Latino/Hispanic Literature

The State of Latino Literature• There are fewer children’s books about Latinos than

there are books about either African Americans or Native Americans

• Multicultural literature makes up about 10% of the total number of books

• Of books from Henry Holt and Company published in 2004… 61 were on Latino themes/topics, 37 were created by Latino authors and/or artists

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• Latino-oriented books tend to go out of print faster than do books oriented toward other large cultures

• The percentage of books from the 1991 text that were no longer in print in 1995: – 14% of African American – 25% of Asian American – 35% of Native American – Over 50% of Latino books

Norton Chapter 43Benedictine University

The State of Latino Literature

Analyzing Literature

EDUC 553

Key Questions to Ask When Analyzing

Literature Authors and AudiencesAuthorship:

Who made this message?Purpose:

Why was this made?Economics:

Who paid for this?Impact:

Who might benefit from this message? Who might be harmed? Why might this message matter to me?

Response: What kinds of actions might I take in response to this message?

Alliance for a Media Literate America5

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Messages and Meanings• Content: What is this about?

– What ideas, values, information and point of view are overt? Implied? What is left out of this message that is important to know?

• Techniques: What techniques are used?– Why were those techniques used? How do they

communicate the message?• Interpretations: How might different people

understand this message differently? – What do I learn about myself from my reaction

or interpretation?Alliance for a Media Literate America

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Key Questions to Ask When Analyzing

Literature

Representations and Reality• Context: When was this made?

– Where or how was it shared with the public?• Credibility: Is this fact, opinion, or something else?

– How credible is this (and what makes you think that)? – What are the sources of the information, ideas,

or assertions?

Alliance for a Media Literate America7Benedictine University

Key Questions to Ask When Analyzing

Literature

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La Mariposa by Francisco Jiménez

• Held back in school because he did not speak English well enough, the author speaks of himself in the third-person to tell this autobiographical story of a school incident

• Francisco is a young immigrant boy from Mexico trying to adjust to first grade in the US. Unlike the other children, Francisco wears suspenders, does not understand school bells, and can't comprehend a word his teacher is saying

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The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez

• A moving autobiography that some critics have compared to John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. The story is series of stories of the family's unending migration from one farm to another as they search for the next harvesting job. Each story is told from the point of view of the author as a young child

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Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez

• At the age of 14, Francisco and his family are caught by la migra (immigration officers) and forced to leave their California home, but soon find their way back. The author explores the prejudice and challenges they face while also relaying universal adolescent experiences of school, dances and romances

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What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau

• Out of the blue, 14-year-old Clara Luna receives a letter from her grandparents inviting her to spend the summer with them in Mexico. She has never met her father’s parents and he has not seen them since he left his homeland more than 20 years ago. Wary of visiting people she doesn’t know and yet frustrated and restless with her life at home, Clara embarks on the two-day journey to the remote village of Yucuyoo

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The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

• Field work, or any menial tasks, are done by "eejits," humans in whose brains computer chips have been installed to insure docility. Alacran, or El Patron, has lived 140 years with the help of transplants from a series of clones, a common practice among rich men in this world

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Bandit’s Moon by Sid Fleischman

• An exciting novel set in the days of the California Gold Rush. After young Annyrose breaks her ankle, she is left with the evil O. O. Mary by her brother, who continues to make his fortune in the mines. She is saved from this horrible fate by the Mexican bandit Joaquin Murieta, who has come for revenge against the people who murdered his family and stole his land

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References• worldroom.tamu.edu/...12LatinAmerica07/Media

%20Literacy/Media%20Literacy%20Srividya%20Ramasubramanian.ppt by Dr. Srividya Ramasubramanian, Department of Communication, Texas A&M University

• www.coe.uga.edu/.../Latino%20Education%20in%20Georgia%20presentation.ppt

• http://leadingbusinessservices.com/Documents/HISPANIC%20ADV%20SOLUTIONS2.ppt#280,6,Hispanics Population will Double

• http://www.coe.uga.edu/clase/pastevents/Family%20Engagement%20of%20Latino%20Parents-10-05.ppt#256,1, A New Vision for Engaging Latino Families in Schools

• Norton Chapter 415

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