ZIBA CAME ON A BOAT by Liz Lofthouse

Lofthouse, Liz. Ziba Came on a Boat. Illus. Robert Ingpen. La Jolla, Calif.: Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Inc., 2007. ISBN 978-1-933605-52-4. $15.95.

Ziba Came on a Boat is the story of Afghan refugees traveling by sea to an undisclosed host country. The crowded fishing boat surrounded by blue water is the initial and oft repeated full-page image—the constant return to the image throughout crafts the ebb-and-flow feel of the story. The narrative crosscuts from occurrences at sea—waves, calm, storm—that prompt young Ziba’s flashbacks to her mountainous village before and after Taliban rule. The connection between sensory experience and memory is sophisticated and fluid; the text is straightforward and resonant. The reader gets the feel of the monotony and solitude of this type of desperate boat escape—sitting cross-legged, exposed to the elements, surrounded only by family, having fled without belongings. All that remains are memories, good and bad, hope for the future, and dreams of “azadi”—freedom.

As difficult as the underlying subject matter is, this book is a gentle gem, accessible and re-readable. The undercurrent of hope and the security of already having escaped prevent readers from experiencing any anxiety. Ziba’s flashbacks focus on childhood scenes that are universal—reading schoolbooks and helping to set the dinner table—and more culturally-specific, like carrying water jugs back to her mud-brick home. Her snapshot memories translate easily for a young audience, while the background illustrations invite talking opportunities between child and adult readers. While the illustrations of faces tend to be a bit fuzzy (though ethnically specific), the depictions of mountainous Afghanistan are lovely and informative without romanticizing village life. The book is frank but inviting—perfect for readers interested in a multicultural world where children experience political strife.

Chandra Howard

LA MARIPOSA by Francisco Jimenez

Jimenez, Francisco. La Mariposa. Illustrated by Simon Silva. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. ISBN 0-395-81663-7. $16.00. Ages 6-10.

Useful website:
http://modernlanguages/facultystaff/jimenezhomepage.cfm.

Awards:
Parent’s Choice Recommended Award
America's Commended List
Smithsonian’s Notable Book for Children

This is a contemporary realistic fiction picture book. Although it is listed as fictional, the book is autobiographical because it is based on the author’s life experiences. The purpose of the book is to address the topic of social acceptance as well as the acceptance of changes and adaptation in the midst of challenges.

The story is about a boy, Francisco, entering first grade in a sink-or-swim all-English classroom where he can’t understand anything. From the very beginning, Francisco fixes his attention to a butterfly in a jar. The butterfly’s metamorphosis takes place alongside the changes Francisco experiences. The message is a positive and inspiring one: that one can flourish by embracing change. The main character’s nuclear family is presented as an important factor in his metamorphosis into a bilingual and bicultural human being. The teacher, principal, and classmates are presented in a positive light because in the end, his teacher, Miss Scalapino, helps establish Francisco as an artist by awarding him a first-place ribbon for his drawing of the butterfly. Through the supportive modeling of his parents and brother, Francisco both finds his place and learns to be tolerant and forgiving of a boy who bullies him. The book ends on the positive notes of acceptance and tolerance.

This book is written in English and Spanish; it falls under the category of Literary Bilingualism, as it includes Spanish words which are italicized and a glossary at the end. Although there are only a total of 16 spanish words, they are very impacting because they are used within a sentence, as a bilingual child would do when code switching. Code switching may have been added to make a connection with the reader on a more personal level. It also implies that English language learners assimilate by adapting what they are acquiring to their own background knowledge. This book also supports linguistic transfer skills because it illustrates the idea that Spanish shares some syntax with English.

The target audience of this book is ages 6-10. Teaching examples might include when and what syntactic features transfer and which do not. Reading comprehension skills can be developed by focusing on text features such as italics. The book also uses the butterfly as a metaphor for the changes a young boy experiences through the acquisition of a second language and culture.

This book can also be used in an integrated lesson between Language Arts and Social Science, and Science. It is a perfect read aloud to introduce the life cycle of a butterfly, a lesson on social justice, contributions of different people in the United States, labor laws, and historical Chicano heroes such as Cesar Chavez. I would use this book to make connections for meaningful learning. I would highly recommend this book as it is a powerful resource that can serve many purposes.

Francisco Jimenez is also the author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, and Reaching Out. These books follow the author from grade school to college. Jimenez is also the author of other bilingual books for children, including The Christmas Gift/El Regalo de Navidad.

Reviewed by Silvia Andrado

A MOVIE IN MY PILLOW by Jorge Argueta

Argueta, Jorge. A Movie in My Pillow. Illustrations by Elizabeth Gomez. San Franciso: Children’s Book Press, 2001. ISBN 0-89239-165-0. $16.95. 

More info:
www.elizabethgomezart.com

Awards:
2001 Americas Award for Latin American Literature
Skipping Stones Honor Award for Multicultural Literature
IPPY Award for Multicultural Fiction for Juveniles

A Movie in My Pillow is a picture book of children’s bilingual poetry. It describes the author’s memories of when he left El Salvador as a young boy with his father during its civil war and moved to San Francisco’s Mission District. Jorgito’s movie, or collection of dreams, is recalled in emotional poems about the people and places he left behind, as well the adventures he has discovered in his new city.

The languages included in this book are Spanish and English. It is a translation from Spanish into English. All of the poems are in both English and Spanish and are displayed either side by side or above and below each other on each page. English/Spanish biliterate readers will be able to tell that the book is very well translated and has accurate usage of words. It was translated by the author himself, which means he has the language, regional, and cultural background from his native El Salvador.

The text of each language seems to be equally present on every page and of equal importance in the telling of the story. The font style seems almost childlike and friendly as well as clear. Every word, line, and paragraph is visible among the various illustrations, and they are easy to read on the pages because they are spaced apart and positioned well.

While there is no slang or jargon in this book, but there is some non-standard vocabulary that language learners might not know or recognize. There is no formal glossary within the book, but there are small notes next to and beneath the poems to explain potentially unfamiliar words to readers.

The vibrant paintings on every page really help bring the author’s story to life with bold bright colors covering every inch of the book. Because the drawings are so detailed, they may help readers boost their comprehension of abstract concepts and better explain what it is like to live in two different countries. I did not find any obvious elements of rhyme or rhythm used in the poems, but the author does use repetition, which supports language acquisition.

The writing style of the author is very imaginative and full of emotion. His heartfelt confessions about the things he misses from El Salvador and the joyful confusion he feels in San Francisco will make any reader empathize with being homesick.

The artwork is vivid and makes you feel as though you’re watching Jorgito’s movie with him. Geography, world cuisines, and indigenous languages are just a few of the social studies themes that are present in this wonderful children’s book.

I would use this bilingual book to support language acquisition by reading it first in one language (the child’s primary language), and then in the second language. This gives the student the opportunity to hear both versions and transfer their skills in the second language. Having the dual language text side by side also helps them access the translations more easily.

Some other books by Jorge Argueta include Sopa de Frijoles, Alfredito Flies Home, Moony Luna, La Gallinita En La Cuidad, The Fiesta of the Tortillas, Talking with Mother Earth, Trees Are Hanging from the Sky, Zipitio, and Xochitl and the Flowers. I would without a doubt recommend this book. It would be a great resource to include in a bilingual library collection or for dual language learners. It would especially be of interest to immigrant students or young readers from El Salvador.

Reviewed by Caroline Rubio Jacobs


This review is part of the Special Section: Books in Spanish, featuring a collaboration with Policy and Language Studies students at San Diego State University. Read more about it here.

SUPERCILANTRO GIRL/ LA SUPERNIÑA DEL CILANTRO by Juan Felipe Herrera

Herrera, Juan Felipe. SUPER CILANTRO GIRL/ LA SUPERNIÑA DEL CILANTRO. Illustrated by Honorio Robledo Tapia. Children’s Book Press/ Editorial Libros para Niños, 2003. ISBN# 978-0-892-39187-5. $ 34.54. Ages 6 and up.

SUPER CILANTRO GIRL/ LA SUPERNIÑA DEL CILANTRO is a bilingual picture book written in both English and Spanish. It is about the experiences of living near the U.S./Mexico border towns. Esmeralda SinFronteras, a small girl, is the main character in the story. She lives with her mother and grandmother. Esmeralda’s mother has been delayed at the border in Tijuana, and Esmeralda worries about this. Through her journey we encounter experiences such as feeling different, feeling lonely because her mother is not with her, and how the border is viewed from a child's perspective. Throughout the story Esmeralda is faced with many obstacles (one of them becomes a green giant) that she must overcome. While facing her obstacles we see her transformation into a super heroine.

Written in both the English and Spanish, this bilingual book gives equality to both the English and Spanish languages. The author does differentiate the languages by color -- English is in a yellow text box and Spanish is in green -- which makes it easier for the reader. Also whenever the phrase SUPER CILANTRO GIRL or LA SUPERNIÑA DEL CILANTRO appears, the typography is in green with different fonts and size to emphasis the power of Esmeralda. Some slang is used because it is necessary in the Spanish language and there is no literal translation for English, as is the case with the word “cilantro,” but it does not affect the outcome of the story or the meaning of the text.

This book can be used in social studies to teach lessons about immigration and creating change. Children from other countries may have similar experiences with crossing the border and may be able to make a connection to Esmeralda. Throughout the story the author uses onomatopoeia, rhyme and repetitions to support language acquisition in the text. The illustrations also boost comprehension by depicting concepts which readers might not get from text alone. However, the illustrations of the character’s facial expression in my personal opinion may be scary at the beginning because they are vivid and crude. Creating a heroine for girls is necessary since there are a limited amount of books in which women are depicted as brave and heroic. This is an enjoyable book that can be used as a great read aloud or small group reading for all to enjoy.

Reviewed by Rosa Salgado

This review is part of the Special Section: Books in Spanish, featuring a collaboration with Policy and Language Studies students at San Diego State University. Read more about it here.

A TIME OF MIRACLES by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Bondoux, Anne-Laure. A Time of Miracles. Trans. Y. Maudet. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-385-73922-1. $17.99 US. Ages 12+

When I turned the final page of this book and closed the cover, I said aloud to my empty kitchen, “Wow. That was an incredible book.” I can see why Random House decided to translate it from the original French for the American market. The fictional narrator, Blaise Fortune, also known as Koumaïl, tells his story – as a war refugee in the Caucasus – and grips the reader’s heart.

The memoir-like novel is a tale of abject poverty and homelessness, but never asks the reader to feel pity, or to feel sorry for Koumaïl and his mother-figure Gloria. Gloria and Koumaïl have been running away from war for as long as he can remember. They sacrifice food and energy for one another’s well-being, while always hanging on to their dreams, trying as hard as they can not to “catch a despair.” Gloria always puts a positive spin on their trials. She tells Koumaïl, “There’s nothing wrong with making up stories to make life more bearable.” She takes their often shocking situations and turns them into little blessings for Koumaïl‘s sake. For example, the first time we see them move to a new place, she instructs Koumaïl to dig a hole behind their shack (made of a corrugated tin roof, next to a garbage dumping ground):

“Finally, she shows me a spot behind one of the walls, where I’m supposed to dig a hole.
“What’s it for?” I ask.
“Well, it will be to do our business!” she answers with a wink.
“Oh, OK.”

It gives me a funny feeling to dig our toilet. In the Complex, we shared toilets with the other people on the floor, but here we’ll have our own private corner. Gloria says that we’re becoming bourgeouis. I don’t understand that word, but she laughs so hard that I laugh with her, right by the edge of our future poop hole.”Bondoux illustrates the cruelty of war through other characters like Koumaïl’s friend Fatima, a young girl who has refused to open her eyes since she saw her father shot on his prayer mat, or Stambek, whose “mind had stayed in the rubble” when a bomb struck their house. The prevailing theme of the novel is one of hope – regardless of who surrounds you and how bad the situation is – hope and family sustain you as you “always walk straight ahead toward new horizons.”

The book is beautifully told, a magnificent insight into the life of a nomadic refugee, and later, a lonely child immigrant far from home.

Marisa Behan