Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Robert Sibart Award for the most distinguished informational book for children was announced last week by the American Library Association. Two of the four honor books named will bring home the meaning of this special day honoring Dr. King.

VOICE OF FREEDOM: FANNIE LOU HAMER: THE SPIRIT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT by Carole  Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, Candlewick Press, 2015.

Author Weatherford has written more than 35 books for children and young adults. This is the first picture-book for fine artist Holmes who also won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award.     

Fannie Lou Hamer’s courage is legendary. It would take a strong pair of talents to introduce her to young readers. Weatherford brings the first person voice of Hamer to the page with an effective verse style that is her own poetic strength. Yet, her beautiful writing never gets in the way of the gritty, forward moving story. The emotion Holmes brings to each page turn pulls the reader deeper into a relationship with Hamer. The “little light” of Hamer’s goodness shines in both art and text.

TURNING 15 ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM: MY STORY OF THE 1965 SELMA VOTING RIGHTS MARCH by Lynda Blackmon Lowery as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley, illustrated by P. J. Loughran, Dial, 2015.

While researching my own work in progress, I had the privilege of getting to know Mrs. Lowery. She was part of the struggle we learn about on Martin Luther King Day. She and her family lived inside the Civil Rights Movement. Authors Leacock and Buckley give her appreciable space to tell about the events that shaped her life.

Any teacher or librarian building a program for Black History Month or hoping to impress writing students about the importance of primary resources would benefit from inviting Mrs. Lowery into their classrooms. She was “there.”

Black History Month is days away. Here are two books to put front and center for any display. What’s in your library?

Book Byte

A byte is a small unit.

By a stretch of my imagination, a “book byte” would be a small unit of a book review or book discussion including a quotation, comment, recommendation, or whatever pops up when readers talk about books.

Here’s a quote from the father of an avid ten year old reader:

“That (book) was right in his wheel house.”

The book?

HOW RUDE by Heather L. Montgomery, Scholastic, 2015

This book is about bugs that don’t mind their manners. Classified as non-fiction and science, the “ugh” factor is replaced by an exclamation of “gross” at every page turn, something 7-10 year olds “get” while they laugh so hard they snort milk out their noses. 

My thought? If your child reads this book during snack time, you might want to have a stack of napkins handy.

Repeating the first words of that sentence, If your child reads, be happy!

 

Title Turns Reader into Rebel

Warning: this book can create a different kind of reader—a rebel reader. I was not a rebellious ten year old, but if this book was in my hands when I was that age and it was time for bed, I’d have begged my mom, “Just let me finish the chapter.” —not saying which chapter.  After that, I’d have risked the consequences for taking a flashlight under the covers so I could turn the next  page, or two or…

LAST IN A LONG LINE OF REBELS by Lisa Lewis Tyre, Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015

Lou is twelve and definitely qualifies as “spunky” – which links her with her maternal grandmother, Bertie, but I’m getting ahead of the story.  The summer before the great and scary “junior high” years begin finds Lou and her life-long friends caught up in a mystery that threatens to tear their friendships apart.

The historical background of Lou’s family home which sits in the middle of the growing town of Zollicoffer, Tennessee is part of the mystery. Built in the mid-1860’s, the house’s secret room also links generations. Each chapter begins in diary form and deepens the mystery.

From a century old Civil War stolen gold scandal to the family-owned junk business her father runs today, Lou finds her head spinning with questions that rise to Heaven. After all, she prayed for an exciting summer. Is this really what she wanted?  It was right after that fervent prayer that she learned about the county’s plan to take her family’s property by eminent domain.  Whatever this means, Lou is determined to save her home, creaky boards, peeling wallpaper, and secret room (especially). No pressure. Add the University of Tennessee football National Championship in 1998, that Lou’s friend doesn’t get a football scholarship to UT because the high school coach is a bigot, and Lou’s list of things to fix gets longer before it gets shorter. Again, no pressure.

Lou’s friends are warm, smart, funny, and work together as only good friends with a shared history could. Grandmother Bertie’s lines are unexpected and as colorful as she is. (Note: no profanity.)

I have a hunch author Tyre has carried these characters inside her head for a long time which is one reason they are fully developed on the page. This reader wonders what happens to these people next. Is there a sequel to this debut novel? 

 

Visit the author to find out how and why she wrote the book -- oh, and there are hidden bits of treasure in the text.

Who knows? This book could hook some non-readers, too. On page one Lou must endure the car pool line. She spots her dad’s shaky old dump truck lurching toward her, knowing as she witnesses this humiliation that the queen of snark is somewhere within viewing distance preparing an unwelcome comment. What pre-teen wouldn’t relate to that?    

Rebel readers. I like the sound of that.

 

For Veteran's Day

Looking for a great book to share with your young readers as we prepare to observe Veteran's Day on November 11th?

THE POPPY LADY, Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans by Barbara Elizabeth Walsh, Paintings by Layne Johnston, Calkins Creek, 2012.

Reviewed here on December 1, 2012, The Poppy Lady is still as timely and fresh as it was then. A new group of  children are now reading and comprehending what it means to be connected to ancestors who served our country before they were born.

Here is the link to my review. Go to a library or independent book store and hold the book in your hands. The Poppy Lady will bring generations together.

Reverse Integration—Who Knew?

During the Civil Rights movement in the turbulent 1960’s, black and white citizens in Huntsville, Alabama worked together to make their city an example of peaceful change. This was little known at the time and the same is true today.

SEEDS OF FREEDOM, The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama by Hester Bass, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, Candlewick Press, 2015

 

Author Hester Bass was a first grader in an all-white classroom in GA in 1962. She saw black children in her town and wondered where they went to school. They weren’t in her classes. Where were they?

Later, when she lived in Huntsville, Alabama, she discovered a fascinating story.  She asked lots of questions (writers do that) and decided that what happened in Huntsville, the how and the why, should be written, published, and added to the growing collection of diverse books for children.

Both author and illustrator are highly awarded. Hester Bass’s first picture book for young children, The Secret World of Walter Anderson, also illustrated by E.B. Lewis, won the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. More honors for E. B. Lewis include the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Talkin’ About Bessie: the Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes. This talented team of author and illustrator mirrors the contrasts and the strengths among the citizens of Huntsville.

Invisible lines in communities, schools, stores, parks, swimming pools, public restrooms and drinking fountains, wherever both races might come in contact, existed in Huntsville much the same as they did in other southern cities. However, the difference in Huntsville is revealed as author and illustrator lead the reader through a series of choices made by black and white citizens to face injustice with peaceful protest. The courage of both races sets an example for others who seek out of the box solutions to complex problems. It is possible to work together.

In August 1963, a judge ruled that four black students should be admitted to Huntsville schools. However, in September, those four students found the doors of their prospective schools locked.  Governor George Wallace had closed public schools to thwart their efforts. At the same time, a private school across town, a black school, was adding twelve new students--all white-- to its roster, quietly and peacefully. Following this, after the public schools re-opened, one black child was successfully enrolled in the same white school closed to him only a few days earlier.

 

I didn't know this story before. Did you?      

The author’s note brings a greater historical perspective and concludes with a challenge to all of us: “More needs to be done. Be the one person who makes a difference.”

cover credit:
SEEDS OF FREEDOM. Text copyright (C) 2015 by Hester Bass. Illustrations copyright (C) 2015 by E. B. Lewis. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

 

 

 

 

Unlimited Wonder

Auggie Pullman is one of those characters who will whisper in your ear long after you’ve turned the last page.

WONDER by R. J. Palacio, Thorndike Press, 2012

The first time I read this novel, I thought everyone should read it: teens, tweens, parents, youth group leaders, middle school teachers.  Why? This book enlightens and empowers any reader who has trouble figuring out who he or she is and where (and when) that person will ever fit in. (Isn’t that everybody?)

For those who think fitting in is a middle school dilemma, I’m sorry to break this news to you, but for many, the fitting in part never really ends. Adults just disguise it better behind these words they say so often they don’t hear themselves, “What will people think?”  It takes a lot of living--or a lot of courage-- to say, “I don’t care!”

The story of Auggie’s fifth grade experiences are told from the point of view of his older sister and her boyfriend, one of her closest friends, two of Auggie’s new friends, and Auggie himself  who offers beginning, middle, and end commentary. If you are one of the lucky ones who read this novel when it first came out, you may want to read it again to prepare for the next novel.

If you haven’t read it, you are also lucky because the author has added another book to explore the wonder Auggie inspires.  The second one reveals the background of three not so likeable characters from the first book. Why were they mean or uncaring or just plain bullies?  Lucky you can read both books without waiting to find out!

AUGGIE & ME, three wonder stories, by R. J. Palacio, Alfred A. Knopf, 2015

A cast of three  characters tells the story in the same style as Wonder:

Julien, chosen to be on the welcome committee in Wonder when Auggie Pullman, homeschooled until the end of 4^th grade, decides to attend Beecher Prep. In the first book, the reader will be confounded by Julien's actions and wonder why he is the way he is.

Charlotte, also chosen to be a welcome buddy by a well meaning  principal, wore the role uncomfortably, but served the purpose. Many will identify with her struggle to be the “good girl.”

Christopher, Auggie’s early childhood friend who moved away. The timing was good for Christopher. He had just begun to feel uncomfortable in public when his friend Auggie received weird looks. These friends experience two kinds of separation, distance and their own personal change.  

Do you get the feeling I’m tiptoeing around something here? Why would the principal feel the need to appoint welcome buddies for Auggie in the first place? Aren’t many students faced with being “the new kid” every year? Well, Auggie gives new meaning to the stiff and solemn adult advice to face down the enemy. August Pullman is very different from the usual “new kid.” Born with a facial deformity that is startling, frightening to some, and bound to attract bullies, Auggie manages to grow beautiful on the inside while his outside disfigurement causes social chaos for children and adults.

 

In spite of the meanness, Auggie triumphs. The wonder of his story is that others grow, too. Author Palacio and Auggie’s fans will introduce you to the power of kindness here.

Lucky you!

A Librarian Hugged This Book!

To Readers Everywhere:
When a librarian hugs a book, pay attention. I'm glad I did.

I KILL THE MOCKINGBIRD by Paul Acampora, Roaring Book Press, 2014

Three friends, Lucy, Michael, and Elena, decide to honor Mr. Nowak, their favorite teacher, who died before Halloween, for the excitement he created about reading. He made them laugh, but he made them think. At the beginning of the school year, in September, he told them he would assign only one book for their upcoming summer reading:  To Kill A Mockingbird. By the time summer arrived, he expected them to be good enough readers to appreciate the book. It wasn't enough, he told them, to know the words. "If you're reading well, you're having a conversation."

How the friends honor him could start a little plotting among your tween readers, too. I'll try not to spoil the story with too many hints.

Let’s just say the kids’ genius plot reached out and hugged me, so I understand the librarian’s reaction. Many references are made to some of my favorite middle grade and young adult books and authors. The summary makes reference to “the entire town” but the circle grows far beyond the small town. I’m dancing all around this so I will stop or spill the beans. A tip: no need to worry if you suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.   

The author says he is an “ardent fan of librarians and booksellers everywhere and is a founding member of the ‘Mockingbird Manifesto’ to support all actions which lead to the joy, the fun, the reward, the challenge and the adventure of reading.” 

Learn more at this website: ikillthemockingbird.com

Add some aha! moments to your kids' summer reading list.