A. Provide all APA bibliographic information
B. Review:
Please write an engaging book review. Evaluate it in terms of multicultural issues and criteria and address the credibility of the author. Consider your personal response to the book. Make text to text, text to life connections. Discuss its literary and visual qualities and give an example of a golden line or visual/formatting element that contributes to its quality. Bring in reviews of it where applicable. Consider for whom is the book intended and how might it fit into teaching that audience. Provide examples to support what you say.
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Rosa by Nikki Giovanni - Book Review
ReplyDeleteThe text Rosa by Nikki Giovanni is a soft retelling of Rosa Park’s bus story in Montgomery, Alabama. Giovanni begins by capturing Rosa as a devoted mother, daughter, and experienced seamstress. The story captures Rosa on a typical working day around Christmas time. Rosa is working late one December evening because of the holiday demand. After working along day, Rosa heads home to begin preparing a meatloaf dinner for her husband and to tend to her ailing mother.
As she leaves work, Rosa decides to ride the public bus home. What starts off as a quiet bus ride soon ends up being a loud and frightful event that changes the history of our nation. Rosa is asked by a white bus driver to give up her seat, however Rosa being tired of the colored injustice stands up for herself. Respectfully, Rosa asks, “Why do you pick on us?” The bus driver threatens to call the police and Rosa responds with a calm and even toned voice, “Do what you must”. At this point, it is evident that Rosa is nervous so she begins to reminisce about her grandmother and mother. She gathers up the strength and says “No” to the injustice and the cruelty. This “no” rings loudly. People across the nation begin to respond to this peaceful protest. Different organizations (the NAACP, the Women’s Political Council along with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.) agree to stay off the buses. A year later Rosa Parks “no” becomes a “yes”. On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States of America votes that segregation on buses is illegal.
In this non-fiction historical text, Nikki Giovanni depicts a very dark time with a sense of hope and calmness. Her soft-spoken word leaves the reader with strong feelings of admiration for Parks. Rosa is portrayed as a positive role model and someone who takes leadership with dignity and with a non -violent approach. It left me with a sense of hope and peace. Through the retelling, Giovanni is true to the time. She blends Rosa’s story with rich informational details. Giovanni incorporates the history concerning the Supreme Court, Emmett Till and others. She also allows the reader to understand the events of the bus ride by describing how many black Americans stepped off the bus because of fear while others refused to be submissive to the injustices of color. The text is very powerful because the soft tone truly emulates the protests of non-violence.
The illustrations in this text are breath taking. Bryan Collier truly depicted the look and feeling that he sought. His goal was to illustrate the heat of the south and to show the uneasiness of that time period. Many of the illustrations gave the reader deep emotions of restlessness and nervousness. For example, when Rosa Parks was holding on tight to her bags and building up the courage to say “no”, I could actually feel her fear and nervousness. The illustration of the bus driver leaning over Rosa was a bit disturbing. It truly gave the image of how many white people tried to be controlling over black Americans. I truly loved how this award -winning artist portrayed such passionate and warm pictures in such a dark time in American history. The combination of watercolors and collage were stunning.
ReplyDeleteThis text lends itself to many themes. A few of the themes could be the following: Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Movement, 14th Amendment, Prejudice, Courage, Families, and Communities. It is a book that does a great job of retelling the events of Rosa Parks’ story and how her one non-violent action changes American history. As an educator, it is important to share with young readers the importance of using words. The goal is always to solve problems without violence. I believe that this text is quite appropriate for grades one through four.
It is quite evident that this book is very authentic to its time and to the people who suffered so many injustices during the civil rights movement. It truly deserves the acquired recognitions: 1.) The Child Magazine's Best Children's Book of the Year, Oct. 2005 three on New York Times bestseller list. 12 Feb. 2006. 4.) A Caldecott Honor Book. And 5.) The Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration.
Sorry there were a few errors on the last sentence to my review.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite evident that this book is very authentic to its time and to the people who suffered so many injustices during the civil rights movement. It truly deserves the acquired recognitions: 1.) The Child Magazine's Best Children's Book of the Year, Oct. 2005 2.) Number three on New York Times bestseller list. 12 Feb. 2006. 3.) A Caldecott Honor Book. and 4.) The Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrations.
Megan Leonard
ReplyDeleteReading 667
Picture Book Review
Title: Rosa
Author: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Copyright: 2005
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
The picture book that I chose to highlight African American culture is Rosa which was written in 2005 by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier. This book is a Caldecott Honor book, has won the Coretta Scott King Award, and is also found on the 2006 list of Notable Books for a Global Society. A Caldecott Honor is awarded to runner ups for the Caldecott Medal which is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in English in the United States during the preceding year. A Coretta Scott King Award recognizes African American illustrators and authors whose books must revolve around the African American experience, and be written for an audience of high school students or below. Winning titles that appear on the Notable Books for a Global Society List include fiction, nonfiction, and poetry written for students in grades K-12 that enhance the understanding of different cultures around the world. These awards help to show that this picture book is a worthy piece of multicultural literature.
Rosa focuses upon the specific events on December 1, 1955 that lead to Rosa Parks’ arrest when she refuses to leave her seat on a public bus and continues on with the Montgomery bus boycott that comes as a result from her arrest. Rosa begins her day thinking about her wonderful family, feeling happy that her ailing mother is getting better from the flu, and is excited that she gets to leave her job as a seamstress early to go home to prepare a special meal for her husband. This meal will never be. As she travels home, she sits in a “neutral seat” on a public bus and is ordered to leave her seat by the bus driver. As Rosa thinks about all the social injustices that she has witnessed and must experience each and every day, with quiet strength, she refuses to move. Rosa is arrested and with that, a nonviolent protest movement is born. The Women’s Political Council, NAACP, and churches work together and use Rev. Martin Luther King’s grace and powerful words to urge the public to withhold from riding public buses. As Martin Luther King professes in the book, “We will stay off the buses. We will walk until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Giovanni, 2005). Posters are hung, the community walks, and help and support are given each mile that is travelled. The story concludes with the Supreme Court of the United States ruling that segregation on buses is illegal.
Nikki Giovanni, the author of Rosa, is presently a professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. She considers herself "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English" (Giovanni, 2009, ¶1). Giovanni is well known around the globe! She is a children’s poet, writer, commentator, activist, strong force in African American community, educator, and is considered one of Oprah Winfrey's twenty-five "Living Legends" (Giovanni, 2009, ¶1). Her books for both adults and children have won many awards including: NAACP Image Awards, Governor's Awards from both Tennessee and Virginia, the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry, and the Life Membership and Scroll from The National Council of Negro Women. She was also the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award. Giovanni took the time to include an Author’s Note at the beginning of Rosa which emphasizes her thoughts regarding Rosa Parks and her importance in history.
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ReplyDeleteBryan Collier, the creator of the illustrations in Rosa visits with students, librarians, and teachers in schools and has won the Coretta Scott King Award as well as a Caldecott Honor. He is a well-known African American illustrator and painter and has developed his own style using watercolors and collage together. For twelve years, he was a program director in the Harlem Horizon Studio and Harlem Hospital Center with a program that provides working space and materials for self-taught artists in the community and he still volunteers there today (Collier, 2002, ¶5). He is a well respected African American and believes himself to be a responsible role model for children. Collier also took the time to create an Illustrator’s Note in Rosa explaining his use of colors and illustrations in the picture book. In order to capture the essence of Montgomery, Alabama in this book, he researched and visited Montgomery and Selma. He explains in his note that the heat was something that affected him a great deal on his trip, so he tried to incorporate this feeling into the illustrations by using a yellow hue. Collier also describes the light he created emanating from Rosa Parks in order to allow the reader to feel that heat, foreshadowing, and spirit of Rosa Parks in the book through his pictures.
This picture book is rich in cultural details. Both the illustrator and author put a lot of thought into their specific parts of Rosa. What was mentioned in the writing portion is mostly correct and helped to set the scene of the time period and importance of this moment in history. For instance, in the story, correct facts were mentioned such as Rosa Parks was a seamstress, she was arrested on December 1, 1955, the importance of the ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education was referred to, African Americans had to sit in sections that were for blacks or deemed “neutral,” Emmet Till’s funeral details were in her mind, there was a bus boycott which was a nonviolent movement, the Supreme Court ruled November 13, 1956 that segregation on buses was illegal, etc. Also, the information that is portrayed in the illustrations is accurate. “King” was written on a page on a newspaper on the kitchen table, the name “Emmett Till” was featured on a newspaper page, “White Entrance” was written on a store front window, posters saying “Stay Off the Buses,” “No Riders Today,” and “Support Mrs. Parks” were shown, and Rev. Martin Luther King’s back was shown as he made a speech. I researched each of these details that were written and illustrated and they are true to the time period when Rosa Parks’ arrest led to a bus boycott (1955-1956). These extra details helped to make the book more powerful and true to the time period and struggle that was happening at that time in history. The only fact I found that was not shown absolutely correctly was because part of the information was left out. Although it was true that Women’s Political Council played a huge role in developing the bus boycott, Rosa made it seem as though they were the ones to come up with the idea for the boycott on their own first. A pivotal person, named E. D. Dixon, helped begin the Montgomery bus boycott was left out of the book which could possibly have happened because his involvement began when he helped post her bail and those particular details revolving around Parks after her arrest were not included in Rosa.
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ReplyDeleteThe Montgomery bus boycott was actually created as more of a collaborative effort between Jo Ann Robinson (part of the Women’s Political Council that was mentioned in Rosa) and E. D Dixon (president of NAACP) and then they were joined by several groups and people to plan and orchestrate the boycott that were mentioned later in the book (NAACP and reverends in churches). I would have also liked to have seen in the front or back of the book some information regarding some of these important things mentioned in the picture book. The author did reveal facts and slipped in some important details for what she was talking about in Rosa to the reader, but I think it would have been nice to see further explanations and a list of books and websites to explore about these issues that were mentioned in the story. For example, although it was mentioned Emmett Till, a 14 year old boy in Money, Mississippi was lynched and more than one hundred thousand people came to his funeral where his mother left his casket open, it would be nice for readers to further their understanding about this situation and its importance to the Civil Rights Movement. Allowing a reader to learn more after reading this book would have added to its message and purpose.
Although I found the facts to be accurate, I was surprised that there was not mention of any books that were used as resources in a bibliography that Giovanni used to write the book. There is a lot of information and data that is included about Parks’ experience and the bus boycott, but there was no mention as to where the information came from and there were actually little poetic words and style of the author that comes through. Because so many facts are mentioned, little author’s craft is heard and leaves the book feeling less personal and more like a history book to me. The illustrations are what ends up popping up as connecting with the reader. The illustrations stand out and capture the reader. The colors and glows in the illustrations that the Collier spoke of creating ring true and they do not portray any stereotypes and represent the time period well (ex. clothes, styles, transportation, etc.). The African Americans that are illustrated do not all look the same or have all of the same features. Even though most of the characters shown are all African American, they look unique to each other and even have different tones to their skin coloring. It was also a good choice of the illustrator to create a large illustration that folds out at the end of the book to show how many people supported Parks and marched in support of the bus boycott. That was very powerful.
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ReplyDeleteThis book is authentic. Even though Rosa is based on a true story, it depicts the no cultural dominate group coming into the story to “save the day.” In fact, it is the group that is considered a “minority” that comes together to fight for Civil Rights in a nonviolent way – African Americans. It is decided in the book, with the help and cooperation of the Women’s Political Council, the NAACP, and all the churches that Rev. Martin Luther King will help spread the message that boycotting buses in a good reaction to fight this injustice. African American women worked together to create posters to urge African Americans to take a stand and not ride any buses. African Americans of different status groups were mentioned and portrayed in the book as well. Everyone was not deemed only poor, only middleclass, or only rich. In fact people who had many different jobs and roles were mentioned. The author used seamstresses, barbers, NAACP members, mothers, fathers, professors, and even reverends to send a message in her book. Because mostly African Americans are featured in the book, there is a sense of community and unity with this specific cultural group. An awareness of their specific culture norms, traditions, and customs are not highlighted a great deal, but the idea of community, working together, groups that were formed to support this cultural group (ex. NAACP, etc.), nonviolent protests, and Rev. Martin Luther King as an important figurehead are obvious. The only thing that is important to mention is that except for the bus driver’s opinions and orders for Rosa Parks to leave the neutral section of the bus and a police officer asking her to leave the bus, there are no opinions or thoughts regarding this situation from white people or other cultures mentioned. They have no voice in this particular picture book.
Important facts and issues are not sugar coated, but brought to the forefront of this book. This book revolves around Rosa Park and African Americans to make a point. It is important to share this historic moment in history that led to the bus boycott to educate and share injustices with the reader. The author has Rosa Parks thinking about “colored” entrances, drinking fountains, balconies, and taxis. “Separate but equal” is spoken and the author even has a police officer calling Rosa Parks “Auntie” to show the disrespect African Americans had to face. Giovanni even mentions the brutal murder of Emmett Till to display the horrors of discrimination. Collier illustrated several pictures showing inequality and the reader is subjected to a very powerful illustration both on the cover and in the book of the white bus driver speaking down to Rosa Parks and ordering her to give up her seat. The severity of the social injustices of the time are highlighted by both words and pictures. The only thing that the book did leave me wondering a bit was what happened to Rosa Parks after her arrest…as soon as Giovanni had a police officer ask Rosa Parks if she was going to move, the story moves away from focusing in on Rosa Parks’ personal experience and shifts to the result of her arrest. The book become less “personal” and moves to be more “national.” The bus boycott and Supreme Court Decision regarding bus segregation is important, but the author took the time at the beginning of the book for the reader to develop a bond with Rosa Parks and then the book takes a turn away from her – leaving the reader to feel a bit disconnected. I find that a bit strange too because after researching, I did find out that Giovanni knew Rosa Parks personally and spoke with her when writing this book, so I am surprised more Parks’ personal story after the arrest wasn’t mentioned and this relationship between Parks and Giovanni wasn’t mentioned at the beginning or end of this book in a note.
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ReplyDeleteThe way this book is written and illustrated, it invites the reader to have an opinion, be angry and sad, ask questions, have discussions, talk about what was learned, and add to their background knowledge about the Civil Rights Movement by reading other books about Rosa Parks, Emmett Till, the Civil Rights Movement, Brown vs. The Board of Education, discrimination, the Montgomery bus boycott, etc. Reflection is necessary and it would be a good support tool to use in a classroom with students as a read aloud, book club, historical fiction reference, social issues example, biography lesson, etc. The reader can reflect on what was learned, issues that were highlighted, and his or her thoughts regarding what was displayed in the book inwardly and with others. I do not think there was a specific language or style with this book. It is pretty straight forward and educates the reader about what happened to Rosa Parks while giving some background knowledge and mention of other issues that occurred or were occurring during that time. I am actually surprised that the book was not more poetic because the author writes children’s poetry and has won awards for her poems. I did how ever like how she slipped in pieces of information and what they meant to history at the time. For example, she briefly what the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision was for the reader. It was not just mentioned or left a person reading the book without knowledge of that court decision clueless. That is helpful for the reader.
After reading Rosa and writing my review, I did take the time to look at what other readers thought about this picture book. Many of the reflections seemed to be about the same. Readers felt that they were able to connect more with the illustrations rather than the words in Rosa. They felt that his artwork spoke more to them than the actual words did. They also felt as I did that a connection is made with Parks in the beginning of the book and then it is lost once she is arrested and the books moves to talk more about the nonviolent act of the bus boycott. One reviewer also pointed out that since Rosa Park’s release from jail is overlooked in the book, many readers who are children may think that she is still in jail today. I totally agree! If a child has little background knowledge regarding Rosa Parks, he or she may make this incorrect assumption. This same reviewer points out that the women who contributed to the Civil Rights Movement in this picture book think about and tend to their husbands and families great deal. It was mentioned several times in Rosa that Parks or women cooked for their husbands, cleaned up, put kids to bed, etc., but this aspect didn’t stick out to me as I read the book as a negative or a strange thing to include in this book. If anything, I think that those things were very timely during that period in history. That is what women/mothers/wives did in the 1950’s. Other reviewers felt that this was a kid friendly book, good for Black History Month, would help to build awareness in children regarding social injustices, and included good information for learning about this event. I agree with these remarks, except that I would not just save this book for Black History Month. It is a good resource to use in the classroom beyond that one month. It was helpful to read others’ thoughts regarding Rosa after I developed my own thoughts and opinions about its worth as a multicultural book.
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ReplyDeleteResources:
Association for Library Service to Children. (2009). Randolph Caldecott Medal: Terms
and Criteria. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awards grants/ bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottterms/caldecottterms.cfm
Collier, B. (2002). Bryan Collier. Retrieved from http://www.bryancollier.com/
Coretta Scott King Award. (2009). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Coretta_Scott_King_Award
Cozzens, L. (1997). The Montgomery Bus Boycott. Retrieved from http://www.watson.org /~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/montbus.html
Giovanni, N. (2009). Nikki Giovanni: Bio. Retrieved from http://nikki-giovanni. com/bio.shtml
Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Scholastic Inc.
Hare, K. (2005). They changed the world: The story of the montgomery bus boycott. Montgomery Advisor. Retrieved from http://www.montgomeryboycott. com/article_ overview.htm
IRA (2007). Notable Books for a Global Society. Retrieved from http://www.csulb. edu/org/childrens-lit/proj/nbgs/intro-nbgs.html
Turner, T. (2009.) Rosa: Book review. Bella Online: The Voice of Women. Retrieved from http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art21186.asp
Resources Also Used:
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnoble.com
Henry’s Freedom Box; written by Ellen Levine; Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
ReplyDeleteLevine, E. (2007) Henry’s freedom box. New York: Scholastic Inc.
Ellen Levine's books have won many awards and honors, including the Jane Addams Peace Award.
Kadir Nelson is an acclaimed artist, and he has received the Caldecott Award for his remarkable illustrations in this story. He has also won the Coretta Scott King Award and the NAACP Image Award. Kadir Nelson’s illustrations in this story are extraordinary. It is remarkable how Nelson captures both the sensitivity in the scenes between Henry and his mother and the harsh devastation Henry experiences when twice he loses his family.
Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine is a true story of an African American slave named Henry Brown who escaped slavery by mailing himself in a crate to Philadelphia.
Henry Brown was born a slave. He lived with his family and worked in his master’s house with his brothers and sisters. At an early age, however, Henry was torn from his family and was sent to work in a factory. Henry was a good worker. After several years, he met another slave named Nancy and they began dating. Eventually Henry and Nancy were allowed by their masters to be married. They had three children and were able to live together even though they had different masters. As time went by Nancy became worried about their children. Her Master had lost money and she feared he would sell the children. One day, Henry and Nancy’s fears were realized when Henry was told at work that his wife and children were being sold off at a slave market. He was unable to go to them, but at lunch he ran to the town square where he saw them being carted away. Henry became consumed with sadness because he knew he would never see his family again.
After this extreme hardship, Henry began thinking about a way to be free. He thought of a plan to ship himself to freedom. With the help of his friend, James, and Dr. Smith, a white man who was part of the Underground Railroad; Henry was able to ship himself to Philadelphia. He sat cramped and silent, and sometimes upside down, in a crate for 27 hours with only some water and a few crackers to eat. Eventually he made it to freedom in Philadelphia.
The main character, Henry, is portrayed as a boy/man who has been deprived of basic human rights, as was common for slaves. Despite the suffering he faces, Henry is able to find a way to overcome these hardships by formulating a plan to find freedom. He is a remarkable hero and inspiration to all who read this story.
ReplyDeleteEllen Levine includes tender moments between Henry and his mother as well as harsh moments when they are torn apart. One scene shows Henry tucked in his mother’s arms as she looks up at leaves swirling to the ground. She comments to Henry that the leaves are “torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families.” It is through phrases like these that Ms. Levine reveals the horrors of slavery. She also incorporates moments of harsh treatment toward slaves such as when Henry watches his wife and children being carted away after being sold. In addition, Ms. Levine includes compassionate treatment by members of the Underground Railroad.
This story reminds me of another story I recently read called Two Tickets to Freedom by Florence Freedman. Both stories talk of families ripped apart because of family members being sold in slave markets. They both also address the determination and ingenuity slaves used to escape to freedom. Both stories talk of hardships, but focus on strong family connections and slave’s strong resolve to be free.
Ellen Levine’s portrayal of slavery during this time period is authentic yet is told in a way that is gentle enough for young children to hear. The remarkable illustrations and poignant storyline in Henry’s Freedom Box will send a powerful message to all who read it. I will be reading this to my sixth graders as it fits in perfectly with involuntary immigration that they will be studying soon. I think children as young as first grade would be able to understand this story as well.
Coretta Scott King Award. (2009). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Coretta_Scott_King_Award
Freedman, F. (1971) Two tickets to freedom. New York: Scholastic Inc.
www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.cfm
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnoble.com
Book-I Lost My Tooth in Africa
ReplyDeleteBy: Penda Kiakite
Illustrated by: Baba Wague Diakite
Copyright date: 2006
Scholastic Press 557 Broadway, NY, NY 10012
Printed in Singapore
My book is actually a non-fiction title, as the author, Penda Kiakite, was only 12 years old when she wrote it. She revolved her story around her younger sister's loss of a tooth while they were visiting family in Mali, which is on the west coast of Africa. She and her family would travel often from Portland, Oregon, her new home, to Mali, where they also had family. The book's illustrations are lush and expertly detailed, as the author truly captures the country and customs throughout.
The plot of the story revolves around Amina (the author's younger sister)dilemma with her loose tooth. In Mali, if she were to lost it there, would receive a chicken if the lost tooth was placed under a gourd. As the story goes on, we see the various aspects of the culture, with the comraderie of the extended family that is visibly apparent, the oral traditions that seem to be taken place at night, and the respect afforded the elder members of the family. Amina gets slowly discouraged, however, when her chicken gift is not awarded to her after some time, but eventually, as with all good things that come to those who are patient, her rooster and hen is presented to her. Then she begins to learn responsibility as she feeds her fowl, builds a house for them, watches their progress, including some eggs that are laid, and then the hatching of those eggs. By the end, Amina doesn't want to leave because she wants to be able to see her rewards grow, but she will return, as is stated at the end.
I found a couple of websites that support the validity of both author and illustrator, of whom was a Coretta Scott King Honorbook Award for The Hunterman and the Crocodile, as well as nororiety for The Magic Courd. I think that this book is intended for the audience that is going through both the trauma and excitement of losing your first tooth and the differences as well as similarities that both our own and the one depicted in West Africa can be noted for. Both cultures play in to the mysticism of some sort of reward for the lost tooth, but the rewardds are different. In Mali, you recieve a chicken if you place the lost tooth under a gourd, but in America, usually the lost tooth is placed under a pillow in order for the tooth fairy to retrieve it from the sleeping donor, whereby leaving some sort of treasure, like loose change or if one was lucky enough, some candy.
ReplyDeleteThere is a great companion piece that I just read in my World Lit book, called Sundiata, a story of a three-to-seven year old African boy who refuses to stand upright. However, by the end of the story, due to his mother's displeasure and utter sadness over her son's unwillingness to becoming a man and walking on his feet to earn his kingdom, Sundiata does walk, and he becomes king. The moral of the story was that it wasn't Sundiata's fault entirely. Baba Wague Diakite, the illustrator proverb from Mali quotes a proverb from Mali, saying, "Raising a child is like planting a tree. When it is tended well, you will enjoy its shade." Sundiata wasn't going to be bullied into doing anything he didn't want to do. He marched, so to speak, to the beat of his own drum. It was those around him who needed a lesson in patience and acceptace of those who are different, two of the possible themes of the story.
There is a line in this book, where it says, "By evening, the world begins to quiet down." I think it's a nice image beccause it helps keep things in perspective in that I picture billions of people simply exhaling, or something, due to exhaustion, or stress, or whatever. I'm rambling. Anyway, that's my golden line.
Book: The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom
ReplyDeleteBy: Bettye Stroud
Illustrated by: Erin Suzanne Bennett
Copyright Date: 2005
Candlewik Press 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140
Printed in China
In this wonderful picture book, a ten-year-old girl named Hannah and her father were both slaves seeking freedom as they walked the path of the Underground Railroad. They used the code on a quilt that Hannah and her late mother sewed together to guide them north until they found freedom in Canada. The Patchwork Path was placed on the New York times best children’s book list in 2005 and was a Jane Adams Book Award Nominee, among many other distinguished honors.
The characters in this story were presented in an accurate and authentic way. Stroud showed that fear surged through them with each step, but they courageously trudged on because they could taste the sweet freedom that waited for them at the end of the journey. Also Hannah was portrayed as a problem solver. She took out the quilt a few times and used it to guide them in the right direction. Later in the book, a Quaker couple was accurately portrayed as they offered a safe place for Hannah and her father to rest and eat a meal.
The unfathomable hardships that slaves faced on plantations and the Underground Railroad were accurately portrayed in this book. At the beginning of the book, Hannah’s master sold her sister to another plantation and the family had to cope with this unimaginable situation. The book also mentioned that Hannah’s feet were so sore that she did not think she could go on and at times her stomach tightened with fear that she would be caught. These details accurately portray the mistreatment of slaves during this awful period in history.
Even though much of the history is accurate, many of the reviews questioned the accuracy of the book. The Patchwork Path is based on a story told orally to Jacqueline Tobin by African-American quilter Ozella McDaniel Williams. Leigh Fellner and some other historians, who have studied the Underground Railroad closely, question the accuracy of the story and the significance of the quilts. They argue that many slaves quilted on the Underground Railroad, but the quilts were not used as maps and codes. .
ReplyDeleteThis book provides ample opportunities for reflection, critical analysis and response. I feel like it could be used as early as first grade and also with any group of students studying the Underground Railroad. After studying the Underground Railroad, students could step into this story with Hannah and her father and get a stronger sense of the difficulties slaves faced. Students could also look to the characters in this book to see how bravery, cooperation and perseverance offer huge rewards at the end of any struggle. As I read this book, the saying “it takes a village” and the theme of cooperation continually moved me. The church members, the Quaker couple and the free black man, among others, selflessly risked their lives to help Hannah and her father reach freedom. This is the kind of collaboration I see with teachers and support staff helping students to be successful each day. Using this book and the dynamics of the environments in which we teach, I think we can help students to make this strong connections as well.
It was difficult to find information on the author and illustrator of this book. Bettye Stroud started her career as a media specialist who loved books and later became a children’s book author. It is clear that Stroud combines her African American heritage, love for books, upbringing in the south, and concerns that she hears as she listens to children to author powerful children’s books that will leave their marks on their readers.
The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom was beautifully illustrated. The vivid and detailed pictures captured the strong emotions of characters as they struggled to gain their freedom on the underground railroad. For example you can see the worry on the faces of Hannah and her farther as the left the plantation in a rainstorm. At the end of the book you can see the hope on their faces as they prepared to cross Lake Erie. I did not feel like the language and literary elements matched to the power of the story itself. There are few examples of metaphors, similes, personification and strong vocabulary. I think the use of these elements would have added to the story. Stroud did add background information at the end of the story that would be very helpful to children trying to understand the time period during which this book was set.
Resources:
http://bettyestroud.com/
http://www.ugrrquilt.hartcottagequilts.com/
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.embracingthechild.org/astroud.html