Sleeping Bear Press offered copies of the book to three readers of She is Too Fond [...]]]> I was happy to be able to share the concept of the remembrance table in my review of Margot Theis’ important picture book, America’s White Table.  Her prose and Mike Benny’s illustrations are a winning combination to deliver this story.

Sleeping Bear Press offered copies of the book to three readers of She is Too Fond of Books.  The winners, drawn randomly, are:

• #4 – Angela D. – I would love to share this book with my 4th grade class. I think it is important teach about our men and women in the military and how important they are to our freedom. I will use this book to also teach symbolism and use it in a creative writing lesson.
• #7 – Heather S – This book would be for my Mother, she would adore it, and no I hadn’t heard about it before here!
• #15 – gwendolyn b. – This book would be primarily for my niece and nephew, but also for myself! I had never heard of the White Table and would like to learn more. It sounds like a wonderfully gentle way for children to become aware of the sacrifices and achievements of our veterans. Thank you!

Congratulations to all!  Please email your US/Canada mailing address to me and I’ll send it along to the publisher.

Back-of-the-book blurb: The White Table is set in many halls as a symbol for and remembrance to service members fallen, missing, or held captive in the line of duty. Solitary and [...]]]> America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by Mike Benny
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition (April 21, 2005)
ISBN-13: 978-1585362165

Back-of-the-book blurb: The White Table is set in many halls as a symbol for and remembrance to service members fallen, missing, or held captive in the line of duty. Solitary and solemn, it is the table where no one will ever sit.

As a special gift to her Uncle John, Katie and her sisters are asked to help set the white table for dinner. As their mother explains the significance of each item placed on the table Katie comes to understand and appreciate the depth of sacrifice that her uncle, and each member of the Armed Forces and their families, may be called to give.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: Well, it’s true – you learn something new every day!  Thanks to America’s White Table, I now know about the ceremonial table set to honor those members of the military who are MIA or have been prisoners of war.  I didn’t previously know about this tradition, full of symbolism, which a character describes in part:

“We use a small table, girls,” she explained first, “to show one soldier’s lonely battle against many.  We cover it with a white cloth to honor a soldier’s pure heart when he answers his country’s call to duty.

We place a lemon slice and grains of salt on a plate to show a captive soldier’s bitter fate and the tears of families waiting for loved ones to return,” she continued.

We push an empty chair to the table for the missing soldiers who are not here.”

Margot Theis Raven’s prose tell the story of a fictional 10-year-old girl, Katie, whose uncle is coming for dinner on Veteran’s Day.  Katie’s mother explains the importance of the ceremonial table, and its special significance to Uncle John.  He served in Vietnam and lost his friend Mike there after the two were taken as prisoners of war.  Uncle John and his friend eventually gained their freedom; but Mike’s injuries were too severe and he didn’t survive.  Katie puts the story in book format as a promise to Uncle Mike and others that she will never forget the gift of freedom that veterans have given her.

The inner story of John and Mike as POWs in Vietnam is brief and poignant.  Imprisonment, injuries and death play a brief, but vital role in the flashback.  It is not graphic, nor does it dwell on this aspect of wars; it is necessary, though, to introduce the concept of sacrifices made in the name of freedom.  I felt it appropriate for the ages of my children who read the book with me (5, 7, and 11), and was able to address whatever questions they had in my usual manner (that is, with as little age-appropriate information as needed to satisfy their curiosity about a sensitive subject … similar to the way I’ve handled the birds and the bees!).

Mike Benny’s illustrations are expressive, colorful (but not overly bright, as befits the subject), and clear.  The vignette flashing back to Vietnam is done in sepia tones, visually distancing it from the contemporary story.  The lyrics of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” run in short phrases through the book, across the bottom of the pages.

I’m happy to add America’s White Table to our family’s library.  My kids have already asked if we’ll be setting a remembrance table this Veteran’s Day.  I feel that J and I shelter them from so much that’s going on in the world, honoring veterans in this way is one way we can gently start to bridge that gap.

FTC disclosure: review copy provided by the publisher.

Back-of-the-book blurb: Ella May lives on a plantation but she doesn’t live in the great house. She is a slave. It’s dark in the morning when Ella May heads [...]]]>

• The Listeners by Gloria Whelan, illustrated by Mike Benny
• Reading level: Ages 6-10 (see notes on age range, below)
• Library Binding: 40 pages
• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press (September 2009)
• ISBN-13: 978-1585364190

Back-of-the-book blurb: Ella May lives on a plantation but she doesn’t live in the great house. She is a slave. It’s dark in the morning when Ella May heads to the fields to pick cotton. And it’s sunset when she comes home. But her day isn’t done, not yet. Ella May still has important work to do. She’s got to listen.

Each night Ella May and her friends secretly listen outside the windows of their master’s house. The children listen in the hopes of gleaning information about their fates and those of their loved ones. Who will be sold? Who will stay?

The lives of slaves depended on the inclinations of their owners. They had no control over their daily lives or futures. But they could dream. And when the promise of freedom appears on the horizon, the children are the first to hear it.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: The Listeners presents a slice of history – showing how slave children were the carriers of information about the plantation and the nation at large in the days leading to the Emancipation Proclamation.  Gloria Whelan uses a child’s voice to describe the daily routines; her words exemplify the writer’s maxim of “show, don’t tell” :

Listening is a job for us children.  We make ourselves small as cotton seeds and quiet as shadows. … Sand flies bite us and mosquitoes stick pins in us but we don’t slap at them.  We’re here to listen.

And listen they do.  The children hear Master Thomas’ plans to teach Ella May’s father, William, how to maintain the cotton gin.  Ella May listens with pride as she hears Master Thomas tell Mistress Louise that he won’t sell William because “he’s one of our best pickers, and handy with machines.”  One evening Ella May hears the young mistress of the house recite a poem her tutor has taught her; Ella May memorizes it and feels “now it’s my poem, too.”

Another night the children hear the anger in Master Thomas’ voice as he loudly complains about the newly elected president, Abraham Lincoln.  Master Thomas shouts that Lincoln “is a madman!  He says slavery is wrong!  He says slavery must end!”

The adults listen raptly as the slave children relate what they’ve heard.  Ella May understands that a big change is coming, and asks her father if she is done listening.  Her father wisely replies:

We see the road, but we don’t see all the way to where the ending is.  We got to know how long is that road and how we get down it. … your listening is just begun.

When I talked with my kids about the messages in the book, they offered several, both historical and personal:

• slaves were treated unfairly; they weren’t treated like people!
• children worked hard during the day and continued working at night when they listened
• their lives were hard, but they were able to find small moments of joy
• even when the end is in sight, you have to keep focused to get to your goal (don’t give up!)

A note about the audience age range for The Listeners:  Publishers assign a suggested age range to children’s books, to aid you in selecting appropriate material.  In this case, the reading level is listed as “ages 6-10,” which is a fair average, but may cut the spread too short.  I read this aloud with my 5- and 7-year-olds; 11-year-old was listening, but not snuggling on the sofa with us (he picked up The Listeners and read it on his own, later).  Mike Benny’s detailed illustrations, especially the intense facial expressions,  convey the range of emotions shown by children and adults; emotions that children of all ages can relate to.

There’s a wonderful “Educator’s Guide” to The Listeners available online.  It’s not just for teachers, though!  Many of the themes, including a recipe for cornmeal dumplings, can be adapted for home use to extend the impact of the story (and without your kitchen feeling like a classroom).  The Listeners is the latest book in Sleeping Bear Press’ “Tales of Young Americans” series.  Other titles include Rudy Rides the Rails (Depression era), and The Junk Man’s Daughter (turn of the century immigration).

Highly recommended for home, school, and library.