First I read a biography of Will Smith which was awesome. If you know any kids looking to do a book report his life story is inspiring and interesting. The name of the book was Will Smith : A biography of a rapper turned movie star. There was only a few places that I was disappointed by the author's bias peeking through but I got over it. I was offended once, but again, I am not the target audience.
Then I read Patrica Clapp: Jane Emily and Witches Children for our historical novel. I only read Witches Children, but plan to return and read Jane Emily. This story took place during the Salem witch trials and had a very interesting perspective. Great book to introduce the 1620's Puritan culture.
The Friends was this week's assignment. This is a multi-cultural novel which was translated to English in 1997. The story takes place in Japan and because it was written by a Japanese author for a Japanese audience, one really gets a sense of the culture. It is interesting to see how the Japanese boys in this book are so like every little American kid in some ways but in others they are completely different. I mean could you imagine, telling your sixth grader that they need to go to "cram school"? This is not even up for discussion, it is what they do! Every day after school they went to "cram school" to study and prepare (wait for it) to take admissions test into JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL! It also opens up the beauty of the Japanese culture. This is a coming of age story, that everyone can relate to, but seen through a different cultures point of view. It also tackles the often uncomfortable notion of death. I would recommend this book, but beware, it is translated, thus there are English errors. The errors are often in dialogue and only makes the setting easier for a student to relate.
Okay with all that said and done, I wanted to say "Thank you" to my EDU professor (Renee Barstack) for her intelligent and thought-provoking assignments.
Keep reading
Erika
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