*Here's the list of books that I volunteered to post from our groups book reviews!*
Same Sex Parents
1. "And Tango Makes Three" by: Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell
2. "One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads" by: Johnny Valentine
3. "Heather Has Two Mommies" by: Leslea Newman
Adoption
1. "The Secret of Me" by: Meg Kearney
2. "The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale" by: Grace Lin
3. "The White Swan Express" by: Jean Davies Okimoto & Elaine M. Aoki
4. "I Love You like Crazy Cakes" by: Rose A. Lewis
Deafness
1. "I'm Deaf and It's Okay" by: Lorraine Aseltine, Evelyn Mueller & Nancy Tait
2. "Mandy" by: Barbara D. Booth
3. "Deaf Child Crossing" by: Marlee Matlin
4. "Kami and the Yaks" by: Andrea Stenn Stryer
5. "Moses Goes to the Circus" by: Isaac Millman
6. "Feathers" by: Jacqueline Woodson
Main Character who is Gay
1. "Absolutely, Positively NOT Gay... by: David Larochelle
2. "Out of Pocket" by: Bill Konigsberg
Autism
1. "Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism" by Laurie Lears
2. "Since We're Friends: An Autism Picture Book by Celeste Shally
3. "Different Like Me: My Book of Autism Heroes" by Jennifer Elder
Native American/American Indian
1. "Rain is not my Indian Name" by Cynthia Leitich Smith & Lori Earley
2. "The Absolutely, Part-time Truth of a Part-time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
3. "The Lesser Blessed" by Richard Van Camp
African American
1. "The Watson's Go To Birmingham- 1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis
2. "Come Sunday" by Nikki Grimes
3. "Standing Against the Wind" by Traci L. Jones
Characters with Disabilities
1. "Reaching for the Sun" by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
2. "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
Transgender
1. "Luna" by Julie Anne Peters
2. "Grl2Grl" by Julie Anne Peters
3. "Parrotfish" by Ellen Wittlinger
Health Issues
1. "Kathy's Hats: A Story of Hope" by Trudy Krisher
2. "Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry" by Bebe Moore Campbell
3. "The Peanut-Free Cafe" by Gloria Koster
4. "Thank You Mr. Falker" by Patricia Pollacco
Holocaust Picture Books
1. "The Harmonica" by Tony Johnston & Ron Mazellan
2. "Anne Frank" by Josephine Poole
3. "The Cats in Krisinski Square" by Karen Hesse
Parents with Cancer
1. "Sandie's Mommy Has Cancer" by Sherry Kohlenberg & Lauri Crow
2. "Where's Mom's Hair?" by Debbie Watters, Haydn Watters, Emmett Watters & Sophie Hogan
3. "Dear Mom, I'm Sorry you Had to get Breast Cancer" (couldn't find the autor/s)
Native Americans/America Indians
1. "The Girl who loved Wild Horses" by Paul Goble
2. "Crossing Bok Chitto" by Tim Tingle
3. "The Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Final Project: Adoption Literature
Throughout the semester we have been studying all different types of “multicultural” or “diverse” literature but we have not been able to cover the entire spectrum. So when I was thinking about what to do for this project, the topic of Adoption popped into my head. When I was in the 5th grade my family adopted my little sister Lexey. Thinking about the struggles and the feelings she has had growing up made me wonder if reading adoption literature would have helped her better find her identity. When I went to the library in search of these books I realized that there really was not a lot for me to choose from which surprised me because the composition of the “American” family is changing so much, I would expect the literature to reflect that. After searching and researching I found three books that I thought were great pieces of literature on Adoption. All three of the books tell a different story of adoption while portraying the sense of love a family feels once it has all its pieces. The majority of the adoption literature I found was based on international adoption which is one of the many reasons why I chose the third book, The Secret of Me. This book is about adoption within the
Book 1
Book Review #1: “The White Swan Express”
The White Swan Express, by Jean Davies Okimoto and Elaine M. Aoki and Illustrated by Meilo So, is a story about Adoption. We meet four different families who are all beginning a journey to Guangzhou, China looking to adopt their baby girls. All four of the families are very different in composition. The first family we meet is Beth and Lewis Maynard from Miami, a very traditional man and woman couple. Next we have Andrea Lee and Charlotte Appleford, a lesbian couple from Vashon Island. Then from Minnetonka, Minnesota is Rebecca Mandel, a single woman ready to start a family. Finally we have Howard and Jessica Suzuki, an Asian couple from Toronto. The book chronicles their journey from North America to China where the four families meet and become fast friends along the way bonding over the experience of adopting a child. These four little girls, Wu Li, Li Shen, Qian Ye, and Chun Mei Ni are welcomed with an enormous amount of love into these families and brought to their new homes in North America by their new parent/s. Because of the special journey these families share they remain in touch over the years, celebrating holiday both Chinese and American. This book is an exemplary piece of Adoption literature. All of the characters are very realistic and yet, are so unique. The author makes sure to cover the gamete when creating the main characters, including a lesbian couple, a single mother, a traditional man and woman couple and an Asian couple. When reading this story you can feel the love come through their adoption journey.
The White Swan Express, by Jean Davies Okimoto and Elaine M. Aoki and Illustrated by Meilo So, is a story about Adoption. We meet four different families who are all beginning a journey to Guangzhou, China looking to adopt their baby girls. All four of the families are very different in composition. The first family we meet is Beth and Lewis Maynard from Miami, a very traditional man and woman couple. Next we have Andrea Lee and Charlotte Appleford, a lesbian couple from Vashon Island. Then from Minnetonka, Minnesota is Rebecca Mandel, a single woman ready to start a family. Finally we have Howard and Jessica Suzuki, an Asian couple from Toronto. The book chronicles their journey from North America to China where the four families meet and become fast friends along the way bonding over the experience of adopting a child. These four little girls, Wu Li, Li Shen, Qian Ye, and Chun Mei Ni are welcomed with an enormous amount of love into these families and brought to their new homes in North America by their new parent/s. Because of the special journey these families share they remain in touch over the years, celebrating holiday both Chinese and American. This book is an exemplary piece of Adoption literature. All of the characters are very realistic and yet, are so unique. The author makes sure to cover the gamete when creating the main characters, including a lesbian couple, a single mother, a traditional man and woman couple and an Asian couple. When reading this story you can feel the love come through their adoption journey.
Book 2
Book Review #2: “The Red Thread”
The Red Thread, by Grace Lin is an adoption fairy tale. The story starts with a young girl asking her parents to read to her the story “The Red Thread” and her parents are hesitant because they say “Oh, you’ve heard it a hundred times.” The tale starts with a king and a queen who ruled over a kingdom; however, felt as though something was missing from their lives. The King and Queen both became ill with a pain in their hearts that grew worse with each passing day. No one in the kingdom could figure out what was ailing the couple until one day a peddler came and said to them that they had a red thread being pulled from their hearts. Once their eyes were opened to seeing this string they realized that it was in fact being pulled straight from their hearts and nothing could cut through this thread. So the King and Queen set off on a difficult journey to find the other end of the red thread. The string led them to a small village where they found the thread attached to a small bundle inside an old house. Once they looked inside the basket they found a baby pulling on two red strings that were tied to his ankles. This baby belonged to them and they took him back to the kingdom where he became the Prince and their new family lived happily ever after with no more pain in their hearts. The last page of the book is the young girl sitting on her parents’ lap, all with crowns on their heads, reading the adoption fairy tale. Even though, this book is written by an “outsider” Grace Lin, who states that she “was inspired to write The Red Thread after experiencing many warm and wonderful interactions with families with children who are adopted” it is extraordinary because it truly captures the emotion that comes from completing your family through adoption.
Book 3
Book Review #3: “The Secret of Me”
The Secret of Me, written by Meg Kearney, is a novel in verse. The story chronicles a 14 year old girl named Lizzie who was adopted as an infant into family with a brother and a sister who are also adopted. Although Lizzie has a great family and a great group of friends she feels compelled to search for her biological mother. Through Lizzie’s poems we are taken on the roller coaster of emotions that she feels while trying to find her identity. Lizzie’s parents do not understand why Lizzie feels so compelled to search for her mother; they feel as though they are not good enough. Lizzie often feels as though she is broken or a “mistake before she was born,” she deals with it through writing poetry, they poetry that the reader enjoys. The author, Meg Kearney, is an “insider” on the issue and this book is based on her own adoption story. This is a great piece of adoption literature because it really gives the reader a sense of what a child feels once s/he is adopted. The Secret of Me gives a true realistic stance on adoption, one that balances all the typical joy with the turmoil one might feel from being adopted.
The Secret of Me, written by Meg Kearney, is a novel in verse. The story chronicles a 14 year old girl named Lizzie who was adopted as an infant into family with a brother and a sister who are also adopted. Although Lizzie has a great family and a great group of friends she feels compelled to search for her biological mother. Through Lizzie’s poems we are taken on the roller coaster of emotions that she feels while trying to find her identity. Lizzie’s parents do not understand why Lizzie feels so compelled to search for her mother; they feel as though they are not good enough. Lizzie often feels as though she is broken or a “mistake before she was born,” she deals with it through writing poetry, they poetry that the reader enjoys. The author, Meg Kearney, is an “insider” on the issue and this book is based on her own adoption story. This is a great piece of adoption literature because it really gives the reader a sense of what a child feels once s/he is adopted. The Secret of Me gives a true realistic stance on adoption, one that balances all the typical joy with the turmoil one might feel from being adopted.
Book 4
Book Review #4: “I love you Like Crazy Cakes”
I Love you Like Crazy Cakes, written by Rose Lewis and illustrated by Jane Dyer, is an international adoption story. The story begins with the main character, a single woman who felt as though she was missing something in her life and that something turns out to be a baby. She writes a letter to China inquiring about adopting a baby and months later she receives a picture of the baby girl she is going to adopt. She then, flies to China and brings her baby girls back to the United States. The mother cannot believe how much love she feels for this little girl and how complete she feels once she has her daughter in her life. They fall in love with each other and every night before bed the mother tells her daughter “I love you like crazy cakes!” This story is a great representation of what a parent feels when adopting a child. The love that is written into this story is remarkable and will touch the hearts of all its readers. The author, Rose Lewis, is actually the main character in the book and this is her story of when she adopted her little girl Alexandra Mae-Ming. Knowing that this is a true tale of adoption makes the story that much more powerful.
I Love you Like Crazy Cakes, written by Rose Lewis and illustrated by Jane Dyer, is an international adoption story. The story begins with the main character, a single woman who felt as though she was missing something in her life and that something turns out to be a baby. She writes a letter to China inquiring about adopting a baby and months later she receives a picture of the baby girl she is going to adopt. She then, flies to China and brings her baby girls back to the United States. The mother cannot believe how much love she feels for this little girl and how complete she feels once she has her daughter in her life. They fall in love with each other and every night before bed the mother tells her daughter “I love you like crazy cakes!” This story is a great representation of what a parent feels when adopting a child. The love that is written into this story is remarkable and will touch the hearts of all its readers. The author, Rose Lewis, is actually the main character in the book and this is her story of when she adopted her little girl Alexandra Mae-Ming. Knowing that this is a true tale of adoption makes the story that much more powerful.
Scholarly Article
I found the scholarly article We Are Family: Using Diverse Structure Literature with Children, written by Deanna Peterschick Gilmore and Kari Bell, using the E-Resource, Wilson Select Plus through the Michigan State University Library. This article discusses the importance of diverse literature in the lives of children from all family types. The authors state that, “children who live in homes with alternate family patterns need to see their lives depicted in the books they read.” (Gilmore 280). The article makes note that the composition of the “American Family” has changed over the years and it is important that the literature change with it. Gilmore states that “although the traditional father, mother, child structure still dominates, other family patterns are emerging.” (Gilmore 279). It is very important that parents and teachers read and make available all sorts of different literature in order to show that every family is neither the same nor perfect but happiness is possible. Children who are adopted need to hear other adoption stories in order to feel comfortable in their own skin and to realize that they aren’t a mistake or feel singled out. Gilmore states that by reading “thoughtful, well-written [stories of adoption], it helps parents, teachers, and children with both the concept and the language of adoption.” (Gilmore 287).
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