Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they've been reading, along with others who post their favorites. You can find my #MustReadin2020 post here!
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a super holiday with family and friends, and have had a great start to 2020!
Here is a story for young readers who may not know what D-Day really meant in all its horror, yet triumph, too. The relationships already there, then made during the battle are not as deeply shown. After all, it is only the description of one day. Yet the gathering together of all the parts, all the people who fought, perhaps fell, perhaps survived, beautifully exemplifies the definition of 'allies', which is "to unite or form a connection or relation between". The code name examples like "Operation Overlord" for the entire operation are used and Gratz further explains the background of some of his own invented names, like "Operation Bathing Suit", based on some truths. He manages to include areas not always included like the prejudicial treatment of black soldiers and the exclusion of women on that day. Many, many parts make the whole and while I'm glad they were included, sometimes I wished for more of the stories. It is a good introduction to that important day in history.
It's number one of my #mustreadin2020 list!
I first learned about Ashley Bryan through his gorgeous picture book Freedom Over me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan. This time he writes about the years of his life spent at war, a time he rarely shared with anyone until now. It is an artist's book, created something like a scrapbook with lots of original material included, but also shown in small paragraphs in case it's hard to read his writing. He was in art school when he was drafted in 1943 during World War II, eventually ending up on Omaha Beach during D-Day. He worked within an all-black battalion, is sharing some of the prejudices and restrictions placed on black soldiers, no matter the good work, no matter that many died for their country just as others did. His thoughts tell the readers that despite the terrible time, his art was at least part of how he survived. He carried paper and pencil, sometimes crayons, everywhere. And when supplies were low, he used toilet paper, one sheet at a time. From war to peace, Bryan drew scenes and people, recording the who and the what of his contacts, from Boston to Scotland to France. Touching on racism and the Nazi beliefs offer a story of interest to us today as well as the yesterdays. The art highlights the words as he tells this story of his life in the army. It's a beautiful book that brings much to ponder as we know those prejudices continue to exist today, nearly seventy-five years later! The following books center on both memories and the importance in one's life about a place, each one special.
