Esperanza Rising
A.
Esperanza Rising is a novel that depicts the
struggle of a teenager named Esperanza as she is uprooted from her native home
in Mexico after the death of her father.
She has to adjust to a number of lifestyle changes when she goes to
America, not the least of which is a downgrade in socio-economic status. Once in America, Esperanza learns much about
how the lower classes operate and the struggles that go with poverty,
immigration, and becoming a minority voice where once she was a person of
power. Beyond that, she must also deal
with her family and friends as well who are all facing similar
adjustments. Through the bond of family
and friends, Esperanza learns to deal with her problems and overcome them,
facing who she is and what she is becoming.
B.
Ryan,
P. M. (2000). Esperanza rising. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc.
C.
I
felt that this book did a wonderful job of weaving subtle and powerful
emotional impacts with a touch of lighthearted humor and relatable
storytelling. Esperanza is written as a
good blend of an upper-class, naïve youngster as well as a serious,
hard-working teenager. While Esperanza
has much to learn throughout the story, Ryan does a good job of presenting the
protagonist as a very sympathetic character.
While the first half of the story consists of a number of emotional
“punches”, it never goes into the realm of melodrama and remains a very
realistic portrayal of the emotions people encounter in the relevant situations
presented.
D.
“Though
the piquant riches-to-rags element will draw readers, there's no authorial
condescension towards Esperanza's campesino fellow workers, and Esperanza's
gradual shedding of her own prejudices towards them is perceptively delineated.”
Stevenson, D. (2000). Esperanza rising (Book Review)
(Undetermined). Bulletin Of The
Center For
Children's Books, 54(4), 160-161.
“Political as well as personal history
inform the sometimes florid narrative (loosely based, we are told in an afterword, on the
experiences of the author's grandmother).”
Heppermann, C. M. (2001). Esperanza
rising (Book Review) (Undetermined). Horn
Book Magazine,
77(1), 96.
E.
Perhaps
the best activity would be a long term one where the kids would be able to sew
a patch to be put onto a massive quilt for the library. This would be a time-consuming process but
the kids could customize their patch with anything they think would be
important. It might be easier to
construct the “patches” out of paper and effectively glue the whole
together. The “quilt” could then be
laminated in order to protect it and hung up in the library for display. Each child would be responsible for their own
patch and the quilt would be of variable size dependent on the participation rate.
Zora and Me
A.
Zora and Me features the story of Carrie Roberts
and Zora Huston as the two encounter a variety of scenarios in Eatonville,
Florida. While the initial story focuses
on the relationship of these two childhood characters and their friend Teddy as
they speculate on everything from the future to the existence of supernatural
creatures in their home. While these
childhood fancies are taking place, there is a very real danger in Eatonville
that the children encounter. Deception,
racism, and murder are also parts of the children’s lives and they find
themselves in integral roles to bring criminals to justice.
B.
Bond,
V., & Simon, T. R. (2010). Zora and me. Somerville, Massachusets:
Candlewick
Press.
C.
The
blend of fanciful childhood fun and realistic issues is a very compelling way
to detail the transition of these characters from childhood to the more serious
thoughts of adulthood. I was
particularly struck by how the characters tried to explain the events around
them in a way that made sense to their world.
The use of Zora as a storyteller in this regard helped convey the sense
that they were all attempting to put a frightening scenario into terms they
understood, making it less frightening. Beyond
this, the author does a tremendous job of making horrible elements something
that can be understood and in some cases overcome. While the characters can’t solve all the
problems presented, they do manage to solve the main mystery and punish those
responsible. Overall, the book presents
these themes in a very relatable and realistic way.
D.
“Bond
and Simon revive the spirit of Zora Neale Hurston through ingenious characterization,
beautifully descriptive language and dialogue, and a mystery that will keep the
reader eager to discover what happened.”
T., S. S. (2011). Zora and Me. Journal Of Children's
Literature, 37(2), 44.
E.
It
would be most appropriate for the kids to make monster masks. These would be masks that could represent the
monsters that the kids think would most frighten off people. The masks would primarily be made out of
paper mache in order to make them somewhat three dimensional. This would draw inspiration from the mask
worn by a main character from the book that causes Zora and her friends to
believe there is a “gatorman” amongst them.
Frameworks for fairly common animal types could be designed ahead of
time to provide younger kids with a basis upon which to create their mask.
