Basic Needs

This week I read the novel Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate and Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Peña.

In reading Crenshaw, I was strongly reminded of Wishtree. Though the story lines were different, I could clearly see the author’s style in both books. First of all, the coloring of both books are cool tones, and giving the feeling of dusk and mystery. Both books also promoted subtle social justice themes; Wishtree was about diversity, tolerance, and refugees and Crenshaw explored basic needs security, specifically hunger. Both books are named after the primary mythical figure in the stories and both have an element of magic to them-a talking, thinking tree (along with talking animals) versus a real-life imaginary friend. The difference between the two books is that the speaker in Crenshaw is the child experiencing hardship, rather than voicing the book in Crenshaw the cat’s perspective. What I like about both books is the subtlety of the themes; tolerance and hunger are not the main focus, which gives kids room to think about these big issues. Crenshaw the cat is Jackson’s imaginary friend that appears when his life is especially hard, whether it was living in his car, getting evicted from his apartment, or not having enough to eat. Jackson is a very factual boy who likes to know the truth, so he understandably thinks he is going insane when Crenshaw won’t go away. To draw more parallels between Applegate’s work would include the scientific facts that she sprinkles throughout both books; in Crenshaw we learn about cat facts and the scientific process. She also ends both books in a similar way-the story doesn’t have a happy ending, rather it is a real-life ending where some things turn out okay and others are still a work in progress. Because of this realism I was a fan of her work from my first reading of Wishtree. This story was an easy read, but as a teacher, a little heartbreaking in hearing Jackson’s matter-of-fact account of how his basic needs were not being met. He was from a typical family, and his parents both loved him and his sister so much, but they struggled to provide. The part in the story where his dad begged for money on the side of the highway really got me. I am not a parent, but I couldn’t imagine the sacrifice and humility that took. And I know that this is a real issue that I see every day. I think there is also a lot of stigma about homeless people, that they are free-loaders, lazy, and addicts. While some of that is true, for the majority of people that are not, they don’t receive the help they need because of that stigma. I see people begging at stoplights every day, and as a new teacher, I’ve had many students that come to class hungry, don’t have clean clothes or even a change of clothes, or just came from a homeless shelter. I’ve seen many kids move around schools and counties as their parents move from shelter to shelter. And it’s heartbreaking every time. Putting aside your beliefs and opinions about the parents (who are most of the time just trying to do the best they can), these kids are caught in the middle. I can’t imagine the insecurity of not knowing where you are going to sleep at night, when your next meal will be, and trying to fit in with everyone else who knows nothing about your real-life problems. I read somewhere that teachers spend up to $30 per month just on food for their students, and I know that to be true. I mean, how could you not? As a teacher, it’s not only about having your students being well-fed so that they can focus on your lesson, it’s because you care for them and they are just children. How could you not spend that money, even when things are tight yourself, to help these kids? This also highlights the role of the schools in helping hungry children by providing free breakfast and lunch. I know in our county that children that qualified would receive a bag of food every week to get them through the weekend. They discontinued that program, but teachers and schools still kept giving bags of food because it was hard not to. Another strong theme throughout this book is the concept of truth. Jackson likes facts, and Crenshaw’s purpose is to make Jackson admit the truth to himself and others. The author makes a statement that people don’t always like to hear the truth, which is so true, especially in regard to hard things like homelessness and hunger. It’s hard as a privileged person to look in the face of someone who is starving or dirty or desperate. Not only because of the emotion that it evokes but also the feeling of helplessness and overall despair at the unfairness of life. I think this is what many of these books are trying to do, to make people look at others, really look in their faces and see another human being. It is hard to look away after that and still not offer a helping hand. This is part of the reason why many teachers do what they do, because they look in the faces of children every day and see their hope, future, and potential. Another theme of this book would be addressing children who are going through adult problems in an adult fashion. Jackson is frustrated by his parent’s apparent lightheartedness at their situation-he only wants to be told the truth and treated like an adult. His parents are trying to not discuss their problems with their kids because they don’t want to overburden them. It is a balance that is hard to execute, but Jackson does have a good point that you can’t just act like everything is okay when it is not. That doesn’t help the situation but can rather exacerbate it. Although humor is good and can also help one get through tough times, many times you have to make a choice whether to laugh or cry and laughing feels better. Crenshaw also puts in perspective petty crimes like shoplifting. Is it really bad to steal two jars of baby food for your sister? A dog treat for your dog? Morality is addressed and interwoven across both books. The one thing I do wish this book had was resources for teachers to share with their students about food insecurity and homelessness, but overall it is a very worthwhile read.

Last Stop on Market Street was beautiful, simply put. The artwork and the words work together to make a real thing of beauty. This book is all about positivity in the face of ugliness, which is certainly inspiring and uplifting. CJ and his nana are heading on the bus to the soup kitchen, and CJ finds many things to complain about while his nana turns all of those things into positive thoughts and ideas. This book does a wonderful job at highlighting the issues and problems in our society related to hunger and poverty while also putting a bright outlook on those issues too. The article “A Ride with Nana and CJ: Engagement, Appreciation, and Social Action” by Rudine Sims Bishop discusses the cultural, social, thematic, literary, and overall textual aspects of this book. For example, the author uses vibrant verbs to enhance the story like “creaked” and “sagged”. CJ’s nana teaches him to look for the beauty in everyone and everything, no matter what their appearance or what society already says about them. This book tackles almost every kind of diversity too, including people with disabilities. My favorite quote, and Rudine Sims Bishop’s too, is, “Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, CJ, you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful”. I think that sums up the message of this book succinctly. I didn’t realize that CJ and his nana were actually serving at the soup kitchen instead of eating there until I read Bishop’s article, because apparently, I didn’t pay enough attention to the illustrations. One issue I had with the book before I read Matt de la Peña’s Newbery medal acceptance speech was the language. CJ and his grandmother do not speak in “school” language, that is what is considered professional and grammatically correct in traditional English. That fact alone didn’t bother me; what did was taking De la Peña’s heritage in mind and judging how he could accurately write from a traditionally African American’s perspective and dialogue. After reading his speech and learning more about his background, I found out that he grew up in an environment where he would understand that dialogue and context. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his speech and hearing his heart behind this specific book. This book (and Crenshaw) would be wonderful to read aloud to students and discuss in multiple ways the different themes that arise and how they apply to student’s life. I also think that going deeper on this topic would be really valuable, like researching food insecurity in America in general and then in your own school. Personally, I love the idea of taking a field trip to a food pantry or soup kitchen and having your students volunteer. There are certain things that you cannot fully learn about in a classroom setting.