Something Like Home

By Andrea Beatriz Arango

Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Andrea Beatriz Arango Website:

https://andreabeatrizarango.com/

Activities & Resources:

Educator Pre-reading Questions:

Establish a connection between students and the characters in the book:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CvYpyQePmQV6i7nHl9aOwEFaUuQelI0B/view

Poetry:

This story is written in verse. Using what you know about the characters, write a short poem (doesn’t have to rhyme) about how Laura felt when she found Sparrow?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CvYpyQePmQV6i7nHl9aOwEFaUuQelI0B/view

Poem Generator: Using your name, and words from the story, create your own poem:

https://www.poem-generator.org.uk/

Acrostic Poem: Laura was trying to fit into her new home with her aunt. Write an acrostic poem about HOME and what it means to Laura in her search:

https://www.printabletreats.com/printable-home-acrostic-poem/

Birds:

Laura describes how her dad called her his “woodpecker”. Birds are an important part of this story.  Explore more information about birds (4:19)

https://www.yout.ube.com/watch?v=jF0Id-hH9y4

National Geographic Kids: Birds

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds

Author Interview

Kids meet and interview author Andrea Beatriz Arango (20:08)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWgf2YHWc9s

Letter Writing:

Laura writes letters to her parents in hopes of seeing them. See how to write the PERFECT letter.

https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/writing/articles/introduction-letter-writing

Spanish/Puerto Rico:

Creative activities to learn spanish like Tita Sylvia was speaking to Laura:

https://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_for_children

Laura’s parents and aunt are from Puerto Rico. Learn more about her heritage:

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/states/article/puerto-rico

MakerSpace Activities:

Laura spends a lot of time with her Rubik's Cube when she is stressed. Learn how to code with a Rubik’s Cube!

https://teachyourkidscode.com/rubiks-cube-coding-activities-for-kids/

Using words or a magnetic poetry kit, create your own poem:

https://www.joannerossbridge.com.au/blog/motivating-students-to-write-poetry-magnetic-poetry

Create your own pet! (11:45)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxZRo4zVfik

Word Cloud Generator: Have students generate a word cloud about what family and home means to them.

https://www.freewordcloudgenerator.com/

Make a Bird Feeder with craft sticks (10:14)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U2bEIwRiTI

Discussion Questions:

In the first three poems (“Time and Space,” “Did You Know?” and “My Room That Is Not

My Room”), what do we learn about Laura?

Do you recognize parts of yourself in Laura or in her feelings?

Laura writes a lot about herself in her poems early in the book. What do you learn about Laura’s past and about her hopes and dreams and fears from each poem?

When Laura finds Sparrow, how is Sparrow feeling? How do his actions show his feelings?

Benson is cheerful and eager to make friends with Laura. What causes Laura’s initial

hesitation? What events in the story show how Benson’s and Laura’s friendship grows

and changes?

How is Laura a good friend to Benson? How is Benson a good friend to her?

How does Laura and Benson’s friendship compare to your own friendships?

What are Titi Silvia’s personality traits, likes, and dislikes?

Do you believe Titi Silvia is a good person for Laura to trust? Why or why not?

What does Laura’s reaction to life with Silvia tell you about how her life must have been before?

Why do you think Laura didn’t go with her mother when she came to school?

Why do you think Laura felt like she should have gone with her mother?

What difficult decision did Laura make when she found her parents unconscious? What are Laura’s biggest fears about this decision?

What would you tell Laura if you could talk to her about this decision and its aftermath?

What and who is home for Laura? How do you know?

Laura writes a total of eight letters to her parents. Some she sends (#1, #2, #3, #4,

#5, and the unnumbered letter on p. 234) and two that she doesn’t. Why do you

think she doesn’t send some letters?

Compare the apology Laura makes to her parents in her letters to the apologies that she offers to either Benson, Titi Silvia, or Sparrow. How are the apologies different?

What do you think is meant by Laura’s final stanza: “And eventually / eventually / we’ll all make it / to where we belong”?

What are your thoughts and feelings as you finish reading her story?

If you could ask the author one question about the book, what would it be?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader’s theater for Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango.

Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award website.

Read Alikes: 

Bird, James, No Place Like Home.  When 11-year-old foster kid Mo finds a handmade cookbook filled with someone else's family recipes, she collects the stories behind them and builds a website to share them, secretly hoping a long-lost relative will find her and give her a family recipe all her own (NoveList Plus)

O’Connor, Barbara, How To Steal A Dog.  Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer. (NoveList Plus)

O'Shaughnessy, Kate, Lasagna Means I Love You. When 11-year-old foster kid Mo finds a handmade cookbook filled with someone else's family recipes, she collects the stories behind them and builds a website to share them, secretly hoping a long-lost relative will find her and give her a family recipe all her own (NoveList Plus)

Stark-McGinnis, Sandy, Extraordinary Birds. Eleven-year-old December waits to sprout wings and fly away, until a new foster mother changes her perspective on home and family.(NoveLIst Plus)

Reviews:

Booklist  (vol 120, number 2, p52)

Grades 5-8 Laura Rodríguez Colón just wants to go home , but she made the decision to call 911, and now she’s living with an aunt she didn’t even know she had and learning the ins and outs of kinship foster care. Disgruntled by the situation, mad at herself, and longing for home , Laura stumbles upon someone who needs her just as much as she needs someone: a lost dog that, somehow, her aunt agrees to let her keep. Laura is certain that the dog, Sparrow, is going to be her ticket back to her parents as she trains him to be a therapy dog. At her new school, luckily, Laura is befriended by Benson, a boy fighting sickle-cell disease who happens to be a good trainer, and a great friend who doesn’t judge her for her parents' addiction. Full of the author's signature heart-tugging verse, a character you just want to hug, and threads of friendship, family, and belonging, Arango’s follow-up to her Newbery Honor debut is a triumph for readers who need comforting encouragement without having to ask for it. -- Aryssa Damron (Reviewed 9/15/2023) 

School Library Journal (vol 69, issue 9, p99)

Everything in Laura's life is wrong, and it is all her fault. If she hadn't called 911, then the police wouldn't have found her parents on pills, and she wouldn't have been sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know while her parents are in rehab. Haunted by her guilt and lack of autonomy, Laura is struggling to find a place in a new school and in a house with rules she doesn't understand when she discovers an abandoned puppy and sets out to train him as a therapy dog. Maybe he will be the key to visiting her parents so she can apologize and they can all go home  together. Extraordinarily honest and sensitive, this novel in verse tactfully and gracefully deals with foster and kinship care and some of the many emotions involved. Laura and her aunt are both Puerto Rican, although Laura doesn't speak fluent Spanish, and some simple Spanish phrases are included through their dialogue. The verse format and word choice make this a more accessible option than some other books on similar topics. Throughout the story, Laura learns to accept that her love for her parents does not make her responsible for their actions, and to allow herself to have space in her heart for all those who love and care for her. An author's note supplies more information for readers who are not familiar with foster/kinship care, as well as encouragement to those who have experienced it firsthand. VERDICT So much affirmation, exploration, and positivity for those in similar situations are packed beautifully into these verses, making it a solid addition to collections.—Emily Beasley (Reviewed 09/01/2023)