Creative Dialogue Final Maria Reyes

8/3/2019 Creative Dialogue Final Maria Reyes

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EDRL 402

Childrens Literature in Education

Final Paper

Maria Reyes

School of Education

Nevada State College

Dr. Kevin Graziano

January 2012


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Introduction

Ihave always been someone who loves to read. To me reading can be a great form of

relaxation and entertainment. One thing I never really realized until this class is that reading is

also a process that has many steps or phases. Through Creative Dialogue the readers go

through 4 phases were we learn about the book, apply the books to our own personal

experiences, analyze the problems presented in each story and finally we try to make a

difference through what we learned in each books story.

Descriptive Phase

This past two weeks I took 4 children books written by a Lationo/a authors through the creative

dialogue phases. The 4 books I read were The harvest birds = Los pjaros de la cosecha

Author Blanca Lpez de Mariscal, Friends from the other side = Amigos del otro lado

Author Gloria Anzalda, Calling the doves = El canto de las palomas Author Juan Felipe

Herrera, El Perro invisible Author Sergio Ramirez. All this books had topics that concern

many Latinos like not giving up one ones dreams and goals, growing up in the Latino culture,

accepting people that are different from each other and finally accepting ourselves for who we

are. In this first phase of the creative dialogue we learn about the who, what, where, when and

why of each book. These are my 4 summaries

The Harvest Birds

Juan Zanate only has one dream which is to be a farmer like his grandfather and father was but

he has one problem he has no land to farm. Since he has no land to farm he works for some of

the people in the town. One day as he was sitting under a tree surrounded by his friend the


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Harvest Birds (Zanates) he decides he will ask the richest man in town, Don Tobias, to borrow a

small piece of land so he can farm. When he goes visits Don Tobias him and his wife laugh at

poor Juan they dont believe in him or his dream. Juan goes back to his tree to think he comes

up with the idea of asking Grandpa Cheto for help the elder in the village since older people

know more about life since they have lived longer. Grandpa Cheto agrees to let him borrow a

small piece of land with the condition that if failed as a farmer he would work for him for free for

however many days he used his land. Juan was so excited about the news that he went around

town telling everybody, but no one believed in him and all they did was laugh at him and tell him

he would fail as a farmer. Full of excitement and hope and the help of his friends the Harvest

birds Juan farmed his small piece of land. Then when Juans crop started to grow, and little

weeds also the Zanates told Juan to leave the weeds and plant them around the little plot of

land. When harvest time came everybody in town was ready to see the fail Juans farming was

and make fun of him, but Juan had a surprise for them. His harvest was a success he grew big

and beautiful corn squash and beans. Everyone wanted to know what Juan had done to have

such a great crop. Grandpa Cheto was so proud of Juan that he gave him the small piece of

land. After Juan and Grandpa Cheto had sold the crops Grandpa Cheto asked him what was his

secret and Juan told him that the Zanates told him that all plants are like brothers and sisters, if

you separate them they will get sad and not grow but if you leave them together they be content

and grow happily.

Friends from the Other Side

Prietita lives in a border town between the U.S and Mexico, one day while she is sitting on top a

tree a little Mexican boy Joaquin appears at her gate trying to sell some wood to her and her

family. He is very small and shy and he is wearing an old long sleeve shirt which Prietita finds


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odd since it is so hot, she then notices he has many cuts along his arms, she decides she will

take him to the herb lady so she can cure him later. After Joaquin leaves her gate he is attacked

by her cousin Tete and his friends and they call him a wetback mojadito, Prietita goes to his

rescue and soon they become friends. One day when they are together they hear an old lady

screaming that La Migra (Border Patrol) is coming. Prietita and Joaquin run to his house to get

his mother then Prietita takes them to the herbs lady house she is sure she will help them. The

herb lady hides Joaquin and his mom while La Migra is going around looking for illegal

immigrants. After the Migra is gone and Joaquin and his mom are safe the herb lady tells

Prietita that is time for her to learn about the medicinal herbs so she can help and cure Joaquin.

Calling All Doves

this book is Juan Felipe Herrera autobiography through poetry of growing up. He was born in

Fowler California but growing up him and his mom and dad would move all around California in

their old green truck living in different immigrant camps in the farms. He used to sleep under a

Carpa (tent) with his parents, and eat out under the blue sky. All his mom would need was the

pan, wood fire to make some Papas con huevos. Juan talks about his father calling the doves

while he was working on the fields and his mom reciting beautiful poetry during dinner. Juan

also talks about his mom telling him that wolves were the singers of the mountains and how he

loved to hear them and also sing like them. He loved being outdoors and being able to see up

into the sky while he slept outside.

El Perro Invisible

This Story is about carbon a black dog. He thinks he is beautiful but he is also very vain. One

day his friend the parrot Leterina tells him he is very beautiful indeed but that he would be even


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prettier if he had a lot of colors in his fur like her. So he colors himself in different paint so he

can be prettier. He then meets Don Timoteo a beautiful peacock and Carbon becomes jealous

of his beautiful feathers on his tail he wants one like that to. So he follows Don Timoteo all over

trying to admire and get a tail just like his. He becomes so preoccupied in trying to look like

someone else to be prettier that he starts to disappear. The parrot Leterina becomes worried

because she feels it is her fault that Carbon is now invisible since she was the first one to tell

him he would be prettier if he was different colors. So she and another bird cut out a piece of the

dark night ski to cover Carbon with. Carbon is once again black and he is so happy that they all

start to celebrate and have a small party. Carbon realizes that he does not have to change his

appearance so he can be beautiful.

Personal Interpretive Phase

Relating to these books was not a hard task for me. The problems presented in these

stories are all things I have personally experienced or seen happen in my family.

The Harvest Birds

This book makes me think of the dreams and struggles everyone faces every day. It made me

realize that there are times when no one will believe in you to do what you dream of but you

should not let that stop you. There are times when you may not reach your dreams or goals but

if you give up before even trying you still wont achieve them so you might as well try. Like Juan

his dream was to be a farmer and he didnt other people making fun of him stop him from

making his dream a reality. I think that is an important thing for everyone to realize and

especially kids. This book also made me think of my family back in Mexico. I remember one of

the summers I went to visit and I helped them farm some corn, to me it was a fun experience

learning how to plant the corn and hearing my mom telling me her experience when she was a


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young girl and had to help my grandpa go plant. I also loved that I got to go pick and taste some

of the corn I had planted when I went to Mexico once again in the fall, I was proud of myself

saying I had helped plant that corn I was eating.

Friends From the other side

When I read this book I realized how thankful I am that my parents are U.S citizens and that I

was born here. I cant begin to imagine how horrible it is to leave in fear that you could one day

be captured by border patrol and get sent back from where you came from. I have heard stories

of what some people go through to get here and also what happens to them if they are captured

by La Migra and those stories are not once I would ever like to live through. Most of those

people are just looking for a better way of life for themselves and their family and coming here

illegally was the only way they could do it.

At the end of the book when the herb lady tells them she is going to teach Prietita so she can

cure Joaquin made me think of my mom and my grandma. They have a natural remedy for most

common illnesses. They have though me of many plants or other remedies to use for things like

a cold, stomach aches, headaches and other things. Those are things I will probably teach to

my own children. To me that is a form to be cultures and traditions I will pass down.

Calling All Doves

Calling all doves was probably my favorite book it reminds me of my parents what they went

through growing up. They were born in Mexico and had to work from a very young age along

their parents. My dad was about 18 when he came to the U.S and he worked in the fields in

California. Whenever we go to California he talks about the places he worked at and his

experiences there. I also think about my mom and her stories about having to help my


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grandfather farm. Some of her stories tell me about how much she struggled as a little kid but a

lot of the stories are also happy. She tells me about her going out into the fields and having

picnics there with her friends and all the adventures she had outdoors growing up in Mexico.

I have not had many experiences like those of Juan Herrera or like the ones my dad and mom

went through but they are important to me because they happened to my parents and made

them who they are.

El Perro Invisible

I loved this book, and I would love to use it in my future classrooms. Growing up and being

comfortable with whom you are and accepting that we are beautiful in our own way is a very

hard thing. Everywhere you look there are ads telling you to wear something so you can look

better or if you are a certain shape you are more beautiful. I am guilty of letting these ads

influence me many times, but one thing I realize is that I should not let them influence who I am

on the inside. We may change our appearance all we like but we should not let out appearance

dictate our lives. I know many people that are obsessed with trying to be pretty and would go to

ridiculous extents. Just like Carbon he was so obsessed trying to look like someone else to be

beautiful that he became invisible.

Critical Multicultural/ Antibias Phase

In this phase we think about the problems presented in these stories and how they

affect us and the people around us. I think the problems presented in these stories are

things that can affect anyone not only the Latino Culture.

The Harvest Birds

I think the main theme of this book is the concept of not giving up on your dreams. This is


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something that happens to everyone no matter where you are from or what your cultural

background is. In some point or other we all have certain hopes or dreams we like to achieve

and this book shows that determination and will is an important step in trying to achieve ones

dreams. By reading this book we can teach children that if they have a dream or a goal they

should try everything in their means to achieve it. They can also learn that there will always be

people around us that wont believe in us or our dreams but we should not let that affect us in

the journey to achieve it. Not all kinds can identify with their dream being able to be a farmer but

they can have dreams of becoming g a doctor, teacher, musician etc.

Friends from the other side

The concern of this book of Prietita and her friend Joaquin is one that many Latino children

living in the U.S may have experienced or heard about so they could relate to it in some way or

another. They may have a friend that just came from another country or they might be the friend

from the other side that just got to this new country.

I think this book can teach children that you can be friends with people that are not like you and

dont have the same background as them. Here in Clark County you can find schools with

students from very different cultural backgrounds and having students get along and help each

other despite their differences can be difficult.

Calling All Doves

I think this book is one a lot of people could relate to in some way or another. Calling all doves

focuses on the Latino culture on growing up in migration camps In California working on the

fields. Yet its also a lot about traditions and cultures one grown up with. A lot of people may not

relate to growing up in migration camps but they could relate to having to move a lot do to a


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parents work. Or also certain traditions and customs ones family has growing up. This book

made me think of me growing up and the stories my mom and dad would tell me but also of the

adventures I had as a kid and things I loved to do.

El Perro Invisible

The concern about being happy and comfortable with who we are is a concern that faces

everyone no matter our race, social or economic status. Trying to change ourselves into

something or someone else to be considered beautiful is something that happens constantly

today. I think the change this book can cause when someone reads it is to realize that we are all

beautiful in our own special way, and that when we try to change ourselves drastically to be

something we are not we sort of disappear, just like the dog Carbon did in the book. This book

can teach little kids to be comfortable with whom they are and to not let peer pressure get to

them like it did with Carbon. As an adult reading this book I think the main thing I learned is to

be comfortable with whom I have become. In one way or another book will cause people to think

about themselves, who they are and the influences they have in life and consider if they are

good or bad.

Creative Transformative Phase

In this final phase of the creative dialogue we should take what we have learned from

the stories and apply it to our lives. These books have encouraged me to think about

these problems we all phase and try to make a difference.

The Harvest Bird

Reaching our goals and making our dreams a reality is a situation many of us face. The problem

we all face when presented with these goals and dreams is giving up before we meet them. A


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lot of times the problem is that we dont have a lot of motivation or we let other people believes

and put downs affect us. By reading this book I think I can teach children that the most

important thing to do when trying to reach a goal or dream is not to give up. There will be times

when no one will believe in our goals and dreams but we should not let that make us give up. If

we really want something we shall try everything we can, it can be a long journey but that

journey will get us closer to our dreams. Also proving people wrong at the end can be very

rewarding.

Friends from the other side

I believe the main problem in this book is being able to make friends with someone that is

different from you. This book showed us the importance of friendship and helping each other

out. In todays schools we see so many bullying and teasing and it just grows and gets worse as

they get older. I think this happens a lot because acknowledging and respecting people that are

different from us. I believe the first solution to have more culturally responsive teaching in

schools. By doing this it helps students have more respects for where they come from and also

respect their other classmates and who they are and where they come from.

Calling All Doves

I think a problem a lot of youth today especially children with immigrant parents is that they are

forgetting and losing their cultural background trying to be American. The thing I see though is

that to be American you are influenced by a variety of beautiful rich cultures. The U.S is one of

those few countries that represent so many traditions and cultures and I think that is beautiful. I

think the solution to this problem starts at home. It is up to parents to tell their children where


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they come from, what they have went through and to teach them about their traditions and

cultural background so they can also pass along that information when they are older to their

own children and grandchildren.

El Perro Invisible

Accepting we are own beautiful in our own way can be a very difficult thing to do.

By teaching children at an early age that we are own special and beautiful in our own way and

that we dont have to change how we look to be better is a good start. Parents, teachers, and

the media can play a very important part in this. It is up to parents and to some point to teacher

to teach children to be comfortable with whom they are. Also the media should not put such a

big focus on things like you have to be skinny to be beautiful and things like that they can

influence people and kids very easily.

Conclusion

Iwas able to take each of my 4 books trough the creative dialogue process. By taking each of

my books one of the main questions I asked myself was how do the problems presented in this

books not only affect me but the people around me. One thing I have realized that not giving up

one ones dreams and goals, growing up in the Latino culture, accepting people that are different

from each other and finally accepting ourselves for who we are problems that not only affect

Latinos they can affect everyone.


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Creative Dialogue Final Maria Reyes

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