by John Steptoe (1997)
This is a book about immigration narrated from the perspective of a somewhat naive African American elementary student. It's written almost entirely in slang -- the narrator Charles' creative use of language -- and starts in an almost contrived fashion: "I was sittin' in class one day when this new dude walks in." I slowly got used to the narration, though, and even enjoyed some of Charles' interpretations of events ("I didn't want to hurt Hector's feelings, so I didn't say nothin' about them float-boats he was carryin' around on his feet"). The realistic, vibrant watercolor paintings by E.B. Lewis are expressive and make the characters come alive in a way which the somewhat stilted text does not always succeed. The overall message covers bullying and fitting in in a surprising way, however, and I believe students would take away these important points from the text. Some students and parents may not approve of a book written in non-standard English, but I believe this could be used to my advantage in the classroom.
This book would be a great starting point for a discussion about perspective because what we know about Hector, the Puerto Rican immigrant, is entirely filtered through Charles' explanations. The style of the book is changed drastically because it is narrated by Charles -- which also relates to the language that he chooses to portray events. The first person narrative allows for this type of slang, which is also included in books through dialogue. The class could discuss whether it would be appropriate to use this style in a book narrated from the omniscient perspective, and what might change about the book if it were. This book could also be used to discuss struggles faced by immigrants in the United States -- as I did in a text set about modern immigrant families.
This is a book about immigration narrated from the perspective of a somewhat naive African American elementary student. It's written almost entirely in slang -- the narrator Charles' creative use of language -- and starts in an almost contrived fashion: "I was sittin' in class one day when this new dude walks in." I slowly got used to the narration, though, and even enjoyed some of Charles' interpretations of events ("I didn't want to hurt Hector's feelings, so I didn't say nothin' about them float-boats he was carryin' around on his feet"). The realistic, vibrant watercolor paintings by E.B. Lewis are expressive and make the characters come alive in a way which the somewhat stilted text does not always succeed. The overall message covers bullying and fitting in in a surprising way, however, and I believe students would take away these important points from the text. Some students and parents may not approve of a book written in non-standard English, but I believe this could be used to my advantage in the classroom.
This book would be a great starting point for a discussion about perspective because what we know about Hector, the Puerto Rican immigrant, is entirely filtered through Charles' explanations. The style of the book is changed drastically because it is narrated by Charles -- which also relates to the language that he chooses to portray events. The first person narrative allows for this type of slang, which is also included in books through dialogue. The class could discuss whether it would be appropriate to use this style in a book narrated from the omniscient perspective, and what might change about the book if it were. This book could also be used to discuss struggles faced by immigrants in the United States -- as I did in a text set about modern immigrant families.
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