Books, Reading, Libraries, and Learning Blog

REVIEW OF YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS A. BIBLIOGRAPHY Medina, Meg. YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763671648. B. PLOT SUMMARY Piddy Sanchez is a 10 th grader at her new school, and she recently found out that someone named Yaqui Delgado doesn’t like her. Piddy doesn’t know who Yaqui Delgado is, so she decides to try to find out. She finds her in a school yearbook. Now she knows her full name and what she looks like. One day, in the hall at school between class period, Yaqui steals Piddy’s necklace off her neck. Later, Yaqui and some of her friends catch Piddy walking home. Yaqui beats Piddy up badly. Yaqui’s gang of friends record the beat-down and later post it on the Internet. Eventually, Yaqui gets reported for bullying Piddy. Piddy transfers back to her old school so that she doesn’t have to be around Yaqui or her gang of friends.               C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS) This book is fil

REVIEW OF JOVITA WORE PANTS: THE STORY OF A MEXICAN FREEDOM FIGHTER   A. BIBLIOGRAPHY Salazar, Aida. Illustrated by Molly Mendoza. JOVITA WORE PANTS: THE STORY OF A MEXICAN FREEDOM FIGHTER. New York City, NY: Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. ISBN 9781338283419. B. PLOT SUMMARY Jovita is a little girl growing up on a rancho in rural Mexico in the 1910’s. As Jovita is growing up, the Mexican federal government begins enforcing policies that many people disagree with. Jovita’s father and brothers join a group opposed to these policies, called the Cristeros. At first, she is not allowed to join the group; but, later, her father allows her to accompany him. Later, the Mexican federal government captures her and tries to get her to give them information about the Cristeros. She refuses to help them and escapes. As time passes, the Mexican federal government kills her father and brothers. Angry at the federal government for doing this, she joins the Cristeros to aven

REVIEW OF SUMMER ON WHEELS   A. BIBLIOGRAPHY Soto, Gary. SUMMER ON WHEELS. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 978-0590483360. B. PLOT SUMMARY Hector and Mando live in East L.A. During their summer vacation, they decide to make a road trip on their bikes to Santa Monica beach. On the way they stop and stay with various relatives.   C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS) An important cultural element of this book is the use of language. The author uses predominantly English, but sprinkles in plenty of Spanish words, i.e., gatitos, familia, hombre, masa, mole con pollo, chorizo con huevos, muchachos, andale, barrio, hermana, and many other Spanish words. Even better is the author’s liberal use of Spanish colloquialisms, such as mijo, fuchi, simon, chale, vatos, asco, la migra, chamacos, nalgas, raza, carnal, and other colloquialisms. The author also incorporates slang to add realism to the story. Typical slang words such as nerd and dude are joined with more cu

REVIEW OF YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO! AMERICAS' SPROUTINGS! A. BIBLIOGRAPHY Mora, Pat. YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO! AMERICAS' SPROUTINGS! Illustrated by Rafael Lopez. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58430-271-1.   B. PLOT SUMMARY The book is made up of a list of indigenous plant-based foods of the Americas. Each plant-based food gets a page that gives information about it in the form of standard text. Also, each plant-based food gets a haiku written about it. The plant-based foods listed are blueberry, chile pepper, chocolate, corn, cranberry, papaya, peanut, pecan, pineapple, potato, prickly pear, pumpkin, tomato, and vanilla.   C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS) This picture book teaches readers about important indigenous plant-based foods of the Americas. The haikus used in the book are poetic descriptions of the plant-based foods. The narrative passages provide a lot of great information about the plants used for these foods. The narrativ

  REVIEW OF ON THE COME UP A. BIBLIOGRAPHY Thomas, Angie. ON THE COME UP. New York City, NY: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780062498564. B. PLOT SUMMARY Bri is a high school student whose passion is rapping. She lives with her mother and brother in an urban neighborhood populated by gangs and gang culture. There are two main rival gangs in their neighborhood, the Garden Disciples (whose color is green) and the Crowns (whose color is gray.) Bri’s father, a legendary rapper in the neighborhood, was killed by members from the Crowns gang years before. One day Bri gets a phone call saying that an opportunity to rap at a public event has become available for her. The event is a contest between rappers to determine who is best at spontaneous rapping. The rappers and the audience refers to it as battling in the ring. Bri wins her event and quickly becomes known for her victory in her neighborhood. The next day at school, while passing through securi

  REVIEW OF A CROWN OF STORIES: THE LIFE AND LANGUAGE OF BELOVED WRITER TONI MORRISON A. BIBLIOGRAPHY Weatherford, Carole. Illustrated by Khalif Thompson. A CROWN OF STORIES: THE LIFE AND LANGUAGE OF BELOVED WRITER TONI MORRISON. New York City, NY: Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780062911032. B. PLOT SUMMARY Chloe Ardelia Wofford is an African American girl growing up in Lorain, Ohio. Her family teaches her how to read, and she thrives on the written and the spoken word. In her home, she is surrounded by books. In elementary school she is the only African American in her class, and she is the first one to learn how to read. In high school she is in the school drama club and on the debate team. She graduates from high school and goes to Howard University in Washington D.C., the first in her family to go to college. At Howard University she changes her first name to Toni. She finds success both academically and socially. She encounters racism and

  REVIEW OF PIECING ME TOGETHER   A. BIBLIOGRAPHY Watson, Renee. PIECING ME TOGETHER. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., part of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 978-1- 68119-107-2. B. PLOT SUMMARY Jade is an African American girl who lives in Portland, Oregon. She attends a school for rich, white people on the other side of town from where she lives. She is able to attend the school through a scholarship that pays her tuition to the school. Her mom works as a personal assistant (housekeeper) to an elderly person.    They live with her mom’s brother. Jade has two interests. She makes collages as a hobby. Her other interest is her dream to someday travel and see the world. She is hoping to be included in a school-sponsored study abroad event. At school there is an adult who tries to help Jade. One activity that she arranges for Jade is mentorship with a successful adult who had attended the school years previously. The mentor’s name is Maxine. Jade’s best friend is