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(From June 2003)
Dear Fellow Book
Lovers:
In
these uncertain times, school and public librarians across
the nation are answering requests from parents and teachers
for books to help guide children and students toward an understanding
of war. They want books that explain the whys of global
conflict. They need books that help the young connect emotionally
to the human tragedies and triumphs that they are witnessing
first hand on the nightly news. They have studied war in
social studies classes, but never before has a war been so
vivid. The brutal images of actual battles, the live interviews
with the families of soldiers, the capture of American POW’s,
and the looting in the streets of Baghdad are images that
flood American homes from every major television network,
and cause the young to ponder, probe, and question. Do they
see war as a game? Are they fearful? Are they losing hope?
How are they responding to the terrorists’ threats to our
nation? What can we say to them that offers comfort and security?
Perhaps
the best thing we can do is to call upon world history and
give them novels about previous wars – real and fictional
stories about young people who are victims of war and survive
the brutal attacks on their families and their land. Books
like For
Freedom by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley tells the story
of a young French girl who becomes a spy during World II and
aids in the liberation of France. Her bravery is a symbol
of hope, and demonstrates that the young have a tremendous
contribution to a free world. The
Last Mission by Harry Mazer is set during World
War II and is the story of fifteen-year-old Jack Raab who
is shot down and taken to a German POW camp. Under
the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury relates what
happens to a Japanese-American boy and his family when his
father and grandfather are taken from their home in Hawaii
and sent to a Japanese Internment Camp following the bombing
of Pearl Harbor.
Ain’t
Gonna Study War No More: The Story of American’s Peace Seekers
by Milton Meltzer offers a different and important perspective.
This is a nonfiction work about Americans who have made
a difference by staging rallies and street protests in the
name of peace. This book connects young readers to those
who are against war, and more importantly, to the idea that
our first freedom in America is that of free speech.
Additional titles related to war, and a guide for discussing
war with children and young adults is available at Teachers@random
Back to This Month's Pat
Scales
You may email me at pscales@scgsah.state.sc.us.
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