Barakat, I. (2007). Tasting the sky: A palestinian childhood. Harrisonburg, Virginia: RR Donnelley & Sons Company.
Tasting the sky is a true story written by Ibtisam Barakat. She was a little girl growing up during the Six Day War between Palestine and Israel. Though it is 175 pages, she writes an incredible story of her experiences as a child facing war. The reader watches Ibtisam grow through the entire novel and is able to see the ways in which she copes with such a frightening environment to be a child in. From a beloved donkey named Suma to the letter Alef, she learns how to survive and endure despite hardship and trial. The beautiful part of the book is the ability for the reader to understand that in times of war, people are still people, and children are still children.
I think this book would be excellent for an 8-9 grade student. The Middle East is an area that is often talked about in the news and it is important for students to realize that the children growing up in those areas are similar to them. It would provide excellent themes to discuss as far as how do different cultures cope and how do we seek to understand both sides of an issue. I loved this book and felt that it would be incredibly helpful in a classroom to cultivate real learning about a different culture.
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Aston, D. (2008). The moon over star. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
This book talks about a young African American girl's dream of one day going to the moon. It speaks about her experience of watching the United States land on the moon first. As a young girl, landing on the moon taught her to dream despite her grandfather's displeasure with the fact that the U.S. was spending so much money on the space program. It's about the way her family handled such an event and her view of mankind. It talks about how her family handled this monumental event in a much different way than perhaps some of her peers. Finally, it speaks about her identity and how she attempts to view herself.
This book would be a great read aloud in a Social Studies classroom. It is an easy read for a middle school student but would provide an interesting opportunity for students to think about how different people from different cultures have handled and viewed major historical events.
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Brown, D. (2000). Uncommon traveler. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
This book is about Mary Kingsley, a woman who spent much of her life in West Africa in the late 1800s. It talks about her adventures of learning about a new culture and a people much different from herself. The books speaks of the reward of being willing to step outside of your comfort zone, yet also touches on the risks involved in doing so. People thought that Mary was crazy for leaving her home to go live amongst people she did not have much in common with. Finally, it goes through the differences she encountered when she was living there and how she dealt with it. Some of the differences are humorous and some are serious, which provides a great learning opportunity for its readers.
This book would be a great tool for a social studies class focusing on biographies. It allows readers to get a glimpse into African culture as well as encourages experiences that push us beyond what is comfortable.
Myers, D. (2006). Jazz. (1st ed.). New York: Holiday House.
Dean Meyers uses the music of jazz to portray through poetry how people used this genre throughout US history. His poems show what this type of music meant to a group of people and how one can appreciate it. He attempts to communicate the "depth and beauty" of jazz and how people put their feelings into the music of the time. It is a beautiful book, fun to read and quite educational to a type of music that students may or may not be accustomed to. Students can learn about different jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Bob Johnson.
Given that the poems are fairly easy to understand and educational, this book would be excellent for classroom use. I think it would be interesting to have students choose their favorite and try to write their own jazz-influenced poem.
Shange, N. (2004). Ellington was not a street. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, Inc.
This book won the 2005 Coretta Scott King award. It is a poem written by Ntozake Shange and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The poet talks about how she grew up amongst a prestigious community of now famous African American people who changed the country. She talks about her home and how W.E. DuBois would simply walk in and how this was normal. She references about ten famous African Americans who stood up for their art and for their beliefs. In the back of the book, she talks a bit about each of these people who frequently were around her, which is a great thing for children to understand the names that she references in the poem.
I think this book would be an excellent read for a middle school classroom, especially during a poetry unit. It is a bit hard to understand, however the beautiful pictures would actually help teach how to read and comprehend poetry. I think it is an excellent teaching opportunity to talk about how African American thinkers shaped the ideology of a country.
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Nelson, K. (2011). Heart and soul. (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins Children's Books.
In his book, Heart and Soul, Kadir Nelson creatively tells the story of African American history in the US. Through the narration of an unknown and elderly black woman, the book is made very personal to the reader. It is as if the reader's grandmother is retelling family history. He is a well known artist, and the theme of art and history is woven through the entire book. He includes famous pictures in museums as well as his own pictures to paint the involvement of African Americans in the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, abolition and slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and all the way through Civil Rights and WWII. He ends the book talking about Martin Luther King Jr. and leaves the reader on a very hopeful note.
This book is quite impressive in the way it thoroughly and creatively walks a young reader through the history of the United States through the eyes of an African American. It is too long to be used as a read-aloud book in its entirety, however reading a chapter a day could be a great way to begin the day or a lesson.
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