Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes. 2018

BOOK BREAK #3

Inspiration Book:

Ghost boys by Rhodes, Jewell Parker — Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, a Cengage Company, 2018: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 3.0. After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till. NSSTB List 2019

Rationale: I had planned to write about book selection as a connection with the latest School Library Connection (May/June 2020, pp. 38-40) article “Turn Students into Collection Developers” by Courtney Pentland, and then connect those comments and ideas with the Inspiration Book Ghost Boys. I will save my thought on book selection for a future post.

I did not intend to do three weeks of BOOK BREAK entries, but several events happened in this country that provided the impetus for another BOOK BREAK. What were those events? A police an abusive arrest of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis and a shooting of a black man in Georgia by a group of whites. Why and how could these events connect with a BOOK BREAK? The Inspiration Book is about a police shooting in Chicago and the connection with other black youths like Emmett Till who have been killed.

Police shootings are a tough topic. Police arrest abuse is a tough topic. Vigilante shooting is a tough topic. Featuring tough topics is how My Books Alive began about a decade ago. When I read Ghost Boys I wondered how I could use the book or introduce it to a class or a student, not because of the seriousness of the topic, but because of the ghosting business. In my small private school ghosts aren’t always welcome. But I knew that this book was too good and too vital to not add it to the collection. In fact, I wondered how I’d handle the books aloud to a friend. She wanted to read it from my description. We talked and I still didn’t have a resolution in my mind. You see, in a school, where our budgets are so tight, I don’t like to have a book sit on the shelf--I want kids and teachers reading books on tough topics and doing research. Here I had a good book that needed the opportunity to share.

And, those recent police arrest and vigilante shootings provided the need and reason to have Ghost Boys in the collection. And, I also had the reason to do a BOOK BREAK. Serendipitous things do happen just when they’re needed. Check out the last two week’s entries about where I get ideas for BOOK BREAK. https://www.mybooksalive.com and https://www.mybooksalive.com/2020/05/night-diary-by-veera-hiranandani-2018.html

 Current events are another source of ideas, and probably the most relevant and timely.

Outline for a BOOK BREAK for the Inspiration Book, Ghost Boys:

1. Preparation: gather newspaper headlines and/or news clip of the Georgia vigilante shooting and police arrest abuse in Minneapolis. (Or,if these are no longer in the news: Trevon Martin, East St. Louis, Illinois, etc.) Projection capability for Book Trailer

1. A library needs to have books on many topics and many points of view. Sometimes the point of view presented, may not be one you like. Sometimes the topic is one that makes you squirm. On TV news reports and in newspapers recently there have been information about an abusive arrest and a shooting..
2. (Hold up newspaper headline or show a news clip.) The topics represented in these headlines are tough to talk about. They’re tough to understand. There are always two sides to the story. We need to get to the facts.
3. View Book Trailer.  https://www.teachingbooks.net/booktrailer.cgi?id=4630

Author Jewell Parker Rhodes tells us the story of Ghost Boys.

4. Ms. Rhodes says that only the living can make things better. What can you do to improve race relations in our school? Our town? Our country?
5. My idea, for you, read Ghost Boys, pass it around among your friends to read. Then I’d like all the readers to come to the library and we’ll do some taking about a tough topic.

Teaching Books, the resource I frequently turn to for ideas, has gathered four outstanding teaching tools to use if you plan a student study of Ghost Boys. Check out each resource, and pick and choose what you would like to use.

Educator Guide from author Jewell Parker Rhodes (far ranging excellent resources) http://jewellparkerrhodes.com/children/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GHOST-BOYS-Educator-Guide-FINAL.pdf

Curriculum Connections from Vermont Department of Libraries https://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/DCFBookReviewsQuestions19-20.pdf#page=54

Teaching Ideas from Texas Bluebonnet Award 2019-2020 (extensive resource ideas) https://texasbluebonnetaward2020.wordpress.com/ghost-boys/

Reader’s Theater Script from Texas Bluebonnet Award 2019-2020 (could use this script as part of BOOK BREAK) https://texasbluebonnetaward2020.wordpress.com/ghost-boys/

RELATED TITLES

Fire in the streets by Magoon, Kekla  — Aladdin, 2013-Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8. Sequel to: The rock and the river. In the aftermath of Dr. King's assassination in 1968, Chicago fourteen-year-old Maxie longs to join the Black Panthers, whether or not her brother Raheem, ex-boyfriend Sam, or her friends like it, and is soon caught up in the violence of anti-war and civil rights demonstrations.

Night on fire by Kidd, Ronald  — Albert Whitman & Company, 2015 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.0. When Billie hears about a group calling themselves the Freedom Riders passing through Anniston to protest segregation on buses, she thinks change could be coming. But instead of embracing change, Billie's town responds with violence, and she finds herself at Forsyth & Sons Grocery watching a bus burn. Shocked by the actions of people she thought she knew, she realizes that freedom has a cost. But is she brave enough to stand up and fight for it?

Genesis begins again by Williams, Alicia  — Atheneum, 2019 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.5. Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is. This deeply sensitive and powerful debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself.

With the might of angels (Dear America) by Pinkney, Andrea Davis — Scholastic Inc., 2019 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.8. In 1955 Hadley, Virginia, twelve-year-old Dawnie Rae Johnson, a tomboy who excels at baseball and at her studies, becomes the first African American student to attend the all-white Prettyman Coburn school, turning her world upside down. Includes historical notes about the period. FREE Teaching Resources available for download at www.titlewave.com

Midnight without a moon by Jackson, Linda Williams  — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.6. Rose Lee Carter, a thirteen-year-old African-American girl, dreams of life beyond the Mississippi cotton fields during the summer of 1955, but when Emmett Till is murdered and his killers are unjustly acquitted, Rose is torn between seeking her destiny outside of Mississippi or staying and being a part of an important movement. 

Miles to go for freedom : segregation & civil rights in the Jim Crow years by Osborne, Linda Barrett Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.7. Introduction -- The South -- The North -- The nation -- Time line. Describes the lives of African Americans during the Jim Crow years, a period of legal segregation and discrimination from the 1890s through the 1950s, including photographs and interviews with African Americans who were young during this time and other primary resources.

Roll of thunder, hear my cry by Taylor, Mildred D  — Dial Books for Young Readers, 2016 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.7. An African-American family living in the South during the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand. FREE Teaching Resources available for download at www.titlewave.com

A sky full of stars by Jackson, Linda Williams — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 7.6. Sequel to: Midnight without a moon. In Stillwater, Missippi, in 1955, thirteen-year-old African American Rose Lee Carter looks to her family and friends to understand her place in the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement.

House that Lou Built, The by Mae Respicio. 2018

Book Break #2

Inspiration Book:

The house that Lou built by Respicio, Mae — Wendy Lamb Books, 2018 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.2. Longing for an escape from her extended Filipino family, Lou plans to build a tiny house on land she inherited from her father, but difficulties quickly arise. CCBC, NSTA

Background: Last week I shared the concept of a BOOK BREAK that I copied from Caroline Feller Bauer’s Poetry Break. I suggested a number of ways to present a book, and gave an example in which I located the setting on a world map, shared a bit of the publisher’s promo, and then suggested reading a segment of the book. This week I’d like to share another simple way to share a BOOK BREAK book.

Rationale: In addition to sharing another way to share a BOOK BREAK, I also plan to write about gathering ideas for new ways to do a BOOK BREAK. Yes, I collect ideas. Sometimes I use the idea exactly as I find it, but usually I make modifications. Those modifications may result because I may not have all the suggested materials, I may not have all the recommended stuff, I may not have the time to do extensive preparation. Remember the BOOK BREAK goal is a five minute goal. 

I do have two favorite sources for ideas. One is a clearinghouse operation that began in Wisconsin almost two decades ago, Teaching Books. The operation gathers resources for specific books and authors and illustrators and makes them accessible via online search. Most books have resources under the following categories: original (Teaching Books resources), author information, author interviews, book guides, activities, & lessons. Some also have vocabulary lists, and award. For example, the Inspiration book has 11 different resources. It has also won 4 awards. Cross-referencing also leads the researcher to text complexity and grade level, author name pronunciation guides, genre, cultural connections, and a list of similar books. https//:www.teachingbooks.net

The second resource that I really like is “The Classroom Bookshelf” a blog hosted on the School Library Journal website. Weekly one of three children’s literature specialists posts a review about an excellent new title plus an assortment of teaching ideas and invitations, often grouped by grade level. Their ideas range from visual literacy, to writing ideas, text structure, mentor texts, critical thinking, etc. This site is more academic and presents best teaching practices and research that coincide. A related book bibliography concludes the entry for the week. A long list of related websites is also included. 

The two sites are very different, one a clearinghouse, the other a teaching tool for a specific book. Teaching Books is far more extensive and varied; “Classroom Bookshelf” is a teaching tool for a specific new book. I search each and then pick and choose. For example, the site listed immediately below was gleaned from Teaching Books but “Classroom Bookshelf” did not feature the title.

Curriculum Connections from Vermont Department of Libraries https://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/DCFBookReviewsQuestions19-20.pdf#page=51

If I were doing a book study or a book club discussion of the Inspiration Book, I would use the discussion questions found at the site directly above. In fact, this website was developed by librarians from Vermont for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for 2019-2020. There are about twenty books represented, many of which are 2018 copyright and may be included in My Books Alive already or in the near future. Caution: some years the group of librarians takes down the activities when a new year is featured.

Standard librarian sources are not the only places where I gather ideas. I regularly read the journals of professional teaching organizations for ideas. My husband is a science teacher and frequently directs me to the NSTA journals, especially Science and Children. Each issue features two children’s books, one for primary students and one for upper elementary students, that become the motivation for science lessons. For example, in the March 2000 issue the featured books were How a House is Built by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, 2020 revised ) and Matter: Physical Science for Kids by Andi Diehn (Nomad Press, 2018 ). Coincidentally, my grandson just received a copy of the Gibbons book and I had a chance to read it to him. And, then idea light bulb went off. Here’s the idea for a BOOK BREAK for The House that Lou Built. 

Outline for a BOOK BREAK for the Inspiration Book The House That Lou Built.

1. Author & Title: The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio
2. Preparation: Gather a box of materials use in building a house  (sections of pipe with threaded ends, pipe connections such as U joints or T connections, electrical wire, light switches, long nails, pieces of 2 x 4 wood, small sections of sheetrock, paint card samples, hammer, saw, etc.) Ask the building custodian for help or check you own garage or basement. Include the book hiding in the box.
3. Hold up each item that you have in the box, saving the book for the last. Ask the following question about each item: What is the item used for in building a house and what system or bigger part of the house needs it? Then end with these questions:
1. Which items do you think help bring water to the sink or drain water from the sink?
2. Which items are used to build or construct walls? What would happen if there were no nails available? What happens to the walls?
3. Which items help bring electricity to the house?
4. Dig into the box again and hold up the book. Lou or Lucinda is the main character in the BOOK BREAK book. She’s in middle school and is the best student in her industrial arts or technology class. And, she has a goal. She wants to build a little or tiny house on the land she inherited from her father who died just before she was born. She has the architectural plans; she’s been gathering materials--some like the ones in the box; and she has friends and relatives she’s planning to involve in the actual building. There are problems: Mom has just been offered a job out-of-state, there are frequent dance practices for a festival, and her prized land has just been put up for auction because Mom has not had the money to pay the taxes. There are some positive happenings: Mr. Keller the technology arts teacher nominates Lou for student of the year, she doesn’t trip during the festival dance. Two questions you will need to answer by reading the book: Do the taxes get paid? How does the move to another state go?Teaching Through Trade Books: “Modeling Parts of Systems and Particle Movement in Matter” by Christine Anne Royce. (Science and Children, March 2020, pp. 14-20.)

Related Titles About Building, Builders, or Buildings:

Fallingwater by Harshman, Marc  — Roaring Brook Press, 2017. 728; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.4.  Tells the story of the designing and building of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. NSSTB

The goat by Fleming, Anne — Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press, 2017 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.6

Kid and her family move to an apartment building in New York City, whose eccentric residents include a skateboarding fantasy writer, a guinea pig hoarder, and possibly a goat who lives on the roof

Katerina's wish by Mobley, Jeannie — Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2012. -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.8. Thirteen-year-old Trina's family left Bohemia for a Colorado coal town to earn money to buy a farm, but by 1901 she doubts that either hard work or hoping will be enough, even after a strange fish seems to grant her sisters' wishes.

We the children (Benjamin Pratt And The Keepers Of The School, Book 1) by Clements, Andrew — Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010  -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.2 Ben and his friend Jill find themselves in danger when they discover the secret history of their Massachusetts school and set out to derail a developer's plan to level the building to make way for an amusement park. 3C

Walls within walls by Sherry, Maureen  — Katherine Tegen Books, 2010 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.5 Includes bibliographical references. When the Smithfork family moves into a lavish Manhattan apartment building, they discover clues to a decades-old mystery hidden behind the walls of their new home.

Dancing home by Ada, Alma Flor — Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2011 p2013 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.2. Based on the poem A Margarita by Ruben Dario. When Margie's cousin Lupe comes from Mexico to live in California with Margie's family, Lupe must adapt to America, while Margie, who thought it would be fun to have her cousin there, finds that she is embarrassed by her in school and jealous of her at home. FREE Teaching Resources available for download at www.titlewave.com