Inclusive Lit

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. HABIBI. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689801491.

Children's Lit says, "Habibi is a book in the midst of an identity crisis. It can't decide if it wants to be a political novel about Arab/Israeli conflicts, a teen romance, a series of vignettes on loosely related events in one character's life, or a book of poetry that incidentally contains a novel as well. Because the text is, unfortunately, all of the above, its entertainment value is severely limited." I could not disagree more! In fact, what I love about the book is its combination of poetry, history, romance, and short, powerful chapters.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Liyana, a fourteen-year-old girl whose mother is American and father is Palestinian. One day Liyana is in a movie theater near her home in suburban St. Louis experiencing her first kiss. The very next day she learns that her father is moving the family to his homeland in Palestine.

Liyana's eleven-year-old brother has an easier time adjusting to their new home than she does. Liyana attends a private Armenian school in Jerusalem. She makes friends, sometimes going home for lunch with them to eat "their mothers' folded spinach pies. Here in the slowest country on earth, the students have a whole hour-and-a-half lunch break," she muses. Other days at lunchtime, she roams the ancient streets with its little shops and street vendors. It is on one of these outings that she meets Omer, a Jewish boy, who she likes a lot. This forbidden relationship between an Arab and a Jew challenges her father's open-mindedness, but he eventually comes to terms with it.

Liyana for her part, learns to appreciate her large extended family and its rich history, especially her grandmother, Sitti. When they first meet, Sitti tells Liyana, through her father who interprets, "I hope you come back tomorrow and stay for many, many days...and learn to sew, and pick lentils and marinate olives and carry water from the spring on your head and speak Arabic."

In addition to all of this, Liyana experiences and witnesses many acts of persecution and violence in her new country. Israeli soldiers shoot one of her friends in the leg looking for someone they think set off a bomb in the city. When her father, who is a doctor, tries to help, they take him to jail. The descriptions of the conflict between Arabs and Jews, and of the Israeli and Palestinian food, clothing and customs will give readers a feel for what it is like to live in that part of the world.

Connections:

Locate Jerusalem on a map or globe. Discuss the politics and upheaval that is going on in this region.

Point out the similarities and differences of being a teenager in the U.S. and Palestine.

Discuss the differences in male/female roles in the U.S. and in Palestine.

Pair HABIBI with Naomi Shihab Nye's poetry collection, A MAZE ME, POETRY FOR GIRLS. See if there is a poem to express some of the emotions Liyana must have experienced.

Sample falafel or other foods from the region.






Seeger, Pete and Paul DuBois Jacobs. 2006. THE DEAF MUSCISIANS. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: J. P. Putnam Sons. ISBN 9780399243165.

Lee, the piano man, plays in a jazz band. When he loses his hearing, he also loses his job. The bandleader said, "I'm sorry, Lee, but I'll have to let you go. Who will listen to a deaf musician?" Lee is devastated, but he goes to a school for the deaf and learns sign language. He makes friends there. Some of them form a band. They play by signing. In the end their performances delight and entertain crowds of people in the subway. The illustrations are colorful, upbeat, and jazzy. They add to the cool vibe of this book.

Pictures of Max and Lee signing add to the meaning of the story. They will help hearing children understand what's going on; and they will be a welcome and familiar sight for deaf children. In addition to portraying the hearing impaired in a positive light, the illustrations of people are multicultural. Children's Lit says, THE DEAF MUSICIANS "is a lesson in acceptance and joy and working together. It is also about pursuing your dreams regardless of what other people think." This book turns a terrible thing, the loss of a musician's hearing, into an uplifting and inspirational story.

Connections:

Play a recording of jazz music before during or after the story.

Learn to sign the alpahbet. Better yet, learn to sign a song.

Display and make available sign language books and movies in the library or classroom.

Have a sign language interpreter in storytime or as a visitor in the classroom.

Here are two YouTube videos about deaf musicians. Young children will enjoy this one with Christmas songs.



Older children should watch "Deaf Girl Learns to Play Violin"



Encourage children to enterpret music in ways other than singing and playing, such as drawing, dancing.

Older children might enjoy reading FEATHERS by Jacquelene Woodson. One of the characters in this book is deaf.

Read and learn about Helen Keller or Beethoven!




Polacco, Patricia.2009.IN OUR MOTHER'S HOUSE. New York : Philomel Books. ISBN 9780399250767


The narrator and her two younger siblings experience an idyllic childhood within an unconventional family. All three children are adopted by a homosexual couple in Berkley, CA. "Marmee" and "Meema", a pediatician and a paramedic create a warm and loving environment in which to raise their children. The narrator tells of how her mothers loved laughter and music and of the many memorable events she and her siblings undergo with their mothers. The book is filled with diversity. Illustrations show that the narrator is a black girl. Her siblings are Asian and caucasian. One set of grandparents are Italian who make "gnocchi" and tell stories from the old country. School Library Journal recommends this book for grades 1 through 4 and says, "The story serves as a model of inclusiveness for children who have same-sex parents, as well as for children who have questions about a "different" family in their neighborhood."

Connections:

Read and talk about all different kinds of families. AND TANGO MAKES THREE would be a great book to share.

Discuss what the neighbor meant when she said, "I don't appreciate what you two are!" and what Meema meant by, "She's afraid of what she cannot understand."

Listen to different kinds of music including opera and rock-and-roll, like this family did. Play and do the Chicken Dance. Encourage the children to do different dances with different music.