EVAN S.
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In The Year of The Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Book Description: In 1947, a Chinese girl comes to Brooklyn where she becomes Americanized in school, by her apartment, and by her love for baseball.
Author Information: Bette Bao Lord was born in Shanghai and moved to the United States at the age of 8. Mrs. Lord had to adjust from traditional Chinese ways, to modern American customs. Mrs. Lord then started her writing career when she went to a reception and told a publisher her story. Bette Bao Lord has written "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson," "Spring Moon," "The Chinese American Family Album," and "The Middle Heart." Bette Bao Lord continues to inspire audiences of all ages today.
Goodreads. Goodreads, 3 Aug. 2009. Web. 20 May 2014.
Research about Racial Views: Attitudes toward immigrants have been politically changed by world events, such as racial views toward Japanese-Americans during the Pearl Harbor bombings, yet, these beliefs arose again during 2001-2010, after the 9/11 attacks, because Middle Eastern extremists had perpetrated the attacks. This yet again set off a barrage of racial slurs about Middle Eastern descent people.
Cooper Owens, Deirdre Benia. "Racial and Ethnic Diversity." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 20 May 2014
Discovering the History in Historical Fiction
What clues did you use to determine the time and place of this book?
I used mostly characters and descriptions to determine the place and time of the novel. In my book, I knew it was set in New York and it was in 1947. The reason I knew it was set in New York because on page 26, it said, "home was in Brooklyn, New York" and that she said at the beginning she was moving to New York. The reason I knew it was in 1947 was because the character Jackie Robinson was mentioned, and in 1947, Jackie Robinson was hugely popular. Shirley, the protagonist, also mentions the Brooklyn Dodgers and stickball. Stickball was a pickup game of baseball that was popular and was typically played in the street.
Does your novel include an authors note or additional information about the history?
No, my book does not include an authors note or additional information.
Is your novel historical because of the time period it is set in? How do you know? Use text evidence to find examples of the time period.
p169, "this year of 1947. The year of the boar."
p89, "then that's why I'm called Jackie Robinson."
p144, "a Dodger steal. A seizure of enemy territory."
p166, "Mr. Jackie Robinson, a great American, I present to you on behalf of P.S. 8, the key to our school.
Is your novel historical because it is about a historical event or person?
No, my novel is not historical because it is not about an event or person.
Is your novel a mixture of real and fictional events?
A real event is the 1947 World Series. A fake event is a girl named Shirley getting beat up by a girl named Mabel.
What is the one thing that the writer makes you curious about after reading this novel?
The one thing the writer makes me curious about is how the rest of her life goes as an adult, and if she is successful.