PPBF: Separate Is Never Equal

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Can you believe this is the LAST DAY OF SEPTEMBER?

A couple of weeks ago, I promised that at the end of the month, I would give away a copy of my parent-teacher book book pic from wordpress blogin celebration of National Library Card Sign Up Month. Thank you to all who commented on that post. And the winner is

JEN BAGAN

Congratulations, Jen…I will be in touch to get your mailing address.

For me, September always meant the start of a new school year…as a kid, I always loved the first day. My sister and I each got a new outfit and a shiny new pair of shoes. And I looked forward to seeing my friends after the long summer.

But even though the main character of today’s Perfect Picture Book Friday pick has a shiny new pair of shoes, her first day of school is not going well.

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SEPARATE IS NEVER EQUAL: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

Written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers (2014)

Ages: 6-9

Themes:

Discrimination, desegregation, bullying

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

Opening Lines:

“Sylvia had on her black shoes. They were shiny new.”

Why I like this book:

  • One of my favorite nonfiction picture books of 2014, this story is written and illustrated by the amazing Duncan Tonatiuh who is going to be our December Will Write for Cookies guest!!! And I’ll be reviewing his NEWEST book that month, The Princess and the Warrior. PLUS…there will be a giveaway of one of Duncan’s books!
  • Powerful text combines perfectly with bold distinctive illustrations.
  • Wonderful springboard for discussions on discrimination, segregation, and equality…and also bullying.

 

RELATED ACTIVITIES

  1. Interview and read aloud with Duncan Tonituah: https://youtu.be/n7-kzJVcOUw
  2. A teacher’s guide – grades 1-5: https://laii.unm.edu/outreach/common/educators-guides/2015-Americas-Award.pdf
  3. Book trailer: https://youtu.be/KlyGKQdPePQ

Logo final BB2 1 inch 300dpi

 

 

This post is part of a series for parents and teachers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays hosted by Susannah Leonard Hill. Click on here name and find an archived page of over 1000 picture book posts with activities. Click here for this week’s new reviews.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

32 thoughts on “PPBF: Separate Is Never Equal”

  1. A PERFECT way to start a Friday! To see that I won a copy of Show Me How! and to also get another excellent recommendation from you, Vivian! I’m marking this book down as we speak and will request it from my library.
    Thank you so much and have a great day! 🙂
    Jen

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Duncan finds the best stories to write about…and his illustrations say as much as his text. And I had never heard about it either….I think there is a lot we were never told/taught Beth…hopefully, having picture books like this one will help young kids get a truer perspective on how things really were.

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    • Yes, it will be a wonderful interview, Leslie…and there will be a giveaway of one of Duncan’s books also. He was at the WOW Retreat this summer…and gave a fab presentation…and I even had him for one of my round tables…so very helpful. The mc in my story (fiction) is a little Hispanic girl…so Duncan was the perfect person to read it out loud and give feedback. 😉

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  10. Isn’t that the most wonderful thing about these kid lit book review hops, Beth..I absoutely love learning about books I’d never heard of. Thank you so much for stopping by…I need to get hopping to read all Susanna’s Perfect Picture Book entries. 🙂

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  12. It’s a wonderful book, Lindsey…all of Duncan’s are…and thank you so much for the congrats…I’m pretty much over the moon about it…but trying to stay focused and work on revisions and new stuff. 😉 How are you doing?

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  13. The title and cover is certainly and eye catcher. This is an interesting story and one that would do well in our schools and libraries as we never felt that kind of segregation through much of our history in NZ. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. There were so many people who made education for everyone a possibility. Separate but not equal is so valuable in realizing that. Who would have thought that HIspanics would have to fight so hard! So glad there are people in America like Mendez. 🙂

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  15. This is such a powerful book — Vivian thanks for sharing it here so it gets wider exposure. If anyone is looking for other read-aloud picture books for raising children’s awareness of the inequities in our country’s history, check out my blog post: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2014/03/school-age-storytimes-black-history.html along with the excellent multicultural booklists at http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/books-for-kids

    I have also just published a book called Remembering the Ladies: From Patriots in Petticoats to Presidential Candidates.

    Part coloring book, part lively informational text, it something 8 and 108-year-olds can share together as they literally color in the contributions of 64 courageous and tenacious women who worked for women’s rights in this country as well as the pioneering politicians who’ve worked to make those rights laws. Almost 1/3 of the women profiled are women of color. The page on Dolores Huerta reflects the Hispanic American experience: “Dolores also knew discrimination firsthand. In school, Dolores’ teacher accused her of cheating – her teacher thought the paper was too well-done to have been written by a Mexican American.”

    The book is available on Amazon and teachers are welcome to photocopy individual pages for use in their classrooms.

    Vivian, I’d also be delighted to send you a review copy to raffle off if you’d like.
    Carol Simon Levin
    Author & Youth Services Librarian
    tellingherstories.com

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    • Hello Carol…so sorry it took me so long to respond to your comment…it went to the bin where I had to approve it and I neglected to check. I will get back to you immediately about your book…I would LOVE to feature it on my blog!!!

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