Indian Shoes - Native American Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


Smith, Cynthia Leitich. INDIAN SHOES. Illustrated by Jim Madsen. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN 0803722761.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

Ray Halfmoon has been living with his Grampa Halfmoon in Chicago since his parents were killed in a tornado when Ray was a baby. This collection of inter-related stories follows Ray and Grampa from one adventure to another, from babysitting the neighborhood’s pets when everyone is gone for Christmas to getting creative with a very bad homemade haircut. Ray loves his grampa, and the stories illuminate their relationship in a way that will make readers wish they had a grampa just like Ray’s.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Although Ray and his grampa are members of the Seminole-Cherokee Nation, their experiences are universal to any child living in the United States, and the stories will appeal particularly to younger elementary children, many of whom may have helped take care of a friend’s pet, or had an art project ruined by too much water in the paint, or gotten a bad haircut. Each chapter is a separate story about something that has happened in Ray’s life, and how his grampa helps him overcome the obstacles with love, encouragement, and sometimes just by letting Ray figure out what to do on his own. Children will enjoy the fact that something mentioned in one chapter will be mentioned in another, carrying threads of the story along the entire book, making it feel cohesive rather than just like six separate stories. For example, in one chapter, Grampa’s truck has died its final death, and in the next chapter, Ray and Grampa are in Grampa’s new truck. Even “the worst Christmas ever” turns into a beautiful Christmas when Ray and Grampa weather it together.

Cynthia Leitich Smith, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation herself, weaves cultural markers skillfully into the text, making them a natural part of the story without feeling contrived. In one story, Grampa notices a pair of men’s moccasins in a thrift shop, which reminds him of home, and in another, Ray is tucked in bed, cozy under a Cherokee Seven Clans quilt, not willing to crawl out for a pre-dawn fishing trip with his grampa. Each chapter has two or three pencil and paper illustrations that accurately portray descriptions in the text. Ray and his grampa have facial features and coloring that look Native American without becoming stereotypical. Grampa has long dark hair held back in a ponytail, and both Ray and Grampa dress as anyone who lives in Chicago would dress - in jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, sneakers and boots. The relationship between grandfather and grandson is close and nurturing. Even though they do not live on a reservation but rather in a suburban neighborhood, the close multi-generational relationships that exist in Native American families are nicely portrayed between Ray and Grampa.

Although the stories never reveal Ray’s age, the activities he participates in along with the illustrations lead readers to believe that he is six or seven. His age, coupled with the simplicity of the stories and predictable plot structure will appeal to younger elementary readers.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

*Publishers Weekly: “Though the author affectingly portrays the strong bond between grandson and grandfather, the narrative bogs down with flowery or overwritten passages (e.g., "Ray's and Grampa's breath puffed cloudy as they trudged next door to the Wang home. In the driveway, Mrs. Wang's VW Bug waited to be freed from the snow like a triceratops skeleton embedded in rock"). Kids may have trouble sticking with this collection.”

*School Library Journal: “There are no mystical nature spirits or cathartic history lessons, only the everyday challenges common to any contemporary kid, as experienced by an Indian boy who is firmly grounded in his own family's heritage. With its unadorned portrayal of urban Indian life, Shoes is a good book for any elementary-aged reluctant reader, and a necessity for indigenous children everywhere.”

*Booklist: “The stories' strength lies in their powerful, poignant evocation of a cross-generational bond and in the description of the simple pleasures two charming characters enjoy.”

*Kirkus: “A very pleasing first-chapter book from its funny and tender opening salvo to its heartwarming closer. . . . An excellent choice for younger readers from the author of the bittersweet Rain Is Not My Indian Name (2001).”

*CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center): “Smith has adroitly woven cultural details about her characters' Seminole-Cherokee heritage into the stories, and uses colloquial language to further enhance this fine collection of brief contemporary fiction.”


5. CONNECTIONS

• Research Cherokee Seven Clans quilts. What are they? Why are they made? This link shows an example of a Cherokee Seven Clans quilt.

http://museum.msu.edu/museum/tes/thc/exhibit%202.htm

Create a class quilt with blocks that represent the countries or nations that the students ancestors are from.

• Ray negotiates for the moccasins for his grampa because he understands that the moccasins represent “home.” Have children think about what represents home to them – what objects in their house are important to their parents?

• Have children find out what is in their homes that represent their ancestry. Perhaps have a show-and-tell time where children can bring something that is reflective of their family’s heritage.

The Heart of a Chief - Native American Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


Bruchac, Joseph. THE HEART OF A CHIEF. New York: Puffin Books, 1998. ISBN 0060295317.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

Chris Nicola is a member of the Penacook Nation, and he is leaving the reservation for the first time to attend the public middle school in town. Before long, Chris finds himself in the middle of two conflicts – one on the reservation where a casino is planned for the island in the heart of the reservation, and one at school where his English group is taking on the controversy over their school mascot, the Chiefs. Chris shows great courage as he expresses his opinions over these two issues while he and his family also deal with his alcoholic father. Through his thoughts and actions, Chris certainly shows that, even at his young age, he has the heart of a chief.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Bruchac’s novel opens with an "Author’s Note," explaining that because of the sensitivity of the issues in the novel (alcoholism, gambling, leadership), he is not using an existing reservation. Instead, he has created one where none exists. While the Penacook Nation is real, there is no reservation in New Hampshire, and in fact, there is currently no state or federally recognized Penacook community. However, the Penacook is a nation that is part of Bruchac’s own Western Abenaki people. Bruchac’s view of “contemporary Indian America” comes from years of working with Native American kids as an insider, and while this particular reservation is fictitious, the Nation is not, and Bruchac has insider knowledge.

This insider view seems to provide the sensitivity toward the issues included in the story, while still portraying the seriousness of each one. But it almost feels as if Bruchac is trying to address every major issue faced by Native Americans in one book – just in case this is the one book students read. From my adult reader’s point of view, it feels as if he’s overdoing it by covering the issues of alcoholism, casino gambling, poverty, mascot names, and prejudice in one story.

The story is filled with Penacook vocabulary which is immediately translated literally into English, and phraseology that is common to the Penacook speakers (i.e. “the sun is two hand high above the hills” p. 74) It is also tightly packed with cultural markers and motifs, including mentioning Indian names which are not to be spoken under certain circumstances, notice by the characters of inaccurate portrayals of Pocahontas in a doll, and other American Indians in novels such as Sign of the Beaver and Indian in the Cupboard, and a reference to problems with the Thanksgiving story. Chris even gives a description of “real” Indians on pp. 23-24. The traditional and spiritual characters of Gluskabe (assistant to the Creator) and the Manogies (“little people” who keep watch over things) are included. Couple the Native American cultural issues with the cultural markers and the book almost overwhelms.

Nonetheless, Chris and the classmates in his group are likeable (and definitely overly mature for their age). The story centers around the issue of the school’s mascot and why "Chiefs" is not an appropriate choice. Readers will be curious how that plot line resolves as many community members inside and outside the Native American community become involved. The kids act with wisdom and intelligence. The plot line dealing with the casino to be built on the reservation provides some tense moments, but resolves quickly and easily (perhaps too easily). A third plot line involving Chris’s interaction with his alcoholic father who is in a rehab facility adds yet another dimension. The subplots slightly weigh down the overall effect of the novel, but are not confusing or difficult to follow.

With all these plots going at once and all the issues Chris must deal with at once, is the story believable? I don’t know. It all seems a bit heavy-handed and like Bruchac has an agenda with this story. However, it is in enjoyable read mostly because of the way he handles the characters, and curiosity about how both the school mascot issue and the casino issue will resolve will keep students reading.  It presents a strong portrayal of life for contemporary Native American children growing up in two worlds – that of the reservation and that of the outside – for children who live in both those worlds and those who do not.  Because this book is written by an insider, one who is additionally knowledgeable of how children respond, The Heart of a Chief has the potential to provide lots of thoughtful questions and discussion points for readers between 5th and 9th grades. 


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

*Publishers Weekly: “Bruchac explores what it means to be Native American in a modern society through the perceptive first-person narrative of 11-year-old Chris Nicola. Chris’s compelling voyage of self-discovery is grounded in everyday events that readers will recognize . . . allowing readers to see into the heart of this burgeoning chief.”

*Children’s Literature: “Bruchac writes with a passion and understanding of life on the reservation and expresses contemporary Native American conflict beautifully through Chris’s words and stories.”

*Booklist: “Bruchac has trouble weaving the three strands into a unified whole: the conflicts emerge quickly and are resolved too easily. What works are Chris' dignified struggle and the honest dialogue, which is never preachy despite the book's overtly political themes. Bruchac perfectly captures a boy's pride in his culture and the pain and anger he feels when his rich identity is mocked by a "tomahawk chop" from a sports fan. Readers who see injustice in their own lives will admire how much Chris accomplishes with a simple message of respect.”

*School Library Journal: “This upbeat narrative does not disguise the harsh realities of reservation life or the social and emotional struggles of Native Americans. Rather, the qualities of leadership emerge in Chris as he taps into his rich cultural past, recognizes his own potential, and stands up for his values.”


5. CONNECTIONS

• Do some research like Chris’s class did; brainstorm controversial topics and research them, preparing a class presentation. Or research Chris’s group’s topic of Native American mascot names. Do you agree with Chris’s group that it is disrespectful?

• Think about the management tools Chris employed as leader of his group (p. 95) – the talking stick and the fact that every member must agree with group decisions. Have small groups try these discussion rules. Many classrooms already utilize the “talking stick” idea, so students may be used to it, but have they ever tried it in a small group? Have them try it and report back their reaction.  Are there other "norms" small groups thing are important to employ?  What are they and why?

• Discuss the mascot issue. Provide articles about it, examples of schools that have changed their names, etc. Is it possible to “accidentally” offend someone even when you didn’t mean to? What should be done about that?

• Are there inaccuracies in how your own culture is portrayed or perceived by outsiders? How does it make you feel? Is there such a thing as being “too sensitive”?

• Research the topic of casino gambling. There is an American Indian casino very near Dallas, just over the state line in Oklahoma. What are the pros and cons? Do the casinos provide the income the reservations hope for? Are there any serious disadvantages?

A Fire in My Hands - Hispanic American Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


Soto, Gary. A FIRE IN MY HANDS. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2006. ISBN 9780152055646.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

This second edition of Gary Soto’s popular poetry collection combines former favorites with new additions. Focusing on events from everyday life, from the embarrassment of spewing root beer out one’s nose, to going on a first date, this collection of Soto’s poems are inspired by his childhood in California’s Central Valley. Although the poems are not totally autobiographical, they portray the normal events and thoughts of a boy growing from childhood to manhood in powerful, emotional language that teenagers in middle and high school will be able to relate to. One of the poems, "The Boy’s First Flight," was commissioned by NASA to celebrate the new millennium.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

While Soto writes from a distinctly male point of view, Soto’s poems are wide-reaching and will appeal to teenagers of all ages, both male and female. Over and over again, I found myself saying, “I felt just like that!” or “That happened at our house.” When the 17-year-old young man in “Some Words About Time” (p. 50-51) describes his boring job at the carwash, I thought about my similarly monotonous job as a clerk for the city police department, and when the 12-year-old child keeps hoping for his dog to return in “Hope” (p. 30-31), I thought about my little brother crying for his lost dog.

Soto also writes as a Mexican American in a voice that is authentic and real. He uses vocabulary from Spanish that is woven seamlessly into the English text. His use of Spanish occurs in specific instances – when there is no direct translation (for example food names such as tortilla and salsa), as part of dialogue (such as when his grandmother calls, “Baile, hijo, baile!” and to convey an intimate family relationship (such as when his refers to his grandmother as abuelita when he thinks fondly of her home). None of the nine Spanish words that I counted are translated literally. Two words that are not translated at all are words that have no direct counterpart in English but are familiar to most English speakers – tortilla and salsa. The other seven words have contextual translations with clues given in the English text of the poems in which they appear. While there is no glossary provided, there is no doubt that he respects both his monolingual readers and his bilingual readers. He provides enough context to allow monolingual readers to understand the poem while not bogging down bilingual readers with unnecessary translation. In the one or two instances (rancheras, baile), monolingual readers may lean over to their bilingual friends to ask for a translation, but even if there is no one handy for a quick English version, the comprehension of the poem will not be hindered. The overall effect is a natural use of Spanish that enhances the English-based text and draws all readers into the poems, whether they are Hispanic American or from another culture.

Other features of the text that enhance its likeability include an introduction by Soto which gives some background on the development of his career and these poems in particular, an anecdote for each poem that supplies the reader with the back story for each one (sometimes clarifying whether or not the poem is autobiographical), and a Question/Answer section at the end where Soto addresses common questions he receives about his writing.

Gary Soto has won numerous awards, and his second collection of poetry The Tale of Sunlight (1978) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

*Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA): “Soto explains that he writes poetry to give life to the small details of the days, moments that add up to life itself. The poems collected here are fine examples and excellent teaching tools to encourage teens to write about the small but ultimately meaningful experiences of their lives.”

*School Library Journal: “These simple, free-verse selections skillfully capture that which is commonplace and transforms it into something mesmerizing and lovely.”

*Booklist: “One of the best poems, Saturday at the Canal, captures the feelings of a teen sure that everything is happening somewhere else and dreaming of escape.”


5. CONNECTIONS

• Use Soto’s poems as models for writing lyric and narrative poems. He defines both and tells the reader where to find examples of each within the text.

• In the Q and A at the end of the volume, Soto stresses that poetry comes from everyday events and experiences, not special events or extraordinary occurrences. As a class, brainstorm personal experiences in various categories (i.e. embarrassing moments, sad/happy/scary moments, family memories, etc.) and select one to write about.

• For bilingual readers and writers, use Soto’s examples of contextual translations to try including words from the students’ home languages into English-based text. Analyze Soto’s use of words – how infrequently yet naturally he uses them, and how he translates them through contextual clues as models.

The Woman I Kept to Myself - Hispanic American Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


Alvarez, Julia. THE WOMAN I KEPT TO MYSELF. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2004. ISBN 1565124065.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

This volume of poetry is a collection of previously published and new poetry from Alvarez, well known for her novels How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies. Autobiographical in nature, the 75 poems present a picture of Alvarez’s thoughts and feelings based on experiences from both her childhood in the Dominican Republica and her youth and adulthood in the United States. From being called a spic in elementary school, to being an anorexic teenager, to getting divorced and finding love again, to pondering death, Alvarez’s voice speaks strongly through this collection.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Alvarez presents 75 poems – every one of which is 30 lines long broken into three stanzas of 10 lines each, causing me to wonder if these poems were some sort of exercise for the author in writing in this particular style.  Each poem also feels less like poetry and more like very short stories. However, her use of language had me continually thinking, “that’s a very nice turn-of-phrase.” For example when describing how a branch of her family tree had found it’s way onto foreign soil when a great-aunt married a German, the result was “blond cousins / with year-round suntans.” A recurring metaphor through the collection is that of different trees representing various characteristics - the show-off maple, the mighty oak synonymous with strength, the vague elm best viewed from a distance, the arborvitae trees of life, the locust tree full of activity, the tall saman allowing views into neighbors’ yards, and the sad weeping-willow; all illuminate people and feelings throughout the poems.


Allusions to biblical references such as Isaac’s near-sacrifice, and Jesus multiplying the loaves to feed the multitudes, along with uncommon Spanish vocabulary such as campesinos, cortesia, and allegria have no explanations or translations at all. The volume does not include footnotes, a glossary, or even context clues for many of the references and words. Sheila Janega, in a review for the School Library Journal, says, “Teens approaching adulthood will appreciate the poet who turned to "paper solitude" and through many drafts discovered ‘the woman I kept to myself.’” However, I find that the content of most of the poems will probably appeal to the adult reader rather than the teen reader. Written from a strong woman’s point of view, this volume seems best suited for the adult woman from either culture – Hispanic or American.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

*School Library Journal: “This tightly structured collection of 75 poems is divided into three sections, and each poem has three stanzas, exactly. Alvarez's voice, however, is as free and strong as the free verse she composes.”

*Library Journal: “Quotidian events, a storylike structure, and colloquial diction make Alvarez's latest book seem more like a memoir (albeit one written with attention to the sounds of language, especially alliteration) than a book of poetry. . . . Alvarez at her best writes in a style reminiscent of Billy Collins. There are deceptively simple conversational poems, like "Saman" and several others here, which resonate in a bright mesh of metaphors. Yet most of the work in this collection does not attain that level.”

*Publishers Weekly: “Author of the popular novels How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies, Alvarez continues to explore themes of cultural difference and personal experience in her new collection of poems. The book, which marks her fourth collection of poetry, comprises 75 poems of 30 lines each; the formal constraint is an organizing principle for these sometimes meandering autobiographical poems.”


5. CONNECTIONS

• Compare Alvarez’s poems to those of other women writers. Which do you like best and why?

• Try telling stories through poetic language as Alvarez does.

• Choose a poem and use it for inspiration for writing a fictional short story. For example, use the poem “Weeping Willow” as a basis for writing a story about why the father is crying. He seems to be in severe distress, but the poem does not answer the question “why?” Write a story about why, and how a young girl feels about seeing her father cry for the first time.

• Use photographs of family scenes from home, or pictures found in magazines and other print materials, as a jumping off place for writing narrative poems.

My Own True Name - Hispanic American Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


Mora, Pat. MY OWN TRUE NAME: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS FOR YOUNG ADULTS, 1984-1999. Houston: Pinata Books, 2000. ISBN 1558852921.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

My Own True Name is a collection of poems, some published previously, and others presented here for the first time. The lyrical poems are selected with young-adult readers in mind, and were written between 1984 and 1999. They give glimpses into the life of the Mexican American family – the struggles, joys, and daily life of those whose ancestors recently made a new country their home. My Own True Name gives voice to the experiences of many Mexican American families.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this collection of Pat Mora’s work, many readers will wonder if all these poems are about her personal family and experiences. Based on the title of the volume, one might guess yes, but in the introduction, “Dear Fellow Writer,” she does not address this question. She does, however, give writing tips to those who would follow in her footsteps and become writers. Her suggestions are concrete, letting the reader in on “the secrets” of being a writer, and her encouragement is warm and genuine.

Many of the poems are immediately engaging. Some are more difficult to understand and are more suited to the high school reader who will enjoy them with guidance in getting into the poems. Titles are integral to the comprehension of many of them - the meanings of some poems may be cloudy until attention is paid to the title. Students who are bilingual and from families who recently immigrated (in the last generation or two) to the United States will undoubtedly recognize themselves, their parents, and their grandparents in the words of these poems. Those who are not from bilingual families will gain a better understanding of what it is like to immigrate to a new country and struggle with language and cultural issues. One of my favorite poems is “Elena” which is told from the point of view of a 40-year-old mother who is working to understand English so that she can communicate with her children who attend American high schools and no longer sit and converse with each other in Spanish. Through Mora’s words, it is easy to feel the fear and frustration of this mother who desperately wants to speak English well and is embarrassed that she cannot.

Mora uses footnotes for Spanish words or phrases which need translating. Four poems are printed side-by-side on a two-page spread with the English version on one side and the Spanish version on the other. Did Mora originally write the poems in Spanish and then translate them to English, or the other way around? No notes are included to answer these questions. A nice organizational technique she uses for the volume was the parts of a cactus – blooms, thorns, and roots – grouping poems in these categories according to the theme of each poem:  joy and love, issues and concerns, and family respectively.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

*Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA): “Mora celebrates her rich bilingual heritage, deep love for her desert environment, and passion for language--both English and Spanish. Mora's lyrical voice rings clear and true.”

*School Library Journal: “This anthology speaks to a young adult audience, and it should find many readers.”

*Booklist: “The rich, symbolic imagery, raw emotion, and honesty will appeal to mature teens, and young writers will find inspiration in the warm introduction addressed to "Dear Fellow Writer," and its challenge to ‘Listen to your inside self, your private voice . . . explore the wonder of being alive.’”


5. CONNECTIONS

• Use Mora’s poems as models for writing lyric poetry.

• Using the cactus metaphor of blooms, thorns, and roots, find other poems that fall into these categories. Create a new metaphor and use it to categorize poems students write throughout the year. By placing the metaphor on a bulletin board, students can post their personal poems as a way to self-publish and share their work.

• Use the poems as starting places for journal entries. Students who are moved by particular poems can write about their personal experiences.

Precious and the Boo Hag - African American Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


McKissack, Patricia and Moss, Onawumi Jean. PRECIOUS AND THE BOO HAG. Illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005. ISBN 9780689851940.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

Precious has a stomachache, but because it is corn planting time, Mama wasn’t able to stay home with her since every hand was needed in the fields. Precious assures Mama that she’s a big girl and will be fine. After dozens of dos and don’ts, Mama gives one final instruction – don’t let anyone into the house. As Brother heads out, he pulls Precious aside and warns her about Pruella, the Boo Hag, who will do whatever she can to get Precious to let her into the house. Brother’s last statement is, “Just remember this: No Boo Hag can get inside your house, less’n you let her in.” Is there really such a thing as a Boo Hag? Precious believes her brother was trying to play a joke on her and tell her stories until strange things start to happen and strange people start showing up at Precious’s house while everyone is gone. Is the Boo Hag real, and will Precious be tricked into letting her in?


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

From the legends of South Carolina’s Gullah culture, the Boo Hag is known to be a scary witch-like creature who will steal the skin of an unsuspecting victim to use during the night. McKissack and Moss create an original tale about a Boo Hag. Is it real? The story is engrossing as Precious first realizes that her brother has tricked her with yet another one of this stories, but she begins to change her mind as unusual things happen throughout the day to make her believe that a Boo Hag might be real after all. The language used is dialectical without becoming stereotypical of either African American or Southern speech patterns. It has the feeling of a folktale while still sounding authentic and believable. Mama instructs Precious by saying, “You need us, come a-running” and Brother describes Pruella, their neighborhood Boo Hag, as tricky and scary, “and she tries to make you disobey yo’ mama.” When Precious’s friend Addie Louise comes by to play jacks, Precious notices, “It looks like her, it walks like her, but it sure don’t talk like her.” Precious is able to hold her ground, which is very satisfying to the reader. As Precious tells her brother, “like you told me, a Boo Hag aine none too smart.”

The song Precious repeats when reminding herself not to let anyone in is catchy and will probably be heard in school hallways by young children who have heard the story a time or two. Perhaps through McKissack’s partnership with storyteller Moss, this book reads aloud with a flair for language that is not only fun to listen to, but fun for the one reading aloud as well.

Brooker’s art is a mix of oil paint and collage. The people are not rendered in a realistic way, but the technique makes Pruella the Boo Hag feel larger than life, and just a little bit scary. Facial expressions are exaggerated, but many of the pieces are “framed” in a realistic paintings of knotty wood with peeling paint. One of the pieces even includes some of Mama’s specific dos and don’ts, pulling the art directly into the story. The exaggerated characters are respectful, and they are not done in stereotypical ways.

Precious and the Boo Hag was a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book for 2006, and was on the American Library Association’s 2006 Notable Children’s Books list.


4. REVIEW EXCERPT

*Publishers Weekly: “Brooker conveys the rowdy, larger-than-life goings-on in playfully exaggerated, stylized collage art which features a range of textures. The story's lively language, pleasing cadence and effective repetition of Precious's chant make this a buoyant read-aloud.”

*Booklist: “With the grand feel of a folktale, this lively story speaks to choosing right in a world full of temptation and peril.”

*Kirkus (Starred Review): “Brooker underscores the story's rustic flavor by surrounding most of her terrific paint and collage scenes with a peeling board frame and gives pigtailed Precious a winningly scared but resolute look.”


5. CONNECTIONS

• Older reader might like to read other stories about Boo Hags. Find one with a read aloud at http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/05/boo_hag.html
Compare Precious’s Boo Hag encounter to the one Bobby Hansen has.

• Compare various versions of Boo Hags as found on the internet. How is McKissack’s and Moss’s Boo Hag different from other descriptions?

• Boo Hags are sometimes compared to the legend of the Vampire. How do Boo Hags compare to Vampires?

• Notice how the art uses collage. Create a piece of art that primarily uses crayons, pencils, or paints, and then add elements that are cut out and glued on to make unusual, original art.

A Cool Moonlight - African American Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


Johnson, Angela. A COOL MOONLIGHT. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2003. ISBN 0803728468.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

Lila is about to turn nine, and she has never seen the sun. Born with xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare allergy to sunlight and certain types of artificial lights, Lila can never go outside during the day. However, two mysterious friends have given her cause to believe that when she turns nine, she will be able to go into the sun. So the three girls begin collecting items for the “sun bag” which will make it possible for Lila to dance in the sun. Finally, on the night of her birthday party, Lila and her family witness a miracle that helps Lila come to terms with her condition and realize “i’m [sic] really okay being a moon girl. there’s [sic] nothing wrong with moon girls.”


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Angela Johnson presents a strong picture of family loyalty and obligations in this novel. The youngest member of the family of four has a serious condition that affects the entire family in ways that require much sacrifice by all, but they have banded together to do what is necessary so that they all have happy, fulfilled lives. The strength of the family is on every page of Johnson’s story, to a fault. Lila’s older sister has been helping with her younger sister’s care for nine years. Now 18, Monk tirelessly bakes cookies with Lila, and takes her little sister with her into the city after dark when she goes to meet friends or when she does her “secret shopper” job. Lila’s mom home schools her since she is unable to go outside to attend regular school, and her dad builds her a special clubhouse to play in after dark. The family takes “night vacations” and plans night birthday parties, inviting the whole neighborhood. There is no sign of struggle or frustration on the part of any of the family members, especially the teenage daughter. The family is too perfect; the relationships are unrealistic. However, the fantasy of a family who has and continues to deal with a devastating, degenerative disease without conflict is a happy fantasy to enter into, even though the reader will be conscious of the flaw in the story.

It is also difficult to discern what is real and what is fantasy in the story. One begins to think that Lila’s friends Alyssa and Elizabeth are make-believe, but it’s difficult to tell for sure when Lila seems to spot them on one of her secret shopping trips with Monk. When new friend Jackie enters the story, again the reader finds some confusion as to whether she is real. Finally, when the reader gets to the scene where Lila gets her opportunity to dance in the light while covered in fireflies, he may wonder if this is real or another fantasy. I found it hard to remain comfortable with fantasy versus reality throughout the story.

Johnson uses unconventional sentence structure – she does not use any capital letters. Punctuation is grammatically correct, so reading fluency is not an issue. The language is simple and flowing and pages contain lots of “white space.” Lines are widely spaced and margins are wide. Adult readers will find that they can read this novel in an hour or two, while younger readers will find this small book less intimidating than some.

Angela Johnson is a three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner for her novels Toning the Sweep, Heaven, and The First Part Last.


4. REVIEW EXCERPT

*Publishers Weekly: “Johnson raises intriguing themes of the supernatural, the lure of nighttime and the heroine's yearning for the sun, but despite her lyrical language, fantasy and reality elements sit uneasily together in her latest novel.”

*School Library Journal: “The writing is lyrical and fluid, and uses no capitalization, but captures a child's feelings. "i feel like i've been eight for practically a hundred years. if i stay eight any longer, i will have gray hair when i turn nine." This small, poetic book requires a special reader, but those who meet Lila are likely to remember her.”

*CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center): “Angela Johnson's memorable first-person narrative captures the complexities and maturity of a child who has had to acknowledge her own mortality, and then go on with living.”

*Kirkus: “Poignant, evocative, and as lingering as sunburn, Lila's story is one of courage, hope, and dreams.”


5. CONNECTIONS

• A Cool Moonlight would make a good read aloud. Its length would make it manageable in a fairly short amount of time, and the topics (family ties, illness, friendship, imaginary friends) which could be discussed in an interactive read aloud would interest students of all ages.

• Although Lila has a debilitating disease that prevents her from interacting with children her own age through the usual channels, she has friends and neighbors her age who interact with her as they would with a “normal” child. Discussing how David and Jackie are Lila’s friends as the story progresses, and comparing those relationships to relationships students may have at their school or in their neighborhood can help children think about how to treat those who are different.

• Students, especially older elementary writers, may enjoy playing with conventions such as not using capitals. Why did Johnson choose to write without capitalization? Experimenting with other unconventional ways of writing will help them see that professional writers deliberately choose to “make mistakes,” but that they do not affect the reader’s ability to understand. What happens when the writer does not use periods, writes sentence fragments, leaves out quotation marks in conversation, etc.? Is the writing still comprehensible? Can it add to the power and interest of the writing?