BOOKS TO BORROW

“The Other Side” by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, Putnam, 32 pages

Read aloud: age 4 and older

Read yourself: age 7, 8 and older

Clover lives in a yellow house. Not too far away is a long fence that stretches through town. Clover’s mama tells her not to climb over the fence; white people live on the other side and it isn’t safe.

In the house beyond the fence lives a girl who looks to be Clover’s age. Every morning that girl climbs up on the fence and stares over at Clover. Sometimes Clover stares back.

One day, Clover feels brave and goes over to the fence. The girls begin to talk. The girl’s name is Annie, and the two of them confide that their mothers had told each of them not to cross over the fence. No one ever said they couldn’t sit on it, though, and the girls decide that is exactly what they are going to do.

LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE

Library: Raymond Library, 832 Raymond Hill Rd., Oakdale

Library Director: Joanne Westkamper

Choices this week: “Do Like a Duck Does” by Judy Hindley; “Strega Nona” by Tomie dePaola; “The Brand New Kid” by Katie Couric

BOOKS TO BUY

“My Name is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth” by Ann Turner, illustrated by James Ransome, Harper

Read aloud: age 6 and older

Read yourself: age 7, 8 and older

Isabella was born to slave parents in New York in 1797. Her brothers and sisters were sold to different owners by the time Isabella was born, and she was bought and sold several times until she was bought by Mr. Dumont for whom she worked for 16 years.

One year before New York was to free all of its slaves in 1827, Isabella escaped and found refuge with a family that opposed slavery. Isabella eventually changed her name to Sojourner Truth and changed the attitudes of many others, who then joined in her message of freedom and human rights.

“Malala: A Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal: A Brave Boy from Pakistan” by Jeanette Winter, Beach Lane

Read aloud: age 5 to 8

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

When the Taliban took over Pakistan, its rules didn’t allow girls to go to school or to read. Young Malala wasn’t afraid of the new rules and vowed to continue with her studies. One day a Taliban fighter found Malala and shot her in the head. She survived and continues to speak out for the rights of all children to secure an education.

Iqbal was 4 years old when he was forced to become a bonded laborer in Pakistan, shackled every day to a loom to weave patterns in carpets, to repay a family debt of $12. After six years, a law was passed forbidding the practice. Iqbal bravely spoke out for children like him, despite receiving death threats from factory owners. At the age of 12, Iqbal was shot while riding his bicycle. He did not survive.

kendal@sunlink.net