Windows and Mirrors

American as Paneer Pie vs. When Stars Are Scattered

We didn’t all agree when it came down to the vote but we did agree that we were sad to see these two books in the same bracket because it meant one of them couldn’t move on when we all felt both should and could move on. 

A few of us came into the meet very sure of our votes and were quite happy when the vote did sway in our favour.  

A few of us were very undecided and saw incredible value in both reads for ourselves and our students. 

American As Paneer Pie for younger, perhaps more innocent girls, seeing themselves in the pages or moments of being torn between two worldviews. We learn a lot about this through Lekha, who is Desi, but born and raised American. It could be a mirror for many of our students and was an inviting window for some of us. 

When Stars Are Scattered for readers who enjoy a good graphic novel and a way to shed light on the true story of the author, Omar Mohamed’s experience growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing Somalia during the war. The reader that voted for this one and held firm in her vote saw a window into her family’s own story and Paneer Pie was more of a mirror. In this round, she preferred the window over the mirror. 

Both of these are powerful stories that offer a window for some of us and a mirror for others. That is a win-win in our eyes and this is what made the decision so difficult for some of us. 

Many of our students come from or have connections in India and Pakistan and do indeed celebrate Diwali and because some of us read this book just a few short weeks ago when our students were celebrating Diwali - among many other things, that stuck with us. So maybe the timing? Maybe the school we teach in and the demographic we teach. Maybe the way our students often say “you can call me whatever you want” when what they really mean is “please just learn to pronounce my name properly and don’t make a big deal of it.” 

In the end, it came down to looking at what our students and most definitely ourselves could learn from Lekha’s story of growing up in America as a Desi girl. The two undecided readers convinced themselves to vote for Paneer Pie - just simply from the windows it offered us and the lessons that resonated. We are sending Paneer Pie onto the next round but we are already preparing our talking points to bring Stars Scattered back as a zombie pick. 

We learned and we grew. And we hope our students feel the same in the books they choose. We thought some of our students might see a part of themselves between the pages of Paneer Pie. 

Windows and mirrors - isn’t that the beauty of reading?