Tirah Maryott 09 May 2007 ENG 112B Dr. Warner
Learning
About War From a Youth's Perspective With Use of The Biography
Nonfiction narrative in the form of a biography is a way of descriptively telling a true story from the point of view of the story's protagonist. The biography is not only a tool that can teach students to critically think and understand cause and effect, but it can also teach students about history and current events. The biography can also be used as a tool for personal expression and communication in difficult times. A biography can create a bridge from the reader's mind to the events in the biography, allowing them to not only read about true events but to also experience the emotional ups and downs along with the protagonist. The emotional connection makes the content of the story much more real to the reader and makes the events in the historical events in the story more memorable and applicable to the reader's own life. According to Literature for Today's Young Adults,
Today's
biographies for young adults are likely to provide a balance of both
strengths and weaknesses. They
demonstrate how the subject and the reader
share similar emotions. Both have
fears and insecurities, and both succumb
to temptations and vanities. After
reading a good biography, the reader
feels a kinship with the subject, no so much in spite of as because of
the character's human frailties (117).
With the use of both visual and written narratives that represent youth perspectives and points of view about wartime events, this unit will address the ways in which young adults are impacted by, take part in, and remember war. Using personal memoir, letters, songs, poems, and art, students will explore these diverse voices, discover their own voice, and be given the opportunity to express their voice.
Launching The Unit
Before reading and discussing "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank, with your students, consider using the following as a pre-reading and anticipatory set.
1. Play the song, "Born Here," by the Palestinian rap group, "DAM," (lyrics translated into English, projected on transparency or provided on paper handout)
This
is a hunting season the prey is one more home
Of
a dove trying to survive under the hawk�s regime
lets
try something more optimistic:
each
day I wake up and see like a 1000 cops
maybe
they came to arrest a dealer�(he�s ever here, over here, oh no
they
came to destroy his neighbor�s home)
what
is happening here? A hate bubble surrounding the ghetto
why
is it hard for him? And who�s going to answer him? Anywhere
I
go, excuses are there to greet me
I
broke the law? No no the law broke me
enough,
enough (enough, enough) gentlemen (gentlemen)
I
was born here, my grandparents were also born here, you will not sever me
From
my roots (you will not sever me from my roots) understand, even if
I
have faith in this �if you wish it is not a legend� regime
You
still haven�t allowed me to build a porch to stand on and express it
Our
neighborhood is embarrassed
Not
dressed in a silk dress
if
the fear will continue to live in our hearts
a
bride without a veil
standing,
waiting, longing for her beauty
the
expulsion is knocking on our doors
the
time has passed over her, forgotten her
that
is why
the
separation wall has muted her hope
like
a bird that will break out of the cage
she
will spread out her wings and fly
we
will shout without fear
Here
I build my home and here you have destroyed my home
And
if this is not legal what about yours, my cousin?!.
I�m
trying to build a home and what is build for me is found
In
� do re mi or will be found in a place with lots
Of
people with promises that will be the light at the end of the tunnel
but
that is just a bulldozer or another train running over
(*
a train siren*) no no in this song there is no censorship
there
is a sewerage, railway track, call it architecture
and
add to it white pepper
and
what will be sneezed from it is a loaded gun
and
� all the things I�ve said have been given a voice and �
there
are the people who stand in line that �
they
have difficulty in their smile and a smile in the difficulty
and
as long as this difficulty is within us know that this is a rope too
tangled,
�this is not racism, this is Zionism�
enough
this is not ignorance this is fortification in ignorance
our
neighborhood is embarrassed�
our
eyes watch as our children seeking
a
future that in it �the sky are the limit�
a
slogan that has been covered with the ruins dust
but�
the light hasn�t been turned off yet
a
destroyed house and in the garden 8 railway tracks
and
in the day at least 200 trains pass
and
behind the ruins, a separation wall
that
should be between the house and the railroad tracks
but
it is built between Snir and Nir Tzvi
and
the municipality says that everything there is illegal
so,
just one second, one second
what
with all the legal neighborhoods that has
health
care centers � surrounded with sewerage
kindergarten
� surrounded with sewerage
for
that there is no excuse it�s just that the city didn�t care for the Arabs
because
the government has a wish:
maximum
Jews � on maximum land
minimum
Arabs � on minimum land
this
house didn�t get approved by the law
and
you will not erase! (www.shatil.org, 2007)
Then explain that the song is very popular with Palestinian youth who feel that many of DAM's lyrics express their point of view regarding the Israeli/Palestinian point of view- the view of a Palestinian youth.
2. Then, read the letter from Tova Berkley. After the reading, explain that Tova Berkley is a 17 year old Israeli who is expressing her feelings about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from the point of view of an Israeli teen.
Hi!
Tova Berkley here. Since I last wrote, the fighting in my Israel has worsened.
On Friday, June 1 2001, there was an anti-Israeli attack in a disco
in Tel Aviv. It was the beginning of the weekend and there were many
teens at the disco just hoping to unwind, and for a few hours, get away
from the stress of school finals and the political situation in Israel. But
their efforts were in vein -- a terrible tragedy occurred. A Palestinian extremist
on a suicide mission brought a bomb into the disco. He detonated
the bomb, killing him and 18 Israeli teens. This is what the war here
has come to - the slaughter of innocents! Teens just looking to enjoy their
lives end up dead and martyred, victims of a shocking terrorist attack.
How does the murder of 18 innocent teenagers in a disco change anything?
But
the horrific violence doesn't stop there. Last week 4 people were murdered
on the roads. Gila'ad Zar, who was the head of security in my area,
was assassinated in his car while driving on patrol. Three months ago
he was shot at and injured. He had just returned to work when he was murdered.
Then, en route to his funeral, another car was shot at and two women
were killed. If we can't respect one another in life, can't we at least allow
our dead to be buried in peace?
Last
Friday morning another Jewish man was killed in his car, the victim of
a sniper. A few weeks ago, on Jerusalem's Independence Day, the school
bus that some of my friends were riding was almost hit by a road bomb.
It was a miracle that nobody was killed. If the bomb had gone off just
a second earlier there could have been even more dead teens in Israel.
This
is our daily struggle. We are all normal teens, children and adults just
wanting to live a happy and safe life. But this civil war makes that impossible.
My peers and I wonder everyday if we will live to graduate from
school. We never know whether we will make it to school alive, or if we
will make it safely home. We may be killed on a trip to the mall, or at a park,
or on the street, or on a bus, or at a disco... We try to live like normal
teens but living in a war zone is anything but normal. All we want is
peace. All we want is a future. Please don't forget us, your peers living in
a war zone. Please keep us in your thoughts and continue to pray for peace.
(Tova Berkeley 2007)
3. Draw the two audio clips together by pointing out that they represent the experiences of both Israeli and Palestinian teens living through the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, which is a major war that has been going on for years in the Middle East. Point out that though they are from opposing views regarding the war, they share the same feelings and experiences with regards to war. These feelings and experiences are common between youth living through war. Introduce the text the class will be reading, Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, and assign the first reading selection for homework. Reading of the text could occur outside of class time, but chapter-by-chapter activities will reinforce what students have read. The following activities can supplement the standard lesson plan for Diary of a Young Girl and can help to create a connection between Anne Frank's experiences and the experiences of other youth in war-crisis.
(The following six activities from: http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=376)
- Lead students to think in depth about how war can impact the life of a teen: Divide the class into groups of three to five students. Ask each group to imagine they are living under the circumstances they will shortly read about -- hiding for several years with people who are basically strangers and with very little space, major restrictions on noise, and no opportunity to go outside. Each group should report back with two or three conflicts that they envision as inevitable. The class can then discuss the similarities and differences in group responses.
- Have students think of other wars that are currently happening and those that have happened in the past by doing the following activity: Ask them create two columns on their paper and to label one column "Part of World" and one column "Description of Conflict." What conflicts are they aware of today or in recent years that have pitted one group of people against another? Students' answers may include Afhanistan, Ireland, Rwanda, the Middle East, and Bosnia - to mention just a few trouble spots. What, if anything, do these conflicts have in common and how do they relate to the Nazis' "war" against the Jews?
-Pass around the book, Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust, by Susan D. Bachrach, and ask students to write a journal entry about the images.
-After reading aloud some of the poetry from Holocaust Poetry, by Hilda Schiff, and, I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children's Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp 1942-1944, by Hana Volavkova. Have students create their own war poetry.
- Many students think that the hatred and prejudice that created the Holocaust is obsolete. To raise awareness, ask the students to bring in newspaper articles or other evidence of existing prejudice or racism. Open a class discussion where the students share their thoughts and experiences. Brainstorm ways in which these prejudices can be stopped.
- Have each student draw the name of a character from Diary of a Young Girl from a bag two or three days before the actual activity. Ask the students to become familiar with their characters by skimming the novel and talking about them with other students. On the day of the activity, the students will wear large tags with their characters' names on them. The students form a circle and the protagonist will be given a ball of twine. Holding one end, he or she chooses a character, explains his or her relationship to that character, and then throws the ball to that character. The student who catches the protagonist's ball of twine holds onto the string and tosses the ball to a third student, again explaining the relationship between their characters. This pattern continues and, gradually, a web of relationships is formed. Later, towards the end of class, ask various characters to pull their strings (students will feel great tension if a primary character is asked to pull the string and little tension if the character is only a minor one). However, it is important that students do not immediately throw the ball of twine back to the person who throws it to them; the twine should first connect another character to the web.
Extending The Unit
(The following two extension activities from http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20040116friday.html)
- Have students respond to the following journal prompt, written on the board prior to class: "What is genocide? Why do you think genocide occurs? What are some examples of genocide in the past two centuries?" After giving students a few minutes to write, have some students share their answers with the class.
- As a class, read and discuss the article "Fighting Hate, Across
Cultures and Generations," from http://www.globalaging.org, focusing on
the following questions:
a.
how did David Gewirtzman survive the Holocaust?
b.
When did Jacqueline Murekatete meet Mr. Gewirtzman?
c.
What did Murekatete and Gewirtzman decide to do together, and why?
d.
According to Elaine Weiss, what is the benefit of having Murekatete and
Gewirtzman speak together?
e.
How did Ms. Murekatete survive the genocide in Rwanda?
f.
Who is helping Ms. Murekatete publish her book?
g.
According to Ms. Murekatete, how can students help her?
(Below extension activity questions from: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20040116friday.html)
a.
Do you think you would be more impacted by hearing Gewirtzman and Murekatete
speak together than you would by hearing either of them alone?
Why or why not?
b.
Stalin once said "the death of one person is a tragedy; the death of a million
is a statistic." How does this help explain how genocide is allowed to
occur?
c.
The term "genocide" was coined in 1944. Do you think that it should
be used
retroactively, to describe historical mass killings that fall into this category?
If not, what should such events be called?
d.
Have you ever met the survivor of genocide? How did this meeting impact
you?
e.
Do you think that a person who has been through the type of trauma that
Murekatete has should seek counseling? Are there other ways of learning
to cope with the pain of such traumas?
f.
How do you think people could suggest (as some do) that the Holocaust never
happened? What danger does this sort of belief pose?
- Divide students into groups of three or four; assigning each group a different historical genocide to research (These might include the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, and the Native American genocide). Groups research the genocide, focusing on first-hand accounts of the events, from the perspectives of both victims and aggressors. Groups should determine the answers to the following questions, focusing on the differences in points-of-view between various accounts, both primary and secondary:
a.
What was the impetus for the genocide (e.g., desire for political power, religious
persecution, etc)? What groups were involved, both as victim and aggressor?
b.
What was the duration of the genocide?
c.
What was the death toll of the genocide?
d.
Were there particular events during the genocide in which a greater number
of people died?
e.
Were people simply killed, or were they tortured as well?
f.
How did the aggressors feel about their role (e.g., did they see themselves
as "just following orders", as
morally justified)?
g.
How were the lives of the survivors affected?
h.
How did the international community respond to the genocide?
(Below four extension activities from: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20040116friday.html)
- Read one of Elie Weisel's books about his experience in the Holocaust, such as "Night" or "Dawn." Write a journal as you read, noting passages that you find particularly moving or relevant.
- Read the comic series, "Maus: A Survivor's Tale," by Art Spiegeman, which is described as, "...an allegory in which Jews are mice; the Germans are cats. These and other animals tell the story of Spiegelman's father, a concentration camp survivor." (Hurst, Carol 2007) Then choose another tragic event in world history and create a comic book to teach children about it. Remember that the book should impart the seriousness of the event.
- Write a script for a play or film based on a personal account of genocide, such as that of Gewirtzman and Murekatete.
(All nine ideas, below, from: edsitement.neh.gov)
- Students interested in learning more about The Holocaust can explore The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students: "Organized by theme, this site uses text, historical photographs, maps, images of artifacts, and audio clips to provide an overview of the Holocaust.
- Students can read authentic stories of some Dutch citizens in Netherlands Stories, from U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Included are four brief videotaped accounts of eyewitnesses.
- Students can read and react to a contemporary diary written by a young woman in a war torn part of the world through Zlata's Diary, by Zlata Filipovic. (Viking Press, 1997. Grade levels: 6-12.)
- Students can use the resources of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to research "Blacks During the Holocaust," including learning about Joseph Nassy: ". . . a black expatriate artist of Jewish descent. Nassy was living in Belgium when World War II began, and was one of about 2,000 civilians holding American passports who were confined in German internment camps during the war." The site also includes examples of works by Nassy.
-
Students can use the resources of the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum to research the 1936
Olympics and read Witness
to History: John Woodruff, African-American Gold Medal Winner, 1936.
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum also provides information about contemporary incidents of potential genocide through Alerting the National Conscience to Threats of Genocide Today.
- Have students read (or read to them from) Tales from the Secret Annex, by Anne Frank
- Students who want to learn more about Anne Frank can view some photos of the rowhouse and the attic in which Anne spent two years confined with her family and four other people , available from the website Anne Frank House, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. As one recent visitor to the house described it: "Amsterdam rowhouses are very tall, very narrow, with incredibly steep staircases. You walk up the steep narrow stairs, go through the secret doorway behind the bookcase, then all of a sudden there's this surprisingly large space.� From the windows of the Anne Frank House� you can look out and see the windows of other houses and of the street and canal below; for us this was a picaresque detail, but for Anne and her family it presented an incredible danger, as their eventual betrayal by a Dutch neighbor attests." Some editions of the diary include a sketch that Anne herself made of the rooms in the house.
- Teaching
about the Holocaust: A Resource Book for Educators (available for free
download at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Outreach Page for
Teachers) contains an extensive, annotated bibliography of readings for middle
school students wanting to know more about World War II in Europe and/or the
Holocaust.
Concluding Activities
(Below activities are modifications of the original activities from: www.pbs.org)
-Show the class images and read excerpts from the book, Children and War: A Historical Anthology. Pass out a handout that features photographs of youth in times of war (obtained from books and internet), and ask students to select one of the images and try to describe what the person was feeling at the time the photo was taken.
-Have students write a
journal entry from the point-of-view of the person in the image they chose to
describe. Create a �Day in the Life� based on the photograph that describes the
events that happened before, during, and after the photograph was taken. Ask
students to keep the picture of that individual in their journal. The journal entry could incorporate
poetry, song, or images to express the sentiments and events of the day. For
each day of the week or week of the month, have students create a new entry in
their journal incorporating additional events that have taken place either
before or after the image they have. Ask student to develop a particular voice
for the person they are representing and to have that voice reflect the
emotional and physical state of their person.
-Have students begin
exchanging letters with another student in the class using the voice of their
person. Create a book of letters from all of the correspondence generated by
the class. Organize the letters into chapters using thematic or logistical
categories such as Everyday Life, Emotions, Geographic Areas of the World, Time
Periods, Specific Wars, etc.
-Students can create their own short-story
autobiographies about their character in the first two concluding activities
and share them with the class.
By the end of the unit, students should be able to identify a biography, understand the use of voice in a biography, and will have produced their own autobiography. Furthermore, they should also be aware of how powerful biographies can be in communicating a message and in educating people.
Young Adult Literature Selections
(Below five books and book information obtained and quoted from: fcit.coedu.usf.edu, full citation under, "Works Cited")
Hannah Senesh: Her Life and Diary by Hannah Senesh: This eleven-year journal (1933-44) of a young Jewish woman from Hungary contains sophisticated and moving commentary on the Holocaust, its causes and its lessons. Hannah Senesh was an ardent Zionist who emigrated to Palestine from Hungary. When her homeland was invaded by the Nazis, she showed amazing bravery by first joining the Resistance and then returning to Hungary to help save Jews. She became a legend after she was executed by firing squad in 1944 and is still honored for her courage and convictions.
Young Moshe's Diary by Moshe Flinker: This young Polish teenager and his family lived in Holland until they were forced to flee to Belgium in 1942 to escape the Nazis. The Gestapo discovered the Flinkers and the entire family was arrested and sent to Auschwitz where Moshe and his parents perished. This diary, a living remembrance, records young Moshe's views on faith and suffering. The book's final impression is not one of despair, however, but of the transcendence of the human spirit. Young Moshe's Diary is recommended for junior high school and high school students.
Ghetto Diary by Janusz Korczak: The pediatrician and children's advocate Janusz Korczak, a Jew, began his diary in 1942 recording his thoughts and impressions of life in the Warsaw ghetto. In August, the same year, he turned down possible freedom and accompanied 190 orphaned children to the gas chambers at Treblinka. This emotional and very personal journal describes the brutal conditions of the ghetto and the cruelty of the Nazis. It is recommended for high school students.
Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto by Emmanuel Ringelblum: In this detailed journal, social historian Emmanuel Ringelblum tries objectively to capture everyday life in the Warsaw ghetto (1940-43). While Ringelblum wrote the Notes himself, it is neither a diary nor a typical journal because he omits his personal opinions. He relied heavily upon sources from both within and outside the ghetto. He interviewed refugees, smugglers, friends, and even the Jewish police. The result is a systematic, thorough and detached view of ghetto life: the rising costs of living, the various techniques of beggars, and the attitudes of German soldiers recuperating in local military hospitals. The book is recommended for junior high school and high school students.
The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis by Ina Friedman: Most students are unaware of the millions who suffered at the hands of the Nazis who weren't Jewish. Ina Friedman's book is an extensive collection of the personal stories of Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, blacks, mentally and physically handicapped people, and others who were persecuted and targeted for extermination by the Nazis. This book is recommended for junior high school and high school students.
(Below eight sources and book information obtained and quoted from http://utopia.utexas.edu, full citation in "Works Cited" section)
Gideon: a Novel by Aaron Chester: Gideon is a teenage boy living in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.
The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal: While imprisoned in a concentration camp, Wiesenthal is asked to forgive a dying Nazi soldier on behalf of all Jewish people.
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen: Jewish girl is transported back in time to a concentration camp.
Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust by Susan D. Bachrach: Pictorial exploration of various aspects of the Holocaust. Contains pictures of many artifacts from the United States National Holocaust Museum.
The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss: True story of a survivor, who, like Anne Frank, had to hide during World War II.
Holocaust Poetry by Hilda Schiff: Collection of poetry about the Holocaust.
I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children's Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp 1942-1944 by Hana Volavkova: A collection of poems and pictures created by the young inmates in the Terezin Concentration Camp.
Last Witnesses: Reflections on the Wartime Internment of Japanese Americans by Erica Harth: In this book, novelists, memoirists, poets, activists, scholars, students, and professionals retell the story of Japanese internment during World War II in an effort to encourage the awareness of their readers.
(The following website links and information obtained and quoted from www.edsitement.neh.gov, full citation under "Works Cited"):
The Anne Frank Center, USA Website <http://www.annefrank.com> This site is a tribute to Anne Frank. It discusses the life and times of Anne Frank, recent media connections and the Anne Frank Awards. It contains curriculum guides for teachers who are interested in teaching Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl and/or the story of the Holocaust.
The United States Holocaust Museum <http://www.ushmm.org/> This is a fascinating web-site that contains information about the museum, recent research and tools for educators and students. A specific link for educators, allows you to download a manual on teaching the Holocaust --http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center <http://www.wiesenthal.org> This site contains factual information about the Holocaust, updated and on-going efforts to retrieve lost possessions and money of Holocaust victims, and a specific link to their multimedia learning center http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/.
Holocaust Teacher Resource Center <http://www.Holocaust-trc.org/>This site provides lesson ideas and movie clips about the Holocaust for teachers of all grade levels. Furthermore, there is a compilation of essays written about the Holocaust, as well as information on conference seminars and short training courses for those who are interested in teaching the subject.
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust <http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/>This site provides resources for teachers as well as various student activities. Also, it presents an overview of the people and events of the Holocaust along with pictures, documents, film clips, and literature.
The Voice of the Martyrs <http://www.persecution.net/index.html> This site explores religious persecution all over the world, as well as listing information about events and different resources dealing with religious persecution.
Teacher Talk <http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/ttarticles.html> This site, published for pre-service and secondary school teachers, explores a variety of topics associated with educating adolescent students.
National Geographic Online presents The Underground Railroad <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/> The Underground Railroad is an interactive site where one can learn about slavery and the Underground Railroad by experiencing it with Harriet Tubman and other famous faces from this era. The contents of this site parallel with the plot of Number The Stars in that the slaves fled to Canada from the United States in search of freedom as the Rosens fled from Denmark to Sweden to be free from religious persecution.
Timeline of America's Reaction to the Holocaust <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/holocaust/timeline/> This site offers a timeline which maps the history of the Holocaust from 1933-1945.
Remembering Manzanar: Life in a Japanese Relocation Camp (annotated bibiographical information from Amazon.com, full citation under "Works Cited" section): In this incisive companion to Fighting for Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II, Cooper examines life in the Manzanar relocation camp in eastern California, where more than 10,000 Japanese Americans were exiled between March 1942 and November 1945. Framing his account with chapters describing his 2001 visit to the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, which attracts former residents and their descendants to the site, the author conveys the lasting effects of and strong sentiments still associated with the government's WWII confinement of American citizens, an act he deems "one of the most serious mistakes in our nation's history." Cooper draws from primary sources, including the records of the War Relocation Authority and microfilm copies of the Manzanar Free Press, a biweekly newspaper published in the camp, to compose a clear portrait of residents' living conditions and daily routines. The inclusion of quotes from those who lived at Manzanar gives the book a sense of immediacy as well as a sharp emotional edge. Reinforcing the bitter irony of this experience are such pointed comments as that of a then 12-year-old boy, who asks, "What's the use of studying American history when we're behind barbed wire?" Carefully selected photos (including some by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams) balance government-sanctioned and unofficial pictures of life in the camp. Visuals and text resolutely portray a painful chapter in America's past.
Summer's End
(annotated bibliographical information from Amazon.com, full
citation under "Works Cited" section): This novel poignantly captures the tensions, uncertainties,
and rifts caused by the Vietnam War. When 13-year-old Grace's brother, Collin,
burns his draft card, his stepfather throws him out of the house and the teen
heads to Canada. Grace's mother, whose first husband died in the Korean War,
supports her son's decisions. Grace is confused about who is right and where
her allegiance lies. When the arguing gets to be too much for her, she retreats
to her grandmother's farm, where she encounters her large extended family,
among them her teenage cousins, who have older brothers whose lives have also
been impacted by the war. When Uncle Milford dies in an accident, his relatives
recognize the fragility of life and the importance of family. In its touching
examination of loss, grief, and the power of families to heal, this novel is
reminiscent of Getting Near to Baby
(Putnam, 1999). The first-person, present-tense narrative conveys powerful
emotions with the simplest of words. Grace's jealousy of her brother, her
confusion, and her simultaneously missing and being mad at him all ring true.
She comes to realize that all choices are hard, and that while people you care
about don't always do what you think is right, it is important that families
stay together. Couloumbis's spare, strong writing aptly conveys a difficult
time in America (Movie) The
Diary of Anne Frank (1959) Film adaptation of Anne Frank's
diary while she, her family, and their friends hid in a secret room during part
of World War II.
Children and War: A Historical Anthology (annotated bibliographical information from Amazon.com, full citation under "Works Cited" section): The American media has recently "discovered" children's experiences in present-day wars. A week-long series on the plight of child soldiers in Africa and Latin America was published in Newsday and newspapers have decried the U.S. government's reluctance to sign a United Nations treaty outlawing the use of under-age soldiers. These and numerous other stories and programs have shown that the number of children impacted by war as victims, casualties, and participants has mounted drastically during the last few decades. Although the scale on which children are affected by war may be greater today than at any time since the world wars of the twentieth century, children have been a part of conflict since the beginning of warfare. Children and War shows that boys and girls have routinely contributed to home front war efforts, armies have accepted under-aged soldiers for centuries and war-time experiences have always affected the ways in which grown-up children of war perceive themselves and their societies. The essays in this collection range from explorations of childhood during the American Revolution and of the writings of free black children during the Civil War to children's home front war efforts during World War II, representations of war and defeat in Japanese children's magazines, and growing up in war-torn Liberia. Children and War provides a historical context for two centuries of children's multi-faceted involvement with war.
Shattered: Stories of Children and War (annotated bibliographical information from Amazon.com, full citation under "Works Cited" section): For children who live in war times, whether they understand the issues or not, the future is precarious. According to the United Nations, armed conflicts now kill and maim more children than soldiers. In Shattered, Editor Jennifer Armstrong gathers 12 stories that explore the ways young people are affected by war. From Afghanistan to Hawaii, Civil War times to the present, Joseph Bruchac, Ibtisam Barakat, Lois Metger, Marilyn Singer, and others describe, in painful, sometimes wry, detail small slices of their war-splintered world. M.E. Kerr depicts the mixed feelings of the family of a conscientious objector. Graham Salisbury writes about a high-school boy woken out of a complacent existence to discover his island is under attack and he must don his wrinkled high-school ROTC shirt to defend his home. A single line of text runs along the bottom of each story, providing cold and dismaying background information about each war portrayed. Authors' notes at the end of the book allow contributors to give a little more of the personal history behind the stories.
Works cited
Armstrong, Jennifer Shattered: Stories of Children and War Laurel Leaf; Reprint edition, 11 Nov 2003 <http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Stories-Children-Jennifer- Armstrong/dp/0440237653/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/102-9524905- 0052143?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178723329&sr=1-2>
Bachrach, Susan D. Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust. Boston: Little, Brown 1994
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Chester, Aaron (1982). Gideon: a Novel. New York: Lipincott
Coles, Robert Children and War: A Historical Anthology New York University Press 24 Aug 2002 <http://www.amazon.com/Children-War-Historical-Robert- Coles/dp/0814756670/rf=sr_1_39/102-9524905- 0052143?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178723701&sr=1-39>
Cooper, Michael L. Remembering Manzanar: Life in a Japanese Relocation Camp Clarion Books, 25 Nov 2002. <http://www.amazon.com/Remembering- Manzanar-Life-Japanese- Relocation/dp/0618067787/ref=cm_lmf_tit_7_rdssss0/102-9524905-0052143>
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