"no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark"
-Warsan Shire
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
This book tells the story of Yuyi Morales and her two month old son's journey to the United States and how they found solace from the new, overwhelming place in a public library. They became obsessed with books, which inspired Morales to begin writing her own books. She emerged from humble beginnings of creating her own books bound by ribbon to winning many prestigious awards such as the Pura Belpré Award. This is a powerful #ownvoices story that could provide students with a mirror, window, or sliding glass door into the perspective of an immigrant's story.
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As I read this book, my high school Spanish did not get me through. I had to translate a few words such as caminantes, lucha, and soñadores. I found this use of language so powerful, it gave me as the reader a small insight to what it feels like not to understand the words being used around you. I recalled traveling to the Dominican Republic in high school and feeling so lost. Everyone expected me to understand them and would talk louder when speaking to me as if that would make it easier for me to understand. Not being able to communicate with those around you is unexplainably hard, but Morales does a beautiful job of explaining her journey. I was only in the Dominican Republic for a week and knew that I would return home. Morales and her young son had to adapt to their new home. As they are leaving their home country in the beginning of the book and crossing the bridge, there is a sign that reads "adiós corazón" which means "goodbye my heart". Immigration is never easy, they were leaving behind the familiarity of everything they loved.
"Someday we will become something we haven't even yet imagined. But right now...We are stories. We are two languages. We are lucha. We are resilience. We are hope. We are dreamers, soñadores of the world." -Yuyi Morales (Dreamers)
Reading opened up a whole new world to Morales and her son. They spent hours in the public library taking in different stories. In the back of Dreamers she shares the titles of many books that inspired her and her own personal story. It is so important that Morales's story of immigration be shared with students who are read this book along with showing a video. This allows the author to become real, as well as their story.
Teaching Implications
Dreamers is a book that could be used to teach students themes about bravery, immigration, change, bilingualism, and the power of reading. In my own classroom, I would like to use this book to spark a discussion about what it might be like to go somewhere new and uncomfortable,"how does that make you feel?" Students may discuss feeling scared or wanting to go home. This could lead to a deeper discussion about immigration and how those people must feel leaving their home, coming to a place that is completely new, and often not being able to speak the same language as those around them.
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It is important to share about the author of any book that you read to your students, but especially this one because it highlights the events of Morales's own life and the impact that immigration had on it.
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A Crack in the Sea by H.M Bouwman
A Crack in the Sea is a mix between historical fiction and fantasy and follows the stories of three sets of siblings on their adventures through time and alternate worlds. Each story has a commonality of slavery, forced migration, and loss from war. The second world is an escape for the characters, but never somewhere that they choose to go. Leaving your home is never easy. Bouwman uses fantasy throughout the book to expand on real historical events based around the Zong massacre. In the afterword she writes, "So why did I write this story as I did? Because I believe that stories can show us many things, including how bad things can get; and sometimes stories can show us how things could be better than they are right now...The truth is, we do live in a world where these things are possible. We simply have to choose to make them happen. And sometimes, I think--I hope--a book can help us see that, and have courage, and take action." Although this book may seem to be filled with so much magic that there could be no truth, it serves the purpose of valuing history through unlikely connected stories. The author clearly did extensive research prior to writing this story and the book could be used to teach students about the impact treating people as if they are not human had and has on our world. This book is an important statement about slavery, sacrifice, self-discovery, siblings, and bravery.
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Each character had a unique and dynamic story, but my favorite was Pip. He had pure intentions throughout the book, but had to learn to accept himself for who he was and how to use his gift for the common good. He did so throughout his time on raftworld, where he was free to make his own decisions and learn to accept and trust himself. His choices were reflective of what a good community thrives on: everyone's voices being heard and valued. Once all the stories come together, Pip says," I'm sorry he thought toward Thanh. I wish it could be different. I wish people never got split up and no one ever had to leave each other." Throughout the book, a common theme of being parentless stands out. Family separation is inevitable in immigration, slavery, and refugees. All of the characters had experienced great loss, representative of what people go through everyday in search of a better, more safe life. Often I have thought that the refugees who make it to America are so lucky, but I never considered the great loss they had traded in for their safety. Warsan Shire's poem was so eye opening to me, people do not just leave their homes. It is not ever an easy choice, sometimes it is not a choice at all. Bouwman writes, "And slavery still exists in other places in our world. Meanwhile, people the world over are forced to leave their homes by war and by persecution and by natural disaster; and sometimes they arrive at a new home only to find they are unwelcome." A Crack in the Sea humanizes the people going through these struggles and allows the reader to feel empathy toward these people. Just as raftworld, our country can only hold so many people, but how can we turn people who's homes are the mouths of a shark away? We can't. There has to be a way to help, find courage as Pip, Kinchen, Thahn, Mai, Sang, Venus, and Swimmer did.
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Teaching Implications
This book is filled with history and so many literary devices important for students to grapple with. In my classroom, this book would be taught for historical and impactful purposes, but used to develop comprehension. While engaging, this story is confusing at times and would serve as a gateway for students to practice organizing their thoughts. Students could use graphic organizers to keep up with time periods, historical events, and characters. Students would be able to look at this book with a critical lens and explore the way different races and cultures were tied into the story. Students could work collaboratively to decide alternate fates for characters within the book, or continue the stories of those who were not explicitly told about.