Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out & Back Again. New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-06-196278-3
Poetic Elements: This book is
written in free verse and tells the story of a young girl and her family who
leave Vietnam and start a new life in America.
Although the experiences spoken of in this book are unfamiliar to me, I
was able to visualize myself in the vulnerable and unknown difficulties that
the little girl, Kim Ha, personally experienced. Sensory images were used throughout this story
to allow readers like myself, to see even greater detail into what life in Vietnam
was like, what it felt like leaving Vietnam and traveling on a boat, and then
arriving to America and not knowing or understanding anything. The distinctive language that Kim Ha uses to
explain how other kids interacted with cruelty in America made me feel her pain and reminded
me that I would never want to re-live those years of my life. The
language barriers that Kim Ha had were succinctly noticed as she
spoke her
thoughts in the English language. Bits
of humor trickle throughout the book when interpretations of the English
language are not interpreted correctly by Kim Ha and her family, which reemphasizes
to the reader how difficult it would be to leave your native country and put
down roots in another country.
Overall Quality: The poems are
definitely appropriate for late elementary students and on up to read. The poems are capable of standing alone by
themselves, but when read in order they tell the story of Kim Ha and her family
coming to America. Different character
views are shared through the voice of Kim Ha who is telling this story first hand. Each Free Verse poem is
dated at the bottom and similarly resembles posts written in a journal. The only illustration present in this book is on
the cover. After reading the book, you will realize that
the cover is supposed to be a picture of the main character, Kim Ha, in Saigon
underneath her beloved papaya tree that she had to leave behind to come to
America. I personally really enjoyed the
ease in reading this book and gained a better perspective for people that are
different from me.
The Poets: A single poet, Thanhha
Lai, wrote this free verse book of poetry.
It is an anthology that tells the story of leaving the dangerous country
of Vietnam and re-locating and finding safety in America. Inside Out & Back Again is Lai’s
first book to write and she won the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s
Literature for this book. It is
also a Newbery Honor Book. Arriving in
America on a boat in 1975 not knowing English and writing a book in English
using Free Verse 38 years later that wins several national awards is quite an
accomplishment!
Layout: Inside Out
& Back Again is a 260 page book told in four parts: Saigon,
At Sea, Alabama, and From Now On.
Saigon shares what life was
like living in the southern half of the country during strife. At Sea describes the time of when Kim Ha and her family board a
navy boat and travel for endless days wondering if they will actually make it
to America. Alabama shares of the family’s initial arrival and beginnings in
America. From Now On focuses on the realization that Kim Ha and her family
know to be true, that father is missing in action from the war and will never
be with them again. The whole story
occurs around 1975 and is historical fiction that relays much of what really
happened to the author, Thanhha Lai, as she made the journey to leave Vietnam with
her family and settle in America. The
book shares a note at the end written by the author revealing her intentions
for writing this book of free Verse.
Spotlight Poem: I would share the
poem “Rainbow” as a way to introduce students to a lesson on racial tolerance. I would also share more parts of the book Inside
Out & Back Again so students would be able to place themselves in
someone else’s shoes as they listened along.
Although not necessarily the most comfortable topic for teachers to
discuss, acting “colorblind” around people that are created different and not acknowledging
differences discounts their individuality.
“Rainbow” by Thanhha Lai
I face the class.
MiSSS SScott
speaks.
Each classmate
says something.
I don’t
understand,
but I see.
Fire hair on skin
dotted with spots.
Fuzzy dark hair on
skin shiny as lacquer.
Hair the color of
root on milky skin.
Lots of braids on
milk chocolate.
White hair on a
pink boy.
Honey hair with
orange ribbons on see-through skin.
Hair with
barrettes in all colors on bronze bread.
I’m the only
straight black
hair
on olive skin.
No comments:
Post a Comment