Hiroshima

Hiroshima
Yep, Laurence
Scholastic Inc. NY,NY (1995)
Realistic fiction, Multicultural
2-4

Sachi is a twelve year old girl that lived in Hiroshima Japan in 1945. Sachi and her older sister Riko are effected greatly by the war. They both had to work at such young ages to support the war. Sachi worked with a crew of children that that tried to clean up the wreckage from American bombings. and Riko answered phones at an army headquarter. Only very young children were allowed to simply play. While the two girls are at work a B-29 bomber plane named the Enola Gay flown by Colonel Tibbets is heading toward Hiroshima. The Enola Gay is carrying a 8900 pound nuclear bomb. The bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and life there changed forever. There was massive destruction. Riko is killed instantly and Sachi suffered terrible burns that scarred her and immobilized her arm. Sachi's mother found her lying among a pile of dead and alive children outside a hospital. Sachi did not come out of her house for three years because she was ashamed of her scars and she did not want to be made fun of. Sachi is chosen to become one of the Hiroshima Maidens which were a group of girls that were sent to the U.S. to receive free operations and re constructive surgeries. Sachi undergoes many painful surgeries but she regains the use of her arm and her scars are greatly reduced. Sachi was among the only group of girls sent to the U.S. because many Japaneses people believed that the us should give money to be split by all of the people in Hiroshima. Hospitals are built in Japan to help people injured from the bomb. The author tells us that people are continuing to suffer and die from the effects of radiation from the bomb. He also tells us that sachi is a composite of several children who traveled to theU.S. for treatment.

This book emphasizes terrible thing our country did to the people of Hiroshima. This book is so sad. I felt sick when I thought about the pain Sachi must have gone through along with so many others. I am glad that Yep continually emphasized the lasting effects of our decision to drop the bomb. He said many times that people are still dying from the bomb. I think that everyone, not only children, should read this book so they can understand why we should never ever set off another nuclear tiomes. It seems that we are constantly in political unrest. For this reason, I want to share this book to my students and have them reflect through poetry how this book made them feel. I think that poetry speaks strait from the heart.

The Keeping Quilt

The Keeping Quilt
Polacco, Patricia
Simon and Shuster Books For Young Readers
Nonfiction, multicultural
k-3

In the Keeping Quilt, Polacco tels of the quilt her family has passed down from generation to generation. Patricia's Great Grandmother and Grandmother were Jewish immigrants from Russia to the United States. Her grandmother Anna was a child when she moved to a new country with a new language. She treasured her dress and babushka because they were the only things she had left form her old home. When She began to out grow the dress, her mother began to make a quilt out of it. She invited all of the neighbors to help her make the quilt. Anna's Babushka became the border of the great quilt. Anna treasured this quilt. Anna used the quilt as a huppa in her wedding. A huppa is placed over the couple's head as they are being married. She wraped her children in the quilt and eventually passed the quilt on to Patricia. Patricia slept with the quilt and used it as a make-believe tent when she was a child. When she grew older she two used as a Huppa in her wedding. she also wrapped her daughter in the quilt that would someday be hers.

I wish that my family had a family tradition the way Patricia's did. That quilt represented so many memories and emotions for the family. Patricia's Great Grandmother was able to preserve their heritage in part by this quilt. I think the women who had this quilt were empowered by it. The quilt represented the hard work they have put into their family. When I have my own classroom, I would have my students make their own Keeping quilt or a class quilt out of construction paper. They would come up with ways to represent their families heritage and what is important to them through their quilt. This book is a great way to introduce students to a culture that they may know little or nothing about. The double page illustrations in this book were sketches. The only color in the illustrations were the quilt. The quilt was brightly colored to show the the life and love that was in that quilt.

Becoming Naomi Leon

Becoming Naomi Leon
Ryan, Pam Munoz
Realistic fiction, multicultural
Scholastic, Inc. 2004
4-5

Naomi Outlaw was a young girl who lived with her great grandmother and little brother Owen who is physically disabled. Naomi and Owen had spent most of their lives with gram ever since their mother abandoned them. Naomi's last name was not really Outlaw it was Leon. Gram wanted her use Outlaw so they would have the same name. Naomi did not fit in well at school.The kids at her school made fun of her name, and she never had new clothes. Naomi's mother was American and fer father was Mexican. Naomi took after her father's side. She had dark hair, skin, and eyes. This meant that she did not look at all like her brother and gram. Naomi often felt out of place.

One day Naomi and Owen's mother showed up at grams trailer. Her mother had changed her name to Skyla. Gram was very upset about her arrival because she was an alcoholic who had spent time in rehab and in a half way house. Gram was worried that Skyla would try to take her kids away from the only family they knew. Gram, Naomi, and Owen were very close to their neighbors Fabiola and Bernardo who were originally from Mexico. Skyla gave Naomi lots of presents but she ignored her crippled son Owen. Owen was often made fun of for his deformities and unusual voice. Other kids called him a retard even though he was very smart. Owen was very insecure and always had to have tape on his shirt or he would panic. Skyla seemed to be embarrassed of her son and was only interested in Naomi. It turned out that Skyla only wanted Naomi so her and her new Boyfriend would get government welfare. Naomi did not want to live with her mother because she was unkind to her brother and had even hit her. She did not show up to her parent teacher conference which really hurt her feelings. Gram took Owen and Naomi on a trip to Mexico in their trailer. There, Naomi finally reconnects with her father. She discovers that he truly loved her and regretted the time they had lost. Her father agreed that his children should stay with Gram. Gram had to go to court but the judge also agreed that they should live with Gram. Naomi found herself at peace. She was no longer Naomi Out law. She is now Naomi Leon.

This is a very heart warming book. I admire Gram for taking in her grat grandchildren in when their mother left them. I fell that many children would identify with Naomi's life. She is from a mixed family which caused her great confusion. I think that children in similar situations would be comforted with how her problems worked out. I would like to use this story in the classroom to start a discussion on tolerance. Many made fun of Naomi and Owen because they were different. Children need to understand that we are who we are no one should be made to feel bad about how they look, act, or live. I would also like to incorporate an art lesson. I would have the students try to make their own soap carvings!

Away Is A Strange Place To Be

Away Is A Strange Place To Be
Hoover, H.M.
Fitzhenry and Whiteside limited, Toronto
Science Fiction
4-6

This book is set in the year 2349. In the book, humans have managed to build Habitats in outer space. The main character Abby is an orphan who live with her uncle Mochi in his Luxurious Inn. Many rich people from the outer space habitats stayed in Uncle Mochi's Inn. One of these guests was a very arrogant and spoiled boy named Bryan. Abby's uncle wanted her to entertain their young guest. While doing so Bryan and Abby were kidnapped one night while at an amusement park. The two found themselves in a child slave labor camp owned by the powerful VitaCon corporation that forced children to do manual labor in an unfinished Habitat. This was a horrible place where faceless people named after colors that called them selves instructors, drugged and threatened the students. They told the students who were mostly orphaned that they must work to build the new habitat. They were also told that there parents had sent them there on purpose to teach them discipline. Abby knew this was a lie and she longed to be able to return to her home at the Inn. Abby and Bryan decide to escape. They make it out of the compound and a man on parole for murder helps them get on a space ship so they could go home. The captin discovers them stowing away and is very angry. She is afraid that she will lose her job if the powerful ViaCom corporation finds out that she had a hand in there escape. She quietly gets the children to a port where they will be safe. The children go to the authorities and are able to communicate with Uncle Mochi and Bryan's mother. Bryan becomes physically ill when he find out that his parents did send him to that awful place. Abby discovers that the only reason she was kidnapped was because she was in the wring place at the wrong time. Bryan's mother makes arrangements for both children to be brought to her home instead of letting Abby go home. His mother made Uncle Machi sign a paper that said he would not sue her for Abby's kidnapping in return for a large sum of money before letting her return home. Abby and Uncle Mochi use the money free the other kidnapped children and give them a safe home with a college fund. After seeing the poor condition of the children in the camp, Bryan's mother finally felt guilty for sending him to that aweful place.

This book seems to be very obscure. When I googled the title my own blog entry came up! None the less, I really liked this book. Science fiction was always my favorite genre when I was young because I love the suspense and being transformed into another world. This book was most appealing to me because the characters were impossible not to connect with. Abby was a sweet, smart, and responsible girl who was very unpretentious. I admire her morals that separated her from Bryan. Unlike Abby, Bryan was very selfish and manipulative. In the beginning of the book I did not like Bryan at all but as the book went along I realized that his parents had raised him to be the way he was. Bryan was a good kid at heart. I cannot imagine the pain and rejection he must have felt when he realizes that his parents wanted to send him away. I bet that there are a lot of students that could identify with this. I would like to assign this to students in my class that are not fond of reading. I think that they might find an interest in this genre as I did. I after they read the book I would like them to write how they picture the year 2349. I think their imaginative storeys would be fascinating.

The Man Who Was Poe

The Man Who Was Poe
Avi
Avon Books NY, NY (1989)
Historical fiction, mystery
4-6

This book centers around an eleven year old boy named Edmund during the mid eighteen hundreds. He is from England but he, his aunt, and his twin sister travel to Providence Rhode Island in search of his mother. One day Edmond left his sister looked in their apartment in search of food after his aunt vanished during her search for his mother. Edmond was detained by an old man who claimed to be lost. When Edmond returned home his sister whom he calls sis, was also missing. Edmond begins a frantic search for his sister. While searching her meets a mysterious man named Mr. Dupin. He agrees to help Edmond find his sister only because he is a writer and feels that the experience would make a good story. Mr. Dupin wanted to know everything about Edmond and his family but, Edmond neglected to tell that his mother had come to America in search of his stepfather who had stolen all of her money. The two go to the docks where Edmond and his twin sister often went in hopes that they would find her there. At the docks the two make a gruesome discovery. Edmond's aunt's dead body had been pulled out of the water. Mr. Dupin begins to believe that his sister is dead but Edmond refused to believe this

Mr. Dupin is an alcoholic who seems to care little about saving sis. He seems to only care about his story and his love interest a wealthy widow named Mrs. Whitman. Mrs. Whitman did not approve of their relationship and wanted her to instead marry a man named Mr. Ratchett. We later discover that Mr. Ratchett is in fact Edmond's step father and that Mr. Dupin is the famous writer Edgar Allen Poe. We also discover that Mr. Ratchett and his accomplice Mr. Peterson had kidnapped his aunt, mother, and sister. They wanted sis to aid them in a gold heist because she was small enough to crawl through a shaft and bring them the gold. The two me killed their aunt thinking she was her identical twin sister, and they kept sis as a hostage.Mr. Ratchett wanted his wife dead so he would be free to marry Mrs. Whitman without scandal. Edmonds mother managed to escape from the men and he finally found his mother in a church. The next morning Edmond set off to rescue his sister. Mr. Dupin and Mr. Throck, who was a private investigator that only wanted reward money, were passed out drunk so he had to leave without them. Edmond found Mr. Peterson at the docks and tried to get him to return his sister. Mr. Ratchett hit him in the head from behind which knocked him out. Mr. Dupin and Mr. Throck finally sobered up and and rushed to the docks. Mr. Throck helped Edmond save his sister but Duplin was very angry that sis lived because he thought his story would be better if she were dead.

This was a very sad book for many reasons. First of all, I was very saddened for Edmond who was all alone and could find no one who cared about him. Times must have definitely changed because today a boy in Edmond's position could have gone to the police for help. Instead, people shooed him away because he was poor. they did not care that he was terrified and hungry. Also sad and unnerving was the character Edgar Allen Poe. He was an alcoholic and had psychiatric problems. He was tortured by his childhood and was very depresses. All of this made him go mad. He was so was obsessed with writing a story about all of Edmond's family dying that he really wanted them to die. He seemed to lack human empathy. I found this a very interesting book but I don't see this book with a place in my classroom. I might recommend it to certain students who like mysteries if I was teaching a grade level where they would be reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The book does cause the reader to think about the man Edgar Allen Poe.