Month: November 2023

My students passed Orphan Island around when I first purchased it for my library in 2018, so when I saw that Laurel Snyder was publishing another middle grade novel, I pre-ordered it for my classroom. 

I didn’t even look at the description of the book, The Witch of Woodland. All summer it sat on my pile of To Be Read books. I finally read it at the beginning of this school year. I was surprised to find out that it is a mirror for me (Rudine Sims Bishop). No, I am not a witch. I was raised in a Jewish family and had a Bat Mitzvah, like Zipporah (Zippy) Chava McConnell, at age 12. Our names are even similar because in Hebrew, I am Devorah Chava. When I was a 12 years old the only books with Jewish characters were the Diary of Anne Frank or The Chosen by Chaim Potok. They were hardly relatable characters. They were about World War II. Though I was interested in learning about the Holocaust as a middle school student, I didn’t know there were books about modern Jewish kids living in America and neither did other kids my age because there weren’t. What I would have done to have a book like this. 

Zippy is a girl I would have been friends with when I was in middle school. In Snyder’s book, I was able to see how my students could relate to Zippy as a character who was unsure of what religion she was. She is preparing to have her Bat Mitzvah but she is stuck between two worlds.  A Jewish one and a non-Jewish one.

She says, ” ‘Why do I need a bat mitzvah? We aren’t religious and I thought you only got to have a bat mitzvah if you went to Hebrew school all the way through and knew the prayers and everything. I thought it was like a graduation. And I thought we were only like . . . part-time Jews'” (15). 

In the small town I live in, this is a very common occurrence for a child to have one parent who was raised in a  Jewish family and the other who is Christian, much like Zippy’s dad in the novel. Kids often celebrate a variety of holidays from Christmas and Easter to Passover and Hanukkah. Our town does not have a synagogue or a place for kids to have a Jewish community other than what families create in their homes and their connections with other families in similar situations, so they only know a little and some have never even met a Rabbi

Seeing Zippy’s experience, these feelings are like a mirror for many of my students . I have been excited to share this story with my students. These are the experiences I so wish I had as a child. I think our students and children are so lucky to have such a variety of books that they can see themselves in and also learn about others. I see the reflection of myself preparing for my Bat Mitzvah at age 12 and the memories I have around this Jewish tradition. Snyder brings up the ideas of how at times this tradition feels like it is more for the parents than the kids. Zippy’s mom even says, ” ‘So religious or not, we are Jewish, you are having a bat mitzvah, and that’s the end of it. We’re part of a tradition’ ” (16).

Though the adults in the story might create the space for Zippy to get in touch with her Jewish side, the story focuses on her interest in being a witch. I love how her Rabbi Dan and parents are so patient with her interest in witchery and let her be herself instead of trying to make her someone she isn’t. Their openness is what keeps her working toward her Bat Mitzvah. And that Rabbi Dan allows her to question parts of Judaism, which has always her to trust him. 

Zippy’s curiosity about witchery allows her to learn about Jewish mythology and dybbuks as she works to displace a spirit, Miriam, she has met. This relationship is important to Zippy as she is experiencing distance from her best friend Bea, which so often happens in 7th grade as kids test boundaries with their friends.

In my mid-twenties, I visited Manzanar while I was working in the Sierras. This was one of my first experiences, I can remember, learning about Japanese American concentration camps. It reminded me of everything I had learned in Hebrew School about the Holocaust and couldn’t believe that we had ostracized people in our own country. I was naive then (and probably still am now). 

But my naivety did not end there. In my early 30s (over 10 years ago), I read Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I can remember learning that the Puyallup Fairgrounds was a temporary detention center for Japanese Americans, and I felt deceived. I grew up watching concerts and milking goats at the Puyallup Fair  and had no clue that this location was once used to imprison people. 

I continued to read more historical fiction and memoir books about Executive Order 9066 where Japanese Americans had forced removals from their homes like Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. 

Recently, I have gravitated to two books on this topic that I feel are even more honest and share more candidly about how the American Government wronged Japanese Americans by asking for their loyalty while not trusting them. One book is They Called Us Enemy, a graphic memoir, by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and Harmony Becker. The other book is Traci Chee’s We Are Not Free which was a 2020 National Book Award Finalist. Though neither of these books have been published in the last year, I find them great resources for hearing a more truthful story of this shameful time in American history. I continue to learn more about this tragic history.

Both stories focus, for a portion of the books on the No-No Boys “the colloquial term for detained Japanese Americans who answered “no” to questions 27 and 28 on the so-called “loyalty questionnaire” during World War II. Those who answered no, or who were deemed disloyal, were segregated from other detainees and moved to the Tule Lake Relocation Camp in California” (Smithsonian American Art Museum).

Most recently as I was reading We Are Not Free, I couldn’t stop thinking about how innocent people were accused of a crime. This quote from the text stuck out to me: “You are guilty, you have not committed a crime.” (Chee). How does one learn to trust again after he or she has not done anything wrong, yet is not trusted? The story parts that take place at Tule Lake, especially touch on this. This was a high security camp that I was not aware had existed and was more harsh than camps like Manzanar. 

This book was so abundant with historical content and human connections to its multiple characters; I wish I had kept track of the characters as I read. The characters took turns narrating and sharing their rich commentary as relatable teenagers. They tried not to miss out on their teenage years as you followed them through their interwoven story. 

They Called Us Enemy followed one family more closely and allowed us to enter the political intricacies of detention centers through the graphics and the family’s experience as Takei’s parents take political stances. The book offers a more extensive look into what happened after the detention centers were closed. 

These are just two more recently written stories that young adults can use as resources to learn about this historical era in US history. They are written to tell an important story, but also to engage young adults, so they actually hear the stories. We no longer only need a history textbook to learn about history. We can also tell stories as we have more access points through story, both real and researched fiction, to learn. Human stories are hard to ignore as they are filled with emotions and create a space for empathy and understanding. Until we know someone’s story, we don’t know a person. 

“I must, I must, I must increase my bust.” How is it that this is the only line I remember from Are You There God It’s Me Margaret? by Judy Blume.

Recently, I reread this book and didn’t recognize much. In fact, this is at least my third reading of it. I read it as a child then again as an adult about 15 years ago for a book club. I like to read books before I watch movies and since it was being released as a movie, I thought I should read it again. Too be honest, I didn’t remember it from my earlier readings. Perhaps, this is a good reason to reread books as we enter different parts of our lives and view them with different background knowledge. Not until I began the book during this most recent reading did I start to think about it from the angle of book banning. 

I was curious if people don’t want this book in school libraries or classrooms. I started down a rabbit hole on the Internet. There were several articles about Judy Blume’s writing being scrutinized even when she first published them in the 70s and 80s. Terry Gross interviewed Blume on Fresh Air. 

This led me to thinking of solutions to parents’ fear of what their children are reading that excludes banning of books. One idea that I don’t believe to be earth shattering is parents having conversations with their children about the books they are reading and, even, reading alongside them. Maybe had I talked with my mom about this book, it wouldn’t have been as unfamiliar to me. 

Much like Blume’s Are You There God It’s Me Margaret? Aida Salazar’s novel in verse The Moon Within focuses around a young girl who is coming of age and anticipating her menses. It’s a more modern version of Margaret’s story bringing in cultural aspects of some Latinx rituals and a friend who is questioning their gender identity. These topics shouldn’t scare us away from recommending them to kids. I see books as an opportunity to have fruitful conversations and to learn or to feel less alone. Why not start a book club with other parents and their children. 

I can’t remember what my reaction was to Are You There God It’s Me Margaret? when I was reading it as a kid, but I am making assumptions that it shed light on ideas that no one was talking about in the 80s. I didn’t have any discussions with my mom about this book. I believe because I didn’t have discussions with my parents about what I was reading that I didn’t get as much out of it. 

What if instead of looking to ban books, we look to engage them. We look to have them as a point of discussion. We look to use them as a source of connection. 

I understand that people, especially busy parents, don’t have time to read everything their children are reading, especially if their children read a lot. However, we can still work to ask questions, be curious, and have conversations around what our kids are reading. 

Fear of the unknown or not having control is what ignites passion around book banning. Are You There God It’s Me Margaret? is an innocent book about real questions our adolescents have just as The Moon Within is. Salazar’s book would be a great book to start with as part of its power is to ignite discussion and open doors to discussions.

To avoid mystery and negative stigma, discussion questions can be ones such as: 

1. What questions do you have about getting your period?
2. Is there anything my that makes you nervous about getting your period?
3. Tell your story about when you first menstruated.
4. What would you like to do to celebrate when you get your menses?
5. Tell your story about your first crush.
6. Have your child fill in the blank: I feel uncomfortable talking about ____ with you. 

I do remember as a kid when my mom would ask me direct questions I was more likely to talk with her. Rarely did I start the conversation. I would add: 

Read AND Discuss More. Ban Less.

What books would you recommend for a parent/kid book club?