Reviewed by Brad Manker
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Book Author: Andy Pina, Antonia Marisol Garcia, Pedro Reyes, Yunior Jose Garcia
In Jasmín Pictures Home, three immigrant friends help a fourth find beauty, pride, and a sense of identity in her home country’s culture.
When she moves to the United States from Honduras, the protagonist and artist Jasmín — feeling like she is “an island in a wide sea” — buries herself in her drawings. Unable to speak much English or make friends, she feels like the wilted red flower she sketches for her school’s upcoming Culture Night. Her friends, Jorge, Hector, and Manolito (who, like Jasmín, are immigrants from Latin American countries) provide her with a book on Latin American culture to help her learn more about their homelands. After reading the book, in a powerful moment of reflection, Jasmín says, “Me di cuenta de que nuestros recuerdos del hogar son como el arte que llevamos adentro.” (“I realized that our memories of home are like art that we carry inside.”) On Culture Night, she proudly displays her painting of her Honduran family and presents her friends with personalized paintings of the memories they shared with her.
This book was written by Washington, D.C., youth authors (ages 16-22) from the Latin American Youth Center in collaboration with Shout Mouse Press. Just like the characters in the story, the teenage authors of the book are originally from Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras. With their Shout Mouse story coach, these talented young people worked in teams to craft a story that centered the experiences of Latinx protagonists. The illustrator, Ian L. Springer, was careful to depict unique characters with various hairstyles, skin colors, and hobbies. This representative book successfully demonstrates that Latin American countries are diverse places with distinctive foods, festivals, and people. As a “foodie,” I eagerly conducted more research to learn about the various foods that were mentioned!
Readers may notice that Jasmín learns about her own country solely from a book and not from other sources, such as through discussions with relatives. She mentions that she “lived close to my family in Honduras — my parents, my grandmother, and all my cousins,” and we might presume that the two adults in her Culture Night painting are her parents. Perhaps her family is still in Honduras, or she has been adopted, or she has traveled alone to the United States to seek asylum.
Additionally, Jasmín and her friends are never shown interacting with anyone but themselves. I would have liked to have seen a diverse crowd appreciating Jasmín’s artwork on Culture Night. Instead, we see the group of three boys admiring the “American displays” (such as the flag, eagle paintings, and the hamburger sculpture), while Jasmín stands in the background silently smiling. It seems like a missed opportunity to show the other characters learning something from Jasmín, who might have communicated to them through her art.
These minor criticisms aside, this book is recommended for elementary school classrooms because it represents Central American and Caribbean Latinx students and their respective cultures in a positive way. Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop reminds us that books can serve as “mirrors” whose characters reflect back to students identities and experiences with which they can relate. For students unfamiliar with Latin America, these types of stories serve as windows allowing them to view their multicultural world. Jasmín Pictures Home affirms that every country, culture, and person is unique, special, and deserves to be celebrated.
The included reproducible page allows students to draw things that remind them of home, and teachers may additionally use this book as a mentor text to help [immigrant] students write or draw about favorite memories of their homelands.
Brad Manker serves as a fellow with Teaching for Change. He is an educator, curriculum designer, and independent researcher with a background in elementary education.
Additional Resource
Spanish Vocabulary
The following words are found in the text but are not defined, and the illustrations may be unclear to some children. This Google slideshow has more information and visuals about each of the foods and traditions found within the book: Spanish Words Found in Jasmín Pictures Home
Tamales – ground meat wrapped in cornmeal dough and cooked in corn husks.
Empanadas – pastry turnovers filled with a variety of sweet or savory ingredients and baked or fried.
Mole (MOH-leh) – a thick, rich, earthy brown sauce commonly found in Mexican and Guatemalan dishes. Mole can be prepared in many different ways, but it’s always time-intensive!
Guatemalan sones – Guatemalan sounds
Yaniqueques – crunchy, flaky, deep-fried bread from the Dominican Republic
Vejigas – traditional weapons of the devils of the Carnival celebrations in the Dominican Republic. They are made from inflated cow bladders, cured with lemon, ashes, and salt! The devils in parades might swing vejigas at anyone in their way, smacking them on the buttocks.
Baleadas – a traditional street food of Honduras, made by spreading refried beans, cotija cheese, and sour cream in a homemade tortilla.
Ticucos – vegetarian “tamales” of western Honduras, made by mixing beans, corn flour, and herbs, wrapped in dry tusa leaves and steamed.
Montucas – Southern Honduran tamales, made with sweet corn and chicken, beef, or pork. They can be filled with cheeses, fruits, vegetables, or chilies, as well.
Carnival – Referenced, but not mentioned specifically in the book – A Roman Catholic festival commonly celebrated in Latin American countries, involving singing, dancing, feasting, and parades. It happens before the season of Lent.
Jasmín Pictures Home / Jasmín ilustra su hogar by Andy Pina, Antonia Marisol Garcia, Pedro Reyes, Yunior Jose Garcia
on December 7, 2021
Genres: Immigration and Emigration
Pages: 42
Reading Level: Grade K, Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
ISBN: 9781950807413
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Publisher's Synopsis: In Jasmín Pictures Home, immigrant youth authors Andy, Marisol, Pedro, and Yunior wanted to write a book that explores what it's like to be different in a new country. In this book, a group of friends are the only kids in their school who are not from the City of Caves. These four best friends are all immigrants from four different countries! — and they all speak Spanish.
Though they bond over their shared language and their shared love of soccer, it's not always easy being different from everyone else. The newest arrival, Jasmin, is having the hardest time and she spends all her time drawing. Hector, Manolito, and Jorge don't like seeing Jasmin struggle. Can they work together to help Jasmin see the beauty in being different?
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