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I am thinking about mothers as represented in the Harry Potter series. There is a conversation going on in the comments to my previous Potter post that has me wondering if Rowling was conscious of weaving in a theme about mother's love. I said:

"Maybe I am hypersensitive to the whole orphan fantasy. I am learning so much about the trauma that adopted and foster children live with and the deeply challenging parts of parenting that it makes me a bit angry to see a majorly important writer present Harry's character coming to him so easily, without obvious effort invested in loving, dedicated parenting. I want desperately for my boys to grow up as fine as Harry, but it doesn't just happen without my daily struggle to be the best I can be and then some. Perhaps it's just another example of the literary orphan fantasy; it's exciting to be a child loose in the world with distant but loving parents.

Years ago I remember my priest saying why she disagreed with the Christians who ban HP from their kid's reading lists. She said the central idea of the story is this ultimately important truth: that sacrificial love is the greatest force in the universe. That is a very Christian teaching. I think the strongest magic in the books is the magic of Harry's mother's love protecting him. His father sacrificed life for him too, but Dumbledore doesn't seem to mention that as much. It's Lily's sacrificial love that makes Harry what he is. So I guess Snape and Voldemort also had miserable, lonely childhoods but didn't have the same mother's love to work the magic. It seems like that might be one of Rowling's themes.

I also am thinking about how Petunia loves Dudley and Narcissa loves Draco, but it is a twisted, selfish type of love compared to Lily's love and it doesn't help them become good strong men. I am beginning to see the whole series as an exploration of mother's love. That feels a bit threatening actually. Is there a formula and am I measuring up? LOL It's all about me, of course."

If we compare:

1. Voldemort (mother died just after giving birth),
2. Snape (lonely, miserable childhood, muggle father, mother not mentioned much?),
3. Harry (mother Lily died when he was one),
4. Dudley (mother Petunia constantly fussing over him, calls him obnoxiously cute pet names, sees Harry as a rival?)
5. Draco (mother Narcissa fawns over Draco, sending him sweets and cakes at school, lies to Voldemort, her liege lord, in the final battle in order to find out from Harry if Draco is still alive)
6. Mrs. Weasley: ideal mother image: cooking, fussing over their safety, knitting everyone sweaters, lots of kids, pulls Harry into the family, fights for Ginny in the last battle)
   

What would we conclude about Rowling's ideas of motherhood, orphans and mother love? Comments please!!

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by Richard Michelson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis. (Click that link and scroll down to see the absolutely gorgeous illustrations) G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2006. This picture book is immediately appealing to my son Buddy because it is about:

1. baseball,
2. learning to play the violin,
3. two boys in friendship,
4. a black kid and a white kid
5. (most dramatically shown on the cover) the boys are tossing a baseball across an alleyway from one open window to another.

He said right away "Why are they throwing that ball through the window? They shouldn't do that, should they?" One boy is Jewish and his grandfather thinks he is practicing the violin before going to bed. The other boy is Black and his father wants him to be practicing his pitching wind-up. They each secretly admire the other's opportunities. They understand the unspoken racist rules of adults that keep them from being friends outside in the daylight. They compare family histories and discover both of their relatives struggled against oppression, slavery and violence.

They quietly agree to switch equipment, passing the violin across the alley and tossing the baseball. The Black boy plays beautifully and the Jewish boy strengthens his arm, dreaming of playing pitcher in a big game. One night the Jewish grandfather walks in and discovers that the excellent violin playing he has been listening to is not coming from his grandson. We hold our breath for a moment with the two boys, waiting for his reaction. He breaks into a smile and compliments the budding violinist. He shows him the proper position for his bow.

Next week the two families are walking down the street together, not caring what the world may think. The Black boy plays violin beautifully at Temple and the Jewish boy pitches in the Black neighborhood game at the sandlot. The wonder is that the families of both boys reach across their divide and welcome the friendship to flourish.

This is a very sweet and hopeful book. Buddy is a little young to understand the full nuance of the tension and the history between the races, but he gets the energy of the children's friendship working to overcome their separated positions. He would like to learn both baseball and violin, so this friendship is one he respects. I think the book would be great for older children as a discussion starter or writing prompt. Kids in third through fifth grade studying race, culture, ethnicity and/or history could have a lot to say on the predicament of children caught in a world shaped by hatred and segregation. It's the world they live in and the problems for which they seek creative solutions, after all.

Another review of the book:
Just One More Book podcast

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by J. K. Rowling. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007. I said I wouldn't review this because so many other people are doing it. Today I decided I have something to say about it anyway. I waited a while to let things sink in and to give folks a chance to finish it. If you are still in the middle here is your warning: Spoilers!

I love these books. I really do. Rowling is a master storyteller. I am awed by her mind; that she created such a complex, compelling world and that she carried on with the story for over ten years. She is genius. The stories are amazing, entertaining, thoughtful and beautiful. I just have a few problems with them, now that the series is finished.

I tried to ignore these thoughts and let go of them because of the really wonderful aspects of the books, as I said above. I just can't get them out of my mind. Am I the only person wondering:

1. Harry is an orphan. He lost his parents at the age of one year. He was raised in a foster home by people who hated and feared him. He was shoved in a tiny closet under the stairs. He was abused emotionally and physically. His greatest gifts were the things his care-takers hated the most. No one loved him between the ages of one and eleven. He was very aware that no one loved him. So how does he turn out to be such a great guy? Where does he find the wisdom, the compassion and the courage to love others selflessly? His mother's sacrificial love saved his life and protected him, granted. But that kind of magic happening once in babyhood is not enough to raise an ethical, moral, secure, compassionate, generous, grounded person. Good parenting makes good leaders. It doesn't just happen. It is not realistic. Even magic has to make sense on some level after all.
2. Hermione's little beaded bag. OK, at first I thought how clever. It solves the problem of how they will find all the things they need to survive and maintain their quest. After a while I started thinking Oh Please. Extra robes every time they need them? The sword for crying out loud? And when she gets taken by Death Eaters and tortured she manages to hold on to it by hiding it in her sock? Give me a break. That is stretching it too far.
3. I don't quite understand how Harry died and came back to life. Where was he when he had that heart to heart with Dumbledore? Purgatory? How is it he had a choice of going back into life? Did everyone have that choice or just him because he died willingly as a sacrifice? That whole section is a little hard to swallow. If he died, he should have stayed dead or his resurrection should have been explained as remarkable and significant. Characters don't just get to die dramatically and then pop back to life for a happy ending, even in stories. And WHO the heck was that miserable baby shoved under a chair? Voldemort's soul?
   
4. The epilogue. It brings to mind that 80s TV show called "thirtysomething". Do you remember it? Ron is Timothy Busfield. I used to love that show, partly because Buster was a baby right when Hope had her baby and I could relate. But now it just seems so trite. So yuppie. Harry turned out to be a boomer yuppie?
   

The things I liked about the book are the way the house elves developed and contributed to the final victory, the goblins playing an important role and having their own culture revealed a bit more, Neville's' final heroism, and the way Ron and Hermione's friendship made Harry's quest possible. I am sad to have finished the last book in the series. I guess I can look forward to watching the movies still, as I have only seen the first two.

What did you think of Deathly Hallows? What do you think about Harry's remarkable character traits, given that he grew up in bad foster care?

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by Silvana De Mari. English translation by Shaun Whiteside. Miramax books, 2006. This is a fabulous book. Yorsh is a young orphaned elf - the last one on earth. His world has been flooded out and he is wandering, looking for shelter, food and friendship. He meets up with a woman looking for fire and a hunter looking for companions. The book is divided into three parts, with exciting and satisfying adventures all around.

The really wonderful thing about this book is how full of hope and kindness it is. Each of the characters has talents and gifts that they are unaware of, which are revealed by the love and faithfulness of their friends. They all struggle with pain, loneliness and hunger but they triumph over all difficulties supported by courage and compassion. Even in their darkest moments, when disaster seems unavoidable, someone in the group has faith and an open mind to seek opportunity. Yosh has an infinitely tender heart. He believes in life and abhors violence. He teaches peaceful resolution to problems and inspires creativity in his companions. Although they suffer from every imaginable terror the characters in this book all find ways to contribute to a world of growing health and beauty.

I just love this book. I highly recommend it as a read aloud for third, fourth and fifth graders. I can imagine some wonderful discussions with children about the conflicts and solutions to problems that the characters deal with in this story. It has just the right mix of gruesome reality and optimistic, hopeful happy ending. If you like fantasy or know a child who does you have to read this book!

Other reviews and plot synopsis:

Hyperion
B&N - scroll down for reviews
Lansing Library
Metaxucafe

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by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press, 2006. This is the fourth book in a great adventure series for 9 to 12 year olds. Gregor has helped to find the cure to the plague that hit the underworld in volume three. (I reviewed Curse of the Warmbloods here.) His mother is still recovering from the plague and living in Regalia, the human's city far below New York. Gregor visits her often and takes echolocation lessons from Ripred, his rat friend. He is beginning to develop a complex friendship with Luxa, the twelve year old queen of Regalia. The sexual tension between these two is a major theme in this volume. Gregor is caring for his family and becoming a warrior, leaving childhood behind and beginning to realize his feelings for Luxa are more than just friendship. She is queen of Regalia and he is a boy from New York. His outlook vacillates between feeling foolish and wondering if she shares his feelings.

When Luxa gets a call from her mice friends for help Gregor insists on coming along. They end up taking a party of friends, including Gregor's three year old sister Boots and Luxa's adopted younger brother Hazard. The funny thing is, all the mice have disappeared. They cannot find an inhabited colony anywhere. They get drawn further and deeper into the Underworld looking for the mice and trying to solve the perplexing problem of what could have happened to them. When they come across hundreds of murdered mice Luxa declares war on whoever or whatever is killing them. Gregor is hoping to find a way to avoid massive violence, in spite of his being a warrior. Another major theme in this volume is the struggle between negotiation/mediation and violence/aggression as problem solving strategies. I find it quite relevant to events in the real world today. I think you could have some very stimulating discussions with kids about how they deal with aggression, rivalry and vengeance in their own lives and what they think Gregor and Luxa should do.

I am enjoying the Underland Chronicles so much! It is making it easier to wait for Harry Potter to arrive. I can't wait to read the fifth and final book Gregor and the Code of the Claw. Anyone else read these?

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by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press, 2005. I was saving this book and the fourth one in the series, Gregor and the Marks of Secret to read this summer. I read the first two, Gregor the Overlander and Gregor and the Prophesy of Bane last year. (Another blogger review.) I really love this series. It is completely captivating. If you are obsessed with Harry Potter this week you ought to love these books as well.

Gregor is a 12 year old New Yorker. He lives in an apartment with his mom, dad, two sisters and grandmother. He travels under the city to have adventures and battles in a whole different civilization filled with nibblers (mice), gnawers (rats), violet eyed humans (living in the City of Regalia), crawlers (cockroaches) and flyers (bats). He takes his two year old sister with him on the adventures. Gregor is such a well drawn character he comes alive. He speaks with a genuine mixture of humor, wit, uncertainty, hope and confusion.

There is a brief mention of him being African American and the books are listed in collections of African American fiction for children, but his race is not apparent in most of the story. I am glad to see a character of color in a story not about race but I wish his ethnicity was a little clearer in these books. There is barely any mention of it at all and it is easy to miss. I didn't notice it at all until another reader pointed it out to me. I think it would be good for young African American readers to know this hero was black. It would be good as well for everyone else reading to see a black kid star in a fantasy adventure. In the interview with Suzanne Collins on her site it is not mentioned at all. If they make it into a movie I wonder who they would cast as Gregor?

In this volume he becomes one of a party on a quest to find the cure to a plague that is decimating all the warmbloods. His closest friends, his partner in the bat world and his mother all become infected wit this horrible and fatal disease so he is desperate to find the cure. As well as seeking the cure for the plague he is discovering his strength and courage as a warrior and exploring the tension between seeking peace, establishing alliances and identifying reasons to go to war. The story has depth and humor. I highly recommend the series for readers between 9 and 12 who love adventure stories.

I finished volume four yesterday and I will write about it tomorrow. Volume five is out now as well and I look forward to reading it as soon as we get it into our library. Jen Robinson has reviewed it here.

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by Matthew Skelton. Delacorte Press, 2006. I just finished reading this, months after so many other kidlit bloggers have already reviewed it. I liked it quite a bit, and kept thinking about the characters days later, wondering what they were up to in Oxford. That's always a good quality in a book, if it makes me think the characters are still having adventures after I've finished reading.

Blake and his little sister Duck are in Oxford with their mother while she does research. Their father is still back in the States, a rift in the family that bothers them both tremendously. They are left to their own devices for hours while their mother pursues her work. They spend most of their time wandering around the libraries of the university under the eye of the friendly librarians. Heh.

One day a book jumps out and bites Blake. It turns out to be a magical book that appears to have blank pages but is actually full of prophesy. The story goes back and forth between modern Oxford and the children we know to fifteenth century Germany where Gutenberg is inventing the printing press and the magical book is first being created.

Of course the book has chosen Blake because he is destined to complete the quest of reuniting the scattered parts of the mysterious and powerful book. There are evil characters trying to steal it from him and helpful wise mentors offering assistance. It's an exciting and fanciful read. I was completely absorbed in it and enjoyed reading it immensely.

The only thing I found disappointing was the ending. The plot builds to Blake's figuring out where the missing parts of the book are hidden and his piecing together the clues. The mystery is resolved when he finds all the scraps and brings them together before a wicked professor is able to snatch it from him. The only thing is, all the book really wants to do is stitch itself back together. It seems alive, wiggling in his backpack and whispering to him, urging him along. It flies through the air and stitches its pages back into place when they are reunited. Then... nothing happens. Prophecy fulfilled. The scene switches to Blake's parents getting back together and his family happiness. This ending leaves me feeling flat. The story closes with Blake reading the healed book. Perhaps the story will continue in a sequel?

Other reviews:
Chasing Ray
The Guardian
Answers.com
Not to miss:
Endymion Spring website with an interview with the author, excerpts from the book and audio files.

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By Virginia Hamilton. Macmillan Publishing Company, 1967. Paperback by Aladdin Books, 1986. Illustrations by Jerry Pinkney.

I took this off the discard shelf in my library and put it on my summer book list. It is one of the first highly acclaimed African American children's novels. It was her first novel, written as a short story while in college at Ohio State and later made into a short novel. I found the language to be a bit old fashioned. Geeder, the young girl who is the main character, speaks like Shirley Temple. "Goodness sakes, everyone in the whole place will think we're just little babies!" she says in the train station as they wait for the train taking her and her younger brother down South to her Uncle's farm. "Aren't train stations just grand?" she said. "Look at those pillars - I bet they're all of three feet around. And the windows! Did you ever see anything so very high up?" It was a bit off-putting at first, until I got used to it. Once I got to know Geeder I became drawn into her imaginative inner life and developing sense of self as a strong, beautiful, independent young woman. I had to keep reading to find out how her crush on Zeely, a tall, beautiful, dark-skinned, mysterious woman farming hogs with her father on Geeder's uncle's land would turn out.

Geeder and her brother Toeboy take the train to Uncle Ross's farm for the summer. They have complete freedom to roam the farm, with their only responsibility to take care of feeding the chickens. Uncle Ross is kind and wise, turning up just when they need a little reassurance or a bit of help in figuring out the puzzle of Zeely's heritage. Geeder finds a picture in a magazine of a Watusi queen. She is struck by how similar the Watusi queen looks to Zeely. She becomes convinced that Zeely is of royal blood and is obsessed with finding out more about Zeely. In a typical pre-adolescent crush she makes up wild stories about her and watches for clues to her identity. She wanders around in a daze looking for opportunities to get closer to Zeely, who doesn't speak to her or acknowledge her presence until near the end of the story.

One of the surprising things for me is the lack of adult supervision Geeder, Toeboy and the other children of the town have. This is a story from another era. On their first afternoon on the farm Geeder and Toeboy wander around exploring. They find the pond at the end of the pasture, take off their clothes and go swimming. When they get tired of swimming they put their clothes back on and wander off to another activity. I can't imagine letting my kids just decide to jump in a pond without an adult watching them. Later in the story they go out at night to a house in town where all the children are gathering at night for a bonfire. The children pile fuel on the fire and dance around it, singing and playing games daring each other to get as close to the flames as possible without burning their clothing. The only adult around is one child's father, and he is in the house. Geeder and Toeboy walk across town in the dark, play with the other kids around the fire and then walk home. Their curfew is twelve o'clock. I can sort of see this happening in the country 40 years ago, but I can't quite believe it.

The middle of the book has a really exciting scene when Zeely and her father drive the hogs to market. They stampede through town full of squealing and stink. Geeder of course gets herself right in the middle of the action, trying to get close to Zeely and help her coax along a sow that falls under the stampede. The description is so vivid it turns my stomach a bit. I think kids will love reading it. I think this book will appeal to both boys and girls in grades three and four. I imagine there would be some great class discussions about what Geeder is thinking and feeling, and the difference between her views and Toeboy's. This book was an ALA notable book. Read a review by a ten year old student here at the Spaghetti Book Club.

Hamilton died in 2002. Her obituary, written in Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2003 by Maisha L. Johnson discusses Zeely and the impact the novel had when first published. Hamilton's home page is here.

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By Jeanne DuPrau. Random House, 2006. This is the third book in a series. I liked the first two books a lot. The City of Ember tells about a city underground, where people have been living in the dark as long as they can remember. In The People of Sparks two children find their way out of the cave and back up to the light. They discover that there had been a disastrous war that had destroyed most of civilization. The City of Ember, where they were born, was a community of refugees. A scattering of humans still survive above ground in the gradually recovering world. The children struggle to find their place in the new society that forms.

The Prophet of Yonwood takes place 40 years before the war that had destroyed the old world. Eleven year old Nickie is traveling to Yonwood, North Carolina with her aunt to put an old family house on the market. The terrifying possibility of a major world war looms. Nickie wants to find a way to stay in Yonwood living with both her parents, fall in love for the first time, and do something good for the world.

I didn’t enjoy Yonwood as much as I liked the first two books. I think Sparks is the best of the three. The themes of nonviolent problem-solving and finding a voice to speak for oneself are presented with depth and clarity on a level that engages kids and adults. The plot tension builds to a satisfying conclusion and the story is hopeful.

I found Yonwood to be simplistic and disappointing. The major theme is Nickie’s struggle to understand how one knows what is a good thing to do or a bad thing. On the surface of the story is the tension of whether and when the world will dissolve into World War III. The first two thirds of the book are a count-down to the president’s ultimatum with other major world powers. I kept wondering how Nickie was going to end up underground in the City of Ember. When the deadline arrives nothing happens. The president is silent, no war breaks out, and local issues in Yonwood take over the story. The town comes to a crisis over leadership and faith in an eerie silence from the White House. Nickie has a hand in solving the town’s dilemma and her life goes on.

I was frustrated and disappointed with this ending. I felt betrayed and let down. It is not until the final chapter that the writer explains how Nickie ended up in the City of Ember at the age of sixty. It makes sense in the span of the three books but it leaves the story of Yonwood feeling flat and stretched thin.

I have recommended this series to a lot of children in my library in the past two years. The ones who have read all three have enjoyed them all. No one complained about this third in the series being less exciting or interesting than the first two, so maybe it’s my adult perspective getting in the way. In any case, I would still recommend the series, especially The People of Sparks.

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by Andrea Cheng. Front Street, 2004. 10 year old Sarah and her best friend Victoria share a cozy hideaway under the honeysuckle vines. They play pretend games and share everything. When Victoria suddenly moves away without explanation Sarah is heartbroken and worried about her friend.

In school the teacher introduces a new girl named Tina, who has just arrived from China. Tina has studied English but has little experience communicating with native speakers. Sarah is Chinese-American but can't speak Chinese. She feels completely American and can't understand why the teacher wants to pair her up with Tina. Both girls hate how teachers frequently call them by the other's name, as if they can't tell them apart.

The story is written on about a third grade reading level so the sentences and vocabulary are simple and clear. I am impressed with the depth of the portrayal of the racism the girls encounter. They both struggle with name calling and taunting on the playground as well as adults the dismiss them and have no cultural understanding. On school picture day Sarah forgot to dress up. Her mother came to school to bring her a blouse embroidered by one of her relatives in China. She doesn't like the special attention she receives in the school office when her mother shows it to her, and she doesn't want to change out of her tee shirt.

"Sarah, please," Mom says in a loud whisper. "Why are you making such an issue out of a simple picture?"

Mom is the one making the issue, not me. I don't have any issue at all. The secretary is looking at us. She sees the embroidered blouse. "That's a very pretty blouse," she says. "Is it from Japan?"

"From China," Mom says.

China, Japan, Africa, they're all the same to the secretary. Faraway places with funny-looking people. I fold my arms across my chest. Mom puts the blouse back in the bag and goes toward the door. I want to change my mind and take the Chinese blouse, but Mom is already out the door. I watch her through the glass, small and thin like Sam. I want to run after her and say, Sorry, Mom, I'll change my shirt, but my feet are stuck to the brown-and-white tiles on the floor.

Sarah feels the tension of growing up and finding independence from her parents. Her dad is often away on business trips and she misses him but doesn't know how to talk about it. She is afraid she is a bad Chinese girl because she gets her clothes dirty, causes her mother extra work, and accidentally breaks a vase. She feels guilty when she lies to the teacher by writing what she thinks the teacher wants to hear about celebrating Christmas instead of what she really enjoys about celebrating Chinese New Year.

As time goes on she begins to make friends with Tina in spite of herself. She still misses Victoria but she feels a bit more hopeful that her old friend is doing well in her new life when she receives a few notes from her left in their old honeysuckle house. Communication starts to open up between her and her parents as well.

I like this story very much. I found it a bit too simple and abrupt in the phrasing and sentence structure, but I think that is because it is aimed at young readers. The themes addressed give credit to children's intelligence. I think many children deal with loss and separation of friends and family as well as cross cultural misunderstandings and racism. It's nice to read a book that recognizes children's real experience.

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by William H. Armstrong. 1970 Newbury Award winner. It was made into a movie in 1972 and redone by Disney in 2003.

This is a classic story that I first read in Jr. High. I was in a mixed suburban school near Cleveland Ohio. The story is set in the American south in the 1930s and tells about a black sharecropper family's tragic struggle for survival in the face of intensely cruel racism and violence. I remember thinking that is was very far away and outside of the norms for our lives. I wonder now if the white teacher and the other students in my class, both black and white felt that way too.

Thinking about it now I realize that it wasn't that long ago. The boy in the story could be still living today. In the seventies, when it was written and when I read it he most certainly was. The students sitting in English class with me could have had relatives living in the south. The boy in the story is not far in age from my parents. My classmates' parents and grandparents might have lived that life. My own family was from New England so I felt no connection to the South, but that isn't very realistic. White racism dominates our country north, south, east and west. Being from New England doesn't distance my family from the acquisition and control over the wealth sharecroppers built, maintained and were denied.

The biting cruelty and evil of a society where a man could be taken from his family and forced to work hard labor with no pay for six years until he is disabled and sent to walk home in disgrace or die on the road for stealing a ham to feed his family is deeply disturbing to me today. When the sheriff turned around in the wagon and shot Sounder, the family's hunting dog, as he was taking the father and head of the household away in chains he surely knew what he was doing to that mother and her children. He was stripping them of their most important and legitimate means of earning a living. Let alone what he did to the boy's father, and to the dog. I can't even begin to speak about the pain of his mother's life.

When I read the reviews about this book online today they mostly put it in the past, as a historical novel about the old South. I don't see it as that far away anymore. Don't we have a growing prison population that is disproportionately African American? Haven't my own sons lost their biological families for mostly economic reasons? I have two adopted African American sons. Their biological grandparents and extended families may have lived that life. It's still with us today. Does anyone else feel this?

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by Yoko Kawashawa Watkins. Yoko is 11 and living in northern Korea at the end of World War II. She is Japanese and her father works in Manchuria, just over the border in China. Yoko and her mother and sister are forced to flee their home when Korean forces begin to take control from the Japanese. They have many harrowing adventures and escape murder, rape and starvation on a daily basis for over a year. Finally Yoko and her sister make a new life for themselves at home in Japan and are joined by their older brother.

This story was exciting to read but full of pain and anguish. It wore on me because I read it all in one sitting during my son's nap time on Saturday afternoon. It is almost too horrible a story to believe, but it is true and Yoko is a real person.

I lived in the northern Chinese province of Heilongjiang for two years teaching English. There were quite a few Koreans living in China at the time and there was a visible legacy of Russian influence as well. We saw Russian architecture and bought Russian bread when we visited the big city of Harbin. Our school liaison was a Chinese-Korean man whose family had been living there since WW II. He enjoyed taking us to Korean restaurants. He was embarrassed to admit that many Chinese people thought Koreans were dirty and disgusting enough to eat dogs. One of the Americans I was teaching with could speak fluent Korean and he delighted in talking with her in his native language. I think he felt mistreated and disrespected many times. I witnessed the racism and animosity felt between ethnic Han Chinese, other Chinese minorities, Koreans and Japanese. The feelings toward the Japanese, who had occupied the area just forty years previously, were thinly veiled animosity and disdain. I knew people whose family members had been imprisoned, beaten, tortured, raped and murdered by the Japanese army. Many white Americans may not not aware of it, but these groups have a long and painful history of racism and abuse.

It is really interesting to me to read this story from the perspective of a Japanese girl who was living in Korea. Just before the story starts she is in a position of wealth and privilege, being a member of the occupying elite. The story tells what happens to the women in the families of the powerful men on the losing side of the war as they are fleeing refugees. I can't help but try to imagine what it would be like if America comes to that position and I am one of the women fleeing with my children, trying to stay alive after being so comfortable and privileged for so long.

Anyone else read this book? If you have connections to Korea, China or Japan it makes it really fascinating and I would love to chat with you about it. If you are reading it with your children or students I'd love to hear what they think.

More links:
Study guide
Sample student essay
Parents Choice award
Discussion Questions

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by Conrad Richter. Ballantine Books, 1953. I think I read this in Jr. High but I didn't remember it at all. I have recently read criticism of the use of the term "squaw" and reference to scalping on the American Indians in Children's Literature Blog by Debbie Reese. Those terms are all through the book and now that I doubt their authenticity that bothered me a lot. The story is of a young man named True Son. He was taken captive by Delaware Indians when he was only four years old. He was adopted and became a beloved family member of his Native American family. When he is 14 a treaty is signed forcing his Indian father to send him back to his European American family. True Son is heart-broken. He hates life in the white settlement. He eventually makes his way back to his Indian home but the heartbreak doesn't end there.

This story moved me on a number of levels. The injustice of colonial take over of Indian land, the racism and violence inherent in the clash of cultures, and the issues of adoption and biological families competing for True Son's loyalty all touch me. I would love to be part of a discussion with young people reading this book for the first time, to hear their take on all these issues.

For Mother Reader's 48 Hour book challenge: I read this book on Saturday, covering all 120 pages in 3 and half hours. I read another book later in the day, which I will blog about next chance I get. My boys are stirring again so I will have to end this here and come back later.

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by Nancy Farmer. Orchard Books, 1994. It's the year 2194 in Zimbabwe. The three children of General Matsika, one of the most powerful men in Africa, were kept safe and secure within a lavish mansion. They were pampered and served and tutored in every way. What they really wanted was an adventure in the outside world. It goes something like this: out of the goldfish bowl, into the stew pot. Out of the stew pot, into the frying pan. Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Out of the fire, into....?

This was a very enjoyable read. Children 9 and up who like fantasy, adventure, and Utopian alternate worlds will love this. I found it interesting, exciting and satisfying. There are a couple of spots where it seemed a bit unbelievable but the story moved so fast that wasn't a big bother. I was really moved by the justice issues where wealth confronted poverty. It seemed a bit too close to our present day world in some respects. I like being challenged in that way and I think young adults will as well.

I read this as my first book in Mother Reader's 48 hour challenge. I had actually started it a few days before, so I am only counting 275 pages of the book's 311 pages in my tally. I started reading at 11 am on Friday morning and read a total of 5 hours on Friday. I can't really put everything aside and literally do nothing but read, of course, so I just did what I could. It puts me out of the running for any prizes, but I don't really care about that. I am just so thrilled and satisfied to be doing it at all. In the past five years, since I became the mother of three boys, I haven't read this much in one weekend. It is refreshing and I am really happy I did it!

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Writing/Parenting:

1. Atwell, Nancie, In the middle
2. Calkins, Lucy, Raising lifelong learners
3. Graves, Donald, Writing
4. Calkins, Lucy McCormick, The art of teaching writing
5. Phelan, Thomas, 1-2-3 magic
6. Siegel, Daniel, Parenting From the Inside Out

Middle Grade chapter books:

7. DuPrau, Jeanne, The prophet of Yonwood
8. Collins, Suzanne, Gregor and the curse of the warmbloods
9. Collins, Suzanne, Gregor and the marks of secret
10. Farmer, Nancy, The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm
11. Skelton, Matthew, Endymion Spring
12. De Mari, Silvana, The last dragon
13. Farmer, Nancy, A girl named Disaster
14. Erdrich, Louise, The game of silence
15. Erdrich, Louise, The birchbark house
16. Cheng, Andrea, Honeysuckle house
17. Watkins, Yoko Kawashima, So far from the bamboo grove
18. Balliett, Blue, Chasing Vermeer
19. Balliett, Blue, The Wright
20. Richter, Conrad, The Lightinthe Forest
21. Hamilton, Virginia, Plain City
22. Hamilton, Virginia, Justice and Her Brothers
23. Myers, Walter Dean, Monster
24. Armstrong, William H., Sounder
25. Mead, Alice, Jundbug
26. Yumoto, Kazumi, The Friends
27. English, Karen, Francie
28. Yep, Luarence, Dragon's Gate

I know I can't read all these, but I always put a few extra on the list in case I don't like something and abandon it. There are a few others that aren't even on the list, of course. What's on your list this summer?

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Stories of Africa and America. Edited by Jane Kurtz. Greenwillow Books, 2004.

This lovely collection of short stories and poems is divided into sections; Africa, Americans in Africa, and Africans in America. Switching across perspective and oceans gives a dramatic contrast that continues the cross cultural themes of many of the stories. The poems are written in voices full of passion and wonder. I want to quote from one of them by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah:

an african american

...open your ears
my children
and listen to this griot
talk of history
being made
i wanna tell you this story
of my life

the blood which flows
through the left side of my body
is the mississippi river
every day i wake it croons
"lift every voice and sing"
the anthem of the american negro

the blood which flows
through the right side of my body
is the nile river
every day i rise it screams out loud
"africa, oh africa, cry freedom
for all your children"...

This is part of the central section of this poem telling of life lived on two continents. I wish I could link to the whole poem, but I couldn't find it on line. Danquah came to America at the age of six. Read about her other writings here.

Jane Kurtz, the editor of the collection, grew up in Ethiopia. Her family arrived in East Africa when she was just two years old. Her parents worked for the Presbyterian Church. Her family came back to the States when she was seven, when she was in eighth grade, and again when she went to college. She says in the introduction to this collection that she often felt lost between cultures. She never knew how to answer the American questions about what it was like to live in Africa, and in Africa she didn't know how to answer the questions about America. As an adult she found her way through this by writing. She has written over 20 books for children and adults. Visit her web site and read her biography, information about school visits and the Ethiopian Books for Children Foundation.

I noticed Cynsations had a link to Ethiopia Reads book drive in the past week, She interviewed Kurtz back in September and you can read it here. In it she explains how this collection came together and how important she thinks it is for everyone to share in the experiences of struggle, celebration and beauty that come with living with the cultures of Africa and America. I am very impressed with her courage and determination to share her stories.

This collection is full of short stories and poems written by Africans and Americans living between and across the cultures. The range of experience is amazing and the variety of voices is rich and stimulating. I am spending the weekend reading one story after another whenever I can grab a quiet moment. It is bringing back memories of my first college room mate who grew up in Ethiopia with missionary parents as well as the Ethiopian families I knew living in the city twenty years ago.

There are newly published authors here as well as established names. Each piece draws me in and I delight in the sounds, flavors, and sensations half a world away. Whether you know Africa yourself or have no experience at all this book will capture your imagination take you there. It's written with older children and young adults in mind. Many of the protagonists are young people themselves. This collection would be a rich addition to a family or classroom collection. I can see these stories sparking discussion and inspiring student writing around the themes of memoirs and cross cultural experiences.

The Friday Poetry round up is at HipWriterMama today. Go take a look!

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