Don't forget to check out last week's post that discusses We Are Water Protectors.
Click the link below to access last week's blog post: https://henningtonar.wixsite.com/mshennington/post/manage-your-blog-from-your-live-site
Overview: Two children's texts: one bilingual children's picture book and one short novel connect the Latino culture, traditions, and values to that of the Latino-American culture. Stella Diaz and Dear Primo: A Letter To My Cousin are two bilingual children books that provide a cultural window, mirror, and/or door for all students, regardless of ethnicity.
Author and Illustrators:
Angela Dominguez wrote Stella Diaz Never Gives up in 2020 to accompany her other children's novel ' Stella Diaz has Something to Say'. Angela has family that is from Oaxaca, a brother that worked in a pizzeria, and loves Chihuahuas, and she was born in Mexico City and raised in Texas. Therefore, the story of Stella Diaz provides us, the readers, a small glimpse into the life of our author.
Duncan Tonatiuh (toh-nah-tee-YOU) is the author and illustrator of Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin, written in 2010. Duncan is well known for his Pre-Columbian artwork that depicts his different stories. Moreover, his illustrations provide insight into the story line and to his Mexican culture. Duncan grew up in Mexico, which connects him to the authentic Latino culture that is displayed in Dear Primo.
About the Illustrations provided by Duncan Tonatiuh's website: "His artwork is inspired by Pre-Columbian art, particularly that of the Mixtec codices. His aim is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to people, specially children, nowadays." Moreover, Duncan's is a recipient of the Pura Belpré Illustration Honor Award in 2010 for his illustrations in Dear Primo.
Synopsis
Stella Diaz Never Gives Up: Is a story about a young Mexican American girl named Stella Diaz who is trying to find where she belongs in the world of ocean activism and her Latino culture.Throughout the story of Stella Diaz, Stella is faced with internal conflict when she meets a young Latina girl, Mariel, at camp, who is fluent in Spanish and English and closely connected with their culture; Stella only knows a few words in Spanish and is trying to find out where she 'fits in' in both the western and Latino culture. Stella is also trying to find out how to save the oceans, balance her friendship with Stanley and Jenny, figure out how to become amigas with Mariel, find out who she is, and more. . . oh goodness! Read about Stella Diaz and how she is able to navigate her way through the challenges she faces.
Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin: Is a story about two cousins, Charlie and Carlitos, who decide to communicate using letters to discuss the differences in the United States ( Estados Unindos) and Mexico. Charlie lives in the United states and plays, eats, sleeps, and celebrates holiday's in the United States. Carlitos plays, eats, sleeps, and celebrates different holiday's too, but he celebrates in Mexico. Both boys live similar lives, just with cultural differences. Read about how these two boys compare and contrast the differences that they experience day to day, and the idea they have at the end of the book to learn more about each other.
Critical Issues:
Cultural Authenticity:
Connections Across Literature Cultural Authenticity: During last week's reading of We Are Water Protectors, I was able to notice the integration of cultural language being used and intertwined within the English text. There is, in my opinion, beautiful Ojibwe dialect used throughout the book to give cultural authenticity to the text. There were words used such as, "Nokomis [Noo-ki-miss], Niiji [nee-GEE], and Anishinaabe [ ah-nish-eh-nah-BAY] naturally integrated throughout the story of the young girl fighting for her tribe. Similar to We Are Water Protectors, both Stella Diaz Never Gives Up and Dear Primo, incorporate the usage of cultural dialect in their stories. On every page of Stella Diaz, Spanish is incorporated in some way; in the quotes, within the main character's train of thought, or from her friend Stanley, who is not Latino and does not speak Spanish fluently. In comparison to Stella Diaz, Dear Primo incorporates Spanish when Carlitos, who lives in Mexico, is detailing his life in Mexico; Charlie, who is Latino American, does not write in Spanish throughout his letters to his cousin. However regardless of the frequency of native languages used throughout each of the three texts, LOTEs (language other than English) are being used throughout each story line.
Moreover, when each author uses the LOTE in their story, it is naturally integrated in a way that would allow students that only speak English, to try and translate the text themselves. As a teacher, this is extremely important for the cultural acceptance and appreciation of other cultures into Americanized classrooms. Students that speak only English need to be able to try and translate the LOTE used in story's to create strong and meaningful connections. It should also be mentioned that both Dear Primo and We Are Water Protectors have glossaries in the back of each text. Stella Diaz does not have a glossary, but often times the author defines the Spanish word throughout the following sentence. Dear Primo also uses pictures as definitions to accompany the Spanish words used within the text, throughout the illustrations.
It is not enough to just write or speak of other cultures, when discussing well known or 'new to us' cultures, especially ones that have other languages, it is necessary to expose all children to the different languages, music, clothing, and way of life.
For students to make connections to each of these three books, the students can create pictures of their family, house, school, whichever scene they choose, and label each object in the picture using a LOTE. Similar to the story of Dear Primo, depending on the age of the students, the students can write a story and incorporate a language of their choosing. If students want to use a different language than Spanish or Ojibwe, let them! Students need to explore on their own and make new discoveries that change and mold to their old discoveries and what they already know.
Kelly and Laminack's Framework Selection: The three books selected, We Are Water Protectors, Stella Diaz Never Gives Up, and Dear Primo: A Letter to my Cousin, are all connected based on the cultural awareness that they bring to all students, regardless of ethnicity, race, and culture. Every student will be learning about other cultures and how their culture compares and contrasts to the previous texts listed. The 'issue' that is being addressed is 'cultural exposure' that is used as a mirror and a window for our students.
Connection: We are Water Protectors, is based on a story that is set in an Ojibwe tribe, therefore, students may have trouble connecting to the culture of the Ojibwe people, yet students will be able to make connections based on the family structure of the Ojibwe tribe. Similar to the Ojibwe tribe, family is a strong common component of the Latino culture which is mentioned in Stella Diaz and Dear Primo. Therefore, students will be able to see the similarities in family structure and the importance of family within each culture. Each piece of literature in this text set increases in exposure to culture.
We Are Water Protectors----> A young girl of the Ojibwe tribe that lives with her tribe and family, speaks Ojibwe.
Stella Diaz Never Gives Up---> Stella Diaz, who is Hispanic, honors her culture at home, visits Mexico, speaks some Spanish.
Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin---> Charlie is Latino, lives in America, and is Americanized, his cousin, Carlitos lives in Mexico, speaks Spanish, and celebrates his Latino Culture
Moreover, regardless of how familiar a child and/or student is with another culture, they will be able to make a connection with one of the main characters of each book, depending on how familiar they are with their own culture.This is how all students will be able to connect with bilingual texts.
Reflection: Students will be able to compare and contrast their way of life to that of the young Ojibwe girl, Stella Diaz, Charlie, or Carlitos. Similar to the format of Dear Primo, students will be able to "pause and revisit texts [and] segments of the text." Students should analyze the different landscapes, scenery, and perspectives of the young Ojibwe girl and Charlie/Carltios while they are in their native land, and compare and contrast it with their own, similar to how Dear Primo was written. Have your students compare and contrast the main character with themselves and the character's familiarity with their own culture. This may allow students to want to find out about heir own heritage. Students can also reflect on which culture they may want to know more about, allow your students to dig deep and reflect on what truly connected them to this story and why.
Taking Action: Taking action is a central theme in all three stories. However, it is most prevalent in Stella Diaz Never Gives Up and We Are Water Protectors; Stella is an ocean activist trying to save the ocean and the young Ojibwe girl is an activist trying to save her tribe from oil pollution. In order to see how Charlie and Carlitos are taking action, we have to dig a little deeper; Charlie and Carlitos are taking action to get to know one another by writing letters and discussing the differences in their way of life.
For my students, taking action is an essential step in their connections to each story. Depending on the age of my students, I would have my students select a topic that they are passionate about such as pollution, recycling, planting various plants, talking with someone you know nothing about, talking with an unfamiliar friend, learning something new, etc. and find a way for my students to connect with their topic. Taking action, according to Laminack and Kelly should be student led, therefore, the topic should be chosen by your students. It is okay to lend a helping hand, but let them LEAD! Students should find a way to express their topic, whether it is writing a letter to an organization, starting a clean-up crew, organizing a poster for students to wash their hands, talking with a friend, the options are limitless as long as students create connections and TAKE ACTION.
Next Steps, what should the next steps be for your class and for these readings? Laminack and Kelly describe a teacher that connected central themes and culture using a local newspaper story (Kelly and Laminack, 113). I think that this is a great idea to continue the discussion centered around making change and cultural appreciation. Either you or your students can research local people in the community and within your school that are making an active change and/or are showing cultural appreciation; "[make] the issues [and/or topic]local, relevant, and personal. Don't be afraid to share your own personal connections and encourage students to share their connections to each of these stories. Within a classroom, we all learn from one another; a teacher can learn from her students as much as they can learn from her.
Personal Thoughts, Opinions, and Personal Connections:
The three stories gave me insight into an unfamiliar culture and more insight onto the Latino culture, which I am familiar with.
As a teacher, finding out that I connect so much to Stella Diaz and her story made me feel happy, and almost like I was reading about myself. Unlike Stella, I am not Latina and I am not from another country. I was born in the United States, specifically in North Carolina. However, my Fiancee and his family are Latino and all from Honduras; they all speak Spanish to connect with one another and have extremely strong values. I, as someone who values family, found myself connected with their culture in this way. Hispanic people have such a strong sense of family that it makes me feel that our cultures are connected. Like Stella, I struggle with my Spanish. I grew up only speaking English, but I knew the typical "Hola, uno, dos, tres. . . " like most kids that speak primarily English. However, I have tried to learn Spanish so that I can connect to the culture more. Understanding Spanish brings me so much closer to my Fiancee's family. It makes me feel as if I fit in more, so I understand that Stella had confusion on where she fit in with her culture. I, too, get jealous of others that can speak perfect Spanish. To me, it is such a beautiful language that connects me to my fiancee and my future family. Like Stella, I get frustrated, but I never stop learning and trying to understand. I eat the food of the culture, sing in Spanish, dance the way that Latinos dance, and try to understand their cultural values.
One day, my kids will be Hispanic, so it is that much more important for me to value the culture and understand those who are different than me. Hispanic, Black, White, Ojibwe, Cherokee, Sioux, Asian, Canadian, etc. no matter where you are from, I want to understand and get to know you. I want to learn, so that my children, grow up in a world that is understanding, culturally appreciative, and welcoming.
As a teacher, I ask that you include bilingual texts in your classroom. Even if none of your students speak a LOTE, exposure is important and necessary to create a better world. We learn to accept by learning the differences of others.
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