So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

This text is a complementary text to The Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Well, maybe "complementary" is the wrong word. The two books present the opposing sides of the same conflict between Korea and Japan. This text comes from the point of view of a Japanese family living in Korea at the time of the conflict. The family had to flee the country, disguising themselves and hiding in order to survive. Showing different perspectives of one issue is something that is very enlightening for students. They are often presented with one very American view of history. In fact, sometimes it is even hard for kids to recognize the fact that there is a different side of the story. Teachers should really work to show kids that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of every event.

In class, we talked a bit about how knowing both sides of a story really changes things. Knowing all of the angles makes things less black and white, making it harder to label one side as "right" and one side as "wrong." I had that experience in reading these two books. It was hard for me to look at the Koreans as being right after reading So Far From the Bamboo Grove, even though that was my initial reaction after hearing how much they suffered from the Japanese imperialism presented in the first book. I would not have believed that I would feel sympathy for the Japanese after reading the second book. But I really did as I was reading about the tragic life of this Japanese family.

A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams

I loved this book. I liked it right away because of the very clear, calm voice. Even in a tough situation, the book read as though everything was eventually going to be okay. I really appreciated how reassuring it was, and how patient this family was even in hard times.

I also had an incredibly personal connection to this story. Last summer, my dad quit his job and moved across country to buy a restaurant that was going bankrupt. He had always wanted to own a restaurant, and was willing to do anything to turn this one around. However, he had to give up many of the few comforts he had had with his former job. He moved into his new home with barely anything, including couches and chairs. The only place in the house we had where we could sit was the kitchen table, and my dad would come home so exhausted from work that he really needed somewhere where he could relax. My family really struggled that summer. I've never seen my dad so tired, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I tried to convince him to save his money for a boat and forget the couch. He thought it was funny.

It took us the rest of the summer to save enough money to buy a couch. It seems like such a simple thing, something that every house automatically has. When you don't have it, it becomes something you can really appreciate. This story took me back to last summer and my family's financial troubles. Millions of kids around the country can also relate to a tale like this.

You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! by Shana Corey

I would read this book as a kind of prompt to talking about women's rights and their development in our country. It is another historical fiction book. Amelia Bloomer was a real person, as was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was one of the most prominent spokespeople for women's rights in the mid 1800s. Like "Mama Went to Jail for the Vote," this story shows a definite progression in character and in the culture of the time. Amelia Bloomer is such a strong woman that she does not care if she is defying what it meant to be a woman. She knew that she was uncomfortable and that she did not have to conform to be a woman. What a great message for young girls today.

This book does not have to be read from a historical standpoint, though. It can also be read to young girls who are very into fashion. They get to see the fashion development in our country and the way women were expected to dress a long time ago. It would be fun to have the girls design an outfit for themselves after reading this. This book would be good for one of my friends who is working one-on-one with a second grade girl who always wants her to bring in makeup and nail polish. I would recommend reading this book instead! The student's teacher would probably appreciate it more than the makeup and nail polish.

Mama Went to Jail For the Vote by Kathleen Karr

This is a historical fiction book about women's suffrage in the United States. Susan Elizabeth's Mama explains to her that women are "in chains." "'We are half the population of this great nation, yet we haven't any say in how it's run. That's why we want the vote!'" Mama is a great activist for the women's campaign, marching and protesting outside of the White House even though President Wilson refuses to acknowledge her. Susan Elizabeth at first does not understand the cause, thinking it is just women wearing pretty colors so they can smoke cigars at a voting precinct with the men. Susan Elizabeth's father doesn't understand either. "'Women were meant to be an ornametn to man, and to comfort him after his labors,'" he tells his daughter.

The campaign is such a long one that we get the chance to see Susan Elizabeth grow as a character. When her mother is arrested for protesting, the young girl takes action herself. She makes her own sign and goes to stand outside the White House where her mother left off. It was great to see her development thoughout the book, and it really drove home the idea that individual people can make a difference.

This is another book I could see reading in a social studies context. It is historically accurate, yet fictionalized so as to give students characters with whom they can develop a personal connection. It also zooms in a topic that is very broad: women getting the vote. The students would be able to see how impassioned one family became over the issue, which gives them the chance to become impassioned about it as well.

And the whole time the song "Votes for Women!" from Mary Poppins was playing in my head. I could see Mrs. Banks wearing her sash, her hands stuffed inside a muff, dancing around their living room singing a song I had never understood when I was younger. Aha.

The House Across the Street by Jules Feiffer

I just kind of picked this book off the shelf in our school library not knowing what it was about. It looked like a simple book that young kids would enjoy. I was definitely correct in that aspect. The voice in the book is clear and the ideas are simple. A boy dreams about the life that his neighbor lives across the street. The voice is something that I particularly enjoyed. The author did a great job making it sound authentic - like the thoughts were really streaming in the mind of a young boy. They were innocent and imaginative and humorous. From a child's perspective, the book is something that would be fun to read because the house across the street contains a lot of unusual, interesting things.

From a teacher's perspective, that aspect of the book is fun, too. It would be really fun for a first - second or third grade classroom to write stories or draw pictures about the way they imagine their neighbors' houses. However, what is really great about this book is that the teacher can also take it so much farther than that. The narrator in the story dreams so much about the house across the street because it is so much larger than his own house. The house across the street represents a wealth that the narrator has no experience with. His wild imaginations of what lies inside of the house are a testament of how he sees rich people living: everything is perfect and extravagant. A teacher can use this wealth disparity presented in the book to really talk to her students about similar issues. The teacher can really use this to connect her students with the book and to present the idea of class.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so versatile - it can be fun if all you are looking for is a fun read. Or, it can be deep, useful for talking about serious issues that would absolutely come up in a classroom - especially in schools with families from diverse financial backgrounds. Even at a young age, kids notice when they are different from their peers. This book really channeled that idea and put it in a lighthearted, fresh text.

A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark by David A. Adler

I initially picked up this book to use for a project in my elementary social studies class. My project was to transform a given social studies text to become a curriculum I would give to a class of fourth graders. Although fourth graders could be reading about Lewis and Clark from a social studies book or from chapter books, I think it is important to still give them the opportunity to look at picture books. Giving fourth graders the chance to go back to picture books is kind of like a break for them. They get to transform back to when they were second graders again for the story.

And this is a really great picture book. It is nonfiction, so it contains a great deal of facts. However, it is still very interesting. There are still characters that are developed; we are introduced to Lewis and Clark's lives before they are on the trip west. We get to read snippets from the journals they wrote on their journey. And we get to hear about events that would never be mentioned in a history books - things like Lewis getting shot by one of his team members. It was also very interesting to find out that the group had made decisions by taking a vote. Although voting was nothing new at the time, Lewis and Clark allowed all of their team members to vote - including African Americans and women who were not allowed to vote at the time.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi

I was so so impressed by this book! We talked about it today in my Children's Lit class and it's kind of a relief because I've been wanting to talk about it with somebody. I have to admit, I feel rather naive about the subject of this book. I had never known that the Japanese had invaded Korea, much less rendered the nation in rather defenseless servitude to theirs. Taking that into consideration, I was able to connect to Sook's (or Nuna's, as I like to call her) story very closely.

In class, we were asked to write about something that was powerful to us in the book. I have very vivid images of Nuna's grandfather. I loved this character - his incredible strength and comparable fragility. I can picture quite clearly Nuna's mother taking down branches from grandfather's beloved pine tree and putting them in a wooden bowl next to his bed. She brought what he loved to him when he was unable to go outside.

Three days later, the grandfather dies. To me, the tree was totally symbolic of the grandfather himself. One represented the other so that, when one's existence was ended, so too was the other's. It is as if the tree had become a part of his identity, his entire being. Like when elderly couples who have been together for sixty years lose their spouse, many times they die within days - from heartbreak and from the vital connection that has been broken inside them.

After the grandfather dies, Nuna goes back into his room and touches his quill pins. She later wishes she can take them with her as she is fleeing her ravaged nation.

All of these images of the grandfather instantly pull at my heartstrings. I think of my own grandpa, a tiny, leathery man with a shock of white hair, a mischievous glint in his eye, and always a smile on my face. He always called me Emmy, a name that few have ever called me by. Even today when people say that, my heart stops for a moment. After he died, I remember going into his favorite room and just running my hands over his worn blue rocking chair. I sat down in the wooden rocking chair beside it and just stared at it for a while, willing my precious grandpa to be back with me. After a while I got up and sat down quietly in his chair, rocking back and forth, picturing him there. Nuna's relationship with her grandfather brought me back to this place.

What a great book - it piqued me on a personal level and conveyed amazing historical information that I had previously been in the dark about. Definitely a good read and definitely something I will put into my classroom. The quietness of the pages really drew me in.