by Andrea García, Amanda Lev and Oddette Williams, Hofstra University.
Planning for teaching children’s literature in my graduate Literacy Studies program at Hofstra University provides me with the perfect opportunity to select books that invite readers to take on a global perspective. For the current fall 2014 semester, I was particularly drawn to selecting children’s literature featuring stories from different times in history; books that would allow us to engage in critical conversations about the everyday lives of strong characters, whose experiences could help shape our understandings of our ourselves and others. I also wanted to share novels written in free verse because, as a reader, I believe this type of poetic narrative evokes novel transactions with language, and leaves room for creative interpretations constructed in between verses. So, I created a text set with the following novels to focus on Global Explorations with novels in free verse:
•Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg (2013)
•Call me Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer (2006)
•Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate (2008)
•Salt: A story of Friendship in a Time of War (2013) by Helen Frost
I invited my students to select one book to read and discuss with a partner in class, and to write a response that we could share in this blog, focusing on their personal response to the text, as well as their thoughts about using their selected novel in the classroom. This month, our blog will feature their writing, considering the possibilities of incorporating global children’s literature in the classroom from their experiences as readers with these books.
We start this 
week with Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg (2013), and present Amanda and Oddette’s transactions with the story. This highly acclaimed novel was named Kirkus’ and School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year in 2013; New York Public Library Children’s Books~100 Books Worth Reading and Sharing in 2013; and ALA Notable Book for 2013, among others. This story introduces us to Serafina, a young girl living in Haiti, who has big dreams, as well as big challenges to overcome. Burg’s lyrical use of Haitian Creole throughout the story, and the vivid depictions of Serafina’s everyday life experiences make this novel one of those that is difficult to put down.
Oddette writes that, “Serafina’s Promise was quite a captivating read. It is about an eleven-year old girl, Serafina, who lives in the hills of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and has never had the opportunity to go to school. Serafina’s family is very poor. Sometimes they have no food to eat; and they certainly do not have enough money to send her to school. However, despite the poverty and challenges Serafina faces, the author Ann Burg, uses her to convey a positive message of hope, ambition, and determination. Serafina never gives up on her dream of going to school and becoming a doctor. Her inspiration comes from Dr. Antoinette Solaine, the doctor who tried fruitlessly to save her malnourished brother, and the words of her brave Granpe, “Education is the road to freedom.”
Serafina is a strong character, and it is her voice that carries the reader through the story. Amanda describes that the, “qualities that embody Serafina include being selfless, caring, responsible, honest, brave, and most importantly happy. This shines through assisting her mother with chores, caring for her ailing baby brother, and setting goals for herself that would satisfy her dreams. She knew what she was facing with: poverty, scarcity of food, and other obstacles, such as her mother’s approval to fulfill her dreams. From nothing, Serafina makes everything. For example she grows her own garden of food, herbs, and various other cooking ingredients, like mint. Where there used to be dirt and weeds, grew these wonderful products allowing her to earn money for her future. She is happy being with her family, going to celebrations, eating meals, and tending to her garden. Though she has so little compared to what I am used to, she is wholly satisfied.”
Amanda and Oddette created a Cultural X-Ray of Serafina as they began their discussion of the story in class. Their energy was contagious, as they moved from their favorite parts of the story to their response, carefully taking into consideration the social, cultural, economic, and political forces that defined Serafina’s story.
For both Amanda and Oddette, Serafina’s determination to go to school, and the importance of having role models in their lives, were strong personal connections. “One thing I loved about this story,” Amanda writes, “was how Serafina, with no delay or regret, wanted to go to school . . . All her money went towards her ribbons and uniform, and she felt like this is where she belonged. We all have that sense of trying to find our place in life. Serafina wants to be a doctor when she grows up and knows school will help her become a doctor. She saw this profession as what she was meant to be. Luckily, she had a role model in the story . . . to give her this drive, ambition, and example of what a great doctor should be like. We also search for this type of person in our life, whether it’s a family member, friend, teacher, or colleague. I relate to Serafina in this manner because of how hard I worked and continue to work to become a teacher.”
For Oddette, this drive for education touched close to home, as she delves to describe her own life experiences as they relate to the story. She writes that, “Throughout the reading, I held on to the wise words of Serafina’s Granpe because and I truly believe that education is the road to freedom from poverty. I also admire Serafina’s ambition to become a doctor. I can relate to Serafina’s ambition because I am a very ambitious person. I do not believe in failure, and I always aim to achieve the best at everything I do. I also see how I can use Serafina’s ambition to motivate my own students some of whom come from low income home environments.” Oddette continues, “The irony in my personal connection with this text is that unlike Manman, my parents were the stimuli behind my education . . . It was their attitude and the high value that they placed on education that created my worldview that education is a sure path to social mobility . . . It seems surprising, and out of character for a mom to want her child to satisfy with abject poverty . . . I am surprised by Manman’s willingness to accept poverty and pass it on to her daughter. Her behavior is not typical of Caribbean parents. Many poverty stricken parents do not want their children to be trapped in their situation. Serafina’s stance of not accepting and holding on to the dream of a better life is a more authentic portrayal of the Caribbean resilience and determination.”
In terms of the pedagogical implications of this novel for them as teachers, Oddette and Amanda believe that, “The world of the 21st century is shrinking. Global collaboration and global interactions have permeated every aspect of human life. In this era, sociopolitical, economic, environmental, and health issues affecting one hemisphere transcend their points of origin to become world issues. The increase in global collaboration and transnationalism have led literacy educators to look at global literature as way to provide young readers with books that will help them to shape a wider awareness of the world and teach them of their roles and responsibilities as citizens in a larger global community.”
Together, Amanda and Oddette identified a number of key purposes as teacher for why they would bring Serafina’s Promise to their classrooms. They write, “The novel emphasizes many things in Serafina’s life. It introduces historic moments in her personal history and in the history of Haiti. Serafina embraces her history, culture, and herself as a Haitian and a person. With a class, we can touch upon our own personal histories, cultures, and goals for ourselves. We can connect it to how our daily life impacts our culture and vice versa. Everyone in a classroom observes different traditions and is from a different culture. To be open to talking about comes from encouragement as a teacher. By reading Serafina’s Promise this conversation can really begin.” In fact, Oddette has already shared Serafina’s Promise with her students, who are reading it in their literature circle.
Amanda and Oddette consider that, “The novel empowers young readers with knowledge and awareness of childhood experience in another culture. Serafina lives in Haiti . . . Haiti is ranked as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the harsh economic reality of living in this setting is that the vast majority of children do not have access to basic education, healthcare and proper housing. When we meet Serafina at age eleven, she had already lost a sibling to what sounds like malnutrition, she has never been to school, and she walks around barefoot over prickly broken bottles and climbs the dusty, bare Haitian hills twice daily carrying water for household chores. Older students may study the impacts of a country’s economics on people’s personal well-being. Some students may connect ideas to the recession when their parents lost jobs and some aspects of their life changed.”
After reading Short and Thomas (2011) and their action research on “Developing Intercultural Understandings through Global Children’s Literature,” I invited my students to think about how this novel could help them as teachers develop intercultural understandings in the elementary classroom. As mentioned above, Amanda and Oddette believe that it is important to begin by helping students investigate their own personal histories and linguistic and cultural identities. They close their reflection by highlighting the universality of themes included in this story. They write, “Finally, Serafina’s Promise teaches these universal themes that are common to all cultures. People of all cultures have dreams and aspirations. With the strength of family especially during challenging times (Serafina’s family unit, especially her grandfather, provides her with the foundation that she needs to be strong, hopeful, and assertive), and one’s own determination and will, we can find success and accomplish a lot. Nothing was going to stop Serafina from going to school and live her dream. Our students should feel this way too.”
For this week, we invite you to reflect on these ideas and responses. As educators, we strive to promote conversations with students through the use of global children’s literature that can help foster possibilities for global explorations and intercultural inquiries. Have you read Serafina’s Promise? What is your overall evaluation of this novel from a global perspective? How could you incorporate this story in your classroom to foster students’ exploration of global perspectives and the development of intercultural understandings?
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- Themes: Andrea García, Oddette Williams
- Descriptors: Books & Resources, WOW Currents
This article was well written. I ike the Haitian example used. This should motivate all children especially those that come from humble beginnings.
I think this is well written. I must endorse the comment on the resilience and determination Caribbean people.
I enjoyed being able to see Amanda and Odette’s cultural x-Ray. Thank you for sharing this book, I will definitely add it to my list.
I am so grateful for this thoughtful reading of Serafina’s Promise!