(Week 7, Children's Folktale) Folktales for Fearless Girls, by Myriam Sayalero

 

    This collection of folktales focuses on stories with an all female heroine cast. These folktale come from a wide variety of places and represents women from multiple cultures: China, Russia, Persia, India, Armenia, the UK, Spain, France, Southern Africa, Egypt, and Germany. 

 

These stories take young readers along a journey of female empowerment and turns the idea of a knight in shining armor on its head. 

Discussion and Classroom Application 

This is a fun read to use for a reader's theater activity. Discussions on the differences between how women are viewed in these mention countries when these stories were written versus how they are viewed now. 

(Week 7, Young Adult Fantasy) The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

    In this classic high-fantasy novel, countless children and adults have been transported to Middle Earth. We see Bilbo Baggins, a gentlemanly hobbit, who is roped into becoming a "burglar" for a troop of Dwarves on a mission to reclaim their kingdom from Smaug the dragon. Along the way Bilbo finds out just how much of an adventurer he really is as he overcomes challenge after challenge, or at least he does until he find a magical gold ring with the power to turn him invisible whenever he wears it. This novel has far too much to wrap up in a short summary, so do yourself the favor and read it for yourself. Through this beautifully written epic tale, we are introduced to the world that will eventually lead to Tolkien's series Lord of the Rings.  

Discussion and Classroom Applications

    This book has been a classic for decades and has various classroom applications. It would be interesting to see how the characters in this story could be used as representations of other cultures or how the themes of this book could reflect cultural aspects that apply to more than one culture. 

(Week 6, Hispanic/Latino Historical Fiction Young Adult) Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan

    Esperanza Rising is a story that begins in tragedy, but ends with hope. Hope is the English translation for Esperanza's name which serves as a sense of foreshadowing that even through the hardest times, hope can raise you out of your despair. In the beginning, Esperanza is living on her father's ranch. He is a wealthy landowner has has built a life for his family that ensures that they want for nothing. Sadly at the end of the grape harvest and the day before Esperanza's thirteenth birthday, her father, Sixto Ortega, is murdered leaving Esperanza and her mother at the mercy of Esperanza's devious uncles who, due to the land inheritance, now own the ranch. Tio Luis, who is also the bank president, makes it clear that he wishes to live like a king in the place of his now deceased brother, and take over the ranch house and marry Sixto's widow. Esperanza's mother vehemently refuses which ultimately lead to her and Esperanza's departure to the United States to work for their survival. 

    They arrive in the United States during the Great Depression with a family that has been close friends for many years and together they strive and toil in an Oklahoma work camp. Esperanza saves and saves for the day that she can send for her Abuelita to join them. She babysits the workers children until she too is old enough to work and contribute to earning a living. Dealing with the separation from her grandmother and her mother's sickness that she contracted shortly after coming into California, Esperanza is jolted from the comfortable life of a wealthy rancher's daughter to the impoverished life of a laborer in the fields that belong to someone else. She witnesses firsthand racism and unfair living situations and pay that were given to these workers. She also witnesses the fight that these workers had in working toward a better future for all laborers during this time. Through all of this heartache, she suffers another blow of betrayal, or at least she thinks so. Her lifelong friend, Miguel has taken every cent that Esperanza saved up to bring her Abuelita to the United States. However, little did she know that Miguel had taken the money, snuck back into Mexico and brought her grandmother to her with the money as it was intended. Esperanza's mother is also released from the hospital after recovering from the fever, and everyone is together once again to face this life head on. Esperanza, realizing the depth of Miguel's feelings for her and hers for him, now faces the future with the hope that was always in front of her despite the hardships that were thrown at her. 

Discussion and Classroom Application

 This is a wonderful book to serve as an introductory piece to the lives of Depression Era migrant workers and their plight to find reasonable working conditions and wage. While this does not go into great detail of the hardships that were faces, it can certainly be something that teachers use to scaffold their way towards the harsher realities that were faced. Along with English, this book would be a good supplemental reading option for History, and Government. 

(Week 6, Hispanic/Latino Historical Fiction Children's Book) Waiting for the Biblioburro, by Monica Brown

 

    This is a beautiful story of a young girl named Ana who loves to read. She loves the stories and the places they take her. She was gifted a book by her teacher before the teacher moved away. This is her only book, so she has read it so many times that she knows it by heart. She even tells her baby brother the cuentos from the book and stories that she makes up on her own. She longs for more books, but they have no access to buy more or visit a library where she lives. One day, she hears the baying of donkeys carrying what seems to be a heavy load. She sees a man with a sign reading "Biblioburro". The man tells her that he is a librarian, "a bibliotecario". He spreads his books out for all the children in the village to look at while he reads to them. Before he leaves, he tells the kids that they can take books home to keep until he returns in a few weeks. The Ana is so excited, "'Me too?' asks Ana. 'Especially you,' says the librarian with a smile." 

    When Ana tells the librarian that someone write a story about his burros, he pretty much says that she should. She runs home with her books and reads and waits for the librarian to come back. She is constantly asking when he will come back her mother simply smiles and replies, "Go read, Ana; Go draw, Ana; Go write, Ana, Go to bed, Ana!" She dreams so many fantastic dreams of bringing stories to everyone she meets and everywhere she goes. She then begins to write the book for the Biblioburro, the librarian, and the burros. When The Biblioburro finally returns, Ana gives the librarian the book and he reads it to the rest of the children. He takes it with him on the Biblioburro to share it with other children who are waiting for their turn at the Biblioburro!

Discussion and Classroom Application

This story was written for children age 5 to 8. This was based on the real-life Biblioburro created by Luis Soriano in the late 90s. Now, I wouldn't necessarily call the late 90s a "historic time", but it is in the past and this serves as a pretty significant event in the lives of the children that Luis' travelling library has helped to change. This is a great way for children to see how important books are and they are to be treasured because not every child has access to books, or new stories (cuentos) to fill their days with wonder and fuel for their imaginations.