The Misfits

Have we cured everyone in this class of name calling and bullying? Certainly not. But in the end, there is not a student in that class who is thinking about name calling in the same way they did before this unit. As a class, we now have a common language and a common experience to come back to and address issues of name calling and bullying. 

“Using the Misfits to Discuss Sexual Orientation Issues” by Richard Wilson and Lisa McGilloway

The Misfits

By James Howe

Grades 5-8

5 Stars

This book tells the story of The Gang of Five, a group of friends who are picked on at their school for being different.  Bobby, the main character, helps his friend Addie to run for the student council on a platform of no more name calling.  This book explores how people are different, what it means to be a minority, what the impact of name calling is, and how to stand up for yourself.

This book made me wish that every middle school student could belong to a Gang of Five.  These kids are smart, unique, confidant, and picked on.  I think everyone can relate to at least one of these characters.  Joe, Addie, Skeezy, and Bobby reminded me of kids that I went to school with and kids that I have worked with as an adult.  Sometimes its easy to imagine these kids becoming the successful adults that Howe lets us know they became in the end of his book, and sometimes it is just as easy to imagine them losing their confidence and falling victim to the pitfalls of low self-esteem.  We’ve all heard recent examples of the worst outcomes of kids that have been picked on in the news.  As an adult, I’ve often struggled with how I can help kids who are picked on.  In the past, I usually found myself trying to help these kids by focusing on building their self-confidence and by trying to reassure them that the pettiness of adolescence is only temporary.  This book encourages kids who are the name-callers to think about how their actions affect their classmates, point out the strengths and positive unique aspects of the kids who are picked on, and show examples of how kids who are picked on can stand up for themselves.  As the quote at the top of the blog states, this book won’t solve the problem entirely, but it could be a great starting point for a conversation.

I would probably use this book as a read-aloud book or a reading group book.  I would want to be sure to discuss the book with my students.    

Click here for an article about the author, James Howe
Click here to visit the No Name Calling Week website

Traditions Unit Books

By Allen Say

Chicken Sunday
By Patricia Polacco

Grades 1-4

4 Stars

This book tells the story of three children who find a way to earn enough money to buy Miss Eula a new Easter bonnet. 

This book talks about many different traditions.  The children have a tradition with Miss Eula of going to church and eating a chicken dinner with her every Sunday.  Miss Eula has a tradition of buying a new Easter bonnet each year.   The children earn money by painting eggs in the traditional Ukranian way.  Miss Eula asks the children to pour some chicken soup over her grave after she has died so that she can taste it again, and as grown-ups, the children have turned this request into a yearly tradtion. 

I loved this book.  The relationship of the children with each other and Miss Eula was touching.  The pictures are beautiful and incorporate real photographs on one page with the realistic drawings.  I used this book to develop a unit on traditions, and it would be a great starting point in discussing the different kinds of traditions with students.

Kamishibai Man

By Allen Say

Grades K-6

5 Stars

This book tells the story of a Kamishibai man, a traditional story teller in Japan, who’s stories aren’t valued for awhile due to the rise of technology, such as television.  He stops telling his stories for a long time, then decides to go out for one more day.  The children, who he used to entertain are grown up, but remember him and ask him to tell the stories again.

This was a really cool book.  The Kamishibai man tells his own story of how the “paper theater” stories fell out of favor with kids with the introduction of television.  Say does this by having the Kamishibai man go out one last day to tell his stories.  Say uses realistic paintings up until the point that the story begins, then the illustrations switch to a comic book style that tell the story of the Kamishibai man.

I also used this book in my traditions unit.  It could also be used in a unit on storytelling. 

Click here for an interview with Allen Say

Click here to reach a website on Kamishibai for kids

Multi-cultural blogs

Show Way

By Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrated by Hudson Talbott

Grades 2-6

5 Stars

This story traces the author’s family back to times of slavery.  It shows each generation passing down the art of creating show quilts, and each person remaining strong, loving, and creative despite the difficulties of slavery, working hard to earn a living, and fighting for civil rights.  The story ends with the author telling her own daughter the history of her family.

This book was definitely a window book for me.  My family story is very different than the family story presented in this book.  My family’s past is very privileged, especially when compared with Woodson’s ancestors who were forced to live as slaves and to watch as their children were sold off.  I was also a little envious of the way that the author’s family has passed down the ability to make the beautiful show quilts.  This book allowed me to experience a very different family story than my own.

I would also say that this book was an example of a culturally conscious book.  The characters in this book were depicted as strong and empowered.  Even as the women in the story are forced to watch as their daughters are sold away from them, the emphasis is on how the mothers love their children.  The daughters are taught to make the show quilts, which help other slaves to escape slavery.

I would use this book to talk about slavery, folk art, quilting, fabrics, and family history.

WhiteWash

By Ntozake Shange

Illustrated by Michael Spoon

Grades 3-6

4 Stars

An African American girl and her brother are attacked by a group of white thugs on their way home from school.  The white kids paint the little girl’s face white.  She is too afraid to leave the house until friends from her school of all races tell her that if they stick together no one will be able to hurt them.

This was a socially conscious book.  The main character of the story wasn’t necessarily empowered.  She has to depend on her older brother and her school friends in order to feel safe and protected.  The idea that coming together to support your friends in the face of bullies and harassment was an uplifting enough message and probably a realistic solution to the problem.  Her friend tells her, “If we all stick together, no one will bother you or anybody else, right?” 

I would use this book to talk about bullying.

Click here for a reading of the book Whitewash

Owl Moon

Written by Jane Yolen  

Illustrated by John Schoenherr

K-5

5 Stars

This book was a mirror book for me.  Although I have never gone out on a winter night to go owling, I have frequently gone out on winter nights to hike or sled and have heard and seen owls at night.  I grew up hiking and camping with my family and was taught to watch and listen for wildlife.  I remember the few times I went somewhere with my dad without my mom or siblings and how rare and special this felt.  This book reminded me of many memories from my childhood.

This Caldecott medal winning book has beautiful pictures.  The artwork is realistic and the illustrator has hidden little details and animals that made me want to look at each picture for several minutes.  The story is engaging and is written in the voice of child going on his or her first owling adventure with their father.  The author adds sensory details to her writing that shows us the quiet, cold adventure just as well as the illustrations.

This book could be used in talking about birds of prey, nocturnal animals, how animals survive in the winter, and habitats.  The pictures really help to show these topics more than the words in the story.  There are animals hiding in the illustrations that are not central to the story, but that could start a discussion on many of these topics.

click here for a reading of Owl Moon