Roar

"Good readers are always thinking about and connecting to what they are reading."  This is a strategy that I constantly tell my students, though since I teach 8th grade it typically comes out more like, "come on guys, this character relates to your actual life-why?  What's familiar? "  Even though Kristin Levine's The Lions of Little Rock is set in 1958 Arkansas, I thought that Katy Perry's new (ish) song Roar should be title track to this book.  

I have to admit I was not excited about reading this book at first.  Far too many historical fiction books from this time period come off as preachy.  The Lions of Little Rock wasn't like that at all.  The story was real, it recognized that the decisions made in that time period weren't easy, they didn't go in a nice straight line, things were messy.  Told from the perspective of twelve-year-old Marlee her personal transformation mirrors the transformation of her town.  

When I was in preschool the teachers were concerned that I didn't talk much.  It wasn't that I couldn't talk, I was just shy-painfully shy.  So I really related for Marlee and I rooted for her every step of the way.  I understood the courage it took her to force herself to talk even when it felt so unnatural.  She realized that there was something worth speaking up for.  And as a reader you couldn't help but be proud of her. I be that if Marlee had an ipod she would have Katy Perry's Roar on repeat. 

This was one of those books that once I started I just couldn't put it down.  I will definitely have to put Kristin Levine's other books on my list.  

Speaking up and speaking out...that's kids stuff.