Three for Thursday: Haiti On My Mind

I have been thinking about how books pair together for a while now. Often, a student will like X book and "want more like it." This level of reader's advisory forces a librarian to ask deeper questions: is it the theme that the reader likes? The setting? The characters? The author? I find myself asking a lot of questions and working through several Destiny searches in order to help students find the next great read. This inspired me to start a new feature, "Three for Thursday." I would like to regularly feature books that are related in some way. This week, it's books that feature Haiti and/or Haitian culture as part of the plot.

Untwine by Edwidge Danticat features identical twins Giselle and Isabelle. When their family gets into a car accident, one twin is mistaken for the other and the surviving twin faces difficult choices and a shattered family. With roots in Haiti, the family's cultural heritage is woven throughout this heart-wrenching story. This one flies out the door each time I do a booktalk.

American Street by Ibi Zoboi was part of Epic Reads First5 in February 2017. I was immediately sucked in: Fabiola and her mother are coming to the United States from Haiti and her mother is detained at immigration. Fabiola must continue to Detroit on her own to meet up with her cousins and aunt. What follows is the story of the struggle to create a life in Detroit, along with the story of how difficult it can be to assimilate into another culture while holding onto roots in another country.

Hold Tight Don't Let Go by Laura Rose Wagner follows Magdalie, a teenager in Haiti, whose life changes in the blink of an eye when the 2010 earthquake hits. The stark poverty Magdalie experiences as she tries to earn enough money to move to Miami is heartbreaking and will make the reader question the relief and aid work that is done in developing countries following a tragic event. The end is hopeful for a country that has seen disaster strike and is working toward recovery.

New Books and Celebrating Black History Month

Though we strive to have books that reflect all of our students available throughout the year, it's nice to highlight books that are appropriate to Black History during February. Some new books have arrived recently that are perfect for this purpose. All four middle schools have copies of each of these titles and several are perfect for reading and sharing aloud--including pictures and photos that work well under a document camera.

Written in poetic format, this picture book (and winner of multiple awards) tells the story of Civil Rights advocate Fannie Lou Hamer. Starting with her childhood and leading into her political career, this book is a captivating story of an important figure.

Weatherford, Carole Boston and Ekua Holmes Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer

At a recent SLJ Summit, Adam Lerner of Lerner Publishing stood up to talk about the importance of a new book he was publishing. The Book Itch, written from a child's viewpoint, tells the story of the National Memorial African Bookstore in New York City owned by Lewis Henri Michaux. The illustrated story tells of famous African Americans who visited the store and Mr. Michaux's passion for words. A bibliography of the author's research is included for further reading on this topic.

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux and R. Gregory Christine The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore

The life and poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar are highlighted in this unique biography which also includes black and white illustrations. Students may be familiar with certain famous African Americans (Civil Rights activists come to mind), but I like the idea of helping them become familiar with poets, inventors, singers, athletes, actors, and entrepreneurs as well. By displaying books that highlight people who have contributed to the arts, students will have the opportunity to see a variety of ways in which they might use their talents and strengths in the future.

Derby, Sally and Sean Qualls Jump Back, Paul: The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar

Through stunning black and white photography, the history of Motown is told including the people and places that made Motown sound famous. As a resident of Michigan, I have long been interested in the rise and fall of Detroit. This book includes information about the rich cultural heritage of the city. An extensive timeline and bibliography are included for those with further research interest.

Davis, Andrea Pinkney Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound

Booktalks in the Middle

One of the English teachers in my school has her students complete booktalks each marking period. Students have been completing this assignment while in the library for book checkout, so I have been able to listen to them talk about the books they are reading and give them ratings. It's always interesting to hear what kids think about the books from the library, as well as see what books they bring from home and the public library.

A couple of the books students have shared recently include:

Animal Grossapedia by Melissa Stewart

This one cracked us all up. Students have to read a passage from the book that they want to share with others. The student who shared this book read a passage about goats "dating." The entire class was clamoring to check this book out after hearing about it through a booktalk.

Half Upon a Time by James Riley

I'm so glad that a student brought this book to talk about. It was a new book to me and the booktalk was intriguing. Twisted and fractured fairy tales are often popular, so I added the series to our library.








What I'm enjoying most about the booktalks is having the opportunity to hear uncensored opinions and ratings of books. Students often check out books and then I don't hear as much back as I would like unless it is something they are raving about and a bunch of other students want to put the book on hold. I like to hear the "eh" opinions and the "no way" opinions as well because it helps me think differently about selection.

I think getting kids thinking critically about and talking about what they have read is such an important component of what librarians and educators do in support of literacy. How do you get kids talking about the books they have read?