LS 5903 MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE

Review of THIS BIG SKY

A. Mora, Pat and Steve Jenkins, illustrator. New York: Scholastic, 2002. ISBN 0439400708, 9780439400701.

B. PLOT SUMMARY
THIS BIG SKY is a beautiful picturebook of poetry. The thirteen poems all set in the American Southwest tell the story of snakes, birds, seasons, raccoons, pueblos, and old woman dressed in bright, bright clothing. Pictures are an integral part of the text and the success of the book.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
Pat Mora writes with a insider’s perspective to paint beautiful word pictures of the American Southwest where she grew up. My favorite poem is Halloween in which is entitled in an “Anglo” way but obviously thought of as more a Day of the Dead or New Age holiday with it’s beginning, “A night of transformations” She uses Spanish words to tell the story of this poem such as “bruja” and “lobo”. A glossary of all eleven of the Spanish words in the text are located in the back of the book and include a pronunciation guide.
The poem that I believe is most Latino in phrase and form and visual descriptions is
TALL WALKING WOMAN which includes the lines, “the woman watches a teenager braiding her grandmother’s hair in the shade and young girls practicing a harvest dance. Umbrella above her head, the woman in the plum red blouse, grandchildren near her knees, in rain clouds walks tall through the pueblo, to a slow drum beat in her purple tennis shoes.”
The close Latino family, the generations spending time together, the bright joyful colors of the woman’s clothing and the pictures of the pueblo village all ring true. The road runner, the prickly cactus, the snake that talks like a person, the horned lizard will be recognizable to parents, teachers, and children alike who live or have lived in the Southwestern United states of in many parts of Central and South America.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal exclaims, “In the tradition of Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall's Desert Voices (Scribners, 1981), this collection of 14 poems features double-page spreads on myriad highlights of the desert of the American Southwest. Topics include the sky, an old snake, a horned lizard, an urban raccoon, jays, and coyotes. Mora's spare poetry echoes the harshness of the landscape and is nicely complemented by Jenkins's richly textured cut-paper collages.”

Publisher’s Weekly comments In a starred review, "Mora celebrates America's vast, otherworldly Southwest in 14 poems that will delight readers with their playfully evocative images. Jenkins offers cut-paper art in tones that reflect the sun-baked region.”

Reviews accessed at: http://www.amazon.com/This-Big-Sky-Pat-Mora/dp/0439400708/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-7575722-4136600?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183690203&sr=1-1

CONNECTIONS:
Bright colors and talk of grandmothers in the trio of Vera B. William’s books that begin with
A CHAIR FOR MY MOTHER
Other books of poetry and verse by Pat Mora: LOVE TO MAMA and PABLO’S TREE