FOLLOW ME TO READ
teaching with graphic novels
Week 3
New Shoes
By Sara Varon
Stargazing
By Jen Wang
This week we are looking at New Shoes by Sara Varon and Stargazing by Jen Wang. These two books are graphic novels that are wonderfully illustrated. Sara Varon also wrote one of my favorite books, Robot Dreams.
New Shoes follows the journey of a donkey named Francis. He is the best shoemaker in his village. He uses coconut wood for the soles, goats wool for the insoles, and wild tiger grass for the tops. He received a special order from his favorite singer, Miss Manatee who is also the queen of calypso. Francis runs into a problem, he ran out of tiger grass for his shoes! Francis has to leave his village for the first time ever and go to the jungles of South America. While on his journey he runs into some scary animals in the jungle but then gets to know them and realizes their nice. Sara Varon is the author and illustrator of New Shoes. The illustrations are colorful, detailed, and unique. I really enjoyed reading New Shoes because of how it incorporated the Guyana community. Sara Varon visited Guyana and the town of Linden to get inspiration for her illustrations and story.
Stargazing follows the adventure of Christine and Moon. Christine's family helped out Moon's struggling mom by renting out a home behind their house. Christine heard that Moon was mean and was warned to stay away from her. When Moon moved in next to Christine she was terrified but that only lasted for a little bit. Christine and Moon instantly became best friends. Although they have completely different personalities, they both live in the Chinese American community. I really enjoyed reading Stargazing because while it is a fictional book, it is based on Jen Wang's life events.
A specific cultural issue that arose in Stargazing was the differences between Moon and Christine. They were complete opposites so Christine insisted that they would not be friends. They both grew up in in a region with many other Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant families and their American-born children. Jen Wang pointed out that the more you you are expected to share with others, the more you obsess over the ways you are different. I learned more about the Taiwanese and Chinese cultures by reading a page that Wang included in the back o the book and visiting her website (green icon above). I would incorporate this cultural issue by having my students list everything about them. It could be their favorite food, place to eat, color, book, place to visit, etc. I would have them share and discuss with their classmates. At first we would have everyone group themselves by similarity. Then everyone would group themselves based on differences. I would then lead a discussion how as a class we have similarities but we also are different. It's okay to be friends with someone that is different than you. We are all human and everyone should be treated equally.
While completing the book comparison chart in the textbook Reading to Make a Difference, I included a column to address cultural authenticity. Stargazing included the Taiwanese and Chinese culture. The graphic novel included the food they eat, the language, program of study, how they dress, and music. New Shoes included the jungles of South America and the Guyana community. It included animals found there, inspirations from the community for illustrations, the environment, the food they eat and grow, and the people.
The great thing about graphic novels is that we really get a feel of the characters feelings. Take a look at the spread above. This is page 186 from Stargazing . Christine had found out about Moon's tumor and was talking with her dad. He made a joke that what if when she woke up, she could speak Chinese. This comment made Christine very angry. As you can tell by her facial expression at the top of the page, her cheeks are red and her eyes are open wide. She shoves her chair back and stomps out of the room. You can tell she stomped by the lines that follow her path in the middle right panel. She goes outside to the parking lot and sits on the curb with her head down. You can tell that Christine is angry with her father and is very upset.
Instructional goals- develop tier 2 words that describe this page and Christine's emotions. Predict what will happen next.
Instructional steps-
1) Analyze the spread. What is happening? How do you think she feels? What gives you that impression? How do you think her dad feels?
2) Create an anchor chart to jot down ideas. What are some tier 2 words that we can use to describe Christine's emotions? Her father's? What are her actions?
3) Predict what will happen next. What do you think will happen next? Do you think her father feels bad about his comment? Will they speak? Will she forgive her father?
Book
Characters
Description
Character Changes
Changes/
Contrasts
Messages/
So What?
Cultural
Authenticity
New Shoes by Sara Varon
Francis, Nigel, and Rhoda
Francis is a shoe maker for his village. He makes shoes out of tiger grass that he gets from Nigel. Francis and Rhoda go on an adventure to find Nigel in the jungle.
Francis realizes the importance of friendship and that life isn't about making shoes. Nigel realizes the importance of fair trade and conservation.
The characters in these two books have a realization about friendship. The two books focuses on two different cultures and communities.
These two books undergo the importance of respecting different cultures, identities, and each other.
New Shoes' author went to Guiana and based the illustrations off the trip. In the back of the book you can find more about her trip.
Stargazing
by Jen Wang
Christine and Moon
Christine and Moon meet when Moon moved into the house behind her. At first she was scared of Moon but then they became best friends. Moon had a brain tumor that impacted their life.
Christine goes through a character change when she judges Moon at the beginning but once she gets to know her, they instantly become best friends.
Stargazing is culturally authentic because Jen Wang is also part of the Chinese-American community. She also had a brain tumor just like Moon.