Module
5: Other Award Winners- Coretta Scott King: John Steptoe Award for New Talent
Book:
Zora and Me
Author:
Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon
Plot
An
echo of the real Zora Neale Hurston’s life, this fictional book is narrated by
Zora’s best friend Carrie. Just as Zora is telling a tale about a gator who
like to battle humans and regularly kills them a member of their community mysteriously
dies. Zora, fueled by the news, investigates the death with a mind full of
tales ready to be spun into what she believes to be true; little does she know what
really lurks in the darkest corners of her community. Masked by the ease of the
language and the flow of the words are the grown up characteristics of a maybe
not so made up gator king that the girls stumble upon: shady, deceitful, and
green with envy. As Zora opens the Pandora box of mystery that revolves around
the death, she also realizes that home may not necessarily be a physical
territory but a spiritual one.
Impression
of the Book
I
enjoyed this book and enjoyed reading a quasi-fictional version of Zora Neale
Hurston. Being one of the ultimate writers from the Harlem Renaissance,
imagining Zora as a spunky storyteller bordering on delusional is entertaining
and endearing; also being the only novel endorsed by the Zora Neale Hurston
that has not been written by Ms. Hurston herself makes me enjoy the novel just
that much more. It is a wonderful book and enjoyable to read.
Usage
in a Library Setting
This
book is perfect to read out loud with a group. Kids can speculate what
happens next and try to figure out, along with the characters, whether their
assumptions and speculations are in sync. An activity to do with the kids
would be to rewrite the story and try to create an original story of their own
from the tall tales Zora likes to spin…they can spin their own tall tales.
Reviews
“A
spirit of gentleness pervades this story, along with an air of mystery and
natural magic. The novel is set in Eatonville, FL, and imagines Zora
Neale Hurston's life from about fourth to sixth grade. The narrator, Carrie
Brown, is probably based on the Carrie Roberts in Hurston's autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road (1942). Other
major players such as Zora's family, Joe Clarke, and the kindly white
man who bestowed Zora with the nickname Sniglets, are also drawn from Dust Tracks, and the history of
Eatonville. With its combination of adventure, history, and introspection, Zora and Me will work best in classrooms--perhaps where an
enticing read-aloud is needed but the audience is somewhat captive--for the
times when the narrator sounds more like an adult than an 11-year-old,
commenting about how "stories guard the pictures of the selves,"
memory can be one-sided, and "good things alone don't make up a person
who's real." The authors have taken great care with historical accuracy,
and the book is endorsed by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust. Zora's
reputation for tall tales and her urge to see the world are directly tied to
the real Hurston's natural storytelling ability and desire to travel. A brief
biography, time line, and annotated bibliography are included.”
~~~~~~~~
By Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth,
TX
APA
Citations
Bond, V., Simon, T. R., & Candlewick Press.
(2010). Zora and me. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press.
Knapp, M. (2010). Zora and Me. School Library
Journal, 56(11), 104-106.
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