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Date sent: 28-JUN-1994 19:21:50
>From: VAXA::MISSNERM 26-JUN-1994 18:32:38.37
>To: MISSNERM
>CC:
>Subj: BooKBraG v1n1 (America's Past)
>
> BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBra
> (O O)
> (O |\ Editorial Director: O)
> (O |*-+_| \ MICKEY REVENAUGH, O)
> (O [~~| | M \ <+.~-~-~-~.+> Instructor Magazine O)
> (O [S | | a \+/. .+> Editor: WENDY MURRAY, O)
> (O [C | | r |. B o o K .]] Instructor Magazine O)
> (O [H | | 1 c |. .]] Managing Editor: O)
> (O [O | | 9 h |. B r a G .]] SHIRLEY HANEIN-LANE O)
> (O [L | \_ 9 |. .]] O)
> (O [A [_ \_4 |. .]] O)
> (O [S | =-_ _ \_ |.Vol.1 No.1 .]] O)
> (O [T \_______=___\|.___________.]] send email to: O)
> (O [I..\___________V/===========-]] BooKBraG-editor@scholastic.com O)
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> (O Copyright (c) Scholastic Network, Scholastic Inc O)
> (O O)
> BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBraG.BooKBra
>
>
> +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
> * This Month in BooKBraG *
> * *
> * 1. Welcome from the Editor *
> * 2. Author Talk *
> * 3. Book Reviews/Teaching Tips *
> * 4. Idea Swap *
> * 5. Coming Attractions *
> * 6. About Instructor magazine *
> * 7. Information About BooKBraG *
> * *
> *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
>
>
> 1. WELCOME
>
> Welcome to the debut of BooKBraG, the monthly newsletter about the
> best new children's books and the brightest ways to use them with children.
> This month we feature books about our nation's past Q by authors who don't
> idealize historical figures or gloss over past social injustices. The
> titles are selected by Judy Freeman, a New Jersey-based librarian and
> author of _Books Kids Will Sit Still For: The Complete Read Aloud Guide_
> (Bowker.) Judy writes a column each month in Instructor magazine called
> *Learning with Literature*, so if you love kids books but you don't always
> have the time to track down the very best on the market, be sure to check
> out her column. (See below *About Instructor Magazine* for more
> information.)
>
> Of the bunch, I have to say _Morning Girl_ by Michael Dorris is
> my favorite. It's an exquisite story, told with such grace you can't
> help but read it aloud. So to launch this newsletter, I talked with
> Michael Dorris about his book and how he would like to see teachers
> use it in the classroom.
>
> Wendy Murray,
> Editor, BooKBraG
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
> 2. AUTHOR TALK: A chat with Michael Dorris, author of _Morning Girl_
>
>
> WM: What do you want children to discover about themselves and about
> history by reading Morning Girl?
>
> MD: I want children to discover that the experiences of their everyday
> lives, like the experiences of Morning Girl and Star Boy, have a
> significance and a meaning. I want children to realize that each
> individual is part of a story that is unfolding. What I hope my book
> shows them about history is that it isn't dead and it isn't boring.
> I want them to see that history is the collected stories of
> individual people who, despite, differences of culture and time, are
> human beings not terribly different from themselves.
>
> WM: I imagine you've received lots of letters from children who've read
> your book. What do kids comment on?
>
> MD: Children often preface their letters by saying, 'I usually don't
> like to read that kind of bookQ[I guess meaning books that are
> assigned]Qbut I liked this one.' That pleases me. Their favorite
> chapter is when Star Boy turns into a rock. Many of us would like to
> do that. And I've received quite a few indignant letters from little
> boys asking Why didn't you title the book Morning Girl and Star
> Boy? I guess boys are used to being the stars.
>
> The letters I appreciate most are those that are written without too
> much direction from teachers. They're from the heart. If I were a
> teacher, I'd encourage students to write one letter to any author
> of their choice, without a lot of instruction. Then children will
> write out of passion.
>
> WM: If you were a teacher, how would introduce the book to students?
>
> MD: I wouldn't preface it much. I wouldn't introduce it as a book about
> Indians. Children hear that and think it's going to be about basket-
> weaving and Mother Earth. It's about a brother and a sister. They're
> imperfect, and living in a time of relative innocence. I guess the
> idea is that into every life a Columbus does fall--
>
> WM: How would you like kids to discuss the book?
>
> MD: Have students think about Morning Girl and Star Boy, and how they
> don't get along. What things are different about their lives
> compared with ours? What things are the same? Talk with kids about
> perspective. How does the same event get viewed from two different
> points of view? This can lead into a discussion about the meaning
> of truth. Is truth what you think it is, what soemone else thinks
> it is, or something in between? Apply this to historical truth, or
> simply to something that happened.
>
> WM: What else might you do to deepen kids' relationship with the book?
>
> MD: After reading the novel, kids might wish to write about an event in
> their own lives as if nobody but themselves were going to hear it.
> I'd encourage students to look back over an experience and be a bit
> analytical about it.
>
> WM: What do you think makes for a good historical novel for kids?
>
> MD: It has to be interesting to you, as an adult. It should surprise,
> it should have humor, real humor. I read very few books about
> Indian people that seem to me anything like the Indian people I
> know. The books are so reverent and earnest, they're flat as can
> be. Writers are afraid to take risks lest they offend, or they are
> so distant from the culture they don't feel free to play with it.
>
> Also, one should remember that children are closer to the oral
> tradition, more so than adults. The story is meant to be heard as
> well as read, and for oral stories to last over time, they have to
> have drama, event, beautiful language, humor, and they have to be
> entertaining. So books for children must live up to the oral
> tradition.
>
> **** TAKE NOTE ****
> _Morning Girl_ will be available in paperback in April!
> $3.50; discounts for classroom sets. To order, call Hyperion
> publishers at (800) 759-0190
>
> /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\///\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
>
> 3. BOOK REVIEWS: The best new books about our nationUs past
>
>
> * Put the Story Back in History *
>
> Biographies for kids used to present their subjects as flawless, while
> history books sugarcoated societal problems. More and more, fiction and
> nonfiction books written for children these days are up-front about our
> societyUs past troubles and injustices. The titles that follow, many of
> them first-person narratives, address past events with a directness and
> honesty that helps make history vivid for kids.
>
>
> THE EARLY YEARS
>
> _Morning Girl_ by Michael Dorris
> (Hyperion, 1992); 74 pages; Grades 4-8; ISBN 1-56282-284-5; $12.95; (800)
> 759-0190
> In alternating chapters, Morning Girl and her younger brother, Star Boy,
> contemplate their lives on an idyllic island as they cope with the death of
> their newborn sister, wait out a hurricane, and grow to accept each otherUs
> opposite personalities. Lyric, descriptive, and personal, each vignette
> depicts a culture rich with humor, dignity, tradition, compassion, and
> imagination. ItUs not until the final chapter and epilogue, when Morning
> Girl is the first to see a large canoe full of oddly dressed strangers,
> that one is stunned to realize when and where this story takes place.
>
>
> _The First Thanksgiving_ by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Thomas
> Locker
> (Philomel, 1993); 32 pages; Grades 1P4; ISBN 0-399-21991-9; $15.95; (212)
> 951-8400
> In the early 1600Us, armor-clad English sailors kidnapped 17 Pawtuxet men
> and sold them into slavery in Spain. Only one, Squanto, made it back home,
> in 1619, to discover the people of his village gone, all dead of a
> European-brought plague. The following year the Mayflower landed in
> Plymouth Harbor. Through that first bitter winter, the Pilgrims coped with
> hunger, disease, and death. The fortuitous meeting of Massasoit, Squanto,
> and the Pilgrims has taken on mythic properties over the generations, and
> GeorgeUs elegant text, coupled with LockerUs sweeping oil paintings, makes
> a memorable retelling of the Thanksgiving story. Also read _Three Young
> Pilgrims_ by Cheryl Harness (Bradbury, 1992; 32 pages; Grades 1P4; ISBN 0-
> 02-742643-2; $15.95).
>
>
> _Samuel EatonUs Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy_ by Kate Waters,
> photographs by Russ Kendall
> (Scholastic, 1993); 40 pages; Grades 1-5; ISBN 0-590-46311-X; $14.95; (800)
> 392-2179
> This splendid, color photo essay features seven-year-old Samuel. He
> describes the first time he is allowed to take part in the rye harvest with
> his father and neighbor. Have your students compile their own illustrated
> essays of a typical but significant day in their lives. Be sure to check
> out the author and photographerUs companion book, _Sarah MortonUs Day: A
> Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl_ (Scholastic, 1989).
>
>
> 19TH-CENTURY CONFLICTS
>
> _Aunt HarrietUs Underground Railroad in the Sky_ by Faith Ringgold
> (Crown, 1992); 32 pages; Grades 2P5; ISBN 0-517-58768-8; $15; (800) 733-
> 3000
> Remember eight-year-old Cassie who soared above the George Washington
> Bridge in the 1992 Caldecott Honor book, Tar Beach? This time, as she and
> her brother are flying among the stars, she meets the legendary Harriet
> Tubman, who guides her from slavery to freedom in Canada.
> An unforgettable picture book, this innovative and poetic mix of facts,
> fantasy, and haunting paintings is the most powerful introduction to, and
> indictment of, slavery IUve seen for younger students. My second graders
> were riveted when I read this story to them and then clamored for Tubman
> biographies for weeks.
> A noteworthy follow-up is _Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt_ by Deborah
> Hopkinson, with illustrations by James Ransome (Knopf, 1993; 32 pages;
> Grades 2-5; ISBN 0-679-92311-X; $15), the story of a slave girl who
> stitches a map to guide others to the Ohio River and the Underground
> Railroad.
>
> _Bull Run_ by Paul Fleischman, woodcuts by David Frampton
> (HarperCollins, 1993); 104 pages; Grades 6-8; ISBN 0-06-021446-5; $14;
> (800) 242-7737
> Reminiscent of Ken BurnsUs remarkable PBS documentary _The Civil War_Q
> recalling the many poignant stories culled from the journals and letters of
> the soldiers and civilians who lived during the war Q Paul Fleischman
> offers us a memorable fictional account of the first major Civil War battle
> from the point of view of 16 witnesses, Confederate and Union. In all,
> there are 60 one- and two-page accounts that take readers through a four-
> month period culminating with the July 21, 1861, carnage at Bull Run.
> Fleischman suggests casting parts and staging a readerUs theater
> production of this noteworthy book.
>
> JOURNEYS OF HOPE
>
> _An Ellis Island Christmas_ by Maxine Rhea Leighton, illustrated by Dennis
> Nolan
> (Viking, 1992); 32 pages; Grades K-3; ISBN 0-670-83182-4; $15; (800) 526-
> 0275
> When young Krysia packs her belongings to leave Poland, she must decide
> which of two dolls to bring, as there is only room for one. Mama and her
> three children plan to meet Papa in America where Rtables are filled with
> food, and there are no soldiers with guns on the street.S
> At the end of the arduous 14-day boat ride, the Statue of Liberty
> beckons, and the family disembarks on Ellis Island on Christmas Eve.
> Krysia worries about being sent back to Europe by the doctors who examine
> all newcomers, but her fear subsides when she tastes her first banana, sees
> an American- style Santa Claus, and is at last reunited with her Papa.
> The realistic, dark watercolors capture the voyagersU uncertainty. A
> splendid source of additional facts is Ellen LevineUs _If Your Name Was
> Changed at Ellis Island_ (illustrated by Wayne Parmenter; Scholastic,
> 1993; 80 pages; Grades 3-6; ISBN 0-590-46134-6; $15.95), which has an
> engaging question-and-answer format. Children can research, write about,
> and share their own family histories.
>
> _The Lotus Seed_ by Sherry Garland, illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi
> (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1993); 32 pages; Grades 1-8; ISBN 0-15-249465-
> 0; $14.95; (800) 543-1918
> RMy grandmother saw the Emperor cry the day he lost his golden dragon
> throne.S Wanting something to remember the Emperor by, the grandmother,
> then a young woman, takes a lotus seed from a pod in the Imperial garden
> and keeps it with her always. So starts her odyssey from wartime Vietnam
> in 1945 to America, as related by her granddaughter. Years later, the
> grandmother is distraught when her grandson takes the seed and plants it
> outside. When the seed blooms pink, creamy, and soft, a symbol of the
> grandmotherUs country, the resulting pod yields new seeds for her
> grandchildren to keep and remember her by.
> All ages will be affected by the glorious paintings combined with the
> spare, dignified story that conveys the terrors of war and the loneliness
> of dislocation.
>
> _Baseball Saved Us_ by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee
> (Lee & Low Books, 1993); 32 pages; Grades 2-5; ISBN 1-880000-01-6; $14.95;
> (800) 788-3123
> The U.S. governmentUs internment of Japanese-American citizens during
> World War II is a difficult episode in American history to explain to
> children.
> This book, written by a man whose own parents spent the war in a camp in
> Idaho, conveys the injustice in a way that all children can grasp. A young
> boy describes the conditions in camp, where thereUs always a man with a
> rifle watching from the guardhouse tower. Faced with living in horse-stall
> barracks, with frequent dust storms and no meaningful work or recreation
> available, the parents build a baseball field, sew uniforms, and organize
> teams. Everybody plays, and the boy hits one treasured home run. Back
> home after the war, people still call him RJapS and once again he proves
> his worth on the baseball field.
> Magnificent sepia-toned illustrations take us from desperation to triumph
> in a story that will get children talking about why people discriminate
> against those who are different.
>
>
> GREAT RESOURCE BOOKS with TEACHING TIPS
>
> Innovative history series and resource guides that will make studying the
> past a blast
>
> _My Backyard History Book_ by David Weitzman (Little, Brown, 1979)
>
> I started taking the personal history test in this book and didnUt want to
> stop to write about why youUll want to get your hands on this gem from the
> Brown Paper School series. From reconstructing studentsU lives to
> researching rubble, the hands-on activities are sure to inspire the
> historians in your students.
>
> Teaching Tip:
> As this book suggests, Rhistory is about you.S And the first chapter,
> RWhatshisname,S gets students started by looking at their own names. For
> example, explains Weitzman, in the Middle Ages one way to identify yourself
> was by your fatherUs name. Hence, Robertson, and so on. Encourage students
> to consider other namesake possibilities, such as physical characteristics
> of their ancestors (Strong), locations (Atwater), and occupations
> (Schumacher). Make baby name books available for students to research
> meanings of their first names.
>
> _Eyeopeners! How to Choose and Use ChildrenUs Books About Real People,
> Places, and Things_ by Beverly Kobrin (Penguin, 1988)
>
> This guide connects you with more than 500 nonfiction books, from stories
> about the history of school supplies to accounts of children who lived and
> died in the Holocaust. Kobrin also offers tips for book-based activities
> and shares hints for judging books.
>
> Teaching Tip:
> Use the bookUs Quick-Link index to make curriculum connections in a
> flash. For example, are your students studying transportation? The index
> will point you toward the _The PresidentUs Car_ by Nancy Winslow Parker
> (Crowell, 1981) to discover the differences between George WashingtonUs
> coach and the current presidential car. Extend your study to learn more
> about the changes in the presidency over time.
>
> _A History of the US_ by Joy Hakim (Oxford, 1993)
>
> This series of ten titles, written in an engaging conversational style,
> will help students forget the tedium of traditional history books. Titles
> include: The First Americans; Making Thirteen Colonies; From Colonies to
> Country; The New Nation; Liberty for All?; War, Peace, and All that Jazz;
> All the People (all written especially for ages 8P13). Notes in the
> margins playfully explain terminology, invite readers to interact with the
> book, and present other tidbits, trivia, and fascinating facts.
>
> Teaching Tip:
> Help students develop a sense of history by posting a time line. Invite
> students to use stick-on notes to describe the people, places, things, or
> events they are reading about and post the information in the correct
> places on the time line. Encourage students to browse the time line to
> learn from each otherUs notes.
>
> QJoan Novelli
> Contributing Editor
>
> # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
>
> 4. IDEA SWAP
>
> Do you have any books or teaching strategies you'd like to share?
>
> Send email to Wendy Murray at: BooKBraG-editor@scholastic.com
>
>
> 5. COMING ATTRACTIONS
>
> *** FAMILY MATTERS *** Books about families of all kinds, and an
> interview with author Jerry Spinelli.
>
>
> 6. ABOUT INSTRUCTOR MAGAZINE
>
> Instructor is the nation's leading magazine for elementary school
> teachers. Now in it's 104th year of publication, Instructor delivers
> eight issues per year packed with practical and creative ideas for
> classroom use. For more information, call (800) 544-2917.
>
>
> 7. INFORMATION ABOUT BooKBraG
>
> *** How to subscribe to BooKBrag ***
>
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Michele Missner
Bitnet - missnerm@oshkoshw
Internet - missnerm@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
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