Reflection:

While the three of us were thinking of a creative way to do our final project, Jason briefly mentioned doing a children’s book, this idea began to develop when Analise mentioned that in high school she created a children’s book about the French Revolution. Once we decided to do a children’s book we quickly decided that we wanted a fictional character to travel through some of the stories we explored during our class. The three of us began to discuss different animals that we would be able to draw, and then we remembered the significance of the donkey in the Italian culture and Peppe Voltaralli’s song about the donkey. We named our donkey Peppe as a tribute to Peppe Voltarelli and his story.

The process of creating Peppe Goes to America was one that required patience, creativity, humor, a deep understanding of the novels and films that we covered throughout the semester. The beginning was mostly humorous due to the lighthearted nature of creating a children’s book. However, we ran into the issue of having to somehow incorporate the the dark themes of the immigration process while still creating a book appropriate for a child. After completing the script, it was refreshing to return to our childhood roots of coloring and using our imaginations to produce a project that we are all truly proud of.

Through the process of developing our children’s book, we have obtained a comprehensive review of the semester. We reflected on how the immigration process is not as simple as we originally were led to believe. Our character Peppe the donkey reminded us of the challenges associated with arriving in a new country and the common struggle of a unique identity. Overall, writing Peppe Goes to America allowed us to creatively connect to each of our own families’ histories of emigration from Italy and assimilation into American culture.

Works Cited:

Crialese, Emanuele, et al. Golden Door. Optimum Releasing, 2006.

Donato, Pietro Di. Christ in Concrete. Esquire, Inc., 1937.

Fante, John. Ask the Dust. HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Gagliardi, Giuseppe. The True Legend of Tony Vilar. Avocado Pictures, 2006.

Madalena, Lorenzo. Confetti for Gino. Guernica, 2011.