Tara Books

Looking at the book, An Indian Beach: by Day and Night created by Joelle Jolievet, I realized that I hadn't gushed about a favorite publisher of mine, Tara Books, for quite sometime.

An oversight, to be sure.

The books that I love most from Tara Books are handmade (from the paper, to the images being screenprinted, to being bound by hand) and/or often illustrated in unique and interesting ways showcasing traditional Indian folk art styles..

For example, An Indian Beach. This book illustrates the typical activities that go on from morning til night on Elliot's Beach near the city of Chennai, South India. The author depicts people waking up in the morning, engaging in all sorts of activities such as selling fish, repairing nets, eating, jogging, going to work, and playing.  At the hottest time of the afternoon there are very few people out, only a couple of dogs or birds. But by early evening the pace picks up again and people are out and about selling food, playing games, relaxing until nighttime when it's time to return home.

But it's the way in which the daily happenings on Elliot's Beach has been displayed for the reader that makes it stand out. Wordlessly, it has been illustrated as a series of predominately black and white panels joined together to create a never-ending, circular flow of activities from dawn til night. It's a wonderful display that invites the reader to stop and take in the details of each scene. On the inside of the joined panels are multitudes of various species of fish to be identified reinforcing the proximity and importance of the sea to the people living close to this beach. There is a blue border at the top of each page 
identifying the presence of the sea. On the inner side of the book blue colours the water for the fish.

The folder packaging the book provides us with additional descriptions about what's going on in the panels. It also includes suggestions as to how the book can be used and read. Because of the foldout nature of the pages the scenes can be 'read' in various configurations, inviting the reader to create their own stories.

This would make a terrific addition to the Alberta social studies unit studied in grade 3 where students learning about India. I think the book design is provocative enough to be of interest to almost anyone.

As I said at the top of this blog, I love Tara Books because of the books they publish. I love that they take on the challenge of storytelling in unique and innovative ways. An Indian Beach is an excellent addition to my favourites list.

100 Years Ago Today

Today is November 11^th, 2018 one hundred years-to-the-day that World War I ended with the signing of the armistice.

The Vimy Oaks: a Journey to Peace by Linda Granfield tells the true story of a young Canadian soldier, Leslie Miller, who fought in France during World War I.  Based on his field journals, Granfield extracts snippets of text that describe his observations and experiences as he goes about doing his job as a member of the Signals Corps.  Many of the excerpts are descriptions of the landscape noting the beautiful woods and large trees or the terrible devastation wrecked on the countryside by the constant bombardment from both sides.  On April 9, 1917 the battle for Vimy Ridge began and while fighting in this area, Leslie Miller collected a number of acorns that had been blasted from oak trees, mailing them home to Canada.

After returning to Ontario, he started life again as a farmer. Miller planted the acorns he had sent home during the war. This becomes significant in 2004 when Monty McDonald, a family friend to the Millers, traveled to France and Belgium to see the battlefields of both wars. He noticed, while visiting the National Vimy Memorial, that the landscape, though green and forested again, was missing oak trees. He wondered if the trees that grew in Canada from the acorns collected by Leslie Miller could be used to re-establish the oaks at Vimy Ridge.

The Vimy Oaks Repatriation Project was launched with the intention of having oak trees once again growing at Vimy Ridge in time for the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War I, November 11^th, 2018. The book describes the process by which the Canadian oaks are being propagated and then taken to France or planted across Canada.

The book has been illustrated by Brian Deines but also contains numerous photos of people, places and things from that time period. I especially love the photo of Leslie Miller’s field journal that shows a couple of sketches he did of the trees he admired and his beautiful cursive penmanship. It provides lots of context that will help readers understand what was happening and some of the significance of those events. The connection between the past and the present is perfectly encapsulated here. 

Also included are a glossary and index.

I recommend this book for the middle grades when doing units about trees, Remembrance Day, Canadian history, World War I but also looking at topics of peace. The planting of these oak trees is such a wonderful symbol of healing, peace and remembrance.

“They will call upon us to remember the past – and a Canadian soldier who once held hope and rebirth in the palm of his hand.” (p.33)

Perfection

Town is by the Sea by Canadian author, Joanne Schwartz and illustrated by Sdyney Smith, is perfect.

It perfectly captures a time and place with its simple, evocative writing. The illustrations also perfectly convey a sense of tranquility in this small community at this time.

The story tells of, what feels to me, to be an average day in the life of a boy living in a 1950s small town in Maritime Canada located close to the sea. We learn that his father is a coal miner who works deep underground, under the sea. It becomes a refrain throughout the story that the boy remembers, time and again that his father works deep below the surface away from the light, the town and the sea.

There’s a rhythm of life that is palpable whether it’s depicted with everyday activities such as waking up, eating or playing on beat-up swings in the playground and going to bed; through nature's sun rising and setting; and work that will connect generations of family. The boy visits his grandfather’s seaside grave and at the end of the book remarks that he too will likely become a coal miner as the other men in this family and community have become.

The illustrations perfectly capture the calmness of this life (maybe there's an element of small town sameness that might be part of what I'm feeling) that I think reflects life for this time period. Subtle earth tones colour the illustrations giving them a sepia wash that contributes to that sense of a time in the past.  I especially love the picture which shows sunlight reflected off the sea water which is almost too bright to look at. This picture was perfectly realized.  The illustrations of life on the topside contrast with the illustrations depicting his father at work in the dark of the coal mine.  I can feel the density of the land and water that bear down on the miners and feel claustrophobic seeing the men bent over in the cramped dark space.

I highly recommend this book for elementary grades. It is especially relevant when studying curriculum about community, family, and Canada.

A real beauty

The Doucette Library is coming into summer-mode – students’ final day was last Friday, exams are scheduled for the next couple of weeks and then--- ahhhhh….sigh… Catch-up time!

Catch-up for me includes reading way more picture books and today’s recommendation is a beauty.

You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Danielle Daniel is topping my highly recommended list for 2018.

It is a beautiful book gently told and simply illustrated about treating each other with kindness and respect. Everyday activities such as playing, listening, singing, comforting are all ways in which we can hold each other up – the overarching message of this book.  

Monique Gray Smith, a Canadian author of mixed-heritage Cree, Lakota and Scottish descent, has written the book in the spirit of reconciliation. In the author’s own words, she tells us,

“I wrote it to remind us of our common humanity and the importance of holding each other up with respect and dignity… At its heart, it is a book about love, building relationships and fostering empathy.”

I especially appreciate the illustrations depicting Indigenous children and adults in these common, everyday events. The illustrations are perfectly matched to this book with bright, bold colours, uncluttered spaces and stylized figures. It’s in keeping with the sparsely-worded yet affecting text.

This book should find a home in every primary grade classroom for discussions about how to treat one another, family and community.

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.

We are all treaty people - Classroom resources

Today’s post is focused on three new books in the Doucette Library. I know these books will be useful for classroom teaching in the primary grades. But I have some concerns about recommending them, too.

Let me explain…

The three books are The Handshake and the Pipe, TheFriendship, and We Are All Treaty People by Betty Lynxleg, illustrated by Scott B. Henderson and Amber Green and make up the trilogy, Treaty Tales.

From western Manitoba’s First Nation of Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve, Betty Lynxleg presents information about symbols of respect between peoples, early contact with settlers in Canada, and the establishment and intentions behind treaties. They are well-written, explaining the importance of shaking hands and sharing a pipe as symbols of respect. It clearly explains how Indigenous peoples in Canada helped Europeans survive in North America by showing them what to eat, harvest, how to navigate and live with the land. The third book conveys the importance of treaties and the significance they have (or should have) for all Canadians.

 One of the real strengths of the series, is the way the story is laid out. It is a conversation between a grandmother and her granddaughter, emphasizing oral storytelling as a way of teaching between the generations. I think trying to convey the values of First Nations peoples and their connection to the land is valuable and important for all children to learn and these books do that.

I know these will be used in classrooms as they give easily understood explanations about the basic relationship between Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Canada.

And that may be where my concerns arise from.

Because the books are an introduction for grades 1 to 3, the complexities of the history and current events of today between First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and the Canadian government are glossed over.  These stories do not reflect the circumstances that drove Indigenous peoples to live on reserves or the realities of living there. The brutality, harsh living conditions and breaking of treaty promises is not addressed in any way.

Not that teachers are going to want books that really go into all the severity and ruthlessness that the past and the present encompasses. But when I think of books like Stolen Words by Melanie Florence, When I Was Eight by Kristy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton or When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, all relating aspects of life in residential schools, these stories convey the deprivation without the horrific details which is appropriate for young readers.

All of these books require additional instruction for young students to begin to understand what Indigenous peoples have endured and continue to struggle with today. It will take a sensitive approach to tackle tough issues but these books will be helpful in initiating these kinds of conversations.

Another curriculum area that these books tie into nicely is social studies grades 1 and 2 about community.

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!

Innovative thinking

Right now I’m in the middle of teaching workshops about Design Thinking to second year student-teachers. This is a thinking process that promotes creative and innovative thinking as well as collaborative practices. It’s being taken up by some of the school boards in the Calgary area so it’s a hot topic, as you might imagine, and on my mind.

(Today’s posting isn’t really about design thinking so if you’re keen to learning more about Design Thinking and education you might like to visit a library guide, developed by the Doucette Library, called, funnily enough, Design Thinking.)

So, maybe it’s my frame-of-mind right now, immersed in teaching design thinking, that a book like Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art ofConfusion by Chris Barton made a strong impression.

It’s 1917 and Britain is at risk of being cut off from crucial supplies of food brought in by ships. German U-boats were very skilled at targeting ships that supported the United Kingdom.  As the book states, “desperate times call for desperate measures” and innovative thinking was essential to overcoming these devastating loses.

Norman Wilkinson, a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve lieutenant-commander, had a seemingly bizarre idea – camouflaging the ships. By painting ships with an array of dazzling patterns and colours, it would break up the ship’s form on the ocean’s waters, presenting an image so confusing that it would be difficult to track.

“Dazzle was meant to make the Germans think a ship was, for example, turning toward the west when it was actually headed to the southeast.”

A small workforce (of mostly women) was organized to come up with patterns which were tested out to determine which were the most effective at tricking the eye. Thousands of British and American ships had be ‘dazzled’ by the end of the war.  Though, determining whether the dazzling really did save ships from being torpedoed is debatable, it did booster the morale of the sailors on those ships.

I love the sentiment that is summed up in the book :

 “a willingness to tackle problems by trying the unlikely, the improbable, the seemingly bonkers will always be needed.”

The material at the back of the book, author’s and illustrator’s notes, a timeline and reference list provide additional information for research purposes. I thought that the author’s notes about researching and writing about this book of special interest and would be instructive to students about this process.

I recommend this book for grades 4-7 for social studies, art, and science. Because it’s so interdisciplinary it’s perfect for STEAM classrooms.

Being philosophical

Nothing like starting off the new year with some of the big questions in life.

 In Why Am I Here? by Constance Orbeck-Nilssen and Akin Duzakin, introduces us to a very thoughtful child (might be a boy or a girl), who wonders about some of these kinds of questions:

Why am I here?

Why am I in this place?

What if I was in a different place? Would I be different, too?

What if I lived in a city? Or a city with a war going on? 

Or live in the desert?  Or a place with ocean and melting icebergs?

What if I had to move?

After pondering these and many other deep questions, he or she ends up deciding,

                Why am I me, and not someone else?

                And why am I here?

                Maybe that’s how it is –

                I am my own house.

                And I will be at home

                Wherever I am.

The illustrations are perfectly suited for this introspective book that induces a kind of calm while thinking about topics that might be scary such as living in a place where there is conflict. There is a softness in the rendering with a muted palette of colours encouraging quiet contemplation.

Besides being a discussion starter for general conversations about life, our place in the world and our purpose, there are curriculum connections to be found in social studies and language arts. Also, a book that could be a way to approach learning about empathy, too.

Great book to pair with a Stormy Night by Michele Lemieux that also poses questions that can keep one up at night. 

 Recommended for grades 1 to 6.

Importance of Identity

I’ve been pretty wrapped up the last several weeks doing lots of instructional workshops around interdisciplinary teaching. The student teachers are grouped with students from various disciplinary backgrounds. One of the ways I help with this particular course is to speak to conceptual thinking and connect it to resources found in Doucette Library’s collection.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a crucial part of this workshop as I use it as an example of a provocation, a resource that can be used as a hook for engaging student interest. I come back to it, throughout the workshop, as this book epitomizes conceptual thinking. There are so many concepts to be found in this book such as identity, power, conflict, relationships, interdependence, communication, change, movement of people (immigration) and many more.

If you’re keen to learn more about this please visit the library guide that has been develop to support the workshop.

One of the concepts that often came up in the workshop during the discussion period is identity. Identity is one of those concepts that overarches the social studies curriculum from Kindergarten to grade 12. Connecting identity to English language arts, I think, is fairly easy. There are notions of identity found in both science and math, too, which, depending on how the concept is further developed, may be brought in to a unit. Not all content areas needed to be integrated in the units.

Today’s recommendations all touch on the concept of identity. These are just a few of my go-to fiction books when it comes to identity for all ages.

Grades K to 3: Elementary

Hello My Name is Octicorn by Kevin Diller and Justin Lowe 

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi 

Red: a Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall 

Ten Birds by Cybele Young 

Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie 

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman 

Grades 4-8: Middle school

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle 

George by Alex Gino 

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III 

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

One Half From the East by Nadia Hashimi 

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis 

Grades 9-12 (Books I wish I had more opportunities to recommend.)

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Aristole and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz 

Ms Marvel by G, Willow Wilson

Nation by Terry Pratchett 

Scythe by Neal Shusterman 

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld 

World Refugee Day

Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 20^th, 2017 is the United Nation’s designated day for commemorating refugees who leave their home countries under duress. These are everyday folks seeking safe living conditions and opportunities to improve their lives and those of their children.

This is World Refugee Day. 

In recognition of this day, I’m featuring the amazing book, Stepping Stones: a refugee family’s journey by Margriet Ruurs, artwork by Nizar Ali Badr.

There are a number of reasons why I think this book is amazing

First, what’s going to catch your eye are the illustrations. These have been composed from stones. The composer is a Syrian artist, still living in Syria. The author stumbled across his artwork on Facebook and it inspired her to want to create a story reflecting the refugee experience. She also wanted to use Nizar Ali Badr’s artwork. Though composed of beach-found rocks, the artistry of the images creates scenes of everyday life and events that often occur when people are fleeing war. The stones convey movement and contributes to the narrative in an interesting and unique way.

Next, is reading the forward. The forward tells of the extraordinary lengths Margriet Ruur went to contact Nizar Ali Badr and the amazing collaboration that went into this book.

And then, there’s the story. This is a story that expresses the devastating circumstances that makes a family undertake a perilous journey from their home looking for a life of peace, allowing them and their children to prosper.

The text is in English and Arabic.

I highly recommend Stepping Stones for elementary grades for discussing current events in social studies and for the inspiring artwork.

Interest in Pinterest

Today's blog falls in the category of a--

 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.

Many of you know that I curate Pinterest boards that list books found in the Doucette Library and tie-in with the Alberta Education curriculum.  My focus has been mostly on elementary science, social studies and math. For science and social studies, I have created individual boards for every grade and every topic. For math, I did not organize resources according to individual grade level but rather grouped books by topic such as Number Sense, Measurement, Patterns and so on. I've included fiction and nonfiction books, DVDs and a few websites on these boards.

Recently, I've been busy adding more resources to these boards to keep them up-to-date and more complete.

I've also added several new boards based on requests by student-teachers around specific topics. These are Fractured and Adapted Fairy Tales and Activists and Activism K-6 and Activists and Activitism 7-12.

Also, I've just added several boards that correspond with the social studies curriculum for grades 7 to 9. Again, each topic has it's own boards and include: 

   Canada: Origins, Histories and Movement of People 
7.1 Toward Confederation
7.2 Following Confederation: CanadianExpansions

   Historical Worldviews Examined
8.1 From Isolation to Adaptation: Japan
8.2 Origins of a Western Worldview:Renaissance Europe
8.3 Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanishand the Aztecs 

   Canada: Opportunities and Challenges
9.1 Issues for Canadians: Governanceand Rights
9.2 Issues for Canadians: EconomicSystems in Canada and the United States

These boards predominately list nonfiction resources but do include fiction when something was available.

I hope to add boards that will correspond to the junior high science curriculum later this summer.

If you have any recommendations for resources that correspond with these or any other curriculum topics, please drop me a line. I'm always keen to add resources to the Doucette collection that will connect with Alberta Education's curriculum.

Peace Bridge

Today’s recommended title will be of particular interest to Calgarians, Albertans and Canadians.

Bridges: an Introduction to Ten Great Bridges and Their Designers by Didier Cornille introduces us to 10 bridges from various countries spanning the globe providing a brief entry about the architects who designed them and sometimes a little about the construction process.  Each bridge has a something distinct about it, whether it was for a new construction process, a new design, extraordinary length, or a design feature.

Among the selected few is Calgary’s own Peace Bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava (2012).

The other bridges include:

Iron Bridge designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard (England, 1779)

Brooklyn Bridge designed by John Roebling, Washington Roebling and Emily Warren (United States, 1883)

Forth Bridge designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker (Scotland, 1890)

Plougastel Bridge designed by Eugene Freyssinet (France, 1930)

Sydney Harbour Bridge designed by John Jacob Crew Bradfield (Australia, 1932)

Golden Gate Bridge designed by Joseph Baermann Strauss (United States, 1937)

Rio-Niteroi Bridge designed by Jean Muller (Brasil, 1974)

Millau Viaduct designed by Norman Foster and Michel Virlogeux (France, 2004)

Mucem Footbridge designed by Rudy Ricciotti (France, 2013)

Each entry is very brief. I love the format of the book, which is oversized and read turned on its side so we are flipping the pages up. This is great for giving the reader a sense of length, giving the illustrations of each bridge lots of room to span the page. The details usually include a little information about the designer including other projects they’ve been involved in and most often specifics about the construction process.  The illustrations are simple, uncluttered and placed on pages with lots of white space.

The entry for the Peace Bridge in Calgary features several of Calatrava’s other structures giving only two short pages dedicated to the Peace Bridge itself. However cool looking this bridge there is not a lot of information about it in terms of construction.

Another thing I noticed is that with the exception of Emily Warren, who stepped in when her husband died building the Brooklyn Bridge there are no women featured here. There have to be some noteworthy bridges designed by women, right?

This book will be of interest to teachers for science (building things, designing), STEM, and social studies (Alberta, Canada, local politics). I would recommend this for middle grades.

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.