Diane M. Huot
Looking for Uncle Louie on the Fourth of July by Kathy Whitehead (DRA 28-30)
This story takes place in southwest Texas at a Fourth of July celebration parade. The scene is set with a "conjunto" band playing the national anthem "hot like jalapenos".The young narrator, Joe, is wondering when his Uncle Louie will join them. Joe is afraid Uncle Louie will miss the whole parade.Then, a lowrider with the Statue of Liberty painted on its hood stops and the driver gets out. It's Uncle Louie and Joe gets a ride in his grand car. The artwork implies the family is from Mexican origin and the multinational individuals in the crowd are as visually interesting as the parade itself.
A2: What is Joe's main problem in the story?
A3: Briefly summarize the main events in the story in the order in which they occur.
B3: If you wanted to persuade someone that Joe is special to Uncle Louie, which examples from the story would you write about?
C1: Think about a time you had to wait for someone. Use information from the story and your own experience; explain how your experience was like or different from Joe's experience.
D1: Do you think that the author made the events in this story believable? Use details from the story to explain your answer.
D2: Using information from the text, write a paragraph that could have appeared in Joe's journal after the parade.
Jalapeno Bagel
by Natasha Wing (DRA 30-34)
A story of a happy, hard-working family, Pablo must bring something from his family to share on International Day. He considers several items from his family's bakery. Should he bring his father's bagels or challah bread or his mother's pan dulce or empanadas? Pablo helps his family make their specialty, jalapeno bagels a joint celebration from the cultures of both parents. Natasha Wing's affectionate portrayal of a mixed family is a wonderful book to show ethnically diverse families. This book includes a Yiddish and Spanish glossary and recipes.
A1: This book is called
Jalapeno Bagels
. What could be another title for it? Use details from the story to support your answer.
A2: Which word best describes Pablo. Use information from the story to support your answer.
A3: Explain why Pablo is having such a difficult time deciding what to bring for International Day.
B3: If you wanted to show that Pablo is proud of his heritage, which details from the text would you use?
C2: Which part of the story was most interesting or surprising. Use information from the story to support your answer.
D2: Chose the part of the story that you think was most important. Use details from the story to explain why you chose this part.
D3: How did Pablo's beliefs guide his actions?
The Remembering Stone
by Barbara Timberlake Russell (DRA 34-38)
Ana and her mother live in an apartment in a diverse city. They watch a flock of blackbirds preparing for their journey south. Ana's mother was born in Costa Rica and dreams of returning someday. Everyone has dreams. Sophia, Ana's best friend, dreams of becoming an actress. Mr. Nyuyen, the Asian storekeeper dreams of bringing his family over to live. Mr. Hoffer, Mama's boss is a bad tempered man who Mama says has forgotten his dreams. What is Ana's dream? That night Ana takes out a stone pit from the great volcanoes of Costa Rica to help her remember her family's land. She places the stone under her pillow and imagines herself as a blackbird flying straight south to Costa Rica. She pictures the wonderful sounds, smells, and flavors. When she awakens, she touches the stone and begins to write down everything she can remember. Ana now knows her dream is to return to visit her grandparents and her beautiful Costa Rica with her Mama. This story is a celebration of hopes, dreams, and cultural routes. Children of immigrant families will recognize the closeness, the longing and the loss. The story is sprinkled with Spanish phrases and includes a brief glossary.
A1: What is this story mainly about?
A1: This story is called
The Remembering Stone
. What could be another title for it? Use details from the story to support your answer.
A2: How did Ana's feelings change throughout the story? Use information from the story to support your answer.
A3: What important facts about Costa Rica have you learned from this story?
B3: If you wanted to persuade someone that Costa Rica is a beautiful place, which examples from the story would you write about?
B3: You can tell from the information in this passage that Mama longs to return to Costa Rica. Give evidence to support this conclusion.
C1: Think about what this story says about people in general. In what ways does it remind you of people you know or have read about? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
C2: Which part of the story do you think was most important? Use information from the story and your own life to explain why you chose this part.
D1: Imagery is the use of words that make the reader imagine what characters see, hear, taste touch, or smell. Choose two words or phrases from the text that help you picture Costa Rica.
D2: Using information from the text, write a paragraph that could have appeared in Ana's journal after her dream.
Super Cilantro Girl
by Juan Felipe Herrera (DRA 38-40)
Esmeralda Sinfronteras the young heroin in the story worries when her mother does not return home when expected. She is detained having crossed the border into Tijuana. Esmeralda carries a bouquet of cilantro leaves to her room and makes a wish. The next morning she goes to wash her hands and notices that they are green. Soon her whole body is green like cilantro leaves and she turns into a fifty-foot Super Cilantro Girl. She now can overcome all obstacles. She is a winning, super-hero in this bubbly tale about a child who rescues her mother. This book taps into the imagination and addresses the many concerns first generation children have about national borders and immigration status. This is a bilingual Spanish/English text.
A2: Which word would best describes Esmeralda? Use information from the story to support your answer.
A3: Write a brief summary of the story.
A4: If the author had added another paragraph to the story, it would most likely have described the _______.
B3: If you wanted to persuade someone that Esmeralda is a brave, which example from the story would you write about?
C1: Think about what this story says about people in general. In what ways does it remind you of people you have read about? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
C2: Which part of the story was most interesting or surprising? Use information from the story to support your answer.
D2: Using the information in the passage, write a paragraph that could have appeared in Esmeralda's journal.
D3: Why do you think the author chose to make Esmeralda a super hero?
Xochitl and the Flowers
by Jorge Argueta (DRA 40-44)
Xochitl (pronounced "tsoa-chee-tal") Flores, whose name means, "flower" misses El Salvador, especially her family's flower business. The Flores family has moved from their native land to San Francisco. Xochitl and her parents struggle to make the transition from one culture to another and from a rural to urban environment. Xochitl is inspired to sell flowers in the city. Then her father finds an apartment with a garden and the family builds a nursery. Most of the story is concerned with its fate at the hands of the unfeeling landlord and the community support that helps the Flores family keep their nursery. Although the story's conflict is far too easily resolved, its message is the strength of the community and the tale of immigrants adjusting to new surroundings. This is a bilingual Spanish/English text.
A2: What is Xochitl's main problem in the story?
A2: How did Xochitl's feelings change throughout the story? Use information from the text to support your answer.
A4: If the Flores family had not been allowed to keep their nursery, do you think Xochitl's feelings would be different at the end of the story? Use information from the story to explain your answer.
B3: Using details from the story, explain why you think the landlord didn't want the nursery?
C2: What information from the text do you think is most important? Use details from the passage to explain why you chose that information.
D2: Using the information in the text, write a paragraph that could have appeared in Xochitl's journal after the family opened the nursery.
D3: How did the Flores family's beliefs guide their actions?