Book Review: Cuba 15

Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa. Delacorte (Random House) 2003
Genre: family
Cultural designation: Cuban-Americans, Hispanics
Grade levels: 7th and up
Found browsing the children’s/YA section of the college’s library

Synopsis: Coming of age story of fifteen year old Violet Paz, who spends the school year planning for her quinceañero, a celebration insisted on by her abuela, but which Violet at first doesn’t understand. She spends the year learning about and coming to terms with her Cuban heritage, and competing with her Original Comedy act about her crazy family.

Ideas for teaching:
As an independent read: I would probably recommend this mostly to girls, but to anyone who likes or doesn’t like to read. I think everyone can relate to the themes of family and growing up, and it’s interesting and funny in a way that I think would draw reluctant readers in. Also good to recommend to Hispanic students so they can see that there are books written about their culture.
It could also work as a lit circle read; I think there’s enough meat to discuss in groups.

Journal question: Violet creates her Original Comedy piece around her wacky family. Even though they’re crazy, she loves them. Do you have any crazy family stories of your own? Creative writing—turn this story into a crafted work.

Look up the Spanish words that you don’t know. What do they mean? The teacher can point out that even in books all in English there may be words or phrases that we need to look up to understand, and we should get in the habit of doing so.

Look up some information about the history of Cuba and the U.S.’s current political ties (or lack thereof) with it. Have any restrictions been lifted since this book was published?

Synergistic texts:
Before We Were Free. Julia Alverez. About a teenage girl growing up the 1960’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
The House on Mango Street. Sandra Cisneros.
Y no se lo tragó la Tierra / and the Earth Did Not Devour Him. Tomas Rivera, Evangelina Vigil (Translator). Story of Mexican immigrants trying to survive as migrant workers.

Book Review: Escape From Warsaw

Escape From Warsaw. Ian Serraillier. Scholastic, New York, 1990. Originally published in 1956 under the title The Silver Sword.

This book is appropriate for middle school students, grades 5-8. I found it browsing through a used book store.

Escape From Warsaw is about four children surviving in war ravaged Warsaw at then end of World War II, and then traveling across post-war Europe to find their parents in Switzerland. The book begins by following Joseph, the father of three of the children, as he escapes from a prison camp. He meets the forth child, a boy named Jan, who helps him escape from Warsaw. Joseph tells him that if Jan ever meets his children to let them know he’s gone to Switzerland. The rest of the book focuses on the children, giving a Boxcar Children-like description of how they make a home under the ruble of Warsaw, and how they find food and even start a school. The overall tone is positive, especially for a book about war, but it does describe hunger, familial separation, and the psychological effects of war.

Though written soon after WWII, it would now fall into the historical novel genre. The main characters are Polish, and there are also Russians, Germans, French, Americans and Swiss. However, these nationalities don’t play a special cultural role, though they do add to the theme of international cooperation.

Themes: wartime, perseverence, family, prejudice

A small red flag would be the mention of religion, though it’s not integral to the story. It’s mentioned that Joseph taught scripture at his school, and Ruth, the oldest child, starts her school off with a Bible story. During an intense battle around Warsaw the people send a message to the Pope asking for international aide, and a radio announcer states that God will punish those destroying Poland.

I recommend this book as a classroom text because it can bring the history of WWII into the student’s world, since it’s about children living through the war. A synergistic text that can do this as well is Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

This book could be used in conjunction with history lessons about WWII.
Discussion questions: How did war affect the children in the book, especially mentally/psychologically? How does war affect children in the world today?

Research questions: What role did Poland/Warsaw play in WWII? What battles were fought there? Which armies occupied it? How did the Allies help Europe rebuild after WWII? What sorts of services did they provide?

Journal question: Family is very important to the characters. The children are constantly trying to stay together and find their parents. Write about a family member who is important to you and why.