Around the World Literature with Children's Books: Reviews

Funny Bones Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh 1. Bibliography Tonatiuh, Ducan. Funny Bones Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras . New York: Abrams, 2015. ISBN: 9781419716478 2. Plot Summary: In this biography explicates about the life of a print maker, and artist Jose Guadalupe Posada and his famous Calaveras drawing. With his techniques he used to make a traditional celebration of the Day of the Dead or el Dìa de Muertos, connect to his work. 3. Characters: Take a walk through the chronological order of Josè Guadalupe Posada. The character development starts with the young life of Posada and people who influenced him to learn about print making. As he continued through his life the author explains how he came to be a well honored artist of Calaveras. His style of expression for events that occurred during his life is represented on several pages through replica drawings, and an explanation of what he was thinking to create the ...

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya 1. Bibliography: Cartaya, Pablo. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora . New York: Puffin Books, 2017. ISBN: 9781101997253 2. Plot Summary: Arturo Zamora has a lot on his plate this summer. He is looking forward in playing basketball, keeping cool, and working at his Abuela’s restaurant. Instead, he finds himself in a struggle about saving his family’s restaurant, and telling a girl he likes her. Will he fail at saving the restaurant? Will he be courageous to tell Carmen he likes her? Come to the streets of Miami and meet Arturo and his family. They will fight until the end. 3. Characters: Arturo is the protagonist of this story. He starts off as a typical teenager, hanging with his friends, and developing feelings for another person. Soon, he finds deeper meaning in life through poems from a writer, Josè Marti from Cuba. This symbolizes his culture and the way he decides to handle his situations. Wilfrid Pipo is...

Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar 1. Bibliography Behar, Ruth. Lucky Broken Girl . New York: Puffin Books, 2017. ISBN: 9780399546457 2. Plot Summary Ruth is from Cuba, and she wants to be in the smart class. She spells her way there, but before she can go. She is in a terrible car accident. This leaves her with a body cast to help her heal her leg. It takes a long time for Ruth’s leg to heal. In the meantime, she has to heal her insides and forgive. Lots of friends and family come to visit and tell her stories on her way to heal. 3. Characters: Ruth is the antagonist and protagonist of this story. She has to heal physically and mentally. She experience a limited amount of the world from her bed through stories of others. This and a little push from minor characters creates an interesting perspective through Ruth’s eyes telling her story. 4. Setting: The main setting is in her bedroom. Her culture and the culture of many others are brought into this setting....

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 1. Bibliography: Acevedo, Elizabeth. The Poet X . Harper Teen. New York: 2018. ISBN: 9780062662804 2. Plot Summary: An angry teenage girl, Xiomara finds relief in writing in her journal and participating slam poetry. At first she must hide this from her Mami and Papi they simply would not understand. Writing gives her the release through the hardships and how to deal with school, love, growing body, parents, and religion. 3. Characters: Xiomara is known as X, is a quiet teen trying to deal with life. Her behavior is consistent with the teenage girl; liking boys and questioning things she may not fully understand. She does not know her own worth. Through poetry she finds herself, and learns to express what she feels. Mami is a deeply religious person. She wants what is best for her children, but does play favoritism between the twins. Her behavior towards her children can be considered abusive and hateful. She is the antagonist...

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds 1. Bibliography: Reynolds, Jason. 2017. Long Way Down . New York: Atheneum. ISBN: 9781481438261 2. Plot Summary: Will struggles internally to deal with the emotions of his brother Shawn’s death. Will meets six ghosts that all intertwine together around gun violence. 3. Character: Will is a young boy who is dealing with the rough street life, and the murder of his brother. The strong emotional feeling Will fights with, connects to any reader. As the protagonist, his perception at this young age to follow the rules, to get revenge to survive the street life. Which leads to the conflicts within himself, the streets, and the ghosts all go around, “the rules: no crying, no snitching, and revenge”. The six ghosts he meets each one has a poignant impact on his decision to make on getting revenge for his brother Shawn. Each one sends a message to Will about what he wants to do. The most powerful one is not their story, but when Shawn as...

New Kid by Jerry Craft 1. Bibliography: Craft, Jerry. 2019. New Kid . New York: Harper. ISBN: 978006269119 2. Plot Summary: Jordan is going to a new school. He is the new kid. He feels out of place because this is not a typical school he would attend. As the year goes on he finds where he fits in. 3. Character: Jordan is the main character that represents the antagonist in the book. He struggles with fitting in and being accepted. He keeps a drawing journal that is a self-help to survive “the dude pyramid a guide to cafeteria hierarchy” is one of the examples to help him thrive in this new school. His friend relationships between the two cultures are strained. He must find a way to balance both. Other characters are portrayed as the protagonist. They too are trying to fit in and feel accepted. It is not until a year of growth and bonding that they all see each other as the same. 4. Setting with Diversity: The start of the story is set in Jordan’...

Hidden Figures the True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly 1. Bibliography: Shetterly, Margot L. 2018.   Hidden Figures the True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race . Ill. Laura Freeman. New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books. ISBN 9780062742469 2. Plot Summary: Four women, all really good at math find their way to success. They encounter difficulties along their journey. At the end they leave their mark and lead the way for other aspiring women. 3. Characters: This inspirational story of four ladies, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden have accurate information and is supported by reliable research. Each lady battles segregation of race and gender, but continues to strive for their dreams. Their experiences and hidden contributions to society creates a stronger role model for generations. 4. Setting with Diversity: The setting is taken place during the period of 1940’s to ...

Trombone Shorty  by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews 1. Bibliography: Andrews, Troy. 2015. Trombone Shorty . Ill. Bryan Collier. New York: Abrams. ISBN 9781419714658 2. Plot Summary: Everyone has a story to tell how they got their nickname. Trombone Shorty takes you back to his neighborhood of Trem é located in New Orleans. He explains the events that led up to and past on how he received his nickname. Which instilled his passion for music. Music was a part of his life and those around him in all fashions. 3. Characters: Troy’s character development came with his true love is music. He creates music from homemade items, junk, and real instruments. Not having a lot of money does not stop him from pursuing his dreams. With a little hard work and practice he shows that anyone can achieve their dreams. 4. Setting: Through the words and illustrations takes the reader to the setting of the streets in a neighborhood of Trem é , located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...