Review Rewind: A Reverend and a Rabbi march together…

I always feel like any blog I post around the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday should be dedicated to imparting his message.  I looked back at my prior blogs during this time and realized that I wanted to share a review I wrote in 2012 of As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson. Please enjoy!

A Reverend and a Rabbi march together…

Recommended for 2^nd-5^th grade

     On MLK, Jr. Day, I never really understood why more places weren’t closed to commemorate him.  Here is this amazing man, who started off simple enough, with a loving family that taught him values.  This amazing man, who knew even when he was little that he was going “to turn this world upside down.”  He had a drive that is rare, but if encouraged, produces wonderful outcomes.  He made such a powerful impact during his life, that even the bullet that would take his life, couldn’t stop others from continuing to dream his dream.

     This week at school, all I read to my students were books related to Martin Luther King, Jr.  My favorite read for my 4^th and 5^th graders is As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson.  I like that it provides students with not only one person’s fight for freedom and equality, but two.  The text makes connections between the two figures.  The striking idea behind this, is that these figures were on opposites sides of the globe growing up—Martin in Alabama and Abraham in Poland. 

     The narrative is smooth—it doesn’t jump back and forth.  Martin’s life is explained up through the ten years of protesting and in the book it says that Martin put out a call for all G-d’s children to join the fight against prejudice.  This provides the transition to Abraham’s life, which begins by saying that Abraham answered Martin’s call, and then continues to give biographical information about his life.  The similarities between Martin and Abraham is what will help students develop strong skills in making connections—they are both told that they are “as good as anybody,” they both ran into issues (ex. “WHITES ONLY” or “NO JEWS” and jeering from the KKK), they both believed prejudice was wrong and that they should help stand up for others, they also both followed in the footsteps of their fathers—a Reverend and a Rabbi. 

     I also took this opportunity to show my students how to use an encyclopedia to search for more information—the book mentions Rosa Parks, so I looked up Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old, who did the exact same thing Mrs. Parks did, but 9 months earlier.  We also looked up Poland, where Rabbi Heschel was born, and Adolf Hitler, who affected Heschel’s life. 

     The end of the book talks about Martin and Abraham marching together and how they were very good friends.  I find this a strong point to be made, since they were of two different races and religions.

Michelson, R. (2008). As good as anybody. New York, NY: A.A. Knopf.

It’s a Bloody War

Recommended for grades 3-6

     My sister asked me what books I had managed to read over winter break and I was proud to rattle off at least six titles. It surprised me that the title I went to town explaining was The Civil War, the first book in the Profiles series.  This colorful nonfiction series with photos and illustrations takes six people from a particular part of U.S. history and gives 10-15 page biographies on them.  There is more in-depth detail pertaining to the specific event, in this case—The Civil War—the individuals were all connected with.  The end of the book contains an index and websites for further studies.  The figures profiled in The Civil War are Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, George McClellan, Robert E. Lee, Clara Barton, and Matthew Brady. 

     I will readily admit I’m not the best when it comes to history (but, a lot better than I used to be).  My sister made a point the other day when she asked my mom and me if we knew anything about history that didn’t have to do with the Jews and the Holocaust.  That’s why I like reading children’s books about certain periods of history—the majority of authors know how to make it intriguing enough to absorb.

     I knew some things about Abraham Lincoln and Matthew Brady since I studied some photography in college.  I did like the little facts that I learned about the rest of the figures.  For instance, I didn’t know that Robert E. Lee was originally asked to lead the Union army, but he felt great loyalty to his state of birth, Virginia, and decided to serve the Confederate army (and later, people would want him tried as a traitor).  I also can’t believe how many generals Lincoln went through during the Civil War; McClellan was just one of several. 

     An easy to swallow version of the war is explained, too.  The smart thing about this novel is that it takes prior information from the beginning of the novel and intertwines with each individual’s profile, making for a deeper connection.  At the end, there are two pages that give cause and effect relationships for the actions taken by each figure and how they affected the Civil War and each other.

     I will be looking for the others in this series to read.

Rosenberg, A. (2011). The Civil War. New York, NY: Scholastic.

The Narrative Of Nonfiction

This is the first of a three part blog series based on a presentation I gave with my mom at a summer literacy institute just the other day. We presented new nonfiction texts for the classroom (grades K-5). I want to share a few of the narrative nonfiction titles here with you (finally, I talk nonfiction on my blog!):

Jeff Corwin, TV show guru when it comes to animals, now has kid friendly books out about…animals, of course! His books range from the fictional Jr. Explorer series and nonfiction readers, both for grades 1-3 to older nonfiction for grades 3-6. Snakes (which happens to be his favorite animal) was the one I talked about. Corwin gives a brief introduction about snakes and then moves on to talk about individual types, from garter snakes to reticulated pythons. The book features plenty of photographs.

Truce by Jim Murphy (grades 4-7) revolves around WWI with a particular focus on the day of December 25^th, when German and British soldiers defied orders and refused to fight, instead celebrated Christmas together. War is not ignored—Murphy explains the beginnings of WWI and the battles, plus he lets the reader know that war did continue after the one day truce. The book contains illustrations and photographs and is divided into chapters with a timeline, map, notes and sources.

Nasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette Winter (grades K-3) is a story that takes place in Afghanistan and is told from the perspective of Nasreen’s grandmother. Nasreen’s father is taken by soldiers for no justifiable reason and soon after her mother, despite the dangers, goes in search of him. Nasreen’s grandmother wants her to learn that there is more to the world and so sends her to a secret school for girls, where Nasreen can explore all that education has to offer. Winter also wrote The Librarian of Basra: A True Story From Iraq.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley (grades 2-6) views Mark Twain through the lens of his 13-year-old daughter, Susy. She wanted people to know the real Mark Twain, both positives and flaws, so she decided to keep a secret biography. This is an excellent book for writer’s workshop; it includes excerpts from Susy’s actual journal about her father. There is a wealth of information to learn about Mark Twain and his family life. The book also includes a timeline, how to write a biography, and additional resources.

Stay tuned for Parts II and III!

Corwin, J. (2009). Snakes (All Aboard Reading). New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap.

Kerley, B. (2010). The Extraordinary mark twain (according to susy). New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Murphy, J. (2009). Truce. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Winter, J. (2009). Nasreen's secret school: a true story from afghanistan. New York, NY: Beach Lane Books