After her father died, Ida Mae Jones had a desire to become a pilot. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she decided to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) to help her brother who was also fighting against Japan. Ida Mae was forced to overcome her barriers of being an African American woman and coming to terms with her own identity. This is a historical fictional story based on the brave women who served in the WASP program but were not recognized for their service until 1977. I would recommend this book for Social Studies students who are interested in women's history. This was an important period when women were needed to work in jobs that were reserved for men during this period of time.
November 20, 2012
During the height of the War of 1812, Billy Calder, a 14-year-old who is a half Mohawk Indian, half Irish youth that has a mission to reclaim his land and fight on behalf of his fellow Indians from the American soldiers. Taught by the Jesuit priest Pére Jean-Paul, he learns many different languages including his native tongue. Within 2 years, Billy befriends the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh and they try to reclaim their land by aligning themselves to the British army. Their army commander is ineffective and abandons his soliders only to find death and destruction in their journey. Billy realizes that war is futile and after Tecumseh dies, he surrenders to survival while awaiting for his future. This novel is based on the history of William Caldwell who became an agent for the British Bureau of Indian Affairs.
November 14, 2012
When Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus, African-American citizens in Montgomery, Alabama were united to boycott the public transportation system in protest of the antiquated Jim Crow laws that promoted segregation and discrimination. City officials ignored the boycott until business leaders from the bus system were losing revenue. The mayor tried to institute get-tough policies against the boycotters; however, even some of the White citizens supported the cause. Rosa Parks was someone who had strength, courage and quiet conviction to make a stand against those who were steeped in prejudice and bigotry. After 381 days of the boycott and the U.S. Supreme Court decision that handed the law to the Alabama District Court stating that segregation was unconstitutional, the government officials had no choice but to concede. At the end of the book, Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks are sitting in the front of the bus. They provided dignity, respect, and equality to the oppressed people by becoming active in the civil rights movement.
This is a video that provides details of this movement:
November 7, 2012
The story is set during the last part of the 19th century to the early part of the 20th century. After their mother died, Sarah and Mattie are two Mohawk Indian sisters who are sent to a boarding school to be educated and far away from their father. Under a strict, harsh school environment, they are forced to give up their Mohawk customs. However, Sarah has smuggled Mattie's small sweetgrass basket reminding them of their mother and family memories. Things get bad for Mattie when she is accused of stealing Mrs. Dwyer's pin. Fearing Mrs. Dwyer's wrath, her classmates ostracize and Mattie runs away. Mattie dies but her spirit remains free and she is in a better place along side her mother. Sarah cherishes the basket and knows that Mattie and her mother will always remain in her heart. Mrs. Dwyer reminded me of a bully who wanted to break Mattie's spirit but she refused to allow her to do that to her and Sarah. Both of them would not even cry in front of Mrs. Dwyer to give her the satisfaction of having that emotional power. Even when Mattie died, Mrs. Dwyer stayed away from Sarah, possibly because of guilt. This is a historical fiction book that portrayed the Carlisle Indian Industrial School from Pennsylvania that was the first boarding school for Native American children during that period.
November 5, 2012
Living under Castro's communist government in Cuba, Yara and her family asked the government to leave their homeland to live in Miami. Before they can leave, Yara's father is forced to work in a coffee plantation. Her brother is forced to serve in the military and she has to work on a tobacco farm. While living in Miami, Yara's father tries to maintain the traditional Cuban family upbringing and struggles to adapt to the American customs of raising his children. He experiences this change when Yara's mother works outside of the home and feels threatened by this independence because he considered himself to be head of the house. Yara first had some difficulties in adjusting to the school environment because she only spoke Spanish. However, within the next year, she has improved her skills in English and excels in math. She and her sister also have conflicts in obeying their parents' strict rules of not going out of home alone while wanting to be free to be with their friends. The father begins to give his daughters independence but still yearns to return to Cuba, which Yara does not know whether this will happen.
October 27, 2012
Sofia is like her father as the storyteller, Clara, tells her she is like a mule that kicks. This is a good prediction because Sofia works hard at studying and making good grades despite her classmates bullying her at her junior high school. Her coach intervenes on her behalf and advises Sofia to "kick their butts in her head." Sofia is selected to go to St. Luke Academy, which will ensure success for her to attend Harvard College. She feels excited but scared of failure and misses her family because the academy is 300 miles away from her home. She not only excels in her studies but learns about the heart of her family when her father passes away. I enjoyed this story because of the close love and support her family members gave her, which is important to never forget about the memories even when she became a lawyer.
October 20, 2012
This is an autobiographical account of the author's childhood whose family were Mexican migrants. The family is poor as they struggle to earn money through picking fruits and vegetables. During one time, his parents and younger siblings were deported back to Mexico, leaving him and his older brother to work. When his parents return to home, he thrives in junior high and high school. He becomes student class president, earns a 3.7 grade point average and has a scholarship to go to a university to become a teacher. This would be beneficial to introduce this book to an older elementary student who is a migrant to inspire them to stay in school and attain an education so they can be happy while remembering their family and home.
October 15, 2012
This book contains ten different short stories written by Native American authors detailing with alcoholism, dysfunctional family relationships, abandonment, stereotypes, substance abuse, isolation, loneliness, positive role models, lust, jealousy, betrayal, creation of life, and hope for the future. One story I can relate to is "The Magic Pony" by Greg Sarris. The main character, Ruby, lives in a crowded house with her aunts and cousins. I can relate to the "man sickness", that her Aunt Fay explains women who are so lonely, they will choose any man to complete them only to be disappointed and be inflicted with "man poison" where there is the love of your life who dies as this is related to spiritual abandonment. Another story I understand is "A Real-Life Blond and his equally Annoyed Soul Mate" by Cynthia Leitich Smith. This is an exploration of how people can stereotype others because of appearances. The narrator describes himself as having blond hair but he is a Cherokee Indian. The moral of the story is that looks can be deceiving.
October 10, 2012
This is an autobiographical account of Juan Francisco Manzano who was a slave in Cuba during the 17th century while this country was under colonial Spanish rule. The reading is very fast because the content is free-styling poetry describing the poet's brutality of being taken away from his mother by the first owner Dona Beatriz, who treated him as her own son. Eventually he was sold to La Marquesa de Prado Ameno, who is a very cruel slave owner but she does not break his spirit to write his poems. I was saddened to read the author's true biography. He was imprisoned for nine years because he was a victim of the widespread fear of slave rebellions. After being released from prison, he no longer wrote any more stories or poems.
October 8, 2012
This is a collection of Indian folklore stories explaining the spiritualism of animal symbolism of life, death, and relationships. The author made a 21-mile trek to commemorate the anniversary of The Tragic Trail of Tears. I enjoyed reading this book and was angry about people who vandalized the comfort stations while the narrator was making the journey. There were references to the history of The Indian Removal Act of 1830, that forced five tribes of Indians in the southeastern region to flee from their homeland and settle in an Oklahoma reservation. This was our small-scale version of ethnic cleansing that is a shameful period of our past. I would like to include a video from the song "The Return to Innocence" that is inspiring to the Indian heritage of coexisting with each other and to incorporate their spiritual beliefs:
October 7, 2012
I would recommend this book to students who recently lost a parent and to never give up the right to have respect. Because his father died, Tom transferred to a different school and he struggled to be a part of the student environment where the team mascot was called the "Warriors." He believed this name denigrated his ancestry. This was difficult for him not to participate in the school's team because he enjoyed playing soccer and was the star athlete at his previous school. He meets some very unusual friends who are mostly the science "geeks" but they form a team as they practice their skills to beat the school's team from a coach who is a bully. This is an excellent book for helping students be confident and proud of themselves while holding on to their beliefs and standing up to those who feel they are wrong!
October 5, 2012
I absolutely loved this book because Ruby Lu is a force of nature! She not only lives with her parents and younger brother but also with her cousin Flying Duck and aunt and uncle. Flying Duck is deaf but she knows Chinese sign language. Ruby Lu and Flying Duck need to go to summer school to improve in their school work. Ruby Lu writes down some goals she would like to meet during the summer including improving her math and English skills, getting over her fear of water, and trying to get along with Emma despite having some past arguments with each other. Ruby Lu is happy that she has met her goals and has become friends with Emma. She adopts a stray dog and calls him "Elvis". Everything is good because after all, she is the "Empress of Everything" while prancing around the house with her magic wand! I would recommend this book for second to fourth grade students because this would inspire students to self-monitor their behavior or improve their schoolwork.
September 25, 2012
The beginning of the story is set in 1911 when the feminist movement was evolving. Yanyan lives in Nanking, China with her parents and brothers. She has a desired to go to medical school to become a doctor and her father is support her future plans. However, she is attracted to a Liang Baoshu and had doubts of realizing her dreams of becoming a doctor. After considerable thought, Yanyan decides to go to Cornell University and encounters barriers and obstacles to her gender and nationality. There are also some people who are stereotyping her as a laundress, cook, or a seamstress without thinking she is a medical student and has never been exposed to these skills. What I like about the main character is that she is an independent woman who thinks for herself and works hard to achieving her goals despite encountering loneliness, bigotry and jealousy. I would recommend this book to female students who have plans to achieve success for challenging vocations.
September 20, 2012
In 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War, Matt Pinn is airlifted out of Saigon. His mother explains to him why he is being sent away from the family because he would be labeled "bui doi" or "children of dust" who are outcasts in the community. Because he is half-American and half-Vietnamese, he would never be accepted in Vietnam. He is adopted by his father who sponsors a support group for the veterans. Matt is confronted by Rob, a classmate who blames him for his brother's death. When they are paired together to participate in an exercise, they both reveal their feelings of their grief and loss of their family. Matt and Rob soon become fast friends. I love this free-style poetry book that reveals his feelings of leaving his family behind and knowing he cannot go back to his homeland to see them.
September 17, 2012
This is one of my favorite books because I felt a close connection with Ling who is an only child in her family and understanding the relationships she had with her father and mother. Ling came from a privileged family but her world changed during the height of The Cultural Revolution where they were subjected to unwanted searches and seizures as The Red Guard would destroy items that had Western influences. Ling learns to survive on family rations and her relationship with her mother changes as she does her best to adapt under these severe conditions. I was also happy that Ling stood up to her classmates who bullied her and her family was reunited after the fall of the Cultural Revolution. I would recommend this book to students so they can appreciate their freedom.
September 16, 2012
This is a juvenile mystery book. Frances is mourning the death of her brother, Daniel, who died from a heroin overdose. She did not have many friends and would prefer to work on her paintings. Frances decides to join the Unity Service, a charity organization and is asked to become part of a committee to provide a memorial scholarship fund in Daniel's name for middle school students. Frances finds out this charity is a drug front and learns about the details of her brother's death. I enjoyed this book because Frances was very brave in finding out what happened to her brother's death. She also rose above her low self-esteem and after she her questions were answered regarding her brother's death, she took away the black material from her mirror symbolizing her mourning period.
I would recommend this book to students who enjoy reading a mystery. However, I would also caution them to seek positive alternative means of dealing with the loss of a loved one because Frances was smoking marijuana.
September 14, 2012
This is a historical fiction book that has the narrator tell her son about her journey with Lewis and Clark on this expedition. Lewis and Clark asked Sacajawea to join them in their journey because she was a Shoshone Indian who knew the route and can act as an interpreter. There are historical references that describe their journey of crossing each state and the challenges of sickness, encountering hostile Indians, traveling and adapting to inclement weather. I did not like nor do I recommend this book for fifth grade students. There were so many discprepancies listed in the book. One of these discrepancies list Otter Woman as the one who was pregnant with Pomp but this was Sacajawea. The narrator of the story was also referring Otter Woman as his mother, too. Parents could also raise objections to this book considering the marital relationship between Charbonneau, Sacajawea, and Otter Woman if they have strong religious convictions.
September 13, 2012
This is a diary of a young boy who makes his journey from his village in China to San Francisco during the Gold Rush Period of 1852. Bright Intelligence or Runt meets with his Uncle Precious Stone to work in the gold mining industry. Bright Intelligence also has other friends who are immigrants and come from many different parts of the country. They encounter bullies and robbers, which he has learned strategies from his supervisor, "The Fox." I loved this book because this has very fast reading. I admire the character to live in a country and learn to adopt to the American life. This would be a good book to help students learn about diversity and how they could adopt to different cultures.
September 10, 2012
The narrator presents reveals close relationship with her sister from a diary. Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, was an optimistic girl who had dreams of becoming a rocket scientist and a writer who desires to have a house on an ocean. Her sister Lynn has lymphoma, which she requires frequent hospitalizations. Katie becomes the caretaker for her sister and her younger brother, Sam. When there is an argument with Lynn, Katie leaves her to find release from her stress but Lynn has died. I felt a very strong emotion because I know what it was like to be a caretaker and how Katie felt guilty when she left Lynn alone. However, like Katie, I realize that the spirit of my loved ones exist and that each day, I hope to find my kira-kira.
September 6, 2012
Tree-ear is an orphan living during the 12th century in Korea and is outcast in his community. He has the desire to become the best artist in pottery and becomes Min's pottery assistant. After Min refused Tree-ear's request to work on the pottery wheel, he is crushed. Min's attitude softens when he tells Tree-ear that Crane-Man has died and compliments him on his workmanship of the frog charm. Tree-ear is adopted by Min and his wife. I would recommend this book for students who are developing their passion, which would inspire them to keep working despite having barriers.
I would like to introduce a video that displays Korean Celadon pottery to show the students the craftsmanship of this work:
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