Coughlin Corner - LIS 721

 Poetry Yes! We Are Latinos: Poems and Prose About the Latino Experience Ada, Alma Flor. & Campoy, Isabel F. Yes! We Are Latinos: Poems and Prose About the Latino Experience . illus. by David Diaz. 96p. 2016. Tr. $8.99. ISBN 9781580895491. With their collection of poems, Alma Flor Ada and Isabel F. Campoy give an inside look into the lives of the over 50 million Latinos and Latinas that make up the United States. To make their vignettes more authentic, and to avoid employing stereotypes, Alma and Campoy worked with countless Latinx writers, storytellers, and community members and leaders to include poems and prose that represented a wide range of backgrounds under the Latinx umbrella. The poems are arranged in a chapter-like format, with a table of contents that differentiates each poem based on the name of its fictional subject and the specific culture they represent. For example, the book contains poems such as: "My Name Is Juanita," the story of a Mexican American scho...

  Traditional Literature Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection Dembicki, Matt. Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection. 232p. 2010. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 9781555917241. Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection edited by Matt Demicki continues the long kept tradition of sharing Native American stories. Specifically, Demicki's goal is to expose a new generation of readers to Trickster Tales. As explained in the opening remarks, Trickster Tales have been told in one form or another across Native American tribes for centuries. These tales teach listeners, or this case readers, important life lessons and morals at the expense of the misguided and/or bold trickster creature. As stated in the introduction, "Quite simply, it's because we needed them in the past, and, in a world filled with new lessons to learn, we need them even more today" (Bruchac, pg.5). When introducing each tale, Demicki makes sure to give credit the author and il...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Martin Jr., Bill & Archambault, John.  Chicka Chicka Boom Boom . illus. by Lois Ehlert. 36p. 1989. Tr. $7.99. ISBN 9781442450707  This alphabet board book introduces emerging readers to lower case and uppercase letters in a fun and colorful manner. The authors’ use of rhyme and repetition is sure to engage the reader as they can familiarize themself with the pattern of events, as more letters climb up the coconut tree and ask, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, will there be enough room?” Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Martin Jr., Bill & Carle, Eric. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? . illus. by Eric Carle. 24p. 1992. Tr. $8.99. ISBN 9780805047905. This classic concept board book exposes emerging readers to animals and colors through Eric Carle's pairing of vibrant colors to common animals. Bill Martin Jr.'s repetition of the lines "What do you see?" and "I see a ... looking at me." gives the reader a pattern that they...

 Picture Books The Undefeated Alexander, Kwame.  The Undefeated . illus. by Kadir Nelson. 40p. 2019. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 9781328780966.  This powerful poem shares the story of B lack figures throughout American history who made their mark on this country despite the oppressive forces working against them. Kwame Alexander uses repetition throughout his poem, primarily the line: “This is for the...” By repeating this line , Alexander is able to connect the subjects of his poem that are differentiated based on their successes, contributions, and places throughout history.   Kadir Nelson’s simple, yet powerful illustrations perfectly accompany the text by giving life to the poem’s subjects without overshadowing the words on the page. The illustrations also give an additional weight to Alexander’s words, especially as the line : “This is for the unspeakable.” is repeated across three pages towards the end of the poem. In this sense, the illustrations perfectly ref...