About the book

Thinking Critically

Major Themes/ Take-A-Ways from A Crack in the Sea

There are a few major themes and take-aways from this book. The first that Bouwman expresses to us is the beauty of gifts. Everyone has a gift- a special gift. Bouwman gives each of her characters in this novel a unique gift. For example, Pip can talk to the fish in the sea. Caesar can sink to the bottom of the ocean and walk on the ocean floor. Jupiter is a storyteller. Each of those are uniquely different from the other, yet are all extremely important. This book celebrates gifts- and allows for readers to think about their own gifts and how they can celebrate the unique gifts that they have. As humans, we all have been given different gifts/ strengths that make us who we are. As teachers, it is our job to highlight our students gifts and make them feel celebrate for the gifts that bring to our classrooms.

Another key take- away would be a lesson that Bouwman is trying to teach her readers about making decisions in life. Sometimes in life, we have to make decisions and do things even if we do not want to do them. Many of the characters in this book faced hardships that caused them to make difficult decisions that might not have been their desired choice- but it was something they had to do to fight for their own lives and protect their families. Back during slavery and post Vietnam War time periods, many people had to make difficult decisions such as leaving their homes, leaving their families and leaving their belongings to board boats with terrible conditions that caused many to get sick or even die. And even if that wasn’t enough to worry about- they had to worry about being caught and facing terrible treatment. I think this is applicable to our students because sometimes in life, they may be faced with tough decisions and might have to do things they are not wanting to do.

Rudine Bishop created a metaphor about books acting as mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors. A Crack in the Sea is definitely one of those books where students can go through a door. The author, H.W. Bouwman, invites readers to travel through a glass doorway into another world (or worlds I should say!) This is very important as Rudine says because it allows readers to to actually become part of the world that the author has created for them. Bouwman invites her readers to feel like they are part of this world she created by making characters that are believable, their age (because many of them will be 12 or so years old) and living through some real life situations. Some students might identify with some of the characters from this book because we might have students who had elders who were slaves or some who might have traveled to America seeking refuge from their home country due to war, terrorism or poverty.

 How did the author make the book believable? In other words, how true is the emotional reality of the story… 

The author made this story believable by incorporating historical events into this story such as talking about the slave trade and the Vietnam War. Bouwman told these historical stories through characters that she brought to life in her book. I think the most believable part of this story is the connections that readers are able to make. Many readers, including myself, will experience a feeling of empathy as they read the book. I felt empathy for many of the characters while they were on their journeys throughout this book. I cringed while reading how terrible the conditions were on the boats. I was sad that Kinchen and Pip were separated from each other. I was sympathetic for the children that did not have parents or guardians. I was inspired by Pip and they way that he wanted to come out of his shell and do things on his own without Kinchen. A story that is “believable” is one that makes you feel real emotions as you read- allowing you to collect with the characters.

Discuss the setting. Was the setting essential to the plot of the book? Explain why or why not. Does it add depth to the book? 

The setting is critical to this story! Throughout the book, we travel back and forth from one world to the next. From the Islands to the Raftworld. It is important as the reader that we are paying close attention to the text so we know which setting this part of the story is taking place in. I think this is one of the most challenging parts about this particular text- it was really hard for me to follow along! I think middle school students may struggle with this as it is more complex than many of the texts that they have probably been in exposure to. In addition from traveling from world to world- we travel in time periods as well. We go from a very long way back in history- to the late 1970’s which seemingly, isn’t that long ago for me- but to our younger students, they feel as if this was really a long time ago! The changes of setting definitley adds depth to this book- we have layers and layers of information embedded in these various settings of the story such as the Islands, Raftworld, the boats and under the sea. The setting makes the book more believable as well. If students know that the setting is a real place, such as the sea or a country like Vietnam, that adds depth to the stories setting.

Watch these videos below to learn more about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery:

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-atlantic-slave-trade-what-your-textbook-never-told-you-anthony-hazard

Dreamers

Author: Yuyi Morales

Publisher: Neal Porter Books, 2018

Dreamers is a children’s picture book that tells the story of a mother and her young child who leave Mexico and travel into the United States. Upon their arrival, they are unsure of their new surroundings as they do not speak English and cannot understand those around them. The mother emerges herself and her son into literature to help them learn about their new home and their new language. These stories teach them beautiful lessons- as does Dreamers for us! This book offers a unique story as it was written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales who writes with her #OwnVoice as she tells her own story about how she transitioned from leaving her home into a new place in the United States.

This story has many elements in it that readers can take away, but as a teacher, I think it is really important that we use this text to help our students understand how impactful literature is. This is a beautiful story about growth and learning through books. The images below show a spread that represents this. In these spreads, you can see the transition of the pencil from the mothers hands in the beginning to the child’s hands at the end of the story. This transition shows that as the mother acquired knowledge about their new home, she passed it along to her young child- who then begins to learn and grow as well.

Critical Thinking

Discuss one of the main characters. How did the author make this character unique and believable? What issues does this character grapple with? How does the character evolve across the book? How were you able to relate to the characters? 

There are two main characters in this book- the mother and the child. The author made these characters unique and believable because she wrote the book in her #OwnVoice, meaning this is a true story about her and her son when they immigrated into the United States. In this story, the mother, Yuyi, grapples with several issues. The first of these is that she had to flee her home- leaving everything behind except for her child. That by itself could be very lonely and isolated. Another issue that she has to grapple with is being in a new place where she doesn’t know anyone or even how to communicate with them. She could not understand the words others were speaking- so the sought refuge in the library. As the book goes on, the woman evolves as she spends more and more time in the library reading and exploring literature. As time goes by, she eventually teaches herself and her son English by reading books! I was so amazed at this. This shows how important literature is to everyone! I do not feel as if I can relate to the characters in this book, because I have never been in this situation before, but I can say that as a teacher, I have seen how exposure to literature and quality books has impacted my students learning process and academic successes.