I KNOW HOW TO DRAW AN OWL by Hilary Horder Hippely, and THE TEACHER OF NOMAD LAND by Daniel Nayari

We started by discussing our picture book, I Know How to Draw an Owl by Hilary Horder Hippely and illustrated by Matt James. Several of us loved everything about this short story told by a homeless little girl, Belle, who had seen an owl one night while standing outside of her mom's car where they had been sleeping, and she felt that the owl was welcoming them to its forest. In school, her teacher shared Belle's drawing with the class as an excellent example, but Belle couldn't talk about why she drew it that way. We loved the subtly poetic language, and the emotion that was evoked by the art, much of which was shown on large wordless double-page spreads, often preceding the next action --an illustrator's challenge well met. We liked how Belle's 'flashback' was presented in a way that worked, which doesn't usually happen in picture books. A couple of readers weren't as thrilled with the book, and didn't love some of the rhyming, but we all agreed that it presented a very realistic depiction for youngsters showing them what it's like to be homeless. We all loved the ending, where Belle welcomes a seemingly sad new boy to her class, after seeing him get out of a car with a large black trunk strapped to the top. It was only then that she decided to tell her story.

 

Our novel, The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri made for a very lively discussion, since there were so many different points and issues to discuss in this saga of Babak and Sana whose father, a teacher had just died, leaving them orphaned in 1941 during World War II. They determined to join a group of nomads who made annual seasonal treks from one part of Iran to another and had established a well-organized plan for setting up camp and surviving with what the land gave them. Some readers felt the first three chapters were too slow, while others felt that they set up some of the reasons why the two siblings made the decisions they did. We all liked the descriptions of the land, of nomad life, the relationship between Babak and his younger -- but very alert and precocious -- little sister, some of whose ideas and decisions saved their lives. We all liked the themes of the story: the importance of language, learning, and communication between people who are different, the relationship between the two siblings, the reverence for what their father had taught them, and finally, the author's notes at the back which further explained Iran's role during World War II. 

 

 

There were too many details in this story to recount here: the process of teaching a language; a 'bad guy' character; Ben, a Jewish boy fleeing a Nazi spy; the Nomad's leader. Through some harrowing adventures, some of which seemed beyond belief, the two made it to a uplifting, safe ending. Some readers questioned various parts of the book: the sister was 'too smart for her age'; the description of Ben seemed stereotypic; many of the plot points never could have possibly happened in real life; there were too many coincidences. But others felt that young readers in the target age group (grades 3-7) would be mesmerized by the suspense of a story where the children were the stars and their ingenuity and knowledge helped them to solve problems as they arose. 

EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE by Daniel Nayeri and BIDDY MASON SPEAKS UP by Arisa White and Laura Atkins and illustrated by Laura Freeman

We began with our novel, Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri. A few readers said they were put off at the beginning of the book due to the non-linear story development which inserted ancient Persian myths and old family history into middle schooler Daniel's explanation of his life as an immigrant kid who fled Iran with his mother and sister for religious reasons and ended up in Oklahoma. But fortunately, those doubters returned to the book and finished it and were glad they did. We all agreed that it was an amazing feat of storytelling that provided a real window into the immigrant experience as Daniel related his story with insight, wisdom, humanity, and humor. We got used to the insertions of 'Sheherezade-like' stories, and the lessons they were trying to impart. We loved learning about the ancient roots of the Persian/Iranian culture. We all loved Daniel's 'rules' -- things he figured out as he tried to reconcile his past with his present: describing the struggles of an immigrant family, the cruelty they had to endure on their journey, but holding on to his cultural identity as he faced the challenges (typical to all middle schoolers) of just trying to fit in. Some readers felt that parts of the story were shocking and gripping, with no pleasure, and very hard to read. We marveled at the strength of Daniel's mother, and were happy when his father finally showed up -- after many years -- and spoke to the class. We all agreed that perhaps this book should have been 'billed' as a YA title, or even a book for adults, since we weren't sure that younger middle-grade readers would be able to stick with it due to the very non-Western style of storytelling. But we agreed that often it's not the story, but the connection between teller and listener that's important, and we felt that this book definitely accomplished that. We agreed that it was a tribute to the human spirit and we all felt richer for reading it.

Our discussion of our nonfiction picture book, Biddy Mason Speaks Up by Arisa White and Laura Atkins and illustrated by Laura Freeman brought up several interesting issues We were all glad that it honored this African-American enslaved woman who had been brought to Los Angeles because of her talents as a healer and a midwife in the 1850s, won her freedom in an important court case, and later became a successful entrepreneur as she continued a life of standing up for herself. We loved her story, which some (not all) felt was poetically written. We also loved the colorful illustrations which included small, individual boxed photos of some of the plants Biddy used in her healing maneuvers. We did have some issues with this book however. First, we had some problems with the actual story, which, though inspiring, made it hard to tell what was real and what wasn't due to the insertion of fictional characters into a true story. We felt that a picture book biography should only include characters and incidents that were real. Secondly, we had a problem with the format. Some readers likened this book to a web page with multiple 'clickbaits'. Although some young readers might like this, we felt it was distracting. Between the Timeline, maps, photos of related historical events, plus a sidebar Glossary and a moral issue for readers to consider on almost every page, it felt like it was trying to be a reference book in addition to just presenting Biddy Mason's story. We felt that it presented just too much information to digest, and several of us read the book more than once: for the story; for the Timeline; for the photos; for the issues raised. We weren't sure kids would do this, but we also felt that it was probably OK if they just bounced around and read what interested them -- even if that interrupted the story. We thought all of that information in addition to the Back Matter was more for adults, and could be very helpful for teachers, since this book could be used in a variety of curricular areas. We appreciated the authors' excellent research and citations, and we felt that anyone who read this book would certainly learn a lot, and perhaps be moved to do further research to find out more about this amazing Los Angeles heroine.