Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Tonya Bolden

CROSSING EBENEZER CREEK by Tonya Bolden is an extremely powerful work of historical fiction.  It takes place in 1864 during the American Civil War and Sherman’s March to the sea. The union soldiers free the slaves at the Chaney plantation, including Mariah, her brother Zeke, and an older woman named Dulcina. They, in turn, are given a ride and protection of a sort from Caleb, a free black man working on foraging and supplying the Union Army.  This book has some gentle, quiet moments and plenty of horrific stories of cruelty from previous masters. What was most shocking, however, was the final section which is based on a little-known disaster at Ebenezer Creek.  Well-researched, I appreciated the author’s notes about sources and the origin of the laws involving 40 acres and a mule for newly freed slaves.

US History and American Studies classes or maybe our Integrated Global Studies School (IGSS) could be interested in tying this historical fiction to some current day concerns. One example that comes readily to mind is the controversy over statues commemorating Civil War soldiers and the recent speech by New Orleans’ mayor.  Another is the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis which artist Abdalla Al Omari has tried to personalize for world leaders. I am curious to hear students’ reactions and definitely love the idea of pairing CROSSING EBENEZER CREEK in literature circles with other stories of refugees – like Ruth Sepetys’ Salt to the Sea or perhaps McCormick’s Never Fall Down.  Tonya Bolden’s well-written and engrossing novel received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, School Library Journal and others.

Mother's Day: The Book of You and This is What a Librarian Looks Like

Happy Mother’s Day!  This past week, a teacher brought some card stock and markers to the library so that our high schoolers could make cards for their Moms and Grandmothers.  If you are looking for a creative way to celebrate with your children, consider, THE BOOK OF YOU by Kate and David Marshall. This book is designed to be a keepsake journal created for a child and is perfect for future baby gifts, birthdays, even graduations. It is filled with quotes and prompts to express how proud you are of your teenage or adult child and how grateful for the person s/he has become.

My favorite quote is one from Elizabeth Stone:  “Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”  The love just seems to burst from these pages. The Marshalls have also co-authored What I Love About You. 

Since many of the Moms I know are also librarians, it seemed appropriate to add a review of a related new book and a plea for action. THIS IS WHAT A LIBRARIAN LOOKS LIKE by Kyle Cassidy is based in part on his photo essay which appeared at Slate a few years ago and has been extremely popular. In this new book, Cassidy photographs close to 220 librarians who then share personal thoughts and opinions on what being a librarian means.  That is fascinating and uplifting reading in itself, but he also includes essays on the importance of libraries and librarians from several writers, including Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, Nancy Pearl and others. THIS IS WHAT A LIBRARIAN LOOKS LIKE is truly inspiring and a wonderful tribute to the profession. 

Please consider taking a minute from your celebrations today and asking family members to call both of their Senators and remind them to support federal library funding! Ask that Senators "sign the FY 2018 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) Dear Appropriator letters." These programs amount to more than $210 million in federal funding for libraries and the American Library Association believes that protecting them has never been more necessary.  If interested, you’ll find all the background information and links you need to quickly reach Senators by email, phone or Twitter at the ALA’s Fight for Libraries! web portal .  The ALA’s grassroots campaign for FY 2018 LSTA and IAL funding is aiming to increase that base of support to 51 Senators by May 19, so timing is critical.  Thank you!  Last week these eight leading national companies (with collective revenue measured in billions of dollars), made the request: Baker & Taylor, Follett School Solutions, Gale/Cengage, OverDrive, Peachtree Publishers, Penguin Random House, ProQuest and Rosen Publishing to the offices of all Senators who have not already signed both the Senate LSTA and IAL letters and urged them to do so. 

Libraries – and Moms – deserve our support and thanks today! 

Journaling and Reflection

I am really excited about the new “Activism Station” which we are planning for the library.  We have had numerous discussions with teachers about all kinds of topics – Global Voices, Health Advocacy, Peer Helping, Advisory projects – and the level of interest is high.  Obviously, we will be promoting writing and communication; one type of activity I have been exploring is journaling and wanted to quickly note a couple of new resources.  JOURNAL SPARKS by Emily K. Neuburger is very hands-on and geared to students in middle school and older.  This colorful book is filled with prompts intended to help readers fulfill its subtitle: “Fire Up Your Creativity with Spontaneous Art, Wild Writing, and Inventive Thinking.”  How might you increase the impact of those ideas like writing poetry or creating a collage? Whether choosing “It’s Your Cause Video Challenge” or something else, we are looking for more advocacy outlets in include. Please share with us.

On a related topic, I am a big list maker so I am intrigued by AASL's School Libraries Transform Calendar of activities, the 52 Lists Project journal, and others such as START WHERE YOU ARE by Meera Lee Patel, filled with gentle watercolors and inspiring quotes. That one has more of an emphasis on mindfulness which our school community also wants to explore more deeply. We can all benefit from some quiet reflection time, perhaps pausing for a Shultz Hour, as recently advocated in The New York Times.