Esperanza Rising
This is a story about a young girl named Esperanza who was born and grew up in Mexico. Her family was wealthy and well-known. One day her father is mysteriously murdered and rather than all his property and assets going towards his wife and daughter, they went towards his brother Luis who is suspected to have been involved in the murder. Luis tries and forces Ramona (Esperanza’s mother) to accept his marriage proposal and threatens her life if she doesn’t. In attempt to protect herself and her daughter and plan an escape, she accepts under the condition that Luis give her money and rebuild the mansion that was burnt down. He foolishly agrees and Ramona and Esperanza escape and cross the border into America. Esperanza faces new challenges in the new country she never faced before such as poverty and being looked down upon as a poor Mexican immigrant.
This story is a great multi-ethnic book because it deals with immigration. It allows readers to view immigration from an immigrant’s perspective and experience the hardships they go through. Although this story takes place during the Great Depression, the message is still relevant today. I think there are so many stereotypes made against immigrants and this allows for readers to see the other side of the story and develop compassion and understanding. I think an ELL student could benefit from this book because they would either probably be able to relate to Esperanza in terms of feeling alone and lost in a new world, or even be able to relate to her situation.
Mexican WhiteBoy
The novel is about a biracial boy named Danny whose mother is white and his father is Mexican. He lives in southern California and struggles with feeling a sense of belongingness. He goes to a primarily white school and feels like his slightly darker complexion outcasts him. Because Danny’s father left him and his mom, Danny grew up not knowing about his Mexican heritage. In attempts to find out about himself, he travels to stay with his father’s family in Mexico for the summer. He surprisingly feels like he doesn’t belong there either, but as time goes on he makes friends and hopes to reunite with his father and possibly live with him.
I think this story is very relevant to young adults today because many children struggle with identity as it is, and now biracial children are increasing more than ever. If parents don’t raise their children to develop an identity beyond their ethnicity, the kind of problem Danny experiences becomes very common. I think a lot of students will be able to relate to how Danny feels and find comfort in knowing that they are not alone. Also, for those who are not biracial, it helps for them to see things from a different perspective as well. The benefit of this book to ELL students is how students will be able to connect on an emotional and personal level to Danny. If students are able to make that connection to the book, they are more likely to be interested in reading it.
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: A Folk Tale
This story is about a man named Mufaro who has two very beautiful daughters. One is kind and gentle, while the other is unhappy and mean. When the king send a message to all the bachelorettes if the village in search of a wife, Manyara (the mean sister) decides to try and beat her sister to the king. She cuts through the forest and meets an old woman and a then a young boy who attempt to help her find her way out of the woods and to the castle. Manyara responds to their kind gesture rudely and takes off. Shortly after, Nyasha passes through the same woods and comes across the same old lady and young boy who also help her find her way out of the forest and to the castle. Nyasha, being the kind hearted woman she is, responds with kindness and gratitude. Manyara, upon arriving to the castle, discovers that the king is actually a snake and she runs out to warn her sister of this. Nyasha decides to go inside any way and see for herself. The snake reveals himself as the king and marries Nyasha and Manyara becomes a servant in the home.
This story is probably aimed towards younger aged children, but it’s a still a great way to introduce a different type of culture in the classroom. I think children benefit greatly from learning about different cultures. It also has a valuable moral lesson for children as well. Being that this book is a children’s book, its easy read serves as a great beginner way of introducing ELL students to reading. The illustrations help in developing an image to go along with the text.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
This story is about a young boy named Arnold who was born with a birth defect. He was born and raised on an Indian reservation and has always struggled with fitting in and was a victim of bullying in his school. Arnold is frustrated with his life. He has two alcoholic parents and the schools on the reservation are a joke. One day he gets frustrated with how old the text books in his school were and throws the book at the teacher causing him to get suspended. The same teacher, who sees potential in Arnold, advises him to go to a school outside the reservation and find a better opportunity. Arnold agrees to this and begins to attend a new school. He feels out of place as being the only Indian (aside from their mascot) there. Arnold develops a love interest in a girl named Penelope and makes new friends. The rest of the story follows Arnold along his journey.
This book is a great young adult multi-ethnic book, because I feel we don’t learn as much about the Native Americans as we should. This not only deals with identity issues most all teenagers face, but it also deals with the harsh reality of how Native Americans live. Alcoholism is the number one cause of death on Indian reservations, and their reservations and residents live so far below poverty it’s almost hard to believe. This book is a great way to introduce such an important topic in our country all the while sparking the student’s connection to the book. Since this book is written in first-person narrative, I find that it would be easy for ELL to follow along cause they aren’t having to read a story from a different person’s perspective regarding another character.
Like Water for Chocolate
Like Water for Chocolate follows the life of a young girl named Tita. Tita lives in Mexico with her mother and sisters. Her father passed away. Tita is the youngest daughter and she falls in love with a young boy named Pedro. Pedro decides to ask for Tita’s hand in marriage, but instead Mama Elena (Tita’s mom) rejects the proposal stating that Tita is not allowed to marry per family tradition. As the youngest daughter she is to devote her life to caring for her mom until her mom passes away. To make matters worse, Mama Elena suggests Pedro marry Tita’s sister Rosaura. In attempts to be close to Tita, Pedro accepts and marries Rosaura. Tita is heartbroken and begins to deal with her emotions through cooking. The bizarre thing about Tita’s cooking is that she holds a powerful gift to make people feel what she is feeling through the food she cooks. The story illustrates many issues such as heartbreaks, loss, tragedy, trauma, and finding love again.
I think this story does a good job at describing a great cultural perspective on Mexicans during that time. I also find it to be a great read for young adults because it is a magical realism novel, students may find that unique and interesting. This book would be good for ELL students because it it’s a rather easy read. If the students is Spanish, the book incorporates some of that language in the book. Even if the student is not, it consists of very easy to read words.
Persepolis
Persepolis is a story about a young Iranian girl living in Iran during and after the Iranian revolution. It illustrates things she experienced growing as a young girl, teenager, and young adult. The book is written like a comic book and in section. This book would be great for ELL because it has illustrations that not only depict what is going on, but because of it “comic strip-like” format, it also helps create a visual of who is talking. I think this is an easy book to read and follow along to. If a child could find a book the can break down with ease, they are likely to enhance their literacy skills on many levels.
The Diary of Anne Frank
This story is written by a young girl about her experience during the German invasion and holocaust. It’s a composition of her all her diaries. We learn about her family, friends, experience hiding out, crush, and growing pains. This book would be great for ELL in secondary setting, because it is written by a young girl, the language used in it is very simple and easy to read. The diary entries are also very short so the student doesn’t have to piece together bit and pieces for a prolonged period before moving onto the next entry. Short passages make it easy for comprehension because they aren’t having to retain so much at one shot.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
The story is about a black American family narrated by one of the members, young Kenny. Kenny has two siblings, By and Joey and By has been getting into a lot of trouble by hanging with the wrong crowds. In attempts to correct and prevent from worsening By’s rebellious behavior, his parents decide it’s time for By to go live with his grandma in Birmingham. They take a family trip together and drive there. The rest of the story centers on issues that Kenny experiences regarding the magnitude of racism during that time. His grandma’s church gets bombed and as much as his parents tried to protect him from seeing that violence, Kenny begins to realize the hatred others have against the color of his skin.
This book might be a really great book to incorporate in an ELL classroom because it’s easy to read and also because there is a movie about the book. I find there to be great benefit in books that also have a movie version because students can grasp better ideas of the plot and characters. Then, while reading the book they can make the connection between the movie and what they are reading.
The Cage
This story is a narrative by a girl named Riva during the Holocaust. Her and her family are betrayed by their landlord and forced to escape to the ghetto to hide from the Nazi. Rivas mother becomes sick and is taken away by the Nazi to a concentration camp. Riva, only sixteen years old is then left to care for her siblings. She manages to hide out despite her brother being ill, but soon her and her siblings are captured by the Nazi and taken away to a concentration camp. Riva is separated from her brothers and begins her cruel journey to survival. Unlike many other stories about the Holocaust, a Nazi commandant feels compassion for Riva and saves her life as she sees Riva starving and emotionless.
This story is a good read for ELL because it’s not as complex as other Holocaust books for young readers and because it is a true story, student may be able to research more details about the Holocaust to have a better understanding of the vents that took place in the book.
Days of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue
This story dates back to times of slavery here in America. Emma, a slave, is owned by a southern white man who none day decides to have a big slave auction to help get himself out of his gambling debt. Although he promised Emma’s parents he would never sell her, greed gets the best of him. The story is a rather raw depiction of what slaves endured during these times, such as getting beaten, sold, and mistreated. They were not treated humanely in any shape or form.
This story makes such a good connection when teaching about slavery and the history of our nation that it would be a great read for not only ELL students but all students. Sometimes children need to make a personal connection with a character to get excited about learning something. Because this book is a depiction of what slavery life was like, ELL students can connect the dots between what they read and what they are learning.
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