Culture 6: In Our Mothers' House

Bibliography: Polacco, Patricia. 2009. In Our Mothers' House. Ill. by Patricia Polacco. New York: Philomel Books. ISBN 9780399250767

Plot Summary:
Marmee and Meema have adopted three children from different cultures. Although they are a nontraditional family, they are a very happy family. They cook, dance, play, and laugh together. Their home is full of love. One of their neighbors does not accept them, and the children do not understand why. The mothers do everything they can to make their children happy... even wearing dresses for a mother-daughter tea. The family remains close even after all three children get married and start their own lives. After their mothers' death, Will moves into the house with his own family so there is still a place for all of the families to get together and carry on their traditions.

Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers):
The story opens with the introduction of each of the main characters. We learn when each of the adopted children joins the family, the careers of the parents, and their hobbies. The story is told by the oldest daughter, and she takes the reader on a walk down memory lane. The family cooks (even making homemade pasta), dances, slides down banisters, and laughs together. The entire family wears homemade costumes at Halloween. The only bad family event in the story is when all of the children come down with the flu at the same time.

The focus of this story is supposed to be on the children being raised by gay parents, but it also has a multicultural focus as well since all three of the children are of a different race and the neighborhood they live in is made up of many different ethnicities. The oldest child is African-American, the middle child is Asian-American, and the youngest child is Caucasian. At the neighborhood block party the “Mardicians brought stuffed grape leaves and ground lamb,” the Polos brought “spanakopita and Greek salads,” the Abdullas brought “hummus and tabouli,” and the “Yamagakis brought sushi”.

Everyone in the neighborhood gets along extremely well with the exception of one neighbor, Mrs. Lockner. She is shown constantly glaring at the two moms, and she does not let her children play with their children who are about the same age. She slams the door on them at Halloween, pulls them away from the tree house building party, and doesn’t participate in the neighborhood block party. It is at the block party that she confronts the mothers’ and yells “I don’t appreciate what you two are!” at them. The children are confused by this to which Meema responds, “She is full of fear. She’s afraid of what she cannot understand: she doesn’t understand us.” All of the other neighbors rally around the family and show their support by hugging the mothers.

The story ends with pictures of each of the children and their spouses (they each married people of the opposite sex), their chosen careers, and pictures of the mothers’ being loving grandparents. Will returns to raise his family in the house he grew up in, and all of the children return to the house they grew up in.

Although this story had great potential to show a “normal” family with gay parents, I think it failed miserably. The family was just too perfect. From making the homemade pasta, sewing their own Halloween costumes, the moms’ trick-or-treating for Unicef, practically the entire neighborhood showing up for several weekends in a row to build a tree house, and the block party with games and food booths, it was just too much. The illustrations are also very stereotypical: the mothers are drawn with manly haircuts, and they are always wearing pants with big shirts and/or sweaters. The children have stereotypical hairstyles as well, not to mention their hairstyles stay the same throughout the entire story even though it shows them growing up into adulthood. I thought this really took away from what the story could have been. I am unsure if I would want this in my collection for these reasons.

Review Excerpt(s):
From School Library Journal
Grade 1–4—This gem of a book illustrates how love makes a family, even if it's not a traditional one. The narrator, a black girl, describes how her two Caucasian mothers, Marmee and Meema, adopted her, her Asian brother, and her red-headed sister. She tells about the wonderful times they have growing up in Berkeley, CA. With their large extended family and friends, they celebrate Halloween with homemade costumes, build a tree house, organize a neighborhood block party, and host a mother-daughter tea party. The narrator continually reinforces the affectionate feelings among her mothers and siblings, and the illustrations depict numerous scenes of smiling people having a grand time. Most of the neighbors are supportive, except for one woman who tells Marmee and Meema, "I don't appreciate what you two are." Eventually, the children grow up, marry heterosexual spouses, and return home to visit their aged parents with their own children. Is this an idealized vision of a how a gay couple can be accepted by their family and community? Absolutely. But the story serves as a model of inclusiveness for children who have same-sex parents, as well as for children who may have questions about a "different" family in their neighborhood. A lovely book that can help youngsters better understand their world.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT
From Booklist
The oldest of three adopted children recalls her childhood with mothers Marmee and Meema, as they raised their African American daughter, Asian American son, and Caucasian daughter in a lively, supportive neighborhood. Filled with recollections of family holidays, rituals, and special moments, each memory reveals loving insight. At a school mother-daughter tea, for instance, the mothers make their first ever appearance in dresses. The narrator recalls, “My heart still skips a beat when I think of the two of them trying so hard to please us.” Only a crabby neighbor keeps her children away from their family. Meema explains, “She’s afraid of what she cannot understand: she doesn’t understand us.” The energetic illustrations in pencil and marker, though perhaps not as well-rendered as in some previous works, teem with family activities and neighborhood festivity. Quieter moments radiate the love the mothers feel for their children and for each other. Similar in spirit to the author’s Chicken Sunday, this portrait of a loving family celebrates differences, too. Pair this with Arnold Adoff’s Black Is Brown Is Tan (2002), Toyomi Igus’ Two Mrs. Gibsons (1996), or Natasha Wing’s Jalapeno Bagels (1996) for portraits of family diversity. Grades 1-4. --Linda Perkins
From Library Media Connection
The writing style is truly Polacco and the colorful illustrations are warm and loving. This is a strong and memorable story of a peaceful, devoted family unit.

Connections:
Discussion Questions and Activities:
*Compare/contrast your family with the family in the story.
*After the tree house was finished, "Marmee and Meema broke a bottle of soda over the doorjamb and named the tree house Thistle House." What is the history of breaking bottles over something new? Why is it done?
*Prepare gnocchi from scratch or bring in some pre-made gnocchi for students to taste.
*Meema and Marmee never respond to Mrs. Lockner when she is repeatedly rude to them and their family. Do you agree or disagree with how they handled her? Describe another way they could have handled her.
*Invent a game that you would want to play at the Woolsey Street block party.
*What kind of food would your family prepare for the food court?
Other Books by Patricia Polacco:
*Thank You, Mr. Falkner. ISBN 9780399237324
*My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother. ISBN 9780689820366
*The Keeping Quilt. ISBN 9780153052125
*Chicken Sunday. ISBN 9780698116153
*The Butterfly. ISBN 9780142413067

Culture 6: The Thing About Georgie

Bibliography:Graff, Lisa. 2006. The Thing About Georgie. New York: HarperCollins Children's Books. ISBN 9780060875909

Plot Summary: Georgie is in the fourth grade. He and his best friend, Andy, have their own dog walking business. Georgie has to walk the small dogs because he is a dwarf. He doesn't let this limit his life anymore than it has to. His life changes when his parents tell him that he is going to be a big brother to "a healthy baby". And then Andy starts to hang out with the new boy Russ. Georgie feels lost and alone. To top everything off he gets partnered with Jeanie the Meanie for a project. Georgie soon realizes that he was wrong about Russ and Jeanie and that you shouldn't judge people you don't really know.

Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers):
Lisa Graff brings awareness of dwarfism in her debut novel The Thing About Georgie. The story begins by asking the reader to “do me a favor”. It is a simple task: “Stretch your right arm high up to the sky. Now reach across the top of your head and touch your left ear.” This is something almost everyone can do without giving it a second thought. Georgie can’t. He couldn’t do it even if he wanted to. This introduction grabs the reader right from the start.

Some other things Georgie can’t do: wrap his arms around his bent legs and rest his head on his knees (a “thinking” position), tie shoelaces, and hold a pencil correctly. These are just small things thrown into the story every once in a while to make the reader understand Georgie a little better. If Georgie could “hold his pencil like any regular person and make it move where he wanted it to- he knew exactly what he’d get his parents for Christmas. He would draw a picture, a really beautiful one, of his mom and dad playing their instruments.”

The great thing about this book is that it doesn’t focus on what Georgie can’t do but rather on what he can do. His parents encourage him to sign up for the fourth-grade play. It is about the presidents, and Georgie really wants to play his namesake, George Washington. He has a dog-walking business with his best friend Andy. He can swim and ride his custom-made bicycle. And although he needs a pillow and a crate at his desk he is in a regular classroom at school. Not to mention that he is very smart!

Georgie was used to being stared at. It happened his whole life. He admits that he would probably stare at someone who was ten feet tall or someone who had green skin “just to make sure it was real”. He thought that maybe if people took a little bit of time looking at him they would realize “there was really nothing to look at but Georgie” and since he wasn’t all that interesting they would never have to stare at him again. Again, the reader is asked to do something. There is a drawing of Georgie on the page and the reader is supposed to “stare as hard as you can” for 30 seconds. The point being that it gets boring really quick and there are better things to do.

Every year at Christmas the family attends the early Christmas Eve service, then they eat roast beef sandwiches “because they’d be saving all the really difficult cooking for Christmas Day”, his parents play their favorite Christmas songs “just for him” and then Georgie is allowed to open one present before he goes to bed.

The biggest lesson Georgie learns is that he shouldn’t judge other people based on what they look like. He finds out the person he called ‘Jeanie the Meanie’ isn’t so mean after all. In fact, she really is a great person. She defends Georgie when another student calls him a midget. She tells him “he’s not a midget. Don’t call him that. He’s a dwarf.” and then she kicks him hard in the shin when he asks “then where’s Snow White?” He also judged the new kid Russ and didn’t want to be friends with him. After losing his best friend Andy over it Georgie decides to give Russ a chance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I am glad that it is already in my collection. It has so many positive messages for readers, and it is really empowering. It will definitely be another one I “book talk” to my older students (3rd-5th).

Review Excerpt(s):
From School Library Journal
Grade 3–6—This story about the trials of a fourth grader who is a dwarf will entertain and enlighten kids. About to become a big brother, Georgie worries that the baby will grow bigger than he and fulfill his musician parents' hope for a child who can play an instrument. At the same time, Georgie fears that Andy, who's been his friend since kindergarten, likes the new boy better. When Georgie's parents leave him at Andy's house on Christmas Eve, he finds himself being unexpectedly cruel and losing the friendship. Georgie is also assigned to do a project on Abraham Lincoln with Jeanie the Meanie, who puts his name in for the role of the lanky president in a class play. Stuck with the nomination, he's able to give a commanding performance-with Jeanie's help. Andy lets Georgie know he misses him, and his loving parents, who have been somewhat oblivious to his concerns, also come through. Commentary to readers throughout about what Georgie can and can't do is delivered by an anonymous voice, whose identity is revealed as a surprise at the end.—Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
From Booklist
Nine-year-old Georgie has height issues. As a dwarf, he isn't likely to grow much taller than his current 42 inches. Consequently school furniture is awkward, running track or playing a musical instrument isn't possible, and he knows his soon-to-be new sibling will quickly outgrow him physically. To make matters worse, he's had a misunderstanding with his best friend, Andy, and is being forced to partner with Jeanie the Meanie for a school report. Given these circumstances, this might easily have been depressing. Instead, first novelist Graff employs a light touch, turning in a poignant, often funny exploration of what it means to celebrate one's skills rather than lamenting one's limitations. Graff makes good use of an anonymous narrator (revealed in the last chapter to be one of the book's main characters), who provides kid-friendly information about dwarfism. An upbeat and sensitive look at what it's like to be different, this novel will spark discussion. -Kay Weisman

Connections:
Discussion Questions and Activities:
*There are several activities you are asked to do throughout the book. Complete the activity at the beginning of chapter 3. (Measure the distance from the floor to the doorknob on your bedroom door, the light switch, the edge of your windowsill, etc.) Describe how Georgie would feel in your house.
*Explain at least 3 things you learned about dwarfism and/or the struggles they face.
*Why do you think Georgie didn't want Russ to join the dog-walking business?
*What were some misconceptions Georgie had about Jeanie? She was called "Jeanie the Meanie" at school. Do you think that name fit her? Why or why not?
*Create a presentation titled "The Thing About Me Is..." You need to write a 6-10 things about you. Try to include things we don't already know. You can use PowerPoint, Pixie, or Frames to create the presentation.
Other Books by Lisa Graff :
Umbrella Summer. ISBN 9780061431890
Sophie Simon Solves Them All. ISBN 9780374371258
The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower. ISBN 9780060875923
Double Dog Dare. (Coming April 2012.) ISBN 9780399255168
Other Books About Dwarfism:
*Trudi & Pia by Ursula Hegi. ISBN 9780689846830
*Thinking Big: The Story of a Young Dwarf by Susan Kuklin. ISBN 9780688058265
*Never Sell Yourself Short by Stephanie Riggs. ISBN 9780807555637
*Alex is my Friend by Marisabina Russo. ISBN 9780688104184

Culture 6: Habibi

Bibliography: Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. Habibi. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN 9780689825231

Plot Summary:
Liyana Abboud was born and raised in St. Louis, but her father was born in Jerusalem. He came to America to study medicine, but he always knew he would return to his homeland one day. That day comes when Liyana is fourteen-years old. Her younger brother, Rafik, is excited about moving. He cannot wait to learn about his father’s culture, but Liyana is upset about it. She loves her life in America, and she doesn't want to leave. Once they arrive in Jerusalem they find that it isn’t as peaceful as her dad had thought. There is still rivalry between the Arabs and the Jews. Liyana and her brother become friends with another brother and sister who live in a refugee camp near their house. Liyana also becomes friends with a Jewish boy named Omer even though it is not safe for an Arab and a Jew to be friends. Will her family accept this friendship or will they forbid her from seeing him? Will Liyana ever call Jerusalem home?


Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers):
Habibi is the story of fourteen-year old Liyana Abboud and her Arab American family. The day after she gets her first real kiss, her father informs the family they will be moving to Jerusalem. He had come to the United States for a good education, but he always knew he would return to his home country one day. He wanted to do it now so his children would be able to meet his mother, their grandmother, while she was still alive. He also believed things had settled down between the Arabs and Jews.

Poppy warns the family that Sitti, his mother, “comes from a different world… She doesn’t wear anything but old-fashioned ling clothes, and she knows absolutely nothing in English”. While her relatives in the United States “held back from them as if they might have a cold” these relatives came bustling in “throwing their arms around each one of them”. Sitti becomes very emotional after seeing her son again after so many years that she “suddenly threw her head back, rolled her tongue high up in her mouth, and began trilling wildly”. Poppy informs them that this is her traditional cry that she “uses as an announcement at weddings and funerals”. So many relatives had come to greet them Liyana could not keep track of all of them.

Liyana and her brother, Rafik, befriend another brother and sister who live in a refugee camp. They are able to communicate with each other even though they are both limited in their knowledge of the others language. Rafik seems to make friends easily at school while Liyana struggles in this area. While walking around town one day during lunch she meets a nice boy in one of her favorite stores. She is scared to tell Poppy about him because it is not appropriate for a boy and girl to hang out together. It is not until later that she discovers his name is Omer, not Omar like she had thought. Omar is an Arab name, and Omer is a Jewish name. Now not only is she friends with a boy, but she is friends with a Jewish boy! Liyana will not let the fact that he is Jewish stop her from being friends with him. She tells Omer that she has “hope for peace” and when he agrees with her that is all the reassurance she needs.

The Abboud family continues to hear stories of aggression between the Arabs and Jews, and finally it reaches them personally. The Israeli police destroy Sitti’s bathroom while searching for one of her relatives. Khaled (her friend from the refugee camp) is shot because it is believed that he had something to do with a bombing. Poppy gets thrown into jail for defending Khaled because he knows he is a very peaceful person. Liyana does not understand any of this, and she tells the police “You do not have to be so mean! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!” Liyana wants to end the fighting between the Arabs and Jews by starting at home. She asks her father if Omer could come with them to Sitti’s village. Poppy reluctantly agrees. He is very surprised when his mother greets Omer with open arms knowing that he is Jewish.

The reader is left with hope for peace in Jerusalem through the actions of a young girl and her family. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from; what matters is how you treat other people. Liyana says it best: “When you liked somebody, you wanted to trade the best things you knew about. You liked them not only for themselves, but for the parts of you that they brought out.”

Although I enjoyed this book I do not think I will have it in my library collection at the elementary school. I will recommend it to the middle and high school librarians if they do not already have it. I do not think our students would be interested in this book quite yet.

Review Excerpt(s):
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9. An important first novel from a distinguished anthologist and poet. When Liyana's doctor father, a native Palestinian, decides to move his contemporary Arab-American family back to Jerusalem from St. Louis, 14-year-old Liyana is unenthusiastic. Arriving in Jerusalem, the girl and her family are gathered in by their colorful, warmhearted Palestinian relatives and immersed in a culture where only tourists wear shorts and there is a prohibition against boy/girl relationships. When Liyana falls in love with Omer, a Jewish boy, she challenges family, culture, and tradition, but her homesickness fades. Constantly lurking in the background of the novel is violence between Palestinian and Jew. It builds from minor bureaucratic annoyances and humiliations, to the surprisingly shocking destruction of grandmother's bathroom by Israeli soldiers, to a bomb set off in a Jewish marketplace by Palestinians. It exacts a reprisal in which Liyana's friend is shot and her father jailed. Nye introduces readers to unforgettable characters. The setting is both sensory and tangible: from the grandmother's village to a Bedouin camp. Above all, there is Jerusalem itself, where ancient tensions seep out of cracks and Liyana explores the streets practicing her Arabic vocabulary. Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident. Habibi succeeds in making the hope for peace compellingly personal and concrete...as long as individual citizens like Liyana's grandmother Sitti can say, "I never lost my peace inside." -Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
From Kirkus Reviews
Liyana Abboud, 14, and her family make a tremendous adjustment when they move to Jerusalem from St. Louis. All she and her younger brother, Rafik, know of their Palestinian father's culture come from his reminiscences of growing up and the fighting they see on television. In Jerusalem, she is the only "outsider'' at an Armenian school; her easygoing father, Poppy, finds himself having to remind her--often against his own common sense--of rules for "appropriate'' behavior; and snug shops replace supermarket shopping--the malls of her upbringing are unheard of. Worst of all, Poppy is jailed for getting in the middle of a dispute between Israeli soldiers and a teenage refugee. In her first novel, Nye (with Paul Janeczko, I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You, 1996, etc.) shows all of the charms and flaws of the old city through unique, short-story-like chapters and poetic language. The sights, sounds, and smells of Jerusalem drift through the pages and readers glean a sense of current Palestinian-Israeli relations and the region's troubled history. In the process, some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story- -Liyana's emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother's reactions overall--fall away from the plot. However, Liyana's romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own. (Fiction. 12+) -- Kirkus Associates, LP.

Connections:
Discussion Questions and Activities:
*Research the history between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem.
*Describe how you would feel if you had to move to a new country where you did not speak or understand the language.
*Liyana had to attend a kindergarten class at her new school to learn the new language. Would you do the same or would you want to learn the language a different way? Explain your response.
*Bring hummus, flat bread, pine nuts, etc. for students to sample.
*Respond to the following quote from the book: The calendar has a wide-open face.
Other Books by Naomi Shihab Nye:
*Sitti's Secrets. ISBN 9780689817069
*I'll Ask You Three Times, Are You Ok? ISBN 9780060853921
*Benito's Dream Bottle. ISBN 9780027684674
*Come With Me: Poems for a Journey. ISBN 9780688159467
*What You Wish For: A Book for Darfur. ISBN 9780399254543