"Drum Dream Girl" Quality Rating: 4.5 out of 5
"Dreamers" Quality Rating: 5 out of 5
Collection Overview:
Both Yuyi Morales and Drum Dream Girl had dreams-- dreams to live a better life, dreams to pursue a passion. What is stopping them from fully achieving those dreams? Not only do these stories uplift and encourage other dreamers reading the books, but they also shed light on women defying the odds and pursuing what they want in life.
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music
by Margarita Engle
"Even though everyone kept reminding her that girls on the island of music had never played drums/ the brave drum dream girl dared to play tall conga drums, small bongó drums, and big, round, silvery moon-bright timbales." (Engle 20-21)
Summary:
Until the Drum Dream Girl comes along, nobody from the island filled with music thinks that girls can be drummers. She keeps her love for drumming to herself at first. It is a secret barely contained. Once the Drum Dream Girl is able to share her music with the island, everyone dances and sings. The people of the island change their minds and let both boys and girls play the drums. This picture book is based off of a true story of a young girl named Millo Castro Zaldarriaga who broke a traditional taboo against female drummers in Cuba in 1932.
Stereotypes/biases dismantled in the text:
1. Girls can't do what boys can do.
Drum Dream Girl (DDG) is very good at playing drums and enjoys doing so. However, she is unable to perform publicly because drumming is seen as a male-only activity at the time. One image in the book shows her drums in a cage, signifying that her dreams are out of reach and unattainable in her current circumstances. It isn't until her father lets her take lessons and her instructor praises her talent that her father allows her to play in public. DDG is able to finally live out her dream and change everyone's mind about boys and girls playing drums.
2. Women must conform to gender roles in a patriarchal society.
In the picture book, the background images portray women following stereotypical gender roles. These women are working as servers and maids, hidden in the background. Set within a patriarchal society, women are confined to that "housewife" stereotype in which women belong at home and are always caring for others needs. They are unable to break free due to the patriarchal society around them. Engle was using these images as a subtle reminder of the culture in which this book is set, which highlights DDG’s heroism as she shakes free from gender norms to pursue her dreams.
Misconceptions I realized I was carrying:
1. The resistance of gender roles is met the with a negative reaction worldwide.
In the US, feminist ideals of breaking out of the patriarchal gender roles stretch back to the founding of the country. Women then wanted their voices to be acknowledged and included in the founding of the new nation. A theme throughout U.S. history is a desire to have the female voice heard and to have freedom to choose occupations and pursue areas of interest without being ridiculed for not staying home and being a housewife. Joining the male-dominated workforce wasn't an easy feat to accomplish and equality in the workplace has yet to be achieved, but it is a move in a progressive, liberating direction. Though there is initial resistance whenever women break another "role" that they have been assigned by society, there is eventual acceptance and support. Not all countries allow women to have a voice and pursue their passions. In such countries, women are forced to be submissive to a patriarchal system and don't have a say in their future. Engle's picture book allows young girls to have a strong role model, like DDG, to fight against the "rules'' of society and pursue their dreams.
Dreamers
by Yuyi Morales
"Books became our language. Books became our home. Books became our lives. We learned to read/to speak, to write/ and to make our voices heard." (Morales 22-24)
Summary:
This picture book illustrates Yuyi Morales's journey to the United States with her infant son in 1994. She and her son left almost everything back in Mexico when they migrated to the US. That is, everything except her stories, hopes, and dreams. This picture book shows Morales navigating an unfamiliar world and finding the best in each part of the journey. People are dreamers in this sense, because we use our own understanding of the world, our stories, and our strengths to adjust to challenging life circumstances.
Stereotypes/biases dismantled in the text:
1. You can't be both Mexican and American. You have to choose.
There are so many layers to each person due to their personal experiences, history, and culture. In the U.S., there tends to be pressure to embrace "mainstream society" in order to fully assimilate. If an immigrant holds onto their own cultures and beliefs (that may or may not be aligned with mainstream society), they often aren't truly considered an American. Each person's past experiences shapes who they are and creates their identity. It is unfair to expect individuals to give up their alternative cultural identities in order to become "American." Morales illustrates that even though she tries to survive in this new environment by conforming to certain things (such as reading, following rules --not swimming in the fountain, etc.), she still holds onto her past. She embraces the life she is making for her and her son and maintains a spirit of positivity to allow hope and her dreams to take shape.
2. All migration stories are challenge-free.
Some migration stories don't go smoothly. Some individuals suffer a great deal of hardship throughout their journey to a safer location. There may be pain. There may be hunger or thirst. There may be sleepless nights and endless days roaming through harsh environments. There may be an unwelcoming crowd waiting at the end of the journey. However, some immigrants use their experiences during the migrating process to strengthen them and fuel the pursuit of their dreams. Morales might have had a difficult journey as she and her son migrated, but, if she did, it didn't show in the book. She depicted a different message, one that empowers children and shows that having hope and dreams propels you into new and exciting experiences.
For more information on the hardships some immigrants face, here are some important links:
Rashid, Ruksana, et al. "Immigration Journey: A Holistic Exploration of Pre- and Post-Migration Life Stories in a Sample of Canadian Immigrant Women." International Journal of Migration, Health, and Social Care 9.4 (2013): 189-202. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/1467822742?pq-origsite=summon
Carroll, Susan. “Reporting on the Deaths of Those Who Make the Journey North.” Nieman Reports, vol. 60, no. 3, Fall 2006, pp. 48–50. EBSCOhost, http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/sbrc/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=6c4908bf-5f3b-41bf-a2cc-69f840c75f98%40sdc-v-sessmgr03
Brigden, Noelle Kateri. The Migrant Passage : Clandestine Journeys from Central America, Cornell University Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/lib/gvsu/reader.action?docID=5598864
Misconceptions I realized I was carrying:
1. Only men immigrate to the US from Mexico.
I know that people from all walks of life choose to immigrate to the states, but from information and images shared over social media, my thought process was skewed into thinking that only men have journeys that are long and treacherous. I never put any thought into the information shared through the media. The media’s narrow take on immigration often portrays women waiting until men send home enough funds for a safe trip to the U.S.. This isn't always the case. There are many instances where women immigrate to the U.S., some with children and some without. Women from Mexico are just as capable of making the journey to the US, just not as numerous as, say, women from other countries.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. I liked how you touched on specific details that fell under the different themes and takeaways you had from each book. I think that the things you pointed out, are things that not a lot of people would notice. You do a great job at digging deeply and providing a thoughtful idea that comes from it. As a teacher, it is very important to identify the different stereotypes and biases that occur in everyday life and in most children's books. This is important in order to teach our students about the correct way to go about these topics and how people think about them.
I absolutely loved reading this article. I just finished doing a lot of research on Yuyi morales and I loved reading more on her. I also loved how you gave a summery and some specific ideas that are showcased in each of the books. Most of all, I loved how you addressed how you learned from these books even as a teacher. Being able to identify your own person misconceptions is an incredible and important task to take on. It is important to acknowledge your own flaws and I applaud you for that! Teachers can be just as big of learners as their students. Is also extremely important to address these misconceptions you had or have so you can better…
I thoroughly enjoyed this post and book review, because of it's deep look into the messages that the authors conveyed and the explanation of your unconscious misconception. I didn't share that same misconception that you did, but I do think it was important to include because others very well hold the same ideas and by providing it here people will be able to be more aware of this misconception and even other misconceptions that they may hold. I also first was interested in this post because in our ENG309 course we studied Yuyi Morales as an author and illustrator, and I absolutely loved her work. I love how you break down the story and its biases and/or stereotypes that are…
@terpstmo, If we as educators don’t approach multicultural literature with an open mind and dismantle our own biases and stereotypes, we put our students at a disadvantage and therefore perpetuate the societal issues. Some teachers may disagree that it is never too early to introduce information on real-life issues. I agree with you that early exposure will allow students to see what is going on in the world around them. Providing students with a rich source of information that challenges the biases and stereotypes many come to adopt and accept is the start of dismantling the issues and creating a much more well-rounded and accepting society in the future.
After reading the article “Dreams and Defying Stereotypes,” it opened my eyes up to a ton of other children’s books. In tons of elementary schools, teachers are uneducated and therefore don't like to put multicultural books out in their library. By having teachers be uneducated on stereotypes, racism, and biases, it isn’t helping the issue and the issue still continues to be a thing. Multicultural books are sold the least as teachers do not want to put books in their classroom with misinformation toward stereotypes and racism. By not allowing education on the correct information, the culture of stereotyping and racism will never go away.
In these two books, Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle and Dreamers by …