Finding Myself by: Naomi...

Title: Becoming Naomi Leon

Author: Pam Munoz Ryan

Publisher and date of Publication: Scholastic Inc, 2004

Genre: Multicultual, Novel

Age Range: 3rd- 6th grade

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book, 2004 Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award

I really enjoyed this book. It was probably my favorite book that we read all semester. I think I enjoyed it so much because it was like a look into the life of children that I've never, luckily, seen. My parents are still together so I've never been in Naomi and Owen's shoes before and trying to figure out who my mom and dad are, living with my grandmother. I can't imagine being in Naomi's shoes, trying to figure all of this out. I think the book shows multi-cultualism very well. this children are part mexican, living in Cali, speaking english. As the book goes on, some people in the book speaking spanish but it also has english so the reader knows what they said. I think the cultural details are intergrated very natually because everything flows along so smoothly. It feels like you are there with Naomi as she tries to figure everything out in her life. It's like we are in her brain, thinking what she is thinking. This book doesn't have any stereotypes really. It's just explaining how different life in Mexico and Cali can be. The language barrier doesn't seem to be that bad because when they are in Mexico, everyone understands everyone else. I think the language that Ryan uses is authenic and isn't awkward or used in the wrong spot. Flora and her family in Mexico speak Spanish and so does Naomi's dad but they start to learn english. Naomi and her family and friends in Cali speak english but begin to speak a little spanish. The spanish that is used in the book is minimal so the reader can figure out what they said. The festival with the carvings and the multi-generation households were cultural markers of mexico. I didn't see many cultual markers of Cali because the grandparent/grandchild house and the trailer parks aren't really a marker of Cali because they are everywhere.
I can't imagine denying and treating my children like Terri Lynn/ Skyla did. I just love Gram and was afraid that something might happen to her in the story but it didn't!