Blog #8 (Poetry)

Did you know that prior to 2016 no Hispanic author had ever been awarded the Newberry medal for her or his work?? And it wasn’t until 2009 that a Hispanic author was even awarded with a Newberry Honor?!

That said, for this assignment I decided to select the 2009 Newberry Honor The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle and her recent picture book Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics. 

The Surrender Tree is a book of poems about Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain told from different perspectives: Rosa, her husband Jose, Lieutenant Death, and Silvia spanning from 1850 to 1899. All but two of the characters (Silvia and oxcart driver) are based on real historical figures--including Rosa, her husband Jose, and Lieutenant Death. 

While the book gave a compelling account of Cuban history, it wasn't exactly my cup of tea. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with it, mind you, but the book's characters and settings felt so dated that I couldn't relate at all. 

Unfortunately, the same thing occurred with Bravo!. Perhaps it's just because I'm as white-washed as they come, but I didn't recognize any of the people in the book other than Cesar Chavez (who I remember vaguely from my UH Mexican-American history class), Roberto Clemente (vague baseball reference), Pura Belpré (who I just learned this semester has an ALA book award named after her), and José Martí (whose poems are mentioned in another book about Cuban Americans that I'm currently reading: The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora).

Now, given that the book states that it "celebrates both well known and less well known" figures, I'm not surprised that I didn't recognize many of the names--especially considering that only five of the people listed were of Mexican heritage, and Mexico is as far removed from Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, and Venezuela as Canada is--but I was surprised that nothing about the book really made me want to read it.

And since we are always being encouraged to talk about the illustrations, I will. Let me start by saying that I HATE both primary and tropical colors. Always have--I think I get that from my mom. Therefore this book with its combination of bright and burnt tropical illustrations is a TOTAL turn off. Like seriously, why does almost every book about "Hispanics" default to this color palette!? I mean, just look at the woman's face below, have you ever met a Hispanic with a Burnt Orange skin?

Also, why is there always a need to surround "us" in tropical flowers. Like seriously!?

While I appreciate both works as works of poetry, neither one of these is likely to land a place on my bookshelf.

Books Mentioned In This Post:

The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
2009 Newbery Honor Book

Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics by Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez (illustrator)

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
2018 Pura Belpré Honor Book

Blog #7 (Historical Fiction)

Having realized that I’ve read a few historical fiction novels, I decided to blog about a quick/simple read which I’ve previously recommended to both the students on my campus and my graduate classmates: Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper.

The story revolves around eleven-year-old Stella and her black community as they attempt to live alongside the white townsfolk of Bumblebee, North Carolina during the autumn of 1932. (The book is based on the diary of Draper’s grandmother and the childhood stories of Draper’s father growing up in North Carolina.)

The novel starts with Stella and her younger brother JoJo witnessing a KKK cross burning—setting the stage for the events that arise later in the story. After a series of events which depict how several of the white towns people treat Stella and those in her community, Stella’s father decides he wants to vote in the upcoming presidential election. Given the white sentiment about blacks voting at the time, Stella’s father and the two black other men who accompanied him to vote were put on notice for their blatant act of defiance—and sure enough, a short time later, a roaring fire engulfed one of the men’s houses as a group of Klansmen rode away with torches still in hand. 

While the story doesn’t really have a “happy ending”,we are left feeling hopeful for Stella and her family secure in the fact that such times are long gone. (Well, one could make the argument that the suppression of black and brown votes still occurs today under a myriad of voter suppression tactics at both the state and federal level, but let’s leave that be for now.)

And while I am sure other books set during the Jim Crowe South tell similar stories, the fact that this story (I felt) was told from a humanistic perspective (i.e., why would another person treat another person that way) as opposed to a black versus white perspective (e.g., The Hate U Give by Angie Thompson) made it a very accessible/relatable book.

All in all, this book will definitely have a place on my classroom bookshelf.

For my picture storybook I headed over to my school’s library remembering I had seen Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine displayed atop one of the bookshelves. 

The story revolves around Henry “Box” Brown who at the age of thirty-four having been born and lived as a slave his whole life, mailed himself in a wood box to the free city of Philadelphia with the aid of a white man named Smith. 

While the story doesn’t get all of the facts straight—a quick Google search led me to a PBS website with a more accurate account—I found it to be a compelling tale of the lengths a person will go-to to secure their freedom. (I think this point could be clearly driven home by bringing in a replica box of the same measurements made out of cardboard and have the students see if they could fit themselves inside of it—obviously without securing the lid. I think this would make for a great lesson and conversation starter.)

With some appropriately though-out lesson plans, there would definitely be a place on my classroom shelf for this book.

Books Mentioned in this Post:

Stella by Starlightby Sharon Draper

Henry’s Freedom Boxby Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)