Feathers

 

Written by Jacqueline Woodson

Feathers, a realistic fiction novel written by Jacqueline Woodson that takes place in the 1970s, is about children who are trying to find their place in the world.  The protagonist of the story, Frannie, is eleven years old and much like her friends is not sure how to take it when a white, “Jesus-Boy” shows up in her classroom—one that is all black.  Sean, Frannie’s older brother, deals with being deaf in a community of people who can all hear.  Another young boy from Frannie’s class, Trevor, is biracial, but has difficulty dealing with this and in turn, becomes a bully.  The Jesus Boy, although he looks white, does not identify with being so.

Woodson develops a plot that is engaging and realistic to today’s youth.  People are constantly judging each other because of their looks, skin color, disabilities, etc..  The plot is full of different situations and problems that the children face.  For example, Frannie’s brother Sean deals with the reaction of young girls when they find out he cannot hear.  For some reason, they are no longer interested once they find out he is deaf. 

Woodson never names the setting, but according to her website, she was envisioning the story to take place between the Queens and Brooklyn border.  The biggest thing that makes this evident is that Frannie and the other children are always talking about the other side of the bridge.  Since they are living on Long Island, they would have to cross a bridge to get into New York City and another one to get beyond New York City.  Interestingly though, Frannie would not have had to travel beyond the bridge in order to see how the other side lived.  From what I know about Long Island, Frannie could have also just traveled further east and would have also been in a different world.  Woodson writes After Tupac & D. Foster in a similar setting to Feathers.

Although this story won the Newbery Honor Award, I did not feel as much of an emotional connection to the story and found it difficult to get through at times.  In comparison to some of the other Newbery Award winning books, I feel like others are overall much stronger.  For example, I feel there is a world of difference between the story, One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia and Feathers.  Regardless though, I found it intriguing to read about a boy who was the only white kid in the class—this is certainly different from what I am used to—although, the story did remind me of when I taught in a predominately African American school.

After Tupac & D. Foster

Written By: Jacqueline Woodson

The story of After Tupac & D. Foster, written by Jacqueline Woodson, takes place in the early nineties in a close-knit African American neighborhood in Queens, New York.  Two girls, Neeka and the story’s narrator, are eleven years old and have been best friends all of their lives.  The summer they meet D. Foster, they begin to learn more about themselves, each other, and the world around them as they grow to be inseparable over the course of the two-year friendship with D.

Woodson sets this realistic fiction novel during the time when Tupac was still alive.  She cues readers in on the life of Tupac and how he was tragically killed throughout the plot of the story.  For example, at one point, the narrator and her mama discuss an article written in the Daily News about Tupac.  They discuss how Tupac will do time for charges filed against him by some girl.  I was able to locate an article in the NY Times from 1993 that seems to describe the same incident—minus the perspective of the African American community.

D. Foster does not know who she is at the beginning of the story.  She does not know who her mother is and is not sure whether she has any brothers or sisters.  She calls herself D. Foster, because she is a foster child.  D. relates to Tupac; however, and his music. The narrator reflects, “You listen to Tupac’s songs and you know he’s singing about people like D, about all the kids whose mamas went away, about all the injustice.  Brenda throwing away her baby, the cops beating some brother down, the hungry kids, sad kids, kids who got big dreams nobody’s listening to.  Like over all that time and distance he looked right across the bridge into Queens, New York—right into Desiree’s eyes.  Strange how he saw her.”

Although the story is only 152 pages long, Woodson manages to incorporate a lot of tough subtopics that were and still are a reality of today.  For example, Neeka’s brother, a homosexual, was wrongfully put into prison because of a crime he was framed for.  Woodson describes the prison through the narrator’s perspective, “The loudest sound in the world is the soft click of prison gates locking behind you.  Maybe it’s how final it is—the loud slam of the gate, then the quick, gentle click.  Then the scary feeling of it all being forever.”  Both Neeka’s and the narrator’s fathers are both absent, and their mothers both work hard to support their families.  In addition, D. Foster is biracial, and the young girls comment on her green eyes and light hair.

I was around the same age as D. Foster, Neeka, and the narrator when this story took place in Queens.  In fact, I only lived about forty minutes away from the girls—but, from what I can remember, my life seemed completely different.  At the time, I am sure I did not know who Tupac was nor was I probably able to listen to his music.  Meanwhile, these three girls listened to his music and it meant the world to them.  Although I could not personally relate to most events in the story, I felt emotionally connected to the characters, which made the story both interesting and engaging.

The Blacker the Berry

Poems by: Joyce Carol Thomas

Illustrated by: Floyd Cooper

According to Joyce Carol Thomas, “One of the painful secrets the Black community keeps is that the value of a girl and boy’s worth may depend upon his or her complexion.”  Because of this, Joyce Carol Thomas wrote, The Blacker the Berry, “…As a tribute to African American girls and boys who may struggle with discrimination based upon the range of colors of their complexions.”  This was found on a discussion board posted on Facebook in the group, “ALSC Poetry Blast.”  Prior to reading this post, I had not realized that such discrimination had existed.

The Blacker the Berry is a beautiful collection of poetry that speaks volumes about discrimination and acceptance.  Each poem is written from the perspective of a confident young child who is comfortable in his or her own skin.  Thomas uses different berries found in nature in order to create each poem—emphasizing how berries come in different shades in nature and how humans are no different. 

The collection begins with the statement, “Colors, without black, couldn’t sparkle quite so bright” Accompanying this short and powerful statement is an illustration of a young boy holding a handful of blackberries with various hues of purple, black, pink, and red.  He is smiling wide and confident—because, it’s true.

The first poem is titled, “What Shade Is Human?”  The wise grandfather in the poem says that, “It’s the milk of kindness/that makes us human…White milk/Chocolate milk/Sweet milk/Mother’s milk.”  The young girl nods because she knows that long ago her mother told her, “You are beautiful. /And I heard her”.  This poem helps us to realize that there are many different colors of human, but all are beautiful and have worth.

One of my favorite poems in the collection is titled, Snowberries.  This poem is written from the perspective of a young girl, who is fair skinned, but walks the walk and talks the talk of being Black.  Some say to the girl, “You’re not really Black!” as if anyone should be able to judge such a thing.  The girl wishes to be black as midnight but states, “Still I’m thankful/For all the blood drops I got/In my mind/Even one drop’s a lot”

The last poem in the collection is titled, Color Struck.  This poem truly captures the essence of all of the poems.  “We are color struck/The way an artist strikes/His canvas with his brush of many hues/Look closely at these mirrors/these palettes of skin/Each color is rich/in its own right”

Each poem is accompanied by vibrant representational illustrations by Floyd Cooper—capturing the confidence and spirit of each child.  The illustrations are full-bleed and span across each double-paged spread—allowing us to feel the emotions along with the child.  The children are the central focus of each illustration, which gives us the sense that they are speaking directly to us.  Every child is beautiful and proud. Cooper uses an interesting technique called oil wash on board in order to give his illustrations their unique look.  He actually erases the picture after painting it in order to create this look.  I searched in hopes to find this technique demonstrated, but I was unable to find it.  The uniqueness of his illustrations is difficult to describe in words, but I do feel as though there is a warm and inviting quality to the illustrations throughout this book.  Perhaps the illustrative technique helps to create this feeling by muting the colors, but keeping them vibrant at the same time.  

Although these poems are specifically geared towards African American children, I believe that all children can appreciate the poems of this collection.  I believe it promotes awareness and deeper understanding among different cultures and is a necessary collection to add to any library.  This collection of poems was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award, which is given to African American authors and illustrators for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions.  One can easily see why this book was given such a prestigious award from the moment you read the inside flap and examine the cover.

Note: I did not link to the Facebook page where I took the quotes from Joyce Carol Thomas.  If you search the group, ALSC Poetry Blast, the group should show up.  You can then navigate to find the discussion titled, "Interview with Joyce Carol Thomas."  Her comments about the book will be posted there.

A Mango-Shaped Space

Written by: Wendy Mass

Young children likely believe that the way they perceive letters, numbers, and sounds is the same way that others do.  It would be hard to imagine any different as a young child—especially if the experiences you have are all that you know.  By the same token, those who do perceive letters, numbers, and sounds the same way as the majority of those around them have a hard time understanding what it must be like for those who do not.   A person cannot truly understand what it is like to have a disability, unless they have one.  The best that we can do as educators and parents is to promote awareness and to teach understanding and compassion. 

Have you ever heard of the condition known as synesthesia?  Prior to reading the novel, A Mango-Shaped Space, by Wendy Mass, I had not heard of this condition.  Synesthesia is a rare condition that is basically joined perception of the senses.  For example, one with synesthesia may associate different colors with different numbers or sounds.  In this case, every time the number 4 is mentioned or seen, a person with Synesthesia may associate the number 4 with the color green or the smell of chocolate.  This is an involuntary neurological response of the senses and can be different for each person experiencing synesthesia.

It is not until the protagonist, Mia, is in the third grade that she realizes that other children do not perceive letters and numbers the same way that she does.  After being called up to the board to do a math problem, Mia tries to write the numbers in the colors that she sees in order to help her solve the problem.  As she is doing this, her teacher believes that she is fooling around and is annoyed with her for wasting time.  In a long embarrassing moment between the teacher and Mia, the children end up laughing and calling Mia a freak, and the teacher gets tired of the nonsense and ends up sending Mia to the principals office.  She states, “Numbers don’t have colors, they simply have a shape and a numerical value, that’s all…”  A Mango-Shaped Space takes us through the experiences, both positive and negative, that a young girl Mia deals with as she learns to cope with who she is and discovers that she is not alone. 

Within the first three pages of the book, Wendy Mass brings our attention to the importance of awareness.  It is disheartening to read about the teacher’s reaction to Mia’s problem.  It only took one event that lasted less than 3 minutes to completely destroy Mia’s perception of herself.  Nobody believed what Mia was saying about the colors to be true.  They all thought that it was nonsense—and Mia was forced to deal privately with this condition until she was thirteen.

Wendy Mass won the Schneider Family Book Award, which is given to an author or illustrator that “embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.”  Mass does not have synesthesia, nor did she originally know anyone with the disorder.  In the FAQ section of her website, Mass states that her inspiration for the book came from reading another book titled, The Man Who Tasted Shapes, by Dr. Richard Cytowic.  She mentioned that she found the book fascinating and it was at that moment she decided to create a fictional character that would have this condition.  She did do a lot of research on synesthesia and even attended meetings of the American Synesthesia Association.  Although she did not originally know anyone with the disorder, she was fortunate to meet many wonderful people who shared their experiences with her and helped her understand what Mia may have been going through during school.

Mass develops the character of Mia very well and she is one that anyone could relate to.  Teenagers are trying to find their place in the world during the difficult years of middle and high school.  This happens regardless of whether or not you have a disability.  Mia is a character that struggles with the day-to-day problems that most children face.  She had difficulty with friendships, relationships with boys, prioritizing, getting along with her siblings and her parents, among other struggles.

I have been shown the video, F.A.T. City on a couple of different occasions during my teaching career.  This video gives perspective on what it is like to be a child with a disability in the classroom.  It allows teachers to, “walk a mile” in the shoes of those who have a disability.  It is a very enlightening video and helps us as teachers realize that we need to be more aware of the different disabilities and struggles our students are facing.  It provides awareness that will hopefully prevent any incidents from occurring that are similar to Mia’s third grade experience. 

Although four years had passed and it seemed as though everyone else may have forgotten, Mia still had not forgotten the dreadful day in third grade when she realized she was not like everyone else.  These negative memories can last a lifetime and it is important that children and adults alike are made aware of differences and learn to not only accept them, but to appreciate them.

faith

By Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon

Faith.

Is a powerful word.

What is faith?

All religions have faith.

In something, or someone, or some place.

The story faith, by Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon, enlightens us to the innocence of children and the diverse religious cultures in today’s society. The photograph on the cover zooms in on the face and hands of a young boy praying. The text begins with, “In our world, there are many faiths. We celebrate our faiths in many different ways.” Through the remainder of the book the authors use the word, “We,” while making powerful statements about faith. By using the repetitive language of the word, “We,” the authors help to bring me in as part of the text. They successfully were able to convey that it does not matter if there are differences in what religion we are or in what we believe—we all still have similarities—which are mentioned using statements like these:

“We read our holy books.”

Does it matter which one?

“We chant and we sing our songs.”

Does it matter to whom?

“We mark the important events in our lives.”

Does it matter how, or which events?

Accompanying each powerful statement are pictures of children practicing religious customs from around the world with captions briefly explaining the picture and the location. At the end of the book, there is a map of the world with labels of all the places the children who were photographed came from. It is very easy to see that all continents, with the exception of Australia and Antarctica, were represented throughout the book.

While looking into the eyes of some of the children, I almost felt as though I was watching a Save the Children commercial. I see innocence and hope. I see love and compassion. The pictures truly are breathtaking. Many pictures zoom in close and allow us as readers to feel as though we are a part of the moment. Others zoom in so that we can stare into the eyes of the child. In all pictures, regardless of size or distance, we can sense the love for each other and family.

This book can be very informative for both adults and children. In the back of the book, there is a section titled, “Elements of Faith.” This section provides further information on each brief statement from the text. For example, one statement was, “We respect others, making friends, and building peace,” and in the Elements section there was a section titled, “Caring for and Helping Others.” In addition, the book has a glossary of important terms to further explain the pictures in the book. By putting these sections in the back of the book, the authors were able to send a powerful message in a way that all people, young and old alike, could understand. A picture is sometime worth a thousand words—and the authors chose to write a few words and let the pictures do much of the talking. In the back, they explained further for those who may be interested. It was a wise decision not to include this information throughout the book because I believe it would have taken away from the power of the message as it is currently written. Also, it allows the reader to determine their comfort level with the religious information provided in the book.

Just like how Julius Lester explains that our bones all look the same in the story, Let's Talk About Race, Ajmera, Nakassis, and Pon all explain that although our religions our different, there are common threads that bring us all together. With understanding and acceptance, we can learn so much from each other and live in a world filled with peace.

Part of the proceeds from the sale of this book is donated to The Global Fund for Children. Visit their website at www.globalfundforchildren.org in order to learn more about the foundation and one of the authors, Maya Ajmera.

Let's Talk About Race

Written by: Julius Lester
Illustrated by: Karen Barbour

Bold colors. Unique illustrations. Simple language. Powerful message. Let’s Talk About Race is a story that strips the human race down to the bones. Literally.

We are all a story—and our stories all begin the same way. I was born on August 22, 1984 in Smithtown, New York. Author Julius Lester was born on January 27, 1939 in St. Louis, Missouri. How does your story begin?

And with that, Lester begins to point out how similar we all are. We all have stories.

Let’s Talk About Race is not an autobiography about Julius Lester; however, I finish the story having learned something about the author. By including his voice in the text and himself in the illustrations, I sense that I am sitting in a room listening to Lester give a speech regarding race. As I read, I feel as though I can trust the message he is trying to convey because I begin to think of him as a person that I know—instead of as someone trying to change the world from behind his computer screen.

He lets us in by sharing his story with us—but not the story about how his great grandparents may have been slaves and were part of the Underground Railroad. Or, how he may not have been given an opportunity because of prejudices. No—in this culturally generic story I find out information about the author’s favorite food, hobbies, favorite color, religion, nationality, and time of day.

Throughout the text, Lester uses both short powerful statements like, “I’m black,” or, “Some stories are true. Some are not.” And longer statements that read like the time your friend told you a story where you could hardly keep the people straight: “… Beneath our skin I look like you and you look like me and she looks like her and him and he looks like him and her and we look like them and they look like us.” In addition, he asks powerful questions that he sometimes answers, and always gives the reader an opportunity to ponder: “Do I look at you and think I know your story when I don’t even know your name? Or, do I look at you and wonder…”

Karen Barbour supports Lester’s message through her bold and thought-provoking illustrations. In almost all of the illustrations, Barbour includes a butterfly. On one double-paged spread, Lester explains how we all at times think we are better than others because of where we live, where we go to school, how much money we make, etc. Framing the text, are partial faces that focus our attention to the different eyes—some of which have money symbols as the pupil. One partial face stands out from all the others; however, because the pupil is a butterfly. I believe that the image of the man is Julius Lester and to confirm this, I located an image of the author to see what he looked like (http://www.members.authorsguild.net/juliuslester/). What is the significance of the butterfly? There must be a purpose for this butterfly to appear so frequently in these illustrations—especially in the eye of the author. I read into it a little bit and found that butterflies are symbolic of different things depending upon your culture (http://www.whats-your-sign.com/butterfly-animal-symbolism.html). However, I believe that the butterfly being a symbol of change and transformation is very fitting for the meaning of this book. Looking at the eye again with an understanding of the meaning of the butterfly—makes the image all the more powerful. The author is envisioning change and looking at us as readers, in hopes that we try to do it.

In many of Barbour’s illustrations, there is a lot going on. There are lots of faces, many eyes, and many bright and bold colors. Faces are not always realistic colors and can be seen in green or blue in order to blend in with the fully colored, unframed background. To me, many of the faces look very similar—especially if the color of their skin, the unique dress, and their hair were taken away. I wonder if that was her purpose? I wonder why she didn’t provide the faces in the book with distinguishable features. I wondered if Barbour was of European descent, but I was unable to locate very much information on her. I wonder if her own culture has anything to do with the style of her drawings and lack of certain cultural details in her illustrations.

As the story comes to an end, Lester explains again that, “Beneath the skin we all look alike. You and Me. I’ll take off my skin. Will you take off yours?” The message is clear. We are all the same when it comes down to our bones. We must be willing to take off our skin. In the words of Ghandi, you must, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Lester lets us know that he is the change he wishes to see.

Are you?