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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 3/19/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Life is Good, en espanol, PoC, multicultural lit, Add a tag
Guess what... Today is my first guest post ever! You can find me over at The OWL as a part of the March of Middle Grade. Hope you come say hi!
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/29/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: India, tough questions, New Orleans, en espanol, American Girl, PoC, multicultural lit, en francais, poetry, Add a tag
29 days ago, I challenged myself to read only books written by or about people of color. This challenge was partly inspired by Black History Month, and partly due to a realization that since leaving my classroom in Baltimore, I had pretty much stopped looking for books that reflected the faces of "my" students.
I can almost guarantee that I would not have read most of these books without taking on this challenge, and boy-oh-boy would I have been missing out! In an effort to summarize this month of reading, here are a few awards and a few "similar interest groups" for quick reference.
Favorite YA Read of the Month: Tie between Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis and Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena (these two couldn't be more different, but I'll remember them both for a long, long time)
Favorite MG Read of the Month: The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani (love, love, love this book)
Favorite New-to-Me Author: Ashley Hope Perez - I thoroughly enjoyed What Can't Wait and am eagerly awaiting The Knife and the Butterfly. I can't help but feel a TFA bond with Ms. Perez and I'm so thankful that teachers like her exist!
Favorite Blast from the Past: American Girl - Cecile's New Orleans series
Favorite Illustrations: Heart and Soul - The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson (Abigail Halpin is pretty fabulous too, but Kadir Nelson's paintings were just breathtaking)
Favorite Book that Brad Pitt Should Turn into a Movie: Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
Novels in Verse:
- Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes
- The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle
- Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/24/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, illustrated, BOB, PoC, multicultural lit, autobiography, Add a tag
Recap:
Allen Say uses photographs, cartoons, paintings, and of course, words to illustrate an autobiographical look at his early years as an artist.
Review:
When was the last time you met a twelve-year-old who lived on his own in an apartment in a huge city? Probably never, right? Well that was real life for Allen Say.
Say had always known that he loved to draw, even when it was to the detriment of his school work and strongly discouraged by his own father. But when his grandmother told him that he could live alone in his own apartment if he got into a prestigious middle school, he suddenly got a lot more interested in studying. Once he was living on his own, Say tracked down the famous Japanese cartoonist - Noro Shinpei - and asked him to be his sensei, or mentor. Shinpei agreed, and forever changed the course of Say's life.
It was fascinating to read about an life that was so completely foreign from my own experiences. Independent from his parents, he spent the vast majority of his time with Shinpei, other teachers, or other art students. He was committed - heart and soul - to developing his craft, willing to spend whole months on a single sheet of paper, learning to draw with charcoal.
Not surprising when you consider the fact that Say is an artist, the illustrations are critical in reading and understanding his story. In fact, Drawing From Memory reads almost more like a scrapbook than anything else, with a collage of photographs, archived cartoons, and "drawings from memory" filling in the gaps left by the words.
I picked up Drawing From Memory only because it was a contender in this year's Battle of the Books. While I was presently surprised by how engaging it was, I have to admit I'll be surprised if it makes it out of Round 1 of the BoB. It just seems a little too simple.Then again, I've yet to read its opponent - The Grand Plan to Fix Everything - so who knows? *Update! I recently finished TGPtFE and wasn't a huge fan... In fact, I think Drawing from Memory now has my vote for this round!
2 Comments on Drawing From Memory, last added: 2/25/2012
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 3/19/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Life is Good, en espanol, PoC, multicultural lit, Add a tag
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/29/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: India, tough questions, New Orleans, en espanol, American Girl, PoC, multicultural lit, en francais, poetry, Add a tag
I can almost guarantee that I would not have read most of these books without taking on this challenge, and boy-oh-boy would I have been missing out! In an effort to summarize this month of reading, here are a few awards and a few "similar interest groups" for quick reference.
Favorite YA Read of the Month: Tie between Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis and Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena (these two couldn't be more different, but I'll remember them both for a long, long time)
Favorite MG Read of the Month: The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani (love, love, love this book)
Favorite New-to-Me Author: Ashley Hope Perez - I thoroughly enjoyed What Can't Wait and am eagerly awaiting The Knife and the Butterfly. I can't help but feel a TFA bond with Ms. Perez and I'm so thankful that teachers like her exist!
Favorite Blast from the Past: American Girl - Cecile's New Orleans series
Favorite Book that Brad Pitt Should Turn into a Movie: Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
Novels in Verse:
- Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes
- The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle
- Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/24/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, illustrated, BOB, PoC, multicultural lit, autobiography, Add a tag
Drawing from Memory by Allen Say, Scholastic Press, 2011, 72 pp, ISBN: 0545176867
Allen Say uses photographs, cartoons, paintings, and of course, words to illustrate an autobiographical look at his early years as an artist.
Review:
When was the last time you met a twelve-year-old who lived on his own in an apartment in a huge city? Probably never, right? Well that was real life for Allen Say.
Say had always known that he loved to draw, even when it was to the detriment of his school work and strongly discouraged by his own father. But when his grandmother told him that he could live alone in his own apartment if he got into a prestigious middle school, he suddenly got a lot more interested in studying. Once he was living on his own, Say tracked down the famous Japanese cartoonist - Noro Shinpei - and asked him to be his sensei, or mentor. Shinpei agreed, and forever changed the course of Say's life.
It was fascinating to read about an life that was so completely foreign from my own experiences. Independent from his parents, he spent the vast majority of his time with Shinpei, other teachers, or other art students. He was committed - heart and soul - to developing his craft, willing to spend whole months on a single sheet of paper, learning to draw with charcoal.
Not surprising when you consider the fact that Say is an artist, the illustrations are critical in reading and understanding his story. In fact, Drawing From Memory reads almost more like a scrapbook than anything else, with a collage of photographs, archived cartoons, and "drawings from memory" filling in the gaps left by the words.
I picked up Drawing From Memory only because it was a contender in this year's Battle of the Books. While I was presently surprised by how engaging it was, I have to admit I'll be surprised if it makes it out of Round 1 of the BoB. It just seems a little too simple.
2 Comments on Drawing From Memory, last added: 2/25/2012
By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/25/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: MG, illustrated, friendship, BOB, PoC, multicultural lit, Bollywood, Add a tag
The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Una Krishnaswami, Illustrated by Abigail Halpin, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011, 272 pp, ISBN: 1416995897
Eleven-year-old Dini and her best friend Maddie are in love. They are in love with Dolly Singh, the most beautiful and talented actress/singer/dancer in all of Bollywood. But they have been picking up on signs - signs that only a true fan would notice! - that Dolly is in some kind of trouble. When Dini's family suddenly moves to India, she knows this is her chance to find Dolly and fix everything. The only problem is, she'll be leaving Maddie behind...
Review:
Doesn't this book just look adorable? I love the fact that the protagonist is Indian-American and that much of the story takes place in India. That is certainly a country we don't get to see much of in MG or YA literature. And the introduction to Bollywood, complete with song lyrics and descriptions of big dance numbers, was a welcome break from more typical tween obsessions.
And I need to mention that the illustrations throughout are just as charming as the cover. I think Abigail Halpin just might be my new favorite artist. Check out this interview with both Halpin and author Uma Krishnaswami for more images and details on the creation of The Grand Plan to Fix Everything.
But... something about this story just didn't sit right with me. The third person narration was a small factor in that I never truly connected with Dini. It was also a little too convenient that Dolly just so happened to be living in the same remote, rural village that Dini had moved to. *Don't worry: That's not really a spoiler. Dini figures it out the day that she moves.* In fact, all the way through the book, the narrator makes it seem like Dini is having such a hard time "fixing everything" for Dolly, when really everything just kept (very unrealistically) falling into place.
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/26/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: India, friendship, family, PoC, multicultural lit, faith, Add a tag
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2012, 224 pp, ISBN: 0385741286
Sonia is half Indian and half Jewish, but that has never really seemed to matter. At Community, all of the kids in her class are unique, and their teacher - Jack - makes a point of teaching them about all different cultures. But Sonia won't be going to Community any more. Her dad has lost his job, and she will be starting 6th grade at the public middle school.
At her new school, everything is different. Her skin is too dark for some kids, and too light for others. She dresses all wrong, brings the wrong food for lunch, and can't even make the cheerleading team - even though she's definitely better than some of the girls on the squad. On top of all of that, her father is becoming seriously depressed since he still hasn't found a new job. But when Sonia starts hanging out with Kate, it seems like everything is going to change for the better.
Review:
The Whole Story of Half a Girl is 100% wonderful. I mean seriously, completely wonderful. This is Veera Hiranandani's first novel, and she needs to write another pretty much immediately.
This is the second middle grade novel featuring an Indian main character that I've read this week, and I hope that Indian culture is slowly becoming more of a trend in MG/YA lit. That being said, I would have loved to have gotten more details about what makes Indian culture unique and different. Sonia has to tell a kid at her new school that her father doesn't wear a turbin, or a feathered headdress for that matter, but other than a brief mention of a family trip to Bombay and a beautiful Indian dress, she really doesn't elaborate on that part of her background. Sonia is also half Jewish, although her mom makes a point of saying that Judaism is a religion, not an ethnicity, so she can't actually be "half" Jewish. As Sonia's mother isn't particularly religious, Sonia herself has received little exposure to Jewish customs, so readers hoping for a mini-lesson on Judaism may be disappointed.
Now I know I'm starting to sound a little negative, but remember what I said: 100% wonderful. Every character is written so realistically, it wouldn't be surprising if Sonia's story turned out to be nonfiction. This could be partially due to the fact that the main character is partly based on Hiranandani's own experiences growing up half Indian, half Jewish
9 Comments on The Whole Story of Half a Girl, last added: 2/29/2012
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/27/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: tough questions, PoC, multicultural lit, Add a tag
This month I was really reminded of something that I used to be much more cognizant of: all of the faces, on almost all of the covers, are... well... white.
When I took on my February personal challenge to read only books written by or about people of color, I had a pretty short reading list. I knew I wanted to read Mare's War and The Mighty Miss Malone, but after that... ? Building up my reading list for this month took a little research. I scoured blogs like Reading in Color, Fledgling, and The Brown Bookshelf for suggestions. While I did find some absolute treasures, it really is shocking how few books are published each year by/about people of color. And that deficit is pretty darn obvious if you just scan the covers in the YA section at your local bookstore.
So what's your take, book lovers? Do you really notice race or ethnicity when you're scanning book covers? Does that factor really even matter when choosing a new book? And why do you think so many of our YA covers are so pale?
12 Comments on C'Mon Now, Are Girls in Pretty Dresses Really the Problem?, last added: 2/29/2012
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By: Chris Singer,
on 10/26/2011
Blog: Book Dads (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Multicultural Lit, Preschool Through Second Grade (Age 4-8), book dads, hartlyn kids, literature, multicultural, the bamboo dance, Add a tag
The Bamboo Dance by Cress Sia and illustrated by Lisa Butler
Review by Chris Singer
About Hartlyn Kids (from their website):
Hartlyn Kids Media, LLC is an independent children’s book publishing company dedicated to exposing children and their parents to the diversity of cultures around the world. The name Hartlyn comes from the two locations that each of the creators is from – Hartford and Brooklyn… and we also have read that it is a name which means full and joyous! Our business inspiration stems from the Maya Angelou quote:
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.
Our books are designed to give a true and authentic snapshot of the day in the life of a child from various regions around the globe. The books are not only representations of the culture of the region but also each one is written by local authors who have immediate access to knowledge of the area. Each of our books are written with the global child of ANY age in mind.
We hope that a parent would be comfortable reading to their child, we envision children being able to read on their own and also foresee parents being engaged by the books to use as learning tools. In each book, readers will learn about the richness and diversity of world cultures, while at the same time learning that we are not so different after all.
With each book, the readers will have an interactive and intriguing experience of traveling the globe… one book at a time.
About the author:
Cress Sia grew up in the Philippines but spent a few years in the United States for some high school and college education. She is a pharmacist by day and a creative writer by night. She lives with her family in Cebu, Philippines.
About the illustrator:
Lisa Butler grew up in a small town in Connecticut and studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. She loves to travel and has been to France, The Netherlands, Haiti and Anguilla; but her favorite place is at home in Connecticut with her kitty, Tuxedo.
About the book:
Meet Paco and Diego, two Filipino boys, as they learn to dance the tinikling, the national dance of the Philippines. Along the way, they will learn that practice makes perfect, especially when you have the encouragement of your friend!
Watch the book trailer:
My take on the book:
I look forward to learning about more titles from other countries…
By: Chris Singer,
on 1/31/2012
Blog: Book Dads (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Multicultural Lit, Preschool Through Second Grade (Age 4-8), book dads, Chocolate Me, kidlit, literature, multicultural, race, shane w. evans, Taye Diggs, Add a tag
Chocolate Me by Taye Diggs and illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Review by Chris Singer
About the author:
Taye Diggs is an actor whose credits include motion pictures (How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Chicago), stage (Rent, Wicked), and television (Private Practice). He lives in Los Angeles and New York City with his wife, the actress Idina Menzel, and their son.
About the illustrator:
Shane W. Evans is the illustrator of numerous award-winning books for children, including Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson, and Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper’s Daughter, winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. He lives with his wife and daughter in Kansas City, Missouri.
About the book:
The boy is teased for looking different than the other kids. His skin is darker, his hair curlier. He tells his mother he wishes he could be more like everyone else. And she helps him to see how beautiful he really, truly is.
For years before they both achieved acclaim in their respective professions, good friends Taye Diggs and Shane W. Evans wanted to collaborate on Chocolate Me!, a book based on experiences of feeling different and trying to fit in as kids. Now, both men are fathers and see more than ever the need for a picture book that encourages all people, especially kids, to love themselves.
My take on the book:
I love the title and cover art of this enduring children’s book. To me, “Chocolate Me” and the boy’s open arms grabs your attention immediately and invites you to dive right in. The illustrations are fantastic and the story involves an important message both kids and parents can relate to.
I give a lot of credit to Taye Diggs for writing this book. As I learned when I had the opportunity to participate in an interview with Taye, this was obviously based on some deeply personal experiences. While I got caught up a few times in some awkward wording in the story, I still enjoyed the creative and compassionate manner in which the story was shared.
All in all, a nice book for parents, teachers and librarians looking for a story with a worthwhile message to share with children and their families.
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/7/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: MG, bullying, PoC, multicultural lit, Boy Books, poetry, Add a tag
8th Grade Super-Zero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2010, 336 pp, ISBN: 0545096766
Recap:
"Say to them,
say to the down-keepers,
the sun-slappers,
the self-soilers,
the harmony-hushers,
'even if you are not ready for day,
it cannot always be night.'" - Gwendolyn Brooks, from "Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward"
Reggie is a zero. After vomiting in front of the entire student body on the first day of school, more people now know him as "Pukey" than as "Reggie." He has his two best friends, Ruthie and Joe C, but it's tough to be thankful for two when you're teased on a daily basis by pretty much everyone else.
Reggie's youth group, made up of kids from all different schools, is the only place where he gets to just be himself. When the group gets involved at a local homeless shelter, Reggie stops trying to shrink into the background and actually starts stepping up to lead some things. And it feels pretty good.
But stepping up at school, in front of Donovan, Hector, Sparrow and all of the other kids who love making him miserable... it would take a super hero to do that.
Review:
This is NOT at all what I was expecting. I vividly remember seeing this title on at least 6 different blog posts over at Reading In Color last year. I had wanted to read it because Ari was such a huge fan, but just kept putting it off. When I decided to take on the personal challenge of reading ONLY books by or about people of color for this month, 8th Grade Super Zero was at the top of my list.
Honestly, even though it had such stellar recommendations
10 Comments on 8th Grade Super-Zero, last added: 2/9/2012
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/15/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, women's history, world war II, PoC, multicultural lit, historical fiction, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, Coretta Scott King Winner, Add a tag
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson, Balzar + Bray, 2011, 108 pp, ISBN: 0061730742
"Most folks my age and complexion don't speak much about the past. Sometimes it's just too hard to talk about... [but] you gotta take the good with the bad I guess. You have to know where you come from you so can move forward. Most of us are getting up in age and feel it's time to make some things known before they are gone for good. So it's important you pay attention, honey, because I'm only going to tell you this story but once." - Heart and Soul
Review:
First off, the cover is pure gorgeous. I would like to frame it and hang it on my wall. And this weighty book is bursting with similarly stunning paintings - all by author and illustrator Kadir Nelson. What incredible talent.
With a sub-title like "The Story of America and African Americans," you know that this is book is going to be full. Full of history, full of emotion, and full of questions and connections and feelings that come up, long after one has finished reading.
It is told through the voice of an "everywoman" character, whose family history can be traced back to Africa and connects throughout history with both Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. Her strong, comforting voice comes through crystal clear. Tracing the path of her family from slave ships, through cotton fields, across multiple wars, into Reconstruction and the Great Migration, and ending around the dissolution of Jim Crow, there isn't much that this story doesn't touch on. President Barack Obama made his appearance in the Epilogue.
An incredibly deserving recipient of both the Coretta Scott King author award, and Coretta Scott King illustrator honor for Heart and Soul, Kadir Nelson is a force to be reckoned with. He has made decades of history engaging and accessible for both school children and adults - no easy feat.
First off, the cover is pure gorgeous. I would like to frame it and hang it on my wall. And this weighty book is bursting with similarly stunning paintings - all by author and illustrator Kadir Nelson. What incredible talent.
With a sub-title like "The Story of America and African Americans," you know that this is book is going to be full. Full of history, full of emotion, and full of questions and connections and feelings that come up, long after one has finished reading.
It is told through the voice of an "everywoman" character, whose family history can be traced back to Africa and connects throughout history with both Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. Her strong, comforting voice comes through crystal clear. Tracing the path of her family from slave ships, through cotton fields, across multiple wars, into Reconstruction and the Great Migration, and ending around the dissolution of Jim Crow, there isn't much that this story doesn't touch on. President Barack Obama made his appearance in the Epilogue.
An incredibly deserving recipient of both the Coretta Scott King author award, and Coretta Scott King illustrator honor for Heart and Soul, Kadir Nelson is a force to be reckoned with. He has made decades of history engaging and accessible for both school children and adults - no easy feat.
6 Comments on Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, last added: 2/16/2012
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/16/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: sports, en espanol, PoC, multicultural lit, Boy Books, Add a tag
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2008, 256 pp, ISBN: 0385733100
Danny is half Mexican, half white, and completely lost. His dad left him, and now he doesn't feel at home with his mom at his fancy private school in San Diego, or with his dad's family in National City. He used to feel at home on the pitching mound, but lately even that part of his life has been spinning out of control.
Now Danny is in National City for the summer, staying with his dad's brothers and his prima Sofia. He figures that if he can just make himself more Mexican, if he can just learn to speak some Spanish, if he can just get his pitching back under control, then maybe he'll finally make his dad proud. And then maybe his dad will come home.
Review:
I have found my new favorite author. So many authors can spin a great story, but it's rare to find a writer whose voice hums like a heartbeat through every page. Matt de la Pena is one of those writers.
I feel like Danny and Sofia and Uno are actual people - alive and walking around southern California. I can vividly picture Uno laughing under his breath, wearing his Steelers jersey. I can see Danny's faded Vanns toeing the dirt on a pitcher's mound. I can hear Sofia busting on them both while she types out a text to one of her girlfriends. Seriously - Matt de la Pena wrote each character so clearly that I wouldn't be surprised if Mexican Whiteboy turned out to be nonfiction.
Through Danny, a wildly talented but also deeply depressed teenage boy, de la Pena describes what it can be like to come from a mixed background, and never truly feel like you belong. Danny's longing was so intense in some passages that my heart literally ached for him.
But Mexican Whiteboy isn't a sad story. It is a brightly painted picture of what life is like for a group of teenagers one summer: the sad and the joyful, the painful and the laugh out loud hilarious. De la Pena writes about young love, but romance really isn't the heart of this story. It's about finding one's family, coming to terms with one's heritage, and developing true friendships. And it is one phenomenal read.
4 Comments on Mexican Whiteboy, last added: 2/17/2012
By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/17/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: romance, en espanol, TFA, family, PoC, multicultural lit, teen pregnancy, Add a tag
What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Perez, Carolrhoda Books, 2011, 234 pp, ISBN: 0761361553
Marisa is the good daughter: cooking for her father and brother, babysitting whenever her sister asks, giving half of her paycheck to the family each month.
But Marisa dreams of going to the University of Texas to study engineering, and ber calculus teacher thinks that Marisa is actually smart enough to make it happen.
But her father has all but forbidden her to go to college.
Her mother doesn't want her to leave home.
Her sister needs her to be a full-time babysitter for her niece.
So college can wait. Family can't, right?
Review:
What Can't Wait really struck a chord with me. I saw so much of myself in Marisa's calculus teacher. Ms. Ford was constantly pushing Marisa, telling her not to make excuses, emphasizing that college was her "ticket out." But as the reader of Marisa's story, I knew that she was barely keeping it together - that she was bound by duty and loyalty to her family, and most especially to her niece. I actually found myself getting angry at Ms. Ford for not cutting her some slack. Why couldn't she try to understand what Marisa was going through? At the same time, I kept flashing back to conversations that I had with my own students. Pushing, pushing, and pushing them to do their best, to be the best - even when I had no idea what they were up against outside of the confines of our school. But then at the same time, wasn't Ms. Ford ultimately right? No matter how valid an excuse is, it's still an excuse. At some point, everyone has to decide for themselves "what can't wait," and then follow through and live with that decision.
Ashley Hope Perez has written a novel that is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting, and always 100% realistic. She has given her readers a candid look at what it might mean to be a part of a Mexican family. She has infused the Spanish language into nearly every paragraph, making her readers feel like they are truly listening in to Marisa's world. She has forced me to reexamine my own though
4 Comments on What Can't Wait, last added: 2/18/2012
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By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/21/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: New Orleans, American Girl, series review, PoC, multicultural lit, en francais, historical fiction, fearless female, Add a tag
The American Girl 1853 series: Cecile and Marie Grace by Denise Lewis Patrick and Sarah Masters Buckey, American Girl, 2011
Cecile Rey is one of the "gens de couleur libres" or "free people of color" living in New Orleans in 1853. Together, she and her friend, Marie Grace, experience all that the diverse, busy city has to offer: Mardi Gras parades and costume balls, outdoor French markets, helping to fight a yellow fever epidemic, volunteering at a local orphanage, and performing at a city-wide benefit for the orphaned children.
Review:
Happy Mardi Gras, book lovers! In honor of the holiday, today I'm featuring a series set in New Orleans, and the first two books take place during Mardi Gras!
I was first inspired to cover this American Girl series after seeing a feature on author Denise Lewis Patrick on The Brown Bookshelf. I'd never given a thought to the authors behind my beloved American Girl books, and reading the story of how Patrick was asked to author the Cecile series piqued my interest. The Cecile series is unique from that of the other American Girls because she shares her books with a girl named Marie Grace. I read "Meet Marie Grace" and then all of the Cecile books in the series, and it's very clear that the two authors plotted the stories out together. Between the two "Meet ____" books, some lines were actually word-for-word the same. I'm really not sure why they chose to have two main characters this time. If any of you know, please fill me in!
On the surface, the Cecile/Marie Grace series follows the same "formula" as every other in the AG line. We "Meet" the girls, they go through some "troubles" but eventually save the day, and everyone ends up stronger and wiser. A little didactic, yes... but these characters are brave, self-confident role models for little girls today. I really like the fact that each book includes a chapter of nonfiction in the back, explaining how the events in the story are a reflection of real events from the past.
Cecile's story is notable because, unlike so many black characters in historial fiction - including 10 Comments on American Girl: Cecile's New Orleans Series, last added: 2/21/2012
Headed over there right now! :)
Hi Katie, I just followed you over here from The O.W.L. :)
Awesome! SO on my way :)
Welcome Linda! I hope you find something you like on Book Love :)
Yay! Thanks :)
It's a great post!! I'm glad to see increasing focus on books featuring people of color.
Thanks, Juju :)
Thank you, Sarah!! Lately I've started following several blogs that focus on more books with characters of color, and it has really opened my eyes. I think I had been a little blind to just how whitewashed YA lit really is.
On my way (and congratulations, that's so cool!)
Ha - thanks :) Really, she put out a request for guest posters for March, and I just asked if I could do one! It was fun planning something for a different blog :)
Hey, I just got a novel in verse called The Good Braider from NetGalley (do you use that? You should!) It's about a Sudanese girl and it sounds like it would be a good one for your Feb 2013 POC Challenge...if you are the type to stockpile reviews (I am totally participating next year)!