BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. Habibi: a novel. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN 9780689801495

PLOT SUMMARY

Liyana is 14-years old when her native Palestinian father decides to relocate his family from the United States to Jerusalem. Even before the family’s departure from the states, Liyana receives a glimpse into her future. Her father refuses to let her take a pair of shorts that she loves, and most of their possessions are sold or left behind in storage. Upon their arrival in Jerusalem, things are not quite as peaceful as Liyana’s father believed. Palestinians are still looked upon with distrust by Israelis, and friendships with Jews are culturally forbidden. Liyana’s family is large and unknown and impossible to understand unless her father is there to translate. When Liyana meets Omer, she realizes that she does not miss her home in the United States as much as she did, but when she discovers that her father has been arrested and jailed for defying Israeli soldiers, she discovers a new strength in herself and begins to face the future and the changes that will be required for her to be successful in her father’s country.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

From the beginning of the story, the author immerses readers in the richness and tradition of the Palestinian culture. Although Liyana and her family have lived in the United States her entire life, their beliefs and traditions remain deeply rooted in their lives. When the time comes to transition to their new home, Liyana begins to understand the history that has kept her father bound to his homeland.

Although skin tone is not discussed in the story, Liyana does describe her mother’s skin as two shades lighter than Poppy’s and mentions that both she and her brother Rafik had inherited Poppy’s olive skin. Nye uses colorful language to describe the clothing worn by Liyana’s father’s family. “The women’s long dresses were made of thick fabrics, purple, gold, and navy blue, and stitched brightly with fabulous, complicated embroidery.” “Two of the older uncles, Zaki and Daoud, wore black-and white-checkered kaffiyehs on their heads….” It is descriptions such as this that let readers go beyond simply visiting Jerusalem and help them become part of the story, observing from the sidelines, but still completely involved.

Much of the story is told about mealtimes. In the story, as in the Arab culture, food is not only what is eaten to sustain life, but is prepared, served, and eaten in a way that celebrates the culture and traditions that are uniquely Middle Eastern. From lentils and saffron to lamb chunks and stuffed grape leaves, the family makes each meal an occasion for reconnecting and getting to know each other better.

Religious customs, although not an obvious focal point, are as important to the plotline as the characters and setting. Through Nye’s description and emotive narration, readers are convinced of religion as its own character in the novel. “A muezzin gave the last call to prayer of the day over a loudspeaker from the nearby mosque and all the relatives rose up in unison and turned their back on Liyana’s family. They unrolled small blue prayer rugs from a shelf, then knelt, stood, and knelt again, touching foreheads to the ground, saying their prayers in low voices.” Nye makes the point that the family did not mind that Liyana, Rafik and their parents were staring at them. This indicates that the religious demonstration is part of the family’s daily life. In addition to the religious practices displayed by Liyana’s Palestinian family, Liyana’s family attends a few celebrations and religious locations of their own in the course of the story. Liyana’s mother cries when the family visits the chapel of Calvary, the Garden of Gethsemane, and The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the entire family feels the joy of Christmas when they stand in line at the Church of the Nativity at midnight on Christmas Eve. Throughout the story, readers will notice Nye’s use of Arab forms of address—Liyana calls her father Poppy and her grandmother Sitti, similar to the American addresses Daddy and Grandma. Additionally, native language is used by all characters, infusing both Arabic and Israeli vocabulary into Liyana’s story.

Nye shares Liyana’s thoughts and feelings in a way that demonstrates respect for unknown customs and a willingness to draw new lines in dealing with others. Habibi is a novel ahead of its time, inspiring readers with hope for the future, and confidence in the young people that will write their own version of history as they grow.

REVIEW EXCERPTS Nye introduces readers to unforgettable characters. The setting is both sensory and tangible: from the grandmother’s village to a Bedouin camp. Above all, there is Jerusalem itself, where ancient tensions seep out of cracks and Liyana explores the streets practicing her Arabic vocabulary. Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident. Habibi succeeds in making the hope for peace compellingly personal and concrete…as long as individual citizens like Liyana’s grandmother Sitti can say, “I never lost my peace inside.”

Kirkus Reviews. In her first novel, Nye (with Paul Janeczko, I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You, 1996, etc.) shows all of the charms and flaws of the old city through unique, short-story-like chapters and poetic language. The sights, sounds, and smells of Jerusalem drift through the pages and readers glean a sense of current Palestinian-Israeli relations and the region’s troubled history. In the process, some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story- -Liyana’s emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother’s reactions overall–fall away from the plot. However, Liyana’s romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own.

CONNECTIONS

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Look for these other books about Arab countries:

Ellis, Deborah. The breadwinner. ISBN 9780888994196

Nye, Naomi Shihab. The flag of childhood: poems of the Middle East. ISBN 9780689851728

Oppenheim, Shulamith Levey. The hundredth name. ISBN 978 9780613034937

Winter, Jeanette. The librarian of Basra: a true story from Iraq. ISBN 0152054456

Heide, Florence Parry and Judith Heide Gilliland. The day of Ahmed’s secret. ISBN 9780688088941

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2001. Rain is not my Indian name. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0688173977

PLOT SUMMARY

On the night before her birthday, the night that Rain finally kissed her forever best-friend, Galen, he is tragically killed in an automobile accident on his way home. In her grief, Rain refuses to attend Galen’s funeral and shuts herself and her life off from everyone around her for six months, not realizing until later that the town gossip is that she and Galen did more than kiss. Her brother Fynn, also tired of Rain’s reclusiveness, strongly encourages her to attend her Aunt Georgia’s Indian Camp for children. Although Rain inherited Native American blood from both her father’s side of the family and her mother’s, she is reluctant to expose herself as an “Indian” in her small hometown. Finally, Rain volunteers to attend the camp as a volunteer photographer, and becomes involved through her camera lens. The experience reconnects her with friends from her past and those who hope to be part of her future. When funding for the camp becomes a political debate in her small town, Rain must decide whether to commit to her heritage or return to hiding. Throughout the story, Rain’s slightly dysfunctional family supports her and her efforts to return to life as a normal teenager.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Cassidy Rain Berghoff is a modern Native American who has suffered the loss of her mother and now the loss of her best friend, and first romantic interest. Cynthia Leitich Smith does not give a detailed description of Rain or of the other characters, but in passing informs readers that she is “average height, average weight, with bottle-cap boobs and eyes pinched at the corners”. When her mother was alive, she used to say that Rain’s “hair looked like waving wheat and [her] eyes changed color with the weather”. Although Rain does say that her brother Finn is “striking”, the only other description readers get of Fynn is when Rain calls him “Native American Fabio”.

Rain is Not My Indian Name portrays a family of Native Americans living the average American life. They have a nice house in Kansas, their father is in the Air Force, their grandfather lives with them along with Fynn’s girlfriend/fiancée, Natalie. Throughout the story, Rain struggles with her heritage, which is mixed, but still a vital part of her life. There is mention of Rain’s resentment of the way it felt to be an Indian in her small town. “At school, the subject of Native Americans pretty much comes up just around Turkey Day, like those cardboard cutouts of the Pilgrims and the pumpkins and the squash taped to the windows at McDonald’s” (p. 13). Rain’s reaction is to avoid the season and read other materials when the class is discussing the season.

Although Rain is not ashamed of her heritage, it is not her favorite topic of conversation. Aunt Georgia’s Indian Camp, as Rain feared brings her heritage, her past, and her future into the open, forcing her to deal with her life with all its ups and downs. Although Rain is a Native American, Smith portrays her as an average American girl with the same thoughts and feelings as everyone else. This is a wonderful story for readers to experience life along with Rain and see the world through the eyes of someone with special qualities and a heritage that helps her face the challenges she must face every day.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publisher’s Weekly. The sensitive yet witty narrator, 14-year-old Cassidy Rain Berghoff, grows up in a small Kansas town as one of the few people with some Native American heritage. That experience alone might challenge Rain, but Smith creates a welter of conflicts. Rain’s mother is dead (she was struck by lightning), and as the novel opens, her best friend is killed in a car accident just after he and Rain realize their friendship has grown into romance. Six months later, her older brother urges her to go to her great-aunt’s Indian Camp. At first she shrugs it off, but later volunteers to photograph the camp for the town paper and begins to share her Aunt Georgia’s commitment to it.

School Library Journal. There is a surprising amount of humor in this tender novel. It is one of the best portrayals around of kids whose heritage is mixed but still very important in their lives. As feelings about the public funding of Indian Camp heat up, the emotions and values of the characters remain crystal clear and completely in focus. It’s Rain’s story and she cannot be reduced to simple labels. A wonderful novel of a present-day teen and her “patchwork tribe”.

CONNECTIONS

This novel is a great beginning point for readers to discuss loss and what it can and does mean in their lives.

Look for these other novels about modern Native American kids:

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Jingle dancer. ISBN 9780688162412

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian shoes. ISBN 9780060295318

Carvell, Marlene. Who will tell my brother? ISBN 9780786816576

George, Jean Craighead. The talking Earth. ISBN 9780064402125

McCain, Becky Ray. Grandmother’s dreamcatcher. ISBN 9780807530320

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2002. Hush. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 0399231145

PLOT SUMMARY

Toswiah loves her life. She has a best friend, she lives near her grandmother, and she knows exactly who she is and where she is going. Her policeman father loved his job, and, as the only black man on the Denver police force, was respected and well-liked. When Toswiah’s father sees a young black boy shot and killed by two white policemen, his sense of justice forces him to testify against the policemen that Toswiah has known her entire life. Mr. Green’s decision to testify puts his entire family in danger and they receive death threats and are ostracized by their friends. The family enters the witness protection program, and Toswiah’s life is turned upside down. The family is moved to a new location where the kids are not friendly, her father sits and stares out the window all day, and her mother spends her time with her new-found religion. Toswiah Green is now Evie Thomas, and she struggles to discover who she is, and what her new future will hold in this captivating coming-of-age story.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

From the first page, Woodson draws readers into a mesmerizing tale of intrigue, loss, and rediscovery. Her attention to detail allows readers to picture each character as if through a window. Ma is “brown—all-over brown—hair, eyes, skin”, Toswiah and Cameron are their father’s “copper pennies”. It is these details, intricately woven into the story that give readers an insight into the lives of an African American family who is faced with one of the most difficult choices that a family can make. Throughout the story, Woodson uses words to illustrate mannerisms that bring the characters and the story to life. Woodson cleverly switches the setting of the story from the character’s past as Toswiah Green to her present as Evie Thomas, highlighting Evie’s struggle to discover her identity in a world that is not always friendly or safe. The underlying hope that is woven through the story emphasizes the strength of African American people in today’s world, where racism and prejudice still exist.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publisher’s Weekly. When Toswiah Green’s father, witness to a murder, does the right thing by testifying against two fellow police officers, he puts his entire family in danger. Now the Greens have fled for their lives, leaving behind all that is comfortable and familiar for the alien existences laid out by the witness protection program.

School Library Journal. The younger daughter in a successful African-American family, the 12-year-old’s life is ripped apart when her policeman father testifies against his comrades in a racially motivated shooting, placing his family in jeopardy. Now they are living in a strange city in the Witness Protection Program. They have new names, new identities, no friends, and no history. Evie’s mother has taken refuge in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, her father sits in front of the window day after day, and her older sister is looking for a way to escape this less-than-ideal reality. Evie must come to terms with her new life and create a present and future for herself even though she no longer has a past.

CONNECTIONS

Hush is an ideal book to read with students and discuss race issues, right and wrong, and consequences of decisions. It can also be used to discuss family histories and the impact of losing everything that is known.

Look for these other coming-of-age books about African American teens:

Johnson, Angela. The first part last .ISBN 9780689849237

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. ISBN 0439202183

Draper, Sharon M. Tears of a tiger. ISBN 9780689806988

Garcia, Rita Williams. Like sisters on the homefront. ISBN 9780140385618

Flake, Sharon. Bang!  ISBN 9780786849550

Smith, Jeff. 2005. Bone: out from boneville. New York: Scholastic, Inc. 

In this first volume in a nine-volume graphic novel set, Fone Bone, Smiley Bone, and Phoney Bone are run out of Boneville for cheating the citizens. Along the way, the three cousins are separated, as they fall into a mysterious valley where all sorts of strange and exotic creatures live. Fone Bone, the cousin with whom we spend the most time in this installment, finds friends and acceptance with his winning personality. Smith uses clever witticisms and almost slapstick humor as the Bone cousins attempt to begin a new life outside their home. The bold lines and detailed backgrounds will delight older readers, but the plot of the story may prove to be too mature for younger readers. These older readers will enjoy the humor and plot of the story, and will anxiously await the next installment, where they can be reunited with an appealing cast of characters who work together to tell an entertaining story full of greed, friendship, and struggle.

Colfer, Eoin. 2001. Artemis Fowl. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Artemis Fowl is twelve years old. He is also the heir to a multi-million dollar empire, made by his father through nefarious means. The Fowl family fortune is rapidly dwindling due to the disappearance of Artemis’ father and the questionable sanity of his mother since the disappearance. Determined to add to the family’s dwindling fortune through fair means or fowl, Artemis discovers proof of the existence of the People—fairies, leprechauns, and trolls, along with other unbelievable creatures. Artemis uses his extreme intelligence, to trick a drunken fairy into showing him “the Book” which details all the laws, strengths, and weaknesses of the People. After decoding the symbols and language in “the Book”, Artemis uses his new knowledge to kidnap Captain Holly Short, an undercover agent for the LEPrecon division of the Lower Elements Police. Holly’s kidnapping sets in motion a series of events that will delight readers of all ages. Readers will admire Fowl’s ability to stay one-step-ahead of the fairies throughout their rescue attempts, and will cheer when Fowl is finally discomfited by incidents, including a dwarf who unhinges his jaw in order to eat earth (and expel it rather forcefully from the other end), and fairies who are unafraid to use whatever means are at their disposal in order to gain their freedom. Although Artemis Fowl is not a sympathetic character, readers will find themselves identifying with his worry over his absent father and his attempts to understand and support his ailing mother. Artemis Fowl provides readers with fantastical creatures, scientific gadgets, and most of all, active imaginations that will encourage them to continue, along with Artemis Fowl through all of his adventures.

Sage, Angie. Illustrated by Mark Zug. 2005. Magyk. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books.

When the seventh son of a seventh son is born, events are set in motion that begin a saga that will thrill readers of all ages. Septimus Heap, on the evening of his birth is carried away by the midwife and presumed dead by his family and their wizard friends. When Silas Heap, Septimus’ father finds a young baby girl while walking in the forest, he takes her home and baby Jenna becomes part of the Heap family. Ten years later, others discover the secret that Silas and Sarah Heap have known from the beginning—Jenna is the daughter of the assassinated queen and those that killed her mother are determined to do the same to Jenna. The family separates and flees from their home. Jenna, along with others in her family, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, and an army guard known as Boy 412 hide in the Marrow Marshes, where they meet fantastic creatures, some who want to help and others who don’t. Throughout Sage’s first story in this fantasy series, characters face danger and self-doubt as they discover who they thought they were and who they plan to become. Readers will thrill at both the expected and unexpected plot twists as they enjoy Zug’s clever pen and ink drawings that bring a new fantastical world to life.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 1998. Among the hidden. New York: Simon & Shuster.

Luke has never disobeyed his parents’ command to come inside the house. Nor has Luke ever seen or been seen by anyone outside his family. Luke is a third child in a time where third children are not allowed. The year is 3903, and the government has passed the Population Law—a law that forbids families to have more than two children. Supposedly, the law was passed to ensure that there would be enough food for everyone. Luke had always been allowed to play in the woods behind his house, until the day that the government destroys the forest in order to build mansions for the barons, the elite class of the world. Since that day, Luke is forced to stay inside, away from windows and doors, and is even unable to eat at the table with his family. If his family is discovered, the punishment is five-million dollars or execution, depending on the mood of the judge. When Luke spies a face in the window of one of the baron mansions—a mansion owned by a family who already has two children, he realizes that he is not alone. In fact, there is an entire network of Shadow Children—children who are not supposed to exist, but do. Through his developing friendship with Jen, the girl he saw in the window, Luke is pushed to determine his own reality and to do something to end his life of hiding and be allowed to live life as a normal child. Haddix’s chilling and emotional beginning to a series of books about a future that is incomprehensible will thrill readers and will leave them anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next installment in the Shadow Children series.

Pullman, Philip. 2001. The golden compass. New York: Random House Children’s Books.

Pullman has created a world that mirrors our own with one significant difference. Every person is paired with a daemon, an animalistic alter-ego that is able to communicate with their human and changes shape until their human reaches adulthood. Lyra Belacqua considers herself lucky to live in this world where she resides at Jordon College in the care of her often absent uncle, Lord Asriel. Tutored by the many scholars who also reside at the college, Lyra finds herself bored with lessons, yet entertained by her avid curiosity which leads her and her best friend, Roger through many adventures, which are all steps along the road to Lyra’s ultimate destiny—one which she does not and cannot know about. Lyra becomes very concerned about the disappearance of her friend Roger, whose disappearance like that of other children is blamed on a group of people known only as “the Gobblers”. These Gobblers take children as subjects for unknown experiments, and the children are never seen again. When Lyra’s uncle also disappears, she is given an artifact by the master of Jordon College, and is put into the care of Mrs. Coulter, a fascinating and beautiful woman who wants Lyra to act as her assistant. When Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter is part of the Gobblers, she runs away and goes North with the nomadic gyptians to rescue her friend, her uncle, and other children who have been taken. Lyra’s journey brings her into contact with witch clans, an armored bear, a Texan who flies a hot air balloon, and Dust, a material that reacts with certain humans, and is also suspected to transport people to alternate universes. Lyra’s journey is fraught with discovery of self, family, and her past. Her growing ability to read the alethiometer, the artifact that will answer any question truthfully if only she can learn to read it makes her a heroine for readers of all ages and genders. Pullman has written the first in a series that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next book before they have even finished the first.

Lowry, Lois. 1989. Number the stars. New York: Dell Publishing.

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think about life before the war. However, in 1943 Copenhagen, the war greets them each morning as they wake up and move throughout their day. When the girls, along with Annemarie’s younger sister are stopped by German soldiers as they raced through the town, events seem to move at a much faster pace. Ellen’s family will be relocated unless they hide, so Ellen moves in with the Johansens and Annemarie finds herself redefining courage. With only enough knowledge to complete a dangerous mission, Annemarie overcomes her fear and saves the life of her best friend and family.  Lowry’s story, inspired by a letter written by a twenty-one year old member of the Resistance is heartwarming and describes a life that only those who have lived through a war will understand completely. With courage and compassion, Lowry’s characters inspire hope and pride in readers of all ages and nationalities.