The Year of the Dog

The Year of the Dog

by Grace Lin

Summary: This story is about a young Taiwanese-American girl named Pacy who assimilates into the American culture while still discovering new aspects of her native culture. The story starts off with the celebration of the Chinese New Year and the welcoming of the Year of the Dog. Pacy’s family integrates the American culture into their home life and she is able to explore the best of both worlds. She struggles to make sense of finding herself and dealing with disappointment through various situations at school and with family and friends. She becomes best friends with a new student at her school who happens to be Taiwanese as well. Through her friendship, she experiences different aspects of her native culture. The story is filled with a genuine experience of a young girl who finds out something new about herself and her Taiwanese and American cultures with each passing day.

How I would use this in a classroom: This book is a great way to explore aspects of Taiwanese and Chinese cultures which include holidays, customs and cuisine. Several informative facts are included in the story and can serve as a great supplement to a social studies unit on the study of China. It can also be used for character study because it explores the main character’s growth and experiences. The book can be used as an introduction for a discussion of students’ different cultures. It also includes several personal anecdotes of the different characters in the story and can be used as a part of a writing unit.

Supplemental Links:
http://www.gracelin.com/content.php?page=book_yeardog
http://suzyred.com/2007yearofdog.html

Domains of Social Justice:
1) Self-love and Acceptance: Children learn about their own culture. Pacy explores her cultural background and slowly begins to understand its influence on her life. She is able to connect with others of the same culture, her own passions and talents. She begins to accept herself for who she is and realizes not to be limited or defined only by her culture. Her story encourages and examines self-discovery and emphasizes not being bound by one prevalent characteristic.

2) Respect for Others: Strengthens intercultural competence. Pacy assimilates into the American culture while still learning about her Taiwanese culture. The story emphasizes how stereotypes are not binding.

3) Exploring Issues of Social Justice – Racism, Classism, Sexism, Homophobia and other forms of oppression are confronted. Pacy experiences subtle forms of racism in her school community of being a Taiwanese-American. Her differences are made apparent by the faculty and she realizes how her race might define her competencies. For example, in her school play of The Wizard of Oz, she felt as though she could not play the part of Dorothy because of her appearance. Her story examines being a different nationality in a predominantly Caucasian population in contrast to assimilating into a new culture.

5) Taking Social Action: Students explore their own context and develop tools to work for change. The book and story itself can be used to promote cultural discovery and acceptance. It can aid in helping students realize the part that their own cultures play in their lives and how it is important to be accepting of other cultures as well.

Schooled

Schooled By Gordon Korman

(please click on either link above for more information about the book or author!)

Summary: This book is a really great selection for a 4th or 5th grade group of students. The protagonist Cap Anderson moves from a rural town where he is home schooled to a public middle school in a suburban town. Cap is very different from the rest of his peers, he has never watched TV, eaten pizza, any doesn't know anything about sports. The other students at the school make fun of Cap for his unique ways, particularly his Buddist religion, his hemp clothing and especially how he practices tai chi on the schools lawn. As the year goes by, the students start to appreciate Cap for his uniqueness and their opinions of him drastically change.

Annmarie's Reflection: Schooled is a really great story because of the way that it encourages people to accept other's for their differences and unique talents. Many children can relate to this in an urban environment because of the different cultures, religions,

and lifestyles they all live.

Mila: This addresses several dimensions of social justice education. It addresses Social Justice domain 1, Self Love and Acceptance, because Cap is forced to accept himself for who he is. He may not be exactly like everyone else, but he is pretty special, and has a lot to offer. This also addresses Social Justice domain 2, Respect for Others. In the beginning of the story, Cap's peers think he is strange and don't want to be friends with him. However, throughout the story they begin to appreciate him for who he is and how unique of an individual he is.

Mila's Reflection: I liked this story because it was such an unusual story. Growing up in a very cookie cutter suburb, I never knew anyone like Cap. I think it would have been interesting to have been a fly on the wall in this situation. I also thought that Cap handled his situation really well. I would definitely read this book with my class.

Lexie's Reflection: I love how different the premise of this story is from other books. It deals with a unique culture-- that of individuals who practice Zen Buddhism and Tai Chi, and live on a commune. This "hippy" culture is not often explored in children's literature, and it is interesting to see a main character with this background. When Cap- who has been homeschooled for many years- is placed in a typical school, it is the common story of an outcast. Only this time, the outcast is placed immediately in a position of power- that of class President. Korman's choice to set the plot up this way was different and intriguing. The story that unfolds is touching- I definitely recommend this book!

For purchasing options, please click here.

The Black Book of Colors

The Black Book of Colors (Emily, Julia, and Jen)
By: Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria

http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2008/09/the-black-book-of-colors.html
http://www.groundwoodbooks.com/gw_titles.cfm?pub_id=1254

Summary: This is a picture book about colors, but it is all black. It gives insight into how blind people “see” colors. For those of us who know what colors look like, it is so difficult to imagine how blind people see them in their minds. This book describes colors through the four other senses we often take for granted; touch, taste, smell and hearing. The words are written in white and accompanied by Braille. The opposite page depicts the description. The black line drawings are raised in different ways so that the illustrations can be felt. This book gives an idea of what it is like for the blind population on a daily basis. The Braille alphabet is also at the end of the book.

How it could be used: You could use the book to teach how there's many ways to enjoy and experience the world, the five senses and the symbolism of color. In the classroom, I would read the book to the students and have them explore what the pages feel like. I would discuss with them how, when you cannot see something, you can still enjoy and experience it because you can feel it, hear it...I would then discuss the five senses and the way each color was described in the book. I would then have the students think of what each color feels like, sounds like...to them personally, and then have them write poems for each color using the sensory descriptions they came up with.

Domains of Social Justice:
Self Love and Acceptance: Children Learn about their own culture. The book explores color an unconventional way. Since experiencing color affects almost everybody, this exploration helps show the significance of using our other senses to explain something that is traditionally perceived by only one of our senses.
Respect for Others: Strengthens intercultural competence. Because this book focuses on giving an explanation of something we normally visually perceive without giving us the visuals to see it, The Black Book of Colors helps us understand what it may feel like to be blind. It makes the reader aware of the difficulties of explaining something when you cannot see it, but also of the benefits of experiencing something, such as color, in a different way. Also, students are exposed to Braille, the alphabet and reading system that the Blind use.
Exploring Issues of Social Justice: Racism, classism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression are confronted. People do not often think that blind people would fall into a social injustice because being blind does not have anything to do with race or beliefs, but people do not realize that Blind people are oppressed in ways that we take for granted. This is a picture book with illustrations in black and white, something that normally does not appeal to children who like to be visually stimulated. Most books out there, especially for children, rely on illustrations to strengthen its meaning. The Black Book of Colors itself confronts the idea that something as simple as colors should not be excluded from a Blind person’s experience.

My Freedom Trip

My Freedom Trip: A Child's Escape from North Korea

by Francis Park and Ginger Park

(Nathalie, Aminah, and April)

Summary: This book is about a young girl's journey to freedom in South Korea. Young Soo, a little girl living in North Korea, begins to realize that one by one her friends are missing from school. She discovers that they have made freedom trips to South Korea to escape the unjust limitations on their once enjoyed freedom. Soon Soo's family makes arrangements to escape with the help of a family friend. Her father goes first, leaving Soo and her mother behind. Next, despite a terrifying encounter, Soo successfully makes the trip to the freedom land. Her mother faces no such luck. Security tightens along the border and Soo's mother never gets to join her and her father in the freedom land-- South Korea.

Reflection: We love the illustrations in this book! My Freedom Trip is filled with beautiful brushstrokes and colors which effectively set the tone for each page. We also enjoyed being able to explore a little bit of Korean culture--learning different Korean words, characters, and games. Furthermore, we liked this book because it is a real account of someones struggle and journey to freedom. Although very sad at times, this book is real and ends in a bittersweet way.

Use: This book can be a great resource if doing a study on Korea or the conflict between the two hemispheres of Korea in Social Studies. It goes beyond mere fact and enters into a personal story. Other historical events like the Korean War can also be introduced. We also thought this book could be used in a writing lesson. The main character uses very descriptive language to describe the setting and a lesson on using such language can be beneficial to student writing. Additionally, this book can be part of a study on personal narratives and help students write their own real-life story.

Links:

http://www.parksisters.com/books/freedom.htm

http://www.amazon.com/My-Freedom-Trip-Frances-Park/dp/1563974681

http://www.bookpage.com/9809bp/childrens/my_freedom_trip.html

Domains of Social Justice

1. Self-love and Acceptance: Korean students can learn about "who they are" and "where they come from" through this book. The beauty of Korean landscape as well as a few aspects of Korean culture are highlighted.

2. Respect for Others: Exploring Korean culture (games, words, characters, etc).

3. Exploring Issues of Social Injustice: Touching upon the injustice experienced by those living in North Korea.

5. Taking Social Action: The notion of fighting for you freedom, leaving the place you call home to attain it, is extremely powerful. While the book only talks about this one family, this could definitely be viewed on a wider scale, and the book can help initiate such conservation.

The Color of My Words By Lynn Joseph

Summary: Ana Rosa, a twelve-year-old girl, tells her coming of age story, through her passion, words.  In Dominican Republic, writers are never allowed to express themselves freely and Ana Rosa's family knows the struggles that she will have to face and suppress her talent.  One day, this all changes and Ana Rosa is able to help her community and is granted the greatest gift she could ever receive, a notebook of her own.  Unfortunately, she shuts herself down after witnessing the murder of her greatest hero and supporter, her brother.  Read this book and experience the ups and downs of this world from a Gri Gri tree.

Reflection: This book is ideal for fourth-graders.  Our group was moved by Ana Rosa's inspirational story of how she had to overcome such difficulties.  This book allows children from all cultures connect to the main character.  We believed that it can be used to inspire discussions on Hispanic culture, poetry, death and activism.  It can also lead to discussions on the different roles Ana Rosa's family members had, which is very important in this book.  We enjoyed it and hope that your future students will too.

Link: http:/teacherweb.com/NY/NorthShoreSchools/MsPerdios/wqr4.stm

Social Justice Education:

Self-Love and Acceptance -  We would allow students to learn about Hispanic music, beginning with merengue, because it is heard throughout the book and plays a very important role in not only Domican culture but especially in Ana Rosa's life.  We would want students to gain a respect for cultures other than their own.

Exploring Issues of Solution - As Americans, it is easy for us to take things for granted.  We rarely think that doing laundry would be such a tedious task that would take the whole day; however, for Ana Rosa and her mother it does.  We would want to make students aware of what they have and understand how classism affects Dominicans.

Taking Social Action - Guario, the hero of this book, dies a tragic death defending his communities rights.  We would want to show students that activism does not equal violence and find non-violent solutions that do not resort to death.  We would also want to show the role that media has on activism and how it can help or hinder a cause.  

Link to buy Locomotion

You can buy this book at 

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Locomotion/Jacqueline-Woodson/e/9780142401491/?itm=2

Locomotion

Summary: Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson is about a young boy who is growing up in foster care. The story is told through a book of poems. Lonnie, also known as Locomotion, expresses his experiences in school, with his foster mom, his sister, and memories of his parents in all different forms of poems. The story deals with deep issues regarding race, social class, and war. 

Reflection/ Activities: Our group felt that this book would be a great resource for the classroom. The story deals with so many deep issues through the eyes of a child. We thought that students would be able to connect to the reading easily, which would help to lead to activities in the classroom. This book could be used for literacy lessons on different forms of poetry. The book also leads to a great discussion on different family types. It would also be good for discussing writing as a form of expression, which could also lead to a deeper discussion of how you can use writing for change. 

Domains of Social Justice:

Self Love and Acceptance: Lonnie is very proud of his family and background. Through his poetry and writing we see that Lonnie appreciates where he comes from and is not ashamed of who he is. 

Respect for Others: Lonnie shows respect for others through his relationship with Edna and his friends at school. He also shows respect through his relationship with his sister whose foster parents disapprove of him since he is a black boy.

Exploring Issues of Social Justice: Locomotion explores racism through Lonnie's experience at school and through his relationship with his sister's foster parents.