These short stories are loosely based on Rice’s own childhood as a Mexican American in South Texas. I selected this text for my snippet because it takes place in a culture I am not very familiar with. In my future classroom, I want to be able to show children that people like them can be amazing writers too, and this is just one text from a different culture that I plan on sharing one day with my students. This book could easily be used for English/Language Arts or Social Studies.
Here’s a snippet out of the story “She Flies”:
“I pulled the door open, and the sound of hundreds of singing birds wept away the shouts of my parents. The parakeets flew out, and I felt as if I were floating in a rainbow. They swirled around me, their feathers grazing my face, chest, shoulders, and arms. I wanted to float away with them. I could hear them whispering to me as they darted by. I lifted my arms and stood on the tips of my toes, wondering if I was about to fly. The birds swooped into the trees of Tía’s backyard, singing happily. Pájaro, on his kite string, sang too. And Tía Mana dropped the water hose and put her arms up, as if she were trying to embrace the flying colors. She was laughing, and he laugh was the same pitch as the singing birds. (p79-80)”
Sarah Records