International Literature
Fox, Mem. Possum Magic. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983. ISBN 0-15-200572-2.
Grandma Poss is a grandmother possum who magically makes
her grandchild possum, Hush, invisible! She
wants to protect Hush from snakes. One day, Hush wants to see what she looks
like and asks Grandma Poss to make her visible again. There’s only one
problem: Grandma Poss can’t
remember how to do that. She
finally remembers that it has something to do with food, but she can’t exactly
pin it down. She and Hush go on a tour of
The author, Mem Fox, lives in Australia and the story emits authentic Australian sights and experiences, from the traditional foods to the animals that Hush encounters. The story, however, goes beyond representing an Australian "family". . . it crosses international boundary lines and is a fun illustration of what family members will do for one another. I can't help but think that it might also be an indication of today’s changing families, where grandparents are raising their grandchildren in the absence of the child’s parents.
Funke, Cornelia. Thief Lord. New York:
Scholastic, 2002. ISBN 0-439-42089-X.
Almond, David.
Skellig.
New York: Delacorte Press, 1999. ISBN 0-385-32653-X.
When Michael's family moves into a new house, Michael's life changes forever. His baby sister's medical condition forces Michael's parents to be preoccupied with the baby's medical appointments and care. Michael has some extra time on his hands and finds something extraordinary hidden deep under the rubble in the out-building on the family's new property... a mysterious creature that is like a man, but with wings. He is dying to tell someone about what he has found, but is unsure of whether or not what he has seen is real. Michael finally tells his new friend, Mina, a neighborhood girl who is home-schooled and wise for her age. Together they secretly befriend the creature and nurse him back to health. In doing so, they learn about friendship and how love can heal deep wounds.
I enjoyed the mystery behind Skellig, the pale, crusty-faced creature who enjoys a good bottle of brown ale and Chinese take-out, 27 and 53! This strange, somewhat grumpy character will keep readers interested...one must continue reading to see what direction Skellig will take.
Skellig is the first book for children written by David Almond, a British author. The only indication of the characters' nationality is a small sampling of English/British vocabulary, for example, Michael's mother is "Mum," trash is "rubbish," and his father refers to the "blooming aspirin." Otherwise, the characters could be children from any country in the world, exploring their surroundings and uncovering something unknown.
Nye,
Naomi Shihab. This same sky. New York: Four Winds Press, 1992. ISBN
0-02-768440-7.
Naomi Shihab Nye sent a call around the world for poets to submit their works for publication in this collection of poems. The works are grouped according to their subject: Words and Silences, Dreams and Dreamers, Families, This Earth and Sky in Which We Live, Losses, and Human Mysteries. The title for the collection comes from the poem, Under This Sky, by poet Zia Hyder from Bangladesh (translated by Bhabani Sengupta with Naomi Shihab Nye). The purpose of the collection is to help readers visualize our commonalities, regardless of nationality or race. We all share dreams and emotions, such as the happiness in Happy As A Dog's Tail by Anna Swir of Poland.
An interesting inclusion in the book is a world map with stars indicating each of the poets' home countries. The map helps the reader realize the global span of the contributors and further drives home the amazing fact regarding our commonalities. Another interesting part of the book is the section containing notes about each of the poets. This section offers facts about the poet, where he/she currently lives, and his/her current (at the time of printing) projects. Also included are fun bits of trivia, like the fact that Miron Bialoszewski once wrote odes to colanders and dusty floors!