Mean Words and a Garden of Forgiveness

Posted on 01/24/2013

THE FORGIVENESS GARDEN by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Christy Hale

Recently, I read that Desmond Tutu, when asked who should serve on the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of South Africa, said it should be those who were victims, those whose lives had been torn apart. But key to their selection, those chosen must be ones who had not stayed victims, rather had forgiven their oppressors.  These words rang in my ears as I read THE FORGIVENESS GARDEN.

Inspired by the original Garden of Forgiveness in Beirut, Lebanon, THE FORGIVENESS GARDEN is the story of a journey. From the flap copy: “Hate had happened. Revenge had happened. And that inspired more hate and more calls for revenge. But this time, a young girl decided to try something different…”

It’s true that as I read the story of the young Vayam girl, Sama, and the Gamte boy, Karune, who had hurled the stone that injured her, I questioned Sama’s softened and suddenly empathetic heart. But this is a parable, after all, and I believe it can be a very helpful tool for teachers and parents searching for books they might use to talk about conflict, diversity, differences, and how each one of us has a responsibility to consider putting those differences aside.

Desmond and the Very Mean Word

DESMOND AND THE VERY MEAN WORD by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams, illustrated by A. G. Ford (Candlewick, 2013)

I only just learned of Desmond and the Very Mean Word, so I’ve not had time to read the book in its entirety. But the “Look Inside” feature HERE and the description from Candlewick lead me to believe it would compliment THE FORGIVENESS GARDEN very nicely.

What books do you like to use with children when talking about conflict, differences of opinion, and considering the possibility of forgiveness?

Dreaming Up

Posted on 01/22/2013

DREAMING UP: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale (Lee and Low, 2012)

Buildings from around the world, designed by men and women of diverse backgrounds, find their way into Hale’s newest book, DREAMING UP – a collection of  concrete poems, recognizable structures from around the world, and the interesting constructions that spring from children’s imaginative play.

Inspired by a Modern Architecture art history course she’d taken and a visit to Barcelona’s La Sagrada Familia, it wasn’t long before Hale began noticing the similarities between a child’s playful experimentation with sand, blocks, blankets and more and the buildings of architects from around the world. She writes, “…it became a fun challenge to think of the many ways kids build, and then buildings that corresponded to their building play.”

Relevant sources for those interested in researching further, as well as summary information about the architects and each of the buildings represented are included in the final pages.

For more, read an interview with Hale about DREAMING UP.

Enjoy downloadable classroom activities to accompany DREAMING UP, including directions for a “3-D Home” and an “Instant Neighborhood.”

An International Celebration of Diversity

Posted on 01/17/2013

Looking for an excellent source of outstanding international books – an international celebration of diversity?  Each year USBBY, United States Board on Books for Young People, publishes an annotated list of their top choices.  The books are divided into reading levels from Kindergarten through Young Adult. The variety is as amazing as the diversity of authors, illustrators, and publishers.  Visit www.usbby.org or the USBBY list of Outstanding International Books HERE.

One of my favorites from the 2012 list is I AM DIFFERENT! CAN YOU FIND ME? written by novelist/playwright/ cartoonist Manjula Padmanabhan with a playful sense of story.

Global Fund for Children works with Charlesbridge publishers to develop books that celebrate diversity.  In I AM DIFFERENT the book becomes a game of hide-and-seek as the reader looks for the object on the page that is different from all the others.  Each puzzle is a mini-language lesson of how to say “Can you find me?” in 16 different languages, including Cree, Hebrew, Hawaiian, Arabic and American Sign Language.  Click HERE to hear staff members of the Global Fund for Children in several of the 16 languages.   I AM DIFFERENT, CAN YOU FIND ME? is published in the US by Charlesbridge.

Press Here by Herve Tullet

For pure fun, another book on the USBBY list is this book of surprises, PRESS HERE by Hervé Tullet (France), translated by Christopher Franceschelli, published in the US by Chronicle.  PRESS HERE will have you turning a book first one way then another and then nearly standing on your head as you blow…blow…the dots.  What a interactive book for a beginning reader!

Each book on the USBBY Outstanding International Books is unique, sometimes delightful, sometimes soul-searching.  When looking for diversity and books for specific age groups,  it is a treasure of a list.

Librarian’s Corner: Celebrating Diversity, Part 2

Posted on 01/15/2013

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” – Maya Angelou.

In January we celebrate the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What better way to honor his dream of a nation where our children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” than with wonderful children’s books celebrating diversity.

For the youngest readers:

Shades of People by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly (Holiday House, 2009)

The children in these gorgeous photos are all different shades: copper, almond, ivory, rose. “Our skin is just our covering, like wrapping paper.” And just like wrapped presents, you can’t tell what’s inside just by looking at the outside. It’s a lovely way to celebrate each and every child’s unique self.

For the transitional readers:

One Green Apple
One Green Apple written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ted Lewin (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

Farah feels like an outsider in her new country. She doesn’t speak the language and she’s the only one wearing a headscarf. On a field trip to an apple orchard with her new class, Farah picks an apple that is different from those her classmates pick, but altogether they make a cider that is sweet.

For the older readers:

The Misfits
The Misfits by James Howe (Atheneum, 2001)

Addie, Joe, Bobby, and Skeezie are the kinds of kids that get called names – “fatso”, “geek”, “fairy”, “hoodlum”. When it’s time for school elections, these misfits start a new political party, The No-Name Party, with a goal to get kids to stop with the nasty labels and to start seeing each other as individuals.

Librarian’s Corner: Celebrating Diversity

Posted on 01/13/2013

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” – Maya Angelou.

In January we celebrate the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What better way to honor his dream of a nation where our children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” than with wonderful children’s books celebrating diversity.

For the youngest readers: Let’s Talk about Race written by Julius Lester and illustrated by Karen Barbour (HarperCollins, 2005) “I am a story. So are you. So is everyone.” Julius Lester writes that our race is just one part of our stories.  “To know my story, you have to put together everything I am.” And just as important as our differences is the fact that “beneath our skin, we all look alike.”

colored waterFor the transitional readers: A Taste of Colored Water written and illustrated by Matt Faulkner (Simon & Schuster, 2008)  Lulu and Jelly can’t wait to go to town; there’s a water bubbler there with a sign that says “colored water”.  The two cousins imagine all the flavors colored water must taste like. But when Lulu and Jelly find the bubbler in front of city hall, they also see the protests of the segregated 1960’s and wonder “what color do you have to be to get a taste of colored water?”

inside outFor the older readers:  Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Harper, 2011)  I love this free-verse novel/memoir of a young Vietnamese girl and her family who come as refugees to Alabama in 1975. Lai opens the eyes of kids to how we perceive (and misperceive) those who are learning English, and how tough it is for immigrants to adjust to a whole new country.

THE HERD BOY

Posted on 01/11/2013

We all have impossible dreams.  For some, dreams are more impossible than for others. For some, they make those dreams come true.  The Herd Boy dreams about being President of his African country.  Such foolishness!

In this picture book story of THE HERD BOY,  Niki Daly slowly and delightfully introduces the reader to rural life in South Africa.  His illustrations are filled with details that transport the reader across oceans and show the beauty in both the land and the people. For the Herd Boy there are snakes to avoid, soccer to play, goats to watch, even baboons to fight – all this in a rich detailed setting of villages and families, friends and wild animals.  This story could have been the story of South Africa’s first Black President, Nelson Mandela, who was in fact a herd boy as a youngster.  One of many gifts from this book is stirring up questions about Mandela and his life as a child and his journey to realize his impossible dream, to become a leader of his people.  One can hardly resist first consulting Wikipedia and then searching for more good books about one of the world’s finest leaders.  Published by Erdmans, 2012

Jimmy the Greatest

Posted on 01/08/2013

Jimmy the Greatest, picture book by Jairo Buitrago, author; Rafael Yockteng, illustrator. (Groundwood Books, 2012)

The simplicity of this charming book is deceptive. The story sneaks up on you. Jimmy is a young boy who lives in a Spartan village on a Caribbean island. What’s a boy with big ideas to do, other than fish and hunt and climb trees? Jimmy joins the only boxing gym in town – a tiny, wooden building with one ring – and learns how to box. The owner gives him newspaper clippings about Muhammed Ali, who knew he was the “greatest” before the rest of the world did, and Jimmy starts to dream. But does he go off to the Big City when the owner of the school goes? Not on your life. The idea that a child can dream about being the greatest, and find it in his own village, is fresh and different. Comforting, really: Dream big kids, start now, don’t let where you live hold you back. Highly recommended.