Echo vertelt vier verschillende, betoverende verhalen uit verschillende tijden en plaatsen.Het is een verhaal over opoffering, familie, vriendschap en de verbindende kracht van muziek. Het is verdeeld in vier verschillende delen: het verhaal van Otto aan het eind van de 19e eeuw in Duitsland; het verhaal van Friedrich in 1933 in Duitsland; Mike's verhaal in 1935 in Pennsylvania; en Ivy's verhaal in 1942 in Zuid-Californië.
Wanneer studenten complexe romans lezen met meerdere personages en instellingen, kan dit erg verwarrend voor hen zijn. Een manier waarop docenten studenten kunnen helpen, is door middel van het instellen en in kaart brengen van karakters. Met deze eenvoudige sjabloon-storyboards kunnen lezers instellingen en personages goed gesorteerd houden.
Studenten kunnen een omgevingskaart maken om de setting van elk verhaal in Echo van Pam Munoz Ryan . te illustreren
Storyboard Tekst
M M M
Echoby Pam Muñoz Ryan
TIME
FRIEDRICH'S STORY
1933
MIKE'S STORY
1935
IVY'S STORY
1942
OTTO'S STORY
1864
The 13th Harmonica of Otto Messenger
PLACE
Friedrich's story takes place in 1933 during Hitler's rise to power. The reader witnesses the introduction of intimidation tactics and many laws that discriminated against and harmed Jews and any one who Hitler deemed to be not of "pure German ancestry". Anyone who opposed Hitler and the Nazi party risked being arrested, brutalized, killed, and sent to a concentration camp such as Dachau.
Mike's story is set in 1935. At the time, harmonica music and particularly the Blues is popular. During the Great Depression in the United States, many people were poor and out of work. There were many orphans in the home where Mike and his brother lived and the corrupt head mistress used them to make money for herself.
Ivy's story takes place in 1942 during WWII, after the U.S. declared war on Japan. Ivy's brother, Fernando, Kenny Yamamoto, and the Ward brothers have enlisted to fight. At the same time, Japanese Americans like the Yamamoto family have been stripped of their civil liberties and forcibly sent away to concentration camps throughout the country.
Otto's story is said to be "50 years before the war to end all wars." This means it is 50 years before World War I, or around 1864. The story of Eins, Zwei, and Drei is set many years before that and as it is a fairy tale, it is not specified but rather, 'Once upon a time', or in this case "long before enchantment was eclipsed by doubt."
Friedrich's story is set in Trossingham, Germany in the south of the country near the Black Forest. In the story, Friedrich, his father and Uncle Gunter work in a Harmonica factory. In reality, Trossingham is where the famous Hohner Harmonica company was founded.
Mike's story is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mike and his brother, Frankie, live in an orphanage called Bishop's in a rural area. Later they go to live with Mrs. Sturbridge in her mansion in the city.
Ivy's story is set in Southern California. The family moves from Fresno County to Orange Country. Ivy is shocked when she is not allowed to attend the main school as it is segregated and children of Mexican descent are forced to attend a dilapidated school farther away.
Otto's story takes place in the countryside near Trossingham in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, which is by the Black Forest and near the Swiss Alps. Otto hides in the Black Forest and it is there that he encounters Eins, Zwei, and Drei.