Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing by Gary Soto

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1. Bibliography

Soto, Gary. Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. ISBN 9780152063016

2. Plot Summary

In this book of poetry, well-known Latino author Gary Soto writes about love through the eyes of young people. His poems are written from the perspective of both girls and boys. His young narrators convey the typical thoughts of adolescents as they fall in (or out) of love for the first time. They experience the smorgasbord of emotions that go along with being in love. As Soto writes, “Love is like the weather: / sometimes stormy, / sometimes sunny, / sometimes partly cloudy.” Soto explores this topic of love with the sweetness and innocence of youth. Young audiences relate to his poems, and more mature audiences are fondly reminded of days gone by.

3. Critical Analysis

Gary Soto writes the poems in this collection in a way that is authentic to middle and high school students. The poems jump from emotion to emotion, exactly like the emotions of adolescents. One day they’re madly in love and the next day they’re broken-hearted and never speaking to that person again. Each poem captures a thought or feeling that is here today (on one page) and gone tomorrow (by the time the page is turned). The poems are unique in style - most are written in free verse, with some including stanzas with two or more lines each.

Soto’s book is divided into two parts - “A Girl’s Tears, Her Songs” and “A Boy’s Body, His Words.” The first part includes 39 poems about love from a girl’s perspective. Topics range from crushes to first kisses to wanting to be invisible to the cruelty of boys to being completely in love. The poems are relatable for teens and humorous for adults. For example, “First Kiss” is told by a girl who spends hours and hours telling her best friend about her first kiss that only took seconds to happen, and “When I Lost You” is told by a girl who has been wounded by love. She says, “Now I’m the color of / a bruise, / And you’re faded yellow, / The color of lies.” What teenage girl hasn’t felt those emotions after being hurt by the one she “loves?”

The second part of the book, “A Boy’s Body, His Words” includes 38 poems about love from a boy’s perspective. In this section, Soto writes from the perspective of boys who see girls as “Beautiful Trouble,” jock athletes who are “weakened by love,” boys who experience the beauty of women as “another kind of hurt,” and boys with a wandering eye. In the poem “Faces,” a boy is flirting with one girl between third and fourth period, “And by fifth period - / I don’t know how / This happened - I fell / In love with this other / Girl.” This poem, like many others, leaves the reader laughing out loud.

While this collection of poems doesn’t specifically speak about the Latino culture, the ability of these young girls and boys to express their emotions outrightly portrays the Latino culture. In these poems, Latino youth show that they “love” love, and they don’t hold back their pain or anger towards love. The Latino culture is very expressive in their emotions, and this collection of poems is an excellent example of that expression.

4. Review Excerpts

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (March 1, 2009): "Soto skillfully captures the voice and emotions of young teens in love."

From BOOKLIST (February 15, 2009): "Young teens will enjoy the ‘love sick’ puns and the metaphors, lyrical and sad, that show there is poetry in the way they speak."

5. Connections

Gather other books written by Gary Soto such as:

• Baseball in April and Other Stories. ISBN 978-0152025670
• Too Many Tamales. ISBN 978-0698114128
• Chato’s Kitchen. ISBN 978-0698116009

After reading this book of poems, have students write a love poem of their own. They can either write from their perspective or from the perspective of the opposite gender.

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

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1. Bibliography

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2014. ISBN 9781419710544

2. Plot Summary

In 1944, Sylvia Mendez and her family move to Westminster, California where her father will lease a farm of his own and no long be a field-worker. When Sylvia’s Aunt takes her, along with her brothers and cousins, to enroll in the local school, they are told they cannot attend that school. They have to go to the Mexican school. This doesn’t make any sense to the Mendez family, but when they ask the school board why their children have to attend a separate school, they are told “That is how it is done.” Unsatisfied with this answer, the Mendez family files a lawsuit to end segregation in public schools. In the end, the judge rules in favor of the Mendez family. Because of them, a law is signed that says “all children in California were allowed to go to school together, regardless of race, ethnicity, or language.” The Mendez case paved the way for the desegregation of all schools in America.

3. Critical Analysis

This picture book explores one of the first battles for desegregation in American public schools. Told through the eyes of a young Mexican girl, Sylvia Mendez, it accurately conveys the history of the Mendez v. Westminster School District case. By writing this book from Mendez’s point of view, Tonatiuh easily connects with children to show them the significance of desegregation of schools in America. Students could learn about this subject in a classroom or from a textbook, but reading about it in a relatable picture book has a much greater impact and allows them to see segregation from Sylvia’s point of view. Children relate to Sylvia’s character while learning accurate information and facts about the Mendez case.

Sylvia Mendez’s dad is a migrant worker. He has been a field-worker for many years, but the Mendez family moves to California for him to lease a farm - to be the boss. Tonatiuh portrays the Mendez family as a typical family of migrant workers. They have labored for many years for the opportunity to move their family to a better place. However, just like many migrant workers, once they arrive at the better place, they encounter discrimination because of their language and skin color. When Sylvia’s Aunt Soledad goes to enroll them in the local school, the secretary gives enrollment forms for her cousins, but not for Sylvia and her brothers. Sylvia’s cousins have light colored skin and long auburn hair, and their last name is Vidaurri. Their father is Mexican, but of French descent. Sylvia wonders why they receive forms and she doesn’t. She asks, “Is it because we have brown skin and thick black hair and our last name is Mendez?” Tonatiuh gets straight to the point when he has Sylvia ask this question. Sylvia and her brothers are being sent to the Mexican school because of their skin color, not because of their social behavior, learning abilities, or cleanliness as the superintendent Mr. Kent says later in the book.

Throughout the book Tonatiuh uses the Spanish language to emphasize the Mexican culture of Mendez’s family. Following each Spanish sentence is another sentence with its translation. For example, when Sylvia’s father says, “Es una injusticia,” it is followed with “It’s an injustice.” The inclusion of the Spanish language is a simple reminder to the reader of Sylvia’s language and culture throughout the book. The close-knit family relationships of the Mexican culture are also portrayed in Sylvia’s relationship with her Aunt and cousins. It is her aunt that takes her to enroll in school, not her mother, and when her cousins are given enrollment forms and she is not, the family decides they will not be separated. If one cannot attend public school, the other will not either. Family is everything in the Mexican culture.

Tonatiuh uses simple illustrations to tell Sylvia Mendez’s story. He accurately portrays her and her family with brown skin and thick black hair. On the opening page spread showing Sylvia’s first day in public school, all the other students have light-colored skin and light-colored hair, while Mendez is the only student on the page with dark features. Her dark skin color is accurately shown in comparison to the lighter skin color of her cousins, the school secretary, and the superintendent of the schools. By drawing simple illustrations, Tonatiuh allows the reader to focus in on the point he is trying to make - that skin color is the reason for segregation, and it is unjust. His illustrations also show the difference between the local public school and the Mexican school. The public school is well taken care of with spacious, clean halls. On the other hand, he shows the Mexican school located in the cow pasture with cow paddies and flies everywhere.

The inclusion of the “Author’s Note” at the end of the book gives an excellent opportunity for students to further research the Mendez v. Westminster School District case and its role in paving the way for the Brown v. Board of Education case. It also tells about the rest of Sylvia’s life and how the success of her family’s lawsuit paved the way for success in her life and the lives of others. She was able to attend integrated schools and then go on to college and pursue a degree as a registered nurse. This never would have been possible if it hadn’t been for the determination of her family and others who helped them.

4. Review Excerpts

From BOOKLIST (May 1, 2014): "Pura Belpré Award–winning Tonatiuh (Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote, 2013) makes excellent use of picture-book storytelling to bring attention to the 1947 California ruling against public-school segregation."

From KIRKUS (June 1, 2014): "A little-known yet important story of the fight to end school discrimination against Mexican-American children is told with lively text and expressive art."

2015 Pura Belpré Award Winner

5. Connections

Read other books written by Duncan Tonatiuh such as:

• Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale. ISBN 9781419705830
• Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. ISBN 9780810997318
• Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. ISBN 9780810938724

Read this book as students learn about Brown v. Board of Education or as an introduction to a unit on the civil rights movement.

Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: America’s Sproutings by Pat Mora and Rafael López

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1. Bibliography

Mora, Pat, and Rafael López. Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: America’s Sproutings. New York: Lee and Low Books Inc., 2007. ISBN 9781584302711

2. Plot Summary

In this vibrantly illustrated book of poetry, award-winning author Pat Mora includes a collection of haiku poems to explore foods native to the Americas. With poems about blueberries, chocolate, pineapple, prickly pears, and more, readers go on a tasty adventure through the Americas. Each two-page spread also contains a paragraph about the food, including its origin and other interesting facts about the food and how it has been eaten or used throughout the years. López’s illustrations are bright and fun, and they fully capture the history and essence of each food.

3. Critical Analysis

This book of poetry is truly a celebration of foods native to the Americas. Not only does each illustration give a sense of celebration, but each haiku poem has a tone of celebration - as if each food is a party of its own. About chocolate, Mora writes, “Happy, your eyes dance.” When describing cranberries simmering, she calls the popping “Scarlet fireworks.” In her poem about peanuts and peanut butter, she says, “Gooey party, / my sandwich and me.” When the prickly pear’s fruit becomes syrup, she says, “Surprise!” Each poem throws a party for its food, celebrating its beauty and flavor.

Along with each poem, Mora includes a paragraph describing the origin of each food. She tells in which part of the Americas each food was originally found, and other information about each food that would be fascinating to any child (or adult!), including its native name. For example, chocolate, or cacao seeds, native to Central or South America, was once so valuable that it was used as money. Mora says, “Yes, money grew on trees!” The reader also learns that “Pumpkin was once believed to remove freckles and cure snakebites.” And pineapple is sometimes used to decorate hotels because it’s a symbol of hospitality. Who knew? Mora has created a fun way to teach fascinating facts about these 14 foods of the Americas.

Continuing the theme of celebration, López’s illustrations throw a party for each food. López has a background in painting Latin American murals, and he fills each two-page spread in this book with a colorful mural. On many of the pages, characters are dancing, singing, and playing instruments from their native lands. Each illustration portrays the culture of the area where the food originated. In the illustration about corn, Pueblo Indians are pictured eating a picnic of foods made from corn. In the illustration about peanuts, a boy with skin and hair color typical of Peru and Brazil is dancing and playing music. Even López’s drawing of each landscape is typical of the area where each food originated. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate these foods than to combine Mora’s writing with López’s illustrations.

4. Review Excerpts

From BOOKLIST (December 1, 2007): "This inventive stew of food haiku celebrates the indigenous foods of the Americas."

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (September 1, 2007): "Teachers will find this a welcome addition to their social-studies units, but it should also win a broad general audience for its inventive, fun-filled approach to an ever-popular topic: food."

5. Connections

Gather other books written by Pat Mora such as:

• Gracias ~ Thanks. ISBN 978-1600602580

• Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children's Day/Book Day; Celebremos El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros. ISBN 978-0061288777

Gather other books illustrated by Rafael López such as:

• The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred. ISBN 978-1580892438

• My Name is Celia/Me llamo Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/la vida de Celia Cruz. ISBN 978-0873588720

Visit Pat Mora’s website at http://www.patmora.com/ideas/#yum for a list of curriculum activities to go along with this book.

Visit http://www.patmora.com/images/books-yum-guide-leelow.pdf to view a teacher’s guide for this book created by Lee and Low Books.

Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson

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1. Bibliography

Nelson, Kadir. Nelson Mandela. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2013. ISBN 9780061783760

2. Plot Summary

In this beautifully written and illustrated book, Kadir Nelson tells the story of one of the most courageous and determined men in history - Nelson Mandela. When Mandela was nine years old, his father died. He was sent to live with a powerful chief where he would hear stories of Old Africa and gain a deep love for his people and for freedom and protection for all. He studied in Johannesburg, where he became a lawyer to defend the defenseless. When the South African government began apartheid, he fought against it and led his people against it. Because of his fight for justice, he was jailed for 27 and a half years. Upon his release from jail, he continued to fight for justice and eventually became the president of South Africa.

3. Critical Analysis

Nelson Mandela is written in a way that children can easily understand the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. Kadir Nelson provides details about Mandela’s life in this simple and concise, yet effective, story written in free verse. Nelson doesn’t shy away from using words that children might struggle with, such as “Rolihlahla” (Nelson Mandela’s birth name), Madiba (his clan name), Xhosa (his ethnic group), “Thembu, Pondo … and Zulu” (other ethnic groups in South Africa). By including these ethnic words in his story, Nelson gives children a glimpse into the people of South Africa and Old Africa. He shows the deep ethnic roots of Mandela and his people. He also shows the discrimination that was there through language. Mandela’s teacher in school would not call him by his Xhosa name. She called him Nelson instead.

The character of Nelson Mandela is portrayed as a brave, determined man. Even as a boy, when his mother was sending him miles away to live with a chief, she said, “Brace yourself, my boy.” It’s as though those words set the stage for the rest of his life. He would need to brace himself for the fight and determination that was ahead. As a young lawyer, he “defended those who could not defend themselves.” He fought apartheid, desiring to cleanse his land of hate and discrimination. Even as he spent years and years in jail, he was a determined man, so he read, studied, and educated fellow prisoners. Then when he was finally released from jail, his determination continued as he fought for justice and became the leader of South Africa.

Throughout this story, Kadir Nelson refers to ancestors. The belief in ancestors is an important part of traditional African religion. Instead of saying Mandela’s father died, he says, “his father joined the ancestors in the sky.” When Mandela and a hundred other men spent a fortnight in jail, “They danced and sang, calling the ancestors to join the fight for freedom.” When he met his future wife, Winnie, “The ancestors sent their daughter Winnie to stand next to Nelson.” In the end, when South Africa was finally free and at peace, “The ancestors … celebrated.” Even in his simple and concise story about Mandela, Kadir Nelson manages to interweave this integral aspect of African religion into his story.

Kadir Nelson’s illustrations are bold and determined, just like Mandela. Each illustration covers a two-page spread, and the images jump off the page to the reader. In the dark moments of the book, the images are dark and dreary. In the end of the book, in the triumphant parts, the pictures are bright and colorful. Nelson uses color to give readers a feeling to coincide with what is happening in the story. His illustrations truly take the reader inside Mandela’s world and his life in South Africa. The painting of Mandela listening to his mother shows the sternness and sincerity of a mother telling her son to be brave, as well as her son’s determination to do as his mother says. Nelson uses facial features and expressions throughout the book to tell this story without words.

On the final page spread of the book, Kadir Nelson includes a biography of Nelson Mandela. While it is still concise and easily read by a child, it provides more detail than his story in free verse did. It provides an opportunity for children to learn more about Nelson Mandela, and it provides a springboard for further research about his life.

4. Review Excerpts

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (January 1, 2013): "This picture-book biography matches Mandela's outsize achievements with large, powerful images, resulting in a presentation that will seize and hold readers' attention."

BOOKLIST (September 15, 2012): "Starting with the full-page cover portrait, this glowing picture-book biography offers a celebratory introduction to Nelson Mandela’s life for young readers."

Coretta Scott King Award Honor, 2013

5. Connections

Gather other books written by Kadir Nelson such as:

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. (ISBN 9780803728509)

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. (ISBN 9780786851751)

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. (ISBN 9780061730795)

Meet the Author/Illustrator by watching this interview with kadir Nelson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0irzICuorQ

Have students conduct further research on apartheid and its effects on South Africa. Have them present their research to the class.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

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1. Bibliography

Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Penguin Group, 2014. ISBN 9780399252518

2. Plot Summary

This award-winning free verse memoir is both a history lesson and an entertaining story about a little girl named Jackie. In Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson, or Jackie, takes readers on a bittersweet journey through her own childhood. Jackie is a young African American girl during the 1960s and 1970s who lives in both the North and the South. She never quite feels at home in either place, and with her family being devout Jehovah’s Witnesses, no one ever really understands her like her family does. Throughout this book, Woodson finds her voice in writing. She discovers that she can have the world - all of it - if she just writes it down. That’s exactly what she does. Woodson says, “And that’s what this book is - my past, my people, my memories, my story.”

3. Critical Analysis

Brown Girl Dreaming is about a young African American girl named Jackie finding her voice through writing. From her first introduction to letters, she loves them. At age three, before she can read or write a word, Jackie knows the letter “J.” She loves “the way it curves into a hook / that I carefully top with a straight hat … Love / the sound of the letter.” When she asks her sister if words will ever end, she rests in her sister’s promise that they never will - they will go on for infinity. Later in the novel, she dreams of catching words, of holding them. Instead, her family tells her, “It’s a good hobby, we see how quiet it keeps you, / They say, / But maybe you should be a teacher, / a lawyer, / do hair,” but what Jackie can’t explain to anyone is that words are like air to her. “I breathe them in and let them out / over and over again.”

When Jackie is in fourth grade, her teacher asks her to come to the front of the class and read out loud. However, she doesn’t need to bring the book with her to read out loud. She has memorized her entire book. Her teachers thinks this is brilliant, but Jackie knows words are her brilliance. By the end of the novel, when there is no doubt that Jackie has found her voice, she discovers that the world is close enough to touch through her words. “The world - my world! - like words … All of it, mine now if I just listen / and write it down.”

Without the events of her childhood, Jackie never would have found her voice. The civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s sets the stage for this story. Because Jackie lives in both the North and the South, she never fit in in either place. She was born in Ohio because that was where her father wanted to be, but it was never home to her mother whose roots ran deep in Greenville, South Carolina. After her parents divorced, Jackie moved with her mother, brother, and sister back to Greenville, but she kept her Northern accent - another reason she never fit in in the south.

As soon as they arrive in Greenville, Jackie is introduced to racism and segregation. It’s 1963 in South Carolina, and peaceful protests are daily occurrences. Woodson brings into this story many pieces of African American history - segregation, peaceful protests, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. Because segregation is still happening in South Carolina at this time, Jackie and her family have to sit in the back of the bus. Although her mother takes her children to sit in the back of the bus, she whispers in Jackie’s brother’s ear, “We’re as good as anybody.” This message is also whispered throughout the novel. It conveys the kind of attitude Jackie is raised with. Her family will follow the rules, but they know without a doubt they’re as good as anybody and nothing can change that.

It is also Jackie’s family’s religion that reminds them they’re as good as anybody. She and her family are devout Jehovah’s Witnesses. Jackie’s grandmother is the family’s spiritual leader. She keeps her Bible on a shelf by her bed, and every evening she reads to herself. In the morning, “she’ll tell us the stories, / how Noah listened / to God’s word.” She tells them stories of Jacob, Jesus, and Moses, and they love her and the Bible times. This faith is a rock for Jackie and her family throughout the novel. They spend every evening of the week at church. In fact, that is how Jackie learns the days of the week - by which church activity falls on which day.

Woodson uses free style poetry to tell her story and to relate the history of the civil rights movement from a child’s perspective. Writing in free verse allows her to communicate this story simply, creatively, and with greater effect on the reader than if she had not written in poetry. Each poem is one to two pages long and includes its own title, with stanzas ranging from one to 15 lines each. The poems flow together and read easily to tell this story. By writing in free verse, Woodson takes away the distraction of unnecessary words and sentences that would detract from the story. Instead, each phrase has power and settles deeply into the mind and soul of the reader - just like poetry does - etching this story into the memory of its readers for years to come.

4. Review Excerpts

BOOKLIST (August 1, 2014): "Her mother cautions her not to write about her family, but, happily, many years later she has—and the result is both elegant and eloquent, a haunting book about memory that is itself altogether memorable."

KIRKUS (July 15, 2014): "Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned."

Newbery Honor Book 2015

5. Connections

Gather other books by Jacqueline Woodson such as:

Locomotion. (ISBN 978-0142415528).

Feathers. (ISBN 978-0142415504).

If You Come Softly. (978-0142415221).

• Listen to the following interview with Jacqueline Woodson on NPR entitle “Jacqueline Woodson On Being A ‘Brown Girl’ Who Dreams: http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/09/18/348992638/jacqueline-woodson-on-being-a-brown-girl-who-dreams

• Have students write their own shortened version of Woodson’s free verse memoir using events from their own lives. Students can focus on one event (such as their birthday like Woodson’s first poem in the book) or on multiple events that shaped their lives.