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.  

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 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.

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

Title: Pink and Say

Author: Patricia Polacco

Publisher: Philomel; First edition

Release date: September 1994

Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 978-0399226717

Summary:

Amazon: 

"This picture book set during the Civil War is a departure for Polacco in terms of content and audience. It is certainly the deepest and most serious book she has done. Sheldon Curtis, 15, a white boy, lies badly wounded in a field in Georgia when Pinkus Aylee, an African American Union soldier about Sheldon's age, finds him and carries him home to his mother, Moe Moe Bay. Sheldon, known as Say, is nursed back to health in her nurturing care. But then she is killed by marauders, and the boys return to their units. They are then are captured and taken to Andersonville, where Pink is hanged within hours of their capture. One of the most touching moments is when Pink reads aloud from the Bible to Moe Moe and Say. Say tells them that he can't read, but then he offers something he's very proud of: he once shook Abraham Lincoln's hand. This is a central image in the story, and is what ties the boys together for a final time, as Pink cries, "'Let me touch the hand that touched Mr. Lincoln, Say, just one last time.'" The picture of their clasped hands, with the hands of the soldiers wrenching them apart, is exceptionally moving. Polacco's artwork, in fact, has never been better. She uses dramatic perspectives, dynamic compositions, and faces full of emotion to carry her powerful tale. History comes to life in this remarkable book."

http://www.amazon.com/Pink-Say-Patricia-Polacco/dp/0399226710/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288588297&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

This book is yet another example of the racial issues that took place during the Civil War and allows students to see that diversity is a good thing and that having friends that come from different backgrounds and races is something positive.  It shows them to now focus on the outer appearance of an individual.  Due to the time period that the story is taking place, during the Civil War, it also allows for a lot of historical background. 

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

Title:  If You Come Softly 

Author:  Jacqueline Woodson

Release date:  January 1998

Publisher:  Speak

Pages:  208

Genre:  Middle grade fiction

Source:  Library

ISBN-13: 978-0698118621

Summary:
Amazon: 

"Once again, Woodson (I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This) handles delicate, even explosive subject matter with exceptional clarity, surety and depth. In this contemporary story about an interracial romance, she seems to slip effortlessly into the skins of both her main characters, Ellie, an upper-middle-class white girl who has just transferred to Percy, an elite New York City prep school, and Jeremiah, one of her few African American classmates, whose parents (a movie producer and a famous writer) have just separated. A prologue intimates heartbreak to come; thereafter, sequences alternate between Ellie's first-person narration and a third-person telling that focuses on Jeremiah. Both voices convincingly describe the couple's love-at-first-sight meeting and the gradual building of their trust. The intensity of their emotions will make hearts flutter, then ache as evidence mounts that Ellie's and Jeremiah's "perfect" love exists in a deeply flawed society. Even as Woodson's lyrical prose draws the audience into the tenderness of young love, her perceptive comments about race and racism will strike a chord with black readers and open the eyes of white readers ("Thing about white people," Jeremiah's father tells him, "they know what everybody else is, but they don't know they're white"). Knowing from the beginning that tragedy lies just around the corner doesn't soften the sharp impact of this wrenching book."

http://www.amazon.com/You-Come-Softly-Jacqueline-Woodson/dp/0142415227/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288586528&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

This book is a the perfect example of the blending of cultures.  It is a good book when dealing with the topic of racism in the class and teaches the students to embrace those of other ethnicities, cultures and upbringings.  

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman

Title: Seedfolks
Author: Paul Fleishman
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Release date: December 2004
Pages: 70
ISBN-13: 978-0064472074


Summary:
Amazon:
"Sometimes, even in the middle of ugliness and neglect, a little bit of beauty will bloom. Award-winning writer Paul Fleischman dazzles us with this truth inSeedfolks--a slim novel that bursts with hope. Wasting not a single word, Fleischman unfolds a story of a blighted neighborhood transformed when a young girl plants a few lima beans in an abandoned lot. Slowly, one by one, neighbors are touched and stirred to action as they see tendrils poke through the dirt. Hispanics, Haitians, Koreans, young, and old begin to turn the littered lot into a garden for the whole community. A gift for hearts of all ages, this gentle, timeless story will delight anyone in need of a sprig of inspiration"


http://www.amazon.com/Seedfolks-Joanna-Colter-Books-Fleischman/dp/0064472078/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288563575&sr=1-1


In the classroom:
Throughout this entire book, it describes a sense of community between complete strangers.  This is something that is very important for kids who are transitioning between middle school and high school or maybe moving to a completely new city.  Community is something that will help them adjust to the people that they are around during these difficult times and needs to be emphasized within schools.