Module 2

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Woodson, Jacqueline. HUSH. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2002. Print.

B. PLOT SUMMARY

Hush is told through the eyes of a thirteen year old girl, Toswiah. She is living in Denver with her family and has never really experienced discrimination. Her father is a police officer, her mother is a school teacher and her older sister is a cheerleader. They live in a nice house; have their family and friends to share their life with.

Toswiah’s father witness two white police officers kill a young black unarmed teenager; he has to make a decision about keeping quite or doing the right thing and testifying against his friends. After much deliberation he decides to testify against the white cops, the mostly white community turns against him, and the family enters the witness protection program. Their whole life changes over night. They are whisked away to a hotel where they are kept for three weeks without any outside communication. They leave behind everything.

Toswiah is now Evie and her sister Cameron is called Anna. This story describes the family's struggles and triumphs as seen through Evie/Toswiah's eyes. The mother once a confident school teacher is now a religious fanatic. She joins the Jehovah’s Witness and wants the girls to join also. The father sits by the window doing looking at life pass him by, he tries to commit suicide. Evie only outlet is joining the track team ironically she loves running, but running away is what has turned her life into chaos. Her sister enrolls in college to get away from the life that she despises.

This novel deals with identity, racism, class and moral obligations.


C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

The novel address the skin tones of the characters, even though they are all African American they have different color of skin. “Her mother’s brown reminds her of everything she loves: Chocolate, Dark wool, the smell of earth, Trees. The girl and her sister’s own skin is coppery – somewhere between their mother’s deep brown and their father’s lighter skin. (p. 2)

Another issue that is addressed is that blacks are often treated unfairly just because they are black. “Because he was black. That boy was standing, facing them, with his hands raised. And they shot him.” (p. 45)

“Anyone stop to think that there aren’t even enough black boys in Denver to make up an all-black gang?” (p. 47)
The father in this novel came from a middle class family that had been able to live in a white class world without suffering the prejudice that lower class black families had.
“My father was a lawyer and his father was judge. And her I am – a cop. You say it’s in Randall’s and Dennis’s blood – well, it’s in mine, too. They shouldn’t have killed Taylor.” (p. 49)

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publishers Weekly

“Once again, Woodson handles delicate, even explosive subject matter with exceptional clarity, surety and depth.”

School Library Journal

“As usual, Woodson’s characterizations and dialogue are right on . . . Powerful and engaging.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Readers will be caught up in this searing and gritty story; Woodson composes a plot without easy answers…[An] involving novel about a family struggling to remain intact in sprite of tremendous obstacles.”

E. CONNECTIONS

Teaching About Tolerance Through Music" Hand out lyrics of songs that depict prejudices or racism like Peter, Paul and Mary's "Right Field" or "Don't Laugh at Me." After students have had a chance to read the lyrics, engage them in a discussion of the song's message. Following a discussion have students do one of the following: paint or draw a picture showing the song's emotions, write a poem about their personal feelings dealing with prejudices against them, or join other students to perform the song discussed. Summarized from Education World, a lesson plan by Gary Hopkins at http://www.educationworld.com/alesson/03/lp294-04.shtml ]

Write about an individual who overcame obstacles of prejudice to accomplish something worthwhile. This could be a great political leader, a teacher, or even a family member.

For one week, keep a listing of television programs in which prejudiced comments or actions are shown. Discuss these with your family or class. How do these programs affect our views of each other and how we treat each other?


A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pinkney, Brian. Max Found Two Sticks. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1997.

B. PLOT SUMMARY

On a day when Max doesn't feel like talking to anyone, a strong breeze shakes two heavy twigs to the ground in front of his brownstone home. Picking them up, the young African-American boy begins to beat out a rhythm that imitates the sound of pigeons startled into flight. Soon he is tapping out the beat of everything around him-rain against the windows, the chiming of church bells, and the thundering sound of a train on its tracks. While reading this delightful book you can hear the rhythms that Max is imitating from the sounds that he hears around the city.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

The story takes place in New York and you can see the World Trade Center on the page where the train is speeding by.

Several pictures show the children standing and playing on the stoop of their houses. Which is also a feature that is found in houses in New York City.

Max Found Two Sticks was lauded by critic Hazel Rochman for its high-quality balance between text and art. In her Booklist review, Rochman termed the text "a spare, rhythmic accompaniment" to Pinkney's oil and scratchboard illustrations, which "swirl and circle" through the pages, "filling them with energy and movement."

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publishers Weekly (June 2, 1997)

"The fluid lines of Pinkney's distinctive scratchboard illustrations fairly swirl with energy, visually translating Max's joy in creating rhythm and sound," said PW about this account of a novice drummer. Ages 5-8.

E. CONNECTIONS
Discuss how music, like stories and writing, can have a main idea. Play three music selections from different genres. Have students work in small groups to determine the main idea of each selection.
Current pop song ("So Yesterday" by Hilary Duff, "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne)
Traditional song ("I've Been Working on the Railroad," "Clementine")
Classical song ("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" by Bach, "William Tell Overture" by Rossini)
Divide students into small groups.
Play one of the music selections again in full. You may want to print or discuss the song lyrics. As you listen to each piece, ask each group to fill out a Graphic Organizer (PDF) to record the main ideas and details of each piece.




A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lester, Julius (1997). John Henry. New York: Puffin Book. Pictures by Jerry Pinkney

B. PLOT SUMMARY

This tall tale is about a man named John Henry, he is exceptional from the time that he is born. He grows at an alarming rate. He grew so fast that "his head and shoulders busted through the roof which was over the porch" of his family's home in 1870s West Virginia.
John Henry is always doing good deeds that help not only his family but others as well.
He challenges the meanest man in the state, Ferret-Faced Freddy to a race. Freddy will use his horse while John Henry will run using just his legs, John Henry wins and Freddy becomes Fredrick the Friendly. Ultimately he comes across crew that is building a railroad track through the mountain. He volunteers to help, the John Henry challenges the boss to a contest “Your steam drill against me and my hammers.” When John Henry and the stream drill met inside the mountain, the boss was amazed to find that while he had come only a quarter of a mile, John Henry had come a mile and a quarter. John Henry walked out of the tunnel to the cheers of the other workers, then fell to the ground and died. Everyone who was there came to the realization that "Dying ain't important. Everybody does that. What matters is how well you do your living."


C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

The illustrations are beautifully done, the animals have expressions and the colors that are used make it seem so real. The picture of John Henry as a baby holding the cradle above his head show some features of an African American, his skin tone and the texture of his hair.

Southern dialect is also used in John Henry “Don’t make me no never mind”

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS

From Publishers Weekly
A great American hero comes fully to life in this epic retelling filled with glorious, detailed watercolors. From his momentous birth, when all the animals come to see him and the sun won't go to bed, John Henry works wonders. As a child he helps his father by adding "a wing onto the house with an indoor swimming pool and one of them jacutzis"-and that's just before lunch. Other episodes trace the growth of his generous spirit. His greatest feat is, of course, in his battle against the steam drill, as he races the machine to cut through "a mountain as big as hurt feelings." He dies ("he had hammered so hard and so fast and so long that his big heart had burst"), but the onlookers understand that "dying ain't important.... What matters is how well you do your living."

Booklist, starred review

A tall tale and heroic myth, a celebration of the human spirit....The story is told with rhythm and wit, humor and exaggeration, and with a heart-catching immediacy that connects the human and the natural world." –

E. CONNECTIONS

Tall Tales. Read other tall tales. How is a tall tale like and unlike other stories? How was the story exaggerated?

Compare Tales. How does this tall tale compare to other tall tales. Read Paul Bunyan, Swamp Angel, Johnny Appleseed or other tall tales.

African American Tale. Many tall tales are about white men. How is this tale different? Does the race of John Henry impact the story? How?

Write a Whopper. Some people call tall tales "whoppers." Write a whopper.