“Birica’s House” is about a Roma (gypsy) family in Russia
travelling about, but looking for a permanent place to stay. They do odd jobs, like tinkering, in each
town, and ask about houses as they save up to one day buy a house of their
own. Even the youngest, Birica, finds a
way to help. Themes include that all can
help out and that hard work brings rewards.
I read this book on Tumblebooks.com (in fact, I could not even find a
copy on Amazon). Many Elementary Schools
have an account at Tumblebooks.com.
While this book does not have the added animation that many Tumblebooks
feature nor the audio-recorded voice, it does have the quality of being able to
be read on the Smartboard or on the computer. Additionally, it can be read in
English or in Russian.
I was
unfamiliar with what “Roma family” meant, so I had to do some research to
understand what a Roma family was. They
were traditionally nomadic families (gypsies) who were forced to leave their
Nomadic ways in Russia during the late 1950s.
The primary value of Roma families is family—and they tend to live
together with their families—from the oldest to the youngest. They are often looked down upon by others in
society for not conforming to more traditional forms of work and business, and
are also considered to be suspicious characters by the whole of society.
This
story tells of the family wanting to settle down and buy a home, but the lack
of funds to do so. They work through
tinkering from village to village to earn enough money for their home. The pictures are rich water colors. All of the
family members contribute except the great-grandmother who is too old. It is accurately portrayed with the
grandmother managing finances and household manners, as well as telling
fortunes. I believe the author’s purpose
is to share a positive, warm version of a family who generally has negative
stereotypes against them. Another
purpose is to add multilingual books to the commercial Tumblebook’s repertoire. It is notable that even in this book where
the grandmother has the power in the family, and the child looks up and finds
her place to contribute—I can still feel, perhaps authentically, the feeling
that those in the towns who already have homes have the power, and this family
is dependent on the mercy of people to want pots and pans mended to help give
them money.
Roma
families can be in other areas as well, such as Italy, Czech, and Romania. However, although the culture can be found in
many locations, it is most certainly a culture that is very different than
those around them—so do not assume that simply because a student is Russian she
will relate to the story. However, they
may be able to access the language if they have learned how to read in Russian. Unfortunately, it does not yet have a vocal
translation, and I feel that this is a huge setback.
This is a book that could also connect with students who have
experienced poverty, homelessness, or simply the inability to buy a house—even
though family is working. The closeness
of the family is also a nice note to relate to—since many cultures do have
families that live together across generations.
“Biraca’s Home” is written by Elena Nuica and illustrated by
Eugen Raportoru. Published originally by
International Step by Step Association, but I accessed it via its online
publication by Tumbleweed Press 2004.
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