Hello All,
Here is the original post, followed by the responses. I believe I've thanked
you all, but just in case: many thanks for all your suggestions. We have
decided to go with 3 of Beverley Naidoo's books: Journey to Jo'burg, Chain
of Fire, and No Turning Back. I will order 8 copies of each. There are 100
students, so we have enough for one class to use them at one time. We also
decided to purchase one copy each of several of your other suggestions. We
will have those available in the library for students who would like to read
one and post a review on our library blog for extra credit.
So, the original post:
"Our seventh grade social studies and language arts teachers would like to
collaborate by using a fictional story set in Africa as they study Africa in
social studies.
I've suggested the following, but am wondering if I am missing a good one.
None of these seems quite right. We could even use 2, one for higher level
7th grade readers, and one for lower level.
Already suggested:
A Girl Named Disaster, Nancy Farmer
Out of Bounds, Naidoo
Zulu Dog, Ferreria
Slave Dancer, Paula Fox
Has anyone use these and if so, how were they? Any other suggestions?"
The responses:
I have a new book from Junior Library Guild - I think the title is "A Girl
who married a lion" - African folk tales.
Hi there,
One book that many of my gr. 7/8 students have enjoyed is The Heaven Shop,
by Canadian author Deborah Ellis. It is about the impact of AIDS on a
family, and is set in Malawi. I assume it's available in the US, as
Amazon.com has it listed:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1550419072/ref=ed_oe_p/103-8004008-1965405?
%5Fencoding=UTF8
UNICEF Canada has also written a study guide to go with it which can be
downloaded at:
http://www.allenandunwin.com/Teaching/heavenshop.tns.pdf
Chanda's Secrets is a phenomenal contemporary story about AIDS in Africa (I
can't remember which country). It may be a bit mature, but depending on the
students and the teacher, may be just right. See it at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1550378341/102-2760331-4656151?v=glance&n=2
83155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
Well, it depends on what you want ot teach about Africa. There Ajeemah and
His Son if you want ot get into the slave trade.
Thunder Cave by Smith
You might also try "Under the Mango Tree" by Zemzer - takes place in
Liberia.
Beverly Naidoo has written other books set in South Africa
The ear, the eye and the arm, Nancy Farmer is a science fiction book set in
futuristic Africa..
I hope by now you have received several ideas and would think that many
recommended any of the books by Beverly Naidoo. I have her "No Turning
Back"
and have read good reviews of her "Journey to Jo'burg: A South African
Story." Are the teachers set on a novel? What about some of the picture
books such as the one by Maya Angelou -- something with a chicken in the
title,
or the ABC book by Onyefulu, and others by the same author......it contains
a
lot of information and stunning photographs. Or any of the folktale
collections by Ashley Bryan. Or Karen Williams "When Africa was Home" or
"When Gogo went to Vote" (something like that....I am at home and not in
front
of my shelves).
Good luck and I hope you wow them...
Try Garbage King by Elizabeth Laird. It's contemporary and very real in
terms of life in modern Africa. Here's my review and Hazel Rochman's:
From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-The harsh reality that faces countless children in developing
nations is confronted head-on in this powerful and moving novel, as is the
gross disparity between the haves and have-nots. Set in Ethiopia, it brings
together the stories of two very different boys whose lives converge and are
changed forever. After his mother dies, Mamo, 13, is tricked by a slaver and
sold to a farmer in the country miles away from the only home he has ever
known. After months of brutal treatment, he escapes and makes it back to
Addis Ababa where he meets Dani, a chubby boy who has spent his life
cloistered in the world of privilege. He is a talented writer, but other
areas of his studies elude him, leading his strict father to send him away
to be disciplined. Dani runs away to avoid this fate and meets up with Mamo.
They meet a gang of street children, led by a boy named Million. Street life
with this group is difficult and dangerous, but the boys become a family and
both their tragedies and triumphs are painted in vivid, authentic, and often
horrific detail. Background for the story's inspiration is included in an
introduction and an afterword. Readers are sure to become involved in this
compelling story, and teachers will find a wealth of inspiration to lead
their students in further research.
Genevieve Gallagher, Orange County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All
rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. Laird has lived and worked in Ethiopia, and this contemporary
survival story is rooted in the true-life stories of street children she
knows in Addis Ababa. Dani is a rich, fat kid, failing at school, who runs
away from his bullying dad. Orphan Mamo, kidnapped and sold as a slave to a
cruel farmer, escapes and returns to the city. The runaways meet in the city
cemetery, where they hide out until they join a gang of homeless kids. Under
the direction of their stern leader, the gang members care for one another
and share everything, including what they scavenge from the garbage and beg
from passers-by. The cast is huge, but the characters are so strongly
individualized that it is easy to keep them straight. The ending is a bit
too happy, at least for Mamo and Dani, who go home and handle the powerful
adults. It's the elemental friendship story of fear and hope that will draw
in readers. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Hi Sarah,
Our English teacher uses Shabanu Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Staples
Song of Be by Lesley Beake is another good book.
How about Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba?
I would highly recommend The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis.
Thunder Cave by Roland Smith
No Turning Back by Beverly Naidoo
Countdown by Ben Mikaelsen
Those books are fine and should meet your teacher's requirements; however, I
would like to suggest a NON-fiction book called "Facing the Lion: Growing up
Maasai on the African Savanna" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton. It is
autobiographical, written by a man who grew up Maasai and then has ended up
in US and teaches at a private high school in the Virginia area. It is a
truly amazing book. Very evocative of a completely different way of life. It
is not long, which might appeal to students who are not strong readers. It
is on my all-time personal favorite list.
Sarah...
A great author is Jane Kurtz. She has several at the middle level as well
as the elementary level. Also don't forget about Jean Fritz.
Sarah,
These are the books that I've been booktalking with our 8th grade social
studies classes. I highly recommend all three, and they'd be fine for 7th
grade. The one that has been a runaway best-seller with the students is the
third one, but it is a non-fiction story -- a biography of a young man born
into a Maasai tribe who attended school, first in his country, and
eventually made his way to college in America. He now teaches in America
during the school year but returns to Kenya during the summer breaks and
lives as a Maasai tribesman. According to the teacher, students were
fighting to take this one out! She asked me to order additional copies.
The Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo
Secrets in the Fire by Henning Mankell
Facing the Lion by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton
Good luck!
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