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What some children go through in our world is unbelievable, scary, tragic. It is hard for some of us, especially in the United States and Canada, to imagine how life can be like this–how people can kill one another over religion and race, how people can be so greedy to kill for land or cash crops. But it happens, and children are affected every day.

I found this book, Gervelie’s Journey: A Refugee Diary, at our local library, and I recommend it to everyone. Teachers–share it with your students; parents–share it with your children. It tells the story of Gervelie, who was born in the Republic of Congo and lived in a nice house in Brazzaville, until her family had to flee to safety when fighting broke out in 1997. First, she moved around Africa with her dad, then her mom, and then her grandmother. But whenever she seemed to settle in a new place, trouble started again. In 2001, when fighting occurred in the Ivory Coast, she and her dad fled to Europe. When they finally arrived in England, her dad asked for asylum. In England, Gervelie has been in three different cities, finally settling in Norwich, England.

This book is POWERFUL because it is told in first person–in Gervelie’s words. When the fighting first broke out in Brazzaville, she was 2 years old. When she finally landed at a home with her dad in Norwich, England, she was 9 years old. Can you imagine all of this war, fighting, moving and so on happening to you when you were between the ages of 2 and 9? Can you imagine not seeing or talking to your mom? What about leaving your home and not being able to go back for fear of being killed? All of this has happened to Gervelie.

The other thing that makes this book so powerful is the way that June Allan’s illustrations are mixed with actual photographs of Gervelie and war-torn Africa. Putting a real face with a true story is something that kids and adults WON’T forget.

When you are talking to kids about giving to others or starting service learning projects in your school or home or church, think about sharing books like Gervelie’s Journey because they will help children understand whom they are working for.

Yesterday, I discussed the book Three Cups of Tea. When I posted the link on my Facebook page, people praised the book, and some people had actually heard Greg Mortenson speak on college campuses. So, if you haven’t read it yet, put it on your to-do list. If you want to share his message with your children or your classroom, then check out this book: Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea.

Not only is the story of Greg Mortenson told simply in this picture book, but the murals by Susan L. Roth are fantastic. Children will love to look at these illustrations over and over again–I do! The story goes like this: The children of Korphe, a village in the Pakistan mountains, have school outside and do their lessons with sticks. A teacher comes to teach them 3 times a week. One day, Dr. Greg stumbles into their village (because he was trying to climb K2 and failed). The villagers keep him there until he recovers. When he leaves, he asks the wisest man, Haji Ali, what he can do to help the village to repay them for their kindness, and Haji Ali says, “Listen to the wind.”

When Greg listens to the wind, he hears the voices of the children outside doing their lessons, and he gets the idea to build them a school. He promises to come back with materials to build a school, and he does. However, he realizes they will need to build a bridge first to get the materials to the remote village, and they do that, too. In the end of the book, the children have a school building, and their teacher can now afford to come every day to teach them.

In the back of the book are real photos of Dr. Greg, the children, and the villagers. There are also facts such as now Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute have built over 131 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They educate 58,000 children–40,000 are girls. Children can also read how in Pakistan and Afghanistan, one penny buys a pencil and $1.00 pays for an education for a month! Students, their families, and/or classrooms are encouraged to check out the Pennies for Peace program at www.penniesforpeace.org.

Sometimes when we talk to kids about issues going on in the world, like I wrote about on Monday with my stepson and the visiting priest from Africa who needs money for his church, it is hard for them to understand what we mean by freedom–especially if they live in a free country like the United States. It’s hard for them to imagine that there are places where children don’t have the freedom to go to school or church or the doctor when they are sick. Young children, especially, need concrete examples of what freedom means, especially if they are taking part in any type of donation activity (like collecting pennies for an organization like Loose Change to Loosen Chains).

This book, This is the Dream written by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander and illustrated by James Ransome, is a great picture book that can illustrate the concept of freedom. What I especially like about this bright and colorful book is the way it shows the United States before the Civil Rights movement, then some of the Civil Rights leaders, and then the way the country is now–with freedom for everyone. In the year 2010, the fact that black people used to drink from a separate fountain or ride at the back of the bus might be particularly shocking for our children since less than 50 years later, our president is black.

Here are a few verses from this great book:

“These are the fountains that stand in the square, and the black-and-white signs say who will drink there.”

“These are the leaders whose powerful voices lift up marchers demanding new choices.”

“This is the fountain that stands in the square and the unwritten rule is to take turns and share.”

Love it!!

In order for children to understand what it looks like when there’s not freedom and what it looks like when there is, you can use a picture book like This is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander. Then you can explain to them how around the world in the 21st century, there are still people living without freedom, and we are collecting pennies to try and help them. The Civil Rights leaders helped in the United States, and now it’s our turn!

A boy named Zach Hunter was 12 years old and a seventh grader when he learned in school that slavery still exists in modern day times. He was horrified as he learned more about the situation around the world and formed a group called: Loose Change to Loosen Chains (nicknamed LC2LC). In his first year, he raised $8,500. It’s now 7 years later, and this organization has gone crazy! The International Justice Mission, which I’ve talked about on this blog before, now has the LC2LC program as part of their anti-slavery movement.

According to Real Simple magazine, there’s $10.5 billion in loose change lying around American households. Like it says on the International Justice Mission website, “Imagine what you could do if you were to collect even just a fraction of this amount and use it for a good cause!” Loose Change to Loosen Chains has collected a fraction, and they are fighting human trafficking with it.

So, a seventh-grader, Zach Hunter, started this; and in 2007, when he was in high school, he presented to the White House a petition with over 100,000 signatures on it to encourage politicians to do more to stop trafficking. He wrote a book: Be the Change: Your Guide To Ending Slavery and Changing the World. He speaks to schools and church groups across the country about trafficking. If one person can do all of this, think about what 10 or 20 motivated modern-day abolitionists can do.

If Loose Change 2 Loosen Chains sounds like something you are interested in for your youth group, family, classroom, or community group, then go here to order materials. You will get a kit and information that will help you get started collecting loose change in your community to stop slavery and human trafficking today!

photo by Beverly & Pack www.flickr.com

July 4th is always a good day for me. I love summer, I love festivals, and I love BBQ. I also love my husband, and it’s our anniversary–so even more reason to celebrate. I don’t always take the time to really think about what we are celebrating on July 4th; but this year, I thought about it more than usual. Probably because of this blog and the information I’ve been sharing about helping girls and women around the world, probably because of reading Half the Sky, and probably because of my two experiences building houses in Juarez, Mexico. Well, whatever the reason, here are some thoughts I had on freedom and education.

There’s no point in telling an American child or teen how lucky they are to go to school, to get a free and usually good public education, and to most of the time have a safe way to get to school. I know there are places in the United States where this isn’t necessarily true, and this is a disgrace. But for the most part, our kids are lucky to go to school and get an education. Some kids and teens are even starting to miss it about now if they go to a traditional school with a nine-month calendar. They’re ready for structure, friends, and some brain challenges.

When I was in Juarez, Mexico in a poor, desert community, kids didn’t get to go to school every day. If they did go every day, they went for a couple hours, and that was it. The reason was there was not enough room, supplies, teachers for all the kids in the area to go to school at the same time. So they had to stagger their schedules. As we all know, education is one of the best ways to fight poverty. Without an education, a person has a harder time getting a job and unfortunately, having a child at a too-young age. Kids in Juarez liked the days they went to school and wanted to go more–at least the ones I talked to with my limited (very limited!) Spanish. It’s a freedom they don’t have readily provided for them.

In Half the Sky, there are chapters and stories that discuss how dangerous it is for children to make it to school in some areas. The walk is far and hard, and they have to worry about being attacked by gangs or other tribes or criminals. They have to worry about being kidnapped and sold into the human trafficking system. And so their parent’s don’t let them go. Their parents would rather keep them safe. Many parents have no money to send their children to school, and education is not free or a freedom in these places.

I’m not saying we need to change our kids’ opinions of school, but we can help them see the good points and maybe their opinion will change on their own. We can talk about how happy we were to go to school and get an education, to pursue a career that makes us happy and pays for the things in our houses. If we have older children who can handle some of the heartbreaking stories in Half the Sky, we can share them. And we can do this at any time. We can be thankful for our freedoms at any time–not just at the beginning of July.

I’m reading more and more about modern-day abolitionists. I love this term! Many of them help people out of slavery and poverty and do this by providing an education. I’ll feature one tomorrow. Here are a few children’s books about freedom–most dealing with the past, but you can always apply these concepts to the world today:

Besides Half the Sky, which I have discussed several times on here (this book is about more than just human trafficking, but includes chapters on it), I decided to provide more resources about the subject. As the founders of The Emancipation Network, which I wrote about yesterday, can attest to, hearing or reading about actual victims and their stories is much more powerful than seeing a bunch of statistics. The statistics about child sex trafficking are frightening, but when you hear individual stories, it’s more powerful. Look for the following books at your nearest bookstore, library, or even online:

“Human trafficking is an ugly crime. Its brutalized victims generate vast profits, and many of them are being used and abused in the cities and towns where we live. Human trafficking is also a hidden crime. Governments, human rights groups, and all the rest of us, are struggling to understand how it fits into the lives of our communities and economies. Now we have help: Alexis Aronowitz has written a lucid and concise introduction to human trafficking. Based on impeccable research and years of experience, she shines a light on the modern slave trade. This book is perfect for student and educational use, or for anyone wanting a clear and unbiased understanding of human trafficking today.”
–Dr. Kevin Bales
Academic and world reknowned expert on modern-day slavery
Author of best-seller, Disposable People
President of Free the Slaves

Award-winning journalist David Batstone reveals the story of a new generation of 21st century abolitionists and their heroic campaign to put an end to human bondage. In his accessible and inspiring book, Batstone carefully weaves the narratives of activists and those in bondage in a way that not only raises awareness of the modern-day slave trade, but also serves as a call to action.
–Amazon Product Description

“I approached this book with a certain weariness. Having worked on the subject of sex trafficking for many years, I was unenthusiastic about yet another exposé or cri de coeur from a business executive turned human rights advocate. I could not have been more wrong. This is a unique and inspiring book–an honest, lucid, and immensely intelligent account of a devastating yet pervasive aspect of contemporary globalization. It deserves to be widely read by anyone who wants to understand one of the most persistent and complex human rights violations of our times.” — Jacqueline Bhabha, Harvard Law School

Gogo Ida’s house in Swaziland

Yesterday, I introduced you to author Linda Rhinehart Neas and her poetry book, Gogo’s Dream: Swaziland Discovered. There’s still time to leave a comment or question for Linda and a chance to win her book. One of the things she talked about was the non-profit organization, Possible Dreams International. The profits from her poetry book go directly to this organization. She also wrote about Gogo Ida and her house, which is pictured here.

Possible Dreams International has three current projects in Swaziland.

• The Daily Emergency Fund: This fund is used to help ill people in several ways: to transport them to a hospital, to pay for doctor or X-ray fees, to give food to the starving, and even to provide blankets and bedding. Without the Daily Emergency Fund, several more people would die in Swaziland because they can not afford the medical care.
• Houses for the Poor: In Swaziland, over 70% of the population live in extreme poverty, (on less than one dollar a day). Most houses in rural Swaziland are made of thatch, mud, sticks, or stone. “Possible Dreams International employs young dedicated builders in the community, who are often orphans themselves, as well as community members to come together and help the family in need. In addition to building a house, we speak to the family at length about their physical and emotional needs. We provide access to medical care, food and water as well as engagement with their community so that the family can help themselves out of the myre of poverty and self-defeat. “
• The Mealie Meal Project: One-third of children in Swaziland are orphans because their parents have died of AIDS. This project provides food to orphans “in the form of 25kg of Corn Soya meal a month as well as 60 eggs, beans and milk.”

Swaziland statistics are heartbreaking. Here they are from the Possible Dreams International website:

Swaziland has the highest prevalence of HIV infection in the world.

42% of the population are infected with HIV, the precursor to AIDS.

There are over 15,000 orphan led households in Swaziland.

So, check out yesterday’s post, leave a comment for Linda, and consider buying her book as a gift for someone–maybe even your own Gogo (Grandma) to help the Gogos and children in Swaziland.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1321608

I am so happy to welcome, Linda M. Rhinehart Neas, on her WOW! blog tour. Linda has written the amazing poetry book, Gogo’s Dream: Swaziland Discovered. This book of poetry is inspired by the people of Swaziland and the work of Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke, an Australian physician and poet who spends time working with the people of Swaziland. The poems illustrate the poverty and need in Swaziland but also the love and dignity of this family oriented culture. All of the profits of this book will go to Possible Dreams International to help the peoples of Swaziland. You can preview and purchase the book here.

***Linda has written a terrific post for my blog today. And anyone who leaves a question or comment for Linda will be entered for a chance to win a copy of her book.

Love Story: The Women of Swaziland
by Linda Rhinehart Neas

When he (Dr. Goonetilleke) met Gogo Ida, her remaining daughter had just given birth to a second child. The daughter’s first child, a three-year old is named Nothando, which means “Love.”

Love is the capital that Gogo Ida, nearly seventy, exists on daily. Love for her daughter dying, like her other children, of AIDS; love for the grandchildren, which are now in her care; love for God to whom she prays in the mud hut with holes in the walls where snakes and rats torment the children. Her prayers are simple – protection from the cold, food for the children, a better future for her grandchildren.

Love has brought Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke and the other members of Possible Dreams International (PDI) to Swaziland. Love supports the work they do to help bring the essentials to people devastated by disease and poverty. Love surrounds Gogo Ida and the thousands of Gogos (grandmothers) of Swaziland as they bury their beloved children and care for their orphaned grandchildren.

The Love that fuels Gogo Ida’s (pictured here) hope for a better future for her grandchildren, the dream of all Gogos in Swaziland, which has the highest percentage of HIV infected population in the world, has brought her a new home, built by members of her community with the aid of PDI. The home has the luxury of strong walls, a corrugated roof, a door and windows. It will protect her grandchildren from the varmints that sneak in at night trying to rob her of what little food she has and threatening her grandchildren.

Just before Dr. Maithri leaves Gogo Ida’s home, she receives the first parcel of her supplemental food – Mealie meal, a porridge-based product that is the staple of the Swazi diet, 60 eggs, sugar and beans. Gogo Ida was elated, singing and dancing for joy. “Last night, every morsel of food that we have was gone. Now the children can eat!”

Dr. Maithri lowered his head as tears ran down his face. Love wrapped its arms around Gogo Ida and her family, bringing Light into her humble home.

Being a woman in Swaziland isn’t necessarily a death sentence, but it might as well be. In 2009, the average life expectancy in Swaziland was 37. Approximately 42% of the pregnant women in the country were HIV positive. Nearly 185,000 of the one million people living there are infected. However, AIDS is not the only disease ravaging the lives of women in Swaziland.

Struggling in a country where poverty is the norm, infectious diseases run rampant. W

Yesterday, I wrote about a great CD, Can You Hear Us?. 100% of the profits, yes 100%, goes to helping children around the world. To see who and how, check out this website. You can also listen to songs off the website and read some of the stories behind the songs. It is a truly amazing CD.

My very favorite song on the CD is titled “Kenya.” The refrain goes like this: Jesus, please save Kenya. Please help people love each other. Jesus, please save Kenya. In Jesus name, Amen.

But my favorite part of the song comes about halfway through, and it’s such a lesson that we all can learn. Not to mention, that it goes with what I talked about last week–you don’t need money to make a difference in the world. Here are the lyrics that touch my heart:

Since they started to pray, no one else has lost their house and no one is fighting; no one’s family is dying. And they [the children praying] don’t know why everyone is amazed. They know Jesus saves.

This verse is then followed by a chorus of children singing the refrain. This song is toe-tapping, and you might just find yourself clapping along, too. I’m telling you the entire $14 that you have to spend for this CD is worth it just for this song!

You can order right from the website.

If you want to share Kenya with your children, here are a few books:

With this Tilbury House blog tour for One of Us, we are celebrating the theme “bravely be you!” The picture book, One of Us written by Peggy Moss and illustrated by Penny Weber is the story of Roberta who is starting a new school and trying to fit in. First, Roberta befriends the straight-up hair girls, and they tell her, “You are one of us!” until she does something different. Then she goes on the monkey bars, and those kids tell her, “You are one of us.” After she goes from group to group to group, she finally finds a group that likes to be different from each other.

**For a special treat, we have an interview with author Mitali Perkins, who has written books such as Bamboo People and Secret Keeper. Anyone who leaves a comment or question on today’s post will be entered to win one free copy of either One of Us by Peggy Moss or a signed copy of Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins. Winners will be chosen randomly from the comments on Monday morning. Now on to the interview. . .

Margo: In the picture book, ONE OF US, which we are celebrating today, this theme stands out in the wonderful text and lively, bright illustrations: “bravely be you.” How do you incorporate this theme into your own life?

Mitali: I love that statement. I want it on a t-shirt, please. It takes courage to be yourself, doesn’t it? For me, it means celebrating both sides of my hyphen as a Bengali-American.

Margo: I would buy a t-shirt like that! How do you incorporate “bravely be you” into your work?

Mitali: I try to model that hyphenated life–with all of its strengths and struggles–for the next generation as I speak and write for young people. I also try to speak prophetically into the mainstream of children’s publishing by staying close to the margins as much as possible. On my blog (mitaliblog.com), I raise issues about life “between cultures,” as I call it, review books, and host authors who might otherwise get overlooked.

Margo: Your blog sounds like a place where anyone can be free to be herself or himself. That’s awesome! Your next book is Bamboo People, which is due out July 1, 2010 from Charlesbridge. Tell us about this book–who should read it, a quick plot summary, and themes in the book.

Mitali: Who should read it? I hope adults and children ages 10 and up will enjoy this coming-of-age story and learn about the situation in modern-day Burma. The book features two main characters, Chiko and Tu Reh. Chiko isn’t a fighter by nature. He’s a book-loving Burmese boy whose father, a doctor, is in prison for resisting the government. Tu Reh, on the other hand, wants to fight for freedom after watching Burmese soldiers destroy his Karenni family’s home and bamboo fields. Timidity becomes courage and anger becomes compassion as both boys are changed by their chance meeting in the jungles along the Thai-Burma border. You may find out more at

*Picture book for infants to Kindergarteners, contemporary fiction
*Young girl as main character
*Rating: Say Hello! is a book children will return to again and again as they learn to speak “hello” in many different languages. Rachel Isadora is a brilliant illustrator, too!

Short, short summary:

So, what do I do with this book?

1. The best thing about Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora is that it is meant to be read aloud, and children are meant to practice saying hello in all the different languages. And children love this! After you have read it through a couple times, you can ask children if they know any other ways to say hello. You can make a list of all the ways–from the book and from your children–and display this in the room. At home, when you pass your child in the hallway or enter a room, you can say hello in one of the ways you learned in the book.

2. This book is also great to start a discussion about businesses/buildings in a community, which is often a primary social studies objective. What are the places that Carmelita passes or visits on her walk to see Abuela Rosa? Are these same type of businesses in your community? What do you do at each of these businesses? Why are they important to the community?

3. Another discussion to have with children is about the similarities and differences between people. Depending on where you teach or where you live, your children may be in a neighborhood like Carmelita, where people come from various backgrounds, or you may be in a place where people mostly come from the same place. No matter what, you can have the discussion with children about how people may speak differently or look differently, but we are all people with feelings, friends, families, and even special talents. Again, one of the early social studies objectives is learning “ALL ABOUT ME.” This book can be a starting point for students to explore their families, share unique things about families with the class, or even create a family tree.

Don’t forget to enter the book giveaway contest for Seeds of Change, a picture book about Waangari Maathai. See the post from Thursday, May 20 (yesterday) to enter the contest and learn about this amazing book!

Authors, illustrators, readers, advocates for Latino literature, and book lovers of all sorts have suffered a great loss. Rose Treviño, Youth Services Coordinator for the Houston Public Library, passed away on Friday. Rose was a dear friend and someone I truly admired. She was the type of person who would not hesitate to offer a helping hand, and was willing to introduce you to the right people to ensure your sucess, as she understood that one person's success in this field, signifies a success for the field as a whole. She worked tirelessly to make a difference and knew how to get things done. I consider myself lucky to have known her. Below, I have included a link to an interview I conducted with Rose some time ago for Críticas magazine. Anyone interested in Latino publishing should read this interview to become aware of the amazing work librarians do everyday to promote our books. My heart and thoughts go out to her family, and to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing Rose and is as saddened by this loss as I am. Feel free to comment below if you are so inclined.—Adriana

René Has Two Last Names/René tiene dos apellidos won a 2010 Skipping Stones Honor Award