The Power of a Name: Proud to Be...

Proud to Be... is a children's picture book written by Natalie McDonald-Perkins and is illustrated by Mary Ibeh.  The heart of the story is an elementary-aged child from Nigeria named Ifunanya. She is starting at a new school and is already nervous for the typical reasons any child would be.  On her first day she is greeted by a substitute teacher who mispronounces her name. As the day goes on more classmates make fun of her name so much that she starts to question why she even has such name that is so problematic.

Disappointed in her unwelcoming class, Ifunanya shares her feelings about her name with her parents. They listen then tell her about the origin of her name and the meaning behind it.  The advice they give her is to be patient as people learn to say her name correctly.   

Ifunanya decides to give school another chance the next day. Thankfully, her permanent teacher is back and she takes the time to make sure she is pronouncing her name correctly.  She sympathizes with Ifunanya's situation because her name is also commonly mispronounced. The classmates who made fun of her name apologize for their behavior and they start to share the meaning behind their names.  

As a teacher, librarian, parent, and an immigrant whose name is often mispronounced, I liked this book's message and delivery of the point that a person should be proud of their name and be patient as others learn it.  There have been many books published about children with difficult names to pronounce, but this is the first story I have seen with a main character from Nigeria.  The illustrations are also vibrant, show a range of characters and capture the mood of the story well.  

This story could lead to discussions with young people about many topics.  For example, what are ways that you can ask how to pronounce a person's name?  What if your name is difficult to say? How can you help others learn your name?  People can also share experiences they have had with other people's names who were new to them.  What did they learn from those experiences?  It could also be a time to invite readers to share the origin of their own names.  The author also includes a Teacher Tips section at the end of the book for what to do if a student has a name that is difficult to pronounce.  She also includes a list of unique names with their language of origin and meanings.  Children can try to say them out loud for practice.  

I'd definitely add this to my school library collection and include it in my daughter's reading collection, too!

Another book that this author and illustrator duo have created is Best In Me. I reviewed it last year and it had similar themes of looking inward to point out your unique traits.  

 

Revolution in Our Time: the Black Panthers' rise, fall & legacy today

 

Kekla Magoon's young adult, nonfiction book, Revolution in Our Time, about the history of the Black Panthers, their enduring struggle for progress in their lifetimes and the recurring themes in the modern-day American society is a poignant informational book that benefits everyone who reads it.  

The Black Panther Party played a large role in pushing back against racist policies in communities, however, the media portrayal focused on the sensational aspects rather than the multi-faceted parts of the movement that actually helped communities.  This is where Magoon's book comes in to set the record straight on how women and children were the focus in order to provide for their basic needs while in poverty.  

The book starts out when in 1967 a group of Black Panthers walked onto the floor of the California State Legislature to express their position on Black people being able to defend themselves against unlawful attacks.  How did this group form and come to this pivotable moment when they were splashed in headlines all around the country?  Magoon then takes the reader back to 1619 until 1965 and summarizes how Black people have endured inhumane treatment up until 1965.  She explains the group's formation in 1966 during the Civil Rights Movement and how they grew in numbers all while being targeted by law enforcement and the FBI.  Magoon finishes the book by going full circle to when the group disbanded in 1982 until the present day struggles for the same protection under the law that was the cornerstone of their platform from their formation. 

It reminded me a lot of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You and You Call This Democracy?, both written with a young adult audience in mind.  Our youth deserve to know the historical events that have led our country to the state it is in and how they can help improve their world by not repeating mistakes of the past and recognizing what has worked before.  This is an excellent book for teens and adults to read together and use it study the figures and events on their own.  Full of photographs, quotes, and a storytelling technique that will leave a lasting impression in the mind and heart of the reader, this should be shared and discussed by all who care about Black people.

Click HERE for my book review of this book.

HERE is a short video of Kekla Magoon discussing her book.

If you have middle grade readers (ages 8 - 14) who'd like to learn more about The Black Panthers I'd recommend Rita Garcia-Williams' award winning trilogy:

Stuck & Solving for M: where do children get help?

 

Teachers make the best writers when it comes to capturing the feel of school.  Former educator, Jennifer Swender, completely strikes a chord of authenticity in her two middle grade novels: Solving for M and Stuck.  Each of these is told from the point of view of a student who is going through a tough time. Although each story is about a different child, the feelings, reactions, situations and people who are there to help or hurt, is realistic.  As a teacher, I think school stories can truly help improve my practice, especially in areas where trauma and other learning insecurities come into play.

 In Solving for M, the main character is a 5th grader named Mika who is just starting middle school.  Her favorite subject is art but she's surprised to find out that her class is heavier on art theory than actual art creation.  On the positive side, her math teacher is unlike any teacher she's ever had. He teaches with outside-the-box approaches and asks everyone to keep a math journal.  Mika's journal is her outlet to not only show that she understands the math concepts, but she connects everything to the news that her mom may have cancer.  Through drawings and writing down her feelings, Mika is able to get through the difficult year and that's all thanks to her teacher who noted what his students needed and followed through in a memorable way.

Solving for M won the Mathical Book Prize in 2020 and is nominated for the William Allen White Children's Book Award in Kansas for the 2021-2022 school year, along with more accolades!

Swender's newest book, Stuck, is a slim read compared to Solving for M. At only 133 pages, this story is from the perspective of a boy named Austin who is just finishing 4th grade at a new school right at the end of the year.  He's used to making up lies about why him and his mom move so much and he's ready to do it all again in his new school, except there are several people who welcome him without asking any questions: his new teacher and a classmate.  This is an interesting read because Austin tries to hide his reading disability in clever ways that I'm sure other teachers will recognize.  His relationship with his classmates is unique as he tries to figure them out based on their behaviors. One classmate receives special education services and support and Austin studies him the most trying to figure him out.  Over the course of his time he discovers that he wants to be a leader and to try out for their school's safety patrol. He wants to be looked-up to and it will take his friends and teacher to help him get there.  

I liked Stuck because of Austin's personality which is something not often seen in middle grade literature.  Many readers will be able to identify with Austin's neurodiversity and educators and parents can use his perspective to gain more empathy for others like him.  

Both of these books would be smart additions to elementary and middle grade classrooms, libraries and homes.  Austin and Mika's stories deserve to be told, shared & discussed!

And the Stuck cover doubles as a cool Book Face for #BookFaceFridays !

Coretta Scott King: a life & legacy

 

Each year our students learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his enormous role in the pursuit for civil rights in U.S. history.  I often share books with students about others who shared his vision for equality, before his time up to the present day. You can find the book list here.

As much as my students enjoy these stories and discussions that go with the topic, I've found that from the library perspective, planning an experience around the Coretta Scott King Book Award  makes additional connections to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and helps readers recognize the award seal when looking for more books to read.

The ALA website has all of the information that I share with students but what they really want is who Coretta Scott King was as a person, outside of being married.  They enjoy looking at photos of her, learning about the names of her children, what she liked to sing and what she has written.  Then we take a look at the design of the award seal and students point out what they notice. We discuss the symbols chosen and how it connects to the purpose of the book award.  The website has the meaning behind the symbols, too.

There's also a great video explaining the origins of the book award and when I show it, there's always a student who says how empowering it is that the group saw a lack of awards honoring Black voices and stories so they created one themselves!

I show them the recent winning books as well as book trailers for them.  During this time I have pulled the other books that we have in our library collection and students take their time browsing, reading, and sharing them.  

The older students are asked to rate the books they chose and the younger students get to listen to read alouds of the stories and act out the stories.  For example, we listened to Misty Copeland's Firebird, gorgeously illustrated by Christopher Myers, then my 2nd graders practiced their dance poses and even leaped through the library like a dancer would!  

However you choose to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day or  Black History Month or Black voices and stories year round, the Coretta Scott King Book Award honorees are excellent ways to do it. Here is a PREZI presentation if you'd like to see one way to get the conversation going with students.

Popcorn Olympics in the Library or Classroom

During the 2018 Winter Olympics I was the school library media specialist at a middle school.  I was looking for a way to drive more students into the library while increasing community bonds and connect to the Winter Olympics.  I found some ideas online to use popcorn in mini-competitions and award competitors who do the best. What I liked most about this is that athleticism had nothing to do with the events and if a student didn't want to compete, they could send someone else to fill in for them and the rest of the team could cheer each other on. 

Here is a copy of the slideshow I shared with the teachers. 

First, I assigned one country to each CAT class, which was our advisory, seminar or homeroom classes.  In an elementary school this could be each classroom or grade level.  After classes were assigned their country, the teachers let them decorate their doors in honor of their countries. So students who wanted to made signs, printed flags and maps and put the colors of their assigned country up in their rooms. 

Next, teachers shared the 5 different popcorn events that students could enter. Each country could enter one student per event and the teachers submitted their names through a Google form.

Students could practice the events on their own time and when they were ready they came to the library to do their event.  This was in a middle school setting so I was always available for the events.  If I do this with elementary students, I would have the competitors come down in heats to compete during a morning meeting or other scheduled time.  It could even work during library classes.

Each day I'd post the leading countries on Schoology and outside of the library.  On the last day we had a "closing ceremonies" where I awarded the top 3 finishers with medals, candy and a photo.  The countries who were in the top 3 of each event won a popcorn party.  During the day when the Winter Olympics were being televised we showed the highlights on the library screens and students enjoyed seeing the athletes compete.  Some even were cheering on the athletes from their assigned countries during the popcorn olympics!

There are many variations on this that only focus on reading challenges, but if you wanted to only do events and promote books about countries and athletes, you can do that, too.  If you have more ideas please drop them in the comments below!

Author/illustrator Spotlight: Steve Jenkins

I didn't envision my first blog post of 2022 being in honor of someone who has passed away, but here we are.  The world lost an artist today whose work will go on to resonate with readers forever.  Steve Jenkins has been my go-to nonfiction author and illustrator the entire time that I have been in education.  His picture books spark curiosity, conversation and always lead to students sharing stories about themselves.  In his 80 books he has published, Jenkins focused on scientific topics found in nature and presented those in brightly formed paper collages that look like photographs, they are so well done!

Usually my second grade classes have the chance to study Jenkins' work for several weeks and from then on they can always be found returning to his books, like old friends, again and again.  I first present Jenkins and his wife and work partner, Robin Page, and with students we explore his website that has his book covers on a virtual bookshelf.  

As I scroll through the virtual bookshelf, students help me read the titles, we discuss what they notice about the cover designs and they share if they have seen or read the books before.  Then I show them what books we have in our library collection and they are eager to get their hands on them.  I read aloud from the ones they react to the most. We pass them around and as the students browse they show one another what they find interesting and even try to call dibs on what book they want to check out.  

Finally it's time for students to pick a book that inspires them to create a collage in the style of Jenkins.  We watch a video of Jenkins working and we describe together what he is doing.  As the students notice that he first creates a rough sketch, then using his sketch he makes a larger version with glue and layers of paper.  They cannot wait to dive in and try it themselves!  

For further extension, I've had students use an online encyclopedia or website to add facts to their collage.  Other students add more details in terms of background images and additional scenery to add to the setting.  Some write poems and stories inspired by their collage.  Others simply enjoy looking at what their classmates created and showing them what they made.

I hope that this gives some teachers, librarians, and families ideas for how to use Steve Jenkins' books with their children and students. I know that I will continue to do so, year after year, not because he is an award-winning illustrator, which he is, but because he makes learning memorable for readers of all ages.