Inside Out & Back Again

INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN

By Thanhha Lai

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Lai, Thanhha. (2011). INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 978-
       0-545-50897-1.

PLOT SUMMARY:

Inside Out & Back Again is a novel in verse consisting of four parts, detailing the year that Há and her family were forced to flee their beloved homeland of Vietnam for a strange new life in Alabama. Part I: Saigon tells of her life with her brothers and mother as they live life not knowing the fate of their father who disappeared many years before. It also describes their plans and fear as they escape the communist take-over of Saigon. Part II: At Sea details the deprivation and hardship the family endures aboard a navy ship bound for Guam and eventually for the United States. Part III: Alabama tells of Há’s new life in America and the difficulties she and her family have learning English and adjusting to this strange and foreign environment. Part IV: From Now On leaves the reader with a sense of hope for the future as Há and her family make friends, adjust, leave their old life behind, and embrace the coming New Year, but tinged with a sense of sadness for what was left behind and for the father who did not return from the war.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The novel begins in Saigon in 1975. It is Tết, February 11, the first day of the lunar calendar. Há’s mother visits the I Ching Teller of Fate (p.4). Every new year Mother visits/the I Ching Teller of Fate./This year he predicts/our lives will twist inside out. This is where we begin to see the desperate situation that faces this family.  On page 11, Há’s best friend TiTi is fleeing Vietnam with her family. Her brother explains: They’re heading to Vững Tấu,/he says,/where the rich go/to flee Vietnam/on cruise ships. On page 12 we learn of Há’s father who disappeared on a navy mission nine years before. Há’s mother prepares an altar for him, offering fruit, incense, tuberoses, and rice and chants for his return. By March 21, the Americans have gone, the communists are close to taking Saigon, the prices of daily necessities have gone up, and the sound of bombs in the distance fills the night (p.18). By April 17 Mother and brothers Quang, Khôi, and Vu have decided that they must leave Vietnam. Family members have made arrangements for passage out of Vietnam (p.44-45).

The Fall of Saigon occurs on April 30. Part II of the novel describes the plight of the Vietnamese refugees. They are crammed into tight spaces with very little food or water and have to use the bathroom over the side of the ship. On page 88, the food rations have been reduced to ½ a clump of rice twice a day and only 1 cup of water per day. It isn’t until May 24 that an American ship arrives with fruit, water, noodles, biscuits, canned fish and more! They arrive in Guam on May 28 and live in a tent city (p.96).  What makes it all more bearable is the arrival of cases of fish sauce. Someone/should be kissed/for having the heart/to send cases of fish sauce/to Guam (p. 100).  Tellingly, it is on July 4 that the family must choose which country to make their home. Mother’s first choice is France, while others go to Canada, but Mother’s mind is changed when someone whispers: Choose America,/more opportunities there,/especially for a family/with boys ready to work (p.106).

They arrive in Florida and live in another tent city until they are sponsored by an American. They watch as other families leave for different homes. It isn’t until Mother puts “Christians” on their application that they finally find a sponsor (p.108).  Part III: Alabama details the difficulties the family has adjusting to their new home, strange ways, strange food, learning English. On page 123, Há relates just one of the humorous episodes of trying to learn English, She choose-s/He refuse-s/ I’m getting better/at hissing/no longer spitting/on my forearms. The most laugh-out-loud scene is on page 129 as Há attempts to read and understand the sentence Jane sees Spot run. She looks up each word in the dictionary:

Jane: not listed
sees: to eyeball something
Spot: a stain
run: to move really fast
Meaning: __________eyeballs stain move.

Another example of the difficulty of learning another language and not understanding a culture is on page 134, To make it worse/the cowboy explains/horses here go/neigh,neigh,neigh,/not hee, hee, hee. No they don’t./ Where am I?  

She endures nonstop bullying and teasing from her classmates and has to resort to eating candy in the bathroom during lunch time. One side of the cafeteria is for white students and the other side is for black students. So, where does she fit in with her black hair and olive skin?  Both laughing, chewing,/as if it never occurred/to them/someone medium/would show up (p. 143).  She is prodded by her teacher to recite the ABCs and the 123s and the class claps at her accomplishment.  But she is angry and humiliated: I’m furious,/unable to explain/I already learned/ fractions/and how to purify/river water./ So this is/ what dumb/feels like (p.157). The teacher, with no malice intended, shows the class gruesome images of the Vietnam War to tell about where Há is from. There is so much more to the country and the people. What about the lush beauty, the papaya trees, the traditions and holidays? Há, feeling so despondent and out of place says, No one would believe me/but at times/I would choose/wartime in Saigon/over/peacetime in Alabama (p.195).

Part IV: From Now On highlights the need for the family to let go of their old life and accept the loss of their father and husband. Há begins to build a new life and make friends. Her Mother has brought a tin of flower seeds that Há and TiTi gathered in Vietnam. It now becomes the perfect gift for her new American friend “Pem” (p.246).  Finally, the new year of 1976 begins, the Year of the Dragon. Mother predicts the coming year: Our lives/will twist and twist,/intermingling the old and the new/until it doesn’t matter/which is which (p.257).

 

AWARDS:

National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Winner 2011

Newbery Honor Book 2012

REVIEWS:

Booklist Starred Review: “After her father has been missing in action for nine years during the Vietnam War, 10-year-old Hà flees with her mother and three older brothers. Traveling first by boat, the family reaches a tent city in Guam, moves on to Florida, and is finally connected with sponsors in Alabama, where Hà finds refuge but also cruel rejection, especially from mean classmates. Based on Lai’s personal experience, this first novel captures a child-refugee’s struggle with rare honesty. Written in accessible, short free-verse poems, Hà’s immediate narrative describes her mistakes—both humorous and heartbreaking—with grammar, customs, and dress (she wears a flannel nightgown to school, for example); and readers will be moved by Hà’s sorrow as they recognize the anguish of being the outcast who spends lunchtime hiding in the bathroom. Eventually, Hà does get back at the sneering kids who bully her at school, and she finds help adjusting to her new life from a kind teacher who lost a son in Vietnam. The elemental details of Hà’s struggle dramatize a foreigner’s experience of alienation. And even as she begins to shape a new life, there is no easy comfort: her father is still gone.”

Publishers Weekly Starred Review: “The taut portrayal of Hà’s emotional life is especially poignant as she cycles from feeling smart in Vietnam to struggling in the States, and finally regains academic and social confidence. An incisive portrait of human resilience.”

Kirkus Reviews Starred Review: “The taut portrayal of Hà’s emotional life is especially poignant as she cycles from feeling smart in Vietnam to struggling in the States, and finally regains academic and social confidence. An incisive portrait of human resilience.”

CONNECTIONS:

The author reading from the novel in verse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEkjwu2WEIA

Vietnam  for  kids: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/vietnam/

http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/vietnam

Vietnam War for kids: http://kids.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry?id=VietnamW

Author information: http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/About.aspx?authorid=36544

 

 

 

The Year of the Dog

THE YEAR OF THE DOG

By Grace Lin

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Lin, Grace. (2006). THE YEAR OF THE DOG. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
       ISBN 0-316-06000-3.

PLOT SUMMARY:

The Year of the Dog is the story of a young Taiwanese-American girl named Grace, or Pacy at home. She struggles with her dual cultural identity as she tries to fit in with her school mates and friends. She and her family enjoy traditional Taiwanese holidays, celebrations, and foods. But the children also try to convince their parents to fit in with the neighbors and celebrate American holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, with humorous results. Since this coming year is the year of the dog, Grace is supposed to make new friends and find herself or her purpose in life. She meets another Taiwanese-American girl named Melody who becomes her best friend and shares her adventures. When she enters a story writing contest in school, she cannot write—she doesn’t know what to write about. She finally decides to write about herself as a Taiwanese-American girl, and finds that she has a calling as a writer. So, by the end of the book and the end of the Year of the Dog, Grace has found a new friend and has found herself.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The author, Grace Lin does a beautiful job of weaving her traditional Taiwanese culture and her American culture in this story of her upbringing in upstate New York. The book begins with the Chinese New Year’s Year of the Dog. The family says, “Gong xi-gong xi! Xin-nian kuai le!”  which means Happy New Year! (p. 1). They have a very large special dinner for the entire family with dishes such as dumplings, shrimp, and vegetable which are all supposed to bring wealth in the new year. A special platter for sweets is set out—and since they don’t have enough Chinese sweets, they add M&Ms (p.3). This is a perfect example of the blending of the two cultures. At the New Year celebration, the children receive red envelopes called hong bao that hold money (p.10).

Lin includes some fantastic analogies in the story that reflect her Taiwanese culture. On page 8 she says that the “moon hung like a freshly peeled lychee in the sky.” Also on page 8, “the room was as clean as an empty rice bowl.” On page 29, Grace’s sister Lissy explains to Grace why she has an American name and a Chinese name, “‘. . . it’s like egg foo young. At home we call it foo yung don, but at the restaurants they call it egg foo young. So it’s easier for American’s to say. But it’s still the same egg pancake . . .’”  On page 34 Grace compares her new found friendship with Melody Ling “like two chopsticks.” On page 112, she says “The leaves turned as yellow as a Chinese pear.” And on page 121, “Snow fell from the sky like clumps of white rice. . .”  On page 34, Grace describes coloring red eggs for a newborn baby’s welcoming party. The red eggs symbolize good luck. On page 38, the girls all wear traditional, fancy Chinese dresses for the baby’s party. The family welcomes them with “Ja-ba, bei?” which means “Have you eaten yet?” On page 46, Grace’s grandmother uses a traditional remedy for her aching neck. She paints the Chinese symbols for tiger on one side of her neck and a pig on the other side. The tiger will chase the pig and the running will massage the neck and make it feel better.

There are also some examples of the prejudice and bias that Grace endures. On page 70, Grace is so very excited to try out for the role of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. A classmate of hers says, “You can’t be Dorothy. . . Dorothy’s not Chinese.” On page 71, one of the only books they find in the school library about Chinese people is The Five Chinese Brothers. Grace recognizes that the book doesn’t depict real Chinese people and she determines right then and there to write a book about real Chinese-American people. On page 101, a mean girl calls grace a Twinkie, “My brother said Chinese people who are Americanized are Twinkies. Yellow on the outside but white on the inside!”

Interspersed with the everyday activities of a young school girl such as violin lessons, school projects, science fair projects, boyfriends, schoolyard bullies, and the school play are the magnificent family stories and family history that is provided to Grace through the words of her mother. She does a wonderful job of taking her personal experiences and tying them in to the life of Grace and providing her lessons to live by. A thoroughly enjoyable and humorous book that I highly recommend.

AWARDS:

From the author’s website:

• 2006 ALA Children's Notable
• 2006 Asian Pacific American Librarian Association Honor
• 2006 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) GOLD Winner
• 2007-2008 Texas Bluebonnet Award Masterlist
• 2007 Nene Awards Recommended List (Hawaii's Book Award Chosen by Children Grades 4-6)
• 2007 Cochecho Readers' Award List (sponsored by the Children's Librarians of Dover, New Hampshire)
• NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2006
• Kirkus Best Early Chapter Books 2006
•2006 Booklist Editors' Choice for Middle Readers
•Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice 2007
•Boston Authors Club Recommended Book
•2007-2008 Great Lakes Great Books Award nominee
•2007-2008 North Carolina Children's Book Award nominee
•2007-2008 West Virginia Children's Book Award nominee
•2009 Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award (OR) nominee
•2009 Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Award (WA, OR, ID)nominee

REVIEWS:

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

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

 

CONNECTIONS:

The author’s website: http://www.gracelinbooks.com/

Year of the Dog Educator Guide: http://www.gracelinbooks.com/files/Year_of_The_Dog_EduGuide.pdf

Information about Chinese New Year: http://holidays.kaboose.com/what-is-chinese-new-year.html

Information about Taiwan: http://kids.yahoo.com/reference/world-factbook/country/tw--Taiwan

Tea with Milk

TEA WITH MILK

By Allen Say

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Say, Allen. (1999). TEA WITH MILK. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-547-
       237473.
      

PLOT SUMMARY:

Tea with Milk, is the story of Say's parents Masako and Joseph. Masako was born near San Francisco and lived there until she graduated from high school. After graduating, her parents were homesick and decided to move back to Japan. Masako, or May (her American name), was considered a foreigner and didn't fit in. She had hopes of going to college but returned to high school in Japan to learn traditional things such as flower arranging, calligraphy, and the tea ceremony, that she didn't learn in California. After her mother meets with a matchmaker and plans an arranged marriage, May decides to plan her own life. She goes to the city and finds a job running an elevator in a department store. When an English speaking family needs help communicating and getting directions, May is able to guide them. May is promoted to working with the customers that speak English. In her new position she meets a young businessman that is Japanese but was raised by English foster parents. They become friends and discovered that they both grew up drinking tea with milk and sugar. When Joseph is transferred to another city, they decide to marry and start a new home together.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

Tea with Milk not only shows Say’s family history, but it also shows his mother’s dual cultural identity and how difficult it can be to be from two cultures but not fully of either one. In the beginning of the book, May eats a breakfast of rice, miso soup, and plain green tea while her friends have pancakes, muffins, and tea with milk and sugar. At home, her parents call her Ma-chan, which is short for Masako, and speak to her in Japanese. Everyone else speaks to her in English and calls her May. The first illustration shows a very young May standing in front of a traditional American home, flying an American flag. She is wearing western style little girls’ clothing. The next illustration shows a grown Masako transferred to Japan, wearing a traditional kimono and standing in a drafty, paper Japanese home. She is completely unhappy.

Now that she is in Japan, her plans for college are put on the backburner as she must attend high school again in order to learn Japanese. The other students call her gaijin which means “foreigner” and nobody will speak to her in English. She is also instructed in the womanly arts of Japan such as flower arranging, calligraphy, and the tea ceremony. One picture shows May kneeling in traditional dress learning about the tea ceremony with an older gentleman who is also dressed in traditional clothing. Her mother even hires a matchmaker to find her a good husband from a good family. She rebels against her parents and their traditional ways. She puts on her brightest, western-style dress and departs on her own for the big city of Osaka. The illustrations show the Japanese people in a very realistic way—almost like photographs. Their hair styles, color, clothing, eye color and skin color all reflect the Japanese culture of the time period. The more western-style clothing and architecture of Osaka are also represented.

May applies for a job at a department store and is actually thankful for the calligraphy lessons as she fills out the application. She is hired as an elevator girl. Her mother would not be happy as she believed that “it was shameful for ladies to work.” When she has an opportunity to assist an English-speaking family, she is promoted for her language skills. She becomes the store guide for businessmen. This is how she eventually meets Joseph, her future husband. He is a perfect match for her—raised in the west and speaks English! The picture that shows them at their first meeting in a restaurant also shows another couple. The other woman in the picture is wearing a traditional Japanese kimono and covers her mouth in modesty. Joseph finds out he is being transferred to Yokohama and wants May to join him and start their own life together and build their own home. The last picture shows a very happy couple who would marry and become the parents of Allen Say.  

AWARDS:

Riverbank Review Book of Distinction
Bulletin Blue Ribbon
SLJ Best Book
ALA Notable Book

REVIEWS:

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

School Library Journal: “[A] thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers.”

Kirkus Reviews: “ In describing how his parents met, Say continues to explore the ways that differing cultures can harmonize; raised near San Francisco and known as May everywhere except at home, where she is Masako, the child who will grow up to be Say's mother becomes a misfit when her family moves back to Japan. Rebelling against attempts to force her into the mold of a traditional Japanese woman, she leaves for Osaka, finds work as a department store translator, and meets Joseph, a Chinese businessman who not only speaks English, but prefers tea with milk and sugar, and persuades her that ``home isn't a place or a building that's ready-made or waiting for you, in America or anywhere else.'' Painted with characteristic control and restraint, Say's illustrations, largely portraits, begin with a sepia view of a sullen child in a kimono, gradually take on distinct, subdued color, and end with a formal shot of the smiling young couple in Western dress.”

 

CONNECTIONS:

Other books by Say:

Say, Allen. 1993. GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY. Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books. ISBN-13: 978-0395570357

Say, Allen. 1998. STRANGER IN THE MIRROR. Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books. ISBN-13: 978-0395938836

Say, Allen. 1989. THE BICYCLE MAN. Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books.
 ISBN-13: 978-0395506523

Say, Allen. 2005. KAMISHIBAI MAN. Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books.
 ISBN-13: 978-0618479542

Lesson plans: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/04/lp340-03.shtml

Information about the author: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/allensay/author.shtml

The Heart of a Chief

The Heart of a Chief

by Joseph Bruchac

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bruchac, Joseph, (1998). THE HEART OF A CHIEF. New York: Puffin Books. ISBN
       978-1-4242-2230-8.

 

PLOT SUMMARY:

Chris Nicola is a 6th grader who lives on the Penacook Indian Reservation but goes to Rangerville school in town. He struggles with his feelings about an absent, alcoholic father, Mito and his reservation's division over whether to build a casino on beatiful, sacred land. He also tackles a school project  on using Indian names for sports teams that attracts a lot of attention from teachers, administrators, and local personalities. Can a 6th grade boy do anything to change people's minds? Can he step up and exhibit the leadership of his forefathers? This wonderful story of a modern Native American family and their struggles will remind readers of Sherman Alexie's The True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but is geared for the middle school age reader and has a more uplifting, hopeful tone.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

This story is a beautiful blending of Native American culture and storytelling with the story of a modern boy trying to find his way through the twists and turns of his 11-year-old life. The novel begins with a description of Gluskabe's Seat and how it was formed just for the sacred art of storytelling. And so, sitting in Gluskabe's Seat, Chris Nicola begins the story that follows.

On page 15, an aspect of Indian culture that is mentioned is that "Indian things--like the seasons and the directions--come in fours." On page 18, Chris looks in the mirror and doesn't just see his image, he sees the faces of his Grandfather and Auntie, and all the faces of his ancestors. His people, his history are always with him, "They are all around me and they are behind me and they are with me."

In his classroom, they are going to discuss the book The Sign of the Beaver. He says his teacher loves the book because "he admires Indians in the past and doesn't really pay much attention to those of us who are still here" (p.19).  Chris frequently uses both his Native language and English. Again, on page 19, " 'Nda,' I say in Penacook. 'No. We did not go away. We're still here.'" On page 71 he says N'mitongwes-- my father. And on page 72 he uses Niawasos--my bear. These are just a few exampes of the language in the novel. There is poignant passage on page 23 where Chris explains what it is to be a modern Penacook kid, "We look at each other. Four reservation kids. We know what kind of Indian we are. The kind of Indian you don't see in Hollywood movies. No noble savages. No horses and headdresses. No tipis and no buffalo. No Tonto (which means 'idiot' in Spanish) to the Lone Ranger. We are a different kind. The kind of Indian who gets ignored at best and treated like dirt at worst. The kind of Indian who lives in second-hand trailers or in old houses with no insulation. The kind of Indian who ends up in foster homes or whose parents fall off the wagon and get killed in car accidents or just disappear. The kind of Indian who knows that hope rhymes with nope." 

When discussing the offensive nature of Indian mascots on page 59, Chris specifically mentions the tomahawk chop, the war whoop, and people in the bleachers yelling "Scalp 'em Injun, Scalp 'em!"

When Chris and his classmates are working on their school project about the use of Indian names for sports teams, he is the group leader and manages his group using Penacook Rules (p.95). These include passing the talking stick and being respectful and taking turns. On page 109, there is a wonderful explanation of Thanksgiving and Squanto and what this means to Native American people.

The positive nature of the book is embodied in the success of his school project, the Penacook's great compromise on the building of the casino, and his father's triumphant leadership. Chris understands that "the heart of a true chief beats with the heart of the people" (p. 153).

AWARDS:

Jane Addams Book Honor, 1999

 Nutmeg Children’s Book Award--Nominated 2003

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

School Library Journal: "A contemporary story about an 11-year-old Penacook boy's emergence as a leader. Chris Nicola and his little sister are cared for with affection and wisdom by elderly Auntie and Doda. Their mother is deceased and their father is away battling alcoholism. The stories and traditions of Chris's people give the boy the courage and conviction to deal with life. Upset by the proposed establishment of a casino on a pristine island on the New Hampshire reservation, he and three friends destroy a surveyor's stakes. With unwavering passion, he defends his actions to reservation law officers. Wary but determined, Chris starts sixth grade at Rangerville Junior High and mingles with the white world. He is chosen as leader for a group report on using Indian names for sports teams. His call for unanimity through discussion mirrors tribal practices and generates a presentation that exposes the insensitivity of the school and attracts community attention. Chris is an appealing, resilient, optimistic character. His sincerity wins friends among adults and peers, even the reputed school bully. An effective balance of dialogue and first-person narrative propel the story forward. This upbeat narrative does not disguise the harsh realities of reservation life or the social and emotional struggles of Native Americans. Rather, the qualities of leadership emerge in Chris as he taps into his rich cultural past, recognizes his own potential, and stands up for his values."

 

Publishers Weekly: "Bruchac explores what it means to be Native American in a modern society through the perceptive first-person narrative of 11-year-old Chris Nicola."

 

Booklist: "Readers who see injustice in their own lives will admire how much Chris accomplishes with a simple message of respect."

 

CONNECTIONS:

 

The author's website: www.josephbruchac.com

 

 

Teacher Resource Guide: http://www.zaner-bloser.com/media/zb/zaner-bloser/LACE_HeartofChief.pdf

RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME

RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2001). RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME. New York: Harper Collins.
       ISBN 0-688-17397-7.

 

PLOT SUMMARY:

On the eve of her 14th Birthday, Cassidy Rain Berghoff loses her best friend Galen in a tragic car accident. This grief, compounded by the loss of her mother, causes her to shut herself away from the world. Her father is away in the Air Force, so she lives with her Grampa, her older brother Fynn and his fiance Natalie. Her brother Fynn urges her to attend her Aunt Georgia's Indian Camp. Although she is Muskogee--Creek--Cherokee on her mother's side and Ojibway--Saginaw Chippewa on her father's side, she is reluctant to be "Indian" (p.20). She does attend the camp, but only as a photo journalist for the local paper. The camp experience helps her to reconnect with her heritage and her friends, make new friends, and fight for the city funding of the Indian Camp. It is through the story and through Rain's journal entries and passion for photography that we see her finally healing from the loss and grief in her life.

 

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

       This novel is one that any young person can relate to. It resonates with its story of first love, a first kiss, loss of friends and family, overwhelming grief, of being different in a small town, and making and losing friends.

The author intersperses the novel with cultural markers to transform this story about a teenage girl into one about a modern Native American teenage girl. On p.6 she tells about visiting a Lakota powwow in Oklahoma City where she takes a picture of a girl in a rose-quilted shawl dancing to the rhythm of the Drum. On page 12 she mentions that her great grandmother and her Aunt Georgia's mother grew up at Seneca Indian School in Oklahoma. When her brother's fiance tells Rain on page 77 that they are going to name the baby they are expecting Aiyana, she says in the narrative, "Aiyana is an old name, a musical name. My mom's name, after her Cherokee great-grandmother. It means 'forever flowering'." On page 120, Rain shares her memories of traveling with her mother when she was 7 years old to Oklahoma for powwows, picnics, and dances. The beautiful passage follows: I can still smell the pork cooking, taste the lukewarm coleslaw, hear the songs, and feel the rhythm of the shellshakers. I remember ribbons and tear dresses and me trying to dance like Mama. Echoes of stories, the snapping of fire. Smoke rising to heaven, and how it stung my eyes. Talk of the corn and of the New Year.

       In several instances, Rain mentions some of the stereotypes and insensitivity that bother her. On page 12 she says that she is opposed to attending the Indian Camp because she thinks a bunch of rich, white kids will probably prance around calling themselves "princesses," "braves," or "guides." On page 13 she continues and says that at school the subject of Native Americans only comes up around Thanksgiving and features sterotyped images. One of my favorite parts of the book is on page 44 where Rain decides to do a report on an Indian woman. The library only has two historical Indian women to choose from: Sacajawea or Pocahontas. She decides to do her report on former Kansas senator Nancy Kassebaum. On page 48, her fellow journalist Flash asks her how many Indians in the camp are acutally from Hannesburg. What pops into her head is the nursery song about counting "little Indians" and how much she dislikes that song. She talks about her distaste for the phrase, "You don't seem Indian to me" and how most people's perceptions center around construction paper feathers, plastic horses, and Pocahontas dolls. She also exhibits distaste for the "guru-seeking, crystal-waving, long-lost descendant of an Indian 'princess'" kind of person on page 70.

       Finally, Rain learns some lessons of her own about culture and identity when her second best friend Queenie, who is African American, finds out about her Seminole heritage (p.133) and when her journalist friend Flash reveals that he is Jewish (p.115). The message is very clear in this novel that Native American kids are like any other kids and want to have a modern and realistic portrayal of them--not some idealized, historical, or just plain wrong image. So, what's the theme of the Indian Camp? Bows and arrows? Weaving? Storytelling? No, a modern camp for Indian children is about science and engineering, and building bridges--in more ways than one.

 

AWARDS:

Dishchii'Bikoh High School Reader Award. DHS is on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in eastern Arizona.

Smith named a Writer of the Year (Children's Prose) by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers in recognition of the novel
Finalist, children's/YA division, the Oklahoma Book Award
Featured title, GREAT BOOKS FOR GIRLS by Kathleen Odean (Ballantine, 2002)
Featured title, St. Petersburg Times "You Gotta Read This" Book Club
NEA Native American Book List
Featured title, Texas Book Festival
Featured title, Second National Book Festival.
Book of the Month, Red Tales, Aboriginal Voices Radio
Recommended title, THE CHILDREN’S LITERATURE LOVER’S BOOK by Joanna Sullivan (Jossey-Bass, 2003)
Recommended title, DOES ANYBODY ELSE LOOK LIKE ME? A PARENT’S GUIDE TO RAISING MULTIRACIAL CHILDREN by Donna Jackson Nakazawa (Da Capo Press, 2004)
Recommended title, SEVEN CHOICES: FINDING DAYLIGHT AFTER LOSS SHATTERS YOUR WORLD by Elizabeth Harper Neeld (Warner Books, 2003)
Suggested Title, Recommended Native Literature for Youth Reading Circles from American Experience: "We Shall Remain" (April 2009) from PBS.

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Kirkus Reviews: "Tender, funny, and full of sharp wordplay, Smith’s first novel deals with a whole host of interconnecting issues, but the center is Rain herself. At just 14, Rain and her best friend Galen promise always to celebrate their birthdays; hers on New Year’s Day, his on the Fourth of July. They had just begun to see themselves not just as best friends but as girl and boy that New Year’s Eve night, when Galen is killed in a freak accident. Rain has already lost her mother and her Dad’s stationed in Guam. She’s close to her Grandpa, her older brother, and his girlfriend, who realize her loss and sorrow but have complicated lives of their own. Her response to Galen’s death is tied to her tentative explorations of her own mixed Native American and German/Irish heritage, her need and desire to learn photography and to wield it well, and the general stirrings of self and sex common to her age. Rain has to maneuver all of this through local politics involving Galen’s mother and the local American Indian Youth Camp (with its handful of local Indian teens, and Rain’s erstwhile “second-best friend” who is black). What’s amazing here is Rain’s insight into her own pain, and how cleanly she uses language to contain it". (Fiction. 11-14)

 

School Library Journal: "Rain and Galen have been friends forever, but for Rain's 14th birthday, the thrill of finding that her burgeoning romantic feelings are being reciprocated puts the evening into a special-memory category. The next morning, she learns that Galen was killed in an accident on the way home. Plunged into despair, Rain refuses to attend the funeral and cuts herself off from her friends. Skipping to six months later, the main portion of the story takes place as she thinks about Galen's upcoming birthday and summer plans are complicated by the girl's Aunt Georgia's Indian Camp and political efforts to cut its funding. Rain participates in nothing and her family members, loving though they are, seem preoccupied with their own needs and concerns. Gradually, Rain's love of photography resurfaces and lands her an assignment with the local newspaper. She becomes involved in examining her own heritage, the stereotypical reactions to it, and her own small-town limitations. There is a surprising amount of humor in this tender novel. It is one of the best portrayals around of kids whose heritage is mixed but still very important in their lives. As feelings about the public funding of Indian Camp heat up, the emotions and values of the characters remain crystal clear and completely in focus. It's Rain's story and she cannot be reduced to simple labels. A wonderful novel of a present-day teen and her 'patchwork tribe'."

 

 

CONNECTIONS:

 

The author's website: http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/index.html

 

Reading guide: http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13=9780688173975&displayType=readingGuide

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom

 

by Tim Tingle

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Tingle, Tim. (2006). CROSSING BOK CHITTO: A CHOCTAW TALE OF FRIENDSHIP &
       FREEDOM. Illus. by Jeanne Rorex Bridges. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.
       ISBN 978-0-938317-77-7.

PLOT SUMMARY:
This stunning picture book tells of the friendship between the Choctaw people who live on one side of the river Bok Chitto in Mississippi, and the African American slaves who live on the other side on their masters' plantations. Young Martha Tom ventures across Bok Chitto in search of blackberries, although she is not supposed to. When she gets there, she witnesses a moving and forbidden slave church service. She is touched by the music. A young African American boy named Little Mo is told to help her get back home. After they cross the invisible stone bridge under the water, they come upon a drum circle, chanting, and a wedding ceremony. He is touched by the beautiful sounds he hears. Martha Tom's mother tells her to take Little Mo back to the river. Thus begins a long and lasting friendship that eventually leads to the Choctaw people helping Little Mo and his family escape from their slave owners by crossing Bok Chitto. The story is a celebration of Martha Tom's bravery, Little Mo's faith, and the strength of those who walked on water to their freedom.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
This lovely book was written by Tim Tingle who is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges who is of Cherokee ancestry. The illustrations show the Choctaw people and the African American people in the mid-nineteenth century and the depictions of the Choctaw native dress and the African American dress are appropriate to the time period and the setting. The skin color and features of both the Choctaw and African American people are depicted in a realistic manner with no evident stereotyping or distortions. Both cultures are touchingly represented by their music and their ceremonies: Martha Tom by the slave church in the woods, and Little Mo by the drumming and chanting of the wedding ceremony. "We are bound for the Promised Land!" and "Way, hey ya hey ya/ You a hey you ay/ A hey ya a hey ya!"  When Little Mo's mother is sold and in danger of being taken away, the family decides to make the journey across Bok Chitto to freedom and safety. As they make the perilous journey, the slaves remember, "Not too fast, not too slow, eyes to the ground, away you go!" It is almost like a protective spell that renders them invisible to the guards and the dogs. As the runaway family crosses the invisible bridge and the guards are at their heels ready to shoot, the Choctaw women greet them at Bok Chitto dressed in luminous white gowns. They are holding candles and lighting the way to freedom. This image is one of the most startingly beautiful images in the book--the women glowing in the darkness under the full moon greeting their new friends to a new life.
In addition to the folktale, the book also includes a section called Choctaws Today: Two Prosperous Nations, One Strong People. This section provides a brief history of the Choctaw Nations and the current situation for Choctaws. There is also a section called A Note on Choctaw Storytelling that gives a beautiful history of the story and of the oral tradition for this native people. Tim Tingle points out, though, the importance of writing these stories in book form so that the stories can be shared with non-native people so that there is more sharing and understanding. "As long as our stories are told, we can be Choctaw forever."

AWARDS:

Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book

American Indian Library Association (AILA) 2008 Award for Best Picture Book

American Library Association Notable Children's Book 2007

ALA—Book Links: Lasting Connections Pick, 2006

Texas Institute of Letters Best Children's Book of 2006

Texas Bluebonnet Master List 2008-09

Oklahoma Book Award for Best Illustrations, 2007

Oklahoma Book Award for Best Children's Book, 2007

Nominated for the 2008-2009 South Dakota Prairie Pasque Children’s Book Award

Teddy Award, Texas Writers League, 2005

Paterson Prize

Skipping Stones Honor Book

Anne Izard's Storytellers' Choice Award

2007 Mississippi Children's Book Selection

REVIEW EXCERPTS:
School Library Journal: "Dramatic, quiet, and warming, this is a story of friendship across cultures in 1800s Mississippi. While searching for blackberries, Martha Tom, a young Choctaw, breaks her village's rules against crossing the Bok Chitto. She meets and becomes friends with the slaves on the plantation on the other side of the river, and later helps a family escape across it to freedom when they hear that the mother is to be sold. Tingle is a performing storyteller, and his text has the rhythm and grace of that oral tradition. It will be easily and effectively read aloud. The paintings are dark and solemn, and the artist has done a wonderful job of depicting all of the characters as individuals, with many of them looking out of the page right at readers. The layout is well designed for groups as the images are large and easily seen from a distance. There is a note on modern Choctaw culture, and one on the development of this particular work. This is a lovely story, beautifully illustrated, though the ending requires a somewhat large leap of the imagination."

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

CONNECTIONS:
The author's website: http://www.timtingle.com/

The illustrator's website: http://www.rorex-art.com/

Choctaws of Mississippi: http://www.choctaw.org/

Choctaws of Oklahoma: http://www.choctawnation.com/history/

For more reviews and a teacher's guide: http://www.cincopuntos.com/products_detail.sstg?id=100