Witness by Karen Hesse

This story proved to me again why Karen Hesse is such a great author. As I've mentioned before, I am a fan of historical fiction, and this particular account stretches the limits of historical fiction. In a small Vermont town in the mid 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan, a group embracing white supremacy, has entered the town's realm of everyday events. Some people join in on the Klans "cause," some remain neutral, and some serve as the opposition. The Ku Klux Klan's impact is felt throughout the community. Leanora, a 12-year-old African American girl, and Esther, a 6-year-old Jewish girl are the main victims of the Ku Klux Klan. The town's different responses to the Ku Klux Klan's presence gives insight into the handling of prejudice and discrimination.

The effectiveness of this story comes from the 11 different narrators. Too often we are blinded by one unfolding of history. However, by Hesse choosing to progress the story through 11 viewpoints, we gain an insight into the motivations, the hesitations, and the thoughts rumbling through the character's mind. Written in free poetic verse, the story switches often between narrators, but there is this linking thread holding all of the stories together. The extremist, clergyman Johnny Reeves, has radical ideas as he embraces his KKK identity. Even within the same family, Harvey and Viola Pettibone disagree about the KKK's tactics and its morality. Harvey represents the man who becomes absorbed by the group mentality of the KKK, which can prove to be dangerous and lead to questionable actions. Others like newspaper editor, Reynard Alexander, and doctor, Fitzgerald Flitt, try to remain neutral amidst the divisiveness caused by the KKK. Since there are 11 narrators, it is a bit tricky to keep all of the narrators straight, but luckily, there is a character page at the front of the novel that I referred to often when I was just getting to know the characters.

One of my favorite people in the story was Merlin Van Tornhout who at first embraces the KKK identity. However, as the story progresses, he internalizes his humanity and questions his loyalty to the KKK. He observes, for example, Leanora Sutter saving Esther Hirsh from an oncoming train. When the Klan asks him to pour poison into the Sutter's well, he realizes the extremity of that action. His depth as a character shows his growing understanding about race, religion, group mentality, and his own humanity.

I feel that Witness is a significant book to bring into the classroom. Many mature themes arise that require open dialogue about prejudice and discrimination. This book does mention lynchings, burning crosses, and other hate and scare tactics the KKK used to show their power and commitment to white supremacy. Therefore, I feel as though 5th or 6th grade would be the earliest I would feel comfortable introducing this book. This book would be a valuable teaching tool in the classroom because often we think of the Ku Klux Klan only residing in the south. Yet, based on Hesse's research, she discovered this was not the case and wanted to reveal a forgotten history. In places like Vermont, the KKK reigned and were present even in the 1920s. This story will make students consider the prejudice that still exists in today's society and examine thmselves. Students will also consider ways to enact change. In any situation, as in this Vermont town, people have different responses to a crisis. Some peopleexhibit previously unknown courage. Still, we are flawed. This story highlights the fact that we're all human. It's up to us to handle adversity and conflicts the best way we know how.

The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse

I give this book a 10/10! I really enjoyed this book because it's 100% original and unique. I have never read anything like it before. The Music of Dolphins is the story of Mila who is rescued off the coast of Florida. Since the age of 4, Mila has been raised among dolphins. Having been found by the Coast Guard, Mila is taken into observation at a local hospital. There Doctor Beck and Sandy attempt to teach Mila about about language and music. As a scientific research subject, Mila makes great strides and progress, but the more and more she learns about human life, the more and more she wants to return to the sea. For Mila, the sea is where she really belongs.

The Music of Dolphins explores what it means to be human. At first, Mila enjoys everything about being human, but soon she learns about captivity and locked doors, rules, and emotions of anger and fear. She misses the freedom of the sea. According to Mila, one difference between dolphins and humans is that "The dolphins, they live for today. To be human is to live for tomorrow. Why does tomorrow matter? What is important is now" (p. 173). Mila's mindset matches that of the dolphins. She fits in with the sea and nature.

What I liked most about this story is the way Karen Hesse relays the story shows Mila's growth as she gradually acquires language. When the story is in italics, Mila's connection with the sea is apparent. The rich detail shows how comfortable Mila is in nature, wild and free. Once she is found, a newspaper article outlines Mila's story with the headline "Wild Child Found on Island Off Cuba" (p. 4). Once Mila is brought to the hospital for observation, the font size reflects Mila's understanding of the English language. From Mila's point of view, it shows her perspective at any time frame as she tries to adjust her knowledge. She isn't even able to recognize herself in a mirror at first. As Mila continues to learn English, the font size becomes smaller, and her language becomes more precise. Mila's connection with music leaves her with a tie to the sea. However, Mila becomes increasingly disillusioned with everything she learns about the human world and begins to withdraw, refusing to eat until she is brought again to the sea. The font size and word choice used show a regression of language rather than a progression. In the final pages, Mila returns to the sea, and the language is again shown in italics. Through Hesse's font size and language usage, I felt even closer to Mila and felt I could better understand her world.

If this novel wasn't in first person, I feel like Mila's story would be incomplete. By having this story from Mila's point-of-view, the reader both progresses and regresses with Mila. In any story, especially a novel, I like to create a visual picture in my mind, and this novel allowed me to do just that. This story also reminded me of Genie's story, the true story of a girl who grew up without normal human interaction and stimulation for the first 13 years of her life. Genie's outcome reminded me of Shay's outcome from this story since both Genie and Shay fail to adjust to social norms and behavior. Unlike Shay, Mila did have interaction and stimulation growing up. It was just with the dolphins. Although this story is rather unrealistic, it's not impossible. It's a reminder that sometimes we need to expect the unexpected.

The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse, Illustrated by Wendy Watson

An introductory picture book about the Holocaust, The Cats in Krasinski Square is geared for upper elementary students in grades 3-5. The Cats in Krasinski Square shares the story of a group of people who risk their lives in devising a plan to get food and supplies to those still trapped inside Warsaw's ghetto walls. I had mixed feelings about this book because it glanced over some of the underlying deeper issues associated with Holocaust like many Holocaust books for children tend to do. The title itself is vague, and by simply looking at the front cover, you wouldn't even know that this book had anything to do with the Holocaust.

However, upon reading, this story did provide some basic idea of the struggle people in Warsaw faced. For students who have never heard of the Holocaust before, this book could serve as an introductory book in a Holocaust unit. The young girl narrator herself has lost most of her family to the war. Jewish herself, she and her sister were able to escape the walls of the ghetto and now pass for being Polish. By passing, the narrator and her sister avoid the turmoil associated with being Jewish. "I wear my Polish look, I walk my Polish walk, Polish words float from my lips..." The cats mirror the lives of many Jewish families. Cats now wander the streets too living off of mice and not in the comfort of an owner's home. It is these same cats that are used to distract the Gestapo police dogs as people risk their lives to get food into the ghetto. The Jewish Resistance Movement, amidst adversity, is willing to risk risk their lives for those trapped inside the ghetto.

The author's note and historical note at the end of the story provide a much-needed frame of reference. When reading the author's note, I learned that this story was actually based on true events. The Jewish Resistance had used cats as one technique to outsmart the Gestapo at the train station in Warsaw during World War II. By reading the historical note, readers gain the context of the time. If I was to use this story in the classroom, I think I would start by reading the historical note so that students know the conditions in Warsaw prior to reading since the actual story glosses over this issue. In order to gain an overall perspective of history, students need the details. It returns to a matter of what children are ready to learn and hear.

Wendy Watson's illustrations add that "little something extra" this story needs. With the water color pictures, the pictures often tell more than the words. The Gestapo police linger in the streets, the dogs hover, and the barbed wire fence serves as a barrier between Jews and the outside world. Each picture or set of text is offset and bordered by intersecting lines, much like the barbed wire fences in the ghettos. Still the soft tones used in this story release some of the tensions associated with features of the drawings. Our fear of past horrors, like the Holcaust, should not withhold us from explaining the past to the next generation. They deserve to know.

Spuds by Karen Hesse, Illusrated by Wendy Watson

One of Karen Hesse's newer books, Spuds tells the story of three kids, Maybelle, Jack, and Eddie who go to gather potatoes from a nearby field one dark night so they can surprise their mom with extra food on the table. Upon the children's arrival home, they realize that they had not been collecting potatoes like they thought. Instead, they had been harvesting stone and rocks. The children are grounded for going into someone else's field, and they must apologize to Mr. Kenney. However, when Maybelle announces "we'd only gone after them spuds so Ma wouldn't have to work so hard," their Ma makes a delicious dinner, and the love emanates from their family.

Set in the country, I really enjoyed this story. As in Come On Rain!, Hesse does not specify a specific time period for Spuds, but I believe it was set during the Great Depression. I came to this conclusion based on the old-fashioned outfits, the water basin sink, and the antique stove in the story. Plus, their rural country life is filled with obstacles such as getting enough food on the table. Interesting to note is that these children are being raised without a father. The story does not address this directly, but a father is never mentioned, and the children's Ma works the nightshift. This single-parent family still makes the most out of their situation. Even though the children shouldn't have gone out to the field to "steal" potatoes from a neighbor's field, they were doing it for the sake of their Ma.

The dialect used in this story also reflects country life. The words used took me back in time and place into the context of the children the children. For example, "'Less we gather them spuds off Kenney's field, they'll go to rot, sure thing." The improper grammar usage adds to the delight of the story. Told from Jack's perspective, the story reflects a down-to-earth story of kids trying to help their Ma.

The pictures too add an extra delight to the story. They show the emotions of the kids when they're sad to see their mother head off to work, their excitement when the realize they can help their Ma, their disappointment and guilt at taking what they thought were potatoes, and joy in being together as a family. Whoever wrote the book cover sums it up best by stating, "Wendy Watson's warm, glowing artwork is a perfect complement ot a story that overflows with love, integrity, and down-home family values." Karen Hesse's heartwarming writing style and Wendy Watson's use of watercolors and colored ink create a unique historical fiction story that I would definitely share with my class.

Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse, Illustrated by Jon J. Muth

I learned something else about Karen Hesse that I didn't know when I was looking for her books. She also writes picture books. Although she is heavily a children's novelist, her picture books also are fun to read and enjoy. Come On Rain! tells the story of a young girl and her mom as they await the coming rain to end the 3 week drought. We never learn the young narrator's name, but she is filled with energy and excitement. Once the rain starts, the young narrator gathers with her friends, and they dance in the streets welcoming the rain. Eventually their moms join in on the celebration, laughing, dancing, and getting soaked by the free-falling rain.

The story itself is simple, but the language that Hesse uses to convey the story are delightful and very entertaining. Hesse uses descriptive language that evokes all of the senses. Phrases from the story I especially liked were "sagging over her parched plants" and "heat wavers off tar patches in the broiling alleyway." Descriptions such as these evoke the overwhelming heat. I can feel the heat and can visualize people suffering from the oppressive heat. They need relief from this summer heat. I wanted an iced tea or lemonade while reading this story because I thought of what a 90 degree day is like.

Set in the city, I received the impression that the little girl and her mom didn't have air conditioning. A slight breeze from the window is portrayed in one of the pictures as well as a wide-open window, so the overwhelming heat seems to carry into the house. The book does not set a specific time period, but I had the feeling that this story was set in the 1970s. A phonograph is still in Miz Glick's "stuff cave of her room" for example. The little girl and her mom are always wearing dresses too.

The watercolor pictures capture the summer days in its full glory. The dark clouds and then the raindrops emerge and cover the page. A fun read, Come on Rain! would be great for a read-aloud with young kindergarten or first-grade students when talking about the weather or the summer. For example, what would you do if you didn't have air-conditioning? Do you ever play in the rain? Come on Rain! would also be a great book to just to read for fun.

Wish on a Unicorn by Karen Hesse

I'm choosing to focus on Karen Hesse for the A/P/I project because Out of the Dust is such a moving children's novel, making me want to read more books by Karen Hesse. Unlike the majority of people, I am a historical fiction buff. However, I've come to realize that not all of Karen Hesse's books are in the historical fiction genre. Wish on a Unicorn is a contemporary realistic fiction novel about a sixth grade girl named Maggie (called Mags) who feels weighed down by her seven-year-old sister, Hannie, who has a cognitive disability and her brother Mooch, known to be the neighborhood food thief. One day, Mags and Hannie discover a dirty, worn unicorn that they come to believe has magical powers. Through the experiences with the unicorn and through her relationships, Mags realizes just how special her family really is.

Many relevant topics arise in this book in terms of socioeconomic class, family, disabilities, and true friends. Mags feels as though she is not good enough compared with other students at her school. Living in a trailer park, Mags expresses dissatisfaction with her hand-me-down clothes and heavy responsibilities that fall on her. Since her mom works the night shift, it is Mags who must handle the extra burden of caring of her younger brother and sister. According to Mags, "I wanted to look and act and be just like the other kids at school and not be embarrassed about who I am" (p. 13). Although Mags and Hannie both attend school during the day, Mooch is still too young for school and must find his own activities while his mom sleeps during the day. Too often we fail to realize challenges that arise for single-parent families. Her dad passed away when she was two. Then her mom started dating a different man who is the father of Hannie and Mooch before he became abusive. When Mags is given a homework assignment requiring her to write an essay about her family, she doesn't know what to say. As a future teacher, I believe it is important to get to know students and their family situations.

Making matters more difficult is that Hannie has a cognitive disability. I felt that this book was a littled outdated. In terms of terminology, it reffered to Hannie as handicapped. I also believe (or would like to believe at least) that students today are more accepting of special education students. When Brody, one of Mag's classmates, gets mad, he says to Mags and Hannie, "I said your sister's a retard. A stupid should-have-been-dead retard" (p. 78). When Hannie wets her pants because she's upset, other students laugh at her. All of this I hope doesn't happen in today's school environment, or if it is still happening, intervention needs to take place.

At this adolescent age, Mags is also concerned if the popular girls, Patty Jo and Alice, like her. When she gets invited to Patty Jo's house after school one day, she tells Hannie to walk home by herself because for once, she wants to enjoy the feeling of being included and "cool." Mags soon realizes that being popular isn't all that it is hyped up to be. Mags returns home only to find Hannie missing. Although Mags eventually finds Hannie, an overwhelming sense of guilt and responsbility weigh on her mind. With this experience, Mags comes to understands how important Hannie and her family is to her.

Overall, I found this to be a heartwarming story offering advice about the meaning of true friends and family. As Karen Hesse's first novel, I feel as though she accurately captures both the highs and lows that any family experiences on a day-to-day basis. Families are unique, coming in all shapes and sizes. Despite their challenging situation, Mags's family has endurance and strength of spirit.

The Misfits by James Howe (Overall Book Perspective)

Awareness of a problem is the first step toward change. I found Bobby's idea of establishing the No-Name party a stroke of genius on his part. I believe every kid has been called a name at least one time in their life. Maybe it was positive name, maybe it was negative, but I know I remember some of the names I was called. Teacher's pet, smartypants, the giant, etc. were some just to name a few. Even though name-calling might not be vocalized verbally now that we're older and in college, prejudgments are often still made based on people's fashion, looks, etc. The list that the Gang of Five made showed some overlap in names such as loser and dork. Bobby, Joe, Skeezie, and Addie took it upon themselves to enact change.

I feel that adolescents have a sense of idealism that many people lose as they get older. In these adolescent years, the Gang of Five shows promise, hope, and a willingness to make a difference for the future. For Bobby especially, his inventiveness and maturation come through not only in his vision of the No-Name party but also in his talks with his dad and Mr. Kellerman as well as his final speech made in front of the whole school. It takes guts to do something like Bobby does in the closing pages of this book. Their party's motto, "Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will break our spirit" rings throughout Bobby's speech.

Despite Bobby's moving speech, it is Brittany that wins the election. It is as though James Howe is suggesting that change cannot happen immediately. Instead, incremental change not substantial change often occurs. Although the Gang of Five does not win the election, their principal, Mr. Kiley enacts No-Name Day and later No-Name Week. However, James Howe does have a slightly idealistic ending for Joe. Both Joe and Colin come out and decide to go out. In reality, I highly doubt this would happen openly during middle school. Perhaps James Howe, a gay man himself, was envisioning his own life when creating a happy ending for Joe.

The Misfits is a great book that allows kids to learn about bullying, tolerance, and activism. I believe this book would be beneficial in my classroom as a teaching tool. Classroom discussions would be necessary when discussing all of the themes and topics that arise in this book.