Enchanted
Air by Margarita Engle
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Enchanted Air Two Cultures, Two Wings, a Memoir (First ed.). (2015). New York, New York: Antheneum Books.
ISBN 9781481435222
PLOT SUMMARY
Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle, is an
endearing memoir of the author’s life and recollections of her love of two
countries. Torn between her childhood home
in the United States, where she was born and raised and Cuba, her mother’s
country, where Margarita spent wonderful vacations visiting family. She passionately
addresses significant topics, such as her mother’s homesickness, being bicultural,
the challenge of relocating to new homes and schools, the Cuban Revolution. As she tries too establish her identity, her
life is being torn apart by politics, war and society’s standards. Growing up in noisy, lonely Los Angeles, Margarita
dreams of soaring in the enchanted air to her beloved Cuba. Then the unthinkable
happens. In 1961, United States launches an attack on Cuba and Margarita
fears she will never be able to visit her beautiful island again.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Margarita
Engle’s Enchanted Air uses short paragraphs and fast moving narratives to
engage the reader in this poetic summary of her life. I found her poetry
touching and heartfelt. This story
really hit close to home. I can
appreciate the love for family, cousins and tias.
Just like the author, I embrace my Hispanic heritage. When I read the paragraph “First Flames” it
reminds me of my own daughter Madison and her battle with brain cancer, her
faith in God continued to give her hope, even in the darkness. When Margarita’s
abuelita lights the candle to give
thanks to La Virgen for healing Mad (her sister) it gave me goose bumps.
Her use of imagery,
expertly timed, evokes visions in my head about the beautiful fragrances of
Cuba, the clear sandy beaches, the dancing trees. I can also smell the burning of her home in Oregon,
see the gloom and grey skies her mother dreads and the noisy, dirty streets of
Los Angeles. Enchanted Air has become
one of my top favorite books and I plan on recommending it to all my students.
Edel
Rodriguez’s illustrations don’t convey the beauty of Cuba, nor the energy of
this memoir. I would have liked more
detail in the flowers, butterfly and the front cover. He used mainly blues,
whites, and tiny pops of color. I would
have loved to see actual photographs of Margarita’s family in Cuba and the
United States.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Margarita Engle's moving, lyrical memoir breathes life
into a piece of history that may be unknown to many tweens and
teens. Kate Pavao (Common Sense Media)
A more than worthwhile purchase for any library in need
of a universally applicable coming-of-age tale, a fantastic new
memoir-in-verse, or a glimpse into Cuba’s past." (School Library
Journal, May 2015, STARRED REVIEW)
CONNECTIONS
What is
a memoir? - In this activity ask
students discuss what a memoir is. Have them
create a memoir of their own.
Timeline:
Students can create a timeline of Margarita’s life along with the historic
events (Cuba invasion) and figures she mentions in Enchanted Air.
Personal
Timeline: Students can create a personal timeline that features events
in their life as well as important events and people during their lifetime.
AWARDS
·
2016 Pura Belpre Author
Award
·
YALSA Nonfiction
Finalist
·
Walter Dean Myers Award
Honoree,
Brown
Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming.
New York, New York: Penguin Group.
ISBN 9780399252518
PLOT SUMMARY
Brown Girl Dreaming follows the childhood of the
author, Jacqueline Woodson, from her birth
to around age ten. Jacqueline is born in Ohio, the youngest child of three, in
1963 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Jacqueline and her family
are African-American. Her father, Jack is from Ohio, and her Mama is from South Carolina.
Woodson begins her story on February 12, 1963,
the day of her birth. On the second day
of her birth Martin Luther King is planning a march on Washington, Malcolm X is
talking about a revolution, Freedom singers are linking hands, and James
Baldwin is writing about injustice. In the midst of struggles, fighting, dying,
marching, black Americans dream that all brown children can grow up free. Woodson questions her role in this world of
racial tension and if one day she too will be able to make a difference.
Her beloved grandfather reminisces about
family names and says, “no master can ever take away your name”. As a child, Jacqueline’s parents quarrel about
her name. Father wants to name her Jack,
after him, and mother wants Jackie. Once
mother signs the birth certificate she decides on Jacqueline. Constantly fighting about where to call home,
Mama decides to return to South Carolina to live with Grandpa Gunner and
Grandma. Jacqueline loves the cool fresh
air, red dirt, and pine trees. Family
dinners, porch swinging, storytelling, gardening, baking, cooking, and
attending Kingdom Hall fills Jacqueline’s mind with cherished memories. Although, she loves living in South Carolina,
colored people, like her grandpa “Daddy” and grandma, were discriminated
against daily at work, bus stations, and restaurants. Mama decides it is time
to move to New York and Jacqueline describes being treated differently because
of her religion. She struggles with the
fact of being a Jehovah Witness and wishing she could live freely to salute the
flag, eat birthday cake, and celebrate holidays. Jacqueline has difficulties in reading but
loves to make up stories and is encouraged by her teachers to write her
thoughts on paper, opening a new world for Jacqueline. Through
all the hardships, goodbyes, moving from Ohio, New York, South Carolina, and
attending Kingdom Hall almost daily, she learns a valuable lesson about herself,
she has a gift for storytelling , she can choose the world to walk in and she was
blessed to be loved.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Brown girl dreaming is written in First person narrative from
Jacqueline’s perspective. In the beginning
of the book Woodson speaks about the racial tension in the United States and
how although slavery has been abolished it will continue to be a part of her
life and fellow African Americans.
Eloquently, she convinces the reader that her birth certificate is a
legal document that classifies and segregates her from the moment of
birth. She uses the story of Ruby
Bridges to show that children were not free from discrimination or racism.
Brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline
Woodson and Enchanted Air by
Margarita Engle share similar story lines, for example, both women express a
longing for a place to belong, family unity and overcoming obstacles.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Ms. Woodson writes with a sure understanding of
the thoughts of young people, offering a poetic, eloquent narrative that is not
simply a story . . . but a mature exploration of grown-up issues and self-discovery.”—The
New York Times Book Review
CONNECTIONS
The
Origin of Names- In this activity, students will research the
origin of their own names by asking family members how they came to be named as
they were. Students can then write a poem or a story about their own name.
Woodson’s
Timeline: Students can create a timeline of Woodson’s life along with
the historic events and figures she mentions in Brown Girl Dreaming.
Personal
Timeline: Students can create a personal timeline that features events in
their life as well as important events and people during their lifetime.
Family features- In this activity
have students trace a physical or personality trait amongst family members. For
older students, this could be used in a biology class to discuss genetics.
Look for this website to get more information on these
activities: https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2014/10/02/putting-books-to-work-i-brown-girl-dreaming-i
AWARDS
·
National Book Award
·
Newberry Honor Book
·
Coretta Scott Award
DANITRA
BROWN LEAVES TOWN BY NIKKI GRIMES
ILLUSTRATED
BY FLOYD COOPER
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, N., & Cooper, F. (2002). Danitra Brown leaves town(First
ed.). Place of publication not identified: Amistad.
ISBN 0688131557
PLOT SUMMARY
Danitra Brwon
leaves town, is the second in a
series of books about a little girl and her best friend Zuri Jackson. It’s summer vacation and Danitra is
excitedly telling Zuri about her trip.
Disappointed and upset Zuri hurts Danitra with awful words about their
friendship before she leaves. Wondering
if her friend Danitra will ever forgive her, the first letter arrives. These
poems tell a story about how the girls stayed in touch by writing letters to
each other, and how they discovered that they could have fun apart from one
another while still remaining friends.
The two friends share with readers what childhood summers are made of, Danitra
details her first night in her aunt’s backyard encircled by a cluster of
fireflies and unbelievable dark blue-black sky.
She retells a time her new friends dared her to jump off a tree and although
she is still a city girl, she now likes digging in the dirt, yanking weeds, and
watering roses.
Zuri writes about her block party filled with loud fast music, her new friend
Nina, the special fourth of July spent with her mom, and she bragged about the
time she slammed the ball so hard, she knew J.T. could never hit that
hard. Both girls joyfully await their
reunion and learn that although miles may separate them, a true friend is
forever.
.
CRITICAL
ANALYSIS
Danitra Brown leaves town is narrated from the perspective of a little
girl. Grimes captures the essence,
excitement and wonderment of being a young child. With the help of Floyd Cooper’s use of
realistic, carefree, and expressive artwork, Grimes is able to create a tone and mood with
words and pictures ,describing Zuri’s
anger at Danitra for being excited to leave on vacation , Danitra’s wonder at
the sky filled with fireflies, and the lovingly way she describes Zuri’s
special night with her mom.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
"Cooper's
luminescent pastels chronicle the long days and Zuri's many moods."
(Publisher’s Weekly)
Cooper's photo-realist artwork in soft hues against glowing
backdrops is a lovely complement to the girls' many moods. Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public
Library, SC
CONNECTIONS
Writing/
Language arts
Discuss
friendship and have students make a chart of all the figurative language
phrases found in the story.
Students can
pretend they are on summer vacation and their best friend stayed home. They can write a letter to their best friend
in the form of a poem and describe one fun thing they did during summer
vacation.
BROWN ANGEL BY WALTER DEAN MYERS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Myers, W. D.
(1993). Brown angels: an album of pictures and verse(First ed.).
New York: HarperCollins.
ISBN
0060229179
PLOT SUMMARY
Brown Angels by Walter Dean Myers,
is a collection of turn-of-the-century photographs of black children, along with poetry. I was immediately touched
by the vintage photos of various African American children taken at least a
century ago. I wondered who they were, where they lived, and what ultimately
happened to them. As a mother of three
girls, the rhythm of the poems initiated a sadness knowing these children can
never be identified, and they will forever be children without a name, family, and
home. The introduction of the book, Walter
Dean Myers writes he discovered and purchased many vintage photographs of
African American children at antique shops, flea markets, auction houses.
CRITICAL
ANALYSIS
The design of the book, with its
warm sepia-toned photographs and Victorian decorations, attractively showcases
the haunting faces of the children. Myers uses both standard English and a slightly southern rhythm
to engage the reader. He also makes the reader sing along with his use of church style hymns. I believe Myers was successful in matching
the mood and tone of the poem with the child’s photographs.
On a side note, while reading Myers’
poetry and looking at the pictures, I was overcome with sadness because my
oldest child passed away from brain cancer and all I have are pictures of her
never growing old, forever a child.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
“The
distinguished novelist has culled his personal collection of
turn-of-the-century photographs of African-American children and composed the
verses that accompany this enchanting selection of youngsters.” (The New York
Times)
“A
unique celebration of the continuum of human life and of childhood in all its
robustness, fragility, and evanescent beauty…A exquisite album. The 42 superbly
reproduced black-white and sepia prints radiate intensely with the personalities
of their subject” (School Library Journal)
CONNECTIONS
Make it a family affair. Students can gather old family photos
and create a book of poetry based on the photo. *
