Nana's Big Surprise
Nana, iQue Sorpresa!
Author: Amada Irma Perez
Illustrator: Maya Christina Gonzalez
Genre: Multicultural Fiction
Theme: Family and Immigrant Lives.
Award: 2008 Amricas Award Commended Title
Amada Irma Perez
Amada is a former bilingual teacher and a leading advocate of programs encouraging multicultural understanding. After teaching for over 25 years she began to write children’s books. She is married to a teacher and they have two grown sons. Amada and her husband live in California. She has written several children’s books that have received awards.
Maya Christina Gonzalez
Maya was born in California and still lives there today. She has illustrated over 20 children’s books and has received numerous awards for them. She has worked closely with educators to encourage students and teachers to be more creative to bring out self-empowerment.
My favorite illustration in the book!
I love this illustration because it is full of color and happiness. Nana is dancing and singing for the chickens so they will produce delicious eggs. She is teaching her grandchildren her dance so they can continue to make the chickens happy when she moves back to Mexico. The illustrator used acrylic paint and cut out the person and glued it on to a page to get the collage look.
Click on the VoiceThread to listen to me read pg. 29!!
Criteria that is demonstrated in the book:
Cultural Character:
Characterization should be true to life and balanced, representing both positive and negative behaviors and traits. In the book Nana represents both positive and negative behaviors. She was sad and down in the dumps because her husband passed away. Nana got happy when her grandchildren brought her chicks and she could then teach them all she knew about taking care of chickens.
Cultural Themes:
Themes should be consistent with the values, beliefs, customs, traditions, and conflicts of the specific cultural group. The book demonstrated how important it is to be with family during tough times. In this culture it is a tradition to take care of their elders.
Cultural Illustrations:
Illustrations should complement and enhance the imagery of the story. On each page in the book there are beautiful and colorful illustrations to show what is going on in the story. For example on the page where Nana is dancing for the chickens, the illustration helps enhance the imagery of the story based on how the chickens are responding.
Classroom Teaching Application
Nana's Big Surprise
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Common Core ELA Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
Objective: The students will be able to identify the main characters and their feelings.
*How I will connect this to the lives of my students:
I will have students think of a time when they experienced something similar to what Nana is going through. It could be a loss of a person, pet, or a toy. The students could use a Venn Diagram to show how their situation is similar and different to Nana’s. This book can be used in Science. It could be used in Science to explain the life cylce of a chicken.
*How I will model or explain what I want my students to learn:
I would model this by making a Venn Diagram of my own and filling it out before the students fill theirs out. This will help the students get an idea of something they lost or something that made them sad. I would tell the students about a time when my dog passes away and then give them details on how I was feeling and what made me feel better. They would help me place each detail in the Venn Diagram and also place details from the story in the diagram as well.
*How I will have the students practice this skill/strategy:
I will have them practice this skill by having them make their own Venn Diagram. Each student will think of a time when they lost something or felt sad and compare it to the feelings of Nana. Then they will record their feeling on a Venn Diagram. They will place details that are similar in the middle circle and details that are just from the story in the right circle and details just from their personal experience in the left circle.
*How I will have the students apply this to increase mastery:
I will have each student come to the front and share their diagram. The more experiences they listen to the more they can see how theirs compares. The students can then verbally explain how their experience is similar and different from their elbow partners.
Perez, A.I. (2007). Nana’s Big Surprise San Francisco
Children’s Book Press
Smore Flyer created by: Katie Wootten
EDEL 411 Section D