Biraca's House

          “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.

the Big Box

Author: Toni Morrison with Slade Morrison

Illustrator: Giselle Potter

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children 1999. 

This picture book is a charming tale of three different children with different interests who are all confined to living in a big box. Because Patty, Mickey, and Liza Sue could not follow rules their parents, teachers, and neighbors recommended they be sent to live in a big box because they couldn't handle their freedom.

Morrison cleverly plays with words and phrases and she uses end rhyme to tell this story which could make this book a great pick for fluency practice with young readers. But she also hints on some complex underlying themes that could open up deeper discussions with middle grades students. For example, Morrison uses situational irony in the gifts that the parents adorn their children with when they come to visit. These "gifts" include a record playing the sound of a living seagull and a film of a running brook. It could also be noted that the children in the novel have more insightful thinking than the adults. The following phrase is repeatedly expressed: "I know you are smart and I know that you think you're doing what is best for me. But if freedom is handled just your way then it's not my freedom or free."ouryouyouyoyou I think many students can easily connect to the children in the book by trying to do the right thing but getting in trouble for playing and being active and experiencing childhood in any way other than silently.

iFiesta!

By Ginger Foglesong Guy
Pictures by Rene King Moreno

The story of children gathering items for a fiesta (party) that they are going to, using numbers and starting from one and moving up to 10. The language in the book is simple sentences for Kindergarten students to comprehend, and it has the words written in English and Spanish. I have been told that this is a great read aloud book and that students really enjoy it. The illustrations are well done and every page is full of color.

Mama, Do You Love Me?

By Barbara M. Joosse
Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee

This book is a wonderful story about unconditional love from a mother to her daughter. Beautifully illustrated, this story takes you through a child testing her mother on how much love, her mother has for her daughter, through using vocabulary from the Inuit culture. Well written I would recommend this book for mid to upper elementary school level, because of the vocabulary from the Inuit culture are a little hard to pronounce. Many students no matter what culture could relate to this story.

Eyes of the Emperor

Eyes of the Emperor

Graham Salisbury

Wendy Lamb Books

2005

Eddy Okubo is a Japanese-American teenager who lives in Hawaii during World War II.  His father, who still has a flag of Japan in the house and who cherishes the homeland values even while he lives in America is shamed when Eddy lies about his age in order to enlist in the army.  Things change, however, when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.  With new-found honor and his father's blessing, Eddy continues his work as an American soldier, only to discover he is discriminated against because of the shape of his eyes.  He and other Japanese-American soldiers are sent to the other side of the United States, passing internment camps along the way.  Their mission is to secretly train dogs for the war.  How these dogs are trained and the trials Eddy and his friends meet along the way bring intensity to this different kind of war story.

Graham Salisbury and his family have a long history of living on the Hawaiian Islands.  Though he is not of Japanese decent, his first-person narration through the character of Eddy provides what seems to be a credible glimpse into the experiences and emotions of a soldier whose country turns on one of its own.  The short chapters and the easier reading level make this novel more accessible for a class study.  The mature themes of war and discrimination make it more appropriate for middle school.

The Memory String

Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: Ted Rand

Published in 2000

In this memorable children's book Bunting realistically captures the emotions and thoughts of a young girl, Sarah, and her struggle to welcome a stepmother into her life. Instead of accepting Jane as a new member of her family Sarah reminisces about the past, telling the significance of each button on a "memory string". This story beautifully captures the internal conflict a child may have adjusting to change while still grieving over the loss of a loved one. It also demonstrates how a patient and caring adult understands that gaining a child's love and respect takes precious time. 

This children's book touches on a fragile subject in an accurate portrayal of mixed emotions from the main character. This story could be really helpful in explaining to a young child how to cope with a tender situation. Having a difficult time accepting my new stepmother when I was 10, this book could have given me some insight into why I felt the way I did and how to deal with those feelings.

Waiting for the Rain

Waiting for the Rain

by Sheila Gordon

Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers

1987

This young adolescent novel explores the issues of Apartheid in South Africa post America's Civil Rights Movement.  It tells the story of friendship between two boys--Tengo who is black and Frikkie who is white--and how growing up changes everything.  The differences in lifestyle are made apparent through the descriptions of differences in houses, dinners, and labor.  Tensions grow as the boys reach adolescence, and Tengo becomes more aware of the disparity in their situations--a young girl calls his tribal leader "boy" and orders him to clean up a broken plate; he is given a tin cup and plate for an outdoor lunch of tea and small bread slice while Frikki eats a stomach-filling lunch inside on painted china.  Ironically, Frikki, who dreads every minute he is in school and longs to work on the farm has free access to education, while Tengo, who longs to find answers to his questions of science and history, has few books (much less school) available to him.  A clear theme in this story is that education is power, and the black school children begin to fight for the right for equal education.

The author is from Johannesburg in South Africa and writes with the authority of having observed these experiences.  That said, the novel portrays a stiffness that would indicate she was primarily an observer and not intimately connected or involved in the violence that took place within the story.  Furthermore, the limited third-person narration that focuses on one character for a length of time but then hops to another character for brief glimpses can be a confusing writing style for some readers.  Overall, this would be a good novel for children to explore the unfamiliar topic of Apartheid in South Africa, but additional background information might be necessary.