowdy cut off the braids of men who had made fun of Junior, in order to humiliate them.

Most of the action in the book takes place on the reservation, in Reardon, or on the road between the two places as Junior often has hitch rides or walks the 20 miles to and from school every day. He has problems typical of a 14 year old way, school, bullies, girls, but is also teased by both his tribe members on the reservation and school mates at Reardon due to his birth defects. Junior emphasizes the poverty faced daily on the rez, as he calls it, when people often don’t have any food or money to put gas in the car. Abuse is also common, as seen with Junior’s best friend Rowdy, who routinely gets beaten by his father. Rowdy, in turn, becomes a bully to most people except Junior. This alcoholism and desperation is part of a vicious circle that Indians are unable to get out of, according to Junior.

Although Junior idolizes the life he believes people living off the rez lead, he points out inconsistencies and biases white people have when discussing Native Americans. When Junior needed to have teeth pulled, he had to have it all done in one day due to Indian Health Service restrictions, and was only given half the pain medication because the “white dentist that Indians only felt half as much pain as white people.” In contrast to negative images of life on the reservation, Junior relishes describing powwows, eating fry bread with his sister, and the feast they eat at Thanksgiving. To the kids on the Spokane Reservation, basketball is an extremely important game. Junior describes the rivalry between them and the Reardon team in vivid detail. In the end, Alexie helps Junior and his readers understand the best and worst qualities of life on the reservation, as well as the racism and bullying that may occur to Native Americans off the reservation.

Ellen Forney has created illustrations from the point of view of Junior, as he is drawing in his journal. They are simple pen and ink characters not rooted in reality but are there as comic relief to take the sting out of the sadness in Alexie’s text. These are reminiscent of the illustrations found in the Wimpy Kid young adult books. The people Junior cares about are drawn more realistically, while others are portrayed in a more juvenile manner depending on the subject matter. Junior’s mom, dad, and sister are drawn with long dark hair, often in braids, and wearing cheap, threadbare clothing.

Absolutely True Diary shows the harsh reality facing many Native American teens living on reservations. There are brutal moments of reality and explorations of sexuality, so this book is recommended for high school aged teens and older.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
National Book Award Winner, 2007

Boston-Globe Horn Book Award Winner, 2008

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, 2007

Positive review in Booklist: “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.”

Starred review in School Library Journal: “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.”

Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly: “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.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Official website of the Spokane Indian Tribe: http://www.spokanetribe.com/

* Teacher’s Guide: http://www.amazon.com/Absolutely-True-Diary-Part-Indian/dp/1608780961/ref=pd_sim_b_2

           

* Other books about Native Americans for teens:

Fortunate Eagle, Adam. Pipestone: My Life in an Indian Boarding School. ISBN

9780806141145

O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. ISBN 9780547328614

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. ISBN 9780547577111

Van Camp, Richard. The Lesser Blessed. ISBN 9781550545258