The Aboriginal Children's History of Australia

The Aboriginal Children’s History of Australia	Rigby Publishers Limited
Compiled by Wandjuk Marika	1977
Fiction	147 pages
Reading Level ages 9-12

Summary

This is unique in that this is illustrated and told by the children. This is the entire history of the Aboriginal people from the beginning of the earth to today where they live in homes and attend school. The pictures are very colorful in the backgrounds and simple in the main subjects. It described one of their gods as being without a mouth and different colors that were all the different clouds. Another story described how they used to live. They lived in huts and gathered each night for the storyteller to tell tales. The older men taught the younger children to hunt turtles and fish in canoes and stalk kangaroos, goannas, emus and porcupine. The women were in charge of harvesting the wild vegetables like: yams, potatoes, and plums. Each family had a separate place that only they could hunt in. Other families visited but could not hunt there. There are pictures of the mining. This created a lot of dispute since some wanted mining for work and others did not want the mining. A large amount of families moved into camps and cities close to the mines to get work and the children expressed desire to work there to get money and have a home for their future families. Some of the interesting stories told were about how many whitefella explorers wanted to traverse across the desert, so some Aborigines became guides and took them from one watering hole to the next. The British were one of the first to settle there and had a fort that they eventually abandoned until the war started and some of the fighting happened over Australia. Now the children, instead of hunting and learning how to make bark and wallaby clothes, they usually go to school at the church in the town and live in a house and wear a uniform. Their fathers work at the mines or in town with the whitefellas and sometimes drink too much. They described their home country as dry, with sand hills and lots of animals running around. They knew a lot of their history and conveyed the importance of the land and their traditions and culture that had been passed down to them from their parents and grandparents.

Response

I enjoyed reading this and seeing the different pictures drawn and painted by the children. It was very intriguing and made me keep reading. It told about the history and traditions that I didn’t know or understand. I was able to get a glimpse of their culture and what events influenced them the most. It was easy to read and had interesting pictures that helped interpret some of the stories.

Potential Problems

There were several sections on tribal wars and skirmishes between the native people and the British, also the war against the Japanese. There were some graphic depictions of these events.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to students who enjoy learning about histories of different people or countries. This would be interesting to parallel with Native Americans, there are similarities and there could be a unit on the differences.

Lincoln: a Photobiography

Lincoln: a Photobiography	Scholastic, Inc.
Written by Russell Freedman	1988
Biography	145 pages
Reading Level ages 9-12	Newberry Award

Summary

This tells the story of Abraham Lincoln with actual photographs, his own accounts, and other’s descriptions. Lincoln helped with the family farm until he went to partner with a friend on a store. The store eventually failed and Lincoln spent years reading law books and then passed the bar. He opened a practice and loved circuit riding to help others with their disputes. He suffered from deep depression and relied heavily on the words of others. He was elected the Republican candidate and eventually won office. He was married and had three sons. He didn’t believe in discipline and his children were rambunctious. He was in office when the Civil War broke out and became more haggard from the stresses of the responsibilities, since he couldn’t find a general to follow his orders. He had less than a year of formal education but was self educated by reading books and peaking with others. He was a great orator and made many great speeches. He was a tall man who seemed even taller with his stovepipe hat. He was assassinated by an actor as he attended a play with his wife.

Reaction

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had interesting facts that I never knew about Lincoln and amazing pictures that were from that time period. I thought the facts were presented clearly and the story was easy to follow.

Potential Problems

There are actual pictures of the war, of the dead bodies that were left after the fighting had moved on or finished. This would not be appropriate for younger children.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to students that enjoy learning about presidents and of the Civil War. This would be a good introduction or further reading to a history lesson about Lincoln and his life.

No Pretty Pictures: a child of war

No Pretty Pictures: a child of war	Avon Books
Written by Anita Lobel	2000
Holocaust Autobiography	190 pages
Reading Level ages 12-16	National Book Award Finalist

Summary

Anita is a Polish girl who has a brother, father and mother, and a nanny that watches over her. The war just began when her father never returned from the store. She recalls that her mother had false papers that allowed her to work and get money. Soon, there was not enough to feed all four of them. So their Catholic nanny takes them as her own and roams the countryside bartering for food. Anita’s brother is disguised as a girl and they are inseparable. The three of them take refuge at a church until the Nazis found them. The Nazis took Anita and her brother to a concentration camp. They were with their uncle and aunt and were able to be returned to their nanny. Their mother reunites with them and hides in the ghetto. Without papers, the children don’t exist and they walk out and over bridge guarded by Nazis. They are found again and passed from camp to camp as the war draws to an end and the Nazis are retreating. When the camps are liberated, Anita and her brother are sent to Sweden to recover from tuberculosis. There they learn of their nanny’s death and that their parents are back home in Poland. When they recover, the family is reunited and eventually moves to the United States.

Reaction

It was an intense book. She wrote without much foreshadow, so every time Nazis were looking for them, was tense and suspenseful. It was written from a child’s perspective, without understanding and with a lot of fear and mistrust.

Potential Problems

Even though this is written from a child’s view, it would be inappropriate for younger children. It is about war and has the facts of dying, murder, fear and stealing to try and survive.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to older readers. This is for those who are interested reading stories about the Holocaust and true accounts from that time.

Children Just Like Me

Children Just Like Me	DK Publishing, Inc
Written by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley	1995
Informational	80 pages
Reading Level age 8-11

Summary

This is an amazing book. The authors spent two years traveling around the world, taking pictures of children from different countries. There is information on each child; such as their home, parents, favorite food, and their name written by the children. It gives a glimpse into children’s lives in other places and the opportunity to see the similarities and differences compared to children around the world and me. My favorite pages were the region pages. These pages have information on places that are famous and identifiable in the area, such as the Taj Mahal. It also has a description of the plants or animals that live in the area and a list of many different children that aren’t described in detail. These pages introduce the next region of the world and other children from that place. The authors made the pictures with a white background and uniform. Each page had the same outline and information so it was easy to read and find what information I wanted to look at first. At the end, there is a travel log of the writer’s journey and quotes about different days and parts of their journey around the world. The page that I spent the most time looking at was Esta from Tanzania. She lives with her mother and two younger siblings. She wears beaded necklaces telling how old she is. She walks to school and is learning how to speak Swahili. She lives in a hut made of made of poles, cow dung and grasses, where her family tends cows, sheep and goats.

Reaction

I spent hours reading this book. It is fascinating and informational. It was a great way to learn more about different children and how they have some of the same thoughts and dreams that I had. It is a good reference to different countries and the family environments there.

Potential problems

I didn’t find any. All the children were depicted as smiling and happy. They were content with their life and have bright hopes for the future.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about other countries and the children that live there.

Through My Eyes

Through My Eyes	Scholastic, Inc
Written by Ruby Bridges	2000
Autobiography	63 pages
Reading Level age 8-12	Jane Adams Award

Summary

At age six, Ruby went to school. She was a black student who passed the test to be integrated into an all white school. Many of the white parents were furious and threatened to kill Ruby each morning as she walked past them to the school. The president issued US Marshals to protect her and keep the crowd from getting too close. Mrs. Henry was Ruby’s teacher and the two of them worked side by side in the empty classroom. Ruby was sacred that one of the women poisoned her and stopped eating anything that wasn’t prewrapped. Mrs. Henry found out and started taking her lunch with Ruby instead of in the teacher lounge. Her father lost his job and the local grocery store asked them not to shop there. Some white parents walked their children to school, but stopped when the crowd started accusing them and threatening. John Steinbeck wrote about Ruby and the scene he saw in his book, Travels with Charley. Norman Rockwell read that excerpt and painted a picture of Ruby from the description of Steinbeck’s. Things calmed down some after Christmas and several other families sent their children back to school. They were tired of their children being unruly and missing out on their education. The next year, when Ruby started second grade, there were no Marshals, or angry crowd. Ruby was able to attend school with other children and finally have friends.

Reaction

I loved this book. The way Ruby told it was amazing. She recollected all the things that she didn’t understand until she was older and talked about the strain it took on her family. The pictures are actual photographs of that time. There were paragraphs from the news articles and descriptions from eye witnesses that told of the horrible things the mob shouted at Ruby day after day. It is a powerful book.

Potential Problems

There are some violent things that were yelled each morning and threats against Ruby’s life. It shows her perspective of that time and how she was able with help to continue going to school each day.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to a much older audience. This would be a good book to introduce the Civil Rights movement and the surge towards being equal in our country.

The Story of Ruby Bridges

The Story of Ruby Bridges	The Blue Sky Press
Written by Robert Coles	1999
Non Fiction	15 pages
Reading Level age 4-8

Summary

Ruby is the only black girl to attend her school as part of the integration of the schools in New Orleans. No other children go to school because their parents are protesting violently against them going to school with a black child. Every morning Ruby would walk in between the US Marshals through the crowd and into the school. Her teacher Mrs. Henry was the only person in Ruby’s classroom. On her walks to and from school, she would pray for protection and for the mean people to be forgiven. Eventually, more children come to school and she doesn’t meet them until the next year. The drawings are watercolor painted and very dramatic. It shows true events watered down to make is more appropriate for a younger audience.

Reaction

I thought this was a well written book telling the story in a way that children could understand. The text was simple and easy to read and the pictures were life like and accurate.

Potential Problems

This story is about Ruby and the protestations of the parents on her way to school. They said a lot of mean awful things. Ruby was able to overcome that by praying daily for them and to keep her safe.

Recommendations

This would be a great introduction to a u nit on that time period and the hero Ruby Bridges became for her courage and perseverance.

Anpao

Anpao	Scholastic
Written by Jamake Highwater	1991
Traditional Fiction	235 pages
Reading Level age 12-14	Newberry Award

Summary

Anpao is in love with a woman, KoKomikeis. She belongs to the sun and asks him to go to the house of the sun to ask for her hand. He sets off on his journey. He meets a swan who tells him his heritage that he has forgotten. The Old man created everything, first the water, the sea animals then the land and lastly human. One of the early women asked why there was no death. Old man answered in killing her baby son. She is bereft. She walks for days in her grief, trying to find the Old man to bring back her son. She sits at a lake where the Sun sees her and takes her to his home above the earth. The moon, wife of the sun, hates the woman and stays on the dark side, planning how to get the sun back.The woman is happy and has another son, Anpao. She sees her village far below and weaves a long rope to return to her family. She tries to climb down her twisted rope, but didn’t make it long enough. She can’t untie Anpao, fearing he would fall and was too tired to climb back up again. When the sun returned, he was angry at her for trying to escape. He kills her and Anpao falls to the ground. He is raised by an old Grandmother until he begins to travel to other villages. The swan concludes her tale by giving him advice and wisdom on his journey to the sun’s house. He finally makes it there after many hard days’ journey. He is met by the Moon, who doesn’t recognize him and takes him into the house. Anpao, warned of her anger against his mother introduces himself as Scarface. He meets his step brother, Morning Star. They become fast friends and explore the land surrounding. One day, they venture to the other side of the lake, where the moon warned them not to go. She said there were large birds that would kill any son of the sun. They were soon attacked and Anpao fought them off bravely and saved Morning Star. The sun is told that night and adopts Anpao into his family. The sun did this so if ever the moon did find out who Anpao truly was, she would have reason not to hurt him. The sun agrees for Anpao to marry KoKomikeis and gives him a horse to ride and a shortcut back to her village. Along the way, Anpao meets a man with smallpox who destroyed several villages in his path. Anpao becomes worried and hurries to the village. KoKomikeis is happy he has returned, for the village had begun to taunt her thinking he was dead and would never return. They are married immediately with a celebration. Anpao tries to warn the village of the destruction slowly coming, but they scoff and jeer at him. KoKokmikeis believes him and they escape through the river and are spared from death.

Reaction

I had a difficult time reading this. One reason was I didn’t know where an animal was an animal or a title of a person, because there were times when an animal was speaking that had traits of a human, without distinction from a human with an animal title. This story was interesting and I could relate it to many similarities from my own culture and tried to understand the differences.

Potential Problems

There are scenes that are hard to understand and confusing at times. There was a part where a human was cursed and turned into a large water snake because he ate eggs that were considered sacred. Anpao also had two parts of himself that had to be fused together after he was split by a ring of wood falling from the sky.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to students who are interested in creation stories and traditional folktales. This was compiled from a many oral stories told throughout the generations and contain many different aspects of the earth’s history and its’ beginning.