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. 

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.  

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Title: To Kill A Mockingbird 

Author: Harper Lee

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 336

ISBN-13:  978-0061743528

Summary:

Amazon:

"A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice—but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

One of the best-loved classics of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many dis-tinctions since its original publication in 1960. It has won the Pulitzer Prize, been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. It was also named the best novel of the twentieth century by librarians across the country (Library Journal). HarperCollins is proud to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the book's publication with this special hardcover edition."


http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Mockingbird-50th-Anniversary/dp/0061743526/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288560008&sr=8-1

In the classroom:
To Kill A Mockingbird is an American classic.  I chose it for my multiculturalism blog because it depicts the different cultures that impacted the south during the times of slavery in the 1930's.  This book could be used in a history course that correlates their curriculum with the English department because of it's historical content. Through the eyes of a 6 year old girl, we get to see a southern towns beliefs, customs, traditions, and attitudes towrads the different kinds of people around them.  Aside from the history that is involved with this book, it could be used to look at the issue of morality and how that varies from person to person.