Set in the Pilsen barrio of Chicago, this children's picture book gives a heartwarming message of hope. The heroine, América, is a primary school student who is unhappy in school until a poet visits the class and inspires the students to express themselves creatively-in Spanish or English. América Is Her Name emphasizes the power of individual creativity in overcoming a difficult environment and establishing self-worth and identity through the young girl América's desire and determination to be a writer. This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat theme: you can succeed in spite of the odds against you. Carlos Vázquez's inspired four-color illustrations give a vivid sense of the barrio, as well as the beauty and strength of the young girl América.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In Rodriguez's ponderous, wordy story, a Mixteca Indian girl living in a Chicago barrio struggles to find her niche in a hostile society. The author eschews subtlety: the ironically named America witnesses a sidewalk shooting while walking to school; the intolerant teacher of her ESL class dismisses her students as "difficult" and whispers to a colleague that America is "an illegal"; the girl's uncle is a drunk, her father gets laid off and someone calls her mother a wetback. The imagery is equally heavy-handed, as in America's description of the "desperate men without jobs": "They all seem trapped, like flowers in a vase, full of song and color, yet stuck in a gray world where they can't find a way out." America escapes this bleakness by creating poetry ("A poet, America knows, belongs everywhere"), but this flatly written tale doesn't serve its political agenda, nor does it transcend it. Vasquez's stylized art is also poorly targeted for the intended audience, who may be put off immediately to find that the young heroine looks considerably older than her nine years. La llaman America, a Spanish-language edition, will also be released. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Nine-year-old America Soliz is an illegal immigrant of Mexican-Indian heritage living in the violence-ravaged Pilsen barrio of Chicago. Feeling unwelcome in her new country, she yearns to return to her native Oaxaca. Then one day, a Puerto Rican poet visits America's ESL class and tells the students that "There's poetry in everyone...and poets belong to the whole world." Soon, America begins to express herself through poetry, eventually coming to realize that as a poet, she is a citizen of the world with a bright future ahead of her. The story is generally well told, and its message is an important one. Dramatic, full-color illustrations that blend surreal and folk-art elements lend emotion to the text, and many of the drawings exhibit an interesting use of perspective. However, in most of the pictures, America resembles a mature adult instead of a little girl. A solid choice for bilingual and ESL collections.
Denise E. Agosto, formerly at Midland County Public Library, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Denise E. Agosto, formerly at Midland County Public Library, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
The son of Mexican immigrants, Luis J. Rodriguez began writing in his early teens and has won national recognition as a poet, journalist, fiction writer, children's book writer, and critic. Currently working as a peacemaker among gangs on a national and international level, Rodriguez helped create Tia Chucha's Café & Centro Cultural, a multiarts, multimedia cultural center in the Northeast San Fernando Valley.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MORE REVIEW QUOTES,
This review is from: América Is Her Name (Hardcover)
"What really sets La Llaman América/América is Her Name apart is that the story manages to address perplexing realities with neither cynicism nor an excess of earnestness." --Kathy O'Connell, Hartford Advocate"This heartening book will touch readers and writers of all ages and backgrounds and belongs in every school and public library." --Frances Ann Day, MultiCultural Review "This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat theme: you can succeed in spite of the odds against you. Carlos Vesquez's inspired 4-color illustrations give a vivid sense of the barrio, as well as the beauty and strenght of the young girl América." --Hispanic Outlook "This is a story for librarians, teachers and parents as well as for children ages 6 and up because it helps us understand the newcomer's search for a place of belonging. Touching and true." --Feminist Bookstore News
4.0 out of 5 stars
América is Her Name,
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This review is from: América Is Her Name (Hardcover)
América is Her Name is a heartfelt, realistic story of a Mixteca Indian girl who regains her lost voice through writing poetry. What will resonate with children is América's decision not to fall victim to the poverty, hopelessness, and violence that surrounds her in the Pilsen barrio of Chicago. Instead, children will be encouraged by América's choice to heed Mr. Aponte's teachings: "When you use words to share your feelings with somebody else, you are a poet, and poets belong to the world."
Children will likewise be empowered by Luis Rodríguez's overall message that permeates throughout the text-that every voice counts. When a child is told that their words and feelings count, it is akin to opening up their world. Just as América discovers that the heart of a poet may lie beneath such social barriers as culture, race, and class; children reading her story will also see that they, too, can follow América's example and find their own poetic voice that will transcend the obstacles of life. As América begins to value the beauty of her own poetry and her mother recalls the strength of their proud heritage in her native language, the child reader will grasp that the heart of a poet is within everyone, if only we have the courage to share our words, our feelings, and our hearts, with the world.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
adults will enjoy it more than children,
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This review is from: América Is Her Name (Hardcover)
Beautiful illustrations and a topic that hasn't been addressed much in children's literature are positive qualities of this book. However, I think it will appeal more to adults than children, and since poetry is part of the story-line, I think it ought to have more poetry embedded into the text.
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