Culture 3 Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature Book Review

 

Culture 3:  Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature Book Review

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Engle, Margarita. 2018. THE FLYING GIRL. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781481445030.

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Aida de Acosta wanted to fly.  “All I need are some lessons and a chance to try!”, she said to her mother.  Aida enlisted the help of Alberto to teach her how to fly an airship.  This is a nonfiction book about the first woman of powered flight.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
This book depicts the true story of a young woman who was determined to fly.  In the late 1800’s early 1900’s women were expected to do things like cook and take care of children, not pilot airships.  The dialogue in this book is about Aida living out her dream of flight and not being afraid to try.  The overall tone of the book is “girl power”.  Aida is a strong woman who was not afraid to try and not afraid to dream.

The illustrations in the book depict a modern-day city for that time period.  You can see the time period expressed in the clothing worn by the people and the drawings of the air ship.  Once Aida landed after her first flight, she needed help getting out of the machine because her dress was too fancy and too tight.  The look of the air ship, complete with an enormous balloon on top looks very different from modern day airplanes. 

Aida and Roberto were the only ones named in the story.  These names could be Hispanic names, but they also could be from some other culture as well.  Other than the possibility of the names being cultural, there are no other specific cultural references in the story.  The story could be about any young woman from any culture who was not afraid to try and wanted to fly.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
The Amelia Bloomer Book List

The Horn Book: “This story based on the life of a Latina air-and-space pioneer is a welcome addition to the growing list of picture-book biographies of woman who defied expectations.”

Booklist: “Playful language with intermittent rhymes and repetition results in an enjoyable easy-to-read biography for young children of a little-known historical figure...”

School Library Journal: “A great resource for STEM classrooms and readers interested in historical figures who paved the way for modern day pioneers.”

Kirkus Reviews: “A beautiful account of a young woman who knew that all she needed to reach her dream is courage and a chance to try.”

E. CONNECTIONS
Draw a picture of your own airship.  Write a caption describing where you would like to fly your air ship to.

Other picture-book biographies include:
Aldamuy, Anika. PLANTING STORIES:  THE LIFE OF LIBRARIAN AND STORYTELLER PURA BELPRE’. ISBN 0062748688
Valdez, Patricia. JOAN PROCTER DRAGON DOCTOR:  THE WOMAN WHO LOVED REPTILES. ISBN 0399557261
Wallmark, Laurie. GRACE HOPPER:  QUEEN OF COMPUTER CODE. ISBN 9781454920007

 

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO!:  AMERICA’S . New York, NY: Lee & Low Books. ISBN 9781600604307.

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Fourteen foods specifically home grown in the Americas provide color and flavor to the world.  This book takes you on a journey through the origin and use of these foods.  What a tasty place America is!

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
The nonfiction book displays descriptions and definitions as well as poetry to introduce the reader to various foods that originate in the Americas.  The left side pages offer descriptions detailing the origin and many uses of the food while the right-side pages present haiku.  Spread out over the left and right-side page is a colorful, vivid picture of a scene where the food is the star.  On the left side description, the author uses Spanish words if the food is originated or found in a Spanish speaking country to explain its significance in the culture.   For example, the author explains how potatoes are called papas in Spanish and pineapples are called piña in Spanish.

The illustrations in the book depict a scene for each food.  There are people in the scene eating, cooking, picking, harvesting, or interacting with the food in some sort of way. Every illustration shows enjoyment of the food.  The various brown shades of skin color suggest Native Americans.  I think the illustrator was trying to convey the origin, the Native Americans were the first to discover these foods since they are grown in America.  Each food has its own cultural background and the illustrations tried to capture that.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Américas Award

Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List

Booklist: “We do know that all these plants were grown and enjoyed… long before Christopher Columbus or any other Europeans had ever tasted such wonderful foods.”

E. CONNECTIONS
Which foods from the book do you like, why?  What foods have you never eaten?  Which would you like to try?  The teacher could bring in samples of two or three of the foods for students to try, pending checking for allergies.  Prickly pear and papaya are probably two of the least common ones so these two could be brought in for students to sample.

Other books about food by Pat Mora:
Mora, Pat. LETS EAT!: A COMER!: BILINGUAL SPANISH-ENGLISH. ISBN 0060850388
Mora, Pat. THE BAKERY LADY/LA SEŇORA DE LA PANADERIA. ISBN 9781558853430

 

 

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Muñoz Ryan, Pam. 2000. ESPERANZA RISING. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 9780439120425.

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Esperanza knew a life of privilege.  The daughter of a prominent ranch owner, she had everything.  A beautiful home, loving parents, servants, friends, life was great.  One day that all changed, and she was made to flee her homeland and set out to a new country.  Now, instead of others taking care of her, she must learn to take care of others.  Esperanza must learn how to care for herself and her sick mother to survive.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
The author tells an authentic story based on the experiences of her own grandmother, whose name was Esperanza.  Some of the details of the book such as the Mexican ranch, the company farm camp, and Mexican Americans being afraid that even though they are in the United States legally and have papers to prove it, they could be deported at any time are all things that the author learned firsthand from her grandmother who lived this life.  The book is loosely based on the life of the author’s grandmother.

The story starts out in Mexico.  The main character has lived her whole life there with her family in a beautiful home, with servants.  Esperanza is spoiled and pampered she lives a good life there.  Later Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their home with their servants who are no longer their servants but friends who help them.  They all travel together to the United States.  For Esperanza, life in the United States is very different from her life in Mexico.  The author explains the dichotomy as Esperanza tries to come to grips with the change. Once they arrive in California at the farm camp, Esperanza is given the duty to sweep the platform.  She has never swept a floor before and thinks, this should not be hard, I have seen it done many times.  It turns out that it is not so easy, and Esperanza is embarrassed by the job she does.  Miguel, a former employee of her family turned friend teaches her how.   

The settings and surroundings are explained in enough detail to get a mental picture of the differences in both countries.  For the main character, Mexico was the land of affluence, happiness, and all needs met.  The United States was the land of meager means, sorrow, and some needs not being met.  In Mexico, her mother was beautiful, strong, and vibrant.  In the United States her mother downplays her beauty by wearing her hair in a practical hair style so that she can work.  She gets sick with Valley Fever and is debilitated for a very long time and cannot work.  Esperanza must take on the role of bread winner for her and her mom.  She learns how to work hard and provide for her mom.

The skin color, hair colors and patterns describe characters of Hispanic descent. The language used describes people who speak Spanish.  Some Spanish words are used.  The characters in the story are not fluent in English so they all are speaking Spanish.  You can see the frustration start to build when they have to speak English.

 

The community that the characters live in the United States is one that is close nit. They are able to keep their customs and celebrations from their native land.  They stick together and help each other.  When Esperanza’s mom gets sick and Esperanza has to take on her job, neighbors pitch in to watch the twins. 

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Pura Belpré Award

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award

Willa Cather Award

América’s Award Honor Book

Publishers Weekly: “Told in a lyrical, fairy tale-like style… Readers will be swept up.”

School Library Journal: “This well written novel belongs in all collections.”

 

Booklist:  “Ryan writes a moving story in clear, poetic language that children will sink into, and the book offers excellent opportunities for discussion and curriculum support.”

E. CONNECTIONS
Create a yarn doll following the instructions given in the After Words section of the book.

Other books by this author:
Muñoz Ryan, Pam. ECHO. ISBN 0439874025
Muñoz Ryan, Pam. BECOMING NAOMI LEON. ISBN 0439269970

Muñoz Ryan, Pam. MAŇANALAND. ISBN 1338157868

 

 

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sanchez, Erika. 2017. I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781524700487.

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Julia is going through a lot.  She is a teenager who does not get along with her mom, has a big mouth that is always getting her into trouble and her sister just died.  She feels that her mom blames her for her sister’s death, after all, if she had not gotten in trouble at school that day, her mom would have picked up Olga from work instead of Olga riding the bus and crossing the street in front of a huge truck and being run over.  Julia struggles through the school year trying to make sense of her own life and where she would like to go next.  A moment of weakness causes Julia’s parents to send her to Mexico where she spends time with her abuela and other relatives.  While there she learns a great deal about her mother, and clues as to why her mother is the way she is.  This gives Julia some perspective and helps her to accept that she is not her parent’s perfect Mexican daughter, but she is indeed their daughter who loves them even if she is not perfect.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
Julia describes her family as a typical Mexican American family as far as she knows.  Her parents are not legal citizens, so they have limited employment choices because of this.  Julia and her parents do not understand each other, they come from different worlds.  The author is a child of undocumented immigrant parents as well.  I think that she does an excellent job allowing the reader to see both points of view.  Julia wants more for her life.  She wants to go to college.  The parents think that she does not need college.  They feel she should get a job, contribute to the household, and stay home with them.

Julia addresses her mother’s control over her and how she hates it.  She talks about how her mother wants to know where she is every moment and how she tries to control what she eats.  Julia lies to her mother on more than one occasion about her where abouts.  The family eats authentic Mexican meals.  The mom does not allow them to eat fast food.  Julia and her dad sneak and get it when her mom is not around. 

The extended family is huge.  There are lots of cousins, aunts and uncles in Chicago and others back in Mexico.  The family in both places are very close.  They have regular parties and gatherings.  The family in the US hold on to their Mexican customs, language and culture.  Amá, Julia’s mother decides to through Julia a quinceañera.  Julia is confused because she is already 15 and about to turn 16 but Amá insists. 

Everyone in Julia’s Chicago family appear to speak both English and Spanish.  The aunts and uncles do not speak English very well.  Julia describes her own mother’s English speaking as broken.  The younger generation speaks English well due to the fact that they were born in the United States and attend school.  The younger members accept English and Spanish as a part of their culture.

Julia’s friends are all Mexican Americans except for Connor, her white boyfriend.  Through Connor she gets the opportunity to experience life a little differently.  Connor likes the things she likes.  He loves books the way she loves books. No one else in her world does.  With Connor, she experiences different types of food like Indian and Thai, everyone else she knows eat Mexican and American junk food.  Their two worlds come together and the two of them create their own situation that works for them.

When Julia visits her family in Mexico, she is introduced to a world that is not that different from Chicago.  Chicago can be a dangerous place to live.  She soon discovers that her family’s small town in Mexico can also be a dangerous place too.  Ultimately Julia is sent back sooner than planned because of a situation that occurs.  The situation eludes to problems with the cartel or Mexican gangs and drug lords.  When Julia is sent back home, she now has to face her troubles sooner than she thought.

The book describes the life of a Mexican American teenager born to undocumented immigrants.  It explains the differences between the generations in the family.  It also showcases the love and devotion they all have for one another. 

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Lincoln Award Nominee

Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award

National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature

Society of Midland Authors Award for Children’s Fiction

School Library Journal: “The importance of language, a lens through which Latinxs are often viewed and sharply judged, is brilliantly highlighted through an ample but measured use of Spanish that is often defined in context without feeling forced or awkward.”

Booklist: “An earnest and heartfelt tale.”

Kirkus Reviews: “This gritty contemporary novel about an unlikable first-generation Mexican-American teen fails to deliver as a coming-of-age journey.”

E. CONNECTIONS
Research foundations and organizations that aid suicide prevention and depression disorders.

Other contemporary books about teenagers of Hispanic descent:
Acevedo, Elizabeth. CLAP WHEN YOU LAND. ISBN 0062882767
Acevedo, Elizabeth. THE POET X. ISBN 9780062662811
Moreno, Nena. DON’T DATE ROSA SANTOS. ISBN 1368039707