Topic: Socio-Economic Status

Pam Muñoz Ryan is a Mexican-American author.  She was born in 1951 in California.  She was originally encouraged to begin writing by a professor she had in graduate school.  This push led her to completing numerous award-winning books, such as Esperanza Rising and Becoming Naomi León.  Pam enjoys writing main characters that are strong female protagonists.  She considers Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart to be her personal muses.

Esperanza Rising tells of a girl name Esperanza whose life is drastically changed by the murder of her father on her birthday.  The murderer asks Esperanza's mother to marry him in hopes of taking the family's fortune.  The mother refuses and she and Esperanza sneak out of Mexico to America, where they hear they will be safe and have a job.  They are taken to a labor camp made up of small houses with multiple families living in each house.  Esperanza must face the fact that her old life of having servants wait on her and getting whatever she wants is over.  What's terrific about this story is that it was inspired by the life of Pam Muñoz Ryan's grandmother.

Children's books to accompany Esperanza Rising:
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull
Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts
The House on Dirty-Third Street by Jo S. Kittinger
Mama is a Miner by George Ella Lyon
Tia Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina

Discussion Questions:

• What are your thoughts and feelings on Jeremy's actions in Those Shoes?
• How would you discuss the themes "wants" and "needs" in a classroom setting?
• How would you use Harvesting Hope with Esperanza Rising?
• How would you discuss power relations and agency in both Harvesting Hope compared to Esperanza Rising?
• What do you think of the illustrations of House on Dirty-Third Street?  Do they enhance the story?  If so, how?
• Do you think the reactions of the neighbors/community members provides a realistic solution to the problems facing the little girl and her mom?
• Do you like the writing style of  Happy Like Soccer and does it fit with the story?  Why or why not?
• What do you make of Sierra's parents?  Would kids have questions about the unique family structure (Sierra being raised by her aunt)?
• Did you feel sorry for the characters or hopeful for them in Tia Isa?  
• Do you think most readers would think about institutional power (e.g. global economic forces) when reading this book or would their attention be focused mainly on the immediate characters and their quest?
• In Mama is a Miner, what did you think of the poem on the right-hand side of some pages?  Did it add or detract from the story?
• If children do not have mothers who need to work, would they be able to relate and enjoy this book?  How could we help them understand it if their life experiences were very different?

Resources: 

American Psychological Association, Socioeconomic Status http://www.apa.org/topics/socioeconomic-status/index.aspx

ALA Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty Task force http://www.hhptf.org/resources

Teaching for Change http://www.teachingforchange.org

Booklists http://bbpbooks.teachingforchange.org/best-recommended/earlychildhood/class

Topic: Asian American Literature

Lisa Yee was born and Raised near Los Angeles.  In High School, she ditched class to go to the library
She held a wide variety of jobs, including working for Disney (got to be Mickey once!).  She has published 10 novels (Millicent Min came in 2003).  Lisa Yee was first "discovered" by Arthur Levine, editor of the Harry Potter series.  Fun facts are that she travels with a stuffed Peep.  You can check out her website and blog at these links.

Her website: www.lisayee.com
Blog: lisayee.livejournal.com


Millicent Min is the story of a girl genius.  While she is only 11 years old, she is already attending college classes.  She does not exactly fit in with her peers, so after meeting a nice girl named Emily, Millicent decides to hide the truth from Emily and not tell her she is a genius.  As can be expected, this decision causes much tension between Millicent, Emily, and Sanford -- the boy Millicent is tutoring.  Millicent Min is a funny book that reminds us why children's literature is so wonderful.



Children's books to accompany Millicent Min Girl Genius:
The House That Baba Built by Ed Young
Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee
A Hmong Family by Nora Murphy
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Journey Home by Lawrence McKay, Jr.
Dia's Story Cloth by Dia Cha



Discussion Questions

• What do you think of the illustrations and what they lend to The House that Baba Built?  What sense did you get from the ending?
• Summer Days and Nights is a melting pot book.  What pros and cons do you see to it?  Does the rhyming add to or detract from the story?
• In A Hmong Family, do you agree with the introduction's assertion that the book wasn't attempting to debate refugees?  In other words, did they accomplish their goal of not politicizing the story?
• From the pictures alone, what sense do you get of the Hmong culture?  Is it portrayed in a positive, negative, or neutral light?
• In what ways, either in the text or illustrations, is the story of the name jar realistic?
• How do you think Mai might feel as a Vietnamese American in Vietnam in the story Journey Home?
• Why might it be important for Dia's Story Cloth to be in a collection?

Awards:
Lisa Yee won the Asian American Literary Award, which is issued by the Asian-American Writers workshop since 1998.  To be eligible: the book must be written by someone of Asian descent living in the US. The book must have been first published in English.

Resources:
Asian Pacific American Award for Literature www.apalaweb.org
To honor and recognize works related to the Asian/Pacific American experiences or cultures
For books published in USA or any of its territories or in Canada.

Batchelder Award www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/batchelderaward
Presented by the ALSC.  Named for the Mildred Batchelder.  The award is for an American publisher, recognizes the most outstanding translated work of the year.

For Asian Literature that is great for American audiences check out Asian Festival of Children's Content (afcc.com/sg/_2013) The year 2013 will be their 5th year.  Each year focuses on a different country in Asia.  The festival presents three awards through the National Book Development Council of Singapore: the SingTel Asian Book Award, The Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award, and The Scholastic Asian Book award.

Topic: Gender Literature

Amy Ignatow is the author of the Popularity Papers Series.  She was born September 15th, 1977 in Huntington, NY.  She attended SUNY Oneonta, but later transferred to Moore college of Art and design.  Her occupations have included: teacher, farmer, florist, short-order vegan cook, and ghostwriter for internet personal ads.  She gave Popularity Papers a long title because she thought it would be funny.  So far, she has written 5 books.

Here are some statistics on gender:
A Flroida State University study examined almost 6,000 children's books that were published between 1900 and 2000.  It was discovered that males make up 57% of central characters each year with female central characters making up only 31%.

The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang is about two friends struggling to find their way through life and the 5th grade.  They share their thoughts, fears, joys, and more in a diary they pass back and forth and draw pictures.  The diary we see as readers lets us explore their lives and see the complexities of what friendships are made of.

Children's Books to Accompany The Popularity Papers:
Dahlia by Barbara McClintock
A Fire Engine For Ruthie by Leslea Newman
Once Upon a Cool Motorcyle Dude by Kevin O'Malley
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Discussion Questions:

• How would you consider Charlotte's agency throughout the book?
• Do you believe Charlotte is true to her identity? 
• Compared to Dahlia, how would you describe Ruthie's agency and identity in A Fire Engine for Ruthie?
• What are your perceptions of gender stereotypes in Once Upon a Paper Bag Princess?
• Do all fairytale books need a marriage for a happily ever after?
• What traditional and non-traditional gendered messages do you see in this book?
• How do you view Ronald's character in The Paper Bag Princess?  How does he challenge traditional stereotypes?
• It is been over 20 years since The Paper Bag Princess came out.  Why do you believe that there has not been more feminist fairy tale picture books published?

Resources

• Amelia Bloomer Project. http://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com/about/  Recommendations for feminist literature for birth though 18.  They strive to present well written, strong feminist books.  Fiction and nonfiction, the books must affirm positive roles for girls and women.  Must be accurate and stand on their own.  Must have a copyright of current year. Published in US.  ameliabloomer.wordpress.com
• Girls Inc. http://www.girlsinc.org/resources/p3-3.html Inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold. Resources give books for girls.  Some fiction and nonfiction. They have a Latina resources for girls list.  No Africa-American feminist lit for girls, though.

Don't forget the boys

• Guys Read http://guysread.com by Jon Scieska (rhymes with fresca) geared towards boys from boys.  Many different genres.
• Boys Read. http://www.boysread.org/index.html  Developing a new generation of literate men.  Trying to educate boys and those around boys.  Offer workshops.