PBA: Pinterest board ALERT!

Just a quick reminder to everyone out there about the Doucette Library’s Pinterest page.

This page includes numerous boards that support the Alberta Education curriculum but can support any kind of teaching depending on the topic.

Here’s the link for all the boards: https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/boards/

If you’re teaching about plant and growth and in Alberta then you’re teaching grade 4 science and you can consult this board (https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/science-gr-4e-plant-growth-and-changes/) to see what resources the Doucette Library has to support it.  If you’re not in Alberta, I think there is enough here that would useful for others to consult, as well.

What I’ve worked on so far:

**Social studies grades 1-9;

**Science grades 1-8 (9 is coming soon);

**Math grades 1-6 organized according to board mathematical concept;

 and many topical boards based on requests from the education program’s students such as LGBTQ resources, picture books for older readers, resources for STEM, activists and activism, funny books, fractured fairy tales,  and indigenous education.

I’m sending out the reminder because I’ve just added to new boards for English language arts (ELA).  These two boards compile titles of books with strong leads or good beginnings and literary devices.  These came about because students had asked for recommendations for both of these kinds of books and as a reference librarian it’s a time consuming request. This time I decided to record the work as Pinterest boards. I’ve also asked Paula Hollohan, coworker and guest blogger, to contribute to the boards to have a couple of different points of view.

Literary devices in picture books: https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/ela-literary-devices-in-picture-books/

Good beginnings/strong leads in juvenile literature: https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/ela-good-beginningsleads-in-juvenile-literature/

Take a look and let me know if you have some suggestions of books to add. I’m always open to suggestions.

Doing the Right Thing

I’ve two recommendations for today’s post that promote understanding for what it’s like to be Black in the United States today.

The first one is by Jason Reynolds’, Long Way Down. This story takes place in an elevator as it descends seven floors in an apartment building and Will, the protagonist, is on his way to avenge the death of his older brother Shawn.  He’s struggling with THE RULES that govern the lives of black men and boys in his big city neighbourhood: No Crying – No Snitching – Get Revenge. As the elevator goes down seven floors, seven ghosts who knew Will and his family and experienced gun violence too, visit Will and offer subtle guidance that will help him make up his mind about his next set of actions.

Jason Reynolds is a fantastic writer. This story, told in narrative verse, took me to a place that I had no way of knowing about and gave me a glimpse into the mind of a young man like Will. Reading about gun violence and gang-related murder in the news does not provide much insight as to how this kind of thing continues to be perpetuated.  It’s the strength of a novel like this that allows me to feel the pain and the hopelessness that must consume young black men when they feel that have no choice but to live by THE RULES.

The next book, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been getting lots of well-deserved attention in review journals and blogs. It was a National Book Award Finalist. Again, this story puts the news reports that we hear nightly, into a perspective that is totally relatable and gives new resonance for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Starr is a sixteen year-old high school student who lives in a poor, black neighbourhood but goes to a predominately white school in another part of town. She’s working out how to mesh the two people she must be to live in two vastly different universes. When a friend, a young, black man, Khalil is shot by a white police office while with Starr one night, everything changes.

By telling people, school mates, police, journalists and neighbours about what happened that night puts Starr in a precarious situation. Those fighting for the rights of black people see this as an opportunity to create awareness and demand justice. Those in positions of power are cautious about the information Starr provides as it will jeopardize the police officer. Starr fears that if her classmates know she is the witness that will jeopardize her place in the school.The desire to do the right thing is strong and eventually overcomes Starr's fears.

Again, this was a compelling story that opened a world that I will never experience firsthand. There is considerable profanity (tons of f-bombs) used by almost all the characters but this made it feel very authentic. The ending is also very realistic, sadly.

I highly recommend both of these books for grades 9 and up and for adults. Amazing reads!

Handful of books

I’ve had a soft spot for this book, Hands by Boris Cyrulnik, photographs by Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone for a really long time. I often try to find reasons to bring it into my various workshops. It’s a beautiful coffee table book with loads of photographs showing close-ups of activities that hands do every day. Listen to the how the chapters have been organized: Hands of Pleasure, Hands of Beauty, Hands at Work, Hands of the Heart, Hands of Ritual, and finally By Hand… There are many beautiful images here that I think have lots of classroom potential.

Beautiful Hands by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten is a recent picture book that does the same thing; it asks what things will your hands do today? Will they plant seeds? Or maybe plant ideas? Or touch hearts? Will they lift spirits? Or stretch imaginations? Will they reach for love? Or peace, truth, dreams? 

The illustrations are unique using brightly coloured handprints to create images of birds, flowers and butterflies.

Using these two books together in a classroom would provide opportunities to explore the concepts the books embody as well as the actions that these hands engage in. At the youngest grades in social studies in Alberta where the focus is on identity, family, school and community, self, uniqueness and belonging, these books will start conversations. They could also be mentor texts that model work that students can engage in. Having students photograph the activities that they, their friends and family members do every day allows them to develop an understanding about what people do.  Hands, also speak to an individual’s identity and uniqueness.

I love the idea of how we use the word "hand" and the images that come to mind: hands up, hands off, hands on, hand out, hand-me-downs, a hand up, hands on, handful, handy, helping hands, heavy handed, show of hands, ‘talk to the hand’, shaking hands with the devil. What others come to your mind? There is both play and power with these words and the images they create. Hands create but they also destroy. Hands can be loving but also hurtful. Exploring binary opposites is a great way to introduce a kind of tension in a unit that will engage students.

Other books that would tie-in beautifully with these book titles would be:

These Hands by Margaret H. Mason is a history lesson embedded in a warm story about an African American grandfather telling his grandson all the things he could (tie shoe laces, play the piano) and could not do (not touch the dough at the Wonder Bread factory). It’s a gentle story about the civil rights African Americans had to organize and fight for.

Nadia’s Hands by Karen English is about a little girl worried about what her classmates with think of her and maybe tease her about having mehndi designs on her hands in preparation for an aunt’s traditional Pakistani wedding. This story speaks to culture and identity, about being one's self and belonging.

Sister Anne’s Hands by Marybeth Lorbiecki is a favourite of mine. Again its set during the civil rights movement in the United States and shows how a beloved teacher (an African American nun) makes a teachable moment out of a cruel, thoughtless act by one of her students to show how small acts of hate can lead to the big acts of societal discrimination.

Hands & Hearts by Donna Jo Napoli is about a mother and daughter who have a fun-filled day at the beach. They enjoy playing in the waves and sand, building castles and swimming.  They also happen to use their hands to speak with each other. There are 15 words introduced in American Sign Language.

Hands by Lois Ehlert is brilliantly designed with a hand glove shaped book. It speaks to all the activities that the busy hands in this household get up to: Dad is busy making a bird house and Mom is busy sewing. The narrator is given his or her own work space and is taught some the skills that Mom and Dad use in their activities. This book connects with the maker mind set that is now being promoted in schools here in Calgary.

These are only a few that would work well at the elementary level. 

Zero Shades of Grey

The recent arrival of Black Cat, White Cat by Silvia Borando got me thinking about other picture books that have a black and white theme and how most of them can be tied into the bigger concept of perspective.

Take Black Cat, White Cat. Black cat only goes out during the day and wonders what he’s missing at night. White cat (as you might expect) only goes out at night and also wonders what might be going on during the day. The two meet and show the other the best part of their own awake-time. The two become close companions.  Very close companions. Any guesses as to the colour of their kittens?

This one speaks very nicely to the concept of perspective – seeing how the other half lives, that’s perfect for primary grades.

What Color is Caesar? by Maxine Kumin is a romp as a dog tries to figure out whether he’s a black dog with white spots or a white dog with black spots. Asking other various black and white creatures their opinions isn’t all that helpful. Regardless of the fact that they, too, are black and white, they seem to perceive themselves as a different colour altogether. The black and white woodpecker sees himself as mostly red because he has a brilliant red crest. The black and white pony sees herself as green based on the important things in her life such as grass and trees.  And so on. It’s not until a make-believe circus guru helps Caesar find his own true colours that he finds some understanding about who he is.

Though the story addresses the idea of identity, it also presents perspective in an interesting way; Caesar seeks to understand himself better by asking others about their perceptions of themselves and of him. This one is good for grades 1-4.

Then there’s the classic, Black and White by David Macaulay. This one is a terrific picture book for older readers (middle school) as four seemingly separate stories unfold at the same time. Each double page spread presents a single frame of each of the four stories: a boy traveling on a train, two children wondering why their parents are acting so oddly, commuters delayed in getting home, and finally a masked robber caught up in a herd of black and white cows as they escape their paddock. Working through the storylines, the reader can take up the different perspectives offered and create their own narrative. Eventually, certain elements begin to overlap between the frames and thus, the stories. What the reader comes to learn is that this is a single story but told from different perspectives. Each storyline has been illustrated in a distinctive style and colour palette that helps the reader distinguish each story.

The last one in my retrospective in also titled Black and White written by Dahlov Ipcar. Originally published in 1963 this was reproduced in 2015 with the illustrations restored and remastered to the quality of the original work.  In this book, a black dog and a white dog are the best of friends, irrespective of their differences. (Think 1963 and civil rights.) The little black dog lives in a black house and dreams in black of dark jungles whereas the little white dog lives in a white house and dreams in white of starkly coloured Arctic landscapes. They share their dreams as best buddies do and get ready to frolic their way through the day, yet again. This one also would work well with the early grades.

So, it's just a matter of perspective whether you see the world in black and white or more like me, in a multitude of grey's. But it's something to talk about and kids, no doubt, will have one they may want to share.

A Moral Dilemma

The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor, spy, unlikely hero by Patricia McCormick tells an important and lesser known story about one of a group of men who risked their lives to assassinate one of the most diabolical dictators. A better known co-conspirator is Claus Schenk Graf Von Stauffenberg.

But this book focuses on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We learn about his life, of his privileged childhood from a large, loving German family, of being quiet and introspective from an early age and that eventually he was drawn to theology and ordained as a minister. His academic work about the role of the church in the lives of ordinary people as a force of good was well respected.  Experiences working with the poor and underprivileged children in Barcelona, Harlem, New York and Berlin became defining periods in his life.

While Dietrich Bonhoeffer was in New York he meet Martin Luther King Jr. and others who later became leaders in the American civil rights movement and became aware of segregation. He saw firsthand how “separate but equal” played out in the lives of African Americans.

When he returned to Berlin in 1931, support for the Nazi party was growing and Bonhoeffer could see parallels between the anti-Jewish sentiments of Nazi supporters and the Jim Crow laws in America. He was concerned enough to speak out against the Nazis. In 1933, after Hitler became chancellor, Bonhoeffer is told by his brother-in-law, Hans von Dohnanyi, the Nazis were about to increase and implement a more active exclusion of Jews from German society.

Bonhoeffer felt that the clergy had an obligation to help those in need including those being persecuted by the Nazis. He did not have the support of most of his fellow clergymen as the Nazis had already approached them with offers of political influence and standing in return for their allegiance to Hitler. To speak out against the Nazis and Hitler was treason.

During the mid-1930s he travelled to other European countries attempting to convince church leaders to try and protest against the Nazis with no takers. By the early 1940s, while working as a double agent, Bonhoeffer tries to get information out to Great Britain and other European countries about the atrocities perpetuated by the Nazis hoping to gain support for the conspiracy to kill Hitler.

In the author’s note, Patricia McCormick tells us of her interest in this story because of the paradox of a pacifist clergyman who would become involved in a conspiracy to kill.  She asks, “How could a man of faith justify murder?” This is an interesting element to the story. For Bonhoeffer and a few others involved in the conspiracy, it presented a moral dilemma. Is treason a sin? How does a person appease their conscience when they are about to commit a mortal sin?

This well researched biography helps us understand the path that led Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his decision to act against the state, Hitler, church and his own peace-loving beliefs. It includes a timeline, references, bibliography, index, photos and sidebars with supplemental materials. I recommend this for grades 6 and up.

This book would pair well with other books about others who resisted the Nazis and sought to aid those who were persecuted, such as

His Name was Raoul Wallenberg by Louise Borden – recommended for middle grades

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose – recommended for grades 9 and up.

The Grand Mosque of Paris by Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland DeSaix] – for middle grades

In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke – recommended for grades 8-12

Red Hand Day - February 12th

This Friday is the 14th year that the Red Hand campaign has sought to raise awareness for the plight of child soldiers worldwide.  It is estimated that there are over 250,000 children under the age of 18 who are forced to fight, kill, be sex slaves and otherwise support military initiatives around the globe. 

A very recent children's book, Child Solider: when boys and girls are used in war by Jessica Dee Humphreys & Michel Chikwanine was published as part of the CitizenKid series by Kids Can Press. 

It relates Michel Chikwanine's experiences as a five-year old abducted by rebel soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1993. In a rite of initiation he was drugged and forced to kill his best friend. His time with rebels was unrelenting terror and brutality. He came to Canada when he was 16 and now as an adult promotes awareness of the suffering of child soldiers.

This book is well done for such a difficult topic. It's done in graphic-nonfiction style that handles the violence with care (not much blood and gore depicted). The illustrations are on the cartoon-y side which suggests a younger audience than the 10 to 14 year-old target he had in mind when writing this book. Information at the back of the book fills in information about children involved in military conflicts and how readers can help.

The book Out In Front: Grace Akallo and the pursuit of justice for child soldiers by Kem Knapp Sawyer has a different format but relates very similar circumstances. Grace is taken from her school in Uganda and forced into the Lord's Resistance Army when she was 15 years-old.  She, too, is subjected to the horrors of being a child soldier and 'wife' to a lieutenant in the army. She escaped after seven months. Now she also looks to promote understanding and rehabilitation for former child soldiers and to raise awareness for the children caught up in such dire circumstances.

This book is also filled with much information about the broader context of children used as soldiers interspersed with Graces' story. End notes include sources, a bibliography, index and websites to go to for additional information. This book is for grades 7 and up.

I'm recommending both books for their content. This is a cause that is important and worth children knowing more about.

UPDATE: CBC news article highlighted the VTECS : Veteran Trainers to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers as an initiative that will enlist veteran Canadian soldiers to aid in the prevention of recruitment of children as soldiers.

September 21 – International Day of Peace

You can’t miss hearing about the horrors of being a Syrian refugee at the moment.  Whatever mode of news you open or turn on each day, there are more stories to let us know just how terrible the crisis is. I don’t know how many times I’ve read about how someone hopes and yearns for a place to settle and just live their lives in peace.

September 21^st marks the UN International Day of Peace, a day “devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.”

Seems to me that we might have a ways to go on this one.

Here are a few recommendations to open discussions and explore issues: 

ELEMENTARY

Peace by Wendy Anderson Halperin

The Toa Te Ching poses the question, how can we bring peace to the world?. Using beautiful quotes and illustrations the big concept of peace is explored, from a global perspective to more personal one.

Peaceful pieces: poems and quilts about peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines

A collection of poems beautifully illustrated with quilted pieces that offer reflections about the nature of peace and conditions that can conspire to create atmospheres where peace doesn’t exist.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Countdown by Deborah Wiles

A historical novel that looks at the trials and tribulations of preteens during the period of the Cuban Missile crisis in the 60s. Included are all sorts of primary document sources like headlines of news articles, songs, poetry, and government pamphlets about safety if a nuclear bomb should be dropped.

Thanadelthur: peacemaker of the Chipewyan by Claude Belanger

Thanadelthur was a Chipewyan woman, who worked to establish peace with the Cree to promote better trade relations with the Hudson’s Bay Company in the early 1700s.  This short play could be used for readers’ theatre.

Why do we fight?: conflict, war and peace by Niki Walker

Looks at real world conflict situations to explore the issues related to war and peace.

SECONDARY

Kamakwie: finding peace, love and injustice in Sierra Leone by Kathleen Martin

Not the easiest of reads but illuminating nevertheless.  Martin recounts her time and the people she met while living in a village in Sierra Leone.  She explains how civil war has played a huge part in contributing to brutal living conditions which continue to impact the villagers.

Peace: the biography of a symbol by Ken Kolsbun

From the 50s to present, relates how this image has been used over time with lots of photographs.

TEACHING BOOKS

World peace and other 4^th grade achievements by John Hunt

Fascinating look at Hunter’s approach to teaching and his development of a simulation that taps into gaming and challenges young people to figure 

12 Years a slave

Stolen Into Slavery: the true story of Solomon Northup, free Blackman by Judith and Dennis Fradin is a retelling of the harrowing years Solomon spent as a slave in the southern US and is appropriate for middle grade students.

The movie version of Northup’s autobiography garnered much attention and won an Oscar last year making the story more widely known.  This book is based on Solomon’s book, Twelve Years a Slave.

This volume recounts how Solomon was kidnapped, bought and sold to different owners, his life as a slave, people he would have known, his thoughts and efforts to escape and eventually how he was able return to his northern life and family.

It was brutal.  It’s almost beyond imagining how a man could sustain any hope of resuming his freedom while living as a slave.  But, though covered in the book, I found the descriptions of the punishing treatment not overly graphic.  It tells of unrelenting work, destitute living conditions and spirit-grinding inhumaneness.  There are photographs and illustrations throughout the book though not in great number.

The book is highly readable and quite gripping in some parts.  Tension builds when Solomon contemplates escape or when white men plot against him. It was particularly interesting to read about the criminal case brought against the two men who had initially kidnapped Solomon and how they were not charged by instilling doubt about their role in Solomon’s enslavement.  According to them, Solomon wanted to be sold as a slave.

It’s a fascinating story made accessible to younger people, grades 5 and up.

Top 10 Nonfiction Picture Books - Join the Jog

Some of you may be familiar with a summertime meme that has bloggers compile their top 10 favourite picture books for the Top 10 on the 10^th event.  I've participated in the last two summer events and have always come away with a largish list of new books to seek out.

This week, on Tuesday, February 19^th the same people, Cathy (at Reflect & Refine), Mandy (at Enjoy and Embrace Learning) and Julie (at Write at the Edge) are hosting a similar event that is focused on nonfiction picture books.  They will create a ‘jog’ that will bring together a diverse list of fantastic books – without a doubt.

My Rules

So the challenge has been set – 10 of my favourite nonfiction picture books.

I had to set a few parameters to help pare down my selection which greatly exceeded 10.

* I focused on books for the elementary level.

* I didn't include books that made my top 10 list of picture books in the previous challenges (click here to see those lists). (Okay, I lied.  I did include one book…)

* I cheated by including an author because I could have done a list of 10 books for him alone.

* I also included a ‘type’ of book that isn't a typical picture book (but really is mostly pictures) and included a few examples to showcase this ‘type’.

* I also tried to figure our which books I turned to again and again when teaching my various workshops. 

The List

1. 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy.

I love books that touch on social justice and global issues and make them accessible to a younger audience.  This one also plays with our expectations about an African nation that reaches out to a powerful country offering solace at a time of great confusion and despair.  Gorgeous illustrations.

2. What does peace feel like? by Vladimir Radunsky

This one plays with imagination through the senses.  Peace can be a tricky concept to convey and make concrete for a younger audience.  Here, children between the ages of 8 and 10 describe what peace tastes, feels, looks, sounds, and smells like in very poetic terms.  For example, peace smells “like a bouquet of flowers in a happy family’s living room.” Or, peace sounds like “a growling bear of war who gets shot by a love arrow and the fighting stops…”.

3. Toad by Ruth Brown

The Doucette Library has classified this one as fiction but I use it as nonfiction.  It demonstrates strong narrative while giving us information about this ‘vile’ toad.  I love that the illustrations add to the storyline that is not addressed in the text.  Good at building tension and predicting what is going to happen next.

4. Red-eye tree frog by Joy Cowley

This older award winner is a fabulous reminder that nonfiction books can make great read-alouds.  The tension slowly builds as we spend some time with this frog as he wakes and begins to look for food.  But what might be looking for the frog as a meal?  The photographs are beautifully crisp, bold, and colourful. Very appealing.

5. Trout are made of trees by April Pulley Sayre

I like this one as much for its title as for its information.  It presents the life cycle of a trout in an easily understood way with good illustrations.  But it’s the title that will pique the curiosity of children as they try to figure out and visualize what it means.  Good language arts cross over for the use of alliterative, poetic language.

6. Mathematickles by Betsy Franco

A great cross-curricular book for math, science and language arts.  Creating visual riddles/poems using seasonal topics and using math operation symbols, this picture book offers lots of opportunity for playful thinking.  I've been told by a student-teacher that a class of grade 4 students really enjoyed the challenge of trying to make their own.

7. One is a snail, ten is a crab by April Pulley Sayre and Jeff Sayre.

This is a really good math concept book.  It’s a counting book that also has come basic addition and counting in groups of 10’s all introduced by counting the feet of creatures found on a beach.  For example, 1 is for the 1 foot of a snail.  Two is for the two feet of a boy. Three is a boy and a snail together. Eighty is eight crabs (each with 10 feet/legs) or 10 spiders (each with 8 feet/legs). Clear concepts with fun illustrations makes this an exemplary picture book for math.

8. Unlikely pairs by Bob Raczka

Bob Raczka is my go-to guy for picture books about art.  He’s brilliant at combining art concepts with art works from all periods in really interesting ways.  Unlikely pairs is a particular favourite because it’s so playful with combining two pieces of art (usually from very different time periods) and juxtaposing them in such a way that they work together to give us a visual mischievous story.  The cover picture is a good example.  Placed side-by-side it looks like the Self-portrait of the artist Jean- Brederic Bazille has just been painting a paint-by-number which is in fact Do-It-Yourself, a painting by Andy Wahol.  Very clever.

9. Steve Jenkins

Okay, here’s my first cheat.  I use many of Steve Jenkins books over and over in almost all my workshops.  He focuses on the natural world giving us books filled with intriguing facts and images.  Actual size looks at the animal world and provides pictures of the actual size of a Goliath frog, the eyeball of a giant squid or the hand of a gorilla among a few of the selected creatures.  Living color is a beautiful resource that shows animals classified according to colour.  The pages seem to glow with vivid colours. Just one bite again offers visual representation for what and how much food animals eat, from a grain of sand (meal of choice for worms) up to a fold-out spread for a sperm whale chomping on a giant squid.  He finds remarkable examples of interesting facts that he makes visual.

10.  My second cheat is promoting coffee table books.

This type of book when done well can be amazing.  Anyone will become fascinated with books like Rainforest by Thomas Marent, The Deep by Claire Nouvain, The Life and Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell or The Material World by Peter Menzel when we are offered high quality, interesting photographs centred around a specific topic such as the creatures found in the deepest depths of the ocean, close-ups of insects that look extraterrestrial or graphic portraits of the physical possessions of people from around the world, from the poorest to the richest countries. 

Today is Nonfiction Monday and hosted by Wrapped in Foil.  Check out this great round-up of nonfiction children's literature. 

Visit the jog to see all the recommendations by all participants.

Deadly politics

With media attention on the Middle East over the last year and half, Zahra’sParadise by Amir and Khalil is a graphic novel that is very timely, giving us an opportunity to learn more.

The story takes place after the 2009 elections in Iran.  The results of the election are being contested by huge protests that fill the streets of major cities.  The people in these rallies risk incurring the ire of the Ahmadinejad regime.  Zahra’s Paradise tells of one fictional family’s trials and tribulations trying to trace Mehdi, a young student lost during the protest and caught up in a tyrannical nightmare world.

Mehdi’s mother and brother tirelessly search for any trace of him at hospitals, prisons and records offices, following leads and asking help of anyone with any government connections.  Their fears and frustrations are palpable.  They are angry and inconsolable.  This is not their Iran.  This is not the Iran they want to live in.  There is no happy reunion for this family or for many others.  There is determination to hold onto the memories of those tortured and killed.  They will not be forgotten.

The black and white illustrations perfectly compliment the text. Slightly cartoon-like, the characters are distinctly drawn, action is easily conveyed, as are the emotional highs and lows.  There is some sexual content (language, nudity) that may not be appropriate for younger teens.

I would highly recommend this title for upper high school.  There are great connections to social studies when looking at current events, the Middle East, issues about democracy and justice and historical thinking.  The last pages provide information about Farsi words, references to people, the historical context for the election and the Arab Spring, information about Neda Agha Soltan and what activists are doing to bring attention to the Iranian government’s human rights violations.  This last section of the book was fascinating.

 

Pair this one with Persepolis for additional information about life in Iran during the Islam revolution that overthrew of the Shah of Iran.

International Day of the Girl Child

In 2011, the United Nations issued a proclamation that October 11th would be declared the International Day of the Girl Child.  It's prime directives are raising awareness about issues that imperil  girls around the world and promoting equal access to opportunities and fair treatment.  A strong supporter for the initiative is the Canadian government through the office of Status of Women.  Visit their website for more information.

Children's books that focus on some of the issues that face girls in third world countries are plentiful.  A few I would recommend include:

Wanting Mor by Rakhsana Khan (823 K527W FIC)
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (823 P218L FIC)
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (823 W571H6 FIC)
Sold by Patricia McCormick (823 M137S FIC)
An Equal Chance for Girls and Women by Judith Anderson (323.352 AnE 2010)

Girls from first world nations also face inequities and discrimination.  I would recommend the following books: 

Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield (823 F161T FIC)
There's a Girl in My Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli (823 Sp46T FIC)
Sticks and stones by Beth Goobie (823 G59S FIC)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (823 An243S FIC)

I would love to hear of other recommendations.

Seriously, a good series.

-->I’ve spent some time reading a book from a recently published series, Civil Rights Struggles Around the World.  

 

The Force Born of Truth: Mohandas Gandhi and the Salt March, India, 1920 by Betsy Kuhn (954.035 KuF 2011) was certainly a very informative read.  It provided a brief introduction to the life of Gandhi, where his ideas of nonviolent protest originated and a more thorough grounding into India’s struggle for independence from the British.

I thought there was enough information to get a handle on the ‘who, what and where’ without being overwhelmed. The section dealing with the Salt March is fairly long, encompassing its importance and the lengths to which the National Congress of India went to ensure its success.

Overall, the book is well written giving a concise report of events, implications and repercussions.  It also includes a timeline, list of people involved, source notes, bibliography, web resources and index. This is a good resource for a secondary student writing a report about Gandhi, or India or a specific example of a civil rights movement.  However, I don’t see a student picking the book and reading it cover-to-cover but selecting the bits most relevant for a report.  It does not provide any great personal insights into any of the many people involved. 

As a series, I was interested in the range of protest movements included.  If you say “Civil Rights Movement”, I immediately think of Black-Americans fighting for their rights in the 60s and 70s and there is one book in the series covering this.  Other American struggles include gay activists in the 1960s, migratory immigrant produce pickers in the 60s and 70s, and striking garment workers in 1909. International examples are Chinese student activists in 1989 at Tiananmen Square and South Africans fighting against apartheid laws in 1952.

Definitely worth a look.