Literature Selections

The texts we will read this year come from authors of many cultures.

• Piri Thomas, author of "Amigo Brothers," was the son of a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father.  
• Christopher Paul Curtis, author of "Meet the Weird Watsons," identifies as Black, and his hometown of Flint, Michigan, features prominently in his stories.  
• We will read several short stories from Sandra Cisneros, who identifies herself as Chicano. 
• We will read an excerpt from Growing Up, the autobiography of Russell Baker, who identifies himself as white.  
• Many students are probably familiar with Shel Silverstein's poetry, but may not know that he was born to a Jewish family.  
• Budge Wilson, author of "Waiting," is from Nova Scotia, in Canada.  
• Li-Young Lee was born to Chinese parents in Indonesia.  
• We'll even read a short essay by retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal called "A Good Reason to Look Up."  
• We'll also read more traditionally taught texts from authors such as O. Henry, Lewis Carroll, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Amy Tan, and Rudyard Kipling.

The themes and central topics of these texts are wide: growing up, immigration, overcoming obstacles, being a minority, overcoming racism, finding an identity, and more.  It is my hope that every student will identify with at least a few of these texts and themes.  If you have the opportunity, read through the JCPS curriculum guides.  Over the year, I invite those who are able to share their relevant knowledge with us--whether about immigration, the Great Depression, growing up in different places, or growing up in general.  Please contact me if you are interested in visiting our class.