Marybeth Lorbiecki

The watercolors are amazing, but the message is not very sophisticated. It is told from the viewpoint of Sister anne's white 2nd grade students. Sister Anne is a nun with dark skin (it is unclear how she identifies from the book) who is teaching in a white school in the 1960s. Anna is a white girl in her class, narrating the story. Sister Anne confronts the class with pictures of racial violence after someone flies an airplane into her with a racist poem. The class seems to shape up and respect the kind peaceful nun who gives them all a second chance. At the end, Anna gives her a card with her hand and Sister Anne's hand, and says she learned "now whenever I draw someone's hands-or big toes-I fill them in with browns and pinks and whites, reds and yellows and blues, polka dots, circles, and stripes." Problem #1: adding non-human 'polka-dots, circles, and stripes' dehumanizes the other colors. Problem #2: THAT'S what you took away from watching a woman struggle with your community's racism? Using all the colors in your oil pastel box? This one's going to the goodwill.… (mais)

Anna is excited to start second grade with her new teacher Sister Anne. Sister Anne makes every subject in school fun and Anna doesn't understand when people comment on her skin color or why parents decide to pull students from her class. Sister Anne makes a point to teach her student's the hardships black people face and the importance of being kind to all people. When the year is up and sister Anne has to go, Anna makes her a card that demonstrates how hatred and racism are taught, not inherent.

I loved this book and the message it portrayed. Even in today's society racism is still a prevalent issue that needs to be discussed and this book does a great job of doing so. It also has beautiful illustrations to accompany it. I would read this to my class.… (mais)

This book is about Jackie Robinson through the perspective of the Dodgers bat boy, who was white. Perspective is the best way to describe this book. Everyone see's that Jackie is a black man in a white league, but no one see's his struggle and his determination to prove everyone else wrong. By the end of the book, Jackie earns the respect of his team mates, the nay Sayers, and all people of baseball. This story was told very well and clear. It teaches a lesson to kids of all colors that you should not mistreat a person because of the color of skin. I really enjoyed how you could see the process of Joey coming to the conclusion that Jackie is not a bad person because of his skin. Very informative read.… (mais)