Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers

Scorpions. Written by Walter Dean Myers. 1990. ISBN:0-06-447066-0. Newbery Honor Book. African American literature. Gang culture, New York. Ages 13+.

The novel tells the story of a 12 year old boy (Jamal Hicks) from Harlen who is having a hard time in life. Jamal is having a hard time at school, home, and in the streets. The only person he can count on is his best friend Tito.

The main problem in his life is trying to get his brother, Randy, out of jail. Randy is a 17 year old who is the leader of the "Scorpions" gang. The gangs motive is to make money by selling cocaine.

His family includes himself, Mama, his 8 year old sister Sassy, Randy, and his father, Jevon Hicks. Jamal's father used to be an alcoholic after losing his job and started being mean to Mama until she moved away from him with the kids. This happened while Jamal was very young. Now Jamal's father only comes to visit the family once in a while.

Jamal, in his quest to get Randy out of jail has to become the new leader of the Scorpions. This is terrifying, and the rest of the gang doesn't respect Jamal until he gets a gun from Mack, a guy that Randy told Jamal to go and see. Jamal's new gang affiliation is causing him problems everywhere, even with his friends. Tito tries to help Jamal but ends up being caught with the gun and gets sent back to Puerto Rico.

This story is a good read on why gangs and drugs are bad. It is entertaining and short, but very dramatic and emphasizes how things like gangs and drugs can really mess up a person's life.

Role of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.

Role of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Written by Mildred D. Taylor. 1976. ISBN: 0-14-038451-0. African American historical fiction. Ages 10+. Winner of the Newbery Medal.

In this book, the Logan family is a typical hard working family from the deep south, in Mississippi. They work hard, as the Dad is a railroad worker and the Mom is a teacher. Their four children, are now all in school, although, schools are still segregated. Cassie, the stories narrator, is the second oldest and is just realizing what it means to be black in Mississippi. She doesn't understand why she would be considered different at first, but throughout the story, learns that she will always have a harder life than white children her age.

Throughout the story, the Logan family sparks up controversy by boycotting the Wallace's (white family) store. They do it because the want the Wallace family to lose their prejudices. A lot of other incidents happen as well. Cassie is publicly ridiculed by a white girl in the street, and Stacy is caught cheating by his teacher which leads to a fight.

All and all, the underlying theme of this story is perseverance. The Logan's have to fight and keep fighting for what they feel is fair and rightfully theirs (including their land). The equality of blacks and whites is also an underlying tone.

This book was and still is a controversial read. I would recommend this book as a novel for children to read during a study on the civil rights movement.

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

Rosa. Written by Nikki Giovanni. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. 2005. ISBN: 0-8050-7106-7. Caldecott honor book. Children's nonfiction picture book. African American culture. Ages 6+.

Rosa is the story of Rosa Parks and her historic day on the bus in Alabama. It tells some of Rosa's background life, and some about the historical happenings in the Southern United States during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. It tells of how Rosa sat on the bus, refusing to give up her seat on the basis of the color of her skin. It tells of how she waited for the police to show and the taunts she received during her sit in. It tells of how when the black community learned of her arrest, they supported her by boycotting the buses and taxi's. This boycott of the buses and taxi's lasted for over a year until the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that segregation on buses was illegal. The nonviolent actions of Rosa Parks and her supporters were so powerful that they were able to change the law.

The illustrations in this book are powerful and interesting. They have an abstract quality, which the illustrator did purposely by combining watercolor and collage. The pictures are given texture and come alive through the collage work. They also have a warm feeling to them because of the yellowish overtone used. The illustrators note explains why. "In researching this story, I made a trip to Montgomery and Selma. When I arrived in Alabama, the first thing I noticed was the heat. That is why my paintings for this book have a yellow, sometimes dark, hue. I wanted the reader to feel in that head a foreshadowing, and uneasy quiet. Even though the story of Rosa Parks and the bus boycott began in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, it did not end there. Many future marcher, in Selma and elsewhere throughout the country over the next decade, were inspired by the courage of Mrs. Rosa Parks. In my paintings, Mrs. Parks loos as if light is emanating from her. To me, she is like a radiant chandelier, and elegant light that illuminates all our many pathways. "

This book is very informational and should be read at the beginning of Black History Units. It is inspiring to know that many of the equalities that we know as normal today, were not normal just a short while ago. If not for people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., we wouldn't be where we are now.

Moses by Carole Bosten Weatherford.

Moses. Written by Carole Bosten Weatherford. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. 2006. ISBN: 0-7868-5175-9. Childrens Nonfiction Book. Winner of the Coretta Scott King award and Caldecott Honor. African American History. Ages 5+.

This picture book tells the story of Harriet Tubman. It tells her personal story of escape, and and overview of the stories of the dozens of other escapes she led. It uses three different voices to tell the story; narrative, first person (of Harriet), and first person (of God).

The pictures in the book are watercolor, pen and pastels. They are dark and detailed, which allows the reader to feel the gravity of Harriet's situation. The illustrator uses different text types to bounce from narrator to Harriet to God and incorporates the text into the pictures, as to make the reader imagine that it is more of a photograph taken of exactly when God was speaking to Harriet.

The book has historical forwards and afterwords to explain more of what Harriet Tubman did, and how she was a 'Moses' to her people. It is a great way to introduce who Harriet Tubman was and the concepts of slavery and the Underground Railroad. For and activity, students should understand the seriousness of Harriet's situation and they should plot her journey from Maryland to Pennsylvania on a map.

The Little Rabbit who liked to say Moo by Jonathan Allen

The Little Rabbit who liked to say Moo. Written and illustrated by Jonathan Allen. 2008. ISBN: 1-905417-78-0. Easy childrens book. Ages 4+.

In this fun book, the reader follows little rabbit around the barnyard, exploring the different animals and the sounds that they make. The sounds are written in speech bubbles in the pictures, and so it is really fun for children to join in and say the sounds out loud when you are reading to them.

The illustrations are cute and childlike and are done mostly with pen and watercolor.

I just taught a lesson about speech bubbles and quotation marks using this book to first graders and it went wonderfully. After the read out loud, I had them go back to their desks and draw their own scene, and write a sentence about it below the scene. I also made one of the requirements of the assignment to be for them to include a speech bubble in their drawing. It was such a great activity and I am seeing a lot more speech bubbles in their drawings now.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

The Great Gilly Hopkins. Written by Katherine Paterson. 1978. ISBN: 0-690-03837-2. Children's fiction. Newbery Honor book. Ages 10+.

Gilly, and 11 year old foster child, rebels against the system. She is determined to shut out anyone and everyone, especially Maime Trotter, her new foster mother, William Ernest, her new foster brother, and Mr. Randolph, her new nearly blind neighbor. She will never be a part of this weird family. And so she takes matters into her own hands.

She writes a desperate letter to her mother, Courtney, who abandoned her at birth, and tries to runaway to California. She writes hate cards to her wonderfully nice teacher. She steals Mr. Randolph's money, and she beats up 6 boys on the playground on the first day of school. And even through all this, she somehow lets her emotions take over and she realizes that she does like living with Trotter and William Ernest and Mr. Randolph. And that she does love school because of her wonderful teacher. And right when everything is going the best for Gilly that it ever has been, her real Grandmother comes and takes her away, all because of that stupid letter Gilly wrote to Courtney.

Gilly once again is miserable until she learns that Courtney is on her way home to see her. But, when they finally meet, Courtney is not the picture of perfection Gilly had always imagined her to be, and Gilly realizes that her 'mother' is actually Trotter.

This story is somewhat heartbreaking as Gilly is such a complex character. The book is so interesting as we follow Gilly's emotional journey and watch her grow into a sweet and caring girl. This book would be a great read for the teacher to read out loud to the class. Not only is it dramatic and full of unexpected turns, but it really teaches the lesson that first appearances can be extremely deceiving.

Blind Mountain by Jane Resh Thomas

Blind Mountain. Written by Jane Resh Thomas. 2006. ISBN: 0-618-64872-0. Children's fiction, Adventure. Ages 12+.

In Blind Mountain, a young boy, Sam and his father go on a day hiking trip. Sam and his father do not get along because Sam thinks that his father is overbearing and not open to what Sam is interested in. Sam is forced to go on this day trip with his dad.

As they are about to head home for the day, Sam lets go of a pine branch that whips back and stikes his father in the eyes. His father, the expert hiker goes blind, and now it is up to Sam to get them home safely. Sam has to rely on his wits and skills that he learned from his dad about hiking from when he was younger. As they make camp for the night, Sam finds a big cat's track nearby and fears that they are being stalked by a cougar. He is right, and throughout the night the cougar gets closer and closer. As dawn breaks they begin to head home and the cougar attacks, and Sam ends up killing the cougar to save their lives.

The story is one of adventure and bonding. It really shows how Sam and his Dad begin to heal the rift between them by reestablishing their trust of one another. This book is an easy read and really is heartwarming. I think that a good activity for this book would be to have the kids then write thier own short story of adventure starring themselves as the main character. It could really tap into their creativeness. It also is a good book to discuss the points of a story, such as plot, scene, climax, etc...