Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 2007. Paint the wind. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439873628

PLOT SUMMARY

Maya has lived with her overprotective grandmother since her parents died. For the past six years, Maya is seldom allowed to leave the house except to attend school. All traces of her past—her mother’s love of horses and her father’s talent for painting have been erased from her life by her disapproving grandmother. All, that is, but a shoebox full of plastic horses that her mother played with when she was a child and a photograph of her mother, atop a brown and white mustang. When Maya’s grandmother suffers a stroke and dies, Maya again finds herself an orphan and is sent to live with her mother’s family in Wyoming—a family that Maya does not remember. As Maya is again uprooted and begins to live the life that her parents wanted her to have, she discovers that she, too loves horses, and, with the help of her grandfather, Moose and Aunt Vi, Maya also rediscovers her parents. Throughout the book, the story is also seen through the eyes of Artemesia, the lead mare in a herd of wild horses. As the story unfolds, Artemesia’s desire to protect her young colt and Maya’s desire to become the person that her parent’s hoped she would become cause their lives to intertwine, weaving a touching tale of love, loss, holding on, and letting go. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Although the main character, Maya is not described in detail, her name, Maya Menetti, as well as the short description given by the author—“delicate and lean frame, russet-red hair, and unforgettable purplish eyes…Maya’s skin, a shade darker in tone and suggesting her father’s and grandmother’s southern European roots” gives readers a clear picture of the troubled girl as well as her mixed heritage. The behavior of Maya’s grandmother, very proper, protective and concerned with outward appearances, is emphasized by the housekeeper’s agreement with Maya’s grandmother on “the way children should be monitored”. It is further highlighted by the way that all Maya’s memories of her mother and her father’s artistic talent have been removed from her life. However, Maya keeps her mother’s memory alive by her contact with the box of plastic horses and photo of her mother.

Ryan’s description of Artemesia and the rest of the herd takes readers to the wild plains of Wyoming, and when the helicopters arrive for “the gathering”, readers feel the terror that Artemesia feels. Artemesia’s home, the plains of Wyoming are in stark contrast to the environment in which Maya has spent the past six years. From her grandmother’s palatial home in Pasadena, California, to the ranch house and tent that Maya lives in with her mother’s family. This contrast is emphasized by the third-person telling of Artemesia’s story. Artemesia has spent time in captivity before when she was purchased after a gathering. She was bought by Aunt Vi, and was ridden by Maya’s mother. The link between Artemesia and Maya goes deeper than the past, however. The book is divided into sections that are titled after a horse’s gait—walk, jog, lope, and gallop, and give a name to the sense of individuality and joy that Maya begins to experience as she becomes more confident and experienced in her new life.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publisher’s Weekly. When her imperious grandmother dies suddenly, 11-year-old Maya, an orphan, is sent to Wyoming to live with her mother’s family-strangers to her, thanks to her grandmother’s high-handed notions. There Maya discovers a love of horses, especially those raised and trained by her great-aunt Vi.

Children’s Literature. Maya leads a life of quiet obedience, never venturing outside except for school, never experiencing normal childhood activities, and never having friends. Playing with her mother’s toy horses and exacting minor acts of revenge on the household staff are her only solace. Then, orphaned again when her grandmother dies, Maya is sent to Wyoming to live with relatives she did not know she had: her mother’s father, uncle, and aunt. Thus begins the heart of this tale of a girl discovering the true meaning of family and freedom.

CONNECTIONS

The background of this story found on Pam Muñoz Ryan’s website lends itself well to a discussion of the research that is required to write an accurate and enthralling work of fiction.

Look for these other books by Pam Muñoz Ryan:

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Esperanza rising. ISBN 9780439120425

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Becoming Naomi Leon. ISBN 9780439269971

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Riding Freedom. ISBN 9780439087964

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Our California. ISBN 9781580891172

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Amelia and Eleanor go for a ride. ISBN 9780590960755

Mora, Pat. 2002. A library for Juana: the world of Sor Juana Inés. Ill. by Beatriz Vidal. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0375086431

PLOT SUMMARY

Mora follows the life of Juana Inés, a child with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. When Juana was three years old, she followed her older sister to school and asked to be part of the class. From that moment, Juana’s life revolved around books and knowledge. As a child, her favorite question was why?—“Why do volcanoes smoke? Why are leaves green?” As Juana explored her world, she enjoyed playing with words and sounds, and began to write poetry. Juana’s dream was to go to Mexico City to study at the university, but only boys were allowed to attend university. So, when Juana went to dinner dressed as a boy and informed her parents that she was practicing to go to the university, because girls were as smart as boys. As Juana grew older, she moved to Mexico City to live with her aunt and uncle, who hired a tutor to teach her at home. Even then, Juana was more interested in books that her appearance or the other things that girls were supposed to be interested in, and when her aunt and uncle took her to the palace, the viceroy and his wife were so impressed with her beauty and talent that she was asked to become a lady-in-waiting at the palace. Juana became a favorite at the palace, and many people came to her and asked her to write poems and riddles for them. The viceroy even invited forty scholars to the palace to ask Juana questions, and although the questions were difficult, Juana was able to answer every one. Juana loved learning, and, since she needed quiet to think and to write, she became a nun and changed her name to Juana Inés de la Cruz. While at the convent, she continued to add books to her library until it became one of the largest libraries in the Americas. One of Juana’s greatest achievements was the publication of her own book of poems, which she added to her library. The watercolor illustrations by Vidal are reminiscent of renaissance miniatures that were popular during Juana’s life and detail both the activity of life at the palace as well as the beauty that surrounded Juana in her new home. The opening illustration shows Juana looking at books and a swirl of illustrations show readers the topics of her books in a dreamy swirl that covers both pages. Similarly, the two-page spread illustrating Juana with the scholars is highlighted by insets of the topics on which she was quizzed—music, art, math, literature, and astronomy. The expressive faces in the pictures along with the flowers that grow in the margins of each page add a beauty to the text that emphasizes both the strength and the femininity of the heroine.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

A Library for Juana is a fascinating look at the life of one of the foremost scholars of the renaissance age. Although the font used for the text is very small, the use of quotes and poems from Juana herself adds a dynamic to the story that will enthrall readers. Additionally, readers will find Spanish text interspersed with English, infusing the story with Juana’s heritage and culture. Juana’s European heritage is highlighted throughout the biography, and readers will also find that A Library for Juana calls attention to the different value that culture placed on women in the 17^th century. Juana was a “poet, defender of women’s educational rights, intellectual, playwright, environmentalist, wit.” As the first great Latin American poet, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, by her life and art, proved to the world that women “can do more than spin and sew, they could study and prove all they know”. 

The illustrations by Vidal explore the different appearances of people in the European cultures. The miniature watercolors show people with varying shades of skin as well as different hair colors and hairstyles, which add to the integrity of the story. Juana’s story, told in both words and illustrations show her love of books and learning, is inspiring, and will provide motivation for achievement in readers who identify with the heroine.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

School Library Journal. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz died in 1695 in a convent in Mexico. Despite the passage of more than 300 years, she is still considered one of Mexico’s most brilliant scholars. An internationally known bibliophile and poet whose works are studied in university Spanish literature courses, she was a Renaissance woman in the most complete sense of the word. Mora’s beautifully crafted text does credit to its subject, following her from birth to death. Sor Juana In s comes across as intelligent, headstrong, humorous, and kind, and her retreat to the convent as a place of learning seems natural.

Kirkus Reviews. This picture-book biography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz brings the great 17th-century poet and intellectual, revered throughout Latin America, to the attention of English-speaking children. Graced by Vidal’s (The Magic Bean Tree, not reviewed, etc.) exquisite gouache-and-watercolor illustrations, created with a magnifying glass and small brushes in the style of illuminated manuscripts, this is quite elegant. Graceful flowers, especially roses (the subject of one of Sor Juana’s best-known poems), link text and pictures.

CONNECTIONS

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz enjoyed playing with sounds and words, and in the palace, she was often asked to write riddles and poems for other palace residents. By writing poems and riddles, students can discover the creative side of this historic figure.

Look for these books of poetry by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz:

de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inés. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz poems: a bilingual anthology. ISBN 9780916950606

de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inés. Sonnets of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in English verse. ISBN 9780773473386

de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inés. Sor Juana anthology. ISBN 9780674821217

de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inés. Sor Juana’s love poems. ISBN 9780965155861

de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inés. The answer/la respuesta: including a selection of poems. ISBN 9781558610767

Soto, Gary. 1995. Canto familiar. Ill. by Annika Nelson. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152000674

PLOT SUMMARY

Gary Soto has combined a look at the familiar in a book of poems that celebrate the familiar moments in lives, especially the lives of children. From poems about familiar foods, to a celebration of success in school and well-loved pets, Soto uses a combination of Spanish and English to depict the people and places that mean “home” to him. The woodcut illustrations by Nelson also celebrate the Hispanic culture with their bright colors and folkloric emphasis that is a celebration in color and style.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Even in its title, Canto Familiar celebrates the familiar and the things that make readers think of home and comfort. Geared toward the Hispanic culture, the book of simple poems gives tribute to many aspects of the Hispanic way of life, from food to celebration of a beautiful spring day. Throughout the selection of poems, readers will find dialect and forms of address that are well-known to people from this culture and others who find themselves part of the tradition that makes this one of the enduring cultures in the United States today. From exclamations such as ¡Ay Dios! to the people who ask the girl with the broken watch ¿Qué hora es?, Soto’s attention to detail through language is exceptional.

In addition to dialect, readers will also notice familiar forms of address. Abuelo and Abuela are mentioned frequently along with Mami/Moma and Papi, and hermana and hermano. These forms of address are as familiar in song as they are in daily life for the Mexican American culture. Along with the forms of address, the Aztec culture is mentioned in “Sarape”, a poem about a blanket the colors of the Aztec rainbow which was handed down so often, no one is sure where it belonged originally.

Physical description plays a large part in Canto Familiar. Although much of the description is found in the illustrations by Annika Nelson, in “Papi’s Menudo”, readers will find a description of Papi—“red in his eyes and whiskers the color of iron filings standing up on a magnet”. The old men playing checkers under the grape arbor had faces that were “lined and dark as the earth at their feet”. These descriptive phrases, along with the colorful woodcut illustrations by Nelson provide an imaginative look at ordinary and familiar sights.

Although readers will find abundant Hispanic dialect and forms of address throughout Soto’s selections, perhaps the most noticeable cultural aspect of this collection are the references to food. From the first poem, “Papi’s Menudo” which discusses not only menudo but tortillas to dip in it, but tortillas which do not end up in their traditional round shape, but more like continents and countries in “Tortillas Like Africa”. Food is also celebrated in “Doing Dishes” where the main character complains that when it was someone else’s night to do the dishes there was “one pot and three dishes”, but because they had chicken mole, there were plates, forks knives, a wooden spoon, and a pot stained with sauce. In Soto’s book, as in the Hispanic American culture, food plays an important and vital part of daily life.  

The woodcut illustrations by Annika Nelson represent the familiar way of life also. From the bright colors of the clothing and furnishings to the predominantly dark, straight hair of the characters, the Hispanic American culture is celebrated in picture. The hairstyles are basically the same—mature women have straight hair parted in the middle, and younger girls have pigtails, ponytails, or no particular hairstyle. Men and boys both have straight hair, brown in color and parted either on the side or down the middle. Although the culture today has as many hairstyles as there are personalities, the basic celebration of the familiar life is seen in every illustration.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist. A companion to Soto’s “Neighborhood Odes” (1992), this collection of simple free verse captures common childhood moments at home, at school, and in the street. Many of the experiences are Mexican American (”Spanish is seeing double” ), and occasional Spanish words are part of the easy, colloquial, short lines. The first-person voices are immediate, physical, and joyful, celebrating music, dancing, cats, friends, family.

School Library Journal. Who could imagine that such joyous rhythm could be found in the familiar moments of life, such as washing dishes or spotting a teacher in the market? In this companion volume to Neighborhood Odes (Harcourt, 1992), Soto not only imagines the musical beat, but also captures the energy and tranposes it into poetic songs. Imagery abounds, as in the hot iron that “snorts like a bull.” Nelson’s distinctive block prints bounce off white pages with vibrant magentas and bold blues outlined with thick black lines. The result is a harmony of words and pictures to be anticipated and savored.

CONNECTIONS

Gary Soto celebrates the familiar sights in the life of the Hispanic American culture. Poems in this book feature a celebration of food, dialect, forms of address and descriptive phrases. Students can write a poem about something familiar from the American culture (hot dogs and apple pie), or from a culture of their choosing.

Look for these other books of by Gary Soto:

Soto, Gary. Living up the street.  ISBN 9780440211709

Soto, Gary. Taking sides. ISBN 9780152046941

Soto, Gary. The afterlife. ISBN 9780152052201

Soto, Gary. Too many tamales. ISBN 9780698114128

Soto, Gary. Buried onions. ISBN 9780152062651