Inside Out and Back Again Male Superiority
ISBN-13: 978-0061962783
ISBN-10: 0061962783
Hardcover: 262 pages
Lai, T. (2011). Inside out & back again (1st ed.). New York, NY: Harper.
Recommended Age: 8 – 12
(Amazon)
Grade Band: 4-8
(Booklist)
GENRE: Diversity, Novels in Verse, Historical Fiction
Vietnamese-Americans, Emigration/Immigration
~A 2012 Newbery Honor Book and a winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
PLOT SUMMARY
. . . Ha [her mother, and three brothers] . . . board a navy ship and flee [the Vietnam War]. Upon spending a couple months at a refugee camp, they [move] to Alabama. There she struggles with learning English and bullies, including Pink Boy, at her new school. Hà has once said, "No one would believe me but at times know I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama." Eventually, [Ha pushes] through those hard times with the help of their next door neighbor—Miss Washington—and the support of her family. In the beginning of the book, it mentions that Hà's father-a soldier in the Vietnam war-left when she was only a year old. In the end, Hà's family figures out . . . the father [has died]. Hà then gets used to living in the U.S and her family celebrates the new year. She prays for good things to happen to her and her family. (Retrieved from Wikipedia)
EVALUATION/ANALYSIS
In her author's note at the end of the story, Thanhha Lai tells the reader that she wrote this work of historical fiction based on her own personal experiences. The story is told through a year's worth of ten-year-old Ha's 1975 journal entries written as a series of short free-verse poems which chronicle her life-changing story of emigration from Vietnam to Alabama. The main theme is an expression of the conflict immigrants face. The I Ching, teller of fate, explicitly foreshadows the upcoming turmoil Ha and her family will experience during the next year. In Ha's February 12, and second, journal entry she pens that "he predicts our lives will twist inside out."
The two main settings of this first-person narrative, Saigon and Alabama, are both a source of contention for Ha. The story begins with "Part 1, Saigon" where her father has gone missing and the Communists invade her country. By story's end Alabama will be a place of normalcy but early on the family faces hardship and chaos, for they do not speak English, they live with strangers, they can't stand American food, and Ha has to repeat fourth grade and gets bullied at school. When the bullying finally stops, weird and funny things begin to happen in Ha's life. Thinking it's a dress, she wears a nightgown to school, for example, but she no longer cares what others think. The story ends with the family hopeful; it is Tet again, the year of conflict has passed, a new year begins, they have made new friends, and, finally, have a home of their own. Hence, the title,Inside out & Back Again.
Ha also feels contention with her culture's gender bias towards male dominance. In the first journal entry, February 11, Ha says, "But last night I pouted / when Mother insisted / one of my brothers / must rise first / this morning / to bless our house / because only male feet can bring luck. / An old, angry knot / expanded in my throat" (p. 2). In retaliation, Ha wakes up before dawn and secretly taps her "big toe / to the the floor / first." This is the reason why almost a year later she wonders, "Did I ruin the luck / of the whole family? / Is that why we're here?" (p. 214). In her mid-February entry, Ha says "I can't make my brothers go live elsewhere, / but I can / hide their sandals" (p. 5). The male dominance pattern, however, does not lessen Ha's love and devotion to her brothers.
The storyline is clear, chronological, and easy to predict told with mostly simple sentences and straightforward, easy to understand language. There are scatterings of the Vietnamese language and references or allusions to the Vietnamese culture and War and Ha's brother's idol, Bruce Lee, all of which may necessitate scaffolding and discussion. Most students may lack prior knowledge of the Vietnam War and terms and phrases such as Tet; I Ching, teller of fate; banh chung; banh cuon, tuyet sut (Vietnamese way) or tout de suite (the French phrase).
Although this story may not be a male reader's choice selection, strength lies in its accurate depiction of Vietnamese history, culture (language, foods, clothing, traditions, family structure, etc.), and gender bias; a contribution to a global understanding of our world. Readers will learn what life is like for immigrants struggling with a new language, eating new foods, meeting new people, and dealing with negative attitudes. Learning about other cultures helps readers learn to negotiate, an important skill that helps "kids make decisions about how to navigate community norms" (McWilliams, p. 162). This story is worthy of the school library's diversity collection, as the role of the school library is to include "materials [that] meet the needs of all learners, representing various points of view on current and historical issues, as well as a wide variety of interest areas" (AASL, 2012, January 21). Inside Out & Back Again fulfills that role quite nicely.
McWilliams, J. (2013) Lessons from a classroom participatory culture. In H. Jenkins,
W. Kelley, et al (Eds.), Reading in a participatory culture: Remixing Moby-Dick in the English classroom (pp. 159-168). Berkeley, CA: Teachers College Press.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS AND CONTENT STANDARDS FOR 4TH GRADE
English Language Arts, Culture
From the California Common Core State Standards
RL.4.1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RL.4.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
RL.4.3. Describe in depth a character, setting or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
RL.4.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).
RL.4.5. Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
RL.4.7. Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
RW.4.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
RW.4.9.(a). Apply grade 4 Reading standards to literature . . . (e.g., R.L.4.3.)
SL.4.4. Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
OTHER THEMATIC SUPPORT
Book Trailer
Author Reading
Being A Refugee Is Not A Choice
mcgoverninscurs1942.blogspot.com
Source: https://phyllislibbe.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/inside-out-back-again-thanhha-lai/
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