Julio Rangel

Professor Warner

English 112B

November 25, 2006

Annotated Bibliography/Multiculturalism

I decided to focus my attention on contemporary realistic fiction but I also wanted to select books that have some kind of multiculturalism value. I have seen that the most interesting courses I have taken are courses that cover a variety of writers from different parts of the world. These courses seem to be the most rewarding to me.

I also concentrated on trying to find books that had won awards. The Sydney Taylor award was established in 1968 and it gives awards for writers who provide positive outlooks on Jewish families. The Coretta Scott King award was created in 1970 and it helps recognize the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and it also recognizes his widow, Coretta Scott King. The Carter G. Woodson is an award given for outstanding work in multiculturalism. The award was created in 1973 by the National Council for the Social Studies, Racism, and Social Justice Committee. The America�s award was started in 1993 and it honors works done in English or Spanish that tell about Latin America, the Carribean, or Latinos in the United States. The Pura Belpra award began in 1996 and it�s named after the first Latina Librarian. It honors creative works done by Latinos. The Asian Pacific America Award recognizes outstanding works by Asian Pacific Americans. I was able to find a variety of books using these awards as a guide.

1.) Levitin, Sonia. Return. Ballantine Books, 1991.

�Fifteen-year-old Desta belongs to a small, isolated mountain community of Ethiopian Jews. She and her brother and sister leave their aunt and uncle and set out on the long and dangerous trip to freedom -- an airlift from the Sudan to Israel, the Promised Land. They travel barefoot, facing hunger, thirst and bandits.� (Summary taken from http://www.addall.com/detail/0449702804.html) Won the Sydney Taylor Award in 1987.

2.) Bode, Janet. New Kids in Town. Scholsatic, 1991.

�In their own words, eleven teen-aged immigrants tell their compelling stories of their escape from war, poverty, and repression to carve out new lives in America? �(summary taken from http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?chunk=25&mtype=&wauth=Bode%2C%20Janet&wtit=new%20kids%20in%20town&qwork=4649443&S=R&bid=8844173640&pbest=2%2E95&pqtynew=13&pbestnew=2%2E95&page=1&matches=43&qsort=r)           This book is identical to First Crossing. Won the Carte G. Woodson Award in 1990.

3.) Hidier, Tanuja Desai. Born Confused. Scholastic, 2001.

�Grade 9 Up-Dimple Lala has spent her entire life trying to fit in. In India, she is too American, while in America she feels unable to conform, largely because of her parents' efforts to educate and involve her in Indian culture. By her 17th birthday, she feels incapable of making anyone happy and is hopelessly confused as to where she belongs. Her parents are unhappy about her obsession with photography and her dating activities, while Dimple herself feels that her best friend, Gwyn, is either ignoring her for a new boyfriend or trying to usurp Dimple's family. Her parents come up with what they think is a perfect solution-they introduce her to Karsh, a suitable boy. Dimple is turned off at the thought. Just when she is sure that things can't get more complicated, she meets him again, now involved in activities that would render him completely unsuitable to her parents but that interest her. By this time Gwyn decides that he seems like the perfect boyfriend for her and Dimple ends up with a number of tricky situations.� (summary taken from http://www.amazon.com/Born-Confused-Tanuja-Desai-Hidier/dp/0439510112) Won the Asian Pacific American Award in 2004.

4.) Ryan, Munoz Pam. Esperanza Rising. Scholastic, 2000.

�she has all she could want: fancy dresses; a beautiful home filled with servants in the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico; and the promise of one day rising to Mama�s position and presiding over all of Rancho de las Rosas. But a sudden tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp.  There they confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression.� (Summary taken from http://www.pammunozryan.com/esper.html) Won the America's Award in 2000 and the Pura Belpre award in 2002.

5.) Soto, Gary. The Afterlife. Harcourtbooks, 2003.

"high school senior lives on as a ghost after his murder in the restroom of a dance club". (Summary taken from book) Won the America's award in 2003.

6.) Na, An. A Step From Heaven. This is the story of a Korean family that immigrates to California in search of a better life, only to find that the American Dream is harder to achieve than they thought. The tale is told through the eyes of Young Ju, as she grows from preschooler to young woman. (Summary taken from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/immigration/lesson-plan/20010.html) Awarded Asian Pacific American award in 2004.

7.) Ashabranner, Brent. To Live in Two Worlds-American Indian Youth Today. Dodd Mead & Company, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1984.

�discusses the efforts of North American Indians to survive in and adjust to modern society while holding onto their ethnic heritage.� ( Summary taken from http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=827005451&searchurl=isbn%3D0396083218%26nsa%3D1) Won the Carter G. Woodson award in 1985.

8.) Ashabranner, Brent K. Into a Strange Land: Unaccompanied Refugee Youth in

America. Dodd Mead, 1987.

�individual stories of young Southeast Asian refugees, their problems, hopes, and successes". (Summary taken from http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&y=11&tn=into+a+strange+land&x=22) Won the Carter G. Woodson award in 1988.

9.) Cruz, Barbara C. Multiethnic Teens and Cultural Identity.

�Discusses the many issues facing teens of multiethnic descent, including discrimination and the search for ethnic identity in an unsympathetic culture.� (Summary taken from http://web.bibz.com/SchoolCatalog/displayMulticulturalCatalog.do?catalogId=151&headerImage=socialscience_multicultural&file=socialscience_multicultural#) Won the Carte G. Woodson award in 2002.

10.) Myers, Walter Dean. Motown and Didi. Viking, 1984.

�Motown lives in a burned-out building one floor above the rats, searching out jobs every day, working his muscles every night, keeping strong, surviving. Didi lives in her cool dream bubble, untouched by the Harlem heat that beats down on her brother until only drugs can soothe him. Didi escapes, without needles, in her tidy plans and stainless visions, etchings of ivy-covered colleges where her true life will begin. Didi can survive inside her own safe mind, until Motown steps into her real world and makes it bearable. Together they can stand the often brutal present. What about the future?�(Summary taken from (http://keplers.booksense.com/NASApp/store/Product;jsessionid=abj1RlpNwrCepJUva1?s=showproduct&isbn=0440957621) Won the Coretta Scott King award in 1985.