The First Part Last

Bibliography

Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689849222

Johnson, Angela, Khalipa Oldjohn, and Kolé Kristi. 2004. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Listening Library/Random House Audio. ISBN 9781400090655

Summary

The First Part Last is about a sixteen year old boy named Bobby who becomes a father and decides to raise his daughter, Feather. The story is narrated by Bobby and told in short alternating chapters of “Now” and “Then”. In the “Now” chapters, Bobby describes how he is struggling to raise his daughter. He lives with his mother who is supportive, but refuses to take care of Feather. Bobby struggles with taking care of Feather, going to school, and hanging out with his friends, K-Boy and J. L. In the “Then” chapters, Bobby explains how he found out his girlfriend Nia was pregnant and how they revealed the news to their family and friends. Bobby also describes how they had planned to give the baby up for adoption, but when Nia suffers irreversible postpartum brain damage, Bobby decides to raise Feather.

Critical Analysis

From the first page to the last, Johnson does a wonderful job portraying a teenage male’s point of view about raising a child. Her words are poetic and powerful. “I lay her on my stomach and breathed her in. My daughter is eleven days old. And that sweet new baby smell…the smell of baby shampoo, formula, and my mom’s perfume. It made me cry like I hadn’t since I was a little kid.”

Bobby, a sixteen year old artistic kid who loves hanging out with his running buddies K-Boy and J.L., finds himself growing up faster than he had planned. After hanging out with his buddies on his sixteenth birthday, he comes home to hear news that his girlfriend Nia is pregnant. Bobby struggles throughout the story trying to deal with the fact that he has to grow up. He loves Feather so much, but also wants to just give up because it is so difficult.

“The rules.

If she hollers, she is mine.

If she needs to be changed, she is always mine.

In the dictionary next to “sitter,” there is not a picture of Grandma.

It’s time to grow up.

Too late, you’re out of time. Be a grown-up.”

Bobby describes how his and Nia’s homes are complete opposites. His has “overstuffed pillows and Moroccan rugs and Jacob Lawrence prints all over the walls.” Color and music of jazz, Motown and reggae fill the rooms. Bobby also describes the black and white photos of their family on vacations all around world. “’Cause even though Fred said we were poor, we never were too poor to travel, ‘cause that made your spirit rich.” Nia’s loft was quiet. “Every wall in their loft is so white it almost hurts my eyes. Everything is straight lines and post-modern sculpture backlit.”

By the cover of the book and a few descriptions in the story, the reader is able to gather that Bobby and his friends are African-American. Bobby describes his friend K-Boy having locks that “fall all over his face. He’s mahogany and tall, and can’t walk down the street without everybody staring at him.” Later he describes his neighbor Coco as having the same caramel color as Feather.

The dialect used in the story was typical of a teenager. Listening to the story on audio CD’s even brings more rhythm and passion to the story.

Reviews

2004 Michael L. Printz Award winner

2004 Coretta Scott King Award winner

School Library Journal review: “Brief, poetic, and absolutely riveting, this gem of a novel tells the story of a young father struggling to raise an infant. Bobby, 16, is a sensitive and intelligent narrator. His parents are supportive but refuse to take over the child-care duties, so he struggles to balance parenting, school, and friends who don't comprehend his new role.”

Booklist review: “Bobby, the teenage artist and single-parent dad in Johnson's Coretta Scott King Award winner, Heaven (1998), tells his story here. At 16, he's scared to be raising his baby, Feather, but he's totally devoted to caring for her, even as she keeps him up all night, and he knows that his college plans are on hold. In short chapters alternating between "now" and "then," he talks about the baby that now fills his life, and he remembers the pregnancy of his beloved girlfriend, Nia…Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short, spare sentences that teens will read again and again. The great cover photo shows the strong African American teen holding his tiny baby in his arms.”

Connection

Other books written by Angela Johnson include:

Johnson, Angela. 2000. HEAVEN. ISBN 0689822901

Johnson, Angela.1993. WHEN I AM OLD WITH YOU. ISBN 0531070352

Johnson, Angela. 1994. TONING THE SWEEP. ISBN 0590481428

Minty

Bibliography

Schroeder, Alan. 1996. MINTY. Ill. Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books. ISBN 0803718888

Summary

Set during the 1820’s on a plantation in Maryland, Minty is a fictional story written about Harriet Tubman’s childhood. Minty was a young little girl who loved playing with her doll and dreamed of being free one day. Because she was still a child, Minty worked inside the Brodas’ home. But when Minty spills a pitcher of cider at the Brodas’ dinner table, the mistress sends Minty to work in the fields.

While working in the fields, an overseer puts Minty in charge of checking the muskrat traps in the river. Instead of capturing the muskrats, Minty releases them back into the waters. Minty is brought back to the plantation and whipped for disobeying the overseer. After Minty is whipped, her father begins teaching her how to survive in the woods. He teaches her how to follow the North Star, run through the woods without making a sound, and how to swim.

Minty makes several attempts to escape, but her fear keeps her from leaving. It is not until she became an adult that Minty was courageous enough to make her daring escape.

Critical Analysis

Schroeder portray’s Harriet Tubman as a strong character. From the first page, the reader is able to tell that Harriet is a little defiant. As Mrs. Brodas calls for Minty to come in, Minty giggles, sticks out her tongue and thinks to herself, “I’ll come when I’m good and ready”. She also defies orders from the overseer when she rescues the muskrats from the traps in the water. Minty is whipped for disobeying his orders.

Many cultural markers can be identified throughout the story and illustrations. Minty is referred to as “gal and girl”, Minty calls Mrs. Brodas “Missus” and Minty’s parents are “Old Ben and Old Rit.” Several phrases used are authentic to this time period. Mrs. Brodas tells Minty “I had a mess of peas that needed shelling” and when she throws Minty’s doll into the fire she says “That’ll learn you”. When Minty is sent to work in the field, she meets a lady named Amanda. Amanda tells Minty that she will need to wear a bandanna so she won’t fry her brains out. Also, many illustrations depict Minty not wearing any shoes. She even warms them one night in her cabin by sticking them in the ashes at the end of the pit.

The reader is able to gather from the illustrations that Minty and her family live in a very small cabin. In each illustration, the entire family gathers together in one small room. They all sit on the floor and sleep close together at night. Pinkney uses pencil, colored pencils, and watercolors to create beautifully landscaped full page illustrations. Minty’s feelings come through in her facial expressions. When Minty’s mother is tending her wounds from being whipped, Minty is biting down on a hickory stick and one single tear falls from her face. The reader can also tell how Mrs. Brodas is feeling in the illustrations. Her anger is evident when she has Minty’s doll in her hands.

Although this story is written only about Harriet Tubman’s childhood, Schroeder provides an author’s note at the end of the story that shares how Harriet Tubman makes her escape and her heroic efforts to go back and save many others.

Reviews

1997 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner

Publishers Weekly review: “Schroeder's (Ragtime Tumpie; Carolina Shout!) choice of lively vignettes rather than a more traditional biography is a wise one. With color and feeling he humanizes a historic figure, coaxing readers to imagine or research the rest of the story. Pinkney's (John Henry) full-bodied watercolors evoke a strong sense of time and place. Laudably, Pinkney's scenes consistently depict young Minty's point of view, giving the harshness of her reality more resonance for readers.”

School Library Journal review: “Pinkney's illustrations are outstanding, even when compared to his other fine work. His paintings, done in pencil, colored-pencils, and watercolor, use light and shadow to great effect, and his depictions of Minty are particularly powerful and expressive. This is a dramatic story that will hold listeners' interest and may lead them to biographical material such as David A. Adler's A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman (Holiday, 1992) and Ann McGovern's Wanted Dead or Alive (Scholastic, 1991).”

Kirkus Reviews: “Told in rhythmic prose and colloquial dialogue, the plot has actual events that are small, but it is rich with melodrama, suspense, pathos, and, of course, a powerful vision of freedom. Pinkney's illustrations exhibit, characteristically, his refined draftsmanship; the complicated compositions convey psychological aspects of slavery and make the individual characters even more distinct. This exquisitely crafted book resonates well beyond its few pages.”

Connections

This story would be a great book to read at the beginning of a study on Harriet Tubman. After reading this story, students will be eager to find out what happens to Harriet Tubman. Other stories that can be paired with this book include:

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2006. MOSES: WHEN HARRIET TUBMAN LED HER PEOPLE TO FREEDOM. ISBN 0786851759

Adler, David A. 1992. A PICTURE BOOK OF HARRIET TUBMAN. ISBN 0823409260

International Literature

Hunwick's Egg

Bibliography

Fox, Mem. 2005. HUNWICK’S EGG. Ill. Pamela Lofts. Florida: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152163182

Summary

After a wild storm rolls through the dusty desert, Hunwick, an old bandicoot finds a curious egg. Hunwick calls upon his neighbors Emu, Echidna, and Cockatoo, but none of them knew who the egg belonged to. Hunwick took the egg back to his burrow and began to watch over it. He talked to the egg and wondered if it would ever hatch. Eventually Hunwick’s neighbors began to worry about Hunwick because they knew that egg would never hatch. But clever little Hunwick had already guessed that the egg was not an egg, but that of a stone and he loved it anyway.

Critical Analysis

Mem Fox does a beautiful job capturing the Australian desert in this short story. The main character in this story is Hunwick, a bandicoot or bilby. The bilby is an endangered animal that burrows in the desert land and forages for food at night. This idea carries over into the story. “Each evening before he went out to find food, Hunwick covered the egg with twigs.” Hunwick’s friends, Emu, Echidna, and Cockatoo, are also found in the Australian desert. These cultural markers help create this authentic Australian picture book.

Readers will enjoy reading about Hunwick’s friendship. They get to see how the friendship grows and becomes a strong bond. When Hunwick learns that the egg is really not an egg at all, but a perfect stone instead, he doesn’t mind. “I love it as it is.” This is a wonderful lesson to learn.

Lofts’ uses bright watercolors to recreate the landscape of the Australian desert. The images of the animals and plant life closely resemble the actual objects. Hunwick’s sad dopey eyes and his big ears are loveable and the image of him burrowed with the egg is heartwarming. Children will appreciate the full page view of the Emu, Echidna, and Cockatoo. Plant life and small insects crawl across the pages, while the story of Hunwick is captured on each page in a smaller illustrated box. This story displays rich colors of deep blues and purples to depict the night and the bright reds of the desert sand.

Reviews

School Library Journal review: “This slightly offbeat story with a universal message about the power of friendship is accompanied by glowing watercolor pencil illustrations in orange, pink, and violet tones that showcase the flora and fauna of the Australian landscape, adding an interesting element to this charming title. Young readers will appreciate Hunwick's loyalty and may be curious to learn more about the exotic animals portrayed in the lovely artwork.”

Booklist review: “The abrupt conclusion is puzzling, and the layouts, featuring small inset scenes surrounded by creatures and plants set against white backgrounds, don't always make the most of Lofts' striking, detailed, colored-pencil art. But children will easily be drawn to Lofts' astonishingly expressive animal characters, and Fox's gentle text may resonate with young ones who feel a magical connection or companionship with their own cherished rock, shell, or shred of blanket.”

Connection

Although this story is fictional, it represents cultural markers found in the Australian desert. This book would be great to pair with a non-fiction read on desert life. Students could pick out plant and animal life that are found in the desert. The discussion of nocturnal living could also be addressed.

Other books by this author include:

Fox, Mem. KOALA LOU. ISBN 0152005021

Fox, Mem. POSSUM MAGIC. ISBN 0152005722

The Breadwinner

Bibliography

Ellis, Deborah. 2001. THE BREAD WINNER. Toronto: Doulas & McIntyre. ISBN 0888994192.

Summary

Kabul, Afghanistan, once a beautiful and thriving city was over taken by the Taliban. All of the freedom Parvana and her family were use to had been taken away. The Taliban forbade girls to go to school and the women were not allowed out in public unless they were completely covered with a burqa and accompanied by a male.

Everyday Parvana assisted her father to the market where he would read and write letters for the Afghans. One evening while the family was together, the Taliban came to the family’s home and took their father away. Since their father was the only male in the family besides their baby brother, her mother decided to cut off Parvana’s hair and dress her like a boy so that she could go out and make money for the family.

Each day Parvana would go to the market and read and write letters for the Afghans. To make even more money, she and another girl decided to go and dig up bones. With this new secret identity, Parvana was able to provide for the family and be out in the sun and fresh air each day.

While Parvana’s family was off to Mazar-e-Sharif for her sister’s arranged marriage, Parvana’s father returned home. Parvana was happy to see her father, but when the two learn that the rest of the family was in danger of the Taliban, the two decide they must go out and search for them.

Critical Analysis

Set in Kabul, Afghanistan, The Breadwinner is a fictional story about how one family deals with the hardships and rules enforced by the Taliban militia. A map of Afghanistan, glossary, and an author’s note has been included. Ellis gives a brief history of this once thriving place.

There are many cultural markers immersed throughout the story. Ellis has used Middle Eastern names, described what the Afghans wear, what foods they eat, and the rules that were enforced by the Taliban. Readers may struggle with the harsh realities of the Afghans. Ellis describes how many people were killed by land mines and fake legs were sold on the streets of the market.

When Parvana’s father is arrested and taken to prison, Parvana’s family is left trapped in their home. Unable to go out into public without a male present, Parvana must cut off her hair and dress in a shalwar kameez so that she looks like a boy. She is the only one that can go out and make money for the family. Parvana is nervous at first, but soon finds that it is nice to be needed by her family. Although she seemed to thrive on being the breadwinner for her family, she just wanted things to go back to normal. “I just want to be an ordinary kid again. I want to sit in a classroom and go home and eat food that someone else has worked for. I want my father to be around. I just want a normal, boring life.”

Children will be able to connect with the sibling rivalry between Parvana and her older sister Nooria. Nooria is very close to her mother and often bosses Parvana around, but when Parvana takes on the responsibility of providing food and money for her family, Nooria begins to leave her alone.

Reviews

Booklist review: “The Breadwinner is a potent portrait of life in contemporary Afghanistan, showing that powerful heroines can survive even in the most oppressive and sexist social conditions.”

School Library Journal review: “Based on a true story (Ellis interviewed girls and women while volunteering at an Afghan refugee camp), the novel tells of a brave 11-year-old girl named Parvana who remembers life before the Taliban took over Kabul. Now her reclusive family lives in fear. After Taliban soldiers imprison her father, Parvana disguises herself as a boy and becomes the family's breadwinner, encountering friendship and horrors on the streets.”

Connections

Other books by Deborah Ellis include:

Ellis, Deborah. 2003. PARVANA’S JOURNEY. ISBN 978-0888995193.

Ellis, Deborah. 2004. MUD CITY. ISBN 978-0888995421.

The Pull of the Ocean

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude, and Y. Maudet. 2006. THE PULL OF THE OCEAN. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0385733488

Summary

Yann, a mute and tiny 10-year-old, is the youngest of seven boys in the Doutreleau household. Yann has three sets of older twin brothers that are tall for their age, but very skinny. Poor little Yann was born alone and last. “Like the period at the end of a sentence.” One rainy night, Yann overhears his father telling his wife that he is going to harm the boys. Quickly, Yann returns to his brothers and persuades them that they must flee from the house at once. The Doutreleau boys dress and head out into the stormy night. Although Yann is the youngest, his brothers follow his lead and they make their way towards the ocean. Each chapter is narrated by a different person describing the boy’s journey.

Critical Analysis

Jean-Claude Mourlevat, an award winning French author, has created a story that describes a journey seven brothers take through the French-countryside towards the Atlantic Ocean. The story is told from multiple point-of-views; a social worker, each brother, their parents, a truck driver, a student, shop keeper, grocer, and finally Yann Doutreleau and a merchant marine. It begins with Nathalie Josse, a thirty-two year old social worker sharing her testimony of the last time she saw Yann Doutreleau. Through each narrator, the reader begins to understand the Doutreleau boys and their parents.

The reader is able to gather that this story is from France through various cultural markers. Most of the characters first names are of French decent. Names like Fabien, Francois, Maurice, Michele, and Pierre. Even the Doutreleau’s dog has a French name, Corniaud. The reader can tell that they live near the Atlantic Ocean because it only took a few days to travel from their home. Peigueux, Limoges, and Angouleme, are some of the towns that the boys travel through.

Through various points of views, the reader is able to gather that the Doutreleau family is poor and uneducated. Nathalie Josse, the social worker, describes the skinny boys as being undernourished. Louis, the father, shares his account of eating stale bread soaked in water for his supper and that his wife begs for help at the social service office and the local church. Various accounts described the boys as having old raggedy clothes. Daniel Sanz, a truck driver, described their clothing as weird. “Definitely not Lacoste, I guarantee you.” Nathalie describes the farm as ugly and dirty. Weeds were grown up and the roof of the barn was falling apart. The dialect the family uses also portrays them as uneducated. One of the boys tells the social worker “It’s the father threw it swimming”, and the mother refers to her husband as “the father”.

Through the journey, the reader can see the strong bond that the boys have for one another. Although Yann is small in size, he is very intelligent and respected by his brothers. The oldest brothers, Fabien and Remy followed the directions that Yann gave leading them to the ocean. Yann finally reveals to Remy at the end of the journey that their father wasn’t going to harm the boys. Remy doesn’t get angry, instead he understands. Marthe, the mother, seems to grow the most. At the beginning of the story she does not seem to take any interest in the boys, but when she finally hears Fabien’s voice she was very happy. She even calls them “the children”, something she had never done before.

I enjoyed reading this short novel. It was interesting to see the story unfold from different points of view. Usually when one brother shared their account, the twin brother would share theirs in the next chapter. Although I was excited to see that the boys had finally been rescued at the end, I was bothered by what actually happened to Yann. I could see this as a great discussion for a class.

Reviews

Publisher’s Weekly review: “Indeed, Mourlevat enchantingly blends the harshly real and the make-believe, with the latter tipping the balance as this effectively haunting, fluidly translated tale comes to a close.”

School Library Journal review: “Poverty and hardship echo throughout this modern "Tom Thumb" story, but it is ultimately the spirit of brotherhood that is the highlight of this tale. It is a memorable novel that readers will find engaging and intellectually satisfying.”

2007 Batchelder Award winner

Connections

In the story, Pascal Josse, the social worker’s husband, begins to make connections of the Doutreleau boys and the tale of Tom Thumb. It would be wonderful to read Tom Thumb after reading The Pull of the Ocean. Students could make comparisons of the two stories.

Another idea might be to have the students write an alternative ending to the story from one of the point-of-views.

Watson, Richard Jesse. TOM THUMB. ISBN 0613954092

Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults

I will now be using this blog to create book reviews for Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults.