REVIEWS OF RESOURCES

Literature for Young Readers

Anzaldúa, Gloria. Friends From the Other Side. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press. 1995. 28 pp. Illus. by Consuelo Mendez. ISBN 0-89-239130-8, $6.95. (Ages 4-8)

"A Mexican girl befriends a boy who has crossed the Rio Grande River with his mother to start a new life in the United States. When the border police arrive, she acts with loyalty and humanity." -Roots and Wings (http://www.rootsandwingscatalog.com)

High, Linda O. A Stone’s Throw From Paradise. Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 1997. 143 pp. ISBN 0-8028-5147-9. $5.00 (Ages 9-12)

This book, written by the same author as Maizie, Summer of the Great Divide, and Hound Heaven, tells the story of Lizzie, a thirteen-year-old girl searching for memories of her mother while spending a summer with her grandmother among the Amish in Pearly Gates, Pennsylvania. Lizzie comes to understand the Amish community and by doing so discovers what her mother was really like. This compelling novel will be an excellent addition to any elementary or middle school library.

Hunter, Sara H. The Unbreakable Code. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing Co. 1996. 26 pp. Illus. by Julia Miner. ISBN 0-87358-638-7, $14.95. (Ages 9-12)

This realistically illustrated story gives a piece of the U.S.-Indian history a contemporary meaning.  A Native-American boy, John, faces the fate of having to leave his familiar Navajo hometown to be with his mother’s new husband in Minnesota.   John’s apprehension at having to cross cultural boundaries from the familiar to the unknown is well depicted and illustrated.  His grandfather comforts him by telling the story of how his people used the Navajo language to create secret codes to "help save his country" during WW II.  The story concludes, "He wasn’t as scared of going to a new place any more.  His grandfather had taught him who he was and what he would always have with him."  Both author and illustrator are not of a native origin.  But this well-researched story presents an accurate history of Navajo "code talkers."

Mendez, Phil. The Black Snowman. New York: Scholastic Inc. 1989. 45 pp. Illus. by Carole Byard. ISBN 0-590-44873-0, $5.99. (Ages 4-8)

This book presents a wonderful Christmas story about a young, African-American boy named Jacob.  Phil Mendez combines fantasy and African-American tradition to create a compelling story about the frustrations Jacob feels because of his skin color and the comfort he eventually finds in his racial identity.  Race and poverty are two themes presented in this unusually creative story.  Carole Byard's brilliant illustrations in this book are sure to appeal to young readers.

--Stephanie Schoening--

Stephanie Schoening, Assistant Editor of EMME and a graduate of the University of Delaware, is pursuing an M. Ed. in Multicultural Education and secondary teaching certification in biology at Eastern College.

 

Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say. New York: Philomel Books. 1994. 44 pp. ISBN 0-399-22671-0, $16.99. (Ages 4-8)

This moving story is based on a true incident that happened to the great-great-grandfather of the author during the Civil War.  He, named "Say," was seriously injured and rescued by a Black fellow Union soldier, "Pink."  Pink brought Say to the house of his mother, who fed and cared for the boys until Say recovered from his injury.  Friendship between the men blossomed.   As they were about to leave to rejoin their troops, the mother’s house was ransacked by the Confederate Army.  She was shot and killed.  The boys narrowly escaped the tragedy but were eventually caught on the way to their camps. Say was kept as a war prisoner and eventually released.  Pink was apparently hanged soon after his capture.  The story painfully and beautifully recounts a friendship that crossed race lines only to be cut short, tragically, because of political ones.

Say, Allen. Allison. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1997. 32 pp. ISBN: 0-395-85895-X, $17.00. (Ages 4-8)

This is one of the few books that deals with interracial adoption realistically.   It presents the pain and anger that an Asian adoptee, Allison, experiences upon discovering her racial difference from her White parents.  The reconciling end of the story is that Allison adopts a stray cat and realizes everyone needs a home.  Say provides wonderful insight into this type of border crossing.  The mixture of the Japanese and the Chinese culture around Allison confuses me regarding her ethnicity.  Yet this is a creative presentation of a bitter-sweet reality.

--Heewon Chang--

Van Draanen, Wendelin. How I Survived Being a Girl. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. 163 pp. ISBN 0-06-026671-6, $14.95. (Ages 8-12)

Caroline, a sixth grader, hates being a girl because she does not like to conform to the "girl stereotypes"—playing with dolls and wearing lacy dresses, Mary Janes, ribbons, long hair, etc.  Instead, she prefers to play rough outdoors with her brothers and boys in her neighborhood.  The author, a high school computer science instructor, humorously writes about the gender identity and stereotypes with which Caroline struggles.  She is certainly a border crosser, refusing to remain in the confines of femaleness as she perceives it.  But the birth of her sister helps her accept a nurturer’s role without having to compromise much of what she has enjoyed doing.  The title is provoking but the reading is fun and engaging.

 

Professional Literature

Books

Root, Maria, P. (ed). Multiracial Experience: Racial Borders as the New Frontier. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1996. 481 pp. ISBN 0-8039-7059-5 (pb), $32.00.

This edited book is the fruit of Root’s long devotion to the study of multiracial and interracial people. The chapters are written by multiracial individuals who are in all walks of life.  The chapters' authors attempt to establish the legitimacy of the multiracial group as a distinctive cultural group of its own merit rather than as an addendum to the existing ethnic/racial categories.  The chapters provide great insights on the life experiences of the multiracial and interracial individuals who frequently cross cultural borders.

Tiedt, Pamela L. & Tiedt, Iris M. Multicultural Teaching: A Handbook of Activities, Information, and Resources. Needham Heights: Allyn Bacon, 1999. 432 pp. ISBN 0-205-27528-1 (pb), $46.67.

As the subtitle of the book implies, this book contains many useful instructional ideas and resources in multicultural education.  It promotes multicultural education across the curriculum and "learning about ourselves" as a basis of multicultural education.

 

Magazines and Journals

Multicultural Education is the quarterly magazine for the National Association for Multicultural Education.  This magazine publishes scholarly articles, essays, reports on multicultural education programs, book reviews and other multicultural resources.

MultiCultural Review is "a quarterly journal for teachers at all grade levels, college professors, librarians, administrators, and anyone else who is interested in learning about new developments and trends in the field of cultural diversity.   The journal features reviews of new print and non-print resources on multicultural topics, and articles that explore current issues.  In addition, there are columns and departments to keep you up to date on news, new curriculum materials, online resources, useful bibliographies on various subjects, and more." -MultiCultural Review (http://www.mcreview.com/)

Standards:  the International Journal of Multicultural Studies was originally published in print and turned into a free-access "cyberjournal" in 1995.  Each issue is devoted to a different multicultural theme.  The recent issues have covered themes such as pride, education, resistance and survival.  The journal publishes scholarly essays, creative writings, and book reviews. (http://stripe.colorado.edu/~standard/)

Social Education is the official journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, which is published seven times a year.  One of the recent issues (1998, Vol. 62, No. 7) was dedicated to the "New Immigration." (http://www.ncss.org).

 

Multimedia Resources

Videos

Apted, Michael. Thunderheart. Culver City, CA: Tristar Pictures, 1992. 118 minutes, color. (R-rated). Produced by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and John Fusco.

This film features a quarter-blood Indian F. B. I. agent who initially denied his Indian identity but ended up discovering it during his mission to investigate a political murder in a Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. This film sympathetically presents the life of this Native American group and their efforts to maintain their cultural heritage. The director, who also directed a documentary, Incident at Oglala, based on actual events, accurately and realistically depicts the heightened conflict between Indian nativists and progressives backed by the U.S.-government during the 1970s.   The cultural crossing of the F.B.I. rookie from the White world to the Indian world raises an interesting question of how cultural identity is formed and rediscovered. This film is R-rated for the rough language and violence; thus, careful preparation of students should be in order. The film is recommended for its historical and cultural value.

Kramer, Stanley.  Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.  Burbank, CA:   Columbia Pictures, 1967.  108 minutes, color.  (Not rated).  Produced by Stanley Kramer.

Athough Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was filmed in 1967, its issues of racial tension are still relevant today, making it a worthwhile subject of multicultural study even for modern audiences.  In addition, this is a classic American film and has merit from a dramatic perspective.  Starring Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn, this superbly acted film considers the issue of racial divide from the point of view of one couple's struggle.  The plot surrounds the lives of a man and woman from different races who fall madly in love but face the obstacle of winning over their families to the idea of a mixed-race marriage.  Joanna Drayton is a White woman in her early twenties who is in love with Dr. John Prentice, a Black man in his late thirties.  Joanna's parents are a wealthy, liberal White couple who are suddenly confronted with the challenge of living up to their own ideals.  John's parents are a Black couple of less financial means but with no less struggle regarding the proposed interracial union.  Ultimately, the marriage has the effect of creating a divide between members of the same class (Joanna's mother and her erstwhile good friend who is horrified by the news) while reconciling members of different races and classes as the Draytons and Prentices finally embrace the idea, and each other.

                                                                                     -- Cynthia Tuleja --

Cynthia Tuleja, a graduate of Smith College, is pursuing an M. Ed. in Multicultural Education from Eastern College and currently holds a secondary teaching certification in English.

Redford, Robert. The Milagro Beanfield War. Universal City, CA: Universal City Studios, 1988. 118 minutes, color. Produced by Moctesuma Esparza. (R-rated).

This film features the conflict that arises between a 300-year-old local community in New Mexico and an outside development firm that tries to undermine the community to build a huge resort area. Water becomes scarce when a dam is built to accommodate the development plan led by a rich, powerful, White man. As a result, the land becomes dry and locals are forced to sell their property.  The film intricately handles confrontational "border" issues, interweaving the experiences of the Hispanic natives and White outsiders, the poor and the rich, the powerless and the powerful.  In the midst of confrontation local residents experience empowerment.  Despite some foul language, the film has great value in introducing the culture of the Hispanic natives in the Southwest and justice issues around this indigenous people.

Websites

Girl Power by The U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

This site is designed "to help encourage and empower 9- to 14- year-old girls to make the most of their lives."   It provides various kinds of on-line and educational resources and activities that would appeal to girls of these ages. http://www.health.org/gpower

Perspectives by JEN ROSS Charlatan Staff

This is a personal essay written by a Chilean-Canadian female who has a strong tie to her Hispanic culture but is not readily accepted as a Hispanic because of her fair skin color. She points out how a society imposes its conceptual boundary of race and ethnicity on individuals and how individuals can experience an identity crisis as a result. http://www.charlatan.carleton.ca/sep12_96/per/

Yeah, I’m Different by TUULA KIVISTÖ

This is a dissertation abstract that deals with how a young Albanian develops a strong ethnic identity as an Albanian and healthy bicultural competence as a refugee in Finland. http://oso3.oso.oamk.fi/paattotyot/vuosi97/kivisgb.htm

Multicultural Book Review by JOE MELE

This site is not related to the journal, MultiCultural Review.  It publishes one multicultural book review per month. It has included five reviews so far:   JoAn Criddle's To Destroy You is No Loss (1993); Melba Patillo Beals' Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High (1995); Zora Neals Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937); Carol Parker's Why Do You Call Me Chocolate Boy? (1993); and S. Beth Atkin's Voices from the Streets: Young Former Gang Members Tell Their Stories (1996).  Each book deals with the issue of multicultural identity. http://www.isomedia.com/homes/jmele/homepage.html

Multiracial Americans Ready to Claim Their Identity by MICHAEL MARRIOT New York Times

This newspaper article writes about multiracial individuals who actively claim their multicultural/multiracial identity, which is often overlooked in this society. They refuse to accept the existing cultural/racial boundaries imposed by the society. http://www.latino.com/life/0721lmul.htm

Family Diversity Project by FAMILY DIVERSITY PROJECT, INC.

This site includes photos and captures texts of diverse families who have crossed the conventional racial, ethnic, gender, religious, and ability borders. Information is provided on the traveling photo exhibit of diverse families. http://www.familydiv.org/InOurFamily/

Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education (1999). Reviews of Resources.  </publications/emme/1999winter/hunter.html> (your access date).