Inside Out and Back Again is een bekroonde, historische fictieroman van Thanhha Lai. Het is 1975 en de tienjarige Hà woont met haar moeder en drie broers in Saigon, dat op het punt staat te worden overgenomen door de Noord-Vietnamezen. Het gezin besluit de gevaarlijke reis te maken om als vluchteling naar de Verenigde Staten te vluchten. Betrek en leid studenten op met vooraf gemaakte activiteiten van Storyboard That!
Studenten kunnen de plot van het verhaal samenvatten en illustreren in een 6-cel storyboard met de nadruk op de expositie en het conflict, stijgende actie, climax / keerpunt, dalende actie en oplossing.
Storyboard Tekst
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
CONFLICT
Tet, 1975:Year of the Cat
Tet, 1975:Year of the Cat
RISING ACTION
The story begins on Tet, the Vietnamese New Year in 1975. Kim Hà lives in Saigon with her loving family: mother and older brothers Quang, Vû, and Khôi. Vietnam has been at war for decades but Saigon remains under the control of the South Vietnamese government for now. However, it is only a matter of time before the communist North Vietnamese take over.
CLIMAX
Hà's father disappeared nine years ago on a mission for the South Vietnamese Navy. He is considered "missing in action." They miss their father terribly and Hà's mother has to support the family on her own. It is very difficult as the war makes everything scarce. With the impending siege of Saigon by the North Vietnamese, people have begun evacuating. Hà's family must decide whether to stay or try to flee.
FALLING ACTION
Hà's family makes the difficult decision to flee. They must leave everything behind except what they can carry in small backpacks. They board a South Vietnamese Navy ship that is repurposed for refugees with hundreds of others and sail for weeks with little food and water. Saigon falls to the North Vietnamese and South Vietnam is no more. They luckily make it to the United States where they are taken in by a generous "Cowboy" and his unkind wife.
RESOLUTION
Hà's family start over in America. They face hateful racism from their neighbors. English is difficult to learn. Hà is bullied at school. Hà confides in her mother that she is miserable and wishes they could have stayed in Vietnam. Her family and a few new friends help Hà to stand up to the main bully, "Pink Boy". Brother Vû Lee arrives on his motorcycle and intimidates the boy. At school, things begin to change for the better after that.
One day when Hà's mother is at work, she accidentally loses her wedding ring. It was the last tie the family had to their father. They had always believed that he would somehow return but this misfortune seems like a sign for the family to accept his death and move on. Together they hold a traditional funeral ceremony for him.
The story ends with the the family celebrating Tet again in 1976. In Vietnamese culture, everyone is one year older on Tet and it is a chance to ensure good fortune for the coming year. Hà prays for her father to find a safe passage to his final resting place, for each of her brothers and her mother, and that she "truly learns to fly-kick, not to kick anyone so much as to fly."