#5. Angelou, Maya. I know why the caged bird sings. Random House. New York. 1970. Print.

     Annotation:
          Experiencing the Black Aesthetic during the Depression (circa 1930) on into WWII, while coming of age, Maya learned how to survive in an unjust world.

     Justification for Nomination:
          Maya and her brother, Bailey, lived with their parents in California during the Depression (1930's), who soon divorced and shipped the kids off to live with Grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas.  Maya goes to Momma (Grandmother) at 5 years old and quickly learns that she is her stable rock in her life.  Momma is a business woman who owns her own general store and provides goods and credit to the entire Black community as well as some of the White community.  Momma sews all of Maya's clothes and carries her to church every week.
          Maya does not trust many people and does not have very many favorites besides Momma and Bailey.  Maya meets Sister Flowers, who is an avid reader, and teaches Maya some lessons in living through giving her books to read each week.  Miss Flowers said to Maya: "I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.  That some people, unable to  go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors"(99).
          Maya gets transported back and forth from her mothers in St. Louis to her fathers in Los Angeles, and back again to Arkansas.  A series of unfortunate events happen to her while living with each of her parents.  Maya had to grow up fast to learn how to survive in the big cities, while not receiving  very much supervision from either of her parents.  She learned how to speak Spanish and how to drive a big, fancy car when she was with her Daddy.  When she was with her Mother, she was exposed to hip, slick, and cool characters who mastered the art of being con-men.  She thought their names were drawn right out of comic books.
          Momma lived by the 'good book' and taught it to Maya.  Momma taught Maya about dealing with racial issues and how to protect herself.  She learned the injustices of what it meant to be Black and from the South.  Maya shows the struggles of the African American while she quotes many verses from W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington and shows what the victory means when Joe Louis won the worlds heavy weight championship.
          Maya's autobiography is real and authentic and with many meaty characters to resonate with.  Her ability to connect her words and how she weaves them together show a talent beyond comparison.  Honestly, I don't know why this book did not win a Coretta Scott King Award.  Her genuine coherence of words melded together made it impossible to put the book down.  This is an author I could read over and over again and never get tired of.  Maya propels past excellence and shows a must read for any young adult or adult.


     Genre:  Autobiographical Narrative. Multicultural.  Coming of Age.

Blog #4. Blumenthal, Karen. Let me play: the story of Title IX/the law that changed the future of girls in America.

Annotation:  "We shall someday be heeded, and...everybody will think it was always so, just exactly as many young people think that all the privileges, all the freedom, all the enjoyments which woman now possesses always were hers.  They have no idea of how every single inch of ground that she stands upon today has been gained by the hard work of some little handful of women of the past."--Susan B. Anthony.

Justification for Nomination:  The first women's right convention was held in 1848 I the United States.  These are the stories of women who believed in their gender and that they could do anything, anything men were allowed to do, and were willing to fight for equal rights.  By 1869 Congress approved the amendment giving black men the right to vote but not black or white women.  By 1900 women were allowed to compete in the Olympics.  Women who loved sports and were not allowed the same privileges as men and had to become activists, they were eager and ready to get into the game.  One little league girl said "I was stripped of my uniform because I was a girl, not because of an inability to play, I couldn't stand up for myself, and that really hurt"(55).

By 1923 the ERA is first proposed to Congress. A god sent for women's rights was Edith Green, who was elected to Congress in 1954.  In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat up to a white person.  In 1960, blacks were marching for civil rights as well.  The civil rights act didn't come about until 1964.  This was supposed to end racial and sexual discrimination in America.  Both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate had to vote the entire bill in.  All jobs were to be opened to all races and genders, which helped create the EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity commission.  The days of women and minorities in traditional rolls were dissolving to become employed with equal pay.  President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963.

The Vietnam War and women being called 'woman's libbers' were becoming draft card burners and bra burners.  Just because the law was passed didn't mean it was being enforced.  Women were able to go to college but were not afforded the funding and the scholarships as their male counterparts were.  Congresswoman Edith Green promoted laws for educational funding for females and minorities so that they could pursue doctorates degrees at prestigious colleges.  In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Title IX and the Senate approved the Educational Amendments into law.  Women could now pursue any profession or sport they desired. " As Tennis champion, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes"(126).

There are many more historical markers in this nonfiction book for American History.  Don't get me wrong, many people lost their lives and suffered humiliation while struggling for equal rights.  The struggle was a lot harder than just signing a piece of paper.  For any young adult who has aspirations of their own to pursue an education and a career in sports, this book is a must read.  In order to know where you are going you should know where you have been.

Patsy Mink, 1971 United States Representative from Hawaii says:  "While it is wonderful that equity has become the expected norm, we must also teach each new generation that there was a time when Title IX did not exist.  Further, we all need to be reminded that since Title IX was put into place by a legislative body, it can also be taken away by a legislative body.  We need to be vigilant.  Title IX must be protected and defended to ensure that equal educational opportunities for girls and women are preserved for all generations to come"(128).

Genre:  non-fiction, 2003 Sibert Honor book, sports, law, and legislation.

Justification for Nomination: 

 

Review #3. Cole, Brock. Celine. Collins Publishers. Toronto. 1989. Print.

Annotation:     Celine is sixteen years old and a product of a divorced family.  Celine's dream of becoming an artist and traveling to Italy are smashed when Jake steals a piece of her heart.  How will she ever show signs of maturity with all these obstacles?

Justification for Rejection:    Celine struggles to find her own identity while living with her step-mother, who is only six years older than she is.  Celine's mother runs off with different men and leaves her with her father, who is always off on a business trip.  Her father in turn, leaves her with her step-mother who is busy completing her college education.
     Where do I fit, where do I belong, who loves me, and what about fear of rejection and abandonment?  These are some of the serious issues that are never addressed in this maladaptive novel.  If I were Celine, I should think I would have far more emotional problems that Cole lacks to describe in this playful book.  Celine seems to wonder around in her own teenage mind of existence, as well as physically.  The adults in her life consistently harp on her to 'show some maturity' and then we will reward you(19).  This becomes an oxymoron due to the circumstances.  She is quite mature and actually glides through many of her obstacles, not by any help from the adults.
     From teachers to parents to step-mother and even the divorcee next door, who consistently dumps her six year old, Jake, off at her own convenience, for Celine to watch, scolds her when things don't go the adults way.  Celine even took care of her girlfriend, Lucille, when she got drunk and threw-up in her sweater.  She got the  blame for that and nothing seems to effect her.  Celine appears quite mature and very well adjusted, something I find pretty amazing and unusual for a sixteen year old with her circumstances and no supervision.  Either the author over-looked her emotional development as a teen or Celine is an exceptional child. 
     The vocabulary that Cole uses for the protagonist reaches far beyond the way a sixteen year old would speak, especially for one who is failing English Literature and cannot complete her essay on "Cather in the Rye".  This puzzled me, as the vernacular did not seem to fit with the character nor the setting.  Nothing extravagant happens in the novel, in other words, there were no real experiential insights about humanity as a complex nature discovered here.  In fact, it lacked in extraneous drama, she did not learn anything meaningful about humanity and any new way to function in that world. The only realistic feature would have been the orphan character that may or may not have the primal fear of abandonment, however, it did not seem to bother Celine to determine any change in her life.  Most likely, I will not read this book again because the novel did not resonate with me as an adult nor as a teenager.


Genre:    Teen Fiction, Coming of Age, Search for Identity.

Blog Review #2. Siena Cherson Siegel. To Dance. Aladdin Paperbacks. New York:2006. Print.

Annotation:  Siena grows from a tiny dancer to her debut performance on stage with the New York City Ballet.  In 1970, her dream becomes a reality while Siena discovers herself.


Justification for Nomination:

A teenage girl could certainly resonate with the many life successions in "To Dance".  Siena shows her development in Ballet and her life from the time she was six years old to eighteen years old.  Siegel's writing style is very matter of fact and stays on topic.  She shows expression in peoples faces and the dialogue is easy to follow from image to image.

Siena overcomes some of her adversities throughout her life and purges forward to grasp at her dream, the dream of a lifetime.  At first the doctor tells her she has flat feet and she will never dance.  Her mother is very supportive of her decision to try anyway.  In spite of her parents continued arguing, their divorce, and moving back and forth from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Boston and to New York several times, she adapts quit well.  Siena buries herself in her dance so she will not have to be in a home with no peace.

Siegel uses vibrant colors, chronological organization, and easy readability in her criteria.  This is an inspiring graphic novel for any child or teenager who has dream of their own.


Genre:  A Robert F. Siebert Honor Book, multicultural, coming of age, search for identity.