Farmer's Market: Families Working Together

Rendon, Marcie R., and Cheryl Walsh. Bellville. Farmer's Market: Families Working Together. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda, 2001. Print.
In Farmer's Market: Families Working Together two families the Thao, a Hmong family, and the Kornder family, a German family, both contribute to the local farmer’s market.  The book describes the farming process from planting to harvesting and the specifics behind making a particular crop grow.  The story stresses the coming together of cultures at the farmer's market and how food is a great unifier and educator to cultures. 

Looking at the readability lexiles, the language is rooted in the middle elementary level because of longer sentences and process-based plot showing how food is grown and harvested.  There are also some unique low-frequency words like “topsoil”, “corms” and “nutrients”.  Cognitively, I would place it at an upper elementary level.  Students must keep track of two families and the process from planting to selling.  In addition to this, concepts such as seasons and the actions that are tied to them are stressed as being extremely important.  Socially, I would place the story in the middle elementary level because students have to understand the Thao and Kornder families are working together to achieve a goal.  Through their teamwork as families and in a larger sense at the farmer’s market, their hard work is rewarded with a strong social relationship between grower and buyer.
 
While analyzing the characteristics of high quality learning, I found the characters in the book faced large scale issues that were interesting to readers, such as: teamwork, creating something and working hard to achieve a goal.  On a smaller scale, I felt the families didn’t face problems relating to younger students.  Many of their small-scale problems were related to farming.

The two families overcome their problems in ways that allow them to gain insight into different ways of finding solutions.  Working with others, depending on others, planning, taking responsibility and acceptance of other cultures allows them to reach their goals and successfully sell their food at the farmer‘s market.  These themes allow students to see how difficult, precise and rewarding growing your own food is and knowing where it came from. 

The setting is modern, but each family's ancestry is discussed and how farming has changed from previous generations. 

After analyzing the text, I found no explicit higher thought processes employed.  Everything is explained, presented in pictures and told in a straightforward manner.  I believe the text motivates and inspires students by showing them the process of growing food.  Because we all eat, food is something everyone is involved in at some level (usually not growing it, but buying and eating it).  In the book we see the actual fields where your food may come from which is a journey few people experience. 

The literary elements I found in the text were setting as a mood, accessibility and characterization.  In ‘setting as a mood’ the noises, smells and visuals of the farmer's market are all aptly described. 

The book’s accessibility allows the author to tell the story in relatively simple terms (although there are some long sentences and advanced words used) explaining what happens at each step in the process of farming with each family.  This could be overwhelming to young readers, especially with a possible culture disconnect with each respective family, depending on the child who is reading the book.  However, the pictures and captions support the text by reinforcing what is being described.  Also, there is a list of definitions listed in the back of the book that explains some possibly new or confusing words. 
 
When I say the characterization is used well, I am referring to the families.  Each family has an identity, a method to their farming, different roles within the family and different crops.  However, despite these differences that are laid out and explained, there are similarities, like the friends they know at the farmer's market and feeling of community. 

There are no illustrations in the text but there are real life pictures that show the evolutionary process from planting to harvesting the food.  They also show pictures of each family's ancestors and how growing crops is a part of their history.

An idea for a mini lesson is to have the class investigate the path most produce takes to reach our shelves and compare it to that of a farmer's market.  Why is food grown so far away?  Having the class grow some of their own food with seeds, create a classroom farmers market and share a meal together at a later date would allow them to be involved in the text. 

Looking at the target audience, I would say middle elementary students would enjoy the book the most.  It shows how food comes from the earth to our homes and others a multicultural approach that many students may find interesting as they are still learning about the world and having exposure to different races and cultures. 

Families

Kuklin, Susan. Families. New York: Hyperion, 2006. Print.

Looking at Susan Kuklin’s Families, I found the breadth of the different families along with the pictures to be its strongest suit.  The main point of the book was to show the different types of families and show that within each one there is a safe place where everyone is valued and loved.  Each vignette of a family has at least one of the children in it explaining the specifics of the family, traditions (often relating to their ancestry or culture) and relationship to other family members.

While looking at the readability lexile, I would place Families in the language as middle elementary because of middle length sentences that are fairly simple to read.  However, many cultural specific words that are not widely used are often included.  Words like: kosher and Ramadan may be completely new and confusing to students. 

Cognitively, I would place the book at a late elementary because although family is a common thread in American society, the way each family operates and its specifics are often not covered by any other means in school.  In other words, the way the family operates, its rules and relations may be foreign to the student audience.  They stand to learn a lot about families in this book, however there is a lot to understand and take in. 

Socially, I place the book at early adolescence because there are so many differences in each family that is portrayed.  Students need to have an open mind, maturity and patience to understand and appreciate the differences contained in the book.

Looking at the requirements for high quality literature, the families within face issues and problems that are believable to readers.  The desire to be accepted, loved and make sense of one’s family are factors we strive to achieve through our whole life, not just as students in school.  This book is a great icebreaker for students who may be striving to make sense of a change in their family or don’t feel “normal” when it comes to families. 

Through the common thread of love and acceptance in the many different types of families, the students overcome their problems, which although is not explicitly stated, I believe is fitting in within a non-traditional family.  Looking at the pictures and reading the children’s words describing their family is enough evidence to show that they are content within their family. 

The characters in Families are many-sided.  Through their family and modern society the members forge their identity and appreciate who their family is and how they fit into its structure.  One example of this is Lily and Jacob who have two moms.  They call Lucy (mom #1) “Mom” and Jennie (mom #2) “Mama.”  The children go to Mom and Mama for different questions and help with everyday problems.  Instead of defining their parents by their sex they define their two moms by their respective personalities.  Through example like these, the class can see the changes that have taken place over time and how traditional families are no longer traditional. 

The multileveled themes present in Families are: religion, food, family dynamics, social norms, education, identity, roles within the family and sexuality to name just a few.  Each family profiled has traits that set it apart from the other families, supporting a view of celebrating diversity and familial love.  It is through each family that students need to identify the differences and similarities that allow everyone to grow as members of a social unit. 

Since the child or children tell all of the explanations about the family, any negative stereotypes that could be present are straight from the source and not the author.  This doesn’t happen however, and the portrayal of each family is positive and uplifting--mainly embracing differences and individuality.  The central tenants are: love, acceptance, celebration of diversity and the cohesiveness of the family—in all its forms.  These traits will hopefully inspire students to take pride in their family and get to know them better. 

The literary elements I found present were: setting as mood, the theme of personal development and point of view.  The setting is the family’s house, which has their identity.  On many family profiles there are pictures of the family’s ancestors or important artifacts that defines who they are.  The theme of personal development is present through the children growing within the family and discovering their identities.  The child’s or children’s point of view is their ability to describe the family that reflects its identity, what they like, don’t like and the social situation.  The point of view is clearly from a child and is lighthearted, honest and accessible to the reader and classroom audience. 

There are no illustrations in the book, however the pictures reveal real people in their actual houses, not an interpretive drawing.  These pictures are honest, informative and support the message in the text. 

Since all of the families portrayed are presented in a positive light, one idea for a minilesson would be to have the students write in their journals which family they identified with the most.  This would allow the students to realize some of the positive traits associated with non-traditional families and their own family.  

Overall, I would place Families target audience at middle elementary because students must have a base level of acceptance and maturity to appreciate the different types of families.  Also, at this age the concept of family is firmly in place and they are ready to branch off and learn more about different types of families. 

The Color of Home

Hoffman, Mary, and Karin Littlewood. The Color of Home. New York: Phyllis Fogelman, 2002. Print.

The Color of Home is about Hassan, a Somali immigrant’s, first week in an American school.  He knows very little English and his new surroundings make him anxious.  His teacher encourages him to draw and he draws Somalia--the good and the bad. 
The first picture he draws is of people in his village and the natural beauty that surrounds it.  The second picture he draws involves soldiers coming to his family's house, killing his uncle and his family fleeing.  From there, they stay in a refugee camp and eventually fly to America to begin a new life.  After telling this story to the teacher and school interpreter, Hassan feels better and wants to draw a third picture.  The third picture is of a happy Somalia.  He begins to notice the new world around him is safe and full of color.  He feels at home and is content with the new chapter in his life in America. 

Looking at the readability lexiles, I found The Color of Home to be middle elementary for language.  Throughout the text there are simple words, with the exception of a few African words and names.  There are medium length sentences with pictures that broadly describe what the sentences explain.

Cognitively, I would place the book in the middle elementary level because the plot is fairly simple; Hassan and his family move to the U.S. and he struggles to fit in and feel welcome.  However, the story he tells about war in Somalia and the death of his uncle may have students asking why this occurred and how people could be so cruel.  This requires a teacher who can explain the differences in culture and the atrocities of war so the class can understand the story.

Socially, I would place the text in the upper elementary range because at this age students’ racial attitudes are developed.  Different race and culture is described in the book.  Students have no doubt noticed and probably discussed different races and cultures in their life.  This is a beneficial book because it tells Hassan's side of the story, one where Somalis are resilient and hopeful for the future. 

When examining the characteristics of high quality literature, I found common and believable problems students face, regardless of their culture.  The main character, Hassan, overcomes the trauma from his past by talking to the school interpreter about the events through art.  His family, the school and his ability to express his feelings help him overcome the trauma and longing for Somalia.  I believe fitting in, especially when you're new to a country or have lived in the same place your whole life, is a problem that students face.  I think this story is interesting to readers because they have probably seen someone wearing Somali/Eastern African clothes, heard a different language or wondered about the specifics of others who are immigrants to America.  Children are curious, especially when it concerns people of their age group. 

As the main character Hassan experiences emotions, but in a different way than many students may be used to.  He is quiet and introspective regardless of his emotions.  Most of his feelings are not outwardly visible unless he is drawing.

The setting the text occurs in two main places: Somalia (in Hassan’s memories) and America (in real life).  The Somali Civil War in the early 90's forced many people to be killed because of their ethnic group affiliation.  This resulted in many Somalis moving to the United States.  Hassan's flashback moments show the danger and uncertainty associated with that time period.  Hassan's ethnic group affiliation is not disclosed in the text.

The multi-level themes presented in the text were: love, family, war, culture, identity and fitting in.  All of these themes are present within Hassan.  He loves his family, Somalia and art; his family is his main support system, the war in Somalia is what caused him to live in America, his culture and identity are who he is, but is also what is his biggest challenge in America--there are very few similarities between Somalia and America.  As a result of this, he struggles to fit in but at the end of the book begins to connect with others and feel more comfortable in his new home.

After rereading The Color of Home I saw some higher thought processes being used, mainly learning through the text’s inferences.  Looking at Hassan’s drawing of life in Somalia, it is bright and colorful.  Later, when war comes to his village the colors of his pictures become black and dark red, like the night and blood.  In the book’s other pictures and the text itself I found no stereotypes.  At the school Hassan’s teacher and students are all welcoming and considerate to him.  His family and the school interpreter are also encouraging and supportive to him.

Looking at the text through an elementary student’s eyes I found that it was inspirational because of its multicultural message.  Hassan’s story encourages readers to get to know classmates from other cultures and realize they may be trying to adjust to being away from their home and in a new home.  The message of acceptance is prominent in the text.  The text does expand students’ understanding of the academic field by giving a cultural understanding of Somalia, but almost nothing historically based.  Although I wish there was a historical background on why Hassan left Somalia, I also realize it is a children’s book and going into details about war and death wouldn’t be appropriate.

When examining the literary elements I found characterization to be portrayed well.  Hassan and his thoughts are probably quite accurate of what an immigrant may feel upon arriving in his first day of school in a new country.  His thoughts put us in his shoes and see how his character interprets the new and often confusing world around him.  An early example of this is the sentence, “But the classroom didn’t feel like home to Hassan at all.  In his real home he had lessons outside from early in the morning until the sun got too hot at midday.  Here he had to stay indoors except at recess, when he shivered outside on the damp playground.”

Based on the above sentences, the text has an apparent setting as an antagonist literary element.  The description of Somalia (colorful, warm dangerous) and the description of America (cold, gray, safe but confusing) are how Hassan sees the two worlds he has been a part of. 

By the end of the book however, the theme of personal development rises to the top of the story.  After finding several universal means of communication and connectivity such as: art, soccer, colors, friends Hassan becomes more outgoing and comfortable in his new home. 

While reading through the text I could not ignore the illustrations.  They are simply fantastic.  Karin Littlewood, the illustrator, uses pencil and watercolor paint to create pictures with lots of vibrant colors.  The illustrations are made with almost careless strokes of watercolor but it is all within the lines of the images.  I have no idea how the effect was created but it added to the story by making it seem more lifelike. 

An idea I had for a mini lesson was a journal entry where each student writes about a time where he or she was in a new place or didn't know anybody.  They would have to describe the location, how they felt, what they did to feel better, and then imagine if they couldn't talk to anyone because they spoke a different language?  This would give the students an idea of how Hassan felt.  Also, the students could write about how would you interact with Hassan if he were in their classroom. 

I would place the target audience at middle elementary because of the long sentences, cultural differences and portrayal of the ruthlessness of war.

The Book Thief

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.

In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger, a young girl, is sent to live with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Nazi Germany after her mother gives her up for adoption. Liesel meets several important people in her stay including: the mayor's wife who lets her use her library; the rebellious neighbor, Rudy, who is lovelorn for Liesel; Max, the Jewish boy who is hid in the Hubermann's basement and most importantly, Death. The story is told through the eyes of Death who observes the war going on around him and seems weighted down by all the work he must do to take people out of the physical world. While Death is watching the Hubermann household, Leisel is stealing books learning to read and write her book entitled The Book Thief.

Looking at the readability lexiles, I would place The Book Thief at an adolescent level because of the use of long words, long text, some lesser used words and occasional German words. This is a book that requires reading stamina and a patient reader. Cognitively, the book is at an adolescent level because of the complexities of the characters roles in a society that has Nazis, non-Nazi Germans, Jews, Death himself and how they all fit in during a world war. An adolescent reader may have a hard time understanding how a story can be narrated by Death as well as exactly why the Jews are being persecuted. Socially, the text is also adolescence because of the conflicting emotions and purposes of the characters (Nazi allegiance and anti-Nazi allegiance) and theme of rebellion against power (hiding Max from the Nazis).

When examining the traits of high quality literature, the main points I saw illustrated were: major characters being many-sided individuals and the ability of the text to motivate and inspire its readers. The main character I see as being many-sided is Death. The common belief is of Death as an ominous being made of bones without any empathy for others. In The Book Thief, Death seems to be burdened by his work, even remarking that he needed a vacation. He is empathic and surprisingly human toward others, regretting taking their souls and even desiring possessions such as Leisel's book. The painting of Death as human-like really challenges and draws in the readers. Also, I believe the text motivates and inspires the readers through the underdog mentality of the Hubermanns, Leisel and Max. Everybody enjoys reading about others trying to survive against all odds. The historical yet fictional setting of The Book Thief inspires students to "fight the good fight" by seeing the lengths the Hubermanns go to conceal Max and protect their family.

The literary elements I saw in the text were person against society, setting as historical background and point of view. With person against society, Max's home in the basement was his way of protecting himself and hiding from the Nazi society outside. He could not fight the society himself, so he had to protect himself by going in hiding. This resulted in poor health and his eventual capture by the Nazis but ultimate survival. The setting as a historical background allows the reader to see how fully integrated the Nazis were in German society. From shopkeepers who insisted, "Heil Hitler" be said upon entering their store to children who were indoctrinated in the Hitler Youth and soldiers patrolling the city, the setting in this fictional book acts as a historical backdrop to the characters and their struggles. Finally, the point of view from Death's perspective is a unique view of the state of the world in the 1940's. He sighs in exhaustion at his plight and talks of being busy taking souls away as they meet their end; he takes no joy in his job. His specter is cast over every event in the book from when he almost took Max's soul to when he took Leisel's younger brother on the train ride early in the text.

One idea for a mini lesson would be to talk about The Diary of Anne Frank (who I believe may have heavily inspired Max's story). We could discuss the factual nature of her story, Anne herself, her legacy and any similarities between her and Max. Also, new footage was discovered of Anne Frank, the only known footage of her. This video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hvtXuO5GzU ) may help show the class that people like Max actually lived in extremely dangerous environment (however, Anne Frank met a different end than Max, sadly).

Looking back at The Book Thief, I believe its target audience is definitely in the adolescent group because of the difficult subject matter, complex character allegiances, its historically fictional style and the use of sometimes long or uncommon English words and occasional German words.

Akira to Zoltan: Twenty-Six Men Who Changed the World and Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World

Akira to Zoltan: Twenty-Six Men Who Changed the World

Cynthia Chin-Lee - Megan Halsey - Sean Addy - Charlesbridge – 2006

Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World

Cynthia Chin-Lee - Megan Halsey - Sean Addy - Charlesbridge – 2005

We have all see books that have an A-Z layout of a common theme but I found these two to be especially insightful because they touch on men and women who are incredibly important in history but maybe aren’t household names.  In addition, the men and women are from different eras, cultures and races with personal, societal and political struggles. 

With this all-encompassing template, I would place the two books at the upper elementary level in the language and cognitive lexiles.  I say this because some of the words and ideas about a person are culturally bound and student may not have encountered them previously.  Also, many of the people contained in the book changed the world in enormous ways with big ideas.  One example of this is Helen Keller.  Students may have a difficult time grasping how she influenced the world for disabled people and shaped the modern view of how we welcome the disabled into our society instead of pushing them away.  After reading her story, they would have a better understanding of her journey and how she affected society. 

Socially, I would place these books in the early adolescence range because one of the central themes of the books is how rules help define a society.  Many of the people profiled in the books broke laws in their society at the time they were making history.  In addition, there are many sides to an issue and how one person’s actions, especially one that is perceived as historically correct, can change the world, which consists of many opinions, is a difficult concept to grasp.

Looking at literary criticisms, the fifty-two men and women collectively profiled in these books all face problems and barriers that are believable to students.  Often their problems are related to the person vs. society theme.  They act as trailblazers in their respective fields and shake up the establishment in their work.  Many of these hardships are conquered through determination, hard work, practice and inspiring others.  For example, Langston Hughes had a father who left he and his mother, later reconnected with him but then was not supportive of his career in writing.  His personal drive to carve his own path regardless of what others said is extremely admirable and shows his resolve for believing in himself. 

I found the characters profiled to be many-sided, especially since there were so many.  Some of their strengths were their determination, faith in themselves and ability to adapt to often challenging people, environments and societies.  Their challenges or weakness varied from a society that didn’t support them because they were women, to personal disabilities, to lack of financial or familial support. 

Historically, I felt both books briefly touched on the societal climate during the time the characters were active in achieving their goals.  Often the very barriers the character focused on were weakened as a result of the character’s actions. 

When looking at so many different people, the students must examine the books’ content with the aid of the teacher.  In order to fully appreciate the text and utilize the higher thought processes the: who, what, where, when and why associated with the character and their struggles.  Since many of the people profiled are not American it is essential to have the students interpret the books in an international or worldly view will help them greater understand the circumstances surrounding the individual.  Through these profiles I see no negative stereotypes of the characters of their race, culture or gender. 

One of the most impressive parts of these two books is the illustration.  They are a mish mash of mediums using actual pictures of the profiled individual, watercolor, oil, pen/pencil and pictures of other objects into a collage of sorts.  I examined many of the pages and found that these mini murals added to my interest of the individual. 

One idea for a mini lesson is for students to research and bring in information about someone they believe is influential in their world.  It has to be someone who has changed the world for the better.  As a class we can create our own A-Z listing of influential people.  Any left over letters we can research as a class and see who would be acceptable for inclusion.  Students can vote who they believe is most important out of the letter options. 

Looking back at these books, I believe the target audience is late level early elementary or early level late elementary.  I say this because the book has plenty of pictures and explains the story of each individual in a simple and concise manner.  However, there are many big concepts and issues that define the profiled characters, which may be hard for younger grades to fully understand. 

Abuela

Dorros, Arthur, Elisa Kleven, Barbara Powderly, and Robert L. Egolf. Abuela. New York: Dutton Children's, 1991. Print.

In Abuela, a young girl and her grandmother (or “abuela” in Spanish) go to the park to feed the birds.  The girl’s imagination takes over and she visualizes herself and her abuela flying and visiting friends and family.  In the end of the book, they return to the park and decide to go on another adventure in a boat, showing the limitless world of imagination. 

Looking at the readability lexiles, I found Abuela to be in the upper middle area of the language spectrum.  Throughout the book there are many Spanish words mixed in with English words.  Although some are commonly said like “Buenos dias!” most are uncommon to non-Spanish speaking children and adults such as, “Pero quiero volar mas” (I want to fly more).  Cognitively, I would place the text in early elementary because it is almost entirely based in fantasy and it is clear which pages are real and which ones are imagination.  Socially, I would place the story in the middle elementary range.  The main hurdle some students may face is trying to understand other's point of view, mainly from a different cultural perspective. Also, many Spanish words are used, which may be confusing to some learners. 

When examining the characteristics of high quality learning, the little girl doesn't face any real problems.  The story is all about the fun she has with her abuela; it is a genuinely upbeat text.  Since there aren't really any problems, I would say the book simply promotes spending time with family, using your imagination and the power of love.

I found the characters to be many-sided.  The little girl has many places in her imagination that she visits while flying with her abuela.  Places such as the city, the sea, the harbor, the Statue of Liberty, the airport, the clouds, and her aunt and uncle's store are all visited and portrayed positively.  Throughout the text I noticed the girl doesn't have any visible weaknesses.  The abuela is old and wise but still with the enthusiasm of a child.  She acts as the cultural heart of the story with her many Spanish words and the girl soon after explaining to the reader what those words mean in English. 

The book seems to be set in modern day America, so there isn't much of a historical setting but there is a cultural setting.  The characters are in a heavily Hispanic and multicultural part of the U.S.  Many ethnicities are viewed in the illustrations, with the most prominent being Hispanic.  In Abuela the world is a cohesive and happy place.  This allows readers to gain an understanding about multiculturalism, especially the Hispanic culture with many Spanish words and phrases used by abuela. 

The book discusses themes such as: imagination, elders/family, love and acceptance.  Imagination is shown throughout most of the book, which is centered on the journey the girl and her abuela take together.  Elders and family are visited first and the location where they are is secondary.  The family that is visited is equally happy to see the girl and her abuela even though it is a surprise visit.  These reactions along with the girl’s praise show the love within her family.

I think the book makes children use higher thought processes in examining the extremely detailed and busy pictures to see what is being described in the limited words.  Also, the words abuela speaks are all in Spanish and the students can use context clues to understand what she is saying even if they have limited experience with the language.  While examining these detailed pictures along with the text I found no negative stereotypes.

I believe the text motivates and inspires students, specifically through the imagination component, showing the bond between family and generations, learning more about Hispanic culture--especially the language.  These cultural expressions expand students’ knowledge of the academic field by showing them Hispanic culture, especially through the respect of elders, especially family elders.

The literary elements I found throughout the text were: characterization, setting as a mood and point of view.  In characterization, the little girl and her abuela are so happy to be exploring the world and finding delight in every destination.  The little girl is bi-lingual, an admirable trait in a children’s book character.  Within her personality her sense of imagination and wonder is definitely comparable to an elementary school student.  Throughout the book I found the theme of flying representing the freedom of thought and imagination the girl and her abuela have.  This freedom-oriented setting ties in with the optimistic mood of the story.  In the same breath, the text’s point of view was prominent.  The descriptions of each place visited and how the girl and her abuela fit into them was like a miniature story on each page.  For example, when they visit the Statue of Liberty, Abuela says, “Me gusta” and stating how seeing her reminds her of when she first arrived in America.  These anecdotes are present on almost every page of Abuela. 

The illustrations, made with paint and pen, are incredible and intricate.  On every page you can see many people going about their daily business, people waving and smiling at the girl and her abuela, people inside trains, apartments and cars and other environmental details in the stores, the park or the aerial shots.  A lot of work went into the pictures and this acts as a perfect compliment to the girl’s vivid imagination. 

One idea I had for a mini lesson was to teach the students several Spanish phrases and words, some of them they would already know, and some would be new.  In addition to this, they could write a journal entry of who would you take flying with you and where they would go?  They would be encouraged to use some of their new Spanish words in their reply to describe their pictures. 

   I found the target audience in Abuela to be in the later stages of early elementary.  I say this because  the text is a simple story with no real problems, but another language is used prominently and may get confusing for some students.

A Gift for Sadia

Perry, Marie Fritz. A Gift for Sadia. Northfield, MN: Buttonweed, 2004. Print.

A Gift for Sadia by Marie Fritz Perry is a rare example of children’s literature that portrays Somali-American children and their adjustment to America.  I chose this book because there is a large Somali-American population in Minnesota and many of them could be in a similar situation as Sadia.  Also, there is surprisingly little Somali-American children’s literature, so I felt I should use as many examples as I could find from the limited choices. 

In A Gift for Sadia, Sadia and her mother, both Somali immigrants, work to adjust to a new life in Rochester, MN.  Both have extremely limited English skills.  Sadia finds a link between a goose, who is from another country as well (Canada) and he understands what she is saying when she gives him food.  As time goes by she forms a friendship with the goose and tells it about her struggles in her school's ELL class, specifically learning the ABC's.  Later in the book as she is reciting them in class she gets to the letter U and doesn't know what comes next.  A flying V of geese pass by the window and she remembers the letter and recites the rest of the alphabet.  From this moment on she has greater confidence and feels more at home in Rochester.

Looking at the readability lexile’s I found A Gift for Sadia to be at an early elementary language level because there are many high frequency words used in addition to some lesser-known but still common words.  The sentences are, on average, medium length.  Cognitively, I also found it to be at the early elementary level.  Common themes such as trying to fit in at school, interest in animals and a basic curiosity of other cultures (which they have seen and realized in the early elementary grades) are all present in the text.  Socially, I found it to be in the middle elementary level.  In order to fully appreciate Sadia’s point of view and be empathetic to her struggles students would need to be socially mature enough to think but themselves in Sadia’s place.

The characteristics of high quality literature were firmly present in A Gift for Sadia.  The main character, Sadia, faces problems that are believable and realistic to students.  Trying to fit in, discovering one's identity and struggling to learn new material in school are topics, at least on a large scale, many students face every day, regardless of culture. 

Sadia overcomes her problems through compassion and relating to others (the goose) on a basic level.  Often, showing others you care and are able to agree with them helps create positive relationships.  Instead of getting mad, Sadia stays relatively calm, although still frustrated, and through her hard work she achieves her goal of reciting the ABC's.

Sadia is a multi-sided character who reveals herself through her actions and thoughts. She is a quiet girl who thinks as much as she feels even it isn‘t outwardly visible.  Her emotions of being helpful, and dedicated are her strengths.  Her weakness is her limited English language and communication skills.  These are solved through her English language learning class at school, interactions with classmates and the goose. 

The setting is in modern times but Sadia's cultural identity gives students an understanding of how difficult and confusing it must be to be a new immigrant in a country.  She describes the war in Somalia and how it forced her to move to America.  War being at someone’s doorstep clearly shows a cultural divide between Sadia in Somalia and the students in Rochester, MN.  It should be noted to the class that Somalia is not defined by a war and that there is much more to the country.

The multi-leveled themes are: love, perseverance, helpfulness and culture.  These were shown through Sadia’s love for her mother and the goose.  When the goose was injured, Sadia fed it and let it know it was safe and loved.  This helpfulness showed me that Sadia’s actions spoke louder than her limited English words ever could.  The goose noticed this as well and responded positively to Sadia’s actions.  The cultural elements were Sadia’s clothing, her descriptions of Somalia and her mother’s Somali language being used.  Also, when Sadia’s thoughts are written they are in a broken English.

In order to appreciate the text, higher thought processes must be used.  Readers must see the similarities between the goose and Sadia to understand their connection.  Often Sadia’s words are written like an English language learner may say them.  Students have to internalize this form of English to understand Sadia.  A sentence like, “How cold these birds must be!  How cold am I, too, in this new place they call Rochester.” is a prime example of Sadia’s beginning grasp of English. 

Reading over the book I found it to be free of negative stereotypes.

After reading through A Gift for Sadia I think the literature inspires students to understand what ELL students may be going through.  The book makes students more empathetic to other's needs, especially those who are new to the United States.  It expands on their knowledge of the already existing academic field by teaching students about other cultures, specifically Somali culture.

The literary elements I saw were person against society, mainly Sadia being used to life in Somalia and having to adapt to the cold, confusing and gray world of Rochester.  Characterization was also present in Sadia’s actions and struggles.  It is believable that she would relate more to animals than humans.  Through her care of the goose there is less judgment and pressure when compared to people.  Her struggles were mainly to understand the alphabet and American culture while still retaining her own culture.  Her outward explanation of, “Not understanding a thing that was said” was an enormous struggle she eventually overcame with the help of her goose.  Finally, style was shown through Sadia’s broken English and attempts to understand the new ways of life in Rochester.

The illustrations were a big let me down for me.  They looked to be done by colored pencil and were done by the author as well.  Certain pictures didn't seem to look "right" and objects were occasionally disproportionate to other objects in the picture. 

An idea for a mini lesson would be to bring in the Somali alphabet and have students try to learn it like Sadia tried to learn the American alphabet.  This would let them understand the struggle she went through.  Also, a few of the key Somali language phrases could be taught so students could communicate (on a basic level) with some of their classmates who may be in Sadia’s situation.

I felt the target audience was early to middle elementary because it is simple story to understand but the wordings Sadia uses and the grasp of a different culture may be moderately challenging for younger learners.