Nonfiction Children's Literature
Title: "Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation"
Author: Duncan Tonatiuh
Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Copyright: 2014
Pages: 40
This picture book tells the story of Sylvia Mendez from California. She was an American citizen of who was fluent in English speaking and writing. However, because of her Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage, she was denied enrollment to a school that was only for whites. Sylvia's parents wanted their daughter to have the best opportunities in education. After moving to Westminster in Southern California during World War 2, they decided to advocate and make a difference for all the children in the community. The family worked with others to eventually help end school segregation in California. The case Brown v. Board of Education was made possible because of the hard work from the Mendez and other parents. The text is understandable for the young reader while also engaging adults. Tonatiuh has Spanish lines and translations
Illustrations from the author display a folklore style. The artwork gives an excellent view into life during this time. A very talented author and artist, Tonatiuh has created a wonderful piece of literature and art that will benefit multitudes of readers. He went above and beyond with his essay, photographs, resource list and glossary to extend the learning experience.
Connection to the classroom: Grades 1-4 (but not limited, this can benefit ALL ages). Students could write a narrative essay expressing their feelings about this topic for a language arts assignment. With the timeline of this story taking place during World War 2 and after, history and social studies could be integrated while students discussed the changes that our nation faced. A lesson about diversity, equality, and the right for everyone to have the best education could also be used with this text.
This is a wonderful book to do within your classroom! I truly enjoy allowing the students to feel free to ask any questions that they may have with the topic of diversity. Although diversity is a very important topic, it is often a hard topic to discuss. Great choice!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having the students write about how the book made them feel. Often times feelings get overlooked when reading nonfiction, but I think that learning about the feelings that are tied to a historical event are just as important.
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