The Tangerine Tree by Regina Hanson

Title: The Tangerine Tree

Author: Regina Hanson

Publisher: Clarion Books

Release date: September 1995 

Page: 31

ISBN-13: 978-0395689639

Summary:

Amazon:

"As her father packs, preparing to leave Jamaica for a job in New York, Ida is distraught. "He never comin' back!" she wails, despite her parents' assurances. Refusing to say good-bye, Ida hides in a tangerine tree. Papa tracks her down, gives her a copy of Stories of the Ancient Greeks and makes her a promise: "Dis is our secret: by de time you are big enough to read it by yourself, I will be home." In an affecting scene, Papa takes leave of his family and Ida gives him a gift-juice she has poured in a bottle: "I squeeze out sun from de tangerines into it. If New York is cold and snowy when you get dere, dis bottle will warm you up." Debut author Hanson, who was born and raised in Jamaica, conveys this gentle, rhythmic tale with a tone that is at once sad and hopeful. In his richly textured acrylic paintings, Stevenson's deft, impressionistic use of color and light recreates the ambience of the island, capturing as well the deep love connecting the members of this family."

http://www.amazon.com/Tangerine-Tree-Regina-Hanson/dp/0395689635/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288638630&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

This book deals with a very current issue that many families may be going through right now, unemployment.  It shows the broader definition of multiculturalism and how important support is during tough times.  It shows the importance of family and family values.  The importance of loved ones and family is something that students can relate and hopefully connect with during their reading.  

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Title: The Other Side
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 9th Printing edition
Release date: January 2001
Pages: 32
ISBN-13: 978-0399231162


Summary:
Amazon:
"Woodson (If You Come Softly; I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This) lays out her resonant story like a poem, its central metaphor a fence that divides blacks from whites. Lewis's (My Rows and Piles of Coins) evocative watercolors lay bare the personalities and emotions of her two young heroines, one African-American and one white. As the girls, both instructed by their mothers not to climb over the fence, watch each other from a distance, their body language and facial expressions provide clues to their ambivalence about their mothers' directives. Intrigued by her free-spirited white neighbor, narrator Clover watches enviously from her window as "that girl" plays outdoors in the rain. And after footloose Annie introduces herself, she points out to Clover that "a fence like this was made for sitting on"; what was a barrier between the new friends' worlds becomes a peaceful perch where the two spend time together throughout the summer. By season's end, they join Clover's other pals jumping rope and, when they stop to rest, "We sat up on the fence, all of us in a long line." Lewis depicts bygone days with the girls in dresses and white sneakers and socks, and Woodson hints at a bright future with her closing lines: "Someday somebody's going to come along and knock this old fence down," says Annie, and Clover agrees. Pictures and words make strong partners here, convincingly communicating a timeless lesson"


http://www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Jacqueline-Woodson/dp/0399231161/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288637996&sr=1-1


In the classroom:
This is a story of a friendship that overcomes the racial divide at the time.  It's a beautiful story of young girls that shows the innocence of young people and how they are judgement free and curious.  A lesson can be learned from the two girls in this story no matter the age of the reader.  The book carries such a big message in such little words.  

Smoky Night by Eve Bunting

Title: Smoky Night

Author: Eve Bunting

Publisher: Sandpiper

Release date: April 1999

Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 978-0152018849

Summary:

Amazon:

"Bunting addresses urban violence in this thought-provoking and visually exciting picture book inspired by the Los Angeles riots. Although they're neighbors, Daniel's cat and Mrs. Kim's cat don't get along. Nor do Daniel and his mother shop at Mrs. Kim's market. "It's better if we buy from our own people," Daniel's mother says. But when Daniel's apartment building goes up in flames, all of the neighbors (including the cats) learn the value of bridging differences. Bunting does not explicitly connect her message about racism with the riots in her story's background, but her work is thoroughly believable and taut, steering clear of the maudlin or didactic. Diaz's dazzling mixed-media collages superimpose bold acrylic illustrations on photographs of carefully arranged backgrounds that feature a wide array of symbolic materials--from scraps of paper and shards of broken glass to spilled rice and plastic dry-cleaner bags. Interestingly, Diaz doesn't strongly differentiate the presumably Asian American Mrs. Kim from the African American characters--even the artwork here cautions the reader against assumptions about race."

http://www.amazon.com/Smoky-Night-Eve-Bunting/dp/0152018840

In the classroom:

This short picture book broadcasts community in a very positive way that would be a great mini lesson for students.  It carries a lot of meaning with the broadening of ethnicities and judgements and leaves with a happy ending with the characters helping one another.  It's a kids book with a great message, regardless of the age.  

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Title: The Color Purple

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: Mariner Books; 1 edition

Release date: November 2006

Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 978-0156031820

Summary:

Amazon:

"Novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman's struggle for empowerment, the novel was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English vernacular. Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister's letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self."

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Purple-Alice-Walker/dp/0156031825/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288635542&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

The recent musical that this book was made into has the potential to spark interest for students to get familiar with the story.  Students get a woman's perspective of the issues and hardships that came alone with slavery in America.  It's an empowering story that I think a lot of students, boys and girls, would enjoy. 

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Title: When You Reach Me

Author: Rebecca Stead

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books; 1 edition

Release date: July 2009

Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 978-0385737425

Summary:

Amazon:

"Sixth-grader Miranda lives in 1978 New York City with her mother, and her life compass is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. When she receives a series of enigmatic notes that claim to want to save her life, she comes to believe that they are from someone who knows the future. Miranda spends considerable time observing a raving vagrant who her mother calls the laughing man and trying to find the connection between the notes and her everyday life. Discerning readers will realize the ties between Miranda's mystery and L'Engle's plot, but will enjoy hints of fantasy and descriptions of middle school dynamics. Stead's novel is as much about character as story. Miranda's voice rings true with its faltering attempts at maturity and observation. The story builds slowly, emerging naturally from a sturdy premise. As Miranda reminisces, the time sequencing is somewhat challenging, but in an intriguing way. The setting is consistently strong. The stores and even the streets–in Miranda's neighborhood act as physical entities and impact the plot in tangible ways. This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers"

http://www.amazon.com/When-You-Reach-Rebecca-Stead/dp/0385737424/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288632426&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

This book grows through a series of changes and transitions that all adolescents go through during their beginning teenage years.  Therefore, this book is able to connect with lots of different types of kids within a classroom and could be read as entire class unit.  I think every student can benefit from the transitions that the characters go through and reading a story like this one can help kids adapt.  It's a wonderful way for adolescents to learn lessons about what's to come as they continue to grow up.

Holes by Louis Sachar

Title: Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition

Release date: September 2008

Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 978-0374332662

Summary:

Amazon:

"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with theLord of the Flies-styled pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.

It's a strange story, but strangely compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced understatement to create a bizarre but believable landscape--a place where Major Major Major Major of Catch-22 would feel right at home. But while there is humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society's underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere"


http://www.amazon.com/Holes-Louis-Sachar/dp/0374332665/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288631658&sr=1-1


In the classroom:
I chose Holes because it deals with a troubled boy who acts out.  This could be a very common scenerio amongst students around this age and those kids can sometimes be socially exiled and made fun of.  It's another book that students can relate to and maybe channel their frustrations into.  

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Title: The Outsiders 

Author: S.E. Hinton

Publisher: Speak

Release date: November 1997

Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 978-0140385724

Summary:

Amazon:

"According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser. This classic, written by S. E. Hinton when she was 16 years old, is as profound today as it was when it was first published in 1967"

http://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-S-Hinton/dp/014038572X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288630771&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

This book shows a different sort of multiculturalism that is still just as important to put into the classroom as the others.  Socioeconomic status and different "cliques" of friends are highlighted in this book and that is something that kids deal with on a daily basis in the school systems.  The story is relatable and applicable to the students lives, especially in the years of middle school when they are going through their self discovery.