Thursday, June 19, 2008

Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson



1. Bibliography:
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2004. Behind You. New York: G. P. Putman's Sons. ISBN 0-399-23988-X.
2. Plot summary:
Fifteen-year-old Jeremiah Roselind, Miah to his friends and family, is dead; shot in the back by a policeman while running through Central Park; on his way home from seeing his girlfriend Ellie. However, Miah is not gone. His spirit lingers, trying to find a way to relieve the pain, anguish, hurt, and feelings of hatred and anger his death has left behind; his girlfriend Ellie, a white girl whose parents did not approve of her relationship with a black boy, his mother Nelia and his father Norman, separated from each other and dealing with the pain of losing their only son, his basketball teammate Kennedy, angry and blaming the fear and ignorance of white people for his friend's death, and Carlton who has lost the only friend who knew he was gay and accepted him. Can Miah, in death, ease the pain of the people he loved and bring them together so they do not grieve alone?
3. Critical analysis:
Woodson's story deals not so much with a single culture as it presents the reader with a group of people from many different cultures; all individually linked to Miah and brought together by his death. Ellie, Kennedy, and Carlton attend the same prep school as Miah; they are all wealthy except Kennedy who attends Percy Prep on a basketball scholarship. Kennedy speaks in a black dialect. Angry at losing their first basketball game after Miah's death Kennedy lets loose, "even if Miah's dead, that ain't no reason to get your booty slammed...show a dead brother some respect...don't be just straight up losing like that." Acknowledging that he comes from a poor neighborhood he points out that teen pregnancy and dropping out, "goes on where I live, but it be going on where everybody else be living too." What Kennedy eventually discovers however, is that he, the scholarship kid, is not the only outsider. They are all outsiders; Ellie, because she is a white girl dating a black boy against her parents wishes, Carlton because he is gay, and Miah the black kid with a famous father. They blunder around trying to find a way to communicate with each other; Kennedy angry at Miah's death and the racism that caused it, Ellie wanting to be close to Kennedy because he reminds her of Miah, yet afraid to get too close for fear of what her parents will say about her relationship with another African-American boy, and Carlton needing friends but afraid of the reaction he might get if he admits to anyone else that he is gay. Through it all Woodson reminds us we are really all the same underneath. Our skin may be different colors, we may have sexual preferences outside the mainstream, we may not be the person our parents want us to be, but we all want to belong, we all want to be accepted for who we are, and we all want to have friends we can talk to. Teens will identify with and understand Ellie, Kennedy, and Carlton as they all struggle with the pain of loss, the emptiness of being the outsider, and the need to belong.
4. Review excerpts:
Library Journal: "Grade 8-10–In this poignant, stand-alone sequel to the wrenching romance, If You Come Softly (Putnam, 1998), Woodson's characters are dealing with grief and picking up the pieces of their lives after the death of 15-year-old Jeremiah (Miah) Roselind. The impact of their loss is revealed through the alternating voices of his white girlfriend, Ellie; basketball teammate, Kennedy; childhood friend, Carlton; and his separated parents. With tenderness and compassion, the author exposes the characters' vulnerabilities and offers the hope that they will emerge and grow from this tragic loss. Readers who savor tough reality stories as much as happy endings will appreciate this thought-provoking, satisfying novel that offers hope but no easy answers."
Booklist: "Gr. 7-12. "Even if you turn your back on the world you left, you're still pulled toward it, you're still turning around--always--to look behind you. To make sure everyone's o.k.," says teenage Jeremiah, who first appeared in Woodson's If You Come Softly (1998). In this moving sequel, Jeremiah is dead, killed by New York City police bullets. Jeremiah watches over the people he has left behind--his girlfriend, Ellie; his friends; his divorced parents--as each struggles through grief and tries to "keep doing what the living do," ultimately finding new connections with one another and themselves. Still, Woodson writes with impressive poetry about race, love, death, and what grief feels like--the things that "snap the heart"--and her characters' open strength and wary optimism will resonate with many teens."
5. Connections:
Reader's advisory suggestions for library user's who enjoyed Behind You:
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Hush by Jacqueline Woodson
Afterlife by Gary Soto

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me by Ann Grifalconi, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney


1. Bibliography:
Grifalconi, Ann. 2007. Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-07868-1857-0.
2. Plot Summary:
Waving hello to everyone he passes an elderly African-American man, a former slave, walks with his granddaughter to the apple orchard he planted himself; from seeds he saved as a young man, " to keep myself believing that when the great day of freedom came, I could plant 'em in my own soil, on my own farm." Wondering aloud how her grandpa can know so many people he replies that he "don't know 'em by name-just by heart" and explains that he came by his philosophy of knowing no strangers when he, his wife, and baby daughter, on the run from slavery, were fed, sheltered and directed to the route of the Underground Railroad by a white man who saw, not color, but people with a hungry baby who needed help.
3. Critical analysis:
Based on a true story, author Ann Grifalconi's narrative presents a story of desperation, fear, and the kindness of strangers. Brought to life by Jerry Pinkney's beautiful, full-page water color illustrations; the brown, gray, and dirty-yellow depictions from the past of the man, his wife, their baby, and the stranger who helped them, their faces etched with fear and desperation as they travel by night through unknown territory, alternate with the joyous ganddaughter and her smiling grandfather as they stroll down country lanes lined with green meadows and dotted with fat, black-and-white spotted cows, yellow and orange wild flowers and, upon reaching their destination, a riotous profusion of pink, rose, and white apple blossoms.

Pinkney's illustration incorporate many cultural markers. In the escape flashbacks the brown skin and broad noses show clearly the African lineage of the runaway slaves. The distrust and worry in the eyes of the man and woman indicate how very hard it is for them to believe any white person would help them even as the Quaker man, his beard and flat-brimmed hat delineating his culture too, helps to paddle the boat across "the river to freedom". The man and woman's patched and shabby clothing indicate their poverty; in sharp contrast to the future when the elderly man, clearly the same man from before only older and carefree, dressed in a tie, sweater vest, and suit walks contendly with his granddaughter; his long slender brown fingers gesturing to the peaceful, prosperity around him. And, as visual proof that running away was the right thing to do, his granddaughter; her hair in neat, multiple, black braids, her face a younger, mirror image of her grandmother, walks beside him, gazing at him with admiration as he tells his story.

4. Review excerpts:
School Library Journal: "Kindergarten-Grade 3–In this story set in the early 20th century, a young African-American narrator recalls a special moment shared with her grandfather. As the two walk together, Gran'pa greets passersby with warmth and friendliness. The source of his joy, of course, is freedom; that longing and fulfillment are made tangible through his explanation of the apple seeds he carried in his pocket while still a slave–and the orchard he owns now. He relates the story of his escape, with his wife and infant daughter, describing the kindness and safe passage shown to them by a white farmer, a member of the Underground Railroad. Later, as Gran'pa planted each seed in his own soil, he thought of someone who'd helped us on our way. Pinkney's signature pencil-and-watercolor earth tones serve well for the escape scenes; his palette lightens with an infusion of pink, and his style becomes looser and more impressionistic as the pair peer into the blossoms at the conclusion."
Booklist: "An exciting Underground Railroad escape is detailed in this handsome picture book, framed by the title's message of community and connection. A former slave takes his small granddaughter to his apple orchard, and when she asks how come he waves "hello" to everyone, he answers that he knows them not by name, but by heart. He talks to her of slavery times, when he carried apple seeds in his pocket and dreamed of planting them in his own soil. Then he escaped with his wife and baby (the grandchild's mama), and he describes how a brave white man, Quaker James Stanton, helped them cross the Ohio River to freedom. Pinkney's watercolor double-paged spreads contrast the sepia-toned gloom of slavery and hiding with the abundant light-filled apple orchard today."
5. Connections:
Good books to include in storytime with Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me:
The Other Side of the Fence by Jacqueline Woodson
Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Red Rose Box by Brenda Woods

1. Bibliography
Woods, Brenda. 2002. The Red Rose Box. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-399-23702-X.

2. Plot Summary
On her tenth birthday Leah Hopper receives a gift from her glamorous Aunt Olivia. Although she has never met her aunt, due to a falling out between Leah's mother and her Aunt Olivia before Leah was born, the gift, a beautiful traveling case covered with red roses, inspires a reconciliation. Leah, her sister Ruth, their mother and their grandmother travel from rural Louisiana to suburban California for a visit that will change Leah and Ruth's view of the world forever. In California there are no Jim Crow laws; no drinking from separate water fountains, no eating at separate restaurants, no sitting at the back of the bus. Leah wonders why anyone would choose to live in Louisiana when they could live in California and feel free. Leah wishes she never had to return to Louisiana, segregation, and the blatant racism that exists in the south. When tragedy strikes and her wish comes true; she learns too late that you should always be careful what you wish for.

3. Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers)
Leah and Ruth's story opens in rural Louisiana during
the 1950s when southern states used the Jim Crow laws to enforce segregation, perpetuate racism, and prevent African-Americans from achieving equality with whites. Careful to follow the rules aimed at maintaining the separation of the cultures; the girls' fear of accidentally crossing the line that keeps them in their place is palpable. In one telling encounter Leah and Ruth are walking with two young African-American boys, neighborhood friends and classmates Nathan and Micah, when two white men in a pickup truck drive past them; then stop and back up. The men call the children the "N" word and dare them to respond. "Nathan and Micah cowered, hunching their shoulders, the way colored boys had to when this kind of danger came around. Ruth and I looked straight down into the dust and we all kept walking. Fear walked with us. The man behind the wheel spat on the ground, laughed, and drove on...Micah stood up straight and whispered, "I woulda said somethin....Iwoulda but I don't wanna wind up hangin from no tree, burned to a crisp" (Woods, 21) The difference in the way of life when they arrive in California is eye-opening for Leah. "We drove past a movie theater but there was no colored entrance, and we passed shops and restaurants, where there were no Whites Only signs. I started to think about the word freedom" (Woods, 27).

Cultural markers are also evident in the descriptions and speech of the characters who, with a few exceptions, are African-American. Leah describes her Aunt Olivia as "the color of sweet praline (with) dark brown hair, pressed and perfect" (Woods, 27). Aunt Olivia's husband, Bill Chapel, remarks often and with pride about how nice it is to have "a house fulla beautiful colored women-folk" (Woods, 33). And though one has lived in Louisiana all her life under the thumb of Jim Crow and one has escaped to California and a life free from the harshest racism, both Leah and Ruth's mother and their Aunt Olivia are concerned that the girls use proper grammer, watch their manners, and keep their hair neat and pressed. The adults instill in the girls the importance of education and self-respect.

Food also plays an important part in Woods' description of life in an African-American family. Mealtimes include "collard greens, corn bread, every kind of gravy, red beans and rice, fried cabbage, catfish, bread pudding, oxtail soup, black-eyed peas and neck bones, grits, okra gumbo," (Woods, 36) and when money is tight; the occasional possum.

Leah and Ruth's story is a universal story of tragedy and triumph. The story of underdogs with the deck stacked against them who persevere against a system designed to make them fail. And through it all they maintain their culture and identity

4. Review Excerpts
Publishers Weekly: "Woods's moving first novel opens in sleepy Sulphur, La., in June 1953, when Leah receives a 10th birthday present from her estranged aunt in Los Angeles: a traveling case covered with red roses. The gift holds treasures the likes of which Leah has never seen: costume jewelry, a pink silk bed jacket ("like what rich white women wears b'fore bed at night," her grandmother tells Leah and her sister), pink satin slippers, nail polish, lipstick. A letter of apology from Leah's aunt to Leah's mother occasions a visit to L.A. with her mother, grandmother and younger sister, and Leah revels in the luxuries of her aunt's privileged world, a stark contrast to the subsistent lifestyle the child knows. Exposure to the freedom from segregation that exists south of the Mason-Dixon line also makes a dramatic impression on the heroine. Though the repetition of similar reflections occasionally slackens the pace of Woods's narrative, she creates some memorable characters, especially Leah, and probes historical events in a personal context that may open many readers' eyes. Ages 10-up."

School Library Journal: "Grade 4-6-Leah Hopper and her younger sister, Ruth, live in segregated rural Louisiana in the early 1950s. For her 10th birthday, the older girl receives a traveling case-a "red rose box"-from her mother's wealthy sister. Among other treasures, it contains train tickets for a family visit in Los Angeles. A long-lasting rift between Aunt Olivia and the children's mother is finally mended during the reunion. In L.A. there is no sign of the racial prejudice that the Hoppers are so accustomed to as a black family in the South, and the girls reluctantly return home. This is a bittersweet story with good descriptions of settings; a skillful use of figurative language; and well-realized, believable characters. Ruth is the embodiment of a sassy eight-year-old and the adults are genuine, loving, and supportive."

5. Connections
Reader's Advisory suggestions for those who enjoyed The Red Rose Box:
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Francie by Karen English
Heaven by Angela Johnson