This was an interesting book with a perspective I haven't read about regarding World War II and the holocaust set in Germany. The story follows a young girl named Rose who notices men in uniforms driving away often. There are small hardships in her town, but nothing compared to when she finds these children in fenced in "neighborhoods" with small houses. Not knowing what exactly is going on, but seeing them hunger, she sneaks food to them everyday.
Why I think this book is controversial is because not only is it a war story, but the little girl along with others who helped the Jews died. However, I would have this book in my classroom because we all learn about the Holocaust and it's important to see what went on.
Since this book would raise a lot of questions about the Holocaust war/death, I would use this book for a read aloud. As we went through the book, we would stop and discuss what was going on as a class and students would be able to ask their questions. I think it's important to have this discussion about the book before I have it free on my shelf for students to grab and read on their own. A good activity that could come from this book would be to have small groups of students make a collage/poster, using art materials to represent the main points and messages they got from the book.
Next up - King & King by Linda de Haan and illustrated by Stern Nijland (2002)
This was a fun book which why I think it's controversial is because it's about homosexuality. In the story, the queen is tired of running the kingdom by herself, and wants her son to marry. However, her son falls for a man, and thus they became King & King.
It's a cute story and I think there should be books about homosexuality to children nowadays since it's more common and accepted, though I don't think I would use this book in my classroom. It wasn't aesthetically pleasing to me, and some of the illustrations were drawn in a way I think it looked a little scary. Illustrations are just as important as the text in picture books, so it's important that these are both good quality.
Next Up - Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (1991)
This book tells of a young girl named Grace who wants to play the role of Peter in an upcoming school play. Told by classmates that she can't get this role because not only is she a girl but she's also black, Grace becomes discouraged. However, with some encouragement from her grandmother and mother, she decides to try her best at the auditions-and lands the role! She proves anyone can be anything they set their mind to.
I would use this book in my classroom, because it sends a good message against discrimination on the basis of both race and gender. I would use this in a classroom setting for read-aloud. Afterwards, I would make a "Feeling Chart" with students, writing down what feelings she had, when she had them, why she had them, and how she resolved them. This book would also be a good opportunity for class discussion on both race and gender issues: asking students if these two traits can limit us an how? Should they limit us? This would be good to talk about before and after the book to see how/if responses change.
And Finally - Skin Again by Bell Hooks (2004)
I enjoyed this book and why it's controversial is because it deals with race. It sends a good message, though, that it's just skin that we live in-color doesn't matter. It's inside that's what counts. I would have this in my classroom and would also use it for read-aloud.
Since Bell Hooks gets to the point and tackles the elephant in the room about race, this would be a good opportunity to have a class discussion about race. Asking students questions such as, "Is there anything important about the color of our skin? Can it limit us? Does it say anything about what our personality is like?" I think this would be a good discussion to have both before reading the book and after reading the book to see if the responses of students had changed. Good, fun, wordy book!
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