Looking for Books to Love My Ukrainian Neighbors

 

Ukraine. Russia. Invasion. The news of the last couple of days has sent me first to books to understand and then help my students understand what is going on in the world.

I believe fervently in the power of books. Non-fiction, yes—to help us grasp history, facts, events, connections, influences. Also fiction—to help us grasp the humanity of the people experiencing the history, share their experience vicariously, so that we can love our global neighbors as ourselves, as fellow image bearers of God, as Jesus does. (See this recent blog post about what my students learned from reading When My Name Was Keoko, set in Korea during the Japanese occupation.)

My first thought was to put up a poster of the books students can read—as I’ve done for Afghanistan and other countries throughout this school year. I scanned my mental bookshelf—Tolstoy, Dostoevsky for Russia. Definitely out of my 4th through 7th graders’ range. Voices from Chernobyl and The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich—fascinating parts of my Nobel Prize for Literature project, but one book left behind in my last high school world lit classroom and the other on my Kindle, and both equally out of reach of my middle graders. Possibly Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse, The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig. Ukraine? Nothing.

Since my classroom is in Japan, my books skew heavily to Asia. My own knowledge, too. Time to learn. I did a search of books about Russia and Ukraine. 

Best find: An interview from this week with Serhii Plokhy, the professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard, on “The Best Books on Ukraine and Russia.” The interview itself is fascinating, and the booklist, I later discovered, is largely repeated all over the internet. Plokhy recommends starting with #2, so I think I’ll follow his advice. Then, given my predilections as an English teacher, I’ll follow up with #5, the novel. (I so highly respect a history professor who recommends a novel!)

1. Ukraine and Russia: From Civilized Divorce to Uncivil War by Paul D’Anieri
2. Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know by Serhy Yekelchyk
3. Ukraine’s Nuclear Disarmament: A History by Yuri Kostenko
4. Ukraine in Histories and Stories: Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals
5. The Orphanage: A Novel by Serhiy Zhadan

USA Today ("Want to Understand What Led to Russia Invading Ukraine? Read These 8 Books") recommended Plokhy himself and his first choice, adding a couple more, including a National Book Award winner and a Pulitzer Prize winner: 

1. The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen (2017) National Book Award
2. The Man without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen (2012)
3. Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire by David Remnick (1994) Pulitzer Prize
4. The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy (2015)
5. Ukraine and Russia: From Civilized Divorce to Uncivil War by Paul D’Anieri (2019)
6. The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America by Timothy Snyder (2018)
7. In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine by Tim Judah (2016)
8. On Our Way Home from the Revolution: Reflections on Ukraine by Sonya Bilocerkowycz (2019)

The Times of India repeated1-5 from Plokhy's list above and added the following:

• Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine by Anne Applebaum
• Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder (atrocities in Poland, Ukraine, Belarus 1930-45)
• Through Times of Trouble: Conflict in Southeastern Ukraine Explained from Within by Anna Matveeva and Michael O. Slobodchikoff

I tried a search for YA and middle grades books. Beyond what I’d already listed, there were lists, but nothing that was (1) detailed enough to give me good direction or (2) if detailed, specifically focused on my age level. So that will take some more research. Here are a couple of places I’ll start:

• Russia in YA and Middle Grades Historical Fiction (Goodreads) 
• Books Set in Eastern Europe and Russia (The Book Girls’ Guide) 

What books are you reading yourself and what books are you putting in the hands of young readers to help us all understand how to love, pray for, and act on behalf of our global neighbors in crisis right now in Ukraine?

"Where I'm From" Poems to Explore Literature and Ourselves

I am from the taste of delicious sushi for birthdays and spicy Korean food for family visits.
I am from the sight of spiky cacti, cows across the big grass field, and the bright sun burning my eyes….
I am from my mother saying, “If you’re scared, just remember that 99.9% of the time, you won't die.”

I am from two new years,

From the international and the Chinese…
I am from three languages,
From “Sawadeeka!” to “Konichiwa!” then “Hello!”…
I am from the modern technology that builds who I am,
From the Netflix shows and the chaotic for you page on TikTok….
From being loud and annoying to self-confident,
I am from my family who wishes me to have a happy educated life.

I am from sushi, udon, and lamb meat with gravy.
I am from believing in myself.
I am from resting my worries on God.

These are some lines from the “Where I’m From” poems my 6th and 7th graders wrote at the end of our study of the novel When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park. My 3 goals for the unit were for students to grow in their ability to read and discuss deeply, to understand more about the history of Japan and Korea as they live in Japan, and to begin to consider their own identity, how it has been formed, and how they will form it.

Here’s how I introduced the last point about identity to them: 

“Who am I?” is a question we all ask many times in our lives. It is an especially critical question for adolescents. On the journey from child to adult, it’s important to determine for ourselves in what ways we want to be like our parents and in what ways we’ll be different. As we search for answers we begin to define ourselves. How is our identity formed? To what extent are we defined by our talents and interests? by our membership in a particular ethnic group? by our faith? by our social and economic class? by the nation in which we live? How do we label ourselves and how are we labeled by others? How are our identities influenced by how we think others see us? How do our identities inform our values, ideas, and actions? In what ways might we assume different identities in different contexts? How do we manage multiple identities? Answers to these questions help us understand history, ourselves, and each other.

There’s a lot to negotiate here, especially for all of us who have ended up here, at an international Christian school in Japan. We all have different stories that brought us here, and we will respond to those stories in different ways. Whether you are currently a Christian or not, the Bible does offer us a few solid footholds in the midst of the swirling currents of change and choice. It says we are made by God, in God’s image, and therefore we have value and we are loved. If we love God, we love the variety of people God has made. We want to understand the potential God has given us, and that others have. If you’re a Christian, God is remaking you to be like Jesus, so you know you have his love and help. And as a child of God, you have brothers and sisters around you who will also love and help. 

Often the characters in literature are in the process of discovering their identity. Percy Jackson is coming to grips with his identity as the half-child of a Greek god whether he wants to be or not. Will is growing in his skill and understanding of what it means to be a Ranger–how he’ll be like his mentor Halt and how he’ll be different. Sarah in Ghost Boys  [the novel we'd read last term] responds to her situation by creating a web site to raise awareness of violence against black boys, and reaching out to her dad to help her shape a world where more Jeromes and Emmett will live to grow up. 

As we watch these characters discover and build their identities, we can think about our own identities–the parts we have no choice about, the parts we have choices about, and what choices we will make. Who are we? And who are our neighbors? How are they shaping us, and how are we shaping them? And what kind of world do we all want to make together for each other and with each other? How does God make us wise and strong to do it?

While we read When My Name Was Keoko, we traced how the 2 main characters, Sun-hee and her brother Tae-yul, developed their identity. At the end, we co-constructed “Where I’m From” poems about the 2 characters, using a graphic organizer to brainstorm content, and asking each student to contribute his or her favorite line. Then we wrote poems about ourselves. 

The Sun-hee poem was short because half of the class was participating in another learning experience that day. But the next day, they got to see the model and then participate in constructing the Tae-yul poem. However, because I just told students to donate their best line, we had a lot of repeats. The next time, I’d probably assign lines.

I Am From

(Sun-hee)

I am from being better at studying and writing kanji than my brother.

I am from smells of tea and sounds of war.

I am always stuck with Japanese rules, I can’t speak Korean, banned from Korean stories, forced to have and use a Japanese name.

I am from Omoni’s dragon pin and rose of Sharon tree, hiding in the dark for now.

I am from helping Mrs. Ahn when she was beaten by the Japanese, even when I was afraid.

I am from being smart, hard-working, kind, and creative.

I am from hoping that uncle comes back home.

I Am From

(Tae-yul)

I am from Sun-hee asking me questions about everything.

I am from fixing machines with my uncle.

I am from enjoying to make things with my uncle, like my bicycle.

I am from dirt, hard work, callus.

I am from the sounds of planes.

I am from the sounds of whirring engines and the scents of pine trees.

I am from the familiar drill of an airplane engine.

I am from smells of gasoline and sounds of airplanes.

I am from dreams to become a pilot.

I am from the everyday sights of punishments, the sound of gunfire, and the terrible atmosphere full of people’s cries and fear.

I am from sounds of bombs and fierce Japanese soldiers face.

I am from words that passed and words of new.

I am from being the only one who can fix Uncle’s printing press to keep it going until he returns.

Finally, we all wrote our own poems. I think it was really important that we had the practice of the character poems, and that I also modeled writing my own poem. 

I Am From

By Mrs. Essenburg

I am from amber waves of grain, live oak trees bearded with Spanish moss, and spouting whales off the California coast.

I am from Sunday pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, stretched to feed any visitors at church, and Dad napping on the couch before going back to preach the evening service.

I am from “Jesus Loves Me” and “The Lord is my shepherd.”

I am from playing Horse, Around the World, and one-on-one for hours, waiting for Mom to finish her teacher work after school.

I am from David and Susan buying me my first hiking boots, stiff and leathery, and taking me on my first backpacking trip.

I am from bedtime travels in books—to Narnia with my mom and to Hogwarts with my kids.

I am from loving the image bearers of God in the desks in my classroom, introducing them to the tools of language that will help them uncover marvels in themselves, in creation, and in their neighbors.

After many years of teaching a rather involved 10th grade “Who Am I?” paper in response to reading Henrik Ibsen’s drama A Doll’s House, I think this was a pretty good launch 6th and 7th graders into this important exploration. 

How do you engage students in the important question of identity?

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If you’re not familiar with “Where I’m From” poems, here are some more resources:

• "I Am From" poems, Children's Literacy Initiative
• "I Am From" Activity Guide: A Tool to Foster Student Interaction in the Classroom, University of Minnesota 
• Examples from the Kentucky Arts Council

Using Music to Teach Language Patterns

"If I were a rich man...." Are you humming already?

My husband didn’t think I could get a class of middle school EFL students to sing along with me. Actually, he didn’t even think I’d really sing in front of the class. But I did, and they did…and they have now mastered the second conditional. 

I was teaching the pattern where we talk about something unlikely, untrue, or impossible (if + simple past tense) and what we would do if it were true. "If I had time, I’d help you." "If I were you, I’d be careful." "If I knew how, I’d do it." I needed some fun activity to reinforce the pattern.… Suddenly, I started humming. “If I were a rich man,…all day long I’d biddy biddy bum….” Eureka! 

Using music is one of the strategies in Larry Ferlazzo’s invaluable book The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox, which was my lifeline when I first started teaching EFL nearly 2 years ago (*see below for blog posts I wrote on other strategies from the book). In fact, I was so excited about it that I facilitated a discussion of it last year with the secondary EFL department at my school and am doing the same again this year with elementary teachers. I’ve incorporated many of his strategies into my classes, but I never managed this one. Until now.

First, I gave them a sheet of the lyrics and went through it, making sure students understood what they meant. Then I played a YouTube clip from the movie showing the song with subtitles. The homework assignment was to watch that five-and-a-half-minute clip two more times—and be prepared to sing the chorus together the next day in class. 

As I said, my husband doubted either I or the kids could pull that off—but we proved him wrong.  I told them how I’d loved that song so much after the first time I saw the movie when I was in middle school, that the next Saturday, on a housecleaning job with my best friend, we’d started singing and dancing. Then the owner of the house walked in on us. 

We reviewed the grammar pattern, then I turned on the YouTube clip. They all sang. Not loudly, but I could hear them! Once I found the pitch (there’s a reason my husband didn’t think I’d do it), I started my Tevya impression, stomping around the front of the classroom in time with the music, waving my hands. The chorus ended, and the students kept singing, so I let it play through the first verse and the second chorus. 

When I stopped the video and said, “I won’t make you sing the rest,” the class let out a disappointed groan! I asked, “Do you want to sing the whole thing?” Big grins. So we played on. When it was all done, I jokingly said, “You all have GOT that. Maybe instead of the quiz Thursday, you can just sing the chorus.” One student lit up like a Christmas tree. The rest of them vetoed that idea. 

The next day, doing a review exercise, I’d respond to a hand raised with a question by singing the first line, “If I were a rich man…” and the questioner would say, “Oh! Past tense!” Eventually students started cuing themselves with humming. Not a great TOEFL test strategy, but it's a place to start.

The next day one of the students came in and told me he’d watched the whole movie last night. I hope the rest of his homework didn’t suffer, but that was a whole lot of English practice he got!

Music to teach a language pattern—definitely a strategy to add to my toolbox. Now I’m trying to brainstorm a list of songs to match with other grammatical structures. Any ideas for me? How do you use music to teach language patterns?

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*Blog posts I've written on other strategies from The ELL Teacher's Toolbox:

• Prompting Fluency in Writing for EFL Students
• One Easy Exercise for Paying Attention to Language
• Another Easy Exercise for Paying Attention to Language
• ELL Reading Comprehension: Mixing It Up
• The Value of Practicing Debate
• Scaffolding Active Reading Strategies
• Summarizing Is a Skill: How Do I Teach It?
• Cultivating a Culture of Reading in Every Class as the Year Begins

Reading Relationships: Building Readers Via a Classroom Library

I got a box in the mail this week. Books! Yes, I’d ordered them myself. No, I hadn’t yet finished the ones that came 2 weeks ago. But still…I came home glowing! I put the whole stack next to my bed because I couldn’t decide which book I wanted to start next. 

I was almost done with Paradise on Fire by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Before Christmas my 6th and 7th graders had read her novel Ghost Boys, and the students had loved it. One asked if the classroom library had Towers Falling, another novel by the same author, advertised in the back of the book. No, but I assured her I’d get it. I did, and she loved it—she did her fall term book talk on it, making amazing connections. I really wasn’t sure 21st century Japanese would relate to a Black girl in New York City discovering her family’s connection to 9/11. However, here’s what she said to her classmates: “The teacher in the book said, ‘Write for me…why does history matter?’ And I thought this is what Mrs. Essenburg would say to us, ‘What does it mean to be Japanese or wherever you’re from?’ Think of the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. In 6 minutes there were 18,000 dead. Think of the people that affected. Covid will be that for us.” I ordered this book and am reading it for her. I’m sure she’ll snatch it up as soon as I've finished it.

I’d already finished The Hunt—the final book in the Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen. I have several 6th and 7th graders who have loved that series. When I brought it into class, one student snatched it up immediately—while she was still reading another Gary Paulsen novel, The Voyage of the Frog. Unfortunately for her, another student who is also a Gary Paulsen fan finished his book first. I asked if she’d relinquish it for the other student, and she did. 

I’d also already finished Home of the Brave—a beautiful novel in verse about a Nuer boy from Sudan who finds himself a refugee in Minnesota. It was recommended in Becoming a Globally Competent Teacher, which I’m discussing with my EFL department colleagues. (Applegate also wrote The One and Only Ivan, which I had read, and many others, which I will now have to read!) It was interesting to me as an EFL teacher to read the thoughts of this boy struggling to master English. The 7th graders may be interested because they know a little bit about Sudan and the Nuer people—last year we read A Long Walk to Water. 

Another book I’d already finished was The Kings of Clonmel, book 8 in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. I’d read that first because while a number of 6th grade boys are moving steadily through that series—originally recommended to me by a former colleague and math teacher in response to an earlier blog post—one boy had walked into the room the first day after Christmas vacation and asked if I had gotten the book yet. I'd promised him I’d order it soon, so I had to get it into his hands. 

Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story was definitely on the top of the list, but that would only take me 15 minutes. Actually, finding out about this book was the reason I’d placed the second order before I was finished with the first. Why did I not know about this book before? I knew the story of the Japanese diplomat to Lithuania in the 1940s who risked and eventually lost his job and status for ignoring direct instructions from his government, wrote transit visas through Japan for thousands of European Jews fleeing the Nazis. I’d learned his story through years of teaching Night, a Holocaust memoir, to 10th graders at an international school in Japan. Why did I never know there was an accessible children’s version?

A Single Shard—I ordered that one because 6th and 7th graders just finished reading When My Name Was Keoko by the same author, so they may be interested in this one that is about even older history of Korea. Also, I shared with them an interview with Linda Sue Park where she tells about a boy who asked her to sign his tattered copy of the Newbery winning novel. He said that after 62, he’d lost count of how many times he’d read it. So she thinks of that boy whenever she sits down to write. She has to make every sentence worth reading 62 times. I read it several years ago, so I think I can put it on my shelf without reading it again. 

Sunny by Jason Reynolds won. Friday evening I finished Paradise on Fire, read Passage to Freedom, and started this third book in the Track series. There’s a 5th grade student who devoured Ghost and is now into Patina. When I told him there were more books, his eyes lit up like Christmas. I want to have Sunny ready to hand to him when he finishes.

After that will be The Faithful Spy, a semi-graphic novel about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the German resistance to Hitler. I was reminded of this book on the list where I discovered Passage to Freedom. I’m always on the lookout for books that offer moral heroes to my students—and even better when their heroism was fueled by their faith in God. The excellent but giant biography by Eric Metaxas is definitely not accessible for my 4th - 8th graders. Even the YA book The Plot to Kill Hitler by award-winning author Patricia McCormick may not grab them. Maybe this version will introduce some of them to this inspiring story.

Last of all, I’ll get around to Halt’s Peril, book #9 in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. That one eager beaver boy will just have to wait to get his hands on it. I know for a fact that he has already finished #8. Maybe I can get him to read The Faithful Spy in the meantime. 

So that’s how I build my classroom library, and my classroom of readers—one book, one breathless request, one inspired discovery at a time. I follow the interests already there, and also push new ones. I try a variety of genres—novels in verse, graphic novels, fantasy, biography, historical fiction, and more. And I have to be the most motivated reader in my classroom. 

I was going to write a blog post about how to be that model reader—but I discovered it had already been written. I really have nothing to add, so please read Growing Your Expertise in Children’s Literature by Lynne Dorfman and Linda Krupp on Middle Web. Instead, I decided I’d just share how I’ve chosen the last stack of books I’m working on adding to my classroom library. 

How do you choose books for your readers and your classroom library?