Top Ten Books in Boarding Schools

The Broke and the Bookish have a weekly feature called Top Ten Tuesday and they invite anyone to participate. This week we are posting ten titles that take place in a specific setting. I chose boarding schools at the prompting of our exchange student.

Residential Schools - Our History

I start off with a specific kind of boarding school. Indian boarding schools were in place to assimilate Indians to white culture. They are often called residential schools by Native people to distinguish them from a posh prep school type of place as that was far from the reality.

Shin-chi's Canoe is a sequel to an equally wonderful book called Shi-shi-etko. Shin-chi's Canoe tells of a sister and brother who have been sent to an Indian boarding school. This is a piece of fiction, but is a moving story because it is based on the very real history of Canada and the U.S. Families were broken apart and students were not allowed to use their language. Many lost vital parts of their culture during that time. 

When I Was Eight is slightly different in that it is a memoir and also the young Inuit girl, Olemaun, is looking forward to going to the Indian boarding school. She is so eager to read that she begs her parents to allow her to go even though she has heard how difficult it will be. Olemaun faces many challenges, but she is resilient and passionate about learning.

Finally, My Name is Not Easy, presents Luke as he navigates Sacred Heart School - a place where they can't pronounce his name, but also where he is not supposed to speak it either. His language is forbidden. There are students from several ethnic backgrounds at the school and they don't always interact in positive ways. There isn't a lot about this experience that is easy. This is about survival.

Boarding Schools in Fantasy

No boarding school list would be complete without the Harry Potter books. I don't even think I need explain.

Fortunately, Princess Academy is the best kind of princess book. Not a ton of pink and lace, but a lot of  strength and a girl who doesn't wait around to be saved.

Realistic or Somewhat Realistic Boarding Schools

Jellicoe Road is completely confusing for about 100 pages, but if you can get past that, you are in for a treat. Taylor had my heart. She has lived through tragedy and the story goes back and forth between her present struggles and events from the past. This a beautiful book.

In The Tequila Worm, Sofia gets a scholarship to attend an elite boarding school. There she has to learn a whole new culture and interact with people who have no understanding of her barrio. This leads to a better appreciation of her family and community. I loved the stories Sofia told.

I laughed so hard reading Openly Straight. I also cried a little. I loved Rafe. He figures that since nobody knows him at this new school, he can be Rafe not "the gay guy." He wants to be rid of the label for just a bit. Obviously that leads to difficulties, but it is so fun to watch him work through it all. He was making dubious choices all over the place, but he was learning along the way.

Though Anna's complaining annoyed me for quite awhile, she did improve over time. I ended up liking this cute and often funny story of love in France.

I'd Tell You I'd Love You is another very funny and rather lighthearted read. I love that she knows fourteen languages and seven ways to kill a man. 

Have a great week of reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

The Past Week: 

Professional

If you are curious about how to use comics and graphic novels in your classroom or library, Adventures in Graphica is the perfect book to get you started.

Young Adult

I really enjoyed The Raven Boys, but I think I may have liked Dream Thieves even better. I will do a full review later this week. I am not sure what it is about The Raven Cycle that keeps me entranced, so hopefully I will figure that out before I write the review. I do know that I am eagerly waiting for the next one.

Picture Book

I would probably have loved this more if I didn't already adore Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. It has the same type of plot line. Monstergarten was just okay for me. It might be interesting to read both and compare them with students.

Non-fiction

This or That is fun and could be used for debate. Where on Earth? is a great book to dip into once in awhile. I loved the fantastic infographics that they provide. People who like geography will love this one.

The Coming Week:

I am still listening to Looking for Alaska in the car, but lately people have been in the car with me so it is slow going. I just started To Be Free: Understanding and Eliminating Racism by Thomas Peacock. He came to town in the spring and spoke at a local elementary school. I finally got the book during my American Indian Studies class. I am also going to be reading If You Could Be Mine for a review on Rich in Color. I may get to The Boy on the Porch and/or If I Ever Get Out of Here. What will you be reading this week?

Cover images from Goodreads.

Picture Book 10 for 10 is Here Again

Picture Book 10 for 10 is a picture book event hosted by Cathy Mere at Reflect and Refine and Mandy Robeck at Enjoy and Embrace Learning. They encourage everyone to share 10 picture books that are special to them. They may be from a certain theme or just favorites. I have participated in the past with their events and it is a ton of fun to see all of the books people highlight. 

My previous lists are here:

Picture Book 10 for 10 from 2011

Non-fiction 10 for 10 from Feb. 2013

Here are some of the picture books that touch my heart and/or make me think. They are in no particular order.

When I was in school, I never knew about the Indian boarding schools or that children were taken from their families sometimes forcibly. I was not taught about that time in our history. I believe that if we hide or ignore the negative times in our past though, we are likely to repeat them so I appreciate the books that help open discussion with students about it. Shin-chi's Canoe is a beautifully written book that shares about the boarding school experience through a young child's eyes.

This memoir shows a modern Choctaw family and tells stories of difficulties that the family faced over a span of 50 years. The story includes the grandmother's experience at an Indian boarding school and other hardships. Tingle presents the family as survivors rather than victims - he shows their resilience and the love they share for each other. 

Each Kindness shows how we have opportunities to be kind. Every time I read it, I realize that sometimes I let those opportunities slip by. There is a lot in this book that leads to reflection and possibly tears, but mostly a desire to be kind.

In Boy + Bot, friendship is the focus. Friendship and laughter. It makes me smile as does Ame Dyckman the fabulous author.

The Snowy Day is a book from my childhood. We moved from rural Ohio to Dallas, TX in the 70s when I was five. We thought we wouldn't see snow again for a long time, but one morning my father woke me up and told me to go to the window. It was a winter wonderland. This book was one that always reminded me of that fantastic morning. Also, before moving to Dallas, I had never met a black person and a majority of my kindergarten and first grade classmates were black. I thought it was cool to have a book that in some way reflected my new world.

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match is a fun story that explores what it is like to be bi-racial. Marisol is a Peruvian-Scottish American and she revels in putting things together that other people may not expect or applaud. The illustrations are bright and full of movement matching Marisol's enthusiasm for life.  

I am partial to poetry and this story-in-verse really grabbed my heart. Never Forgotten is the story of a boy and his father in West Africa who are separated when the son is kidnapped, sold as a slave, and taken to America. This is a powerful book and one that may also require tissues.

When I first read I'm Here, I could not help but picture several students I have taught over the years. This is another wonderful story of friendship. It shows readers that there are different ways of interacting with each other and of experiencing the world.

Lane Smith is one of my favorite picture book authors. He usually makes me belly laugh, but this time he makes me think and remember. Grandpa Green is a book about aging, family history, and love. This one also got some tears out of me.

I am not sure how to create a picture book list without including Mo Willems.  We are in a Book is one of my all time favorites because it celebrates books. Elephant and Piggie make my heart smile and I want to share the joy. 

Keeping a list at 10 is almost impossible. There are so many picture books that speak to me and ask me to share them with others. I have to cheat and add a bonus book:

I love One World, One Day. The photos are beautiful and it is cool to see how children live all around the world and see that there are differences, but there are also many more similarities.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you check out some of these fantastic picture books!

*Cover images via Goodreads

I Want a Sequel: Top Ten Tuesday

The Broke and the Bookish have a weekly feature called Top Ten Tuesday and they invite anyone to participate. This week we are posting ten titles that we wish could have had sequels because we wanted to spend more time with the characters or the books were just that good.

What I did notice while grabbing covers is that Raina Telgemeier IS writing a sequel to Smile! Wahoo!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

The Past Week: 

Young Adult

Hattie Ever After reminded me of Anne of Green Gables somehow and I loved it. Shadows is a Robin McKinley book and I always love her books, but this time, it was just okay. I liked it, but wished I liked it more. I will review it later this week. Unravel Me was a great addition to Shatter Me. I am eager for the third book. Days of Blood and Starlight is another that left me wanting the next. They both played with my emotions.

Graphic Novel

Not a big fan of this one, but that may just be my weariness of the Lewis & Clark story always told without a lot of regard for the Native perspective.

Picture Books

The Longest Night is a beautiful telling of the Passover story. I also enjoyed reading Sand Island. We found it in an independent book store in Bayfield in sight of Madeline Island, one of the other Apostle Islands. I have not been to Sand Island, but have seen it from shore and am happy to find a book linked to Wisconsin history.

Surprise Find

I am not really a big football fan, though I watch a few games here and there and attend the local high school games, so I wasn't expecting much from this one. I found Tim's life pretty fascinating though and thought that the book was highly engaging with many pictures and vivid descriptions. Excellent for reluctant readers - especially fans.

The Coming Week: 

I am listening to Looking for Alaska, a book I have read in the past, but didn't love. I'm giving it another chance. I am also reading Adventures in Graphica, a professional book I have been working on for a few weeks. I have starting Dream Thieves and will also be cracking open If You Could Be Mine, Peace Warriors and If I Ever Get Out of Here. Have a great week full of reading!

My Summer Learning Continues

Menominee Forest

Menominee Tribal Enterprises

Replica at Mohican Library/Museum

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in the American Indian Studies Summer Institute through DPI and UW-Green Bay. It was a week filled with learning. The best part was interacting with people from all around Wisconsin with a common focus. We had amazing participants and the facilitators brought much knowledge and experience to the table. Field trips were available to both the Menominee and Mohican reservations. As a side note, did you know that The Last of the Mohicans was not quite as true as it could have been? The forests of both tribes were amazing. The Menominee are known throughout the world for their sustainable forestry. There are some beautiful spots on both reservations. One of my favorite afternoons was spent on the Pow-wow grounds of the Mohican reservation. A few participants sat on rocks out in a river and spoke with several tribal members. Making such connections was very meaningful. It will be an afternoon that I will remember for a long time to come.

Church and Mission School

Mission School

As part of our first visit to the Mohican reservation, we stopped to see the Red Springs Indian Mission School - part of the residential school era. It's part of a complicated bit of history. Children were taught to abandon their culture (often as a result of punishments) and assimilate to white society. They learned how to read and write, but were prepared for menial jobs as a general rule. There are Natives that speak of their time or their parent's/grandparent's time in the residential schools as very harmful to their family and culture while a few look back on it as a positive thing. Still others find it a mix of both positive and negative. If you are interested in learning more about the residential school experiences, here are some books that you may want to read:

Some of these titles are fiction such as Sweetgrass Basket and My Name is Not Easy, others are memoirs like Pipestone (reviewed here) and Fatty Legs, and still others are informational texts like Boarding School Blues and Boarding School Seasons. Whether fiction or non-fiction, all delve into the complexity of the issues surrounding the residential schools.

Our time was not all spent on residential schools though. Through the week, we looked at the history of the tribes in Wisconsin and explored Act 31. This is the educational act which requires schools to teach the history and culture of the federally recognized tribes in WI in addition to tribal sovereignty. We were given tools to help us do that in our home schools. We all created a plan for the coming school year and I am eager to begin. As a start, I wrote a blogpost over at Rich in Color about why we need diverse literature, how to find it, and how to evaluate what we do find.

If you are in the state of Wisconsin and are a teacher, I highly recommend that you take the opportunity to attend the summer institute. Another similar learning event is the annual Widening the Circle event in La Crosse, WI. This year it will be held November 7-10. It is not as in depth as the institute, but many similar topics are explored. I have enjoyed learning there every time I have gotten to attend. The community meals are fantastic too.