Book Talk #5- Bless Me, Ultima

            Bless Me, Ultima is a story about a man, Antonio, who is telling a story about his childhood and how he grew up.  The story takes place in Guadalupe, NM, which is north of Las Vegas, NM, in the mid 1940s during and after World War II.  Antonio’s mom is extremely religious and believes that farming and city life was how you should live, but his dad was cowboy and loved living on the open range.  These contradicting believes is what Antonio grew up with learned to appreciate both views.  His parents also have different dreams of what he should grow up to be, but only the curandera, Ultima, knows what he will be.  In New Mexican culture the curandera is a witch doctor that is religious but is also in tune with nature and is respectful of Mother Nature.

             I enjoyed this book because I can relate to and understand Chicano culture.  There were a lot of words in this book that are Spanish and in fact Antonio doesn’t even speak English at the beginning of the book.  Bless Me, Ultima is printed in Spanish which I think is cool if you are teaching a bilingual class because then students could read it in a language they are comfortable in.   But there is adult language used in this book so I would use this with a high school class. 

Book Talk #4- The Water of Life

            I chose this book for my book talk because I wanted to honor my grandmother who used to read this to me when I was a little girl.  I loved staying over at her house because I knew I would get to hear this story.  My grandma was an avid reader and although I don’t read as much as she did I believe she had a huge influence on my motivation to read. 

            The Water of Life is about a fisherman named Pilchard who lives quietly in a small village in Europe.  Pilchard is a very kind and humble man who helps every neighbor or any one, for that matter, who is in need.  One day the king of Pilchard’s village summoned him to castle.  The King asked Pilchard to go on quest for him.  His quest was to find the water of life.  So Pilchard went on the quest and while on his journey Pilchard’s never ending kindness to strangers pays off.

            I think book would be great for a 2^nd or 3^rd grader because although it’s an easy read there are a couple of challenging words.  But the book its self is a wonderful story about how showing kindness to others can sometimes be considered a gift.

Book Talk #3- The Giver

          The Giver takes place sometime in the future although, it is never specified when exactly this story is going on which is good and bad because it’s hard to understand this book sometimes without a reference to time.  However, the book can be applied and used at different points in time because it is not clarified.  The main character is an 11 year old boy names Jonas.  He lives with his parents and his sister in an extremely controlled community.  Nobody can feel emotion or is allowed to have an opinion or even their own ideas.  But everyone has a role in the community and everyone contributes equally.  Children at the age of 12 are told what career job they chosen for and begin their training in that position; they could be “Caretakers of the Old” or be “the Childbarers”.  When Jonas turned 12 he was chosen for a special job; he was chosen to be “the Receiver.”  There is only one receiver and he is an old man who is ready to pass his wisdom and knowledge onto his successor.  “The Receiver” is someone that feels all the memories, the pain and emotions the people in the community are not allowed to feel.  As Jonas continues his training he sees what the world is like with color and with feelings.  But as he grows in knowledge he grows apart from his family and friends and he begins to change his point of view on the way this community lives. 

           I think this is a great book for young adults who are beginning to think for themselves and are trying break away from mainstream thought.   Jonas talks about how he feels about taking on this new honorable position in the community.  He feels honored but he gets frustrated because he can’t share his wisdom with his friends or family because The Receiver has to bare this knowledge and feelings alone.  As he begins this process he starts to see how ignorant the people in the community are.  The issues that Jonas has with his community can relate to students who are trying to understand their own society and maybe don’t agree with what they were brought up to believe.  The book it’s self is well written and is a great book but I found it to be a little abstract at times, but I feel it’s something students could work through. 

 

Book Talk 2- Walk Two Moons

Walk two moons is a story about a 13 year old girl, Sal, who loses her mother in a car accident a year ago and so it’s just her and her dad.  In the story she is on a road trip with her grandparents and they are on their way to visit the grave of Sal’s mother.  On the way Sal and her grandparents exchange stories.  Sal talks about her friend Phoebe, who has family issues of her own.  Sal and Phoebe are best friends and get involved in each other’s stories a great deal.  Walk Two Moons is narrated by Sal who is speaking about what has happened for the last few months.   Her grandparents are also telling her stories about their heritage which Sal is very proud of.  Through Sal’s stories and flashbacks and her grandparents’ stories there are parallels that seem to the link the narratives together.  Sal reflects as she is speaking throughout the story and begins to realize that events and people in her life begin to take on a different meaning for her. 

I think this was a great story over all.  This book would be great for a middle school student, specifically a girl, because Sal deals with issues a real teenage girl does.  She learns her perceptions are not always right and that she is not the only child that has family drama or has suffered loss.  This book also shows that reflection is an important thing to do because it forces you to think and deal with issues that come into your life.   I feel that because of the way Walk Two Moons was written there are many minor lessons in this story that students would be able to apply in their own lives.