El Barrio (Multicultural)

El Barrio 

Written by Debbi Chocolate, Illustrated by David Diaz

(Multicultural/Primary reader)

Join a young boy as he travels through his vibrant neighborhood (el barrio). Along the way, learn about the parts of life that make up his culture from his sister’s quinceañera and music to church and family.

Some multicultural literature explores cultural similarities and differences. Other culturally diverse literature looks deeply at a particular cultural (Galda, 2010, p. 25). El Barrio is an example of the latter approach to this genre; it is a beautiful picturebook-rendering of Latino culture in an urban setting (Chocolate, 2009). As the author shows many facets of Latino culture including holidays and treats like churros and pallets, she incorporates Spanish words seamlessly into the story. There is a glossary of these words in the back of the book. At the same time, the book invites all readers, regardless of cultural background to think about their own neighborhoods and the things that define their life experiences. The book supports a positive understanding of the culture it represents by depicting a community-minded, multi-generational experience, one that is full of music, color, and celebration.

The setting is in an urban neighborhood but is defined broadly to include “Spanish Harlem, Humboldt Park, and tar-beach parties” (Chocolate, 2009). The main character acts like a guide through the book rather than a fully-developed character within a narrative. The text is written from his perspective, and he appears in most illustrations, showing his place in the neighborhood. Themes include community, culture, and family.

The text is fairly simple, though very evocative: “El barrio is a shimmering cold hydrant spray on a hot summer day, vegetable gardens instead of lawns, and brightly colored houses that look like villages” (Chocolate, 2009). There are typically only one or two sentences per page spread. With limited text, El Barrio’s illustrations are a major part of telling the story. The illustrations are mixed-media and use elements of outline style by emphasizing line and shapes (Galda, 2010, p. 84). The illustrations have a smooth texture, although color and line give images shape and depth. The use of color is one of the most eye-catching aspects of these illustrations. Bold, varied, and at times neon, illustrator David Diaz represents the mood and experience of el barrio with his color palette. Illustrations are designed as full-page spreads, giving them a larger-than-life feel. Each illustration is bordered by a photograph of mosaics, textures, or murals taken from the illustrator’s Southern California neighborhood (Chocolate, 2009). Sometimes these photographs become part of the main illustrations as well, giving them additional texture and depth.

        

ACTIVITIES

1. Examine the book’s illustrations as a class and have a discussion about visual art elements represented in the images and how the illustrations make the students feel. Because there is so much rich detail in the illustrations, you could also have a scavenger-hunt type of activity with the book by asking children to say what they see on each page, or search for specific things. This could lead to a discussion about why the artist might have included certain objects and images and how artists build their work.

2. Ask students to make an artistic representation of their neighborhood. Encourage mixed-media art projects to mimic David Diaz’s use of media in this book. Have students think about what colors they would use to show their neighborhood and why, as well as objects, types of buildings, people, and events that go on.

READER RESPONSE QUESTIONS

1. Why is the narrator’s sister having a quineañera party? How are they celebrating? Do you have any special celebrations for young people in your family or community?

2. Look through the book for words about music. What kinds of music are in the book? What instruments? What kind of music do you like to listen to?

The combination of text and illustration in this book makes it completely immersive. I felt transported to another world while reading it, particularly because of the illustrations. I think children will discover a lot within these pages. This is a good book choice to use to introduce children to a rich culture and a non-English language. Both the author and illustrator are award-winners, so their other works are worth checking out as well. Debbi Chocolate has received the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award as well as the Parents’ Choice Award.

References

Chocolate, D., & Diaz, D. (2009). El barrio. New York: Henry Holt.

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA:

            Wadsworths, Inc

Images from https://www.amazon.com/El-Barrio-Debbi-Chocolate/dp/B005K64FAU

The Woodshed Mystery (Mystery)

The Woodshed Mystery 
By Gertrude Chandler Warner, Illustrated by Chandler Warner

(Mystery/Fiction/Intermediate reader)

In this installment from The Boxcar Children series, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny visit a New England farm that their Grandfather buys for their Aunt Jane and discover a woodshed on the property with disappearing furniture and secret hiding places. Who is living in the woodshed and how does this mystery connect to old tales of the farmhouse and a war that took place hundreds of years before?

The Woodshed Mystery fits into the mystery genre within realistic fiction. Mysteries are suspenseful, their plots develop around a question that needs to be answered, and include a solution that follows the gradual presentation of clues (Galda, 2010, p. 240). The Woodshed Mystery fulfills all of these requirements. Suspense begins to build when the children discover an old woodshed containing a table set with dishware, several cans of food, and a bed (Warner, 1990, pp. 74-75); signs of an unknown person living there. But when the children return with an adult, the furniture has disappeared! Over the course of the book, the children make discoveries about the history of the farm, explore the woodshed and uncover hiding places, and learn about their Aunt Jane’s history as well. All of these plot elements eventually add up and lead to a conclusion for the mystery.

The Woodshed Mystery is also characteristic of books in the realistic fiction genre. It is set in a place that does exist, the New England countryside and is representative of a world readers will find believable and familiar. There are farms, cars, buses, and picnics. Characters are also realistic and build on relationships readers understand. This book features four siblings of varying ages and personalities (Benny is the youngest and always quick to chime into conversations, Violet is sincere and trustworthy). The children are orphans but live with their Grandfather and have a strong relationship with their Aunt Jane. The plot grows from a fairly straightforward story: Aunt Jane wants to move back to New England where she grew up, so Grandfather inquires in the town they lived in as children to see if their old farm is for sale. From there, the story’s mystery begins to unfold, always growing logically from the backstory of the farm and characters’ histories. Written for children, the plot is not overly complicated, but does include enough twists and turns to make it compelling. Many readers will be able to guess the mystery’s answer by the end of the book. Themes include family relationships, history, and teamwork.

The book’s style of writing and dialogue are not entirely contemporary. The dialogue is not quite as casual as today’s language is. Some characters the children meet in the small town speak with a country accent, something that comes up in the following passage:

“Make some egg sandwiches too, Ma,” said Sim. “These children seem to be half starved. I’ll get the cans of milk.”

“Why do you call her ma?” asked Benny. “Isn’t she your wife?” (Warner, 1990, pp. 47-48)

This use of accent is intended to make the book feel more authentic.

This is a chapter book, but there are half-page and page-sized pen or charcoal illustrations every so often that depict a scene or figure from the story. The illustrations are simple, primarily utilizing line and shape to create images. They will help intermediate readers stay in the story as they get used to reading books without many illustrations. The cover has the only color illustration. It shows two of the children peering down into one of the hidden areas they discover in the woodshed. The cover is mostly green with just a few accents of different colors for the children’s clothes. The color scheme lends an air of mystery and eeriness to the cover.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Have students keep notes while reading the book, keeping track of clues and making guesses as to what might happen next. This will help them make sense of the plot development and begin to observe how a writer weaves clues and plot development into a story.

2. If the students have read other Boxcar mysteries, they will be familiar with many of the characters in this book. Have them create character charts for the children, Grandfather, and Aunt Jane, making notes of their behaviors and actions and how each person contributes to the progression of the story. Students can be creative in terms of style and illustrations for their poster.

3. This book interweaves Revolutionary War history into the story. Have students research whether the references made to this time period present an accurate and realistic picture of the time.  

READER RESPONSE QUESTIONS:

1. Which characters seemed suspicious to you as you were reading? Why did you think they might be hiding something? Were any of your instincts about characters true?

2. Suspense is a key characteristic of mysteries. Provide at least three examples from the text that illustrate how the author built up suspense in this story.

3. Which character do you most identify with and why?

Series books can be a great way to get children to read on their own. These books can facilitate reading comprehension because many elements of the story remain consistent and familiar (characters, background story, etc.). Series books also encourage students to continue with the series once they’ve enjoyed one book (Galda, 2010, p. 237). Most, if not all of The Boxcar Children books are mysteries, so children will come to recognize many elements of mystery writing after reading just a few of these books.

References 

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA:

            Wadsworths, Inc

Warner, G. C., & Cunningham, D. (1990). The woodshed mystery. Chicago, IL: Albert Whitman

& Company.

Image from https://www.abebooks.com/9780807592069/Woodshed-Mystery-Boxcar-Children-7-0807592064/plp

Knucklehead: Tall Tales & Mostly True Stories of Growing up Scieszka (Memoir)

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

(Memoir/Advanced reader)

Join author Jon Scieszka as he jumps from memory to memory about growing up in Flint, Michigan as one of six boys under the care of a father who works as a school principal and a mother who was a nurse. Tales of Scieska’s childhood adventures, schooling, and family life are sure to delight readers.

Knucklehead: Tall Tales & Mostly True Stories of Growing up Scieszka is part of the memoir genre. The author writes a personal account of a period in his life through brief, episodic stories. The subtitle of the book - Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories - expresses one aspect of memoir, which is that “memoirs are interpretive accounts” and while they often contain facts, cannot be considered purely factual (Galda, 2010, p. 285). While this book is written from Scieszka’s point of view, he includes enough facts to make this a reliable account of his childhood. For example, we learn where he grew up, what his parents did for work, that he went to Catholic schools, and what types of after-school activities he participated in (Cub Scouts, choir, etc.). Scieszka’s style of writing also helps readers delineate between information he is presenting as fact and more sarcastically written statements that represent how he likes to remember aspects of his childhood. For example, after describing a battle he and one of his brothers had over a shirt, Scieszka writes “So I think it was really me who made Jim a better, stronger lawyer” (Scieszka, 2008, p. 19). Although the book is broken into short, two to three-page chapters, Scieszka’s writing style places the book at a fairly advanced reading level, because of the implicit need to be able to read between the lines.

The book is primarily set in a developing neighborhood in Flint, Michigan. The setting is important to the story because Scieszka’s childhood experience was influenced by the environment in which he grew up. There were many kids in his neighborhood, and empty lots for them to play in (Scieszka, 2008, p. 14). The characters are very well developed; the reader gets a good sense not only of Jon, his brothers, parents, and teachers but also of their family dynamic. The reader is almost present and part of the family while reading this book: going on car rides, dividing up bedrooms and chore lists. Themes include growing up, family, being a boy, and independence.

The book contains old family photographs of the Scieszkas which further brings the reader into a deep familiarity with the characters and their stories. The style of the black and white photographs also helps root the book in a specific time frame. See the two images below, one of Jon and one of his grandparents. The cover is quite different from the images within the book. It is brightly colored and done in a comic-book-style. The back cover features creative ads also in the style of old comic books, but which feature different stories contained in the book. The cover is fun and eye-catching and speaks to the adventuresome spirit of the stories within the book.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Create a character scrapbook for Jon (Galda, 2010, p. 351). Drawing from what you learned about Jon in the book, what might he have included in a scrapbook? What events would he have wanted to record and remember?

2. Create a family tree for the Scieszka family (Galda, 2010, p. 351). What defining qualities will you include to describe each of the family members? How will you illustrate their family dynamic by organizing the tree? Include a story or moment from the book that features each character.  

READER RESPONSE QUESTIONS:

1. What do you think of Jon? Why do you feel that way about his character? How has the author helped you get to know him?

2. Do you have siblings? How is your family experience similar to or different from Jon’s?

3. How did Jon’s school experience shape him?

This was an incredibly fun read. Scieszka’s candid story-telling creates a familiarity that brings his readers right into his pack of brothers and friends and their childhood shenanigans. This book would be an engaging introduction to the memoir genre for adolescent readers and perhaps a good example as they work on writing this genre in class.

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA:

            Wadsworths, Inc

Scieszka, J. (2008). Knucklehead: tall tales & mostly true stories of growing up Scieszka. New

York, NY: Viking.

Images from http://www.jsworldwide.com/index.html