Reading at Doty Memorial School in Worcester, Vermont

We started our Reading to End Racism session in the gym, where we had set up a selection of the fabulous books we read. Shown are Lynn Woodard -- Doty's librarian and the organizer of our activities there, and Janet Van Fleet, from Reading to End Racism. (photo by Janet's grandson, Manny)

It's always nice to start with a whole-school assembly, so the students know this is a special activity happening all over the school. Lynne gave a nice introduction, stressing how important these ideas are for what the school is dedicated to.

Joseph Gainza Reads "La Mariposa"

 Joseph Gainza read La Mariposa by Francisco Jimenez, illustrated by Simon Silva to Doth Memorial School's K-1 class.

The book depicts an immigrant boy's first-grade experiences at school. Isolated because of his inability to understand English, Francisco turns inward to his imagination and later to drawing to escape his situation. He takes comfort in watching and caring for a caterpillar his teacher has placed in a jar near his seat. We follow his struggles to fit in, but we celebrate his triumph, as he discovers his artwork wins a prize.The caterpillar's metamorphosis into a butterfly mirrors Francisco's own transformation, as he begins to speak more English and fit in with his classmates as the school year winds down. There is a subplot with a bully, and Francisco winds up giving his prize drawing to the boy who had bullied him.

Wonderfully, the class had raised a monarch butterfly from a caterpillar, so the class could relate to the jar and its contents. Joseph spoke to the class about how an act of kindness has tremendous power to inspire others to kindness, and thus help to change the world for the better.

Melora Kennedy Reads "Say Something"

Melora Kennedy "read"  Say Something by showing the 3-4 class at Doty School a feltboard presentation of the story.

The Book: Say Something, by Peggy Moss, illustrated by Lea Lyon. There are some children who push and tease and bully at the local school. Sometimes they hurt other kids by just ignoring them. The girl in this story sees it happening, but she would never do these mean things herself. Then one day something happens that shows her that being a silent bystander isn’t enough. Will she take some steps on her own to help another kid? Bright, fluid, realistic watercolors illustrate the story, set in a school with lots of diversity.  (text from Tilbury House)

Melora brainstormed with students ways in which they could respond to a situation in which another child is being teased or bullied, creating a role-playing script in which each child had the opportunity to play each of the roles.

Bob Fisher Reads "Teammates"

The book: Teammates, by Peter Golenbock, illustrations by Paul Bacon

Set in 1947, Teammates concerns a little-known episode about Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball. When Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese, incensed by the abuse coming from a Cincinnati crowd, determined to "take a stand,'' he put an arm around his teammate's shoulder; this simple gesture symbolized the end of the "color line'' in major league baseball--and the beginning of a great friendship. The book's appropriately ironic beginning talks of a time "when automobiles were black and looked like tanks and laundry was white and hung on clotheslines to dry.'' Golenbock then introduces the Negro Leagues, enumerates the many differences between them and the Major Leagues, and credits Dodger general manager Branch Rickey with finding "one special man'' who would exemplify great ballplaying and thereby eradicate the prejudices of the fans. Golenbock's bold and lucid style distills this difficult issue, and brings a dramatic tale vividly to life. Bacon's spare, nostalgic watercolors, in addition to providing fond glimpses of baseball lore, present a haunting portrait of one man's isolation. (review by Publishers Weekly)

Bob Read Teammates to a 5-6 grade class at Doty Memorial School in Worcester.

Susan Wilson Reads "Those Shoes" and "New Shoes"

The Books: Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones and New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

Those Shoes: All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes, the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing. Though Jeremy’s grandma says they don’t have room for "want," just "need," when his old shoes fall apart at school, he is more determined than ever to have those shoes, even a thrift-shop pair that are much too small. But sore feet aren’t much fun, and Jeremy soon sees that the things he has — warm boots, a loving grandma, and the chance to help a friend — are worth more than the things he wants.

 New Shoes: When her brother's hand-me-down shoes don't fit, it is time for Ella Mae to get new ones. She is ecstatic, but when she and her mother arrive at Mr. Johnson's shoe store, her happiness quickly turns to dejection. Ella Mae is forced to wait when a customer arrives after her and is served first. Ella Mae is unable even to try on the shoes because of her skin color. Determined to fight back, Ella Mae and her friend Charlotte work tirelessly to collect and restore old shoes, wiping, washing, and polishing them to perfection. The girls then have their very own shoe sale, giving the other African American members of their community a place to buy shoes where they can betreated fairly and "try on all the shoes they want." 

Set in the South during the time of segregation, this stunning picture book brings the civil rights era to life for contemporary readers. (both previews from Barnes and Noble) 

Activity:  Susan brainstormed with the students in this second grade class at Doty Memorial School in Worcester, VT the things they might want and the things they need.  Then she had them trace around their feet (as the girls were obliged to do in the white-owned shoe store in New Shoes), and write their own lists of things they want and things they need.

Mark Hughes Reads "Let's Talk About Race"

Mark Hughes read Let's Talk About Race, by Julius Lester, illustrated by Karen Barbour in a 1-2 class at Cabot School.

The book offers readers a poetic introduction to the topic of race as the differences and unique features of races are celebrated while discussing the important bond everyone shares with one another as human beings through many common similarities. 

Janet Van Fleet Reads "One Green Apple"

The book: One Green Apple by Eve Bunting Illustrated by Ted Lewin

Farah feels alone, even when surrounded by her classmates. She listens and nods but doesn’t speak. It’s hard being the new kid in school, especially when you’re from another country and don’t know the language. Then, on a field trip to an apple orchard, Farah discovers there are lots of things that sound the same as they did at home, from dogs crunching their food to the ripple of friendly laughter. As she helps the class make apple cider, Farah connects with the other students and begins to feel that she belongs. The setting in the book was a lot like Vermont -- with a small school, an apple orchard, a hay wagon ride, and an apple press.

Activity: The children in this 1-2 class looked at four different kinds of apples and described what they looked like on the outside, while the classroom aide entered their observations on a chart -- yellow, green, red and green, and red. Then Janet cut each apple open, and the assistant wrote what was inside. The apples were cut in small pieces and eaten, with observations about their taste. The apples were different colors on the outside, but the same color inside.