A Notes from the Windowsill annotated bibliography by Wendy E. Betts. Copyright 2006
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Last Updated 10/26/05
Meet Danitra Brown by Nikki Grimes. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper.
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1994 (0-688-12073-3) $15.00; Mulberry, 1997
(0-688-15471-9) $4.95 pb
Bursting with such exuberant life that the illustrations almost fly
off the pages, Meet Danitra Brown tells the story of Zuri Jackson and
Danitra Brown, two best friends who face the world together with brave
hearts and joyful spirits. Zuri narrates in carefree, colloquial
verse, describing "the most splendiferous girl in town," who always
wears purple because she might be a princess, and is going to win the
Nobel Prize someday. Danitra is also a good friend, as Zuri finds
when other kids tease her about her skinny legs and dark black skin,
or when she feels lonely because "it's Mom and me only" on Parents'
Night. Centered around the theme of friendship, Meet Danitra Brown is
also about having the courage to be yourself in a sometimes hostile
world. Cooper's soft-edged but vibrantly alive illustrations don't
just complement the poems--they complete them, making Zuri and Danitra
utterly real. * (5 & up)
Mayfield Crossing by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. G.P. Putnam,
1993; Avon Camelot, 1994 (0-380-72179-1) $3.50 pb
Fourth-grader Meg can't understand why changing from the little school at Mayfield Crossing to the big, new school at Parkview is such a big deal, even when her father tells her she might be the only Negro in her class. It's never mattered before, why should it matter now? But it does matter - and Meg and her friends from Mayfield Crossing find themselves the target of insults and slights from their new schoolmates. Perhaps the worst part is that the Parkview kids won't let the Mayfielders play ball on their much admired baseball diamonds, "almost like the ones they had in the big leagues." Meg and her brother Billie don't want to keep fighting - because as their Papa says, if you let them put hatred in your heart, then they win. Somehow, they've got to find a way to show those Parkview kids that being different doesn't have to be bad - and what better way then to get them to play baseball with the Mayfielders?
If any book about racism can be considered lighthearted, this is that
book. Although the pain felt by Meg is shown with sensitivity and
understanding, touching a chord of sympathy with anyone who knows what
it's like to be a misunderstood outsider, the basic mood of the book
is, perhaps simplistically, optimistic. The abruptly happy ending is
hard to swallow and the 1960's setting seems almost designed to be
deceptive, contributing to an all-too-common false nostalgia about
"the good old days."
I'm Emma: I'm a Quint by Stella Pevsner. Clarion, 1993;
Minstrel, 1996 (0-671-89549-4) $3.99 pb
After years of being less outgoing than her sisters and brothers,
thirteen year old Emma finds herself starting to blossom in unexpected
ways: taking acting classes, learning to rollerblade, and making
friends with a cute boy named James. For a girl who wants to be
appreciated just for herself, instead of as one of the "Wentworth
Quintuplets," it's a great time--except for her nagging fear that her
family's secret will be discovered. Cheerfully narrated by Emma, this
likeable story takes a realistic look at the ups and downs of an
unusual family situation, showing that the basic problems of growing
up and discovering who you are are universal. (8-12)
Join In edited by Donald R. Gallo. Delacorte, 1993;
Laurel-Leaf, 1995
(0-440-21957-4) $4.99 pb
This collection of "multiethnic short stories" by various authors
attempts to capture both what is unique and what is universal about
young adults, creating characters that share many of the same feelings
and experiences yet are not "white characters with black or brown
faces painted on them." For the most part it succeeds in this goal;
there were moments reading the book when I felt I'd been given a
genuine insight into another culture, such as in Julius Lester's story
"The Child," in which a black girl envies a freedom whites take
completely for granted: "You could sit on the subway and not even
notice other white people and what they did. You didn't have to worry
about what people might be thinking about you because somebody white
was drunk or passed out from drugs." The quality of the stories is
variable and some offer simplistic "problem novel" scenarios rather
than genuine explorations of characters and their world, but overall,
this anthology has a lot to offer.
Necessary Roughness by Marie G. Lee. HarperCollins, 1996
(0-06-025124-7) $14.95
After Chan Kim and his family move from Los Angeles to an almost
all-white town in Minnesota, Chan must cope with racism and hostility
from his football teammates, in addition to his ongoing battles with
his strict father and a sudden family tragedy. This first-person
novel by the acclaimed author of Finding My Voice and Saying
Goodbye is a bit disappointing in comparison: Chan's slangy
narrative
is readable and sometimes funny, but only rarely conveys a sense of
the
heart of a real person, as Lee's earlier novels did. The book's
greatest strength is its rare, intriguing look at a person who is in a
sense completely "assimilated," yet who also has strong ties to his
ethnic culture. Unlike most characters in similar novels, Chan seems
to have no sense of feeling "divided"; he's quite comfortable with
both his Korean heritage and his American lifestyle--as long as he's
with people who don't insist that he accept only one or the other.
The relationship between Chan and his father--who obviously loves him,
yet can't understand him--is also well drawn. Fast-paced and
accessible, this is a good choice for reluctant readers. (12 & up)
Another Way to Dance by Martha Southgate. Delacorte, 1996
(0-385-32191-0); Laurel-Leaf, 1998 (0-440-21968-X) $4.50 pb
As one of very few African-American girls studying classical ballet,
fourteen-year-old Vicki feels out of place both in her classes and
with other black kids. Battling against prejudice--and an even more
destructive internalized self-hatred--she discovers that there's more
than one way to be black, and more than one way to love dance. Akin
to Marie Lee's poignant Saying Goodbye, this lightly-written but
multi-themed story is compelling and memorable.
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