Month: April 2020

 

Title: Prairie Lotus Author: Linda Sue Park Publisher: Clarion Books Release Date: March 3, 2020 Interested in teaching Prairie Lotus? Check out the LIT Lessons Prairie Lotus Novel Study.

The history books describe the intense hostility Chinese immigrants faced in the 1880s. In addition to overt discrimination and racism, there was legislation that limited their immigration to the United States and prohibited them from becoming United States citizens. This is the backdrop for Hanna, whom as a half-Chinese and half-white teenager, faces all the hostility the time period could muster. She and her father (who is white) set out across the country to settle in the small town of LaForge in the Dakota Territory. Once there, the prospects of building a dry goods store and setting down roots appears promising. Yet, when LaForge residents learn of Hanna’s heritage, anti-Chinese prejudice threatens to destroy her hopes of finding a home, finishing school, and fulfilling her dream of becoming a dressmaker for her father’s shop.

Linda Sue Park’s Prairie Lotus adds the strong, brave voice of Hanna to the growing collection of middle grade novels featuring diverse perspectives. In particular, Prairie Lotus highlights an important facet of United States history that often goes untold when it comes to discussions about Westward Expansion. Park’s depiction of racial prejudice, her brief glimpses into the systematic removal of Native Americans, and general portrayal of life on the prairie accurately reflect certain realities of the time period. It is appropriate for the maturity level of younger readers and lends itself to critical analysis for older readers. Touching on controversial historical issues creates a conflict for readers because they will have to rectify the malevolence of these issues with Hanna’s “happy” ending. While the author explains that the novel is intended to serve as a counter-narrative to the Little House on the Prairie series, Hanna’s story still achieved the “tidy ending” of frontier literature. Yet, the history behind Hanna’s story is anything but tidy. Still, the mismatch could be productive if examined properly. The distance between fiction and history creates an opportunity for students to take a critical lens. They could critically analyze the narrative in Prairie Lotus for the way it presents the 19^th century Chinese immigrant experience. They could also use that analysis as a springboard into a deeper examination of most mainstream portrayals of not only the immigrant experience but also Westward Expansion. In short, the depth Prairie Lotus seeks does create a path for thorough, critical engagement, if one is willing to follow it.

Overall, the writing in Prairie Lotus is succinct and vivid; Hanna’s voice is powerful and measured; and the plot is captivating and provoking. As a result, Prairie Lotus certainly earns its place on middle grades bookshelves. It also offers educators an opportunity to expand students’ understanding of this time period. They could use it as a vehicle to add deeper perspective historical studies about Westward Expansion while challenging the typical narratives told about Manifest Destiny.

Classroom Applications

• Cross-Curricular Study – Teach this comprehensive novel unit – Prairie Lotus Unit: Comprehensive Novel Study – which includes a nonfiction study of Chinese immigration, westward expansion, and First Nations in the 19th century.
• Book Pairing – Pair the book with another novel about the immigrant experience during the 19^th century or the Native American experience during the 19^th century.
• Book Comparison – Read excerpts from the Little House on the Prairie novels to compare and contrast the portrayal of life on the prairie during the 19^th century, specifically focusing on the treatment of minorities and “outsiders.”

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• U.S. History: Immigration
• Chinese immigrant experience in the 19^th century
• 19^th century Native American history
• Life on the prairie in the 19^th century

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Prairie Lotus. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• Saga of the Sioux by Dwight Jon Zimmerman (Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• The Dragon’s Child: A Story of Angel Island by Laurence Yep and Kathleen S. Yep (Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• Frontier Literature

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*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.

 

Title: When You Trap a Tiger Author: Tae Keller Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Release Date: January 28, 2020

Lily’s grandmother, her halmoni, is gravely ill. When Lily’s mother moves the family back to Sunbeam, Washington to live with Halmoni, the reality of her grandmother’s illness thrusts Lily into the magical world of Korean folklore. Once a world of love, laughter, and fond memories, Lily finds herself facing off with a magical tiger in an attempt to appease the creature and save her grandmother. As Halmoni’s condition worsens, Lily’s desperation leads her farther into the magical realm of Korean folklore, helping her navigate through her feelings of grief and helplessness along the way. Ultimately, Lily’s discoveries, including a new friend and finding the depth of her own courage, bring peace and healing in unexpected, magical ways.

Tae Keller’s When You Trap a Tiger is a poignant look at Lily’s struggles: grieving over Halmoni’s illness, accepting her changed relationship with her sister, and finding her own voice and courage through the stories she experiences and eventually creates. It is a complex time in Lily’s life, and the narrative reflects this complexity as the magical world created in the novel enmeshes itself with the grounded reality depicted in the novel. At times, these dueling narrative threads can confuse readers as to which world they are in – the magical or the real. While this narrative choice may accurately reflect the confusion Lily faces during this difficult time, it occasionally detracts from the other literary elements that bring Lily’s story to life. Keller creates dynamic characters that will stay with readers long after they finish the novel, a significant accomplishment. The author skillfully develops these characters in subtle ways that create intrigue and investment so much so that many readers will be left with a yearning to learn more about them, and in particular, Halmoni.

When You Trap a Tiger will have many fans, especially those of magical realism. Readers can easily get lost in Lily’s tales but will need to do plenty of rereading to parse out the novel’s complexities. The book would be a fantastic addition to middle grades classrooms implementing literature circles with novels that incorporate folktales. However, other class applications are fairly limited. Still, it is another diverse voice to add to the collection of #ownvoices literature for our young people.

Classroom Applications

• Cross-Curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of the history of Korea or a study of Korean folktales.
• Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of books that include folktales from around the world.
• Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading novels that incorporate folktales.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• History of Korean Peninsula
• Emigration from Korea to the U.S.
• Korean folktales

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with When You Trap a Tiger. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• The Story That Cannot Be Told by J. Kasper Kramer (Character Connections, Themes, Plot Structure)
• Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (Character Connections, Themes, Plot Structure)
• Hello, Universe or Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly (Themes, Plot Structure)
• Charlie Hernández and the League of Shadows by Ryan Calejo (Character Connections, Themes, Plot Structure)

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*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.