Book Review #2: "Nathan's Wish: A Story about Cerebral Palsy"

Lears, Laurie. Illustrated by Stacey Schuett. Nathan's Wish: A Story about Cerebral Palsy. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 2005.

Nathan's Wish is about a boy who wants to find some way he can help his neighbor, Miss Sandy, to repay her for all of the time she spends talking with him about the injured birds that she takes care of and involving him in the processes. However, what Nathan can do for Miss Sandy it very limited because he has cerebral palsy and can't walk very well. However, with a little inspiration from a Screech Owl named Fire with a broken wing, Nathan realizes that there are many things that he can still accomplish even with his disability to be helpful to Miss Sandy.

While Nathan's Wish is not meant to be informative, it is a somewhat inspirational read for insiders who have this disability. This story shows that just because there are some things that you can't do and can't participate in doesn't mean that you are less important or useless. I have noticed a common theme in books about disabilities of the character feeling "trapped." This is a big theme in this particular book with Nathan feeling like he is not free. This story shows that there are many other options for people with physical limitations, and that those children can still make a difference in this world.

Something that I didn't like about this book was the fact that it seemed to make readers think that Nathan was not accepting of his disability. I did not understand how the title of the book fit into the story until getting towards the middle of the story. The dialog goes like this:
"Poor fire, says Miss Sandy, "She wished so badly to be free."
I turn away so Miss Sandy won't see the tears slipping down my cheeks.
I know just how it feels to wish for something that can't come true. (Lears)
This seems to show that Nathan does not like himself and wishes to be different. I don't necessarily think that this is negative because I understand that children might have these thoughts, but it might have the wrong affect on outside readers, making them think that children with this disability are unhappy and sad all of the time and always wish that they were different.

Author Laurie Lears taught special education for seven years. She has written many other children's picture books about other disabilities such as autism, epilepsy, and stuttering. She has also written a children's picture book about adoption.

Book Review #1: "Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair"

Heelan, Jamee Riggio. Illustrated by Nicola Simmonds. Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, LTD, 2000.

Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair is a picture book made for lower elementary students. This book is narrated by a boy named Taylor who has cerebral palsy, and lives his life in a wheelchair. Taylor talks about his struggles in therapy with trying to learn how to walk with a walker and how frustrating it was. Taylor soon discovers, however, that he can accomplish many activities when using his new wheelchair.

The first word that came to mind when I finished reading through this book was 'inspirational.' It is very positive and shows determination and accomplishment of a boy going through struggles that come with having cerebral palsy. I also thought it was very informative. Not only would this book be a great read for a child who is also wheelchair bound to learn from and relate to, but it's a great way for outsiders to be able to see into the mind of a child who is experiencing this disability first hand, what they go through, and what they have to consider on a day to day basis. Taylor also describes cerebral palsy himself, making readers know that he is aware of his disability and he does not mind talking about aloud and sharing his difficult times. It is both informative and easy for inside readers to relate to, portraying a tone of confidence that could possibly be contagious.

This book does not focus on only the struggles that Taylor experiences in his wheelchair, however. This book also portrays Taylor as a normal boy, one who likes to eat chocolate ice cream, wrestle, and watch the Chicago Bulls play basketball, all with his brother, Tyler (Heelan). The illustrated bodies with the real life faces make Taylor a more personable and real character who is actually surviving through his disability day by day. I thought that this was a great example of making a seemingly inconvenient disability seem positive and sometimes even fun, and would be a great addition to a classroom library for both inside and outside readers. A child could learn a lot about cerebral palsy from this book, and that other children with this disability are more like them than they think; they just get around a little differently.

Author Jamee Riggio Heelan has a degree in occupational therapy. She works at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago with a focus on pediatric rehabilitation. She has written a few other children's books with the hope of educating others about childhood disabilities.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic

I kind of took this book to have one of the same themes as Project Mulberry, and that is to embrace who you are and learn more about yourself. However, unlike Julia in Project Mulberry, I felt like Justine's issue with self identity was more resolved. She embraced her religion and found out more about it on her own, and in the end the reader could tell that she was satisfied with her choice. I personally felt much more satisfied at the end of this book. I think one of the turning points for Justine is when she receives her grandmother's necklace. I was very surprised that she began to wear it so quickly, especially with her being so confused with what religion she was going to identify with. I think that wearing the necklace made her feel closer to her grandmother and that might even be ultimately makes her choose to explore and stay with the Jewish religion. She does decide to read more up on it and visit the Center for Jewish Understanding after she reads the letter that her Bubbe leaves her. Maybe it is a way to feel connected and closer to her Bubbe.
I do believe that she was struggling more with just religion in this book. She was dealing with the loss of a close family member, she was the middle child, she had physical self-confidence issues, she had her first major crush on a boy (to make it worse, her best friend's brother), not to mention she is about to enter a very confusing stage of life: adolescence. I think that young readers could relate to this book on many different levels, and that the discussion of religion is one of may things that the main character is dealing with.
We recently had a discussion in one of my classes about how to talk about religion with your children as parents. My professor said that his personal belief, the one that he is currently following with his children, is to make sure that they are educated about various types of religions including the one that you follow. He wasn't saying to carry out religious practices other than your own, but to just make sure they are educated. Bring the child up under your religion, but understand that when they become an adult, they might decide that this religion is not for them. He said that parents should be open to this and to not force religion upon their children. I agree with this now, but I honestly don't know how I would feel as a parent. It really did surprise me that Justine's mother was the one upset while her Bubbe was very open to the idea of her converting to Catholicism. Usually elders are very "stuck in their ways," as any like to put it. But I can understand why Justine's mother would be so upset, especially since her daughter is not even 13 yet and she is already making these decisions. I would be curious to see what others thought on this topic.

The Lambda Literary Foundation Award (LLFA)-Group Post

The purpose of the Lambda Literary Foundation Award (LLFA) is to "celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians - the whole literary community." From www.lambdaliterary.org/index.html

The selection criteria is as follows:
~Books are about LGBT categories
~Author does not have to be LGBT themselves, as long as their piece of literature includes something about LGBT. Perhaps even one character.
~There are 21 different categories that book nominations fall under
~Only the author or a publisher can nominate a book.

The selection committee includes the writers themselves, booksellers, librarians, teachers, book reviewers, journalists, and/or members of the literary community. It is also stated that editors and publishers or members of the Board of Trustees may serve as a judge.

The LLFA relies on support from the literary community to connect LGBT writers and readers. Personal donations and organizations also help to fund the award.

Our group could only find 4 young adult books that had won the award. However, not all of the books' main themes were LGBT. In "Eight Seconds" by Jean Ferris, the story is not at all about LGBT, it is about bull riders and the rodeo. However, it won the award because one of the characters is gay. The other young adult books we found were "Between Mom and Jo" by Julie Anne Peters, "Express of the World" by Sara Ryan, and "The Full Spectrum" edited by David Levithan and Billy Merrell. "The Full Spectrum" is a compilation of short stories that are about LGBT.

Finally, the book "Boy Meets Boy" by David Levithan is also a winner of the LLFA!

Becoming Naomi Leon

I actually really enjoyed this book, although I did have to put it down a few times because Skyla made me so angry. I think that this book is a perfect representation of diversity in children's literature; it not only talks about Latino culture, but it also touches on physical disabilities that Owen has, Naomi's brother. Owen was by far my favorite character in this book. He had such a positive attitude that was almost contagious and there were many times where his responses and words made me actually smile. He is a great role model for children with disabilities, having a positive outlook on life despite the fact that he is a "FLK," as the doctors called him. The book also portrayed him as being extremely intelligent which is also breaking the misconception that people with disabilities aren't as smart as people without them.
I loved the use of Spanish language in this book, especially when they were all actually in Mexico. It added a reality and authenticity to the book. The last part of the book when they were in Mexico was rich with description of the area around them, and the use of the Spanish language gave the reader a sense as to what it is like to live in this part of Mexico.
Overall I thought that this book was a wonderful story with a very positive portrayal of the closeness of family and the Latino culture, and I would definitely include in my classroom library.

Living with Autism

Last week, we watched a short portion of a documentary about a women named Sue Ruben who is 26 years old and who was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. Autism is a brain development disorder that results in impairments in social interaction and communication. The documentary was written by Sue, but she was not the narrator. Still, there was a positive attitude that could be heard in the way that the script was written. By making this documentary, Sue wanted to bring people into the world of autism and show them how she has grown into an adult and her struggles that she has experienced along the way.
Sue has always lived with the assistance of others and her neighbor, Jackie, is her psychologist. Between these individuals who help her with daily life and her family which was also shown throughout the movie, Sue has a lot of support. She even said that she "has never felt aloneness" which I thought was absolutely amazing. I think it would be so difficult to trapped in this world that no one else close to you can fully relate to, and having a difficult time being able to communicate with others would definitely make relationships difficult.
I loved the scene when the video showed her eating dinner with her family. Her father talked to her like she was completely normal. He did not speak slowly or censor big words; he spoke to her as if she was any other normal adult. If Sue's parents treated her like this throughout her life, if can be easily seen why she is so comfortable and positive with her disability. I can't imagine what it would be like for her parents to raise her in this state, and I respect them for their extreme patience and unconditional love that she seemed to show throughout the documentary. There was mention of self-abusive behavior that would occur with Sue when she was without supervision. This would be so scary for a parent; I would want to be with my child every minute of the day!
Watching this video reminded me of videos that I watched in CEP240 about children with both physical and learning disabilities. Just like those, this video opened my mind and my heart up to people who live with this disability, and it made me more aware of just how difficult simple tasks and daily life can be. I must admit that sometimes I do forget that people with these disabilities do exist out there right now and are living a completely different life that I could never even begin to imagine. Seeing videos like this helps me remember that this is a real problem, and encourages me to want to find out more information on this and other disabilities.

Concerns about Habibi

So far from the two books that we have read for this class, I have learned a lot about stereotyping and how it is so easy to do when writing about a certain culture. In the first book that we read, The Heart of a Chief, I noticed major Native American stereotyping throughout the text that really made me dislike the book as whole. I did the QTT paper for Habibi for this past week and I also focused on stereotypes looking at how Arab Americans were portrayed throughout the text. I was so concerned and wrapped up in examining how the author portrayed Arabs and Arab Americans that I didn't even notice the negative portrayal of the Israeli soldiers until we started discussing the issue with the book at West Bloomfield school in class.
I do agree with the school district for removing Habibi from their curriculum, especially since it was being used in a 7th grade classroom. I think that this book would be more appropriate if used in a high school level English class where more in-depth discussion on the portrayal of stereotypes could be conducted. This book does not do a great job at portraying the actual Israeli/Palestine conflict, and I don't think it's the richest piece of diverse literature to be using simply for the sake of its diversity in a middle school language arts classroom. This book would be more useful if it was critiqued by higher level students and if the stereotypes were closely examined by a more mature set of readers.