A. Bibliography
Ellis, Deborah. 2006. I Am A Taxi. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books. ISBN 9780888997357.
B. Plot Summary
San Sebastian Woman's Prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia is not the ideal home, but it is where Diego Juarez must live after his parents are falsely accused of smuggling drugs. To help support his family, Diego works as a 'taxi', running errands for other prisoners to the outside of the prison. When an opportunity comes for a different life, Diego takes the challenge which changes his life for the worse.
C. Critical Analysis
I Am A Taxi gives descriptions of two frightening worlds. The women's prison is aptly described with its noise, bare walls, dingy light bulbs, and no fresh air. The description of the Bolivian jungle with its thick growth of trees and scary animals and insects is distinctly uncomfortable, especially when one character tells Diego, "Remember, lad, there's nothing in this jungle that you can't eat, or that won't eat you."
Authenticity is given with the language and description of various foods and common elements of daily life. Ellis provides a glossary at the end of the novel even while giving descriptions of some words within the writing. Chupe is described as "...thick with grains and tomatoes...[and] bits of meat among the potatoes..."
Bolivian traditions are not explained in the novel as it focuses on life in the prison and life in the jungle creating cocaine.
I Am A Taxi is an unsettling and unnerving novel in how it shows a young boy whose life has been destroyed by an illegal substance highly prized for its ability to make one forget.
Ellis adds an author's note at the end of the novel explaining the drug trafficking trade in Bolivia and attempts to put an end to it.
D. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: Ellis's novel attempts to expose the strains that cocaine production and trade and the U.S War on Drugs have placed on Bolivians. Diego's parents have been wrongfully incarcerated for drug smuggling. While they serve their 16-year sentences, the 12-year-old, who would otherwise be homeless, lives in the women's prison with his mother and younger sister. He earns money as a taxi, running errands in the city for the prisoners. One day his friend convinces him that they can make easier money working for men who turn out to be involved in cocaine manufacturing. The boys are enslaved in the jungle, Diego's friend dies, and Diego barely escapes with his life. This harrowing part of the narrative is somewhat rushed and is less convincing than the rest. Nonetheless, because of its unusual setting and subject matter, and Ellis's efforts to explicate complex social, political, and economic issues, this book should find a place in larger collections.–Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY.
Booklist: Diego, 12, lives in prison in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, stuck there with his parents, who have been falsely arrested for smuggling drugs. He attends school and works as a "taxi," running errands for the inmates in the great street market. Then his friend, Mando, persuades him to make big money, and the boys find themselves stomping coca leaves in cocaine pits in the jungle, with local gangsters and a smooth boss who supplies "hungry noses" in America. Readers will be caught up by the nonstop action in the prison, and also in the jungle survival adventure, where escape is tempered by the specter of death. The connection between medicinal coca leaves, sacred to the indigenous people, and their exploitation by the global drug runners is not entirely clear, but, as in The Breadwinner (2001) and many of her previous books, Ellis tells a bold story of contemporary kids in crisis and brutally exploited far away. Hazel Rochman.
E. Connections
Older teens could research cocaine and its consequences and investigate US government programs to stop the trafficking of illegal drugs and the abuse of children being made to create the drugs.
A sequel from Deborah Ellis might interest students who found Diego's story moving: Sacred Leaf ISBN 9780888997517.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A Particular Cow
A. Bibliography
Fox, Mem. 2006. A Particular Cow. Ill. by Terry Denton. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 9780152002503.
B. Plot Summary
One particular Saturday morning a particular cow goes for walk as is her habit. But on this particular morning, several things happen that are particularly unusual.
C. Critical Analysis
Mem Fox has given children's literature another enjoyable story sure to delight the younger set. Illustrator Terry Denton has drawn this particular cow and other characters with perpetual smiles even while becoming entangled in several mishaps with the particular cow. Children will appreciate the cartoon-like drawings with each page full of color.
In addition to the story's text are the extra comments spoken by each character in a cartoon dialog "balloon". Mem Fox's Australian language surfaces a little here with underwear being called "bloomers", but most phrases are easily understood as Australia's chief language is English. "Blimey!" spoken by the sailors could be left open to interpretation.
Children of all cultures can enjoy the antics of Fox's clumsy bovine.
D. Review Excerpts
Fox, Mem. 2006. A Particular Cow. Ill. by Terry Denton. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 9780152002503.
B. Plot Summary
One particular Saturday morning a particular cow goes for walk as is her habit. But on this particular morning, several things happen that are particularly unusual.
C. Critical Analysis
Mem Fox has given children's literature another enjoyable story sure to delight the younger set. Illustrator Terry Denton has drawn this particular cow and other characters with perpetual smiles even while becoming entangled in several mishaps with the particular cow. Children will appreciate the cartoon-like drawings with each page full of color.
In addition to the story's text are the extra comments spoken by each character in a cartoon dialog "balloon". Mem Fox's Australian language surfaces a little here with underwear being called "bloomers", but most phrases are easily understood as Australia's chief language is English. "Blimey!" spoken by the sailors could be left open to interpretation.
Children of all cultures can enjoy the antics of Fox's clumsy bovine.
D. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal –When a cow decides to take her usual Saturday constitutional, she accidentally steps through a clothesline and ends up with a pair of bloomers covering her head. Unable to see and running off in a panic, the poor bovine wreaks havoc as she falls into a postman's cart that heads down a long hill, followed by all the characters whose lives shes disrupted: the underwear's owner, the postman, some children, and a few yapping dogs. The chaos reaches a spectacularly hilarious conclusion when she crashes (literally) a wedding and flies off the end of a dock, landing in a passing boat, and the underwear blows back into its owners hands. The cow calmly steps ashore and goes about her usual business. The story is told with a dry wit and an economy of words, and the illustrations interpret the action with panache. Denton uses the spreads to distinct advantage as his bovine heroine careens and caroms from one potential disaster to the next. The cartoon illustrations bounce with energy and are suffused with warm colors. Udders and undies combine to make this funny read-aloud a sure hit.–Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI.
E. Connections
Compare Terry Denton's illustrations with photos of real cows.
Read Mem Fox's book Koala Lou to compare how another book by this Australian author describes another animal from Australia.
Other children's picture books about cows:
Weis, Carol: When the Cows Got Loose ISBN 0689851669
McNaughton, Colin: What Now, Cushie Butterfield? ISBN 0007154682
Korchek, Lori: Adventures of Cow ISBN 1582461392
The Shadows of Ghadames
A. Bibliography
Stolz, Joelle. 1999. The Shadows of Ghadames. New York: Delacourt Press. ISBN 0385731043.
B. Plot Summary
The Shadows of Ghadames illuminates the lives of women in late 1800s Libya, demonstrating the customs of the harem and the man-dominated world. Coming of age in this culture is eleven-year-old Malika, who, with the help of a stranger, begins to dream of a possible life loosened from the centuries-old constraints on women.
C. Critical Analysis
The Shadows of Ghadames was written by the French author Joelle Stolz, who traveled to this ancient city to research for her novel. From the knowledge gained, Stolz gives a realistic account of late 19th century life for women in the harems of Ghadames.
Traditional names are used, language depicting everyday life and activities is used, such as the description of a kerna, "...the wide, hard base of a palm tree branch..." used to beat "...the stalks to separate the grain..." or the malafa, "...the rectangle of embroidered wool tied under the chin with laces that girls wear on their heads until marriage."
Many traditions are brought out in the novel along with vivid descriptions of how women live out their lives on the rooftops of the city, visiting only other women, a world where men do not enter.
All the characters in the novel are authentic. The men and women all follow the traditions, yet changes are being discerned by the protagonist Malika and is actually encouraged by her father's second wife to think beyond the walls of her home.
The Shadows of Ghadames is well-written and thought provoking. It allows one into the secret world of Libya's Muslim women while also portraying universal themes of jealousy, anger, and rebellion as Malika prepares to enter adolescence.
D. Review Excerpt
School Library Journal: In Libya at the end of the 19th century, upper-class women were confined to their homes and rooftops, leading a quiet life filled with household tasks. Nearly 12, Malika is about to enter that world, although not without regret for the loss of freedom and the education her brother has. Her father's two wives offer her good models: her upper-class mother, the "wife from home," who calmly runs the household, and her brother's mother, the "wife from the journey," who moves more freely about the city, still veiled and hiding in dark alleys when a man appears. In spite of their upbringing and their husband's departure on business, the two women rescue a man injured outside their home. Abdelkarim remains hidden with them while they nurse his wounds, and as he recovers, he and Malika come to see that the world of women is richer than they thought. He teaches Malika her alphabet before he is smuggled away, and her mother, admitting that times are changing, finally agrees to let her learn to read.
Booklist: In the Libyan city of Ghadames at the end of the nineteenth century, Malika is dreading her twelfth birthday. That is the time when, according to her family's Berber customs, she will be close to marriageable age and confined to the world of women. In Ghadames that means restriction to the rooftops, "a city above the city, an open sunny town for women only, where . . . they never talk to men." Malika longs to live beyond the segregated city and travel, like her father, a trader. But the wider world comes to Malika after her father's two wives agree to harbor, in secret, a wounded stranger. The story of an outsider who unsettles a household and helps a young person to grow is certainly nothing new, and some of the lessons here are purposeful. But Stolz invigorates her tale with elegant prose and a deft portrayal of a girl verging on adolescence. The vivid backdrop is intoxicating, but the story's universal concerns will touch readers most: sibling jealously, confusion about adult customs, and a growing interest in a world beyond family.
E. Connections
This novel could be useful in comparing and contrasting other ancient cultures' expectations for women.
Debate could be utilized to discuss the merits of a world dominated by men vs. one where women are more equal.
Stolz, Joelle. 1999. The Shadows of Ghadames. New York: Delacourt Press. ISBN 0385731043.
B. Plot Summary
The Shadows of Ghadames illuminates the lives of women in late 1800s Libya, demonstrating the customs of the harem and the man-dominated world. Coming of age in this culture is eleven-year-old Malika, who, with the help of a stranger, begins to dream of a possible life loosened from the centuries-old constraints on women.
C. Critical Analysis
The Shadows of Ghadames was written by the French author Joelle Stolz, who traveled to this ancient city to research for her novel. From the knowledge gained, Stolz gives a realistic account of late 19th century life for women in the harems of Ghadames.
Traditional names are used, language depicting everyday life and activities is used, such as the description of a kerna, "...the wide, hard base of a palm tree branch..." used to beat "...the stalks to separate the grain..." or the malafa, "...the rectangle of embroidered wool tied under the chin with laces that girls wear on their heads until marriage."
Many traditions are brought out in the novel along with vivid descriptions of how women live out their lives on the rooftops of the city, visiting only other women, a world where men do not enter.
All the characters in the novel are authentic. The men and women all follow the traditions, yet changes are being discerned by the protagonist Malika and is actually encouraged by her father's second wife to think beyond the walls of her home.
The Shadows of Ghadames is well-written and thought provoking. It allows one into the secret world of Libya's Muslim women while also portraying universal themes of jealousy, anger, and rebellion as Malika prepares to enter adolescence.
D. Review Excerpt
School Library Journal: In Libya at the end of the 19th century, upper-class women were confined to their homes and rooftops, leading a quiet life filled with household tasks. Nearly 12, Malika is about to enter that world, although not without regret for the loss of freedom and the education her brother has. Her father's two wives offer her good models: her upper-class mother, the "wife from home," who calmly runs the household, and her brother's mother, the "wife from the journey," who moves more freely about the city, still veiled and hiding in dark alleys when a man appears. In spite of their upbringing and their husband's departure on business, the two women rescue a man injured outside their home. Abdelkarim remains hidden with them while they nurse his wounds, and as he recovers, he and Malika come to see that the world of women is richer than they thought. He teaches Malika her alphabet before he is smuggled away, and her mother, admitting that times are changing, finally agrees to let her learn to read.
Booklist: In the Libyan city of Ghadames at the end of the nineteenth century, Malika is dreading her twelfth birthday. That is the time when, according to her family's Berber customs, she will be close to marriageable age and confined to the world of women. In Ghadames that means restriction to the rooftops, "a city above the city, an open sunny town for women only, where . . . they never talk to men." Malika longs to live beyond the segregated city and travel, like her father, a trader. But the wider world comes to Malika after her father's two wives agree to harbor, in secret, a wounded stranger. The story of an outsider who unsettles a household and helps a young person to grow is certainly nothing new, and some of the lessons here are purposeful. But Stolz invigorates her tale with elegant prose and a deft portrayal of a girl verging on adolescence. The vivid backdrop is intoxicating, but the story's universal concerns will touch readers most: sibling jealously, confusion about adult customs, and a growing interest in a world beyond family.
E. Connections
This novel could be useful in comparing and contrasting other ancient cultures' expectations for women.
Debate could be utilized to discuss the merits of a world dominated by men vs. one where women are more equal.
Multicultural Literature
I will be posting several book reviews for my Multicultural Literature class through Texas Woman's University during the summer.
This blog is a work in progress.
This blog is a work in progress.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Poetry Breaks and Poetry Book Reviews Bibliography List for Poetry Class at TWU
Good Books, Good Times, anthology compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Harvey Stevenson, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1990.
Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems by Eloise Greenfield, illustrations by Diane and Leo Dillon, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1978.
Confetti: Poems for Children by Pat Mora, illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez, Lee & Low Books, Inc. New York, 1996.
Bing Bang Bong, poems and drawings by Douglas Florian, Harcourt Brace and Company, San Diego, 1994.
The Geography of Girlhood: A Novel by Kristen Smith, Little, Brown, and Company, New York, 2006.
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children: A Treasury of 572 Poems for Today's Child, selected by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Arnold Lobel, Random House, Inc. New York, 1983.
Blackbeard: The Pirate King, by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrations by various artists based on stories, myths, documents, and their own imaginations; National Geographic Society, Washington D.C. 2006.
Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems, selected by Lee Bennet Hopkins, illustrated by Karen Barbour, Aladdin Paperbacks, New York, 2001.
A Pizza the Size of the Sun, by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson, Greenwillow Books, New York, 1996.
The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 2008.
Texas Mother Goose, by David Davis, illustrated by Sue Marshall Ward, Pelican Publishing Co., Inc, Gretna, LA, 2006.
This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort, poems selected by Georgia Heard, illustrations by Eighteen Renowned Picture Book Artists, Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA, 2002.
The Earth is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems About Our Planet, edited by Barbara Brenner, illustrated by S. O. Schindler, Scholastic Inc, New York, 1994.
That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems, by Paul. B. Janeczko, illustrated by Carole Katchen, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 1998.
Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems by Eloise Greenfield, illustrations by Diane and Leo Dillon, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1978.
Confetti: Poems for Children by Pat Mora, illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez, Lee & Low Books, Inc. New York, 1996.
Bing Bang Bong, poems and drawings by Douglas Florian, Harcourt Brace and Company, San Diego, 1994.
The Geography of Girlhood: A Novel by Kristen Smith, Little, Brown, and Company, New York, 2006.
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children: A Treasury of 572 Poems for Today's Child, selected by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Arnold Lobel, Random House, Inc. New York, 1983.
Blackbeard: The Pirate King, by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrations by various artists based on stories, myths, documents, and their own imaginations; National Geographic Society, Washington D.C. 2006.
Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems, selected by Lee Bennet Hopkins, illustrated by Karen Barbour, Aladdin Paperbacks, New York, 2001.
A Pizza the Size of the Sun, by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson, Greenwillow Books, New York, 1996.
The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 2008.
Texas Mother Goose, by David Davis, illustrated by Sue Marshall Ward, Pelican Publishing Co., Inc, Gretna, LA, 2006.
This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort, poems selected by Georgia Heard, illustrations by Eighteen Renowned Picture Book Artists, Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA, 2002.
The Earth is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems About Our Planet, edited by Barbara Brenner, illustrated by S. O. Schindler, Scholastic Inc, New York, 1994.
That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems, by Paul. B. Janeczko, illustrated by Carole Katchen, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 1998.
Friday, April 24, 2009
That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems
That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems by Paul B. Janeczko, illlustrated by Carole Katchen, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 1998.
That Sweet Diamond, sweet as only a baseball fan could know~Paul Janeczko has created a poetic memorial for America's favorite past time: Baseball!
Fans reading this collection will immediately smell the hot dogs, hear the crack of the bat, feel the smack! in their hands of a foul ball flown up in the stands. Memories and first impressions will awaken: first ball game, first MLB game, first win, first pennant...Paul Janeczko has given us poems to cover the beginning of the game with the purchases of pennants, scorecards, and hot dogs, to "A Curse Upon the Pitcher", to a double play, to the clean up after the game.
Especially poignant is the poem celebrating the "little old baseball lady" which every team seems to have, a fan for life, through good seasons and bad, who says, "Leaving before the last out...is like dying before your time."
Artist Carol Katchen has used softly muted pastels to illustrate the poems in a manner that reminds one of a dream. Each poem has an illustration on its facing page, bringing to life the words and rhythm of the verse.
That Sweet Diamond is a collection of poems commemorating the nostalgic feel of baseball that both fans and non-fans of any age can enjoy. That Sweet Diamond is a definite home run.
That Sweet Diamond, sweet as only a baseball fan could know~Paul Janeczko has created a poetic memorial for America's favorite past time: Baseball!
Fans reading this collection will immediately smell the hot dogs, hear the crack of the bat, feel the smack! in their hands of a foul ball flown up in the stands. Memories and first impressions will awaken: first ball game, first MLB game, first win, first pennant...Paul Janeczko has given us poems to cover the beginning of the game with the purchases of pennants, scorecards, and hot dogs, to "A Curse Upon the Pitcher", to a double play, to the clean up after the game.
Especially poignant is the poem celebrating the "little old baseball lady" which every team seems to have, a fan for life, through good seasons and bad, who says, "Leaving before the last out...is like dying before your time."
Artist Carol Katchen has used softly muted pastels to illustrate the poems in a manner that reminds one of a dream. Each poem has an illustration on its facing page, bringing to life the words and rhythm of the verse.
That Sweet Diamond is a collection of poems commemorating the nostalgic feel of baseball that both fans and non-fans of any age can enjoy. That Sweet Diamond is a definite home run.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
"The Deep Green Forest" by Tanya Dreskin, age 7
"The Deep Green Forest" by Tanya Dreskin, age 7, from The Earth is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems About Our Planet, edited by Barbara Brenner, illustrated by S.O. Schindler, Scholastic Inc, New York. 1994.
If possible, try to do this poetry break around April 22, Earth Day.
Introduction: Display pictures of various rain forests and show a map of locations around the world. Discuss rain forests and write down students comments onto butcher paper to build schema.
Poem:
"The Deep Green Forest"
The deep green forest is dark and quiet;
Ferns grow all along the trail.
Silence.
Extension: Give out blue and green construction paper bookmarks. Have students either copy the poem onto their bookmark or create a poem of their own. Allow students time to decorate their bookmarks.
If possible, try to do this poetry break around April 22, Earth Day.
Introduction: Display pictures of various rain forests and show a map of locations around the world. Discuss rain forests and write down students comments onto butcher paper to build schema.
Poem:
"The Deep Green Forest"
The deep green forest is dark and quiet;
Ferns grow all along the trail.
Silence.
Extension: Give out blue and green construction paper bookmarks. Have students either copy the poem onto their bookmark or create a poem of their own. Allow students time to decorate their bookmarks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)