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Number the Stars
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From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 14:18:00 -600
Kathy Isaacs mentioned using "Number the Stars" successfully with 6th, 7th and 8th graders. I have found that children as young as 3rd graders
(and these are average readers, too!) get a lot out of it.
When I first read the book just after it was published, I had pretty much the same impression of it that Ginny's friend did (simplistic, not distinguished, etc) and discussions with groups of adults pretty much confirmed my initial impression.
When I discussed it with 3rd-5th graders, however, it seemed like a different book! I learned a lot from them that helped me to see the book from their point of view. I'm just going to write a little bit about the charge that the book is
"simplistic" in what it says about the Holocaust.
From an adult perspective, it IS. But I learned that it wasn't from the perspective of the children.
For the majority of the kids I worked with
(3rd-5th graders), reading "Number the Stars" was the first they had ever even heard of the Holocaust and the book was a real eye-opener for them. They were amazed, not only that the Holocaust had ever happened but that no one had ever told them about it! I think they felt that the whole adult world was conspiring to keep it a secret from them. They were very anxious to read other books that would corroborate what they had just learned (they especially appreciated "Island on Bird Street" by Uri Orlev and "The Children We Remember" by Chana Byers Abells). This was the case with every child in the group (12 kids total)
-- not just one or two. They all wanted to know more about what had happened and were highly motivated to read other books, both fiction and nonfiction, about the Holocaust. They were also every anxious to talk about it with each other, with me, and with other adults in their lives.
So, while adults and other more experienced readers can't help but look at "Number the Stars" in the context of a large, rich body of of Holocaust literature and with a knowledge of recent history, we have to remember that children are less likely to bring much experience to their reading of the book. What seems simplistic to an adult may be a groundbreaking literary experience for a young reader.
One of the girls in the group told me a year or so later that reading "Number the Stars" had changed her life because "I saw how important books could be." That happened to me, too.
Received on Wed 15 Jan 1997 02:18:00 PM CST
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 14:18:00 -600
Kathy Isaacs mentioned using "Number the Stars" successfully with 6th, 7th and 8th graders. I have found that children as young as 3rd graders
(and these are average readers, too!) get a lot out of it.
When I first read the book just after it was published, I had pretty much the same impression of it that Ginny's friend did (simplistic, not distinguished, etc) and discussions with groups of adults pretty much confirmed my initial impression.
When I discussed it with 3rd-5th graders, however, it seemed like a different book! I learned a lot from them that helped me to see the book from their point of view. I'm just going to write a little bit about the charge that the book is
"simplistic" in what it says about the Holocaust.
From an adult perspective, it IS. But I learned that it wasn't from the perspective of the children.
For the majority of the kids I worked with
(3rd-5th graders), reading "Number the Stars" was the first they had ever even heard of the Holocaust and the book was a real eye-opener for them. They were amazed, not only that the Holocaust had ever happened but that no one had ever told them about it! I think they felt that the whole adult world was conspiring to keep it a secret from them. They were very anxious to read other books that would corroborate what they had just learned (they especially appreciated "Island on Bird Street" by Uri Orlev and "The Children We Remember" by Chana Byers Abells). This was the case with every child in the group (12 kids total)
-- not just one or two. They all wanted to know more about what had happened and were highly motivated to read other books, both fiction and nonfiction, about the Holocaust. They were also every anxious to talk about it with each other, with me, and with other adults in their lives.
So, while adults and other more experienced readers can't help but look at "Number the Stars" in the context of a large, rich body of of Holocaust literature and with a knowledge of recent history, we have to remember that children are less likely to bring much experience to their reading of the book. What seems simplistic to an adult may be a groundbreaking literary experience for a young reader.
One of the girls in the group told me a year or so later that reading "Number the Stars" had changed her life because "I saw how important books could be." That happened to me, too.
Received on Wed 15 Jan 1997 02:18:00 PM CST
