JAZZ
PLOT SUMMARY
Jazz explores the same genre of music through a collection of poems. It depicts the life and cultural values of young African Americans. The poems show the vivid history of Jazz music. From exciting contagious rhythms to sad and pensive poems, Jazz celebrates deep emotions felt through jazz music.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Walter Dean Myers uses a collection of poems and rhythms throughout this book. The use of figurative language such an onomatopoeia is present in poems such as “Three Voices” where there is a “Thum, thum, thum” in the humming. There is repetition throughout the poems and these words are shown in different colors to highlight their importance. Musical instruments are shown in the illustrations; from trumpets, to trombones, to cellos. Each page has a colorful background that contrasts with the clothing worn by the different people shown in the pictures. The emotions of the people can be seen in their faces as they play the musical instruments or in their dancing moves. The book provides cultural respect to the African American community. The poems highlight famous African American musicians such as Louis Armstrong.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Publishers Weekly Starred Review- “The father-and-son team behind blues journey creates a scintillating paean to jazz. Walter Dean Myers infuses his lines (and the rests between them) with so much savvy syncopation that readers can't help but be swept up in the rhythms.”
School Library Journal Starred Review- Grade 5-9–”Expanding on Blues Journey (Holiday House, 2003), this talented father and son have produced new poetry and paintings to explore a wider repertoire of jazz forms. An introduction provides historical and technical background, briefly touching on influences, improvisation, rhythm, and race. Spreads then pulsate with the bold, acrylic-and-ink figures and distorted perspectives that interpret the multiple moods and styles set forth in the text.”
Awards: Coretta Scott King Award Honor for illustration
ALA Notable Children's Book
Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
Publishers Weekly's 100 Best Books of the Year
Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice
Booklist Editor's Choice
Booklist Top Ten in Black History
Book Link's Best New Books for the Classroom
Golden Kite Award: Picture Book Text
CONNECTIONS
● This book reminds us about the importance of our cultural traits and to add homage to our roots and traditions.
Other related books:
● This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt
● Blues Journey by Walter Dean Myers
● Harlem by Walter Dean Myers
Activity: Have students research the different kinds of music genres. In groups make presentations to the cultural contributions that music adds to a community.
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When Gorilla Goes Walking
Grimes, Nikki. 2007. When Gorilla Goes Walking. Orchard Books. Ill. by Shane Evans. New York, NY. ISBN 978-0439317702
PLOT SUMMARY
When Gorilla Goes Walking is a collection of poems spoken through the eyes of a young African American girl named Cecilia. She begins a special bond with a new cat pet she names Gorilla. Together they live everyday adventures and form a special and unique friendship. Gorilla, the gray cat, has a curious and feisty personality that is seen throughout the poem. Cecilia’s love for her pet cat is depicted in the book, especially when she is feeling blue about her best friend moving away. Cecilia finds comfort with Gorilla.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book contains a set of poems that describe Cecilia’s and Gorilla’s everyday activities. Each poem begins with a new title that shows Gorilla’s actions throughout the day. The poem has a rhyming pattern and its playful language makes it entertaining. The pictures are vibrant and show Gorilla’s interesting personality. They show Gorilla painting, napping, walking, and even hissing at dogs nearby. Most of the poems have short lines that add to the actions of the characters. The vocabulary is simple and entertaining to read. Some of the poems are quatrains and there is also a haiku in the collection.
REVIEWS
Booklist: *Starred Review* In interlinked poems, Cecilia, a young African American girl, introduces her "cool cat,"---a fierce, tailless, gray shorthair named Gorilla. Written in a variety of forms, from rhyming couplets to haiku, the poems celebrate Gorilla's idiosyncrasies and "every cat" habits.
School Library Journal: Enormous, lively illustrations are paired with an equally bouncy text in this winning picture book. In a series of delightful poems, a girl introduces her cat, Gorilla, and describes her pet's many interests, talents, and behaviors.
CONNECTIONS
● This book will appeal to children who have a pet who they share a special bond with.
Other related books:
● Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw
● Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
● Dogku by Andrew Clements
Activity: Students will explore their creativity by writing a haiku about their own pets (or a pet they wish they had) and creating accompanying illustrations, inspired by "When Gorilla Goes Walking" by Nikki Grimes.
Display the pictures and poems on a bulletin board.
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The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba
Engle, Margarita.2010. The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba. Squarefish. New York, NY. ISBN 978-1250110961
PLOT SUMMARY
The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba is a historical novel written in verse about a Swedish writer named Fredrika who has traveled to Cuba to write about her observations of the people, especially the women. In Cuba she meets a translator, a young African girl named Cecilia. Cecilia is intelligent but her greatest aspirations are difficult to attain because she is a slave. Fredrika establishes her new home in Matanzas, a luxurious home where she meets Elena. Elena is the daughter of the wealthy landowner. Soon Elena becomes influenced by Fredrika’s progressive ideas about women’s rights and independence and learns that Cecilia should also have rights even if she is a slave.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba shows the perspective of three important characters: a writer, an African American slave, and a wealthy young lady.
The novel is written in a verse format which allows for a rhythmic and emotional narration. Each chapter is written through a different perspective; through the eyes of a different character. The main themes center around women’s rights and the lack of women’s independence during those times. The three character’s cultural backgrounds bring to a contrast in ideas and aspirations. Frederika represents knowledge, Cecilia resilience and hope, and Elena empathy.The author uses poetic language to explore important themes and present cultural diversity.
REVIEWS
Kirkus Reviews, starred review- “Like the firefly light, Engle's poetry is a gossamer thread of subtle beauty weaving together three memorable characters who together find hope and courage. Another fine volume by a master of the novel in verse.”
The Horn Book- “The imagistic, multiple first-person narrative works handily in revealing Bremer, an alert and intelligent woman in rebellion against her background of privilege.”
Booklist- “Through this moving combination of historical viewpoints, Engle creates dramatic tension among the characters, especially in the story of Elena, who makes a surprising sacrifice.” -
Awards:
A Pura Belpré Honor Book
An American Library Association Notable Children's Book
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
CONNECTIONS
● This novel will appeal to students who want to learn about women’s suffrage and the struggle that many women had to endure to find independence.
● This novel will create class discussion about slavery and the impact it had on both men and women.
Other related books:
● Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
● The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
● Witness by Karen Hesse
Activity: Students will research the historical setting of 19th-century Cuba, the life of Fredrika Bremer, and slavery in Cuba. Have students form groups and do a powerpoint presentation to share their findings in class.
Students can choose one of the main characters and write a journal entry written in the character’s perspective sharing their feelings and deepening our understanding of the character.
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Brown Girl Dreaming
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2016. Brown Girl Dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Books. New York, NY. ISBN 978-0147515827
PLOT SUMMARY
Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir written by Jacqueline Woodson that describes the life of a young African American girl during the 1960s and 1970s. In this powerful memoir she recounts her experience of living in South Carolina and then moving to New York City. Jacqueline finds the move difficult, and often remembers happy memories of her afternoons playing outside in South Carolina. New York City is different, and it takes her time to adjust. Jacqueline describes her siblings and how she was different and unique from them; always imaginative and curious. She often imagined things and would make up stories to pass the time. She shares her emotions and how the changes in her life led her to become a prolific writer.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Brown Girl Dreaming is a personal memoir written in verse that shares the deep emotions felt by a young girl who experiences changes in her life at a young age. During the time of moving to a new place to live she realizes she is different from her siblings, and often makes up stories. Sometimes her mother worries that she lies about things, but it is her curiosity and inquisitiveness that lead her to pretend and create these stories. She struggles to feel that she belongs. Through her book, Woodson shows her family’s life during a significant historical time for African Americans. The importance of her family and the bond they share show the role they play in her life. The narrative, imagery, and first person perspective of the book makes it a touching story. Common themes shared in the story are finding one's own identity and discrimination and segregation.
REVIEW
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW- “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. For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share.”
The Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW- “A memoir-in-verse so immediate that readers will feel they are experiencing the author’s childhood right along with her. . . . Most notably of all, perhaps, we trace her development as a nascent writer, from her early, overarching love of stories through her struggles to learn to read through the thrill of her first blank composition book to her realization that ‘words are [her] brilliance.’ The poetry here sings: specific, lyrical, and full of imagery. An extraordinary—indeed brilliant—portrait of a writer as a young girl.”
Awards:
A National Book Award Winner
A Coretta Scott King Award Winner
A Newbery Honor Book
One of TIME MAGAZINE’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time
CONNECTIONS
● For anyone who has moved from one place to another and feels out of place and uncertain with changes.
● For those that can relate to writing deep thoughts and feelings about one's personal life.
● For those interested in learning more about a time in America with segregation and discrimination.
Other related books:
● Finding Miracles by Julia Alvarez
● Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
● Other Word for Home by Jasmine Warga
Activities:
Have students write a short memoir describing life in their family. Specify the traits shared with family members and relate what makes you similar, but also different to each other.
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