Aleutian Sparrow
Aladdin Paperbooks, 2003
Multicultural Realistic Historical Fiction
Upper Elementary School/Early Middle School
When I first saw that we were going to have to read a whole book that was written in free verse poetry I was kind of worried about it for fear of not understanding what it was going to try say.
After I started and got into the book I really started to enjoy reading it and was anticipating what it was going to tell me.
It still shocks me that something like this could happen to some one, or group of people. I hate that I have never heard of what happened to these people during WWII. I think this is something that is going to be hard for anyone to grasp especially younger children. But as a teacher it is important to not leave information out just because it might be hard to talk about or to learn about. We have to teach these things so that societies to come will not resort back to these ways of thinking. If we don't teach them then who will.... Especially those children who's families do still have false prejudices against a certain type of people, who will tell them that it is wrong to hate or mistreat people because of things like race/religion/etc. It is up to the child to make the change but as a teacher it is our responsibilities to try and teach them the way to help improve inequalities and social injustice.
The story at times reminded me of Because of Winn-Dixie, especially when Vera and Parvi wanted to hold the dance. Vera tried to remain as positive as possible despite the horrible conditions that they were forced into. Another way that I saw Vera like Opal was with regards to her mother. The story stated on page 4 that "My mother greets me like a stranger". In this respect they neither one have a mother in a sense. Opal's mother left her when she was young and it bothers Opal throughout the whole story and it is something that she has to deal with and come to terms with. Vera also does not seem to have a good relationship with her mother and it is almost as if her mother is not even more than just the person who gave birth to her and nothing more. Even later on in the story Vera's mother decides to take a one bedroom that is heated and leave her daughter to stay in the camp with the rest of the Aleutians. I could not image doing this to my daughter, not that I have one but still. I think the fact that her mother does this is one of the lowest things that she could do. Basically abandon her daughter to live in terrible conditions so that she can live in a better place alone. Despicable.
This story also has GREAT adjectives and similes. I love the one on page 13, "where the old ways steep like tea in a cup of hours." I think she is talking about how there will always be talk and actions of the ways of her people while she is at Alfred's grandfathers house. Alfred's family is more like Vera's family than her own, Vera loves the history and stories of the past while her mother does not.
There are some many things in this book that children can relate to. The desire for the familiar, a desire to be home and not in a foreign place, a longing for a pet to comfort them and for them to love and feel as though they have a responsibility, having to deal with misconceptions that people make about you without even knowing you. The list goes on. It is stories like these that can help children to deal with problems of their own. They do not feel like they are the only ones in the world with problems, they can see that other people deal with some of the same things and they manage to find a way through the hardships. It could be almost therapeutic to some children.
I loved how they sometimes found things that were an advantage to being in the camp, they tried to make the best of everything. The baseball field is one example of that. One advantage that they do not realize is the fact that the ones who survived have learn how to adapt in an almost impossible and depressing situation. It is a life lesson that is hard to learn and one that no one wants to learn, yet it saved their lives and will continue to help them persevere throughout the rest of their lives.
I love Mr. Wacker, he is almost a saint to the Aleutian people. He drives them the 8 miles into the city, he bails them out of jail when they are falsely accused of doing things. He is the only one in the story that is not threatened or bothered by the fact that they were moved there. He is a good example of someone who is tolerant of people who are different from him. It would be good to point this out to children so they could realize the impact he made on those people and perhaps the children would have the desire to emulate him and his actions.
I could not imagine being put into that position. Being forced from the home that I love and forced to live in terrible, terrible conditions. No heat in Alaska, no running water, a trough for a toilet, no privacy, no medical care or attention, barley any food, forced to change the ways that we have lived and existed for thousand of years. Just in generally treated like a piece of scum. I do not know how I would be able to cope with all of that. Those people were so strong and unbelievable. I also would want the world to know of the injustice that was done to me and my people, I do not know how they deal with this information being so scarce.
I am so thankful that we got to read this book and I got to learn about a tragedy that I did not know existed and also in a very different way than traditional novels.
1 comment:
I was a little apprehensive about the whole book being written in poetry too, at first. I thought I wouldn't be able to understand it but, like you, I found that I enjoyed it. Free verse is apparently my kind of poetry because usually I don't understand the other stuff.
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