Conclusion

Though I have completed the required readings and blog entries for my Advanced Children's Literature course, I do not plan to stop using this blog for reviewing good books, so follow and enjoy. School is starting soon, though, so there might not be 17 entries in three weeks, but I'll do the best that I can. Not only did I learn a lot about blogging from this project, but I also learned a lot about children's literature and what it has to offer.

Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida

Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida is illustrated by Donald Carrick and gives its audience a true glimpse of reality. Carrick’s illustrations certainly show the heartache and horror of this little girl's life and the lives of her Japanese-American family. In December 1941, when war broke out between the United States and Japan, Yuki Sakane can no longer look forward to the Christmas holiday. Unfortunately, her parents had come to America from Japan and had never become American Citizens. Because of this, they are called “enemy aliens” and looked upon with suspicion. Her father is arrested and sent to San Francisco, and after one visit from the family, he is sent to a P.O.W. camp in Montana. Due to an executive order signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Yuki and her remaining family members are shipped to live in isolation, behind barbed wire in inland camps. Two-thirds of these Japanese people were American citizens. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, many Americans felt as though Japanese people living in Hawaii were responsible for sabotage, so the F.B.I. evacuates 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. World War II ensues. Yuki, her mother, and Ken, her brother, are sent to live in a horse stall in Tanforan Race Track Assembly Center. She becomes friends with a girl named Emi and her grandparents who move with her and the family to Topaz, Utah. Her father rejoins the family at Topaz after he is cleared. Ken enlists in the American Army to show his patriotism, and Yuki is mortified when her new friend, an elderly man named Mr. Kurihara, is shot and killed by a guard. They experience many hardships including the dust storms in Utah. In 1943, Yuki must part with everyone to whom she has grown close but is glad to be out of the desert when her father gains permission to seek employment in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This book was very enlightening. I knew that after the beginning of World War II things in America got tough for the Japanese, but I had no idea what these families really went through. I didn’t know that they were relocated to camps with barbed wire that surrounded entire families. I can not believe how these people were treated according to Uchida. I especially liked that Yuki’s character was so selfless and that even though she had a chance to get out, she felt as though she was abandoning those left behind. To me, this ridiculous form of holding families hostage seems like a miniature Holocaust. Until reading this book, I had no idea that Americans supported this torture tactic.

As a teacher and as an American, I know that just because you are of a certain race doesn’t mean that you are part of a terror plot. I guess it can be called tolerance or understanding. I also could not imagine putting children in those circumstances. I am happy that everything turned out as well as it could for this family and families like them because they certainly had it rough, and reading this book was an eye-opening experience.

Yoshiko Uchida also wrote Sumi and the Goat and the Tokyo Express, Hisako’s Mysteries, In-Between Miya, Sumi’s Special Happening, The Sea of Gold and Other Tales from Japan, Sumi’s Prize, The Forever Christmas Tree, and Rokubei and the Thousand Rice Bowls. It is no surprise that Uchida wrote mostly about Japanese ancestry and living in America during World War II because that experience was her childhood. She wrote a lot about Japanese children as she has visited the country several times, but Journey to Topaz is in essence about her experience as she and her family was actually sent to the Relocation Center in Topaz (Uchida, 1971).

From reading this book, I learned that children’s literature has the ability to tell a true, fictional, or semi-true story. Children’s literature can also be an outlet for expression. I am so glad that Yoshika Uchida got to tell her story from another character’s perspective, and this book would be an excellent teaching tool for a history class learning about WWII.

Uchida, Y. (1971). Journey to Topaz. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Auntie Tiger by Laurence Yep with pictures by Insu Lee

Auntie Tiger, by Laurence Yep with pictures by Insu Lee, is a lovely example for children about the bond of siblings. Yep puts a new spin on Little Red Riding Hood with Auntie Tiger and her persuasive abilities. Big Sister and Little Sister live in China with their mother, who is a widow. The older sister is responsible and bossy, as older sisters usually are, and the younger sister is a complainer and lazy because she knows the older sister will complete the chores. The mother goes out to find food and tells the girls not to open the door for anyone because she is aware of the tiger that is on the loose. The tiger is cunning and dresses as the girls’ Auntie. Big Sister notices his voice and the color of his hands, and he fixes those things. The little sister yanks open the door after being offered treats. He takes the sisters to the bedroom pretending to need a nap. Little Sister fans Auntie Tiger upon his request, and he eats her. Big Sister runs up in a tree and gets Auntie Tiger to fetch a bucket of water and a bamboo pole so she can drown him some birds to eat and then says that she will slide down the pole. He places the bamboo pole in his mouth so she can just slide down into his mouth, and she pours water down his throat drowning him. She cuts the tiger open and gets Little Sister out. Little Sister then promises to listen, and Big Sister promises to always take care of her.

I absolutely loved this book because I can relate to it. The illustrations are stunning and truly depicted as two sisters who are very close but quite jealous of each other. The words were carefully written, by Yep, to add every desired element. He used the elements of a fairytale while also incorporating the Chinese Culture, and even the relationship among two sisters and their mothers. My sister and I have this exact same relationship. I am Little Sister. She always takes care of me and would defeat a tiger for me if the need arose. I would do the same for her, but I make her do the chores. I do fear that the story was a little graphic and might give some children hope and trust that might not exist. If a child were really eaten by a tiger, no matter how much she trusts her sister, she would not be able to save her. Therefore, the risks that present themselves to children should not be overlooked. I know that it is a fairy tale, but I lack the imagination to see a child walking out of a dead tiger still alive. I guess it comes with age. Maybe young children can still envision it without a picture, but Lee did include a graphic photo of the tiger drowning.

According to the book jacket for Auntie Tiger, Laurence Yep is captivated by the theories on sibling rivalry because his brother earned him the name Laurence after a saint who died a gruesome death (Yep, 2009). He also wrote Dragonwings and Dragon’s Gate which are both Newbery Honor Books. He is a current author and very well respected and admired.

From this book, I learned that fairy tales will never go out of style, and it takes a special person to be able to recreate the old ones in all of their glory. Again, I loved the book because it was based on sibling rivalry which is something that I know about from experience.

Yep, L. (2009). Auntie Tiger. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Back Home by Gloria Jean Pinkney with pictures by Jerry Pinkney

Back Home, by Gloria Jean Pinkney with pictures by Jerry Pinkney, is an excellent example of having roots and wings. According to the book jacket, Gloria Jean Pinkney grew up in North Carolina, which is the setting in Back Home. She says that her own experiences contributed to this particular book. Her husband is quite an acclaimed illustrator, and with good reason. The pictures in Back Home are extraordinary (Pinkney, 1992).

The book is about a little girl named Ernestine who goes to visit her birthplace and her aunt, uncle, and cousin who still live on Sandy Bottom in North Carolina. Her uncle picks her up at the train station, and after the drive home, she is almost immediately ridiculed by her cousin, Jack. Before she goes to sleep that night, she wishes that they would become friends. The entire family makes comments about her dresses and the fact that she is incapable of completing chores and having a good time simply because she is from the city. She slips into country life quickly, however, as she asks for overalls from her aunt. She gives them to Ernestine from her mama’s old trunk, and she sleeps in her mama’s room at night. She makes a fool of herself several times. She falls from a ladder, inspects her legs for “insect bites,” and falls off of a goat. She is reluctant to go home, but she knows that school is starting and she looks forward to visiting again next summer. Jack gives her a gift to take with her. In the pouch, she finds “hard corn,” and she realizes that Jack has just been aggravating her when he says that he is going to name his new kid Princess, and asks what she thinks about the idea. Since she suggested it, this part of the story shows the two joining forces. Finally, Ernestine visits the grave of her grandmother and learns even more about her heritage. Uncle June tells Ernestine that she looks just like her grandmother.

I liked the final picture in the book which shows the bedroom where Ernestine slept and she and her uncle driving away from the farm out the window. I also like that the illustrations are three-dimensional, complete with shading and detail, and that the entire story could be told from the pictures alone. I do not mean that the words are not important, for Gloria Pinkney does an excellent job at narrating the story and using dialogue that shows the differences and similarities in the two generations and in the demographic.

This little girl and her cousin Jack remind me of my aunt and my mother when my mother was a child. Mom was twenty years younger than my aunt, and my aunt moved to Dayton, Ohio when my mother was born to get a job. When she would come back home, she would say that it was such a culture shock, but she loved it. This is what I meant by the fact that people can have roots and wings. I loved to visit my aunt in the city. My mother stayed behind, on the farm, and though it isn’t a farm anymore, we still live in a very rural area in Eastern Kentucky. Children are curious creatures, and they love to experience new things.

Jerry Pinkney also illustrated The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci, which won a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Honor, and was considered an ALA Notable. He also illustrated The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy, which won the Coretta Scott King Award, the Christopher Award, was an IRA-CBC Children’s Choice, an ALA Notable, and a Reading Rainbow selection, and finally, he illustrated More Tales of Uncle Remus, which was retold by Julius Lester and received five starred reviews and was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and an ALA Notable (Pinkney, 1992). He has quite an impressive list of accomplishments.

At first, I didn’t think that I would like the book, but I did. I feared that the Pinkneys were going to portray these people as uneducated and unsophisticated, but this was far from the case. Actually, they did a great job explaining that people just know a lot about different things. I think that this book is a good example of being able to leave home and still appreciate it, and a lot can be learned by children who read this book because of the accents and cultural references, not to mention realizing the importance of their heritage.

References

Pinkney, G. (1992). Back home. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Let's Talk About Race by Julius Lester

Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester is an inquisitive children’s book that really makes students think about what is under their skin. Lester makes the point that while we all have different characteristics; the inner-workings of the human body are the same. He explains that everyone is a story and that all of our stories begin the same way. We all have a birthday, parents, possibly siblings, favorite foods, hobbies, favorite colors, religions, nationalities, favorite time of day, and race. He also asks children questions on a full, colorful page throughout the book. For example, “How does your story begin?” (Lester, 2005). These questions force children to ask themselves how tolerant they are and forces them to become involved in the story. He says that while race tells a story, if one says that his or her race is better than someone else’s, that story is a lie. He gives a possible scenario for why people do this; perhaps they feel bad about themselves or they are afraid. He also takes into account that some people might say that they are better because of their communities, schools, genders, and occupations. He really gets children involved when he tells them to touch the hard bone below their eyes and to touch someone else’s. Children will discover that everyone’s bones are the same. Karen Barbour, the illustrator, then gives a picture of what everyone looks like without skin. He connects to children at the end of the book by telling them that he will take off his skin and asks them if they will do the same.

I really liked that Lester actively involved children in this book. He presents them with a profound and strong argument and then proves it. This book is bound to make children see race differently. The illustrations by Barbour are bright and colorful and really properly illustrate Lester’s descriptions and points. I especially like that the question mark on the second page fills an entire page and significantly points out how the relevance of the question.

The story reminds me of how my papaw used to tell me silly stories and how he would magically pull of my nose. His stories were usually didactic, and like Lester, he also usually narrated them in question form.

Lester also wrote To Be a Slave, which is a Newbery Honor Book, John Henry, which is a Caldecott Honor Book. He also wrote Long Journey Home: Stories from Black History. All of these books have historical undertones, and nearly all of them put a creative spin on the importance of civil rights.

From this book, I learned that race and Civil Rights are still prevalent themes in children’s and young adult literature. Our country as a whole has moved on from discrimination against African Americans and other diverse backgrounds, but there are still individuals that likely express prejudice, and books still exist to provide reasons why those thoughts are ridiculous. Finally, Lester does not only focus on race, though that is the title of the book. People can be discriminated against for hundreds of different reasons, and he names and combats some of those in this book.

References

Lester, J. (2005). Let’s talk about race. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Seuss Spec-tac-u-lar!!!!

Theodor Seuss Geisel, or the beloved Dr. Seuss, is an astonishing author. The Cat in the Hat was first published in 1957, and The Lorax was first published in 1971. Is there any other author that has stood the test of time like Dr. Seuss? How many other authors have a table in nearly every library in America dedicated to their work on their birthday? One can hardly refrain from the expression deserved while reading one of his masterpieces, and though I have in my years looked over some of the arguments meant to place Dr. Seuss in a less than admirable and unpopular light, the statements are false, and the critiques are unjustified. His books are simply amazing, and it stands to reason that they are still used in classrooms throughout the world, on a daily basis, to teach our children.

Consequently, The Cat in the Hat made quite a splash in 1957. Children were different, then, but not so much that Dr. Seuss books would not appeal to them anymore. The words in the book are not meant to create disorder and confusion, but rather to make order from confusion. Children love making sense of Dr. Seuss’s sequential storylines, and it is not as though the story is difficult to follow. It absolutely makes sense. Any child would be bound to understand the story if only following the illustrations, and though the words are basic, they are strung together in a way that is unparalleled by any author today. The “zig-zag between good sense and non sense” is a description that conveys the fact that altered words can stand to suggest brilliant meaning. I can’t think of any book that manages disorder to create such good sense, and children, of course, still love The Cat in the Hat. Though children today are rarely at a loss for entertainment, Sally and her brother search for a creative means of entertainment and are blessed with The Cat in the Hat and Thing one and Thing Two, and children likely still visualize this situation when they are bored. Looking for “fun that is funny,” and allowing the Cat to influence the the cleanliness of their mother’s house, the children worry whether or not to tell their mother what they have experienced during the day. The children who read the book are left with a question of whether or not they would have told. The moral dilemma is a common theme in all Dr. Seuss books, and it leaves children with a deep thought process.

With this in mind, the didacticism that can be found in Dr. Suess’s books is perhaps not shown in any book quite as obviously as in The Lorax. This is absolutely my favorite Dr. Seuss book of all time, and besides all of its lessons and connections to the real world, it is also beautifully and entertainingly written. A book that is considered didactic teaches a lesson while passing along instruction, insight, and entertainment. The pleasure found in this book is indescribable, and it teaches children that everyone has needs, but those needs come with a price, and there are consequences. This is an excellent book to foster a love of the environment. I don’t see why the book is controversial, though I am sure that it is. People must make a living, and we do have needs, but the book suggests not to take in excess. The Lorax, the Brown Bar-ba-loots, and the Swomee-Swans were forced to leave when a factory built by the Once-ler and his family produced so much “gluppity glup” and chopped down all the Truffula Trees that they were used to using for food. Being forced to relocate, the Lorax is unaware if they will make it or not, and the worst thing is that the Truffula Trees turned out to be non-renewable resources. Long after the factory was gone and the Once-ler lived in his old lerkim, the animals had still not returned. The book is about taking something from those who were there first, and the personification that leads to the sympathy that Dr. Seuss affords the characters in the book bother some individuals. With the growth of industry in America around the time the book was written, one can quickly understand the cause of the controversy. Changing one thing in an ecosystem can destroy an entire area. The book will likely make anyone rethink industry, but the fact does not change that ecosystems must be destroyed for Americans to live the lives that they are used to living. Dr. Seuss just puts it in a colorful and pleasing book that is sure to make children and adults feel sorry for the animals and despise the Once-ler and his “Thneeds.” This controversy, besides the fact that children like fanciful and silly books, is likely the reason for the absence of the didactic children’s books, today.

References

Seuss, D. (1957). The cat in the hat. Boston: Hougton Mifflin.

Seuss, D. (1971). The Lorax. New York: Random House.

Children's Book in Feature Film 3: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Unlike my previous blog posts on children’s books in feature films, the book The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is much more descriptive than the movie due to its already long length. In the other two books, information had to be added to make a feature length movie, but in this case, information had to be left out to make the movie.

The book and movie have the same underlying theme, plot, and characters. The main characters, Jess and Leslie, find a place of their own, which they turn into a magical place through their own creative imaginations. The very entrance into Terabithia becomes the most integral part of the movie. Les falls off the rope and drowns while going to Terabithia without jess. The bridge in the title is built by Jess after her death and he and he and his sister, May Belle, keep Terabithia alive for Les.

In the movie, they find the abandoned tree house, but in the book, they build a “castle stronghold.” I envisioned it as a clubhouse. In the book, Les related Terabithia to Narnia, and has Jess read these books to understand how things should be in a magical place. In the book, they discuss their foes such as Janice Avery and how they could never defeat Terabithia, while in the movie these foes come to life, and they did battle with them. Janice Avery was a troll. In the book, there is more emphasis placed on the music teacher and Jess’s attraction to her which leads to him going with her to the art museum. This is the fateful day that Les died which causes him intense guilt. More emphasis is also placed on Jess’s two older sisters, Brenda and Ellie, and his jealousy toward them which leads to his insecurities.

Bridge to Terabithia is truly one of the most heart wrenching books that I have ever read. The relationship between Jess and Leslie is special, and the relationship among Jess and his family was complex. This is an excellent book that deals with jealousy love, and death, and the capability to move on and become stronger through the memory of another person.

As I read this book, I kept thinking of the movie My Girl that I watched when I was a little girl. It reminded me of that movie because of the relationship between the main characters and the death of one of them. That movie defined much of my childhood. It was one of the first times that I realized that young people were not immortal.

Many books by Paterson feature themes of the death of a loved one such as Jacob Have I Loved, Master Puppeteer, and Great Gilly Hopkins.

The description in this book jumped out at me. I can see everything that she wants her audience to see. Also, it is never too early to teach children about death and immortality because it helps them be cautious and helps keep them safe.

References

Patterson, D. (Producer). (2007). Bridge to Terabithia [Motion picture]. United States: Walt Disney Pictures.

Patterson, K. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York: HarperCollins.