Historical Fiction That Takes Children To War Zones and Internment Camps

HISTORICAL FICTION THAT TAKES CHILDREN TO WAR ZONES AND INTERNMENT CAMPS

The United States government created Indian boarding schools in the late 19th century to control Native Americans and eradicate their culture. Run on military lines with draconian rules and brutal punishments, they’re a stain on our national history — yet some Native American parents, given the complexity of their circumstances, willingly and with full understanding chose to place their own children there. That situation is sensitively dramatized in TWO ROADS, by the celebrated Abenaki author Joseph Bruchac.

FINDING LANGSTON, the first middle-grade novel by the picture book writer Lesa Cline-Ransome (“Before She Was Harriet”), takes us into the years just after World War II.

DELVING INTO THE WORLD OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

Mitali Perkins

As a child, a young Mitali had found her safe place in the fire escape, where she would often crawl out on to read and write. The adventurous, colourful and insightful prose of Mitali Perkins combines issues of diaspora, body image, identity and self-worth among young adults of varied roots.

“Rickshaw Girl” deserves a special mention because in it Perkins has taken on the challenging task of portraying the changing face of a Bangladeshi village—its people’s struggle for gender equality and social justice and also, how they cope with the growth of microfinance.

‘RICKSHAW GIRL’ IN BANGLA

Rickshaw Girl, a children’s book by Mitali Perkins, was earlier among the 100 best publications for children in the last 100 years by the New York Public Library.

MITALI PERKINS ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND ‘RICKSHAW GIRL’

Her book, Rickshaw Girl, has been translated to Bangla by Mehedi Hasan and published by Myurpankhi. “This is the first time I am seeing my name written in my mother tongue!” exclaimed Perkins.

FIRST BLACK PUPIL DRAWN UP IN DESEGREGATION LOOKS BACK

“An Evening With Ruby Bridges” was part of “Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms,” the exhibit that opened at the museum last month and runs through January.

Throughout her talk, the mother of four, who founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation, urged the audience, which included many youths and families, to fight back against discrimination.

2018 NJEA CONVENTION IN ATLANTIC CITY TACKLES SOCIAL JUSTICE

Social justice — measured by the distribution of wealth, opportunities and privileges within a society — played a big role again in this year’s convention, from professional development workshops to its keynote speaker, Jacqueline Woodson, an award-winning author who has written many books related to the topic.

AN ACT THAT ENERGIZES YOU

Nye believes that writing things down,“…whatever you’re writing down, even if you’re writing something sad or hard – usually, you feel better after you do it….It’s an act that helps you, preserves you, energizes you in the very doing of it.”

Jane Addams Peace Association

Jane Addams Peace Association