Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers is a picture book about the Statue of Liberty, particularly her right foot. This story takes the reader from the Statue of Liberty’s origins in Paris to her journey across the sea to America. Eggers describes the laborious process of transporting the huge statue, putting her together again, the oxidation of her color from copper to blue, and the meanings of her different details and parts. The story builds up with this background knowledge, emphasizing her origins and her dedication to liberty to make the point that freedom is moving (as evidenced by her right foot lifted off the ground). She is welcoming everyone to the US by greeting them first in the sea. Eggers states that freedom is active, and the Statue of Liberty is active by welcoming huge numbers of people every year, because after all, she is an immigrant too.
The illustrations of this text are beautiful and very descriptive. Each horizontal page clearly corresponds to the words and gives greater meaning to the story by adding more opportunities for understanding through visual images. By drawing diverse characters, the illustrator furthers the point of diversity and acceptance in relation to the issue of immigration, as evidenced in the picture below. This is one of those books that children could read on their own and still be entertained by without knowing what the words say. The pictures give curiosity to the words, as in wanting to know what they say to explain the story. Her Right Foot is also a wonderful book to read aloud and discuss with a class, as the colorful illustrations are engaging and attention grabbing. The story is a little rambling, backtracking on itself at times but the line of thought is easy enough to follow. The theme of this book is obviously freedom and acceptance, taking an inclusive and empathetic attitude specifically towards newcomers in our country. The author makes the point of showing that the very symbol of our country, the Statue of Liberty, is herself an immigrant, as most of us are. Instead of judging those who we are unfamiliar with, we should look back at our own origins and realize that we are not so different. The following picture is one of America, extremely diverse in age, culture, race, religion, etc., but all pledging allegiance to the same country and ideals.
I really liked this book. I liked the background and history and the care and time the author took to make his point. Not only is this book educational, it is inspirational and a good lesson and reminder to everyone. I have actually never seen the Statue of Liberty (or New York City) in person, so I have not had the opportunity to look at her feet. I have recently been to Paris though, and it was cool to see a place I had just visited be represented in this book. This book was a really good lesson in this day and age and political climate. Instead of taking a political stance, this book is trying to teach empathy, kindness, humility, and respect for others who are different from us. I cannot imagine through whatever circumstance, moving to the United States and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time, finally feeling safe and free, only to be met with hostility and indifference from her people. I also loved the cartoonish characters/drawings and the old-timey yet modern feel this book had. My favorite part was reading the poem that is inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty, as I didn’t even know it existed before. A side effect of reading this book is pride, pride in our country and the ideals that it was founded on, and how we personally can continue to embody the American spirit of liberty.
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate is about a tree, his life, and the life around him. The tree, named Red, reveals that he can talk, but it is the number one rule not to talk to humans. Red discusses his origins, and the fact that he is a wish tree, one on which people tie their wishes to each May. Red is also a home to many animals and creatures; he has lived a long life and seen many people come and go from the neighborhood he lives in. When a new family and girl move in, Samar, he also sees her struggle for acceptance and making friends. He sees the discrimination and hateful act one person does by carving “LEAVE” on his trunk. In light of his imminent demise (getting chopped down), he decides to act by talking to Samar and her neighbor Stephen in the effort to make them friends. He tells the story of how he became a wish tree, from an Irish immigrant whose descendant currently lives in the neighborhood. Ultimately, Red is not cut down and is allowed to remain a wish tree. The people in the community come together wishing for Samar and her family to stay, which they do. Samar and Stephen become friends but not everyone changes their attitudes.
Red is the insider, the one who sees everything, who is comfortable where he is. I think this character is relevant to many Americans and their children, whose families go back many generations in this country. We see the headlines and people who are different walking the street. We hear their struggles, and yet many times do nothing because it doesn’t affect us. Red too struggles with the decision to act, as many of us do. We think, “What can I do? I can’t really make a difference,”. Katherine Applegate uses very potent imagery of Red and his memories; the book seems to flow in and outside of time. She uses flashbacks to round out the story through the personification of Red. It is very peaceful and soothing yet gripping in its plot. She also incorporates science lessons into the book, specifically facts about trees and other animals. I think the message and theme of this book is acceptance, specifically of immigrants. The actual dedication in this book is for the newcomers and welcomers. America is a nation of immigrants, a melting pot, so this is an important lesson for children in our country to learn. A reminder of where we all come from is also evident in this book through Red’s story of Maeve, the Irish immigrant who made him a wishing tree. Kindness and reaching out to those who are struggling are additional lessons conveyed through Red’s present and past stories and relationship with Samar. Immigration is a hot topic today, especially with the current president. Wishtree does not take a political stance but rather puts the reader at an observational viewpoint. This book is trying to teach empathy, putting yourself in another’s shoes.
I really enjoyed this book. When first reading it, I got the same feeling as when watching a Tinker Bell movie, that you are about to go on a magical, mysterious adventure. I really liked the color scheme too; the dark blues and illustrations of the animals made it seem soothing, calm, and slightly magical. The story took a while to build but was funny at times with Red’s bad jokes, endless wisdom, and the animal babies. The names of the animals were especially amusing. The lesson of multiple perspectives in this book is emphasized many times over, making it explicit to children. Additionally, one of my favorite quotes from this book was, “It is a great gift indeed to love who you are” (Applegate, 2017, p. 41). This is equally important for children to learn, especially our middle school and high school readers as they find out who they are. Not only loving the way you look and your personality, but also your nationality, religion, etc. The story of Maeve and Francesca was heartwarming and my favorite part. Francesca reading her great-grandmother’s diary was an important reminder to us all to look at ourselves and our own history before we judge someone, essentially to remember where we came from. In respect to that, the comparison of the people in the neighborhood to a messy garden was a wonderful simile and very accurate. At the end of the book when all of the elementary children and adults tied their wishes “STAY” to Red, it almost brought me to tears. Perhaps the thing I liked most about this book was that even though it is a children’s book, it was realistic. At the end of the story most things did work out, but not everyone changed their attitudes towards Samar’s family. This was not a bright shiny rainbow book where everything is wonderful and the characters live happily ever after. Some people change in this world and some don’t; that’s okay because we have to focus on the good and hope for more.
My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald and Freya Blackwood is about a young Sudanese girl immigrating to Australia because of the war in her country. She enters in to a completely new world where she feels distinctly that she does not belong. She especially has trouble with English, as she does not understand the language. One day she makes a new friend who helps teach her English and adjust to her new world. She begins to take on another identity, one created in her foreign country, and eventually she embraces both of her cultures.
The illustrations in this book are striking in that the illustrator uses color to emphasize the contrast between Cartwheel, the immigrant, and her new country. Cartwheel and her Auntie are painted in vibrant oranges, while their surroundings are cool colors. The other very distinct illustrations in this book are the uses of pictures to symbolize foreign words and the two blankets to symbolize two different cultures. The artist uses objects to symbolize words in their barrage against Cartwheel, “a waterfall of strange sounds,” (Kobald & Blackwood, 2014). The blankets in their orange and blue colors also symbolize the different cultures, featuring objects from the different cultures on the blankets such as antelope and sailboats. The illustrations give life to the text, using color and shapes to emphasize the author’s words. They also provide many opportunities to discuss with students what they see and what the colors mean to them, as in the article, “Nobody Spoke Like I Did” by Jon Callow. Again, another wonderful book to read to students with engaging illustrations and a horizontal layout. The author allows the reader to infer that the blankets are in fact cultures, a safe place, and that the objects are foreign words. The theme of this book is immigration, entering into a foreign place and culture and learning to adapt (with the help of kind friends). Irena Kobald actually wrote this book in response to a friendship developed between her daughter and a Sudanese child. She is also multilingual and an immigrant herself and teaches aboriginal children in Australia.
I found this book very interesting, especially the artwork and use of symbolism through the objects and blankets. It took me a minute to understand the symbolism behind the two, and I suspect when reading this book you would have to explicitly tell your students that too. I think the book also does a good job of bringing the reader into Cartwheel’s emotions and feelings of not belonging. I think too My Two Blankets emphasizes the power of a friend well, one who is open and kind. I think many children would benefit from reading this book, as almost every classroom has a student who is an immigrant.
In regard to the classroom, all of these books are useful tools in teaching and discussing specific issues such as immigration and themes like diversity and acceptance. A good discussion and example of this is shown in the article, “WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom” (Edwards). This article exhibits many different ways of teaching students abstract principles, such as acceptance, and taking a multiple perspectives stance when looking at literature through art and music. There are so many different activities you could do with each book, from research on the Statue of Liberty and how many people she welcomes each year to facts about trees to having each student create their own cultural blanket. These activities would be a part of the bigger discussion and ongoing theme of diversity in the classroom.
The connections between each of these books are explicit, as each discusses acceptance and immigration from a different perspective. Her Right Foot begins the discussion by reminding students about America’s past and present through the iconic Statue of Liberty. Wishtree brings a more personal, objective view in the form of Red and what he sees. My Two Blankets is the only one that tells a story in first person. Each book gradually becomes more personal and intuitive. The Statue of Liberty and Red especially parallel each other in that they are both homes and refuges to many different people. In Wishtree it states that never has Red sheltered so many creatures before, and the same is true for America: never have we been home to so many immigrants. Immigration is an important, potentially emotional discussion that teachers need to have with their students. It doesn’t help kids to ignore what is happening in the world, but rather bring it into the classroom in a somewhat neutral way through literature, and further encourage the ideals of acceptance, diversity, and kindness to your fellow man.
References:
Applegate, K. (2017). Wishtree. New York, NY: Feiwel and Friends.
Callow, J. (2017). “Nobody Spoke Like I Did”: Picture Books, Critical Literacy, and Global Contexts. The Reading Teacher, 71(2), 231-237.
Edwards, A. (n.d.). WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom • Page 15 of 22 • Worlds of Words. Retrieved from https://wowlit.org/on-line-publications/stories/storiesi2/15/.
Eggers, D. (2017). Her Right Foot. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
Kobald, I., & Blackwood, F. (2014). My Two Blankets. Australia: Little Hare Books.
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