Tuesday, June 16, 2009

On the Summer Reading List

Right now I'm in a pretty intensive two-week summer school course on Multicultural Art Education. We're focusing on Africa and the Middle East. Today in class a high school teacher of gifted and advanced placement students came to talk to us about the culture and history of Africa and how she teaches her kids about it. She recommended three books (two of which are requirements for her students; the other is not appropriate for younger readers). They all sound wonderful and I am definitely putting them on my to-read list. (Two of the authors are actually coming to speak to her classes...wish I had a teacher like that in high school.)

I was so excited about them that I wanted to post them here now even though I haven't read them yet:

The Camel Bookmobile, Masha Hamilton
A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah (this is the one not appropriate for high-schoolers...too graphic)
The Bite of the Mango, Mariatu Kamara

Let me know what you think about them if you get to them before I do!

2 comments:

  1. Jen, I read A Long Way Gone for my book club a few months back. It's good, but yes, very, very graphic, disturbing, etc.

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  2. I know it's going to be. I'm a little afraid to read it...I'm going to let David read it first.

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