The Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aston, Dianna Hutts.  2008.  THE MOON OVER STAR.  Ill. By Jerry Pinkney.  New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 9780803731073

PLOT SUMMARY

Set during the summer of 1969, this picture book tells the story of young Mae and her family as they witness the historical moment of man’s first landing on the moon.  As the whole world waits and watches, everyday life continues for this middle-class African-American family.  While Mae’s grandfather believes the space program is a waste of money, young Mae is filled with awe and wonder.  This touching story reminds readers to reach for the stars in making their dreams come true.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

Aston’s story draws young readers in as she describes man’s first landing on the moon through the eyes of a young African-American girl named Mae.  Historical references to John F. Kennedy, Walter Cronkite, and Commander Neil Armstrong help place the story during the nineteen-sixties.  Although no direct reference is made in the text to the family’s African-American culture, the story captures the excitement they feel as they eagerly await Apollo 11’s landing.  This is captured as Mae builds a home-made rocket ship with her cousins and says “We closed our eyes, imagining with all our might the rumble, the roar, and the force of the Saturn rocket, blasting the spaceship into the stars.”  Simple sentences that flow with a lyrical rhythm are used throughout the text to create positive messages that leave a lasting impression on young readers.  When young Mae exclaims “Just think, Gramps: If they could go to the moon, maybe one day I could too!” her grandfather encourages her to “keep on dreaming” as she imagines a world beyond the stars.  This plants the seed in young readers minds to never give up to make their dreams a reality. 

To add depth and life to the story’s positive message, Jerry Pinkney masterfully uses a combination of graphite, ink, and watercolor.  As readers turn the pages, they are met with vibrant two-page layouts depicting the rockets orbit around the moon and the shuttle’s lift off.  Since the text does not make reference to the family’s ethnicity, Pinkney’s visual storytelling allows readers to experience this monumental moment in history through the eyes of a middle-class African American family.  

The illustrations capture and emphasize the dominant theme of family love and loyalty.  Readers see this African-American family together in six beautifully crafted scenes- worshiping together at church, playing in the family barn, helping fix Grandpa’s tractor, gathering together to watch the Eagle’s landing on the moon, and having a family picnic on a warm summer night.  This also passes along the message that they are members of the Star city community.  Pinkney’s detailed illustrations and realistic portrayals create a positive image of African-American children as they are seen smiling and laughing; their facial expressions reveal the excitement and anticipation, their eyes filled with wonder, as they eagerly await for man to step foot on the moon.  

Pinkney’s illustrations also authentically capture physical characteristics of Mae’s family.  Cultural markers are seen in the variation of the family’s skin tone, with some painted a lighter-color than others.  Variations in hair styles and texture are seen as well.  While some family members have black-colored hair in tight, small curls, others have close-shaven, curly hair.  The floral dresses the female family members wear, as well as the plaid and striped collared shirts the men wear reveal that this loving, African-American family is of the upper-middle class.

Although readers do not learn Mae’s name until the story’s ending, it is representative of what the first African-American female in space, Mae Jemison, may have experienced as a young child.  As the story concludes with the final line “It told me to dream,” readers are reminded that everyone’s dreams, no matter their cultural heritage, can affect change. 

REVIEWS AND AWARDS

Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2009 Honor Book Illustrator United States

KIRKUS: “Pinkney's vibrant illustrations exquisitely complement the moving story. The double-page spreads of the rocket traveling through space from Earth to Moon express the enormity of the moment, and the characters' emotions are palpable.”

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “In some of his finest watercolors to date, Pinkney supplies both his characteristically affectionate, realistic portrayals of African-American families and lyrical views of the moon, giving visual form to what Aston evokes: awe.”

BOOKLIST: “Spaced vertically in phrases like free verse alongside the large illustrations, the text combines dignity and immediacy in a clean, spare telling of events. Pinkney's evocative artwork, created using graphite, ink, and watercolor, depicts a black family captivated, and perhaps subtly changed, by the moon landing in 1969. A quiet, satisfying tribute to this milestone in human history and its power to inspire others.”

CONNECTIONS

* Have students read other picture books detailing the Apollo 11 spaceflight and walk on the moon.

Aldrin, Buzz.  REACHING FOR THE MOON.  Ill. By Wendell Minor.  ISBN  0060554479

Floca, Brian.  MOONSHOT: THE FLIGHT OF APOLLO 11.  ISBN 141695046X

McNulty, Faith.  IF YOU DECIDE TO GO TO THE MOON.  Ill. By Steven Kellogg.  ISBN 0590483595

* Have students learn more about the first African-American woman in space, Mae Jamison, by having them read the following titles:

Blue, Rose.  MAE JAMISON: OUT OF THIS WORLD.  ISBN  9780761325703

Braun, Eric.  MAE JAMISON.  ISBN  9780736842310

Canizares, Susan.  THE VOYAGE OF MAE JAMISON.  ISBN 9780439045797

The Chickens Build A Wall by Jean-Francois Dumont

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dumont, Jean-Francois.  THE CHICKENS BUILD A WALL. Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, 2013.  ISBN 9780802854223

PLOT SUMMARY

A prickly visitor finds his way onto a farmyard and surprises all the barnyard animals.  As they gather to investigate the new visitor, the animals begin to suspect that he has ill intentions.  To protect themselves from the hedgehog, the chickens begin to build a wall around their hen house.  After working several months to complete it, they discover the hedgehog awaking in the barn from his winter hibernation.  Soon, the hens get used to the hedgehog’s presence and the visitor decides to stay. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

French author and illustrator Dumont brings a wonderful story to young readers that tackles strong issues such as prejudice, fear, and distrust of strangers.  Although THE CHICKENS BUILD A WALL does not have many cultural markings, it approaches the world of prejudices and discrimination in a manner young children can understand.  

While the story lacks a specific time frame, it does span several seasons, from fall to summer.  The change in seasons is seen through the neutral-colored, acrylic illustrations peppered throughout the book.   Readers see the autumn tree leaves in hues of red, orange, and yellow; the white colored snow pouring over the chickens; and the green-grass fields of the barnyard’s pasture.  The entire plot unfolds on the farm’s barnyard.  

The thorny, brown-colored visitor arrives onto the yard and is overwhelmed by all the animals gathering to gawk at him.  He curls into a tight ball to protect himself from their penetrating glares.  As the farm yard animals gather, the illustrations help to establish a separation between the insiders and the outsider.  The roosters all share common physical attributes-  red combs, red wattles, and orange beaks.  Although their feathers vary in color, they all have the same body shape and size.  Perhaps the strongest image Dumont uses to emphasize to differences between the insiders and the outsider is one in which the hedgehog is curled in a ball while the rest of the barnyard animals look on in wonder.  The hedgehog’s numerous spikes are seen in detail, in a rich, brown color, with his body mass taking up nearly half of the page.  On the opposite side of the two-page spread, all the barnyard animals-roosters, chickens, ducks, and geese- are painted a purple-hue.  This emphasizes the separation between the two groups, both in color and distance.  

The next morning, as the ruckus over the strange creature begins to grow, panic takes over the animals and they begin to suspect him of ill intentions.  The chickens’ distrust is evident in statements such as “I bet he didn’t leave empty-handed” and “We cannot let ourselves be tricked without doing something about it.”  Word choice also emphasizes the wariness they have, describing the hedgehog as a “beast,” “thief,” and “invader.”  As the audience follows the story, they also see the worry and panic in the chickens’ facial expressions and body language, with wide eyes and flapping wings.  An image of chickens running in different directions depicts the chaos occurring on the barnyard.  

The images and sentences used throughout the text allow readers to sense and relate to the fear people may have when encountering strangers or new people.  Often times, when a new member is introduced to a community, individuals put up emotional walls to protect them from the unknown.  They may have preconceived notions or prejudices about a person or a specific ethnic group.  In Dumont's book, this emotional wall is actually given an image when the barnyard animals erect a concrete wall to keep the hedgehog out.  Anger and hatred towards strangers may also develop from fear of the unknown.  Dumont brings this to fruition when the rooster takes command of the barnyard and angrily tells them “We have to protect ourselves against prickly invaders.”  As he is doing this, readers see the rooster with his wing held high, as if in defiance, with a scowl on his face and furrowed eyebrows.  When the chickens begin constructing the wall, the look of determination and anger are seen in their scowling facial expressions and body language as they march in formation, unified in their quest to keep the outsider out.  

At the story’s conclusion, months after the wall has been erected, the tiny hedgehog awakes from his winter hibernation to find himself in the barnyard.  Dumont simply states that “the hens got used to the hedgehog” and that “the hedgehog wasn’t afraid anymore.”  He quickly wraps up the story with the single sentence “And so he stayed.”  Although Dumont rushed this critical point of the story, and should have spent more time developing the chickens’ acceptance and tolerance of the hedgehog, young readers will understand that the chickens have removed their prejudices and emotional walls.  This action is symbolically seen in the book’s final image of all the animals walking around the barnyard amid the rubble of the now torn down wall.  The final message Dumont gives to readers through his story and illustrations is that diversity should be embraced.  Everyone will benefit when they value and respect not only their own culture, but others' cultures as well.

REVIEWS

CATHOLIC LIBRARY WORLD: “This allegory of fear of the unknown, of making rash judgments based on looks and blaming a stranger for real and imagined wrongs will raise discussion options with children about bullying, new friends and classmates, being different, and in a broader range, the Holocaust and other times of persecution based on not fitting with the majority. The simple language and short sentences lead this book…as a starting point for exploring social issues.”

KIRKUS: “In all too fast a wrap-up, the chickens and hedgehog become fast friends. But if the friendship seems too precipitous, maybe a bigger lesson is in the offing here: Walls don't work, from prisoner-of-war camps to national borders. The gorgeous European barnyard is all ocher and sienna, with gray-green shadows, old turrets and tiles highlighting the fiery red wattles of the birds. A beautiful picture book, with an unexpected, yet profound, something to take away.”

CONNECTIONS

Have students read other books written by Jean-Francois Dumont and see if any common themes appear.

Dumont, Jean-Francois.  A BLUE SO BLUE.  ISBN 1402721390

Dumont, Jean-Francois.  THE GEESE MARCH IN STEP.  ISBN 0802854435

Dumont, Jean-Francois.  LITTLE GOOSE GOES OUT OF STEP.  ISBN  1840895403

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fox, Mem.  1997. WHOEVER YOU ARE. Ill. by Leslie Staub. Orlando: Harcourt.  ISBN 9780152007874

PLOT SUMMARY

Mem Fox's picture book WHOEVER YOU ARE illustrates and describes how children around the world are the same and how they are the different.  The author touches on various subjects such as settings, languages, customs, and emotions.  While the first half of the book focuses on how children are different, Fox wraps up the remaining pages by reminding readers how alike they really are.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Fox's book WHOEVER YOU ARE allows readers to learn about other people and their cultures as a group of children fly through the sky, visiting different parts of the world.  Simple sentences are used throughout the text; each page contains three to four lines and allows the audience to easily follow the children's journey as the sentences flow from one page to the next.  By using sentences sparsely, Fox allows readers to focus more on the vibrant and colorful images that appear on the pages.  

To emphasize how children around the world are different, Fox consistently uses the word "different" to describe their various skin colors, homes, schools, and lands.  This is further emphasized by Leslie Staub's colorful, oil-painted illustrations which incorporate details of the represented cultures,  and allows the story to come alive.  As readers turn the page, they see images of children with different skin colors (light-tanned, white, brown, black), different eye shapes (narrow, round, almond-shaped), and different hair styles (blond, brown, black, red).  Readers also see a difference in language and writing styles when they see a young girl manning a fruit stand with signs containing Chinese letters as well as a class of students using Arabic letters to write their daily lesson.  The difference in cultures is also seen in the clothing and attire the children wear throughout the picture book.  Readers see Chinese females wear tan-colored bamboo hats, Native American children wearing brightly-covered, patterned tribal tunics, and Muslim women wearing multicolored hijabs.  Young readers may experience a sense of pride at seeing their culture and experiences represented throughout the book's pages. They may also develop an understanding and respect for other cultures and their customs.

While these colorful illustrations clearly show how physical characteristics separate children around the world, Fox transitions to how they are similar at the story's midpoint.  He uses phrases such as "just like you" and "the same" to collectively pull everyone together.  The illustrations emphasize how everyone experiences the same range of emotions, from happiness (children smiling and hugging their parents) to sadness (a child waving goodbye while tears stream down his face).   This allows young readers to relate with the text's illustrations because they have experienced these same emotions in their own lives.  Perhaps one of the most memorable images Staub uses is one in which children of different ethnicities are hugging the world, while smiling and hugging one another.  This image cements Fox's message that "smiles are the same and hearts are just the same."

REVIEWS:

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: "The simple text and bright illustrations helps readers to accept differences between people, to recognize similarities, and to rejoice in both."

BOOKLIST: "First-time illustrator Staub fills the interestingly bordered pictures with images that have plenty of child appeal, and Fox's paen to diversity will make this especially suitable for classrooms."

KIRKUS: "An essential book that acknowledges in the simplest of terms our common humanity."

CONNECTIONS

* Before reading the text, have students preview the images to predict what the story is about.  After the story is read, have students discuss ways they are the same to the children in the story and to each other in the class.  How are they different?  To aid in the discussion, teachers can use the WHOEVER YOU ARE extension lesson guide located at http://www.rif.org/documents/us/Whoever-You-Are_All.pdf

* Universal Language Activity - have students act out gestures and body language that reflect emotion and universal messages (waving hello, placing a finger at the lips to ask for silence).  Students will be amazed at how gestures can help them communicate their message to others despite any language differences.  More ideas can be found at http://www.bookcompany.com.ar/teachers/WHOEVER_YOU_ARE_Teaching_With_Favorite_Mem_Fox_Books.pdf

The Shadows of Ghadames by Joelle Stolz

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stolz, Joelle.  1999.  THE SHADOWS OF GHADAMES.  New York: Delacorte Press.  ISBN 0385731043

PLOT SUMMARY

Set at the end of the nineteenth century, in the city of Ghadames, this historical fiction novel tells the story of eleven-year-old Malika and her family.  As Malika nears marriageable age in the Muslim community, she begins to feel the sadness of leaving her childhood freedoms and the oppression of entering the restricted world of Muslim women.   One night, however, a man fleeing from community members enters her family's life and offers to teach and show her a world she will never be able to see once she steps into her womanhood.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

Stolz' does a fantastic job of weaving intricate details of Muslim life into her historical novel which allows readers to get a real sense of daily life in the Libyan city of Ghadames.  Set at the end of the 19th century, readers are able to visualize the story's setting through Stolz' accurate description of the setting.  Homes are described as having rooftops with little horns, covered alleyways have palm crosspieces, and homes with gardens and walls painted a lively red to protect the family from misfortune.  Much of the story's plot unfolds in the two separate worlds of Muslim men and women: on the rooftops, which is reserved only for women, and the city's alleyways, where men conduct their business and social interactions.  These two distinct worlds keep the two sexes apart, where the women never talk to men, and the men never talk to women.

The activities that occur in these two worlds bring to readers' attention the differences in gender roles, clothing and attire, and the customs and traditions of the Muslim world.  Men take on the role as head of household, in which they make decisions for family, can seek an education, and are allowed to go beyond the city walls.  Women, on the other hand, are expected to adhere to traditional practices such as child-rearing, home care, and submitting to their husband's authority.  Eleven-year old Malika points out these gender role differences when she states "my mother says that women shouldn't know the same things as men, for men and women belong to two different worlds that hardly ever meet, like the sun and the moon" (p. 71).

As the plot unfolds, readers are also introduced to the rest of story's characters.  Malika's family represents the typical family structure of many Ghadames homes, with the husband having two wives, the wife "from home," which in this story is Meriem,  and the wife "from the journey,"  which is Bilkisu.  Malika is the daughter of Meriem, who is the more dominant female and often adheres to a strict obedience to traditional Muslim practices.  Malika's brother, Jasim, is the son of the Bilkisu, whose carefree attitude draws Malika closer to her.  Since both women come from different worlds, many Ghadames families have two sets of descendents with distinct physical attributes: one with light colored skin and the other with dark colored skin.  For readers, the description of two sets of descendents in each family allows them to see a life outside one that may be typical of their own family life.

Further emphasis in gender differences is seen through many of the customs and traditions described as the story unfolds.  Two knocks on the door mean that it is a woman; a woman makes a groaning noise when walking in the alleyway to signal her approach; a man makes a loud thud with his foot to alert females that he is near.  These customs are explained by Malika's father, when he states that these customs were created by ancestors who "thought it best to avoid contact between men and women who are not of the same family" (p. 54).  Although readers may not be familiar with these customs, Stolz' cleverly gives readers a perspective on how Malika's family views other culture's customs, such as men removing their hats when greeting a woman or giving up their seats for them.  Malika's mother is described as being "deeply shocked,"  stating "that's an upside-down world!"  These sentiments echo what some readers experience as they learn more about some Muslim traditions.

Accurate descriptions about the different attires worn by Muslim men and women are also included.  Muslim men have their heads wrapped in turbans, wear a burnoose and djellaba,  and often have a beard.  Women keep their heads covered while in public, have bluish tattoos on their faces to ward off evil, and wear diadem at their wedding ceremonies.  

Other attributes of the Muslim culture are carefully woven into the story.  For example, male Ghadame citizens prepare for evening prayers, women attend an Arous ceremony to protect the citie's harvest from evil spirits, and Ramadan is quickly approaching.  As Malika learns to read a write, she describes the Arabic letters with wonder, stating that her teacher writes out the twenty-eight letters from right to left, with some resembling "reeds bending in the wind; others, birds with flexible necks and folded wings" (p. 82).

REVIEWS AND REWARDS

Mildred L. Batchelder Award, 2005

BOOKLIST: "Stolz invigorates her tale with elegant prose and a deft portrayal of a girl verging on adolescence. The vivid backdrop is intoxicating, but the story's universal concerns will touch readers most: sibling jealously, confusion about adult customs, and a growing interest in a world beyond family."

KIRKUS:  "Setting her tale at the end of the 19th century, Stolz not only weaves the sights, sounds, and daily rhythms of life in Ghadames into a vivid tapestry, she creates a cast of distinct characters, each of which displays a unique blend of strengths and weaknesses, as well as sometimes unexpected intelligence and compassion."

THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS: "Young readers themselves approaching adulthood may appreciate this window into another girl's experience in a faraway time and place."

CONNECTIONS

Have students learn more about Muslim culture as well as the Islamic faith.

Abdullah, Noorah Kathryn.  WHAT DO WE SAY?: A GUIDE TO ISLAMIC MANNERS.  ISBN: 0860373509

Khan, Rukhsana.  MUSLIM CHILD.  ISBN 0929141962

Von Denffer, Ahmad.  ISLAM FOR CHILDREN.  ISBN  0860370852