Living Up the Street - Gary Soto

            This novel is actually a compilation of short stories, which makes this an interesting choice to use in the classroom.  Many of these stories portray Soto's own coming of age in Fresno, California as a boy of Mexican descent.  Within these stories, he focuses on the hardships of various jobs in the working class community; from farms to factories.  There are many comparisons made between the cultural standards of the Latin population compared to those of European-American background. 

            In many of his stories, Soto explains the despair that comes with the lifestyle of the Mexican working conditions and the effects on his own childhood in response.  While Soto points out the shelter and attention the Anglo children are receiving, he contrasts this with the absence of his parents because of tough labor hours; he is then stuck with raising his younger brother while trying to raise himself simultaneously.  In one of the short stories "Looking for Work", Soto explains that he strongly desired to imitate the lifestyle of the television Anglo families, but to no avail.  The strong divide between the depictions of the two cultures is made clear, and by the later chapters that discuss his fears of growing up, Soto mentions that he is afraid of "dying a Mexican death", which entails arduous work without any opportunity to advance out of the difficult job.

            I believe this would be a great book to read with a class because the short story format could open up some great creative options in terms of literary circles.  The class could be divided into groups that would be responsible for one or two of the short stories, where they could do a creative project, or even act out the small scene that they had read from the book.  This format is also helpful for the students to see the narrator's development from story to story.  I found this book to be very intriguing and think it would be definitely effective to use in the classroom. 

The Cook's Family

The Cook’s Family

By: Laurence Yep

So, in this story, Robin, goes to Chinatown in San Francisco with her grandmother.  Robin is half American, half Chinese.  While in Chinatown they happen upon this Chinese restaurant where the head waiter asks them to pretend to be the cook’s family so that he stops drinking and gets back to cooking.  They agree and they go back a few times to keep pretending.  Robin tries to be a real Chinese daughter but her American-ness keeps getting in the way.  Her grandmother and the cook really hit it off but then his real daughter shows up and the romance is no more.  Meanwhile, at home, Robin is dealing with constantly fighting parents.  It ends with the parents trying to work things out by going to counseling and it’s generally a happy ending.

I’m not sure that I would recommend this book but I’m not sure that I wouldn’t recommend it.  The book deals with being bi-racial and the tensions that can cause in families, it brings in a bit of Chinese history, and brings up issues that Robin has with her weight (she’s a dancer.)  There was nothing really captivating or extremely teachable in it.  I would read it if you want to but there are other, better books out there.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie tells the story of Arnold Spirit, Jr., a fourteen year old Native American boy who lives on an Indian reservation.  Arnold Spirit, Jr, who typically goes by Junior, was born with too cerebrospinal fluid in his cranium.  Surviving against all odds, Junior goes on to live what one could hardly call a “normal” life.  His survival is marked by various physical oddities.  From a susceptibility to seizures to having way too many teeth, Junior is guilty of the early adolescent crime of being different from those around him.  In school, Junior is verbally and physically abused.  To cope with his status as an outcast, Junior draws cartoons which illustrate the book.    After getting suspended from the reservation school, Junior makes the controversial decision to attend the “white school” off the reservation.  Junior quickly discovers that he has simply gone from being an outcast in one community, to being an even bigger outcast at his new school.  However, Junior strives to overcome adversity and gain social acceptance at his new school.  As he becomes more involved in his life off of the reservation, he becomes alienated from his life and his only friend on the reservation.  Will Junior be able to establish his own identity and follow his own path?  Will he be able to mend the ties that have been broken back on the reservation?  Junior strives to understand who he is in this and where he belongs in this coming of age story. 

Despite the amusing cartoons, this novel is far from a light hearted read.  The content of the novel is dark to say the least.  Tragedy seems to strike the characters at every turn.  Poverty, racism, the abuse of alcohol, and gun violence are all present in this young adult novel.  Fortunately, Alexie’s protagonist’s witty narration softens the content of the novel making it palatable for younger audiences.  That said, I would recommend this book only to mature eighth grade students because of the mature content in the novel.

Baseball in April (and Other Short Stories)

 Baseball in April (and Other Short Stories) by Gary Soto

Through a collection of short stories, Gary Soto reveals some the big issues of every-day life for young adults. The Mexican-American author relates to the major concerns of adolescents, such as friendship, love, and growing up, that virtually every early teen experiences.  Whether it is a story of a boy with his first crush or a girl with a broken Barbie, Soto finds a way to connect with practically every young adult in this coming-of-age collection.

This is a book that I would highly recommend teaching in middle schools. Each story features a new theme relevant to students of that age and can be read in almost any class grade 6-8. Students at a lower reading level would be able to keep up with this text, but it is interesting enough to captivate the more advanced readers as well. Littered throughout the book are a variety of Spanish words that are catalogued in the back. Discussion of the text might encourage the participation of Spanish speaking students who are newer to the English language. This would not only provide additional opportunity for students to feel smart, but it would also expand the bilingual vocabulary of those who read it. 

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Annotation #3: Rules

Catherine, the protagonist in Cynthia Lord’s Rules, is a twelve year old on a mission to discover normalcy. Living with a brother with autism is not easy, so in an effort to keep David in line, Catherine starts writing rules in her sketchbook for him to remember. Catherine is also looking for a friend, hoping it will be the new neighbor next door. However, on her quest for true friendship, she also meets Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses pictures to communicate. As Catherine discovers the ins and outs of ‘normalcy’ and rules, she realizes that behavior rules, like “don’t put toys in the fish tank” and “don’t take off your pants unless mom or dad or the doctor tells you to” mean nothing next to the acceptance of others.

The book in itself might be good for a group of students at reading level in a sixth grade class, but might be too elementary for an older student, say seventh or eighth grade, who is at reading level.  The book also has excellent vocabulary words and an interesting story pattern. The writing style of the text was also conversational and interesting, although seemed elementary at times. I think the rules would be an interesting thing to incorporate into an activity with students where they could create their own life rules. Catherine also keeps a sketchbook with drawings and other notes, which could make for an interesting activity as well. The author of the book, Cynthia Lord, speaks from experience because her son has autism. I think this makes her an extremely reliable source on what living with a child with autism is actually like. I think this would make a great choice if you’re looking to diversify the topics your students are reading about. Although I felt the ending fell kind of flat, I think it’s a good book for students to dive into and could really help them understand a different kind of lifestyle. 

Baseball in April: An excellent book about much more than baseball!

Baseball in April, and other stories by Gary Soto. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, Copyright 1990.

Baseball in April is a collection of eleven short stories that document the lives of Mexican-American youth in Fresno, California. The stories are entirely separate, although they are linked through their common setting and common themes, such as the feeling of insecurity regarding one’s impoverished social position. All of the stories focus on middle-school age children and their struggles, their emotions, and their daily experiences as they transcend the frequently-awkward years of early adolescence. For example, in “Broken Chain,” Alfonso feels embarrassed about his physical appearance, leading him to purchase new clothing, to get a radical haircut, and to spend hours pushing on his teeth in an attempt to make them less crooked. He does all of this with the hope of impressing a girl, which is a daunting task for a seventh-grade boy. In “Mother and Daughter,” Yollie is upset because her mother cannot afford to buy her a new dress for the school dance; she becomes even more upset when the dyed dress that her mother makes for her begins to lose its color in the rain. These are just two of the stories in the book; the other stories capture various other aspects of the lives of middle school children.

            Given that this book describes the lives of middle school children, it is incredibly relevant to middle school readers. Any classroom of middle school students reading this book will certainly have students in the class who have experienced at least some of the themes and conflicts present in these stories, and it is quite possible that for every story, there will be at least one student in the class who will be able to relate to it through an experience of his or her own. The stories explore budding romance, insecurity about physical appearance, conflict with siblings and parents, fear about trying new things, frustrations with one’s sense of maturity that others do not seem to understand, and guilt associated with deceit, among other themes that would make for excellent classroom discussions. This book would be a great book to teach; although it’s characters are poor Mexican-American youth, many of the short stories deal with themes (such as romance and guilt) that would be relevant to any race and any socioeconomic level. The book is easy to read, and the stories are rarely longer than ten pages, meaning that they could be read in class in literature circles and could be followed by writing or acting activities, all within one class period. There are instances of Spanish language in the book, but the Spanish words are generally either paraphrased in English immediately following the Spanish, or they are discernable through context clues. If not, Gary Soto has included a handy dictionary at the end of the book for translation purposes. Overall, this would make for an excellent book to study, either as a class or individually, in a middle school classroom. 

How Tía Lola Came to Stay

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Julia Alvarez, How Tía Lola Came to Stay, Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

            I think that this book would be a great story to read with a young middle school audience.  The book follows two young adolescents, Miguel and Juanita, who are children of two divorced Dominican immigrants.  The story highlights different aspects of life with divorced parents, and also introduces a great deal of cultural aspects.  The children and their mother move from New York to Vermont in order to start a new life, but when they settle in, their lonely mother invites their aunt Lola, or Tía Lola, to come to Vermont to visit them.  Tía Lola is from the Dominican Republic and cannot speak any English, her culture and traditions are strange to the children, and they are very embarrassed by her.  However, after they begin to teach her English and she introduces them to Spanish, their relationship draws closer and they reach a mutual understanding and grow to love and appreciate each other.  Finally, when the family travels to the Dominican Republic together for Christmas, everything finally makes sense for them and they learn to appreciate their family and the Dominican culture. 

            This book has many teachable qualities.  It not only discusses the hardships of divorce, which many students may relate to, but is from the narrative of a young teenage boy, most likely around the age of the middle school students that would be in our classes; the book narrates his hardships in school, especially with trying to fit in, which would also be relevant to students.  The most interesting teachable aspect of this book, however, is the rich cultural knowledge that it presents and the strong attention to cultural misunderstanding that can happen without the drive to learn about other cultures.  Additionally, for most of the book, Tía Lola speaks in Spanish, but it is immediately translated after each sentence, which would meaningfully introduce students to this language.  A memo in the back of the book also explains why some of the words in the story were not “typical” Spanish, because they are the words used in the Dominican dialect. 

            I would be comfortable teaching this book to any level of middle school students.  The language and vocabulary in this book are not difficult to understand, but the Spanish words and information about the Dominican culture is relevant to any age group; I even found myself learning new things about life in the Dominican Republic.  I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it, especially if doing some kind of multicultural unit.   

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"Monster" By Walter Dean Myers

Monster by Walter Dean Myers follows the story of Steve Harmon, a 16 year old boy who is on trial as an accomplice to the murder of a New York City drugstore clerk. The book is written as a movie script which is being thought up by Steve as he witnesses the proceedings of his trial. The movie script is inter-spliced with journal entries written by Steve as he reflects on his time spent in jail, including his fears of the future, and also his relationship with his parents during the trial. As the story progresses, we learn more about Steve’s actual involvement with crime, and about how sometimes it is possible to simply be a victim of one’s environment. The story is easy and exciting to read as it builds up to its climax.

At the beginning of the story we are presented with the fact that it is very unlikely that Steve will win the case. We quickly learn of the multitude of biases and tricks that are used against inner city blacks who find themselves involved with cases such as the one Steve is involved in. We learn that juries are often more likely to convict based on appearances rather than testimony, and that only one slip up in a courtroom can spell doom for a black male in many cases. Monster is particularly interesting in the way that it explores the influence that environment has on inner city crime, and the fact that the problem with inner city violence is not a series of unrelated crimes, but an issue which needs to be fixed from a societal perspective.

I, personally, greatly enjoyed reading Monster due partly because of its unusual story-telling structure, but also because of the way that Myers fuses Steve Harmon’s case with a gritty and “not-watered-down” light. I feel that this story could be greatly readable for any Middle School classroom. It is accurate in terms of the realities of the judicial and prison system, and also makes a powerful statement about the nature of crime and environment in an accessible way. As stated before, parts of the books are quite violent, due to the “gritty” nature of the subject matter. However, with a mature student, this book could be a useful key to teaching social issues of the inner city.

"Rules" by Cynthia Lord

Rules, Cynthia Lord, Scholastic Inc.  2006. 

The novel Rules by Cynthia Lord tells the story of twelve-year-old Catherine, a girl growing up with an autistic brother.  David, her brother, struggles with picking up on social conventions because of his autism.  To help him, Catherine devises a system of writing down rules for him, that explain everything from, “No toys in the fish tank,” (Lord 70) to “If you want someone to leave you alone, agree with her,” (Lord 56).  The rules are meant for David, but along the way Catherine slips in rules that are relevant to her own life and experiences.  Catherine loves her brother, but sometimes it can be difficult for her to form relationships with people who don’t understand her situation.  She is embarrassed to invite her new neighbor Kristi over, and gets into trouble with the boy from the bus stop who teases David.  Yet David opens many more doors for Catherine than she at first realizes.  David goes to occupational therapy once a week, and it is in the waiting room of the OT clinic that Catherine meets Jason, a boy who cannot talk and uses a wheelchair.  Catherine slowly makes friends with Jason, adding cards with words and colorful pictures to the book of words he points to in order to communicate.  Catherine struggles at first, with being in public with Jason, but by the end of the novel, the two are close friends.  Catherine attends his birthday party, and they go to the school dance together.  

Cynthia Lord’s Rules is definitely appropriate for a middle school audience.  In fact, we read this book with our class of 8^th graders in our field placement.  Catherine’s quest for acceptance and friendship, though complicated by her brother’s autism, is one that students at this age can relate to.  Even students without a disabled sibling experience family issues or have things about their family situation that they would rather not share with the whole world.  Some students may be able to relate to Catherine’s life growing up with a disabled family member, but for those who cannot, this book is an engaging, accessible way to help students become aware of these issues and more accepting of diverse personal and familial situations.  The novel is a fairly easy read, and would work well for the middle school level. 

"Monster" by Walter Dean Myers

Monster, Walter Dean Myers, HarperCollins, 1999

Monster is the story of 16-year-old African American, Steve Harmon, on trial in New York for felony murder.  The book is written as if it is Steve's journal.  From the beginning, Steve decides that his life would be better expressed in a movie, so he writes most of the book as a screenplay, with short narrative interjections.  Steve recounts the trial process and includes flashbacks and reflections on his experience as it happens, having been accused of an ambiguous crime.  The reader must hang on till the end to discover the verdict...

 This novel is about 280 pages long, but it is extremely fast-moving because of the screenplay format.  Important themes that are raised include issues of law and justice, right and wrong, and people's perceptions of others, especially African Americans.  The title comes from this important theme, as people view Steve as a "monster," even though he is a good person.  The style is fresh and gripping, and Steve's voice is frank and honest about life in jail and in court as we get to see the camera-view of his life from his perspective.

This is an excellent choice for a middle school, because the language is easy to understand and the book is fast-passed .  Middle school readers might have some trouble with the law proceedings with situations of objection/sustained/overruled/etc., but this can be an excellent opportunity to teach students about legal proceedings and our judicial system.  It also offers a new format, the screenplay, which teachers can work with that is both easy and interesting (and can make for a fun film project!).  The themes are very relevant and important, and can spark some controversial discussions in the classroom, which also leads to opportunities for debates, and maybe even mock trials!

Parrot in the Oven by Victor Martinez

Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, Victor Martinez, HarperTrophy, 1996.

Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida chronicles the life of Manuel “Manny” Hernandez, a Mexican-American boy growing up in California. Each chapter features a different story or memory to help readers understand the hardships Manny faces on a daily basis. In addition to living in a poverty stricken area, Manny is forced to deal with his alcoholic and abusive father, his mother’s obsessive tendencies, his sister’s rebellious behavior, and his brother’s lack of motivation. He continuously struggles with the decision to succumb to or overcome the circumstances of his life. 

The novel contains many themes and ideas that are relevant to middle school kids today. Manny’s struggles with his home life and peer pressure are things many adolescents can relate to. His journey to discover himself and form his own identity highlight other issues students of this age are likely experiencing. This novel deals with a lot of culture and discrimination, which can be a good discussion topics. Martinez’s use of rich figurative language can be included in conversations and lessons as well.

Parrot in the Oven is definitely teachable. The language is simple and though there are the occasional Spanish words and phrases, it is not unmanageable. Because there isn’t much of a plot, the chapters can be taught separately from the whole novel.