CULTURE 5: ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN LITERATURE

PICTURE BOOK BY ALLEN SAY
Tea With Milk

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Say, Allen. 1999. TEA WITH MILK. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 9780395904954. 

2. PLOT SUMMARY
May or Masako, raised in San Francisco, moves back to Japan with her parents and finds herself missing her "American" life and feeling confined by the expectations of her parents. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Say's portrayal of a young Japanese American who feels like a foreigner in Japan, is a great example of the complexity of a multicultural experience. The main character, May, does not embrace her parents' homeland. She was raised in America until her parents decided to move when she graduated from high school. Say begins the story with a a black and white watercolor painting of May as a young child standing in front of her house with an American flag mounted near the door. She has a content look on her face and is dressed in  American style clothing.    The second illustration shows Masako standing awkwardly dressed in a kimono with a very sad expression on her face. She misses her American home, her lifestyle and "pancakes and omelets, fried chicken and spaghetti." The customs and past times of Japan do not interest her, "Her new home was drafty, with windows made of paper. She had to wear kimonos and sit on floors until her legs went numb. No one called her May and Masako sounded like someone else's name." 
May's struggles are not only those associated with a cross cultural experience. She is also a young woman who has aspirations and opportunities that are not shared by her mother's generation.  It is more acceptable for a young woman of May's generation to seek employment outside of the home and to fill roles in the workplace and at home that are not traditional. She feels boxed in by her parents expectations that she take lessons in flower arranging, calligraphy and the tea ceremony. She rebels, "Why do I have to do this?" she exclaimed one day. "I'm not going to be a florist or a sign painter! And I like my tea with milk and sugar." She clearly is a modern women and she asserts this to her mother, "All I want is to go to college and then have an apartment of my won."  
Say expertly weaves the experiences and influences of May's cross cultural character. When May applies for a job a a department store, she feels thankful to her mother for the calligraphy lessons! Say emphasizes the changing roles of Japanese women in his illustration of the department store where May finds a job; he depicts Japanese women dressed in western clothing working behind the counter, with customers dressed in kimonos. May is in the foreground dressed in her stylish American clothes with short haircut. Although the ending seems fairy tale, it is not unrealistic for May to have found a mate in a similar situation. Joseph was raised by English foster parents and attended an English school. His perception of "home" is even more untraditional than May's: "May, home isn't a place or a building that's ready-made and waiting for you, in America or anywhere else."
Anyone who has ever felt ostracized, the generation gap, a need for autonomy, and a sense of belonging will find this story very satisfying and reassuring.
Say's training in architecture are obvious in is paintings of buildings and houses. With clean lines and special attention to architectural details as seen in both his paintings of traditional wooden Japanese houses and his paintings of the interior and exteriors of modern Japanese buildings.

4. 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. "
School Library Journal: "This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own."

5. CONNECTIONS
Use this book with older ESL students, from middle to high school, to encourage them to write about their own experiences living in a new culture. 
Pair this with Say's other autobiographical works like: Tree of Cranes, Grandfather's Journey and The Sign Painter.

NOVEL BY GRACE LIN
Year of the Dog

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lin, Grace. YEAR OF THE DOG. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 9780316060004.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
A story of cultural integration where young Pacy, a Taiwanese American girl, celebrates the Chinese New Year.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Grace Lin includes an abundance of cultural markers that connect this story with the experience of a Taiwanese American family living in the United States. The story begins with Pacy's father wishing relatives from Taiwan a Happy New Year, "Gong xi-gong xi! Xin-nian kuai le!" The customs and foods around the Chinese New Year are described in rich details, as Pacy's family prepares for the celebration.The Year of the Dog, Pacy is told, is the year that "you find your best friends." It's also the year, she's told by her mother, "to find yourself." Through anecdotes told by her mom, we get her mother's parallel childhood experiences in Taiwan, which help Pacy to navigate her own challenges as a young person. When Pacy is teased by other Asian girls for not knowing how to speak the language and for being Americanized her mother tells her: 

"But that is why I wanted you to have friends from our culture, ..."Because it's easier when you know people who understand. "

           "But just because they're Chinese doesn't mean they're the same as me," I said. "I don't think they understand at all."

"That's true," Mom said. "But because they Chinese they are more likely to understand. Look at you and Melody. Don't you think she understands?" 

Pacy is not convinced:

"It's not fair. To Americans, I'm too Chinese, and to Chinese people, I'm too American. So which one am I supposed to be?"

"Neither and both," Mom told me. "you don't have to  be more one than the other, you're Chinese American."

"Or Taiwanese-American," I complained. It's so confusing." 

In this innocent and loving dialogue, Lin makes huge progress in representing an Asian culture honestly with all it's complexities and none of the standard stereotypes. She makes the important distinction between being Chinese and Taiwanese allowing for readers to understand the diversity within the Asian cultures. Pacy's story also includes themes that are typical of those of any young girl: friendship, sibling relationships, and  schoolwork. She avoids even some of the more "positive" stereotypes often attached to characters of Asian descent, like being shy, obedient and excellent at math.
Lin includes simple drawings through-out the book that are amusing and I think, could make and excellent graphic novel.
4. REVIEWS

School Library Journal: "This is an enjoyable chapter book with easily identifiable characters."
Booklist: "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."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair this book with the sequel, "The Year of the Rat."

This is a great choice for ESL students who may be living what Pacy is experiencing in the story.
Ask students to write about their own experiences trying to assimilate into a new culture.
Pair with Mary Hoffman's book, Amazing Grace.

PICTURE BOOK BY ASIAN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Tan to Tamarind: Poems about the Color Brown, By Malathi Michelle Iyengar
2010 APALA Honorable Mention for Picture Book

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Iyengar, Malathi. 2009. TAN TO TAMARIND: POEMS ABOUT THE COLOR BROWN. Ill. by Jamel Akib.  San Francisco: Children's Book Press. ISBN:9780892392279.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
A collection of fifteen poems which celebrate the many shades of brown in skin tone and in nature.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The smiling brown children on the cover illustration of this collection warmly invites the reader to join in a celebration!  The children are embracing each other in solidarity. In the author's notes Iyengar reveals that she was shamed by classmates for being brown; "Every day at the bus stop a group of older kids would call me names and make fun of my brown skin, saying brown was a dirty, ugly color. I longed to trade in my brown complexion for peachy-pink." This book, then, is testament to her overcoming those taunts. Tan to Tamarind is a poetic affirmation that reinforces the fact that brown is beautiful, in all of it varied shades:
"Brown./My face./Milk-tea brown./I am brown./ I am beautiful./Brown./Your face./Sienna brown/or coca brown,/cafe con leche brown or/radiant ocher brown."
These poems carry cultural markers that connect to a variety of East Indian cultures. Children will be intrigued with new words like masala, mehendi, sandalwood and tamarind.Each illustration is a two page spread done in pastels, and feature children whose skin tones vary from topaz, to bay, to sepia, to ocher to beige. These colors are not as distinct as they could be, but the poems descriptive language fills in the blanks that the illustrations may create. For example, for the poem entitled, "Ocher" we learn in the first stanza that ocher is a "vivid orange-brown." If a child has never heard of beige, the poem helps: "Brown./Beige brown./ Warm and scratchy, sandy brown."
In her essay, "The Candle and the Mirror: One Author's Journey as an Outsider," Judi Moreillon says, "All children deserve literature that reflects the cultural diversity of our society and world." I think Malathi Michelle Iyengar and Jamel Akib offer children this diversity in this wonderful book.

4. REVIEWS
School Library Journal: "This exploration of the diversity within the spectrum of brown is a lovely tribute to the color."
Booklist: "Illustrated with pastel pictures in warm autumn colors, both dark and light, the simple poems celebrate the diversity and the connections in nature, culture, place, and language among blacks, Latinos, Indians, Native Americans, and many mixed-race kids."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair with Langston Hughes's book, My People.

CULTURE 4: NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE

A PICTURE BOOK BY JOSEPH BRUCHAC

Crazy Horse's Vision.  Parent's Choice Gold Award

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bruchac, Joseph. CRAZY HORSE'S VISION. Ill. by S.D. Nelson. New York: Lee and Low Books. ISBN: 9781584302827.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
The book tells the story of the boyhood of a Lakota Indian who grew up to be the great leader and warrior, Crazy horse.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The story begins with the birth of Crazy Horse, named Curly, born to Lakota parents in the mid 19th century. Even in his youth Curly demonstrates the kindness and selflessness that defines him in his legacy. As a young man, he embarks on a vision quest after he witnesses the murder of a respected tribal leader by white soldiers. From his vision quest, he learns that he must lead his people and "keep nothing for yourself." S.D. Nelson paints this vision of a blue warrior riding on the back of Curly's horse across a bright blue sky with horses head instead of clouds. In the next two page spread, the colors are darker, and Nelson's brush strokes are stronger. After the vision, he returns to his village but does not share his vision until his fathers approaches him three years later. His father interprets the vision and tells Curly that he is the man on the horse, and that he will defend his people. His father gives him his name, Tashunka Witco, or in English, Crazy Horse. 
Nelson explains in the Illustrator's Note that the paintings are in ledger-book style. During the forced removal of the Plains Indians at the end of the 19th century, many Lakotas were imprisoned. They were given ledger books with lined pages meant to be used for bookkeeping. Nelson explains that for Plains Indians, spiritual power came to those who made paintings of  themselves and the world around them. Some of the imprisoned Lakotas used the ledger books to document their vanishing culture.  S.D. Nelson says, "My intention was to draw young readers into the story. I hope that through my pictures, readers will not only gain a better understanding of Crazy Horse, but an insight into the art of the Plains Indians." For the paintings in the book, he used acrylic paints on wood.
Bruchac tells a compelling story and while his focus, as the title implies, is the Vision, he skillfully describes the tragedy of the Lakotas' encounter with the encroaching White race. Bruchac's story doesn't end with death of Crazy Horse, but the reader is informed in the Author's Note that Crazy Horse dies after being stabbed with a bayonet  by a white soldier. 
Books such as these, written and illustrated by insiders; Bruchac is of Abenaki descent and Nelson is of Lakota Sioux, inform a generation of children about varied and complex history of American Indians. In Crazy Horse, White children experience a Native American hero, much like the saints they may have learned about in their own culture. For American Indian children, Crazy Horse is a role model and opportunity to see in a book a positive reflection of their culture. 

4. REVIEWS
Booklist: "Bruchac has created a memorable tale about Crazy Horse's childhood, capturing the spirit of one of the most dedicated and daring leaders among the Lakota."
School Library Journal:"A fine introduction to a hero long overlooked."
5. CONNECTIONS
This book could be used in an upper elementary classroom as an introduction to the culture of the Lakota Indians. Children can be asked to research the symbolic meaning of the colors use in the paintings. This book would pair nicely with other Bruchac book, A Boy Called Slow:The True Story of Sitting Bull.

A PICTURE BOOK BY CYNTHIA LEITICH SMITH

Jingle Dancer

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2000. JINGLE DANCER. Ill. by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying Hwa Hu. New York: Morrow Junior Books. ISBN:0688162428.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Jingle Dancer is a picture book featuring Jenna, a Native American girl who seeks assistance from her family and community to help her make her dress"sing" when she dances in the upcoming powwow.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Inspired by her Grandmother, a Jingle Dancer, Jenna wants to perform the Jingle Dance in the next powwow. But she doesn't have the jingles for her dress. In a story that reads like a nursery rhyme, Jenna goes from house to house, asking relatives and neighbors for jingles to sew into her dress.  She lives in what appears to be a middle class suburban community. We learn in the Author's Note that Jenna is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and is of Ojibway (Chippewa/Anishinabe) descent. There are no cultural markers that I could detect in the story that would connect her to these American Indian Nations specifically, except for one mention of a Muscogee Creek story about a bat. Lietich explains that many tribes perform the Jingle Dance. However, the illustrations contain several cultural markers that connect the story to the Native American culture, for example, woven baskets, a dreamcatcher, and fry bread.
The story has a sing song quality and with each visit, she receives another row of jingles and in the end she dances in the powwow in place of her ailing Great Aunt, her busy lawyer cousin Elizabeth, and her beloved Grandma Wolfe:

"Brum, brum,brum sounded the drum at the powwow the next weekend. As light blurred silver, Jenna jingle danced...for Great-aunt Sis, whose legs ached...for Mrs. Scott, who sold fry bread...for Elizabeth, who worked on her big case, and for Grandma Wolfe, who warmed like the sun."

The story's focus is on Jenna and her family, more than the tradition of the Jingle Dance. An emphasis is made on her aunt's occupation, her neighbor's brand new duplex, and her  middle class neighborhood. These details seemed very intentional and are perhaps irrelevant to the story line. However, they provide a very positive, loving example of a Native American family and community.

4. REVIEWS
Publisher's Weekly:"Smith, a mixed-blood member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, convincingly juxtaposes cherished Native American tradition and contemporary lifestyle in this smooth debut."
School Library Journal:"This picture book will not only satisfy a need for materials on Native American customs, but will also be a welcome addition to stories about traditions passed down by the women of a culture."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair this book with POWWOW by George Ancona and a book by Joseph Bruchac entitled, THE GREAT BALL GAME: A MUSKOGEE STORY.
Show children on a map the area of Oklahoma where Jenna lives. Introduce children to the culture of the Muscogee Indians through non-fiction books.

A NOVEL BY MICHAEL DORRIS

Morning Girl.   Scott O'Dell   Award Winner

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dorris, Michael. 1992. MORNING GIRL. New York: Hyperion Books. ISBN:1562822845.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Narrated alternately by two siblings, Morning Girl and Star Boy, and set in 1492 in a Bahamian Island, this novel is based on an entry in Christopher Columbus' journal. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In first person narrative the story of a family and a community is revealed from the point of view of two children, Morning Girl and Star Boy. Michael Dorris creates a portrait of family and community life on a Caribbean Island in the 15th century, around the time of the arrival of Columbus. Island life seems idyllic and simple. Morning Girl's parents are loving and affectionate.  They instill in them a respect for their ancestors that comes to Star Boy's aid during a hurricane: "It's all right, Star Boy," came a gnarled voice, coiled as the twist of knotted wood. "Stay with us, and you will be safe." It was m grandfather, high above me."  The sibling relationship is typical of most sibling relationships, with the quarreling and competitiveness. Their lives are integrated into the natural world. After the hurricane, they are grateful that gathering of food will take little effort: "How easy it was, that first long day, to gather what we needed. The palms were already spread on the ground, perfect for thatch.Coconuts lay where they had fallen, and even, in some unexpected places-large puddles or places where the ponds had spilled over their banks-silver fish carried from the sea could amazingly be found."
Star Girl says, "If something isn't too much or too little, I don't pay attention. When Father repairs the holes in his fishnet after the evening meal, I watch without really seeing him. He's doing what he's supposed to do-his eyes alert for a ripped square, his fingers finding and tying, his voice to Mother too low except for her ears. Or, in midday when it's just Mother and me inside, her humming or telling me about when she was a girl my age while she pounds roots for dinner, the world fits together so tightly, the pieces like pebbles and shells sunk into the sand after the tide has gone out, before anyone has walked on the beach and left footprints."
Dorris ends the book with a journal entry by Columbus describing his impressions of the people on the island:""They are very well formed, with handsome bodies and good faces...They don not carry arms nor are they acquainted with them, because I showed them swords and they took them by the edge and through ignorance cut themselves...They should be good and intelligent servants..."
Dorris creates a thorough portrait of the people through revealing their thoughts and conversations. Columbus' perspective read independently of the novel would be startling , but after "knowing" these people that Dorris creates, the journal entry left this reader horrified. 

4. REVIEWS
School Library Journal: " Dorris has written a reverberating story of coming-of-age, both for the two characters and for the world."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair with the non-fiction book, THE TAINOS: THE PEOPLE WHO WELCOMED COLUMBUS, by
Francine Jacobs.

CULTURE 3: HISPANIC/LATINO(A) AMERICAN LITERATURE

                                              
 PICTURE BOOK BY PAT MORA
Yum! MmMm! !Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! MmMm! QUE RICO! Ill. by Rafael Lopez. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc. ISBN: 9781584302711.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
A collection of Haiku about fourteen different types of food from the Americas, with short, informational passages about each food.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This picture book contains brilliantly colored illustrations by the Mexican artist, Rafael Lopez. The spirited paintings will captivate a young audience. How could a child not be intrigued by the picture of a young boy on the back of a bluebird with a big bowl of blueberries in his arms; or a giant dancing  peanut butter sandwich playing the trumpet. This book is celebratory and playful. And the colors are as delicious as the foods the Haiku describes. In the poem "Peanut," the aforementioned dancing sandwich is pictured with a smiling boy playing a conga drum: "Smear nutty butter,/then jelly. Gooey party,/my sandwich and me." The illustrations reflect the Mexican artistic tradition of the mural. The colors are bold, and there is a folkloric quality to them. In a note in the back of the book, Mora informs the reader, "I like diversity in people and poetry too." In deference to the original people of the America's she informs us that, "..these plants were grown and enjoyed by the peoples of the Americas long before Christopher Columbus or any other Europeans had ever tasted such wonderful foods." And in the informational paragraph on each page, she acknowledges many cultures and countries like Peru, Ecuador, Mexico and Native Americans.
The language is playful uses a few Spanish words. Mora stays true to the 5-7-5 syllabic structure of the Haiku.  In the poem entitled, "Pumpkin,"she inserts a word in Spanish in a context that explains its meaning: "Under round luna,/scattered tumblings down the rows,/autumn's orange face."
This book is truly a celebration of variety, diversity and poetry.
4. BOOK REVIEWS
School Library Journal:"The art conveys an infectious sense of fun, as smiling suns and moons beam down upon happy children and animals, along with a trumpet-wielding peanut-butter sandwich and a dancing pineapple."
5. CONNECTIONS
This book would provide a fun way to introduce Haiku to a class. This book would work well as an art/poetry project, as well as a lesson in geography. In a food themed preschool story time, several of the poems could be read as a "poetry break."

NOVEL BY PAM MUNOZ RYAN

Esperanza Rising, Pura Belpre Award Winner

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ryan, Pam Munoz. 2000. ESPERANZA RISING. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978043912041.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Esperanza and her parents live an idyllic life on a large ranch in Mexico. When her beloved father is killed by bandits, Esperanza and her mother need to escape from his corrupt and powerful stepbrothers. They must depend on their servants to get them across the border into California and help them begin a new life as farm workers.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Pam Munoz Ryan tackles many issues in this novel for middle grade readers, without compromising the flow of the story. It would be easy for a story that deals with class issues, racism, and labor struggles, to sound like a diatribe. But Ryan's plot is well-paced and engaging. It is easy to become sympathetic to the plight of young Esperanza whose story begins with a tender interaction between her and her Papi. Her father tells her that the "land is alive."  He asks her, "Did you know that when you lie down on the land, you can feel it breathe?" In this first chapter her father shares his love for the land with Esperanza and this foreshadows a lifelong intimate relationship to the earth. Each chapter is titled a different crop, reflecting the rhythms of the growing season for various crops. The story begins with grapes, "Los Uvas," and ends years later at the start of the grape harvest. Ryan's interlingual use of Spanish in the text is natural, even though she follows the the spanish word or phrase with the English translation.
Esperanza does not transition smoothly from being a princess in her parent's world, to a Mexican laborer on the work farms of the San Joaquin Valley.She has a lot to learn about the struggle to survive in a country that is hostile toward Mexicans and other non-white people.  Ryan creates poignant  scenarios where Esperanza's awareness of the realities of racism hit home. In her relationship with the child, Isabel, who hopes to win the title of class queen, she realizes that Isabel, no matter how deserving of the title, will never win because she is Mexican. Her childhood friend Miguel drives the harsh reality home: " Americans see us as one big, brown group who are good for only manual labor."
Ryan explains in the back of the book that this story is based on her Grandmother's life who like Esperanza, was forced from her affluent, loving home in Mexico, to the harsh realities of life as a migrant farm worker.
Some may argue that the author is attempting to tackle too many issues in this short novel, but I think she raises awareness of the many historical and current issues that Mexican Americans have faced and continue to face in this country, and still manages to keep the story compelling and engaging.  She also creates in Esperanza a multi-dimensional character whose inner and out experiences of her world seem authentic and true. Young readers who have ever experienced the tragedy of loss or the joy of familial love and acceptance will recognize a part of themselves in Esperanza's story.
4. BOOK REVIEWS
VOYA:"Details of existence at the migrant work camp, agricultural strikes and violence, discrimination, and the Mexican repatriation are realistic, based on historical facts in this readable, believable, and inspirational story."
Booklist: "But Ryan writes movingly in clear, poetic language that children will sink into, and the books offers excellent opportunities for discussion and curriculum support."
5. CONNECTIONS
This book would be a great choice for a 4th and 5th grade book discussion group. It would pair well with Julia Alvarez's book, Return to Sender.

Poetry by Gary Soto


Partly Cloudy, Poems of Love and Longing
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Soto, Gary. 2009. PARTLY CLOUDY: POEMS OF LOVE AND LONGING. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt. ISBN: 9780152063016.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
The poems in this collection are narrated by a girl and a boy. The first section are from a girl's perspective  entitled, "A Girl's Tears, Her Songs,"  which are followed by poems from a boy's perspective, entitled, "A Boy's Body, His Words." And just as the book's title reads, these are poems about young love, young yearning for love.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The poems in this collection are written in free verse. Most are short, with only a few stanzas and do not rhyme. The cultural markers that might connect this book to the Latino culture do not exist, except for in one poem called "Barriers," where the narrator says: "Who will understand us?/Not your parents or mine,/As I'm Japanese/And you're Mexican." In most of the other poems, the author's background and culture is invisible, he or she could be any teen in some urban or in some rural environment. There is a richness missing from the lack of details about a particular culture, which my current immersion in multicultural literature has made me come to expect and long for.
Soto however does accomplish the sense of longing and expectation that I remember vividly feeling during my early teen years.  The poem "First Kiss," is one that will take the adult reader back in time: "I haven't been kissed,/But I'm waiting./I'm a little scared/. Do I hold my breath,/Close my eyes, and peek when he/Leans in to me?/Do I lick my lips,/And offer my neck for the first one?..."
He writes as an insider if he has ever been a teenager new to love and romance.
4. REVIEWS
School Library Journal: "Soto skillfully captures the voice and emotions of young teens in love."
Booklist: "Young teens will enjoy the love sick puns and the metaphors, lyrical and sad, that show there is poetry in the way they speak."
5. CONNECTIONS
This book could be used as a prompt for love poems in a class room, along with other books of love poems like, The Rose that Grew from Concrete, by Tupac Shakur.