Inclusive Literature for Children: Marina Budhos, ASK ME NO QUESTIONS

Bibliography:
Budhos, Marina. 2006. Ask Me No Questions. New York: Simon & Schuster Publishing Group. ISBN: 9781416903512

Summary:
Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos is based on immigration issues, particularly those of Arabian descent, after September 11, 2001. According to the endnote, “In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government began crackdown on illegal immigrants and an investigation of Muslim communities… If they were found to be residing illegally, or if they had any minor infractions on their visas, they were jailed, detained, or deported. … Although this is a work of fiction, these are the events that inspired this book.” The story told within the book is presented through the voice of fourteen year-old Nadira, daughter of a Bangladeshi man who was detained by INS at the Canadian-American border. Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, must leave their parents behind (The mother stays in a shelter near the prison to try and argue for her husband’s freedom.) and go back to New York as if nothing ever happened, but they are Bangladeshi and “They always say that no matter what happens to Bangladeshis – floods, storms, droughts, riots, strikes – we keep going.” So Nadira and Aisha must work together, despite their differences, to save their father and their family’s citizenship.

Critical Analysis:
Even though Marina Budhos’ book, Ask Me No Questions, is a fictional story, Budhos writes with such conviction that the story feels real. Budhos eloquently depicts a story of illegal aliens here in the United States, in which the children are taught to live their lives unnoticed. “You can’t tell which ones aren’t legal. We try to get lost in the landscape of backpacks and book reports. To find us you have to pick up on the signals… We all agree not to notice.”

Throughout the story, Budhos reveals many cultural markers that link the characters to their Middle Eastern heritage. Some obvious cultural markers are the characters’ names, including the fact that they call their father “Abba,” and references to their native foods, “Coconut flakes, Ma jokes. We’ll go outside and scoop them up, and I’ll make you some polao.” The descriptions of the women’s clothes, such as the “shalwar kameez,” and stories of the girls early childhood in Bangladesh are also mingled into the story. However, there are not only cultural markers for their heritage, but markers about their immigration status and experience as well, such as the banging on the door by the INS in the middle of the night to take away the girls’ uncle. Or dealing with a lawyer who takes their money but does not properly file for their visas, which is the reason they become illegal in the first place.

Furthermore, it’s not simply the fact that this story portrays one of illegal aliens here in the United States that make it an incredible book, but the fact that it’s a story of two sisters who otherwise don’t get along find a way to appreciate each others’ strengths and differences that make this a story that any young girl can relate to. Budhos does an excellent job of tapping into a multi-faceted story to develop a book that will sit well with many young adolescents.


Reviews from the Experts:
Kirkus Reviews
“Illegal immigrant sisters learn a lot about themselves when their family faces deportation in this compelling contemporary drama. Immigrants from Bangladesh, Nadira, her older sister Aisha and their parents live in New York City with expired visas. Fourteen-year-old Nadira describes herself as "the slow-wit second-born" who follows Aisha, the family star who's on track for class valedictorian and a top-rate college. Everything changes when post-9/11 government crack-downs on Muslim immigrants push the family to seek asylum in Canada where they are turned away at the border and their father is arrested by U.S. immigration. The sisters return to New York living in constant fear of detection and trying to pretend everything is normal. As months pass, Aisha falls apart while Nadira uses her head in "a right way" to save her father and her family. Nadira's need for acceptance by her family neatly parallels the family's desire for acceptance in their adopted country. A perceptive peek into the lives of foreigners on the fringe.”

VOYA
“Budhos's descriptive writing style helps the story seem more realistic. Nadira's conflicting emotions are portrayed in such a way that even though teens might not identify with her situation, they can easily relate to her feelings. The topics addressed in this book are very relevant in today's society, and teens will quickly be able to make real world connections. Although not all teens would choose to read this book on their own, it could be effectively used in the classroom.”

Connections:
Author Website:
http://www.marinabudhos.com/

Other Books by Marina Budhos:
House of Waiting, ISBN 9780964129221
The Professor of Light, ISBN 9780399144738
Remix: Conversations with Immigrant Teenagers, ISBN 9781556356100

Inclusive Literature for Children: Cynthia Lord, RULES

Bibliography:
Lord, Cynthia. 2008. Rules. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 9780439443838

Summary:
As a parent of a child with autism, author Cynthia Lord writes from the heart in her first novel Rules. It is a story narrated by twelve year-old Catherine who struggles with self-conflicting battles and her feelings towards her younger brother, David, who has autism. In order to help her brother, Catherine creates rules and teaches them to David to prepare him for social situations and spare her some embarrassment. Then, as if Catherine needs more conflicts in her life, she meets Jason, a paraplegic boy her age who communicates through picture and word cards. Through her friendship with Jason, Catherine realizes that her rules are not only for David but for herself, and sometimes rules are meant to be broken.

Critical Analysis:
As a mother of two children, the youngest with autism, Cynthia Lord writes Rules from an insider’s perspective. She and her family understand first-hand what it’s like living with someone like David in the story. As an insider her descriptions on David's behaviors and words adequately depict a child with autism. For example, when David is unable to find his own words to speak, he mimics the words from his favorite story, Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel. By portraying the family’s difficulties through twelve year-old Catherine’s eyes, Lord puts the story into terms that today’s youth can relate. Even if the reader does not have a relative with autism, the reader may connect the story with a friend’s family or a classmate. Perhaps the reader, young or old, knows no one with autism; the reader will still find the story enlightening and learn about acceptance.

The story effectively depicts many cultural markers representing books about characters with disabilities. In this case, Lord uses the relationship between eight year-old David with autism and his older sister, Catherine, to demonstrate the toll an autistic family member may take on a family. Catherine is often left in charge of David when her parents are busy. In order to avoid the unusual actions of David, like continually putting toys in the fish tank, Catherine creates rules for David. “That’s [Catherine’s sketchbook] where I keep all the rules I’m teaching David so if my someday-he’ll-wake-up-a-regular-brother wish doesn’t ever come true, at least he’ll know how the world works, and I won’t have to keep explaining things.” As Catherine makes rules to help prepare David for social situations (“A boy can take off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.”), she also makes rules for herself. “I have rules, too, and one of mine is: Sometimes you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got.” Each chapter title is a rule in which applies to the chapter’s situation. These rules created by Catherine demonstrate her love for David (she wants to take care of him), but they also represent a struggle within herself (she doesn’t want to be embarrassed by David’s actions).

Furthermore, Lord pursues Catherine’s inner struggle to accept David’s differences by channeling Catherine’s focus on a new friend named Jason. Jason is a twelve year-old paraplegic who cannot orally communicate and therefore relies on picture cards with words written at the top. Lord effectively sheds light on Jason’s feelings as Catherine makes more expressive word cards, like embarrassed, murky, and dazzling, for him to add to his book. As Catherine and Jason’s friendship develops, Catherine slowly begins to accept others for who they are.


Reviews from the Experts:
School Library Journal
“… Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.”

Publishers Weekly
“ … In the able hands of the author, mother of an autistic child, Catherine's emotions come across as entirely convincing, especially her alternating devotion to and resentment of David, and her guilt at her impatience with him. Through her artwork, the heroine gradually opens up to Jason, a wheelchair-bound peer who can communicate only by pointing to words on cards. As she creates new cards that expand Jason's ability to express his feelings, their growing friendship enables Catherine to do the same. A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view.”

Connections:
Author Website:
http://www.cynthialord.com/
Author Blog:
http://cynthialord.livejournal.com/

Other Books by Cynthia Lord:
Hot Rod Hamster, coming February 2010
Touch Blue, coming September 2010

Classroom or Library Activities:
Visit these websites for Resources for Educators and Autism
C.A.R.E.
http://www.careumw.com/links.htm
Department of Health and Human Services http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/resources/educatorresources.htm
National Association of Special Education Teachers
http://www.naset.org/autism2.0.html
Web Toolbox for Educators and Parents
http://www.ed.sc.edu/caw/toolboxautism.html

Inclusive Literature for Children: Ken Setterington, MOM AND MUM ARE GETTING MARRIED

Bibliography:
Setterington, Ken. 2004. Mom and Mum Are Getting Married. Ill. by Alice Priestley. Ontario: Second Story Press. ISBN: 9781896764849

Summary:
Ken Setterington presents the story of a same-sex wedding told from the perspective of Rosie, a young girl. In preparation for the small wedding, Rosie is determined to be a part of the wedding and develops the perfect plan to allow her and her little brother to carry the rings and throw flower petals. “In no time, Uncle Peter and I had done it! Jack and I each had a basket filled with petals. And in each basket there was a perfectly wrapped little present, tied to the handle with a bow.”

Critical Analysis:
Literature for elementary-age students about gay and lesbians is few in number, but books like Ken Setterington’s Mom and Mum Are Getting Married may help increase the numbers in school libraries. Setterington portrays the story through the eyes of Rosie, a young girl who is so excited to be a part of a wedding that the same-sex relationship is easily infused into the story. Many children, especially girls, will relate to Rosie’s flower girl enthusiasm, placing the focus on Rosie and not solely on the wedding between two women.

Being able to see yourself within a story or relate to a story’s characters is what draws many readers into a book. There are children who are not only able to relate to Rosie’s wedding excitement, but relate to having same-sex parents as well. It is this feature that makes Mom and Mum Are Getting Married an important piece of literature. A child with two moms or two dads may discover this book and celebrate that their family is finally represented in a picture book. Perhaps the book may even provide comfort to a child whose friend has two moms or two dads; it may show the child that his or her friend’s family is not so different.

Evidence of the homosexual relationship beyond the book’s title is intertwined throughout the text, (“They [Mom and Mum] unwrapped the rings and put them on each other’s fingers. Then they kissed.”) as well as the illustrations. The first picture of the two women together shows them holding hands. After the wedding ceremony, the couple is portrayed embracing one another with their wedding guests around them. Illustrator, Alice Priestley, uses bright colors to depict a happy moment in this family’s life.

Reviews from the Experts:
School Library Journal
“Rosie's two mothers are going to get married. When Mom tells her daughter about their plans, the youngster asks if she can be a bridesmaid or a flower girl, but Mom just wants a small celebration. Rosie offers another option-she and her brother, Jack, will carry the rings. Predictably, when the big day arrives, the rings are temporarily misplaced (by the couple). Rosie comes up with a solution to prevent them from getting lost a second time, and the wedding comes off without a hitch. "A perfect day," says Mum. The ink-and-colored pencil drawings are somewhat flat but colorful. While the story is slight and not particularly engaging, libraries needing to augment their collections on gay lifestyles may want to consider it.”

Kirkus Reviews
“Gay picture books are unfortunately still rare enough that they all matter regardless of literary and artistic quality. This one happens to be stilted and static. Rosie's Mom and Mum are getting married. Rosie's only concern is whether or not she'll get to be a flower girl, ring-bearer, or something else crucial to the ceremony (which she wishes would be bigger and fancier than it is). The concept and rightness of this two-mother family (and the same-sex marriage itself) are never questioned; there is no antagonist of the type often created specifically to facilitate a tolerance message. However, Setterington's text plods along, feeling forced. Priestley's drawings, though brightly colored, lack vibrancy and feel stale. This clearly deliberate piece has a worthy agenda and will stand in until better quality versions come along. Artistically tepid but socially valuable.”

Connections:
Other Books by Ken Setterington:
Clever Katarina: A Tale in Six Parts, ISBN 9780887767647
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, ISBN 9780887764974
The Wild Swans: An Adventure in Six Parts, ISBN 9780887764974

Classroom or Library Activities:
Students can paint a family picture and participate in a discussion on how families can be different and alike. Students can also write a response to the following question: “How would the story be different if the wedding rings were lost?”