Welcome to Japan!

This past week was spent in a whir of activity as we got ready for an Around The World Event sponsored by our Independent Studies Home School Group. All the children participating were to choose a country, a historical event, or a something similar to give a presentation on. Emily chose Japan because she had lots of  display items her father had brought home from his work trip last year.

She gathered facts, found pictures for her display board, and retrieved all her Japanese memorabilia from various parts of the house. I took it upon myself to create a costume from thrift store items. I scoured the second-hand shops until I found a silky robe that looked oriental in pattern, but it had a very narrow belt that just wouldn't do because traditional kimonos are worn with an obie (a wide silk sash). I kept searching until I finally found a single, silky, black curtain. It was two panels with an attached valance, and I knew if I cut off one of the floor length panels I could whip it into a obie of sorts on my handy dandy sewing machine. Although not exactly authentic, most of the audience loved Emily's make-shift robe and actually thought it was the real deal. Resplendent in costume finished off with Japanese toe socks and flip flops, Emily gave a great presentation.

Before the presentation, we all partook in a dinner. Each family prepared a main dish or salad and a dessert corresponding to the country or historical event that their child or children had chosen. I made fried rice and Japanese Kasutera Sponge Cake. I found the recipe and a wonderful video at a site called Japanese Cooking 101. This cake was super easy to make if you decide you and your family want to try some ethnic cuisine.

 

There were quite a few families participating, so they divided them up into two groups in two separate rooms. The other children in our group also did fabulous jobs.

After all the learning and fun was done, it got me to thinking about some books I've read and enjoyed with Japanese main characters. The first, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, takes the reader back to WWII and the sad period in our history where we rounded up citizens based on their heritage and an irrational fear. It is am excellent picture book depicting the proud way in which the Japanese detainees held on to a small piece of normalcy and beauty.

The second book, Hana Hashimoto, is the story of a girl who's love of music and her persistence helps her achieve her dream of playing her Violin in the school talent contest. The author, Chieri Uegaki, has also written another book called, Suki's Kimono, which I have not read, but I would love to.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musings Monday Blog Hop where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website, Fun With Aileen, where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Remembering 2014 And Embracing 2015

It's hard to believe that 2014 is a thought of the past and this is my first post of the new year. I also can't believe that in a week's time, my husband will be heading to Japan for a three week business trip. I am both excited for him and anxious since we have never been apart more than three days since we were married eleven years ago. And if truth be told, I might even be a little bit envious since I am the lover of travel and he is the homebody.

But as I look forward to each new adventure that we will face in this 2015, I also wish to fondly look back one last time and list my top five reads of 2014 in no particular order.

Ruth And The Green Book

 

 

Ruth And The Green Book, by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, is the story of a young girl named Ruth who is traveling with her parents from Chicago to Rural Alabama in the 1950's to visit her grandmother. Many times they stop for gas, food, or an overnight stay and are turned away because they are negroes. Finally they stop at a gas station where the kindly attendant sells them a Green Book. The Green Book shows them friendly gas stations, hotels, and restaurants that serve traveling persons of color.

Although fictional, this story is based on the actual Green Books created for African American travelers by a New York postal worker by the name of Wendell P. Alston.

Henry and the Incredibly incorrigible, Inconveniently Intelligent Smart Human

 

 

 

Once I started this book, I could hardly put it down. The story takes us to a world where robots are the predominate life force and humans are created to do the menial tasks robots do not want to perform. Robots have to be careful though, because sometimes the drooling zombie like humans go beserko. This is Henry's greatest fear until he gets to know his human and finds, much to his surprise, that he is quite intelligent.

The adventure that they embark on when they run away together is fraught full of the kind of danger that keeps you on the edge of your seat while reading, and the secrets they discover will amaze even the most skeptical of readers. Miss Messina has created a wonderful piece of fiction that is sure to keep both boys and girls between the ages of nine and thirteen intrigued from beginning to end.

 

Apples to Oregon: Being The (Slightly) True Narrative Of How A Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, And Cherries (And Children) Across The Plains

 

 

Apples to Oregon is a terribly funny story of the pioneers traveling there and the cargo they brought. Even the title is funny claiming to be slightly true. So if you want a bit of history told in a fun manner, you really need to check out this realistic fictional piece!

 

 

The Paint Box

 

 

 

The Paint Box is a beautifully told story of a young Venetian girl in the late 1500's who had to dress like a boy in order to accompany her artist father around Venice to galleries and workshops. Although this story is fictional, the main character, Marietta, really existed and was a fine painter.

 

A Place Where Sunflowers Grow

 

 

 

This is a beautiful book by Amy Lee-Tai. It is the story of a Japanese family of artists who were taken from their happy California home and were forced to spend three years in an Internment camp in the Utah desert.

Based on actual events that Miss Lee-Tai's Grandmother experienced, this story is a beautiful testament of human courage and hope. The illustrations by Felicia Hoshino add dimension to this tale, but most interesting of all is the fact that it is written in both English and Japanese.

If you want children to have a real interest in history, a real interest in the plight of others, a real interest in what it would be like to be unfairly taken from everything you've ever known, then this book is a must add to your reading list.

 

It seems that my favorite reads of 2014 were mostly realistic fiction, but who knows what 2015 will hold as we take the journey.

 

 

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, and the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering...

Memorial Day originated after the Civil War and is celebrated every year on the last Monday in May. It is a remembrance of all the military men and women who have died  serving our country. But this Memorial Day, I want to help  people remember those Americans who were wrongly treated during the onslaught of World War II. They were not spies, they were not traitors, they were not sympathetic to the other side. Their only crime was the simple fact that they were of Japanese decent.

What made me think of this was a book that the children's librarian at Marvin Memorial Library, in my home town of Shelby, recently purchased. A beautiful book called A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai. It is the story of a Japanese family of artists who were taken from their happy California home and were forced to spend three years in an Internment camp in the Utah desert.

Based on actual events that Miss Lee-Tai's Grandmother experienced, this story is a beautiful testament of human courage and hope. The illustrations by Felicia Hoshino add dimension to this tale, but most interesting of all is the fact that it is written in both English and Japanese.

If you want children to have a real interest in history, a real interest in the plight of others, a real interest in what it would be like to be unfairly taken from everything you've ever known, then this book is a must add to your reading list.

Something even more amazing then my enjoyment of this book occurred this past week as I was shuttling third graders to the YMCA for swimming. I happened to take this book along with me to read while I waited, and on the way home, one of the boys who was riding with me asked about it. I had wedged the book between his seat and the middle console and he curiously pulled it out to investigate. I told him a little about the story, and much to my surprise, he began to read. When we arrived back at school, he wanted to sit in the car a moment longer so he could finish the last page.

So not only do you have my word that this book is an extraordinary read, you also have the opinion of a third grade boy who saw past the girl on the cover and let himself  relive a bit of  history.



The Boy in The Back Who Dared To Read!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.