The Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown)

 

Wow. Was this read ever good for my soul. These days, in the middle of the pandemic, as we head into the darkness of the second wave, to read about people who work together for something good was really good for my soul. In the end, when they were at the Olympics with Hitler looking on and the Germans chanting, to have won that race was something else. I can understand the jubilation everyone felt (well, everyone except Hitler). This is a great story! 

I mistakenly put a hold on the book for young readers. Unfortunately, it isn't young enough for the crowd I teach. I will definitely read the full story when my hold comes in at the library. 

I suggested this book to kick off a family book club. There was a underwhelming lack of enthusiasm for the idea. It is kind of ironic that this is the book I had suggested. I think there's a lesson in that somewhere.

Great quotes:

....trying to find the right crew of rowers to take it to the Olympics:

p. 22 ...they would need something else as well. Something even more important. To be part of that kind of crew - a gold medal crew - each young man would also have to be able to put aside his own personal ambitions. He'd have to throw his ego over the side of the boat, to leave it swirling in the wake of his shell. He'd need to pull, not just for himself, not just for glory, but for the other boys in the boat.

....on when your family abandons you and you're alone:

p. 52 He made some oatmeal and sat back down to think some more. His father had always taught him that there was a solution to every problem. But he had always said that sometimes the solution wasn't where people would ordinarily expect it to be. You might have to look in unexpected places and think in new and creative ways. He could survive on his own, he figured, if he just kept his eyes open for opportunities.

....on unity

p. 67 One of the fundamental challenges in rowing is that when any one member of a crew goes into a slump, the entire crew goes with him. Each of the rowers has a slightly different role, depending on his position in the boat, and each of these roles is critical....When working well, the entire boat operates like a well-lubricated machine, with every rower serving as a vital link in a chain that powers it forward. 

This machine can break down easily. A lack of concentration on one person's part can impact the performance of the whole boat. To keep themselves focused, the freshman crew in Joe's boat had come up with a mantra that their coxswain, George Morry, chanted as they rowed. Morry shouted, "M-I-B, M-I-B, M-I-B!" over and over to the rhythm of their stroke. The letters stood for "mind in boat". The chant was meant as a reminder that from the time an oarsman steps into a racing shell until the moment the boat crosses the finish line, he must keep his mind focused on what is happening inside the boat. His whole world must shrink down to that one small space.

...on holding your tongue

p. 91 As they drove away, Joyce fumed. Over the years she had been slowly learning more about Joe's life, about what happened at the Gold and Ruby mine, and in Sequim. She could not understand ow Thula had been so cold, how his Father had been so weak, and why Joe himself seemed to show so little anger about it all. Finally, as Joe pulled over to the curb to drop her off at the Judge's home, Joyce erupted. Why did he go on pretending that they hadn't done him any harm?  What kind of woman would leave a boy alone in the world? What kind of father would let her do that? She was nearly sobbing by the time she finished. 

She glanced across the seat at Joe, and saw at once, through a blur of tears, that his eyes were full of hurt too. But his jaw was set, and he stared ahead over the steering wheel rather than turning to looka t her. 
"You don't understand," he murmured. "They didn't have any choice. There were just too many mouths to feed."
Joyce that about that for a moment, then said, "I just don't understand why you don't get angry."
Joe continued to stare ahead through the windshield.
"It takes energy to get angry. It eats you up inside. I can't waste my energy like that and expect to get ahead. When they left, it took everything I had in me just to survive. Now I have to stay focused. I've just gotta take care of things myself."

....on winning despite your background 

p. 112 As they sat at the starting line, in the City of Seattle, rolling with the choppy waves, waiting for the crack in the starting gun, with rainwater running down their necks and backs and dripping from their noses, the question wasn't whether they were strong or skilled enough. The real question was whether they had the maturity and discipline to keep their minds in the boat. Could they focus? Or would their anger and fear and uncertainty unhinge them? 
(spoiler: they won)

....on 1+1 being much more than 2

p. 140 There was a straightforward reason for what was happening. The boys in the Husky Clipper were all tough, they were all skilled, they were all fiercely determined, but they were also all good-hearted. Every one of them had come from humble originas or had been humbled by the hard demands of rowing. Life, and the challenges they had faced togehter, had also taught them humility - that there were limits to their individual powers. They had learned that there were things they could od far better together than alone. They were starting to row, now for one another, not just for themselves, and it made all the difference.

Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength and Courage (So many authors)

At  first, I started to feel like this book was a bit of a downer. Every chapter is a story of someone who is an underdog. As I pressed on though, it became more and more compelling to hear their stories. They are stories of people who not only persisted, but accomplished great things despite other people. The more I read, the more inspired I was. I think this book is one of those best taken in full doses. It reminded me of reading a book by Deborah Ellis on First Nations kids called Looks Like Daylight. It wasn't until I had really buried myself in the stories that the feeling took over. This is one of those books that can change you, if you let it.

Goodreads says:

A powerful collection of essays from actors, activists, athletes, politicians, musicians, writers, and teens, including Senator Amy Klobuchar, actress Alia Shawkat, actor Maulik Pancholy, poet Azure Antoinette, teen activist Gavin Grimm, and many, many more, each writing about a time in their youth when they were held back because of their race, gender, or sexual identity--but persisted.

"Aren't you a terrorist?" "There are no roles for people who look like you." "That's a sin." "No girls allowed." They've heard it all. Actress Alia Shawkat reflects on all the parts she was told she was too "ethnic" to play. Former NFL player Wade Davis recalls his bullying of gay classmates in an attempt to hide his own sexuality. Teen Gavin Grimm shares the story that led to the infamous "bathroom bill," and how he's fighting it. Holocaust survivor Fanny Starr tells of her harrowing time in Aushwitz, where she watched her family disappear, one by one.

What made them rise up through the hate? What made them overcome the obstacles of their childhood to achieve extraordinary success? How did they break out of society's limited view of who they are and find their way to the beautiful and hard-won lives they live today? With a foreword by Minnesota senator and up-and-coming Democratic party leader Amy Klobuchar, these essays share deeply personal stories of resilience, faith, love, and, yes, persistence.

"Each tale is a soulful testament to the endurance of the human spirit and reminds readers that they are not alone in their search for self. An unflinchingly honest book that should be required reading for every young person in America."--Kirkus, Starred review

"An invaluable collection of snapshots of American society."--VOYA, Starred review

"[A] gem of a book. . . There's a lot to study here and talk about on the way to becoming kinder, more empathetic, and most important, compassionate."--Booklist

"Readers encountering injustice in their own lives may be compelled to take heart--and even action."--Publishers Weekly

"A powerful collection of voices."--SLJ

"The sheer variation in writing styles, subject-matters, and structure to these narratives provides readers with inspiration in assorted forms and a complex interpretation of what it means to persist."--The Bulletin

Backcourt Battle (Rich Wallace)

Now that we are no longer at school, reading with my students, especially my struggling readers is a struggle. I've adapted by having a "Morning Warm up" activity each day where I ask them a simple questions or two or have them write something. I always ask the question, "What are you reading today?". I vary the questions:

What are you reading?
What page are you on?
What last happened in your book?
When do you think you'll finish this book?
What do you plan to read next?

I ask those questions because my training has told me that those are the things people who love to read know....they read every day, they can tell you what's happening in their book and they have a rough idea of how long it'll be before they're finished and what they're going to move on to next. 

I had a student who would tell me each and every day that he didn't like to read and didn't have a book and wasn't planning to read a book. After a few weeks of that, I told him that was no longer okay and that I expected him to read (you can do that when you teach 8 year olds....I don't recommend it for older kids LOL). I asked him to pick a book from Epic, a platform that we all have access to while schools are shut down. He picked this book. Each day we each read a chapter independently and would talk about it on Google Meet the next day. The first day he couldn't really tell me anything that happened in the first chapter and my attempt at a conversation went nowhere. We re-read the first chapter together and it was interesting the see the concepts he didn't understand about basketball. He likes to play basketball in the courtyard at recess - but that doesn't mean he knows about shot clocks and 3 point lines and more. We discussed some of those things. After that, he started to take it a little more seriously and we had some good discussions each day! 

This story has a good character lesson and is fun because you get to pick the ending. We had a good debate about which would be the best ending. I think a book like this would also be a good way to talk to students about revising that authors do with their stories. 

Goodreads says:

After the starting point guard sprains his ankle during a game, Jamere steps in until his rival teammate returns for the championship. But with both boys expecting to start in the final game, their coach asks Jamere to decide who will play. The ending is Up2U.

A Big Day for Baseball (Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne)

I'm a big fan of the Magic Treehouse series for the age of kids that I teach. This one is particularly relevant for us because we read the story of Jackie Robinson every year as part of the anthology we use. This tells the story of Jackie Robinson's first game and would be a great preamble to reading Teammates.

Goodreads says:

Meet Jackie Robinson and solve a mystery in the #1 bestselling Magic Tree House chapter book series! 

PLAY BALL! Jack and Annie aren't great baseball players . . . yet! Then Morgan the librarian gives them magical baseball caps that will make them experts. They just need to wear the caps to a special ballgame in Brooklyn, New York. The magic tree house whisks them back to 1947!

When they arrive, Jack and Annie find out that they will be batboys in the game--not ballplayers. What exactly does Morgan want them to learn? And what's so special about thisgame? They only have nine innings to find out!

Discover history, mystery, humor, and baseball in this one-of-a-kind adventure in Mary Pope Osborne's New York Timesbestselling Magic Tree House series lauded by parents and teachers as books that encourage reading.

Magic Tree House books, with fiction and nonfiction titles, are perfect for parents and teachers using the Core Curriculum. With a blend of magic, adventure, history, science, danger, and cuteness, the topics range from kid pleasers (pirates, the Titanic,pandas) to curriculum perfect (rain forest, American Revolution, Abraham Lincoln) to seasonal shoo-ins (Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving). There is truly something for everyone here!

Have more fun with Jack and Annie on the Magic Tree House website at MagicTreeHouse.com! 

The Secrets of My Life (Caitlyn Jenner)

In my conservative social circles, this is an explosive topic. That is one reason I read this book. I felt like I had very little understanding of people who transition from one gender to another. I'm not a Kardashian fan. I've never watched the show actually and I can't keep the names of the Kardashian children straight, nor do I really care to. I was well aware of Bruce Jenner as an Olympian. I'm a fan of all things Olympics. When I first heard of it, his story really surprised me. I suppose that is one thing that compelled me to read this book.

A lot of people say this is a scourge of our day. They say that people are only doing these kinds of things because it's trendy right now. That wasn't the case for Bruce Jenner. This wasn't something he came up with just recently. It was a struggle his entire life. It is only now that it is really "safe" to even attempt to live as he felt most comfortable.

I am not part of the crowd that condemns people who choose to transition. I don't know why God makes people like this. I just hope that we can all be a little kinder. I"m glad to have a little more understanding of what life was like for Bruce and then late, Caitlyn Jenner. I appreciated the honesty found in the book.

Goodreads says:

The book will cover Caitlyn Jenner's childhood as Bruce Jenner and rise to fame as a gold-medal-winning Olympic decathlete; her marriages and her relationships with her children; her transition; and her experience as the world's most famous transgender woman.