"The Little Ships"

Title: The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II

Author: Louise Borden

Illustrator: Michael Foreman

Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1997

Genre: Picture Book, Historical Fiction

Age Range: 2-5

Summary: In the beginning of WWII, there were about half a million soldiers stranded in Dunkirk. They had been trapped on three sides by the German military. The only way to save them was by the sea. A little girl and her father own a small boat called the Lucy. They decide to sign up, she has to make herself look like a boy, and join the efforts to go and save the soldiers. They are a part of 861 boats that go and save men. When they arrive they see men who are hurt and dying, as well as their animals. They took thousands of men from the shore to the larger ships, each time she was looking for her brother John. As they were leaving, stray bullets were hitting their ship, and the city of Dunkirk was going up in flames. When they arrived home, the learned that a man traveling with them had died, so they took his dog in as their own. Soon she heard news that her brother was safe. They listened to the words of the Prime Minister, and heard that they had helped to save over 338,000 men in Dunkirk.

Response: I have not heard very much about Dunkirk in my studies, other than it was a massive rescue attempt. It was interesting to read in the author's note about all the animals that were rescued, along with the men. She also adds in some of the speech from the Prime Minister who talks about fighting the war with Germany until the end. He said that the rescue at Dunkirk was not necessarily a victory, but a miracle that they were able to save so many men. These are great tools of information, and the foreword in the front from the captain of a ship also adds to the authenticity of the story. There is nothing but bravery and courage spoken from the little girl who travels with her father. The story seems to be written in almost a free verse poem, as it is written in stanzas on the pages. Her words are very realistic and the vocabulary seems to match that of a young child. She is very descriptive in talking about the soldiers, and their very desperate condition. I think it is very interesting to note that she would be able to help pull these men into the ship, being very young. She says that her hands were raw inside the gloves she wore. She saw things that many people would not dare to speak of. Soldiers in Dunkirk were hurt and had no help. Thousands of men owe their lives to this massive armada of ships that came to help them. The illustrations in the book are done with water color. There is no real bold colors until you see Dunkirk and the fires and things in it. The pictures of the boats traveling are very dark and gray. There is a hazy sort of feel, as if they are about to approach a major storm. Some of the details are a bit blurred, showing just how much was going on at the time. I think it shows that details were forgotten by those there because they were so focused on the rescue at hand. The most important picture, in my opinion, shows a man being pulled on to the sip, after he has fallen into the water. he is hanging onto one side of the boat, with his dog paddling beside him. They are all reaching out for him, to save his life. But at the same time, the water is enveloping him, and the white crests are almost like weapons coming after him. Both he and the little girl are wearing blue, which brings them both together. Also, the dog in this picture is the dog she ends up taking home with her. She is their rescuer. She also talks about not showing her fear of the war. Of course, it was the beginning, but this war was perhaps one of the greatest tragedies in history. The holocaust killed well over 6 million people. Stories like this give hope because at this time the world was consumed with so much hate and violence.

Teaching Ideas: This follows with a study of WWII, or even talking about heroes. This little girl is a hero, well, she was fictitious but perhaps young people helped out at this time. Children can talk about how it would be to go through something like this in war. I would use this book in part with other books, such as Milkweed, Aleutian Sparrow, and Weedflower that give students a wide array of things that were going on at this point in time.

"The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963"

Title: The Watson's Go to Birmingham--1963

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Publisher: Yearling, 1995

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age Range: 3-6

Newbery Honor Book

Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Summary: The Watsons are an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, where the weather is freezing. There is a mother named Wilona, a father named Daniel, an older juvenile delinquent brother named Byron, the storyteller named Kenny, and a little sister named Joetta. The family struggles trying to keep Byron in line. Kenny is really intelligent, and Joey is a bit of a whiner and tattle-tale. Kenny talks a lot about his family, and making a new friend named Rufus. Byron continually gets into trouble, and his parents finally decide that they are going to take him to Alabama to stay with their grandmother. The family is going to drive together and stay for a few weeks, and then leave Byron there. Their mother has everything planned out, and their father even bought a portable record player for their car. On the way, their father decides he is going to drive straight to Alabama, much to their mother's dismay. Once arriving there, it seems like Kenny and By switch places because Kenny is in a bad mood and hot, while Byron is enjoying everything. Kenny goes against the warning signs into Collier's Landing, where a whirlpool killed a young boy. Kenny begins being pulled in by the "Wool Pooh" and it is Byron who saves him. On Sunday, Kenny is still shaken by the events, and he sees his little sister go to Sunday School. A little while later a huge noise shakes everyone, and it is soon realized that someone has bombed the church. Kenny runs over there finding a shoe, and seeing many terrible things in the church. He thinks it belongs to his sister, and that she is dead. When he gets home, she comes into his room, and he acts like she is a ghost. What had happened was Joey had gotten too hot in the church and came home on her own. The family left that day and went home. Kenny has a hard time with the whole thing because he believes it was the "Wool Pooh" who was in the church pulling Joey away from him, and he let go. He eventually has a breakdown with By in the bathroom, and realizes that he is okay, and to finally let go of the things that happened because they were not his fault.

Response: This novel displays a wide variety of emotions, and allows for the reader to really get inside the characters’ personalities. The first half of the book gives the reader an idea as to where the family lives, their experiences, and a good description of each character.

The father of the family is goofy and fun loving; he spends most of his time cracking jokes, and trying to get their mother to laugh. He is head over heels in love with her. He is also a very proud man, driving straight through to Alabama just to prove he is still young enough to do it. The mother is a stern woman, who is definitely the head of the household. She has those looks that let everyone know what she is thinking; she is much more serious than her husband. A strong southern woman at heart, she plans every detail of the trip, and can not wait to show her family her great southern roots. Byron is thee typical rebellious teenager. He spends most of his time skipping school, bullying children, and getting into any and every kind of trouble. His juvenile record is what sets the family on their trip. He will have to stay with their grandmother down there all summer because of his continuous trouble. Kenny is the storyteller. The novel is told from his young perspective. He is very intelligent; one of the best readers in the school. He does his best to stay out of the way of his older brother, and other school bullies. He has one friend, a new boy who moved up from the south. Joetta, or Joey, is the youngest. She is very caring and never wants for her brothers to get in trouble; however, there are times that she can be a tattle-tale. She loves church, and attends Sunday school each and every week. The family is known as the “Weird Watsons” because they are often doing things a little out of the ordinary. For example, when their father comes home with the portable record player in the car, they sit out there for hours listening to all their favorite records.

There are three events that take place in the novel that I feel like made a great impression on me, and really helped to make this book a great read.

The first event takes place when the family arrives in Alabama. It is hot, and this makes Kenny very grouchy. He decides that he is going to venture to Collier’s Landing, disregarding the warnings and a cautionary tale about a young boy who was killed. Not even Byron will go with him. After arriving in Alabama he made a 180, perhaps he changed, or maybe he was just afraid of having to stay there all summer. Kenny gets in the water, and at first, he feels great. He feels free. However, he starts to realize he is being pulled further and further out into the water, and he wants to get back to land. There is a whirl pool, and Kenny thinks it is a “wool pooh”, an actually person trying to get you. It starts sucking him under the water, and pulling him further away from the shore. As hard as he swims, he can not seem to shake the “wool pooh” from grabbing his leg. I think this is symbolic of the entire Civil Rights Movement. They waded into it wanting freedom, which they deserved. Their evil “wool pooh” were those who opposed them in their efforts. They would try to keep them from it by bombing churches, killing people, and discouraging them in any way possible. As for Kenny, he continues to think about his little sister, and soon he is pulled to safety by his big brother, Byron. The two decide not to tell anyone about it, and it weighs heavy on Kenny’s chest.

The second event takes place the next Sunday afternoon. Kenny tells his sister she looks beautiful before she leaves to go to Sunday school, which should be a forewarning that something is not right with the day because he has never told her that before. Not too much later, there is a huge crashing sound, like thunder. No one really knows what is going on until Kenny hears his mother scream. He learns that the church that Joey has gone to has been bombed. He is in a daze as he rushes over there. He finds a shoe in the rubble that looks just like Joey’s. He starts to pull at it, and he starts to think that the “wool pooh” has got a hold of her, and he is too scared to continue. He sees little girls hurt, and rushes home. He gets back and sees Joetta coming into his room, and he thinks she is a ghost. What had happened was she was hot and went outside, and apparently followed him home. She was safe, but Kenny could not shake the fact that he was not brave enough to take on the “wool pooh.” This again is symbolic of the entire Civil Rights Movement. Unfortunately, bombings like this took place often during this time. Little girls and other innocent people were hurt and killed for no reason. Those who opposed the advancing movement did this to try and stop who they could; the “wool pooh” that scared Kenny also scared many others because they knew the resistance was willing to do whatever it took to keep them from continuing in their efforts.

The last event takes place weeks after the Watsons return home from Alabama. Kenny, having been through what he had the past few weeks, was not himself. He was carrying a heavy load, as many would having dealt with near death experiences. He and Byron lay in the bathroom and Kenny sobs and talks about his guilt for not fighting the “wool pooh” or Joey. He has this unnecessary guilt built up inside of him, and Byron tells him that he must let it go. On page 203, Byron gives a profound and poignant statement. He says, “Kenny, things ain’t ever going to be fair. How’s it fair that two grown men hate Negroes so much that they’d kill some kids just to stop them from going to school? How’s it fair that even though the cops down there might know who did it nothing will probably ever happen to those men? It ain’t. But you gotta understand that that’s the way it is and keep on steppin’.” This statement pretty much sums up the entire point of the book, and how those involved in the Civil Rights Movement ever found the strength to continue on their journey.

Teaching Ideas: This novel is a perfect way to talk about the Civil Rights Movement. Being from North Carolina it is important to talk about all the great events that took place here. The Greensboro sit ins are perhaps the most famous. Also, discussing the bus boycotts and church bombings that took place all over is a vital part of the movement. Using the book Rosa, and talking about influential people will help them to understand how important this time period was. Children must understand that this was a peaceful movement, but the resistance to it was what brought violence. Movies such as Remember the Titans and Glory Road are a great supplemental to this.