Confessions of a Closet Catholic

Confessions of a Closet Catholic was a very interesting novel that brought different things to my mind as I read it. Throughout the book it was interesting to see how Justine dealt with trying to figure out who she was and who she wanted to be as an individual. As I was reading, it reminded me of the previous book we read, Project Mulberry. Both of the main characters are trying to figure out who they are, as well as accepting who they are within their family. They both question following their families in their beliefs or overall history. Julia in Project Mulberry had to deal with her familys' "wierdness" with the traditional things that they did, such as the food that she did not like. Justine has to deal with her being Jewish and everything that comes with, which makes her rethink her beliefs in the story. Both characters, at least initially, would trade places with their best friends because they feel that their families are more "normal." The question of identity is a huge issue for young people of this age, and seeing it from two different angles in these two books is interesting. One involves her families overall heritage and history while the other deals with their religion. Both characters learn throughout the book the positives of their respective traditions and realize how lucky they are to be in the situations they are in. Overall, Confessions is a good book that deals with a sensitive issue, and through the main character's learning the reader can learn as well.

Becoming Naomi Leon

Reading this book made me very angry, mainly because of how irrational Skyla was being throughout the entire novel. I really do not have any connections with this book involving my own life, except for how Skyla treats Owen, but it just makes me angry at how she acts and treats everyone. The fact that she feels like she has a right to come back and then, one month later, take her child away and move to Las Vegas is just rediculous to me. It bothers me even more that situations like this have actually happened to children and that they have had to deal with. Naomi and Owen are obviously in much better care with there great grandmother, not to mention all of the support that they have in the community around them. I really hope to never witness someone being as selfish as Skyla is in this book.
The treatment of Owen is also something that really bothers because I compare it to how children with special needs may be treated. Owen is obviously a bright student, but Skyla can not see all that is within him. She defines who he is only by his physical limitations. I have seen this when I was in grade school with students with special needs. People need to get to know the person before judging them and who they are. I upsets me when someone makes a small comment in the wrong way about a person with special needs. The way that Skyla so blatantly dislikes Owen because of his physical appearance is just horrendous. This book brings up good points in many different ways, and it obviously got to my emotions as I read the story because of how I felt when I read how Skyla acted.

Asian-Pacific American Award

Asian/Pacific American Award Purpose: The goal of the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature (APAAL) is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/ Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.Selection Criteria:
Works eligible must have had premier publication during the calendar years from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007, and must have been published for general commercial release in the U.S.
Award categories are:
Adult (fiction and nonfiction)
Young Readers fiction and nonfiction – for text
Young Readers fiction and nonfiction - for illustrations-->
Works must be related to Asian/Pacific Heritage, not necessarily written by or illustrated by an Asian/Pacific American. The individual must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Works must have been published by a large publishing house, trade or small press/publisher located in the United States or one of its territories. Self-published works and exclusive internet publications are not eligible.
-->Anthologies or books containing the work of more than one author are not eligible.
-->Works must be originally written in English.
--> Works that have previously won other prizes or recognition are eligible.
--> If no books are found to meet the selection criteria, no award will be given. Sponsor: Asian/ Pacific American Librarians AssociationSelection Committee qualifications: Members of the APALA. Membership is open to all librarians/ information specialists of Asain/ Pacific decent working in U.S. library/ information centers and related institutions/organizations, and to others who support the goals and purpose of the APALA.Book Examples:2005 Award Winners:The Firekeeper's Son by Linda Sue ParkKira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata2006 Award Winners:Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen HeadleyThe Year of the Dog by Grace LinHonorable MentionProject Mulberry by Linda Sue ParkSources:www.apalaweb.org

The Insider-Outsider Issue

After reading the articles for this week, I find myself more confused than I was before I read. Each author makes good points, even though at times it seems like an ongoing argument that kind of annoyed me. When I really think about, I believe a few things about the insider-outsider debate. Shannon questions that because he is a "privelged, white male," does that exclude him from the debate of multiculturalism? Sims Bishop responds by saying, "I think it puts him at the center of the storm." I agree with this statement by Sims Bishop because white people, at least in the past, have not always been the most accepting people when it comes to those different than them, and I think that this definitely relates to multicultural literature. An example of this is our discussion last week involving sports teams named after Indians and how disrespected they feel from most of our interpretations. I think that we need to make sure that whoever is reading a book is doing so open-mindedly and not believing every word that is written as fact. That said, I do think that outsiders can write a story on another culture. Of course, they have to be careful what they write about and, in my opinion, they must do more than adequate research to make sure they are not including false information. If they can do this than I believe they can write a piece of literature that can be very successful. At the same time, insiders may produce a more in-depth story or novel, again because they have more experience or "research." There may be small aspects of a culture than an outsider will just not understand and those small points may alone may make a more in-depth and interesting book. However, being an insider does not automatically qualify you to write a book on your own culture. They can easily make some of the same mistakes that an outsider can make if they are not informed enough. Overall, I am still a little confused on the issue as I try to take a more definite position, but at least for now I believe that an outsider, as long as they are "qualified," can write about another culture just as an insider can.

Who I am

My name is Ryan Guimont and I am a student at Michigan State University in the College of Education. My two majors are special education with learning disabilities and English. I am interested in diverse literature because as a teacher, you never know what range of students you will have. Therefore, you must be prepared for anything and everything, and that includes literature. Making sure that there are books in the classroom that any child can relate to personally is extremely important for many reasons. There really isn't any one question that I have for this course, I would just like to increase my knowledge of which books will be helpful in the classroom and which books I should not include in my classroom library.