Reviewed by Linda Christensen Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: The Rethinking Schools article below, by Linda Christensen, is about teaching Daniel Beaty’s poetry that was the basis for his picture book, Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me. Too often today, schools are about standards and common curriculum: Scarlet Letter and Huck Finn first quarter, move on to Great Gatsby … […]
Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation
Reviewed by Alice Review Source: Vamos a Leer: Teaching Latin America Through Literature Book Author: Saludos, todos, and welcome back to our weekly book reviews! Now that we have all had some time to rest during the holidays, we are ready to delve into the spring semester with an especially powerful January theme: civil rights. Throughout […]
Milo Imagines the World
Reviewed by Nell Beram Review Source: Self-Awareness Book Author: Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson’s Milo Imagines the World, like their justifiably celebrated Last Stop on Market Street, centers on a child’s regular ride on public transportation to a destination initially unknown to readers. But while Market Street‘s CJ asks his grandmother why they’re going where they’re […]
Missing Daddy
Reviewed by Rethinking Schools Staff Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: According to author Mariame Kaba, 2.7 million children under the age of 18 have an incarcerated parent. In an author’s note, Kaba says that she wrote Missing Daddy because of her frustration finding materials that can help children deal with the “loss, grief, and trauma” […]
The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary
Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: On many levels, The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary is a brilliant book. It’s open and raw, exposing almost every level of damage inflicted upon the young teenage protagonist, Macy Cashmere. Themes of racism, misogyny, foster care, drug use, prostitution, and “mental illness” create a fast-paced and erratic read. Told […]
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Reviewed by Enid Lee Book Author: Halfway through reading Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption I wanted to hop on a plane and fly to wherever Stevenson was to say, “How can I help?” Stevenson has written an incredibly moving narrative of the injustice that is visited by the justice system […]
