I am an American: A True Story of Japanses Interment by Jerry Stanley

• ISBN-10: 0590684442
• Paperback: 102 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (1998)

From Publishers Weekly

A history professor, Stanley (Children of the Dust Bowl) does an admirable job of distilling the intricate story of the Japanese in America during World War II. At the same time, the author presents a highly personal portrait of Shi Nomura, one of the nearly 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry whom the federal government ordered evacuated from their West Coast homes to relocation camps as a result of war-provoked hysteria and hostility. The seeds for this prejudice, the reader learns, were sown early in the century, when anti-Japanese sentiment escalated to the point that schools were racially segregated in San Francisco and the Japanese government signed a "gentleman's agreement" to stop their citizens from emigrating to this country. Quotes from the perceptive, articulate Shi as well as numerous period photos underscore the ignominy of the U.S. government's wartime action and help make this volume a haunting, at times heartrending chronicle. Ages 9-up. (Sept.) q
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-10-In clear and fascinating prose, Stanley has set forth the compelling story of one of America's darkest times- the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. He has based his account on the experiences of Shi Nomura, who was sent to Manzanar in the deserts of eastern California when he was a high school senior. But the author weaves in more than absorbing personal details; he places the camps in a broader historical context, from Japanese immigration and the resentment it aroused to outstanding Japanese American service in the war. His meticulously researched volume is accompanied by numerous, fine period black-and-white photographs, many by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams; and he makes judicious use of maps. This eloquent account of the disastrous results of racial prejudice stands as a reminder to us in today's pluralistic society.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

How I would use this in the classroom
I would use this book during a Holocaust unit. I think, again, it is a subject not talked about enough. Showing the students the importance of these historical event would be very rewarding in the long run.

Indian Chiefs by Russell Freeman

• ISBN-10: 0823409716
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (September 1992)

From Publishers Weekly

By now an esteemed expert on the West, the author of Cowboys of the Wild West moves on to Native Americans. What response should a tribal leader take to white expansion into his people's territories? How that question is answered by six chiefsincluding Red Cloud, Santana and Sitting Bullforms the crux of this book. Their biographies serve as guidelines for negotiation styles, reminders of our government's shame and mother lodes of historical information. Excellent reproduction of the photos gives this reference book a handsome coffee-table look. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up Freedman presents six Indian leaders from western tribes, each of whom faced the challenge of dealing with the encroachment upon his land in his own way. Included are Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux, Santanta of the Kiowas, Quanah Parker of the Comanches, Washakie of the Shoshonis, Joseph of the Nez Perces, and Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Sioux. With hindsight, it is apparent that none of these men could totally win against the white culture, but they each found a different compromise. Freedman does not romanticize the Indian viewpoint, nor is he judgmental against the whites. He presents a factual, human account of cultures in conflict. The black-and-white photographs and prints reinforce the well-written biographies. Because the coverage is limited to leaders of western tribes, only two of the men in this book are also included in Lynne Deur's more general Indian Chiefs (Lerner, 1972). Freedman's narrative, as in his Children of the Wild West (Clarion, 1983), flows smoothly. The bibliography and index add to the book's usefulness as a resource for research as well. Karen P. Zimmerman, I.D. Weeks Library, University of South Dakota, Vermillion
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

How I would use this in class
I would plan on using this in class to show the historical significance of the oppression of American Indians. I might read a story from the book, and then inform them that the story was very true. I think it would impact the students strongly.

American Eyes: New Asian-American Short Stories for Young Adults by Lori M. Carlson

ISBN-10: 0449704483
Pages: 160
Published: 1995

From Publishers Weekly

"There is no subject that is off-limits for an Asian writer, just as there is no subject that is off-limits to a writer of any race," writes Cynthia Kadohata in her hard-hitting introduction to this anthology. The 10 stories here, strikingly diverse in both form and content, prove her point. "Fortune Teller," by Nguyen Duc Minh, for example, affectingly measures the pain and frustration of an adolescent crush by examining the experiences of a Vietnamese American boy whose father has only recently returned from seven years in a "reeducation" camp. And in Kadohata's "Singing Apples," the 12-year-old daughter of migrant workers in California conveys the persistent meanness of her grandmother, as well as the guilt the grandmother inculcates in her. An absorbing excerpt from Fae Myenne Ng's novel Bone, set in San Francisco's Chinatown, focuses on characters struggling to make it financially and emotionally in a fragmented world where trust is dangerous. While common concerns-such as home, American pop culture and generational difference-link the themes of these stories, the volume as a whole celebrates differences and the beautifully multiple variables of American life. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up?Home?what does it mean to Asian-American adolescents growing up in a country that often regards them as aliens? This intriguing collection of short stories presents answers as individual as each writer's voice?answers that transcend the color of skin, hair, and eyes?and speak to the human heart. The search for identity sometimes leads back to Asian roots: in one selection, an adoptee journeys to her native Korea to find her biological parents. For others, the battle takes place on the home front. In the darkly funny, surreal, and painful "Knuckles," a Chinese-American girl stubbornly refuses to eat her mother's ethnic cooking. (You don't need to be Chinese to understand the issues of control and self-destruction depicted here.) Immigrants from Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines tell their stories as well, and each selection is firmly anchored in a particular time and place. This collection surpasses Laurence Yep's American Dragons (HarperCollins, 1993) in the uniformly excellent quality of its writing, the acuteness of characterization, and the sophistication of its themes. American Eyes crackles and burns, warms and illuminates.?Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

What I would do with this in a classroom
This is a book of short stories, which would switch it up for my students. Maybe we could read one every other day. It would be an interesting unit, and one I feel that isn't covered very often. There is some great poetry and short story out there by Asian-Americans. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

ISBN-10: 0345514408
pages: 304
Published: 1969

Despite all the accolades showered on her, Maya Angelou has often been on the Challenged and Banned Books lists. She is ranked 8^th in the American Library Association List of “Top Ten Challenged Authors 1990 to 2004” (out of 8,332 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom.  See link below.) Some of these books are challenged because of their presence on school library book shelves, and others because they have been assigned as required reading in the curriculum.

"This is the autobiography of Maya Angelou's harsh and unpleasant childhood. She and her brother were shuttled from relatives in the dirt poor rural south to then live for a time in St. Louis with their pretty but irresponsible mother. Eventually they met their father. The book shows the ignorance and prejudice of both black and white people in the 30's and 40's. In St. Louis, Maya is molested as a young girl by an acquaintance of her mother. In California, she becomes a delinquent and lives on the streets and in abandoned cars while in her teens. By the time she is in high school she has become pregnant with a child. "
David Fletcher, Resident Scholar 

How I would use it in a classroom
This book has so many themes in it that it would fit into a lot of unit plans. It is smart, coming of age, historical memoir. It would good to practice memoir making in line with this book. 

The Tangerine Tree by Regina Hanson

ISBN-10: 0395689635
Pages: 31
Published: 1995

This story book is set in Jamaica and tells of the hardship of a father finding work, and the determination of hard work and loving family life.

From Publishers Weekly

As her father packs, preparing to leave Jamaica for a job in New York, Ida is distraught. "He never comin' back!" she wails, despite her parents' assurances. Refusing to say good-bye, Ida hides in a tangerine tree. Papa tracks her down, gives her a copy of Stories of the Ancient Greeks and makes her a promise: "Dis is our secret: by de time you are big enough to read it by yourself, I will be home." In an affecting scene, Papa takes leave of his family and Ida gives him a gift-juice she has poured in a bottle: "I squeeze out sun from de tangerines into it. If New York is cold and snowy when you get dere, dis bottle will warm you up." Debut author Hanson, who was born and raised in Jamaica, conveys this gentle, rhythmic tale with a tone that is at once sad and hopeful. In his richly textured acrylic paintings, Stevenson's deft, impressionistic use of color and light recreates the ambience of the island, capturing as well the deep love connecting the members of this family. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2?Ida will sorely miss her father while he's in New York working to provide for the family. But, like her older brothers, she's been given a job?hers is to care for the tangerine tree. "'I must ask Mistress Sun to sprinkle down little pieces of her fire. De tree will catch de tiny bits of sun and put dem inside de tangerines...'" Some of this sun Ida squeezes into a bottle to help keep Papa warm until he returns to Jamaica. In concrete, well-written prose, Hanson captures the emotional poignancy of a family in flux. The text is reminiscent of Mavis Jukes's Like Jake and Me (Knopf, 1987), although here the story is further seeped in cultural richness. The premise of the father's departure, the dialogue, and the tree all work together to create an authentic cultural portrait. Stevenson's rich acrylic illustrations have a raw power that complements the text perfectly. The pictures are awash in bright, dense color and make readers feel as if they're walking in the radiating sun. The characters' concern for one another, sadness, and eventual acceptance are brought to life. A stellar example of how children can share universal life experiences.?Martha Topol, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

How I would use this book
This would be a great book to show hardships and how people overcome them. It would be great to show family values and the importance of support from elders and likewise, the support from children for adults. 

Pink and Say by Patircia Polacco

ISBN-10: 0399226710
Pages: 48
Published: 1994

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-This picture book set during the Civil War is a departure for Polacco in terms of content and audience. It is certainly the deepest and most serious book she has done. Sheldon Curtis, 15, a white boy, lies badly wounded in a field in Georgia when Pinkus Aylee, an African American Union soldier about Sheldon's age, finds him and carries him home to his mother, Moe Moe Bay. Sheldon, known as Say, is nursed back to health in her nurturing care. But then she is killed by marauders, and the boys return to their units. They are then are captured and taken to Andersonville, where Pink is hanged within hours of their capture. One of the most touching moments is when Pink reads aloud from the Bible to Moe Moe and Say. Say tells them that he can't read, but then he offers something he's very proud of: he once shook Abraham Lincoln's hand. This is a central image in the story, and is what ties the boys together for a final time, as Pink cries, "'Let me touch the hand that touched Mr. Lincoln, Say, just one last time.'" The picture of their clasped hands, with the hands of the soldiers wrenching them apart, is exceptionally moving. Polacco's artwork, in fact, has never been better. She uses dramatic perspectives, dynamic compositions, and faces full of emotion to carry her powerful tale. History comes to life in this remarkable book.
Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-9. Hands and gestures have always been important in Polacco's work. Here they are at the center of a picture book based on a true incident in the author's own family history. It's a story of interracial friendship during the Civil War between two 15-year-old Union soldiers. Say, who is white and poor, tells how he is rescued by Pinkus (Pink), who carries the wounded Say back to the Georgia home where Pink's black family were slaves. In a kind of idyllic interlude, Pink and his mother nurse Say back to health, and Pink teaches his friend to read; but before they can leave, marauders kill Pink's mother and drag the boys to Andersonville prison. Pink is hanged, but Say survives to tell the story and pass it on across generations. The figure of Pink's mother borders on the sentimental, but the boys' relationship is beautifully drawn. Throughout the story there are heartbreaking images of people torn from a loving embrace. Pictures on the title and copyright pages show the parallel partings as each boy leaves his family to go to war. At the end, when the friends are wrenched apart in prison, the widening space between their outstretched hands expresses all the sorrow of the war. Then, in a powerful double-page spread, they are able to clasp hands for a moment, and their union is like a rope. Say once shook Lincoln's hand, just as Say held Pink's hand, and Say tells his children, who tell theirs, that they have touched the hand that touched the hand . . . Hazel Rochman

How I would use it in the classroom
This book would be a great to to reveal war significance and the relationships of people and slaves during the Civil War. It would show, again, that people are all the same and people having the right to choose their friends. 

Number the Stars by Lois Lowrey

ISBN-10: 0440227534
pages: 136
published: February 9, 1998

Amazon.com Review

The evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark is one of the great untold stories of World War II. On September 29, 1943, word got out in Denmark that Jews were to be detained and then sent to the death camps. Within hours the Danish resistance, population and police arranged a small flotilla to herd 7,000 Jews to Sweden. Lois Lowry fictionalizes a true-story account to bring this courageous tale to life. She brings the experience to life through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie Johannesen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve of the round-up and helps smuggles Ellen's family out of the country. Number the Stars won the 1990 Newbery Medal. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, this 1990 Newbery winner tells of a 10-year-old girl who undertakes a dangerous mission to save her best friend. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

How I would use it in the classroom 
This is a great book to show bravery and friendship. It would also be great to reveal the Holocaust, and speak of its social significance. The story is very profound and bound to hit home with some students.

if you come softly by Jeacqueline Woodson

• ISBN-10: 0142415227
• Pages: 208

From Publishers Weekly

Once again, Woodson (I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This) handles delicate, even explosive subject matter with exceptional clarity, surety and depth. In this contemporary story about an interracial romance, she seems to slip effortlessly into the skins of both her main characters, Ellie, an upper-middle-class white girl who has just transferred to Percy, an elite New York City prep school, and Jeremiah, one of her few African American classmates, whose parents (a movie producer and a famous writer) have just separated. A prologue intimates heartbreak to come; thereafter, sequences alternate between Ellie's first-person narration and a third-person telling that focuses on Jeremiah. Both voices convincingly describe the couple's love-at-first-sight meeting and the gradual building of their trust. The intensity of their emotions will make hearts flutter, then ache as evidence mounts that Ellie's and Jeremiah's "perfect" love exists in a deeply flawed society. Even as Woodson's lyrical prose draws the audience into the tenderness of young love, her perceptive comments about race and racism will strike a chord with black readers and open the eyes of white readers ("Thing about white people," Jeremiah's father tells him, "they know what everybody else is, but they don't know they're white"). Knowing from the beginning that tragedy lies just around the corner doesn't soften the sharp impact of this wrenching book. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Two 15 year olds, Jeremiah (Miah) who is black, and Elisha (Ellie) who is white, meet during their first year at an exclusive New York prep school and fall in love. Both teens are also dealing with difficult family situations. Miah's father has left his mother for another woman, and Ellie is trying to fight through her feelings about her mother, who twice abandoned her family for extended periods. The teenagers must also deal with the subtle and not-so-subtle bigotry that they are subject to as a mixed-race couple. Miah and Ellie go about working through their problems, both individually and together, and their relationship continues to blossom, giving readers a shared sense of contentment. Thus, the tragic climax will leave them stunned. Woodson's lyrical narrative tells the story through alternating voices, Ellie's in the first person and Miah's in the third. This fine author once again shows her gift for penning a novel that will ring true with young adults as it makes subtle comments on social situations.
Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

How I would use I in the classroom:
This would be a great book to show race relationships, and the importance of being an individual. It would also show the importance of helping others, and reveal the historical significance of slavery. 

Dogsong by Gary Paulsen

ISBN-10: 1416939199
Published: 1985
192 pages

Dogsong is a coming of age story about a boy name Russell, caught between boyhood and manhood. He seeks something greater in the world, and finds his roots through traversing nature. On his travels towards the north-est ocean, Russell encounters many adventures. In the end, the story shows that every person has their own way of life, and satisfaction comes from fulfilling this.


"Unusual and moving...a remarkable book." -- School Library Journal, starred review



From Amazon product review:
Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father's coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up.
Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team of dogs in the village, understands Russel's longing for the old ways and the songs that celebrated them. But Oogruk cannot give Russel the answers he seeks; the old man can only prepare him for what he must do alone. Driven by a strange, powerful dream of a long-ago self and by a burning desire to find his own song, Russel takes Oogruk's dogs on an epic journey of self-discovery that will change his life forever.

A Newbery Honor Book

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

An ALA Notable Book

A School Library Journal Best Book

How I would use it in the classroom

This book would be great to reference in a theme or unit dealing in diversity and following what your heart tells you. It would be a great winter book!

Playing With Matches by Brian Katcher

ISBN-10: 0385735456
 304 pages

This is a coming of age tale about a conflicted 17 year old young man named Leon Sanders. Leon desires popularity almost as much as he desire the high school fox, Amy. Unfortunately, Leon is a self-proclaimed nerd who can never get a girls attention like that. One day he notices the disfigured Melody, and starts to change the way he feels about himself and everyone around him. A great read for 8th grade and above.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—Leon Sanders, 17, a self-described geek, craves the attention of perfection-personified Amy Green, who consistently ignores him. Resigned to life on the fringes of his suburban high school, he takes comfort in knowing that another junior scores zero for popularity: Melody Hennon, whose severely burned face has made her an outcast. When Leon tells Melody a bad joke and gets a genuine laugh, he is surprised to find an actual person behind the scars, and soon discovers that she shares his interests and offbeat humor. When Melody confides the details of her childhood accident, he tells her about a humiliating encounter with a bully that left him emotionally scarred. As their friendship turns to romance, Leon worries about the opinions of others, but people are accepting of their relationship. Then Leon finally catches Amy's eye. Faced with a dilemma, he allows himself to be lured away from the devastated Melody, but is soon overwhelmed by the emotional consequences. Leon's self-deprecating, ironic humor keeps an authentic edge running through the story as he explores new relationships and roles, and wrestles with doing the right thing. Melody is a resilient young woman whose experience with Leon helps her develop self-confidence. This is a strong debut novel with a cast of quirky, multidimensional characters struggling with issues of acceptance, sexuality, identity, and self-worth.—Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Three billion women in the world, and the universe couldn’t spare one for Leon Sanders. Leon is a D & D-playing, Monty Python-watching, lame joke–telling, high-school junior. An act of kindness with loner Melody, a burn victim with severe scars and facial disfigurement, leads to friendship and then romance. Leon enjoys her company but worries about what others think, while Melody revels in feeling beautiful for the first time. Following a familiar plot trajectory, Leon pushes Melody aside after the class hottie, Amy, makes her move on him. First-time author Katcher pulls out a nice twist at the end, revealing Melody to be a girl who has been through fire both literally and figuratively and has emerged with uncommon strength. This is a successful blend of laugh-out-loud humor and a serious look at relationships. The secondary characters are delightful, including ADHD friends Jimmy and Johnny, Parking Lot Pete, and even Dan, the junior Hannibal Lector, who has more heart than he lets on. Recommend this to fans of John Green’s books; Katcher is an author to watch. Grades 8-11. --Cindy Dobrez --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

How I would teach this in the class
I think I would use this book more for individual book choice, rather than a class read. it is a great coming of age story that gets the student predicting, and wanting to read ahead. 

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

ISBN-10: 0439895294
Genre: Fiction
Published:2007

This is a graphic novel that pictures an Immigrant arriving to the U.S. This book is very creative and fun to read. Although it is designated 7th grade and up, it would still apply to grades 5 and below to show the artistic mode and creativity. The book is well illustrated.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 7 Up—Tan captures the displacement and awe with which immigrants respond to their new surroundings in this wordless graphic novel. It depicts the journey of one man, threatened by dark shapes that cast shadows on his family's life, to a new country. The only writing is in an invented alphabet, which creates the sensation immigrants must feel when they encounter a strange new language and way of life. A wide variety of ethnicities is represented in Tan's hyper-realistic style, and the sense of warmth and caring for others, regardless of race, age, or background, is present on nearly every page. Young readers will be fascinated by the strange new world the artist creates, complete with floating elevators and unusual creatures, but may not realize the depth of meaning or understand what the man's journey symbolizes. More sophisticated readers, however, will grasp the sense of strangeness and find themselves participating in the man's experiences. They will linger over the details in the beautiful sepia pictures and will likely pick up the book to pore over it again and again.—Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Recipient of numerous awards and nominations in Australia, The Arrival proves a beautiful, compelling piece of art, in both content and form. Tan (The Lost Thing, 2004) has previously produced a small body of off-kilter, frequently haunting stories of children trapped in surreal industrial landscapes. Here, he has distilled his themes and aesthetic into a silent, fantastical masterpiece. A lone immigrant leaves his family and journeys to a new world, both bizarre and awesome, finding struggle and dehumanizing industry but also friendship and a new life. Tan infuses this simple, universal narrative with vibrant, resonating life through confident mastery of sequential art forms and conventions. Strong visual metaphors convey personal longing, political suppression, and totalitarian control; imaginative use of panel size and shape powerfully depicts sensations and ideas as diverse as interminable waiting, awe-inspiring majesty, and forlorn memories; delicate alterations in light and color saturate the pages with a sense of time and place. Soft brushstrokes and grand Art Deco–style architecture evoke a time long ago, but the story's immediacy and fantasy elements will appeal even to readers younger than the target audience, though they may miss many of the complexities. Filled with subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form. Karp, Jesse

How I would use it in the classroom
This book would be great for any immigrants, or second generation Americans. It is a graphic novel, so it would be great for teaching critical thinking, and showing how different students bring different interpretation to text. 

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman

ISBN: 0590511904
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2004

Seedfolks is a story of a rundown city coming together by creating a community of gardeners. It is told from13 character perspectives, all in chronological order. The characters all come from different cultural backgrounds. Some are immigrants, some are young, old, and some are even criminals. The book shows the reader that if people come together, a lot can be done.

Amazon.com Review

"Sometimes, even in the middle of ugliness and neglect, a little bit of beauty will bloom. Award-winning writer Paul Fleischman dazzles us with this truth in Seedfolks--a slim novel that bursts with hope. Wasting not a single word, Fleischman unfolds a story of a blighted neighborhood transformed when a young girl plants a few lima beans in an abandoned lot. Slowly, one by one, neighbors are touched and stirred to action as they see tendrils poke through the dirt. Hispanics, Haitians, Koreans, young, and old begin to turn the littered lot into a garden for the whole community. A gift for hearts of all ages, this gentle, timeless story will delight anyone in need of a sprig of inspiration."

A review from homeschoolbuzz.com
A child's simple act of planting lima beans in a vacant lot results in a community garden, spawning a sense of kinship in the neighborhood. In monologue form, 13 different points of view represent the melting pot of America as each reflect on their roots, and their present day lifestyle. The young Vietnamese girl, the Mexican teen, the elderly black man; narrations so unmistakably clear you'd swear you could actually hear their voices.
The only chapter of concern is one told from the unwed pregnant teen's point of view. Though her plight is a real part of America, you may not be ready to share or discuss this issue with your children.
Seedfolks offers a revealing look at inner-city culture, and could be used in any study of urban life, immigration, or the many cultures that represent America.

How I would use it in the class
This is a great book on working together in a community to reach a goal. It is an urban setting that shows much progress can be made by working together. I would use this to model that for calss behavior. 

Manhattan: a story by Jean Christian Knaff

NO PICTURE AVAILABLE


ISBN: 0571146538


Genre: Children's Story Book
Published: 1987

Manhattan is a children's story book about a boy who is alone in his world. One day, he comes across a girl from a different land and shares time with her. She shows him her world, her culture, and how she lives. Just when Manhattan felt the most alone, this girl came along and ended up staying with Manhattan.

Publishers Weekly review:
 "Manhattan is the name of a small pale boy who resides in a surrealistic countryside of empty castles and quiet volcanoes. Unhappy and lonely, Manhattan's only friend is his tiny black horse. One day he meets Julia, a dark-skinned girl with four black pigtails and a tiny zebra, and she describes places Manhattan has never seen. Knaff tells this story in very few words; his intentionally vague and elliptical style leaves the tale open to many possibilities of meaning. Though Manhattan and Julia are clearly of different races, the simplicity and beauty of the story imply much more than just a lesson on cross-cultural harmony. The pastel illustrations are startling and expressive, portraying the two characters with parapet-top heads from which emerge clouds, rainbows, toys and other symbols, and placing them against a flat landscape of orange skies and blue volcanoes. In the cryptic but happy ending, Julia and Manhattan gaze at the night sky from the parapet of another larger figure's head, an image that completes the enigmatic mood. A strangely beautiful, moving work, Manhattan will also intrigue adults with an eye for the unusual. All ages."

Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

How I would use it in a class

This book is very short, and would intriguing in that light. It would be short and sweet. It is creative and shows how two children from different backgrounds can find great things in common.

When You Reach Me

ISBN: 0385737424

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Published: July 14, 2009

This book won the Newberry Medal in 2010. It is a great read about a young girl in the middle of multiple conflicts. She has trouble with friendships, parental guidance, and a secret admirer. The admirer seems to know more about her than he should. He can predict the actions that will play out in the future. The book deals with time travel, mystery, love, action, and growing up. 

A review from borders.com 

Children's Literature Review: Charmingly eccentric and impossible to categorize, this middle grade novel pays homage to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time while employing many of that book's elements as it crisscrosses the boundaries between reality and fantasy, time travel and mystery. Three distinct storylines give the novel momentum: Miranda's mother's forthcoming contestant role on "The $20,000 Pyramid" game show, Miranda's friend Sal being punched by the erudite yet seemingly socially inept Marcus, and the homeless man whom Miranda and her friends dub "the laughing man." A host of secondary characters play significant roles as well. Stead completely nails both the endearing optimism of her pre-teen characters and their earnest attempts to make meaning of the world while achieving the perfect V-cut. The game show subplot is reflected in the book's chapter headings (e.g., "The Winner's Circle," "Things That Fall Apart," "Things You Realize"). The author plays with the construct of time throughout the novel, using letters that foretell the future, manipulating tense, and framing the entire novel as a second-person narrative in which Miranda is addressing the writer of the letters. If the text feels packed, it is--and nothing is wasted. The movement between the ordinary and the fantastic creates a kind of magical realism, in which the extraordinary is every bit as acceptable as the everyday. Amusing, bemusing and occasionally plain puzzling, this book works its way to a deliciously twisty ending. It is an interesting, multi-layered book that can be read and interpreted at many levels.

How I would use it

I love Sci Fi, and this would apply. It would interest students by being very relatable to their age group. The characters are very much middle-school personalities. It has suspense and mystery, and would be engaging and a great book for students to practice prediction.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

ISBN: 157270036X
Genre: Multicultural fiction
Published: July 11, 1960

My Personal Review
This is a great novel and seems to be a staple in classrooms across the U.S. It is Lee's only novel. The novel comments on racism, gender roles, class issues, and education. It tells of basic human problems and issues as well as minority issues; it is relevant to any reader at any age. Considering the novel is 50 years old, it is pretty amazing this novel has held up to the test of time.



A review by Phoebe Adams
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/classrev/mocking.htm
Two other novels have turned up which may be classified as respectable hammock reading, if anybody reads in hammocks anymore. Walk Egypt by Vinnie Williams is well-written soap opera, and Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is sugar-water served with humor. . . .
To Kill A Mockingbird is a more successful piece of work. It is frankly and completely impossible, being told in the first person by a six-year-old girl with the prose style of a well-educated adult. Miss Lee has, to be sure, made an attempt to confine the information in the text to what Scout would actually know, but it is no more than a casual gesture toward plausibility.
The book's setting is a small town in Alabama, and the action behind Scout's tale is her father's determination, as a lawyer, liberal, and honest man, to defend a Negro accused of raping a white girl. What happens is, naturally, never seen directly by the narrator. The surface of the story is an Alcottish filigree of games, mischief, squabbles with an older brother, troubles at school, and the like. None of it is painful, for Scout and Jem are happy children, brought up with angelic cleverness by their father and his old Negro housekeeper. Nothing fazes them much or long. Even the new first-grade teacher, a devotee of the "Dewey decimal system" who is outraged to discover that Scout can already read and write, proves endurable in the long run.
A variety of adults, mostly eccentric in Scout's judgment, and a continual bubble of incident make To Kill A Mockingbird pleasant, undemanding reading.

 And another good site for reviews:
http://www.allreaders.com/topics/info_1072.asp

How I'll use it:

This is a great coming of age story. There are elements in this story that almost anyone in the class could relate to. I could link it up with a government/law unit, or a unit on racial persecution and heroes.