PICTURE BOOK ANALYSIS

·         PICTURE BOOK ANALYSIS

·         TITLE: DANIEL’S RIDE

·         BY: MICHAEL PERRY

·         ILLISTRATED BY: LEE BALLARD

·         COPYRIGHT: 2001; FREE WILL PRESS; SAN FRANSISCO

·         WEB-SITE: www.icdlbooks.org

     The story is about a Hispanic boy, named Daniel, who is around age 9.  It begins in the morning on the first day of summer.  It is a special day, because Daniel’s older brother Hector is going to take him for a ride in his 1963 Chevy Impala low rider.  During their ride Hector drives all over town stopping to chat with some people.  The brothers have a great time cruzin’ the neighborhood.  When they get back home Hector realizes how much Daniel really loves the car.  Hector makes Daniel a deal, which starts to spark Daniel’s dreams.

     The characters in “Daniel’s Ride” were depicted as individual people.  The people in the story were Hispanic.  There were a few sentences written in Spanish, and then instantly translated to English, so someone who didn’t understand Spanish could understand what was being said.  I think it was hard for me to tell the difference between the culture and the stereotypes.  Some of the stereotypes are associated to common likes the culture shares, but it doesn’t mean other races don’t find those things interesting too.  I am Caucasian.  I grew up in the barrio.  My neighborhood was predominantly 1^st, 2nd, and 3^rd generation Mexican American Immigrants.  There were many suspected illegal immigrants living there too.  Growing up in the midst of that culture I saw many men create a sweet low rider of envy.  I saw many families living in one house that wasn’t large enough for the number of inhabitants.  I saw people work back breaking jobs for unfair wages, and still send money home to their families in Mexico.  My point is even though they’re stereotypes I saw many things about them that existed within the culture.  So depending on how a person is viewing a stereotype determines if it is positive or negative. 

     Hector is the character of this story that has the power.  Hector owns the low rider.  The low rider is deemed the “golden ticket” so to speak.  To be associated with the low rider insinuates coolness.  The coolness of the car stems many branches.  1^st Hector is the cool older brother.   2^nd the car looks really nice.   3^rd it can use shocks and hydraulics to hop.  4^th the car has an awesome sound system.   5^th it is a convertible.  6^th it takes you places.  7^th other people think your cool when they see you ride in it.  No wonder Hector has a groupie.  Hector uses this power to share enjoyment of the car with his brother.  He spends time with his Daniel by going on cruises together.  I also believe the end of the story displays Hector’s wisdom.  Hector realizes how much Daniel loves the car, and makes him a deal.  If Daniel graduates from high school, with the prospect of college Hector will give him the car.  This instantly sends thoughts reeling in Daniels mind.  This deal provides Daniel with inspiration to try hard for success in his future.

     Some Spanish is written.  They verbal communication between Daniel and his Parents is in Spanish.  A few other Spanish words are used in the text to describe things with Hispanic flare, like “we were cruzin'

through the barrio.”  One stop that the brother’s made was in downtown where there cousin was painting a mural on the side of a building.  Daniel explained that his cousin was painting one about Mexican American Heritage.  This stop seemed to connect the inner city geography of the book to the culture that lived there. 

     I couldn’t tell if the author and illustrator were a part of the cultural group the story was about.  There wasn’t much written on either one of them under their biography.  The Author had written other children’s books and was a father of two girls.  The illustrator was a father too.

     I think this story was about enjoying the moment, making goals, and striving to reach those goals.  I was based from the point of view of a Hispanic family.  Not being able to achieve something because of race wasn’t an issue in this story.  What the story displayed was the dreams of a little boy with the cultural aspects of his heritage.  The story demonstrated that Hector believed in Daniel’s ability to achieve, and only Daniel will decide how far he succeeds.

     I think that the low rider car, the shocks on the car, and the mural painting cousin, perpetuate stereotypes.  It doesn’t mean they have to be negative stereotypes, but none the less they are stereotypes.  I have seen people use these stereotypes negatively, and positively.  I think this is a good book.  I don’t believe it sends negative messages, but I could be wrong.  I think that it reminds me of my childhood, and I like that.