Questions for Deborah Wiles

1. When can we expect the next of the  Countdown series to be published?

2.  What do you like to read for pleasure?

3.  Obviously, your life inspires you but where else do you get your ideas from?

4.  What has been your favorite book to write so far?

 

Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Countdown is a documentary novel about a little girl named Franny Chapman, who is searching for peace during a troubled time. This story is based on historical facts, the story is skillfully blended with historical settings, historical figures, and historical events (Hancock, Marjorie).  Franny, the middle child, feels invisible but does feel secure when she is with her family.  She is growing up in an era when the threat of nuclear attack could happen especially since the Russians have started shipping missiles to Cuba, a mere 90 miles off the coast of Florida.  Franny just wants peace.  She is feuding with her best friend, has a sister whom she is afraid will just disappear, an uncle who is still fighting a war in his head and who seems a bit crazy at times, her younger brother Drew is obsessed with being an astronaut, and Franny’s school is constantly having Duck and Cover drills! Franny is a girl who is also very curious about the lives of others.   This story takes place in 1962 during the Cuban missile Crisis, this was a 2 week span of time.  This book combines history and fictional characters so well.  Deborah Wiles has done a tremendous job of combining fact and fiction.  Franny immediately was a character I had feeling for and cared what she felt and what happened to her.  When her uncle  is so anxious about building the bomb shelter and when he tell Franny about his brother, Nicholas, it made me almost cry because the pain that this man was feeling inside must have been torture.  When he says, “God help me, I killed him” I had to stop for a moment to picture this scene.  Deborah Wiles makes the characters so real and combining it with so much history is over whelming.  The book is set in Camp Springs, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.  The rock quarry was also a one of the main settings in this story. Two important events in the story took place at the rock quarry. The first event was with Drew, Franny’s brother, he told his mom his first lie ever to cover for his sister about being at the quarry. The second event was when Franny ended up at the rock quarry because she was looking for her friend Margie, without her mom knowing. Franny’s friend, Margie fell into the pit and Franny almost died trying to save her.  This could lead to a discussion about bravery.  One of my favorite parts of the book is a conversation between Uncle Otts and Franny. Uncle Otts speaks to Franny about an earlier act of bravery, but she responds by telling him she is not brave.  Uncle Otts responds by telling her, “it’s an act of courage to stay with someone who needs you.  It’s a sign of character”.  A hero can be afraid, but a hero never runs away.”  Here we are back to bravery, wow.

One aspect of this book that I can relate to is what it is like being 11 years old and having things to deal with like  “love”.  My ten-year old is going thru this right now and I remember my first “love” during this time in my life also.   Franny says, “I am only good for chores in the household,” a feeling I myself had many times while growing up. So, even though I did not live thru what Deborah Wiles or Franny lived thru I did relate to Franny.  I also felt, at times, invisible to my family and friends.  I was a wall flower most of the time when I was this age.  One thing that I like about this book is that while you are finding out about Franny and her feelings and her family you can’t forget that there is an actual crisis going on!  I think this shows an even better side of what was truly happening during this time.  I also learned about people who I had never heard of like Fannie Lou Hammer and Pete Seeger.

My husband was immediately drawn to this book and wants to read it.  He is a history teacher and while I read this book he was in a chair behind me and would say “oh, let me tell you about that page”!  Needless to say I had to move away from him, but I did become very interested in parts of the book and he actually showed me the Duck and Cover video before anyone posted it.

I would probably read this book out loud to my fifth grade class, due to the complexity of the book.  I would branch off of this book and cover so much more than just the Cuban missile Crisis.  Pete Seeger, President Kennedy, Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer, and  Harry S. Truman all of these people would be great to study in the fifth grade.  I would have them break into groups and pick a major event from the book and create a power point, glog, or poster showcasing the highlights and importance of the event.  This could also be done with people from the book (real and fictional).

Wow, all the objectives you could cover in the fifth grade!

Due to the time constraints and mandates teachers face, using children’s literature to enhance content area subjects is common practice; by integrating language arts and social studies curricula, teachers are more efficient with their instruction (Olness, 2007).

2.03 Recognize how the United States government has changed over time.
2.04 Compare and contrast the government of the United States with the governments of Canada, Mexico, and selected countries of Central America
3.03 Identify examples of cultural interaction within and among the regions of the United States.
3.07 Describe art, music, and craft forms in the United States and compare them to various art forms in Canada, Mexico, and selected countries of Central America.
4.01 Define the role of a historian and explain the importance of studying history.
4.05 Describe the impact of wars and conflicts on United States citizens, including but not limited to, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and the twenty-first century war on terrorism.
4.06 Evaluate the effectiveness of civil rights and social movements throughout United States’ history that reflect the struggle for equality and constitutional rights for all citizens.
4.08 Trace the development of the United States as a world leader and analyze the impact of its relationships with Canada, Mexico, and selected countries of Central America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W50RNAbmy3M, Kennedy addresses the nation on the Cuban missile Crisis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhxjqM4y5f4&feature=fvst, Peter Seeger war medley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-RoVzAqhYk, Fannie Lou Hamer’s speech to the DNC 1964

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60, Bert the Turtle and the Duck and Cover video

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=169280&title=Cuban_Missile_Crisis, Cuban Missile Crisis

Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles and Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue

Freedom Summer, in my opinion, was a great book.  As stated in the chapter on Realistic and Historical Fiction: The Boundary of Reality, “Not only does historical fiction convey a sense of the period, but it shares a rousing story that actually could have taken place”.   I can actually see these events in the story taking place it really makes you think about what children went thru during this time.  This story by Deborah Wiles is fiction but based on the real events of that time, historical fiction.  This book is set during a time of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

John Henry Waddell was Joe’s best friend.  John’s mom worked for Joe’s mother and every morning during summer Joe waits for John Henry to arrive so they can play.  These boys are a lot alike but a lot different.  Joe’s skin is the color of the pale moths that dance around the porch light at night and John’s skin is the color of browned butter.  This makes things a bit more difficult for the boys.  They can’t go to the public pool because John is not allowed in but they do go to Fiddler’s Creek to play and swim.  After swimming they go to Mr. Mason’s general store for ice pops but John is not allowed thru the front door so Joe must go in alone.  Joe’s heart does a quick-beat when Mr. Mason asks him if he is going to eat them all by himself.  At supper, one night, Joe’s parents tell him about the local pool and that it will now be open to anyone of any color.  The boys get so excited only to have their excitement put to a halt when they go and see that the pool is being filled with asphalt.  For the first time you see and hear John Henry’s anger, heartache, and disappointment with the way the world is. Joe wants to go all the places in town that he can with John so they go back to the general store and decide to go in together both with nickels in hand.

This book was awarded the Ezra Jack Keats Award  because it portrays the universal qualities of childhood, and the multicultural nature of our world. I think this book was very deserving of this award.  It also received the Coretta Scott King Award based on the fact that it was a good book that portrays the struggles of African-Americans in the 1960s, also deserving of this one.

The illustrations in this book are captivating to me.  I never could find in the book what type of media Mr. Lagarrigue used but it seems to be oil paint.  The mix of colors is wonderful, especially in the water scenes where the boys are playing together.  Also, the picture of John Henry after he finds out he can’t swim in the town pool.  The emotions that I felt when I looked at his sad face were running thru my head.  I felt sadness, anger, and pity.  The illustrations are wonderful and so is the book.  One thing I also noticed about the illustrations was that in some pictures the faces were almost blurred as if those characters could have been me or you.  I don’t know if this was intentional but it was something that I noticed.

I will add this to my January and February collection for sure.  I will use it during my lessons on Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman.  Every year, in kindergarten or first grade we always have some fascinating discussions about how children use to not be able to attend the same schools if their skin was different.  My students this year were almost angry when we talked about this.  I remember one child saying that if their friends could not go then they would not have went either!  This book, I feel, will bring up more emotion in my students because this is a story specifically about how this era in history effected children.  This book is one of the few I have in my collection that actually gives a child’s account of how it was living during these times in our history.  I think for K-2 grade children you could really have some interesting and philosophical discussion using this book.  I think the Social Studies objectives could be looked at and covered. 

Competency Goal 3	The learner will recognize and understand the concept of change in various settings.
	Objectives3.01Describe personal and family changes, past and present.3.02 Describe past and present changes within the local community. 3.03 Compare and contrast past and present changes within the local community and communities around the world. 3.04 Recognize that members of the community are affected by changes in the community that occur over time.