Posts Tagged historical fiction

Diversity in MG lit #5 Refugees

By on December 14, 2018   /   Book Lists, Diversity, For Librarians, For Teachers, New Releases  

I’ll start with a picture book, because MG readers still love them. ME AND MY FEAR by Francesca Sanna is the follow up to her deeply moving THE JOURNEY from last year. Sanna’s new book explores the territory of a newly arrived refugee who wants to get to know her new neighborhood but is held back by Fear–a marshmallow like creature who grows in response to the stress of navigating a new culture. This story felt so honest and real (in spite of the fanciful externalization of fear) I think it will make a great conversation starter.

From the team that created the Artimis Fowl graphic novels comes a book about the North African refugee experience. ILLEGAL by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin and illustrated by Giovanni Rigano is the story of two brothers who leave their small town in Ghana to find their older sister who has already traveled to Europe. The journey is a harrowing one and this is not a book for the tender-hearted reader. Still there is plenty of heart in young Ebo who tries to do the decent and kind thing in increasingly harsh environments. This book moves back and forth in time which I found a little distracting but the art is beautiful and the story is gripping.

REFUGEE by Alan Gratz is an ambitious story that weaves together the journeys of a German refugee in 1938, a Cuban refugee in 1994, and a Turkish refugee in 2015.  This story is well rooted in research but is not based on a the story of a particular refugee. The end matter contains detailed maps of each refugee’s journey and a detailed author note about what in the story is based on real persons or events. It contains suggestions for how to help refugees in your community and in the world. The author will be donating a portion of his proceeds to UNICEF for its relief efforts to refugee children world wide.

 

I’m going to call your attention to one more book which will be out in the first week of January in 2019. WE ARE DISPLACED: MY JOURNEY & STORIES FROM REFUGEE GIRLS AROUND THE WORLD is written by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. Did you know that there are more than 65 million displaced persons in the world? Yousafzai shares her own story and the stories of displaced girls like herself that she has met through her activist work all over the world, putting a human face on the refugee experience.

I have chosen to focus on new books in this collection but most public libraries have a resource list of books about the refugee experience for young readers. Here is a list, including older titles, from the New York Public Library,

As always if you have a favorite book for MG readers about the refugee experience, please chime in below. Thank you!

 

Back to Top

Diverse MG Lit #4 American Indian Books

By on November 16, 2018   /   Diversity  
November is traditionally the month of focus on American Indian history, and fortunately there is much to celebrate this year. It was my very great pleasure to hear many Indigenous authors and poets reading and discussing their work at the Portland Book Festival. One among them was Tommy Orange the author of the National Book Award nominee THERE, THERE. It’s not a book designed for the MG audience but it is within reach of strong readers who are looking for hard-hitting contemporary realism. I think many seventh and eighth grade readers would find much to love. It is the intertwined story of twelve people on their way to a powwow in Oakland and offers plenty of ideas for the thoughtful reader to absorb and discuss.
It was also my great pleasure to hear a reading and discussion of their poetry from Trevino Brings Plenty, Laura Da’, and Layli Long Soldier. They are all three contributors to the anthology NEW POETS OF NATIVE NATIONS edited by Heid Erdrich. This is also a book published for the adult market. But of all adult writing I think poetry can be the most accessible to younger readers. Here is a snippet of example from a poem called Passive Voice by Laura Da’ a middle school teacher and Eastern Shawnee.

Passive Voice

Laura Da’

I use a trick to teach students
how to avoid passive voice.
Circle the verbs.
Imagine inserting “by zombies”
after each one.
Have the words been claimed
by the flesh-hungry undead?
if so, passive voice
This poem goes on and becomes even more searing and evocative with each line, talking about how the crimes of the past against indigenous people are usually reported in the passive voice. Now there’s a conversation I’d love to have in the classroom. I am beyond excited to read all the poems in this anthology and to follow the literary careers launched there.
On the more traditional side of MG publishing Joseph Bruchac has a new novel TWO ROADS. Much has been written about the abuses of the Indian Boarding Schools and it’s easy, if you don’t live in the west, to think that Indian boarding schools are a thing of the past. Although most of them closed 80 to 100 years ago, some operated much longer and under slightly reformed conditions. Bruchac’s story takes place in 1932 and is about a Creek Indian boy, Cal Black, and his father a WWI veteran who live a transient life. When the father decides to join a protest with other veterans in Washington to demand their wartime bonuses, he decides to leave his son at the Challagi Indian School in Oklahoma. The most brutal practices of the Indian schools are past at the time of this story, still there is much hardship to endure. Even so Cal learns about his own culture and gains the strength of knowing other young men of his tribe.  This resonates with the stories I have heard from elders who attended Indian schools in the 1930s and 40s. They found much hardship there, but they also found their voice as Native people and a community that would go on to become part of many of the movements, AIM and others, that lead to the recent pipeline protests. Two Roads is an important book and one that I hope will be widely read.
Also on the topic of Indian schools but originating in Canada is SPEAKING OUR TRUTH: A Journey of Reconciliation by Monique Gray Smith. It is a larger format, photo illustrated work of non-fiction about the journey of reconciliation addressing Canada’s past, present and future relationship with its First Nations People. Monique Gray Smith asks her readers to leave behind these attitudes
  • I’ve heard this all before
  • Reconciliation doesn’t involve me or my friends or my family
  • History isn’t important
  • I, as one person, can’t make a difference
She organizes her book according to Seven Sacred Teachings: Honesty, Respect, Love, Courage, Truth, Humility, and Wisdom. The book is packed with information. It’s a book to read slowly. Every few pages there is a spot illustration of a drum and an invitation to reflect. Definitions are placed on the page where the words first occur in addition to a glossary in the back. I thought the book would make me feel sad and ashamed but because so much of it is focused on things everyone can do now to make it better I felt much hope by the end. This book is rooted in Canadian history but the issues are so similar to American ones that I think you could use it in the US. But I’d love to see and American version of this concept too.
And finally I want to call attention to a group of picture book legends. Many teachers are looking for authentic indigenous legends to use in the curriculum and want to make sure they are using books of the best quality. I think when it comes to traditional tales, the way to get the authentic versions we are looking for is to have the tribes publish themselves. The Sealaska Heritage Institute does just this. Their award winning books are produced from start to finish by professional indigenous storytellers, world-class indigenous artists and indigenous publishers. They have an imprint called Baby Raven Reads which focuses on stories from the Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida traditions. There are many beautiful books in this imprint. I’m going to highlight Shanyaak’utlaax—Salmon Boy edited by Johnny Marks, Hans Chester, David Katzeek, Nora Dauenhauer and Richard Dauenhauer and illustrated by Michaela Goade. It is the Tlingit story of a boy who disrespects the salmon his mother gives him and is swept away into the ocean to meet the Salmon People. It is written in Lingít and English with a Lingít audio available on line. Michaela Goade is a Tlingit Raven from the Kiks.ádi clan of Sitka, Alaska. These books are not available through the normal channels but don’t be discouraged you can get them through Taku Graphics in Juneau, AK. Email Katrina Woolford at orders@takugraphics.com for more information. Learn more about Baby Raven Reads at www.sealaskaheritage.org.
If you have a favorite book with Native American characters, please share it in the comments.
Back to Top

Diversity in MG Lit #3 Hispanic American

By on October 15, 2018   /   Diversity  
October is Hispanic Heritage month and we are celebrating a bunch of new MG books featuring Latinx characters and authors
  • Charlie Hernández the league of shadows by Ryan Calejo
    • This debut novel is a fantasy adventure based in central American mythology. Charlie Hernández is a typical Miami middle schooler until his world is rocked by the loss of his home and parents. And then to make matters worse, he starts growing horns and feathers. In time he realizes that he is becoming a creature from his abuela’s stories and that like any other Morphling he’s got the fight of his life on his hands. Short chapters and heaps of action make this a good choice for a reluctant reader. This is Ryan Calejo’s first novel.
  • Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
    • Also set in Florida Merci Suárez is a contemporary 6th grader in a coming-of-age tale. Merci is a scholarship student at a private school and feels keenly her family’s lack of wealth even as she sees the treasure of living in a multigenerational household. This story sensitively addresses her grandfather’s Alzheimer’s disease. Meg Medina is prolific, writing picture books, chapter books, MG and YA novels. Her most recent Burn Baby Burn was long listed for the National Book Award in 2016 Meg Medina also has a story in the Ellen Oh’s short story collectionFlying Lessons.
  • Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya
    • This contemporary coming-of-age story focuses on a fourteen year old boy who is big for his age and something of a trouble magnet. His white mother decides to return to pre hurricane Maria Puerto Rico to find Marcus’s father and help Marcus gain some perspective and connection with his extended family. This is Pablo Cartaya’s second novel for MG readers.
  • The Crossroads by Alexandra Diaz
    • In her 2016 novel The Only Road Alexandra Diaz recounted the tribulations of migrants escaping gang violence in Guatemala. The Crossroads picks up the story for 12 year old Jaime and Angela as they adjust to life in the US.
  • Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older
    • This historical fantasy is set during the American civil war in an alternate history featuring dinosaurs as the domestic servants of men. It is set in the Colored Orphan Assylum and features a group of Cuban children who lived there. It also encompasses imagined events of the New York City draft riots. Short on history but long on heart and daring adventure, this story will appeal to alternate history fans and reluctant readers alike.
  • Dragon Slayer: Folk tales from Latin America by Jaime Hernandez
    • This collection of three folk tales is rendered in appealing graphic novel format giving a contemporary flare to traditional folk tales.
There are of course many other great books about the Latinex experience and by Latinex authors. I’ve chosen these because they are new with a publishing date of September or October of this year. If you have other favorites please mention them in the comments. Independent bookstores and libraries have always been the champions of new and diverse books so please consider rewarding that advocacy by getting your books in person or by mail from your local public library or independent bookstore. You can order ebooks and audio books from an independent bookstore too.
Back to Top