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Re: Courage Has No Color/If I Ever Get Out of Here
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From: K.T. Horning <horning_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 07:47:58 -0600
Thanks for bringing up the military angle, Debbie. In spite of the connection between George's family and Lewis's family that the military afforded, the two families had such different experiences of the military. I liked the similarities you pointed out between the military base and the reservation. It highlighted differences, too: for George living on a base meant that he might have to pack up and move any moment, whereas Lewis felt his family would be there on the reservation forever.
I think one of the most memorable scenes in the book happened when Lewis was traveling to Toronto with George and his father, and they were stopped at the border. Lewis had his i.d. card from the Tuscarora Nation, and that pretty much allowed him a free pass over the border, whereas George and his dad with their passports were stopped and questioned. The border between the U.S. and Canada presented a different reality for Lewis than it did for George, and I thought the way Gansworth showed this was so well done -- understated and yet powerful.
Back to the music, I think it's appropriate to mention that today is George Harrison's birthday, even though George didn't rise to the level Paul McCartney did in the book -- except for the fact that he was Lewis's best friend's namesake.
--KT
On 2/25/2014 7:17 AM, Debbie Reese wrote:
> Good morning!
>
> Marc pointed to /Courage Has No Color /which is about African American
> paratroopers in WWII.
>
> Military service is a big part of /If I Ever Get Out of Here. /
>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 07:47:58 -0600
Thanks for bringing up the military angle, Debbie. In spite of the connection between George's family and Lewis's family that the military afforded, the two families had such different experiences of the military. I liked the similarities you pointed out between the military base and the reservation. It highlighted differences, too: for George living on a base meant that he might have to pack up and move any moment, whereas Lewis felt his family would be there on the reservation forever.
I think one of the most memorable scenes in the book happened when Lewis was traveling to Toronto with George and his father, and they were stopped at the border. Lewis had his i.d. card from the Tuscarora Nation, and that pretty much allowed him a free pass over the border, whereas George and his dad with their passports were stopped and questioned. The border between the U.S. and Canada presented a different reality for Lewis than it did for George, and I thought the way Gansworth showed this was so well done -- understated and yet powerful.
Back to the music, I think it's appropriate to mention that today is George Harrison's birthday, even though George didn't rise to the level Paul McCartney did in the book -- except for the fact that he was Lewis's best friend's namesake.
--KT
On 2/25/2014 7:17 AM, Debbie Reese wrote:
> Good morning!
>
> Marc pointed to /Courage Has No Color /which is about African American
> paratroopers in WWII.
>
> Military service is a big part of /If I Ever Get Out of Here. /
>
-- Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706 http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc horning_at_education.wisc.edu 608-263-3721 (phone) 608-262-4933 (fax) --- You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: ccbc-archive_at_post.education.wisc.edu. To post to the list, send message to: ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To receive messages in digest format, send a message to... ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu ...and include only this command in the body of the message: set ccbc-net digest CCBC-Net Archives The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp To access the archives, go to: http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net and enter the following: username: ccbc-net password: Look4PostsReceived on Tue 25 Feb 2014 07:48:15 AM CST
