Mo Wren, her dad, and little sister Dottie have sold their house on Fox Street and moved into an apartment above an abandoned restaurant. Mr. Wren is going to renovate and reopen the restaurant, serving up down-home cooking. But nothing about the move is easy for Mo. Their new street is a row of businesses. Not homes, like back on Fox Street. Her little sister Dottie is fitting in at school better than she is. And the new place is under a curse. Everything that can go wrong – does. Mo is feeling lost.But with the help of a new friend, she finds that what she was looking for was right under her nose all along. It’s the people around you that truly matter and make any place a home.
Readers will enjoy living with Mo Wren on East 213th just as much as when she lived on Fox Street.
“Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a tough battle.” Plato
It’s never too soon for children to learn empathy: empathy for children who talk, or look, or sound different; empathy for children from different cultures and religions; children with special needs. So much depends on our children learning this. That’s what books do – they teach empathy. They make the unfamiliar familiar. They give comfort to children who are different by letting them know they’re not alone. This month, we’re talking about Accepting Differences.
Please join us in welcoming this month’s Author-In-Residence, Katherine Hannigan. We’ll begin featuring her Interview, Letter to Readers, and latest book TRUE (…sort of), Monday, September 5th.
Each year the International Reading Association Selection Committee for Notable Books for a Global Society selects “well written books… in which children can see themselves…bringing stories that are engaging and compelling.” These represent books for all ages and all readers. Selections vary from poetry, fiction, and biography with age range spans from picture book through middle grade and up to young adult.
Karen Hildebrand, Chair of the IRA Selection Committee, agreed to answer a few questions about the award and why it’s an invaluable resource for parents, teachers and librarians.
Why was this “new” award-recognition of “global books” established by an IRA group?
The list was created for teachers, students and families to suggest quality books that show readers many different groups of people who have different ways of living. We wanted the list to go beyond looking at holiday and food differences, but to actually depict cultural differences and similarities and what contemporary authors say through “story” to bring voice to a variety of cultures.
The books that are chosen as our top 25 have been read and evaluated by a 9-panel committee of professors of children’s literature, librarians, and classroom teachers.
Of the criteria described on the Books for a Global Society website, what are two or three that are especially important to you?
Our definition of “global” has broadened. A year ago two of our winners, Marcelo in the Real World and Anything But Typical, were books about autism. A recent winner, Five Flavors of Dumb, is about a strong female character who is deaf and yet is involved in the world of music. Years ago, autism and deafness may not have been considered as “global” but because we are looking at reading communities that are in a minority or have been overlooked or marginalized, we felt these were outstanding books to represent the “underrepresented” in contemporary literature for youth.
I think our most important criterion, however, is a well written book.
Another criteria is the accuracy and authenticity of the cultural representations. A beautiful example of this is last year’s winner, Blessing’s Bead by Debbie Dahl Edwardson for the older reader — or for a younger reader, Saltypie by Tim Tingle.
Why do you encourage children to read these books?
If children are provided with books that offer a window outside of their own communities, we hope we are broadening their view of the world. Our list offers a variety of genres – poetry, fiction, nonfiction and picture books as well as graphic novels and biographies.
Books also address the ELL and immigrant children, or children who live in alternative parenting families.
For a young reader, Dear Primo by Duncan Tonatiuh looks at two cultures simultaneously as cousins write back and forth from Mexico to the US.
I end with this quote from Yvonne Siu-Runyan, the woman who was the initial force behind the NBGS,
“Stories are people, just as people are stories; that is, when we read or hear stories, we learn about and deepen our understanding about others and self. Stories provide a way to understand the past and present, project toward the future, and celebrate both the multiplicity and commonalities among all peoples so that humanity can evolve toward peace, acceptance, and harmony throughout the world.”
This collection has chapters that include key themes in using global literature including teaching and classroom ideas. More book lists divided into genre, theme or author lists are available HERE.
2011 Notable Books for a Global Society (K-12)
Picture Books
Saltypie; A Choctaw journey from darkness into light by Tim Tingle. Illus. by Karen Clarkson. Cinco Puntos Press
Mirror by Jeannie Baker. Candlewick Press
Goal by Mina Javaherbin. Illus. by A.G. Ford. Candlewick Press
Dear Primo: a letter to my cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh. Abrams
Fly Free by Roseanne Thong. Illus. by Eujin Kim Neilan, Boyds Mills Press
Seeds of Change: planting a path to peace by Jen Cullerton Johnson. Lee and Low Books
Biography
Yummy; the last days of a Southside shorty by G. Neri. Lee and Low Books
Black Jack; the ballad of Jack Johnson by Charles R. Smith, Jr. Illus. by Shane W. Evans, Roaring Brook Press
Fiction
8th Grade Super Zero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. Arthur A. Levine Books.
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John. Dial Books
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Little Brown.
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Clarion Books.
Lost Boy, Lost Girl; escaping civil war in Sudan by John Bul Dau. National Geographic
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins. Charlesbridge
Thunder Over Kandahar by Sharon E. McKay. Annick Press.
A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata. Atheneum Books
Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood. Front Street Books
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan. Drawings by Peter Sis, Scholastic Press
Zora and Me by Victoria Bond & T.R. Simon. Candlewick Press.
Heart of a Samurai; based on the true story of Nakahama Manjiro. by Margi Preus. Amulet Books.
Poetry
The Firefly Letters; a suffragette’s journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle. Henry Holt.
Non-fiction
The Good Garden by Kate Smith Milway. Illus. by Sylvie Daigneault. Kids Can Press.
Birmingham Sunday by Larry Dane Brimner. Calkins Creek.
They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Houghton Mifflin.
Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos. Clarion Books.
Developing a close-knit community of learners is critical in those beginning weeks and months of school. Appreciating one another – the commonalities and the differences – and recognizing that each of us has many wonderful talents to offer to the others in the class is one of the most important life lessons that kids learn in a classroom setting. Here are a few of the many books that celebrate who we are.
This picture book is the most joyful, exuberant celebration of all living things I’ve ever read. Birds and bugs, dogs and cats, fish, frogs, and more – each with their unique personalities and quirks – fill the pages of this book. Add Randy Cecil’s buoyant and lively illustrations and you’ll find this is book you won’t want to miss.
Published by the Chicago Children’s Museum, this ode to the wonders of the skin we live in is a perfect book to pair with And Here’s to You!
It’s not … fat skin or thin skin,/you lose and I win skin…/ Nor she skin or he skin,/ you’re better than me skin;/… It’s not any of this,/ ’cause you’re more/ than you seem,/ You are all that you think and/ you hope and you dream.
Written by Katz as an uplifting reminder of the diversity of the communities in which we live and the rich shades and tones which make each of our skin colors unique, the message of this book is most powerfully told through its bright and bold illustrations. Katz brings the sensibilities of her artist’s eye to the work, making concrete and tangible the many “colors of us.”
9-year-old Mo Wren has lived on Fox Street her entire life. Almost everybody she cares about lives there; the Baggott boys, her best friend’s grandmother, even spooky Mrs. Steinbott. Whenever Mo’s dad works, she takes care of the “wild child,” her little sister, Dottie. Mo wishes her dad would snap out of his bad mood. He hasn’t been the same since her mom’s accident. And when a developer wants to buy up Fox Street, Mo thinks her Dad will never sell. But then she thought her mom would live on Fox Street forever. Readers will fight alongside Mo as she battles to hold onto everything she loves. Everything that makes her feel safe. Everything that makes her Mo.
Look for a review soon of the newly released sequel, Mo Wren: Lost and Found (Balzer & Bray, 2011).
Beginning a new school year is an exciting time. By summer’s end, most kids are ready to return to the more structured routines of the classroom, and while teachers look forward to reconnecting with former students, we also know the importance of laying the right foundation so that this year’s classroom routines get off to the very best start.
To that end, this week’s recommendations include books that focus on what Amy Krouse Rosenthal refers to in her “bite-size cookie“ books as “Life Lessons.” Those qualities, character traits, and experiences which highlight or exemplify positive ways to live in the world – exactly those skills and attributes that guarantee a successful year of new friendships and learning.
These books are perfect to keep close at hand throughout the school year. A sort of visual dictionary that relates abstract concepts, such as COMPASSION and TRUSTWORTHINESS, GENEROSITY and HONESTY, to cookie-baking, something every kid can get behind.
“Do Unto Otters as You Would Have Otters Do Unto You” This play on the Golden Rule is loads of fun! Kids will enjoy pouring over the silly scenarios and hilarious illustrations and teachers will love one more way to encourage discussion of class rules and all-around good manners.
MANNERS MASH-UP: A Goofy Guide to Good Behavior by various artists, including Bob Shea (Bus Manners), Peter Reynolds (Classroom Manners), Leuyen Pham (Playground Manners), and Ted Arnold (Good Sports).
MANNERS MASH-UP is a collection of double-page spreads by fourteen different illustrators, each having created his/her own visual “snapshot” of what good behavior means in various locations. In addition to school-related settings, there are pages on “Good Behavior at the Doctor’s Office,” “Supermarket No-No’s,” “Pool Rules,” and so on.
Teachers looking for books that encourage students to grow in their understanding of the value of sharing and the power of generosity will appreciate STONE SOUP by Jon J. Muth and SHOULD I SHARE MY ICE CREAM? by Mo Willems. The former presents a version of the traditional European tale set in a mountain village in China. The latter, for younger readers, presents the struggle dear Elephant has as he tries to decide if he should, if he wants to, if he must share his delicious ice cream cone with best friend, Piggy.
This 2010 Caldecott-winning book presents the traditional fable of the Lion who makes a life-changing decision to let Mouse go, and the Mouse who honors Lion’s kindness by returning the good deed in Lion’s hour of need. The nearly wordless nature of the book presents additional opportunities to encourage student discussion as the visual narrative unfolds.
Mission Statement
To provide teachers, librarians, and parents with the resources and inspiration to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5.
