In the article I found was one documenting Gary Soto's works. I found the review at inspirechildren.worldpress.com. This site proved to be helpful in my own critiques but also brought great points. The review calls Too Many Tamales a celebration of ethnic pride. It also states that this story is "rooted in cultural tradition and the physicalness of happy family life." I agree with these statements and believe that Gary Soto writes wonderful children's stories, though some are not as authentic as this one.
It was more difficult than I imagined, not only to find books, but to find reviews about this selection of diverse literature. The review that I found was basic and did not provide any significant insight. It did document the synopsis of the story and it commented on Soto himself. It also discussed a few traditions present in the book and the language learning opportunity for the children reading the story.
It is hard to believe that we live in such an educated world in some aspects and such an uneducated world in other aspects. It is difficult to find diverse children's literature and it is difficult to find people with an interest in looking for it, writing it and discussing it. Hopefully, in the future, this will become a more prominent topic and one that many people are educated about.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Book Reviews
In searching for Latino/Chicano American literature, I realized just how many non-realistic books were out there. Many of the books I came across attempted to teach the reader something but used such a stereotypical way to do it that the book almost seemed useless. I did find books that were more current and relevant to children of today’s society but I also reviewed a book that portrayed Latino people in quite a negative way.
The first book I read is called Barrio: Jose’s Neighborhood. Jose is a young boy living in a Latino neighborhood in San Francisco. The neighborhood is full of immigrants from Mexico and they refer to their neighborhood as El barrio. The text discusses Jose’s everyday life and the customs and traditions that live on in his neighborhood. This book gives children an insight on neighborhoods that are, perhaps, quite different from theirs. They learn about Jose’s family and his school routine. They learn about his town and the food that the Latino people eat. It is a picture book full of real pictures and real insight into a Latino community. The author of this text followed Jose around in order to write his story and he is a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I believe that this is a very beneficial book to share with children because it narrates the everyday life of a boy living in a Latino community.
The second book I read, Tomas and the Library Lady, by Pat Mora, is a story about a boy who moved from his Latino community in Texas to move with his family to Iowa. This book portrays Latino people in a very stereotypical way. Tomas’s mother and father are both farm workers. The family is poor and the children play with things like a ball made from an old teddy bear. Tomas discovers a library and meets a librarian who introduces him to books upon books. Tomas gets lost in the stories he reads and introduces his grandfathers to the story as well. Mora is an author who has written many books about children who are a part of the Latino culture. This book may be an enjoyable book for children but it is not beneficial in any way in teaching children about the Latino culture.
The third book, Juana Ines, by Georgina Lazaro, is written in both Spanish and English. The story is about a young girl living in a small village in Mexico. Her family cares for the few animals they have and they grow food for themselves. These facts are not portrayed in a stereotypical way, it simply states facts about Juana’s life. Juana cares very much about school and seems to be studying whenever she is not helping her family out. She enjoys going into town with her grandmother as well. It is a book that can teach children about a different culture and a different life. It discusses food, customs and traditions of her family and her town. This book sheds light into a small Mexican village that is very different from society in the United States. Lazaro grew up in a larger city in Mexico.
My Little Car, by Gary Soto is the fourth children’s book I read. Soto is a Mexican-American who has written many books about Mexican-American children. Although this book has a great story for children to read, it could not get much more stereotypical. Teresa receives a little car, mi carrito, from her grandfather. The car is a lowrider and has chili peppers for headlights. The people are illustrated to be very cartoonish but stereotypical at the same time. Teresa’s father drives a lowrider truck with a license plate that says Rosa. This book does little, besides including Spanish words and a glossary, to teach children about the Latino culture.
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto is another book I chose to review. I chose the same author twice because he is an insider to the Mexican-American culture. This story is about a little girl helping her mother make tamales. She thinks she looses her mother’s wedding ring in the tamale dough and decides the only way to find the ring is to eat all of the tamales. She realizes her mother is wearing the ring and so the family returns to the kitchen to make more tamales. This book does a much better job in portraying a Latino family. It teaches about holiday traditions, the Mexican culture and the importance of family. This is a book that children can also learn a few basic Spanish words from.
The first book I read is called Barrio: Jose’s Neighborhood. Jose is a young boy living in a Latino neighborhood in San Francisco. The neighborhood is full of immigrants from Mexico and they refer to their neighborhood as El barrio. The text discusses Jose’s everyday life and the customs and traditions that live on in his neighborhood. This book gives children an insight on neighborhoods that are, perhaps, quite different from theirs. They learn about Jose’s family and his school routine. They learn about his town and the food that the Latino people eat. It is a picture book full of real pictures and real insight into a Latino community. The author of this text followed Jose around in order to write his story and he is a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I believe that this is a very beneficial book to share with children because it narrates the everyday life of a boy living in a Latino community.
The second book I read, Tomas and the Library Lady, by Pat Mora, is a story about a boy who moved from his Latino community in Texas to move with his family to Iowa. This book portrays Latino people in a very stereotypical way. Tomas’s mother and father are both farm workers. The family is poor and the children play with things like a ball made from an old teddy bear. Tomas discovers a library and meets a librarian who introduces him to books upon books. Tomas gets lost in the stories he reads and introduces his grandfathers to the story as well. Mora is an author who has written many books about children who are a part of the Latino culture. This book may be an enjoyable book for children but it is not beneficial in any way in teaching children about the Latino culture.
The third book, Juana Ines, by Georgina Lazaro, is written in both Spanish and English. The story is about a young girl living in a small village in Mexico. Her family cares for the few animals they have and they grow food for themselves. These facts are not portrayed in a stereotypical way, it simply states facts about Juana’s life. Juana cares very much about school and seems to be studying whenever she is not helping her family out. She enjoys going into town with her grandmother as well. It is a book that can teach children about a different culture and a different life. It discusses food, customs and traditions of her family and her town. This book sheds light into a small Mexican village that is very different from society in the United States. Lazaro grew up in a larger city in Mexico.
My Little Car, by Gary Soto is the fourth children’s book I read. Soto is a Mexican-American who has written many books about Mexican-American children. Although this book has a great story for children to read, it could not get much more stereotypical. Teresa receives a little car, mi carrito, from her grandfather. The car is a lowrider and has chili peppers for headlights. The people are illustrated to be very cartoonish but stereotypical at the same time. Teresa’s father drives a lowrider truck with a license plate that says Rosa. This book does little, besides including Spanish words and a glossary, to teach children about the Latino culture.
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto is another book I chose to review. I chose the same author twice because he is an insider to the Mexican-American culture. This story is about a little girl helping her mother make tamales. She thinks she looses her mother’s wedding ring in the tamale dough and decides the only way to find the ring is to eat all of the tamales. She realizes her mother is wearing the ring and so the family returns to the kitchen to make more tamales. This book does a much better job in portraying a Latino family. It teaches about holiday traditions, the Mexican culture and the importance of family. This is a book that children can also learn a few basic Spanish words from.
Diverse Literature?
In searching for books about Latino/Chicano American literature, I've realized so many of the books that are available are inaccurate, stereotypical and quite basic. There is not a wide variety of diverse literature that is informing and accurate. This leaves me asking, why is this? If our country is a melting pot, where are the books that go along with it? How are children supposed to live an unsheltered life if their books are even sheltered?
It is a teacher's job to educate their class but it should also be a parent's job to educate their children. As a future parent, I plan to buy a diverse selection for my children. I don't want to read books that simply portray caucasian children.
It should be required by a school or even the district to bring diverse literature into each classroom. Children should be taught about others who are different than them and also they should have resources available about children who are like them and who they can identify with. These are all such important ideas and now it's up to the educated ones to bring these ideas to life and to make them happen in schools.
It is a teacher's job to educate their class but it should also be a parent's job to educate their children. As a future parent, I plan to buy a diverse selection for my children. I don't want to read books that simply portray caucasian children.
It should be required by a school or even the district to bring diverse literature into each classroom. Children should be taught about others who are different than them and also they should have resources available about children who are like them and who they can identify with. These are all such important ideas and now it's up to the educated ones to bring these ideas to life and to make them happen in schools.
Philosophy
As this semester has quickly passed, I have really started to think about how diverse literature should be brought into my future classroom. My personal philosophy on literature in the classroom is one that focuses a great deal on literacy. Students need to be literate, in all areas, and need to be well informed. My job as a future teacher is to inform my students. Bringing all types of literature into my classroom is a way that I plan to help inform my students.
I not only want to have a diverse library but I want to hold discussions around people who are different than my students, people who are the same in which they can identify and people who are like their friends. My students will be educated about others and will learn to accept people for who they are. I am willing to research to answer their questions and to be informed, myself. A classroom is a place for academic learning but should also be a place to learn about the world around us. It is not all about numbers and letters but about learning to be a positive citizen in our society.
I not only want to have a diverse library but I want to hold discussions around people who are different than my students, people who are the same in which they can identify and people who are like their friends. My students will be educated about others and will learn to accept people for who they are. I am willing to research to answer their questions and to be informed, myself. A classroom is a place for academic learning but should also be a place to learn about the world around us. It is not all about numbers and letters but about learning to be a positive citizen in our society.
Boy Meets Boy
After our class discussion and some personal reflection on Boy Meets Boy, I began thinking about the utopian world they seem to live in. I wonder if there will ever be a place that is that accepting of people who go against the "norms". Will there ever be a place where everyone is accepted? The town that Paul lives in is one in which no one cares (well, besides Tony's parents) who identifies with what group. People are accepted and seen as the people they are on the inside. It seems as though our world will never be like that.
The society we live in is one that has come a long way but at the same time is still so judging and unaccepting. It shouldn't matter if someone is homosexual, biracial or different than you by something as simple as their hair color. No one should be judged for who they are. People should be recognized for who they are. Everyone needs to take a step back and realize that the differences in this world are what makes it so great, not what makes it awful. The unacceptance is the only thing that should be intollerable.
The society we live in is one that has come a long way but at the same time is still so judging and unaccepting. It shouldn't matter if someone is homosexual, biracial or different than you by something as simple as their hair color. No one should be judged for who they are. People should be recognized for who they are. Everyone needs to take a step back and realize that the differences in this world are what makes it so great, not what makes it awful. The unacceptance is the only thing that should be intollerable.
Using the word, gay
This class has really opened my eyes to the ignorance of people but this is one thing that has always bothered me. Why do people use the word gay to mean dumb or stupid? When I hear someone saying, "that's gay" when they are not talking about anything (even closely) related to being homosexual, I just want to scream at them. Why don't they understand how offensive that is? There are people who really are gay. Some people are still uncomfortable with sharing who they are and others are proud to express their identity but either way, this is offensive. How can people be so inconsiderate? Do I have a place to speak up? And who started this terrible phrase?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Asian Pacific American
After the class discussion about Asian Pacific Americans, I started thinking about common generalizations. Why do people group certain Asian backgrounds together? Why would someone who is Korean be referred to as Chinese? How have people become so ignorant? You wouldn't refer to someone who was Italian as Swedish. You probably wouldn't even refer to someone who was German as French. Why can ignorant Americans tell European Americans apart but don't seem to care to educate themselves with people who are different than "just white"? The Asian American umbrella shouldn't be any different than the European American umbrella. People from different places have their own identities and their own cultures. When did certain groups of people get bundled into the same group?
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