Off the Shelf
Reviews of Professional and Children’s Books
Tucson TAWL members are invited to share their thoughts about the newer professional books and children’s books that inhabit their stacks of reading.  Reviews should be 100-200 words and include a full bibliographic citation.  Send your reviews to:
 
Caryl Crowell                                                                        email reviews to:
3555 S. Desert Cache Rd.                or                                  ccrowell@tucsontawl.org
Tucson AZ  85735
Letters to a Young Teacher, Jonathan Kozol, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2007.
        I picked up this book with the idea of giving it to my student teachers to read.  I thought I better read it first myself and I’m really glad I did.  In the form of letters to a first year, first grade teacher at an inner-city school in Boston,  Kozol affirms the importance of humanity in teaching.  He gently guides and encourages while examining the controversies of mandated curriculum, testing, and the privatization of schooling, among other topics.  Kozol never becomes didactic or preachy, but instead uses his own experiences in schools as a mirror for the anguish and joy experienced by his young colleague.  His voice is a voice that respects and honors children in all their myriad ways of being.  I found this book to be affirmation for my own beliefs and a necessary reminder of how important it is to use my common sense, professional knowledge, and heart in every classroom decision I make.  I encourage all teachers, not just new ones, to grab this lovely book and devour it.
                                                                                      
Three Cups of Tea:  One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace...Once School at a Time, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, NY: Penguin, 2006.    
        By now, I assume just about everyone has read this book.  If not, please beg, borrow, or buy a copy.  After barely surviving a failed attempt to summit K2, Mortenson is nursed back to health by villagers in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan.  He returns their kindness by returning to build a school.  But in life, one thing usually leads to another and that’s just what happened for Mortenson.  Over the next 10 years, he built not just one, but fifty-five schools, mostly for girls.  He gained the trust of people who live among the Taliban and the harsh climate of highest mountains in the world.  His riveting adventure has led to additional schools in Afghanistan and the founding of an organization to support these humanitarian efforts, the Central Asia Institute.
 
Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen and Susan L. Roth, NY: Dial, 2009.
        After reading Three Cups of Tea, I was delighted to find a book suitable for young children that describes Greg Mortenson’s work in simple words and luscious collages by Susan Roth.  With the push to involve students in community work, I thought this story might inspire my students to become involved in the Pennies for Peace program.  A penny doesn’t buy much in the US, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it will buy a pencil.  I also purchased children’s non-fiction books about these two countries that occupy so much of our national discourse.  It’s important for children to know more about the people who live there.  Mortenson also has a young readers’ edition of his adult book, Three Cups of Tea: The Young Readers Edition, suitable for upper elementary and secondary students.
 
 
all reviews from Caryl Crowell