Hispanic/Latino(a) Lit- LOVE TO MAMA: A TRIBUTE TO MOTHERS

Bibliographic Data

Mora, Pat. 2001. Love to Mamá: a Tribute to Mothers. Ill. Paula Barragán. New York: Lee & Low Books. ISBN: 9781584300199

Brief Plot Summary

Authors from a variety of Hispanic backgrounds contribute poetry about mothers and grandmothers.

Critical Analysis

Language is one of the clearest cultural markers in this collection. Many titles of poems are Spanish words, Palomita, Las Abuelitas, Mi Mama Cubana, and more. The titles appear in a bright orange font matching the vibrancy of the accompanying illustrations. Not all the words are translated. There are times that the meaning is not in contextual clues and some readers will have to look them up.

The authors are from diverse backgrounds, so Spanish speakers may not recognize or personally relate to all the words. Speaking of varying vocabulary readers will find multiple words for mother: mami and mamá.

Some poems have whole sentences in Spanish while others sprinkle words.

“Mi cielo, come here! I need a big abrazo from you” (2001).

Mi Abuelita es Como un Nopal en Flor is completely in Spanish, but the opposite page includes the English translation.

The authors featured in this collection also have short biographies at the end of the book. They are diverse in their experience as authors and backgrounds, Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and more. Both men and women are represented in this group.

The illustrator is Ecuadoran and has illustrated other children’s books. Paula Barragán’s illustrations depict characters varying in skin tones from pale to deep browns. Hair color and textures also vary from brown to red to black to gray.  Some images depict only a single line of the poems while others set a mood. Barragán creates her work using cut pieces of paper then edits them in Adobe Illustrator. She often displays colorful Spanish vocabulary within the pieces.

Readers will find a multitude of cultural markers to muse over. Many poems feature foods like empanadas in the poem Mi Abuela or saffron in arroz con pollo in the poem Mi Mama Cubana. The first poem’s illustration depicts a large floral skirt. That poem, Palomita, expresses the creation of the skirt and its fine details. The Poem Las Abuelita talks about the presents children receive from their grandmothers, preserving the oral tradition, and salsa music. Abuelita Wears a Dress shows an illustration depicting the last lines, “And when la cumbia sways our hips across the floor, Abuelita’s bright red lipstick smile dances even more” (2001). Readers see a party scene of dancing and family affection.

According the Smolen and Oswald one of the common worldviews of Hispanic peoples is the valuing of familial relationships (2001). This book is clearly a celebration of a particular familial relationship, that with the mother. Many illustrations show family members embracing, sitting closely, hands reaching for each other, and looking fondly into each other’s eyes. Lines from poems share memories and images of the experience of enjoying this relationship. The mood is fond and celebratory. There is hugging and laughing. The pages hold much love and joy.

Smolen, Lynn Atkinson, and Ruth A. Oswald. 2011. Multicultural literature and response affirming diverse voices. Santa Barbara, Calif: Libraries Unlimited. 

Awards & Best Books

Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for PreK-Grade 6, 13th Edition, 2002 National Council of Teachers of English

Best Children's Books of the Year, 2002 Bank Street College of Education

Books to Read Aloud to Children of All Ages, 2003 Bank Street College of Education

Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, Supplement, 2002 H.W. Wilson

Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006 H.W. Wilson

Growing Up Latino in the U.S.A., 2004 ALSC American Library Association

Kirkus Book Review Stars, March 15, 2001

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2002 National Council for the Social Studies NCSS

Parent's Guide to Children's Media, 2001 Parent's Guide to Children's Media, Inc.

School Library Journal Book Review Stars, April 2001 Cahners

Review Excerpt(s)

“These personal poems carry meaning that transcends the individual and culture.”

- CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2002)

“Handsome patterns reflect her background as a graphic artist and carpet designer.”

- Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 6)

“The opaque, saturated palette gives a poster-like flatness to the compositions, but slightly askew geometric figures add additional energy. Remember this for May displays and programming.”

- Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2001 (Vol. 54, No. 8))

Connections

Lesson plan via Lee & Low Books:

https://www.leeandlow.com/books/2424/teachers_guide

One particularly good set of questions from this plan are: Should poems always rhyme? Have you ever read any that don’t? What were they like? Were they easier or more difficult to understand than poems that rhyme?

Another great exercise from the lesson plan is to ask students how the color words contribute to the overall meaning of each poem. The instructor can take it a step further by having students create their own color words poems.

Lesson plan via Pat Mora’s website: http://www.patmora.com/ideas/#mama

Hispanic/Latino(a) Lit- PARTLY CLOUDY

Bibliographic Data

Soto, Gary. 2009. Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing. Boston: Harcourt. ISBN: 9780152063016

Brief Plot Summary

This is s collection of Soto’s poems about coming of age teens and the highs and lows of 

love.

Critical Analysis

The collection is split in two, male and female. The first half is entitled A Girl’s Tears, Her Songs and the second half is A Boy’s Body, His Words. It’s interesting that Soto chose to refer to teens as girls and boys here. Upon further reading I found many poems were indeed in the time of a teen’s life in which they are not quite men and women. The titles of the poems alone do not indicate much let alone cultural markers.

In Natural Talent (under A Girl’s Tears, Her Songs) we see the male character defy male stereotypes as he is knowledgeable about cooking and sewing. The poems often leave out gender pronouns, but the context is telling of the characters gender. In Black Books we see the female character dismayed that the male character does not uphold the stereotype of paying for his date.

Absent from most poems is the description of what the characters look like, no hint of hair color, skin tone, race, ethnicity, etc. When it does come up the cultures come in a variety. Not until the poem Meaning What do we see evidence of some kind of cultural markers. The last name of Jennifer Lee is an Asian name. The poem also identifies a phrase as Mandarin, “Wo xi huan ni” (2009, p.20).

The poem Barriers features a Japanese girl and a Mexican boy. A short phrase of Japanese and Spanish are within the poem. Amorously the female character envisions their skin color “becoming one” (2009, p. 25), but does not say what that color is.

Though it does indicate the ethnic background of the female character, the poem Beautiful Trouble states she speaks six languages (2009, p. 58).

In Simple Me Soto describes peas moving on the plate as dancing the samba, which a Brazilian dance (2009, p. 61).

Judging by the vocabulary, language, and culture these poems seem very American. Readers will find a melding of cultures as well as references to American music and food.

Awards & Best Books

Paterson Award for Sustained Excellence in Literature for Young People, 2009

Beehive Book Award, 2011; Nominee

Review Excerpt(s)

“Young teens will enjoy the "love sick" puns and the metaphors, lyrical and sad, that show there is poetry in the way they speak.”

- Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Feb. 15, 2009 (Vol. 105, No. 12))

“Soto successfully captures the emotion behind each voice in a way that gives the young reader a glimpse of what it is like to be in love. Targeting middle school readers, this easy-to-read collection of poems is a great read for both for boys and girls.”

-Sarah Camille Hipp (Children's Literature)

“The deceptively simple poems examine love from many angles in verses that are by turns funny and poignant.”

- Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2009 (Vol. 77, No. 2)

Connections

Have students select a poem they would like to read aloud. After a student reads their poem then ask the other students to tell the class emotions the poem evokes. The reader can play teacher and pick the students to answer.

Hispanic/Latino(a) Lit- NACHO AND LOLITA

Bibliographic Data

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 2005. Nacho and Lolita. Ill. Claudia Rueda. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780439269681

Brief Plot Summary

Nacho, a colorful and rare pitacoche bird, meets a sparrow, Lolita during her temporary migration to the adobe Mission San Juan Capistrano. They fall deep in love, but remorsefully part ways despite every effort to remain together. Then Nacho magically sacrifices his feathers by planting them into the barren landscape. They turn into colorful flowers creating a landscape where he and Lolita can live together at last.

Critical Analysis

This story is based on a folktale from Ryan’s childhood. Traditional literature such as this is rooted in oral tradition. According to Smolen and Oswald, preserving the oral tradition is one of the prevailing themes of Hispanic literature (2011, p. 205). In the author’s note, Ryan recounts how she tried to find the origin of her grandmother’s story about the pitacoche. When she found Anthony John Campos’s version it was different from her memory (Ryan, 2005). As with most folktales there was variation.

One of the cultural markers readers will find is italicized Spanish words. They are translated within the writing flowing with the natural language. Terms are sparse and do not occur unnecessarily. They are a pleasant addition to this Mexican folktale.

Another prevailing theme of Hispanic literature is the free rein of fantasy (Smolen & Oswald, 2011). Nacho may be a real bird, but he has the magical ability to plant his colorful feathers into flowers. However it comes at a cost. Every feather removed is replaced by a gray one. When the first feather he planted for Lolita takes root, Nacho realizes the solution to his problem.

Smolen and Oswald note that one of the common worldviews of the Hispanic community is valuing relationships of families and friends (2011, p. 196). Nacho admires the swallows and how they fly together as a family. This story shows how the relationship between Lolita and Nacho develops. It is wrought with sacrifice and love. Initially Nacho takes care of Lolita’s children by helping feed them. Later Lolita tries to strengthen Nacho and Nacho gives up his beautiful feathers.

The illustrations are by Claudia Rueda, a Columbian artist. For this book she used colored pencils to create colorful scenes. She blends colors creating gradients and realistic depth. Color is an important aspect of this story and Rueda’s choices are spot on particularly when Nacho’s last feather turned into the “papaya” colored sky. The start of the story displays a dismal scene lacking color to which she clearly depicts in her illustrations. She also effectively conveys the admiration and adoration that Nacho feels for not only Lolita, but all the swallows. Although the birds have so little features on their faces the emotion is undeniable. Rueda puts her communicative mark on this tale with a wordless image of Nacho sweetly waiting and longing for Lolita.

Smolen, Lynn Atkinson, and Ruth A. Oswald. 2011. Multicultural literature and response affirming diverse voices. Santa Barbara, Calif: Libraries Unlimited.

Awards & Best Books

Western Writers of America Spur Award, 2006 Finalist Storyteller United States

Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006 H.W. Wilson

Kirkus Book Review Stars, October 1, 2005

Review Excerpt(s)

“Ryan's cozy storytelling will draw listeners close, and the Colombian-born illustrator cleverly exploits the contrast between the drought-scarred backdrops and Nacho's brilliance to achieve a vibrancy that is unusual in colored-pencil illustrations.”

- Jennifer Mattson (Booklist, Oct. 1, 2005 (Vol. 102, No. 3))

“A cheerful and tender paean to the transformative power of love.”

- Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 19)

“A sense of enchantment pervades this tender love story.”

-Publishers Weekly

Connections

Pam Muñoz Ryan’s official website: http://www.pammunozryan.com/

Pan Muñoz Ryan’s reader’s theatre script for Nacho and Lolita:

http://pammunozryan.com/pages/scriptNacho.pdf

Nacho and Lolita lesson plan: http://www.soesd.k12.or.us/files/reading_activities.pdf

After reading this story have students try recalling scenes from the story and using color pencils to depict them. Enlarge the book’s illustrations showing different techniques Rueda uses in her art.