Spoken Memories

Title:  Spoken Memories (Marianthe’s Story: Two)

Author:  Aliki

Illustrations:  Aliki

Greenwillow Books (1998)

This is the continuing story of a young girl from a foreign land, who has begun going to school in America.  She is still has the same teacher as in Painted Words but she has now begun to learn the language.  It is life story time and it is her turn.  This book is a highlight of what her life was before her move to this country and the things she misses and gave up to come here.  She explains why they had to move, the hardships in her own country.  She explains that the school was two hours away from her village and not everyone got to attend, especially girls.  She is able to share her culture with the students in her class.  The theme of this story could be the story of any child and their family coming to America looking for a better life.

The illustrations are very appropriate as they accurately depict the life that Mari and her family left behind in their move to America.  It shows not only the hardships of their life but the joy and closeness they felt in family, friends and neighbors.  The pictures help the author to visually show the reader about Mari’s homeland.

I think the story and the pictures are an authentic representation of what it would feel like to leave everything familiar to you behind and move to a new land.  I think it leaves the readers with an appreciation for other people’s stories and more understanding of differences that may exist in people.  Any lesson on cultural differences could use this book as a resource.

I would recommend this to elementary school teachers as a way to help introduce diversity into a classroom or just to talk about things that students may have had to leave behind in their lives.