Nonfiction Monday--Little Rock Girl

Nonfiction Monday was started by Anastasia Suen and is hosted this week at The Children's War. Stop by to see a great list of nonfiction reviews.

Tougas, Shelley. Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration.
EARC from Netgalley.com
Elizabeth Eckford knew that starting Central High School would not be easy for her or the other eight black students who were enrolling in the fall of 1957, but she might not have realized the impact that one photograph taken of her would have on the people who saw it. Starting with the circumstances under which the picture on the cover was taken, this book explores various aspects of the Central High School integration, from media coverage (including the man who took the photograph) to the long range implications of the event on the people involved as well as the nation in general. Well illustrated with period photographs, this offers an easier to read overview of the Little Rock events than Magoon’s Today the World is Watching You, which was completely excellent but a little too long. Students who read this book might want to go on to read Magoon’s wonderful book.
Strengths: The pictures reveal so much about the world of this time, and will help students understand the events a little better. Having one small moment, such as this picture, to focus on helps make a little more sense of a complicated event.
Weaknesses: The chronology goes back and forth a little more than I would like, being a very linear thinker, but makes sense given the way the book is laid out.

I have a large order of nonfiction books in the works, since the language arts classes are going towards the common core and reading less fiction. I'm trying to balance between titles that coordinate with the curriculum and those that will circulate well.

Landau, Elaine. American Quarter Horses Are My Favorite!
EARC from Netgalley.com

I would love to have the entire series of My Favorite Horses from Lerner Publications. This one was well illustrated, had a great diagram with the parts of a horse labeled, and had realistic information about owning a horse and taking care of one. However, at $17 for 24 pages, I don't think I will be buying any of these. I also want The Best Dogs Ever series; I've already read the Yorkshire Terrier and Poodle ones to Sylvie. Capstone has a series on horses that come in at 32 page each, but I want at least 64 pages of information for that price. Oh, well. I think the public library has them. Need to encourage students to get cards.

Back Lists Gems

Looking at the books I have arranged for Black History Month, I am a little frustrated by how many of them are historical, and mainly concerned with civil rights. While these books certainly are valuable, what I really want to find is contemporary books with main characters of color dealing with issues that go above and beyond their racial identities. I include the following previously reviewed books because they are ones that my students really like.
Allen, Crystal. How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy.Reviewed 11 April 2011Lamar loves to bowl, but his father only cares about his brother, who is a star basketball player. Things are tough in the household because Lamar's mother passed away when he was younger, and his father is having work cuts that limit the family's money. When the Billy Jenks, who is constantly in trouble, offers Lamar a chance to make a lot of money by playing with him in games people bet on, Lamar thinks he has something good going, until he realizes that his bowling idol, Bubba Sanders, would not approve.
Strengths: Fun language, snappy scenes, bowling, and an African American main character in the Heartland. I debated whether a picture of Lamar would be good-- could not decide. This cover is good. I also liked the realistic consequences and the supportive adults in this.
Weaknesses: While Lamar's funny style of speaking is appealing, I got a little tired of some of his catch phrases. ("Crackers and cream cheese")

Boles, Philiana Marie. Little Divas.
Reviewed 22 Feburary 2006
Little Divas is for a slightly younger crowd, with a great, bright cover, and a nice story about a girl adjusting to her parents' divorce and having a fun summer hanging out with her cousin. Okay, they spend a lot of time lying to a very strict aunt and uncle about where they are going, but since they are going to the mall with an older sister or to watch the boys play basketball in the park, I was okay with it.
My students seem to be especially drawn to the cover with the different complexions of the girls and have often remarked on it.




Rhuday-Perkovitch, Olugbemisola. 8th Grade Super Zero.
Reviewed 18 March 2010
Reginald has all kinds of problems. He's called Pukey by a former friend. His father is out of work. He has a crush on Ruthie and isn't sure what to do about it. Reggie also writes comic books and is a big buddy for a disadvantaged boy. To top it all off, he is volunteering with his church at a homeless shelter and starts to feel that his school isn't doing enough to give back to the community, so instead of helping the shallow Vicky win the election for class president, he decides to run himself.

This book was a refreshing change from inner-city, African American children with problems of drug abuse and gang wars, and the positive role models in Reggie's life, as well as his earnest volunteerism, will be good for students to read. My only problem-- this is a bit long (324 pages) . It's good to see volunteerism portrayed in an interesting way.

Smith, Sherri L. Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.
Reviewed 11 March 2008
I was a little leery of a book that takes place all in one somewhat ill-fated afternoon, but this turned out to be a very humorous story of a multicultural family event. Ana Shen's father is Chinese-American, and her mother is African-American. For her 8th grade graduation, both sets of grandparents show up, and circumstances find them all in the kitchen working to put together a meal. The personalities and cultural differences are explored in an amusing and yet thought-provoking way. I will look for more from this author.



And I am now officially old. Our new crop of student teachers/observers came in yesterday, and they look like they should be hanging out with my daughter. Which makes sense, since she is a high school senior, and they are college freshman. Still, this means I am very close to being able to tell the faculty to fix their hair and pull up their socks. I already have a cane waiting for me so I can shake it at people!

Black History Month-- The Mighty Miss Malone

It’s Black History Month, so I’m going to try to post a book about a person of color every day. There are arguments back and forth about whether there should be a month that focuses on the achievement of black Americans, and even what term to use. I have decided to use black instead of African Americans, because not all black people come from Africa. It does feel a little funny using the term “black”, although using “people of color” doesn’t seem right either. As for the argument that there shouldn’t be a special month because all cultures in America should be given equal treatment all the time-- well, while this is true, we still have to deal with the problem of only 2% of the fiction books being published having people of color on the cover. My focus is to have all of my students be able to find people similar to themselves portrayed in books.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Mighty Miss Malone.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss’ Above The Treeline
What better way to start the month than to highlight a new book that features the bright and curious Deza Malone, who has this to say about the books that are given to her: “Some of the time I’d get snapped out of the book when I read things that I couldn’t pretend were about me, even if I had the imagination of Mr. William Shakespeare. Words like “her pale, luminescent skin: or her flowing mane of golden hair” or her lovely, cornflower-blue eyes” or “the maiden fair”. I would stop and think, No, Deza, none of these books are about you.” Deza is the best student in her school despite the fact that her family has fallen on hard times during the Great Depression. She keeps herself occupied by hanging out with her brother Jimmie, going to baseball games, and following the rise of Joe Louis. When her father is gravely injured in a fishing accident that kills several of their neighbors, times get even tougher for the family. After the father moves from Gary, Indiana to Flint, Michigan for a job, the family tries to follow him. Jimmie arranges a ride with a criminal type who runs a betting scheme, but the family decides it’s better to ride the rails and end up in a Hooverville type camp. When they are booted from that by the authorities, they manage to get settled in a small apartment. The mother works, Deza attends a school with white students where the teachers are prejudiced and black students are lucky to get C’s, and Jimmie starts to work in a speakeasy. After a while, they get letters and money from the father, but suspect that he is not the one writing them.
Strengths: Vivid picture of what it was like to live through the Great Depression, as well as what it was like to live with every day prejudice. Deza is a strong character, and her family tries their best to survive and prosper during a difficult time.
Weaknesses: Deza is a little full of herself at times, and the first few chapters of the book are anecdotal, which made me wonder if a plot would ever emerge. Once it did, the book picked up tremendously.
I was feeling uncharacteristically organized when I came across Doret's announcement at The Happy Nappy Bookseller for the Black History Blog Hop. There are all sorts of events going on, including Bookaholic's Africa Reading Challenge. The Brown Bookshelf is also showcasing African American authors. As I find more events and postings, I'll try to share them.

Now I'm going to go sob quietly into some nonfiction shelving. Or glue some books back together. I'm behind no matter how early I start!