When I do school visits and get the chance to talk in detail about the history of violence in Guatemala, students are always interested to know what happened to the people who committed these crimes. If you’ve been following the trial of General Ríos Montt, you know it’s been a … Read More
Posts Categorized: I care about stuff
2014 Things I Love
It’s that time of year. All the “Best of…” lists are coming out, and this inspired today’s blog post. The following are some of my favorite discoveries in 2014:
What will I fall in love with in 2015?… Read More
Guatemalan Monday: Survivor story edition
In Caminar, Carlos is a kid who survives an act of violence during Guatemala’s Internal Conflict.
Carlos isn’t a real character. But there were kids who really did survive what Carlos lived through. Here are two stories that have made their way into the press, so you … Read More
We Need Diverse Books!
You guys! WNDB has launched a fundraising campaign over at Indiegogo. Have you seen it? What?!? You haven’t? You are seriously missing out.
It’s a cause worth donating to, even if there weren’t any cool things you could get for your donation. But there are! Tote bags, t-shirts, … Read More
Rethinking Columbus Day
When I was a third grade teacher, I always spent Columbus Day reading Encounter by Jane Yolen aloud to my class. What I like about this book is that (minus the author’s note) it doesn’t spell things out so plainly for the reader and listener. It allows the space to … Read More
Resources for Teaching about Latin American Immigration
There’s a lot of talk now about the humanitarian crisis that is hitting our borders. It’s a very heart-wrenching situation, and I’m trying not to comment on it in depth here on this blog. However, I had to pass along this great resource list for educators. Lee and Low … Read More
Speaking Up
Apparently a group of fantastic students have noticed that the characters they are reading about in books on their shelves seem, for the most part, a little too homogeneous. And they’re doing something about it. Students at Dothan Brook School in Vermont wrote some letters and are asking publishers to … Read More
Books are powerful
The Call Me Ishmael project is such a neat idea. Have you seen it? If not, go take a peak.… Read More
Guatemalan Monday: Fair Trade edition
Let’s talk about fair trade. If you don’t know what it is, here are two videos that explain the concept (and teachers, they are both on a level kids can understand too.)
Basically fair trade is like saying, Hey. It’s not cool to buy something at any price if … Read More
Should books for children be political?
Stay tuned for another interview round-up next Tuesday.
Today I wanted to pause a moment to discuss the round-up of essays over at The New York Times about the topic of political issues in children’s literature. Take a moment to see what other people have to say about it by … Read More