Annotations

Curtis, Christopher Paul. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham – 1963. New York: Yearling. ISBN 978-0-440-41412-4

Kenny is a 10-year-old African-American living in Flint, Michigan with his family, known simply as the Weird Watsons. When 13-year-old Byron can’t manage to keep himself out of trouble, Mom and Dad decide it’s time to Grandma’s house. Traveling during a tumultuous time in the South, the Watsons arrive in Birmingham, just as history is about to be created. Hilarious and heartwarming, this adolescent work of historical fiction touches upon the tensions of race, explores the issue prejudice, and celebrates family values.

DuPrau, Jeanne. (2003). The city of ember. New York: Random House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-375-82274-2

Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow are twelve years old and growing up in Ember. With only streetlights and lampposts to light their way, the citizens of Ember live in darkness, with a perpetual nighttime sky devoid of stars. When the life-sustaining lights of the city begin to flicker, Lina and Doon must find a way to save the ones they love… or else. A magical and intriguing book nestled between adolescent science fiction and fantasy, Lina and Doon take readers on an adventure through the twisted underground tunnels beneath the city of Ember.

Peterson Haddix, Margaret. (1998). Among the hidden. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-689-82475-3

What if you weren’t ever able to feel the sunshine on your face or go to school with your brothers? What if you had to spend your days hidden away because your very existence is illegal? Meet Luke Garner, a twelve-year-old forbidden third child in a world where Population Police exert totalitarian control over everyone and everything. One day, Luke spies the shadow of a child in a neighboring home where he knows two other children already exist. Will Luke risk the safety of those he loves for a chance to meet another hidden child? The first book in the Shadow Children series will beg the reader to explore ideas of population, social responsibility, and freedom.

Prelutsky, Jack. (1984). The new kid on the block. Ill: Stevenson, James. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 0590-40836-4

Humorous and original, complete with nonsense words and silly pictures, Prelutsky’s timeless book of poetry will entertain young and old readers alike. From “Baloney Belly Bill” to “Homework! Oh Homework!”, this collection of poems is simple enough to read to young children and complex enough to analyze in the classroom.

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

Trueman, Terry. (2000). Stuck in neutral. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0064472135

Fourteen year-old Shawn McDaniel sees and hears perfectly well. He understands when people say “hello” and “how’s it going?” He has a remarkable memory for sounds and events. He even knows how to read, thanks to his sister’s passion for playing special education teacher as a child. The problem is… nobody knows this! Almost everyone thinks that Shawn is a “retard.” Those are his words, not mine. I’ll let him clarify: “Not a ‘retard’ like you might use the word to tease a friend who just said or did something stupid. I mean a real retard. Real in the same way that total means total. As in total retard: Everybody who knows me, everybody who sees me, everybody, anybody who even gets near me would tell you I’m dumb as a rock” (4). Shawn can’t talk, walk, or feed himself. He can’t ask to go to the bathroom or cheer on his favorite sports team. He can’t throw teenage temper tantrums or tell his parents that he loves the wonder and freedom of his grand mal seizures. He literally can’t move a muscle. Shawn has cerebral palsy.

Diagnosed with an I.Q. of 1.2, the equivalent of a 3 to 4 month old, Shawn lives in a silent world. His parents divorced when he was four years old because his father couldn’t cope with his son’s condition. After appearing on countless talkshows to discuss winning a Pulitzer for a story-poem he wrote about Shawn, Sydney E. McDaniel, Shawn’s dad, decides to interview a man from prison who killed his mentally handicapped toddler. The man claimed that it had to be done to end his son’s suffering. Convinced his father secretly wants to commit the same crime, Shawn silently screams for help, but will he ever be heard?

Thoughtfully written in the first person from the private thoughts of Shawn McDaniel, Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman is an invitation into an otherwise deathly silent world. The sympathetic reader can feel, see, hear, and understand everything that Shawn can. At times, he is nothing but a regular, raunchy fourteen-year-old: “I love it when Becky works with me, especially when she wears a low-cut top and has to bend over to load and unload me from this special standing contraption they put me in a couple hours every day. Her breasts are perfect: round and smooth and big.” Other times, Shawn is exceptional, and pain and fear seep through the cracks in his adolescent “voice”: “I wonder what it would be like to have a girlfriend. I even wonder what it would be like to love someone else more than I love my mom.” Trueman exposes Shawn for the emotional, sensitive human being that he is and not just another statistic in the mental health world.

The beauty of this book lies in the behind-the-author story. Terry Trueman is the father of a son named Sheehan with cerebral palsy. While Shawn is a character of fiction, his world is modeled off of the real life and presumed genius behind the mask of developmental disability that Trueman experiences every day with his son. Stuck in Neutral is both a social commentary and an inspiring story that isn’t colored black or white. Instead, it’s painted gray and shelved among novels that span both fiction and nonfiction. Further, Trueman uses his book as a vehicle to challenge stereotypes and touch upon the hardships of disability, as well as explore the meaning of unconditional love (and acceptance). Thus, Trueman struggles to reposition bricks between the walls of literary genres and surprisingly creates an entirely reinvented definition of the multicultural genre.

The Arrival

A silent story spoken through sepia-toned illustrations, The Arrival by Shaun Tan shares a journey. A man, his wife, and their little girl live in an impoverished city where their very presence is unsafe. In an act of love, the man leaves his family to search for a new home and a better life, promising to send for them soon. The Arrival is his story, exploring the nuances and niches in an unknown land of floating objects and foreign customs. Along the way, he encounters sympathetic strangers, each with their own unique survival tale, who offer unexpected assistance as he explores his unusual surroundings.

Contrary to the concept of traditional picture books, The Arrival isn’t just another 10 page book of cartoons for a 4 year old to spill spaghettios on. It’s designed for older readers to enjoy. The drawings illuminate emotions and symbolize ideas, sometimes sparkling brighter than words ever could. For example, as the family of three walk to the train station, there is a beautiful two-page drawing of the “city of immanent danger” as I call it. There is an eerie, frightening sense as the family escapes the vacant streets and a dark, shadowy dragon-like creature slithers in the sky between buildings. What is really causing such fear? Is it a creature or is this a mysterious symbol of something more foreboding? Perhaps war or famine? This isn’t the only instance of symbolism in the story. Tan uses the image of the continuous life cycle of a flower/plant in a series of 24 small pictures to show the change of seasons and mark the passage of time.

While The Arrival might appear at first blush to be a fantastical story with simple fictional characters and a magical dreamland, there are traces of truth in every curved line. This is a journey all too familiar to most immigrants. At the birth of the 20^th century, Ellis Island was flooded with families seeking refuge in a new country. They arrived to find that they couldn’t understand a word in their new homeland. Like the main character in The Arrival, they sought food, shelter, and a way of life so that their children could have a bright future.

I don’t know that I’ll ever understand what it truly means to be an immigrant, but what I do understand is the debilitating fear of the unknown. Prone to worrying as a young child, I often lived in fear of what would happen next. What if my parents never came home at night? Who would take care of me? What if my mom forgot to pick me up at school? What if I didn’t get into the one college I applied to? What if I never find someone who’ll love me? What if life always feels like such a struggle? Thankfully, my “what ifs” aren’t as paralyzing as they once were. Experience has trained me well for the inevitable stumbles, bumps, and broken hearts. Instead of allowing my past to enable dysfunction, I am able to embrace it. I am now an empowered individual, able to mold my life into the shape I want it to be. I recognize that his experience and my experience are drastically different, but both he and I must come to terms with the life we choose.

Like Luna and Jin, this unnamed main character seeks a sense of belonging. Even though he is alone and confused in his new space, he never quits. He hunts for knowledge that will sustain him on his personal journey. He is not entirely alone, however. A new little curious creature befriends him and remains an endearing, faithful companion as he strives to make a life for himself and his family. His beautiful story is wholly pieced together with bits of understanding and accepting in the end as he truly makes his arrival.

More Than Meets the Eye

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, is a graphic novel made up of three seemingly individual stories that are woven together to create a powerful conclusion. Like three small streams trickling through the forest towards one almighty river, each touches one another and ultimately become inextricably linked. The first story is that of the Monkey King, which Yang purposefully twists into a Christian version of an ancient Chinese folk tale, complete with kung fu and the real hand of “God”. The second story treads amidst the footprints of Jin Wang, a Chinese American boy growing up in a primarily white suburb. The third storyline is about Danny and the torment he endures every year when his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee visits.

If it is read without mindfulness or careful thought, American Born Chinese can be dismissed as a frivolous attempt at exposing racism and stereotypes. By creating a character like Chin-kee, Yang runs the risk of readers taking what might seem like blatant social commentary, at face value, consequently further perpetuating existing stereotypes. However, Yang was quite aware of this when constructing his characters. In his blog on the publisher’s (First Second) website, Yang says, “In order for us to defeat our enemy, he must first be made visible. Besides, comic book readers are some of the smartest folks I've ever met. They'll figure it out.” He respects his audience and their ability to discern fact from fiction.

http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/authors/geneYangBlogMain.html

American Born Chinese, for me, is a crisp winter afternoon of laughing-out-loud and bathing in the bubbly sunshine of a coffeeshop window, pages of colorful comics and witty humor at my fingertips. As I turn the last page, a deluge of emotion strikes, and I know that, between the lines, beneath the words, near the warm core of this little book is a profound message. Prejudice, identity, acceptance, and gratitude paint the pages and beg the reader to search within for meaning that resonates at the level of the heart.

Near the conclusion of the story, the Monkey King visits Jin and shares his painful realization – “You know, Jin, I would have saved myself from five hundred years’ imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey” (223). Perhaps we always want to be something we’re not. A child prays to be an adult by morning, a short woman longs to be tall, a man curses himself for studying English instead of medicine, and a monkey wishes he were a human? We always seem to seek that more beautiful other side in the hopes of a greater happiness. In the lightning-quick world we live in, it’s easy to lose sight of ourselves and the littlest things (and people) that bring us joy. As for me, I appreciate the classical music of 99.5 on a bad day, the kindness of strangers, watching my garden grow, peanut butter, the silent early morning summer sun, striped socks, and my animals (cats and kittens).

Yet, when I stop to look myself in the mirror and ask the question, “who are you?” empty eyes and a blank expression stare back at me. Most days, I think I’m still trying to figure it out. However, like Jin, I have a story to tell. Identity and cultural heritage mold us into complex creatures, and then experiences bend and twist us until we’re exactly where we need to be. We are all shapers and transformers of our own lives. Whether it’s a robot that turns into a motorcycle or a young boy growing into a man, either way, you’re bound to find “more than meets the eye” (28).