This week I picked up a book called Kaleidoscope Eyes written by Jen Bryant (2009). I happened across it in the juvenile section of the local library. It is an interesting book, written as a series of poems, about a girl living in the 1960's whose grandfather left her an intriguing series of maps (of course, the maps caught my attention in the description). This book combines issues of segregation, broken homes, the Vietnam war and pirates -- what a combination! As a social studies educator at heart with a geospatial skill set this book appealed to me on many levels.
Some of my favorite excerpts from this book:
Euphoria(page 19)
...
I don't know what that means.
It sounds like the name
of some Greek or Roman queen,
or like one of those countries in Asia
that I can never remember on my geography tests.
...
Good Advice
(page 63)
"Adventures are better together," Gramps used to say
whenever we planned a journey in the attic.
"Plus if you get into trouble, there's always
someone near
to lend a hand, save you from going under
when the current's too strong, when the seas get rough."
Another Kind of Communion
(page 186-7)
...
Harry stands. He looks down at the
maps and then at the three of us
lined up on teh piano bench like
magpies on a fence. Finally, he says:
"That story is so wild...you can't
possibly be making it up."
Proposal
(page 219)
Here we go again...another decision. Why are there
so many of them? If this were a math equation,
it would look like this:
adventure = problem + problem + problem + problem
I just hope I chose the right solution.
What I really admired about the author was at the end of the text she included within her Author's Note an annotated explanation of the real locations and individuals she drew upon to create the story. Interestingly, she drew upon the story of the Arabia, which sank on the Missouri River in the middle of the 1800's but due to a shift in the river was later discovered in an agricultural field. She read a story about it in the Smithsonian titled "Pay Dirt" (December 2006) and was inspired to write this tale.
She also included a Further Reading section that included some great links:
Pirate Links:
Story about the recovery of Captain Kidd's ship off the coast of the Dominican Republic
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071213162036.htm
www.brigantinebeachnj.com/history_pirates.html
www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Scotland-History/CaptainKidd.htm
www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates
www.piratemuseum.com/pirate.html
www.pirates-of-nassau.com/home.htm
Vietnam War links
www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/vietnam/antiwar.html
www.oakton.edu/user/~wittman/chronol.htm
1960's related links
www.stg.brown.edu/projects/1968
I think this piece of literature has many different possibilities for geospatial curriculum integration. Students could map the journey of the 3 main characters in their explorations within the fictitional town. Pirate (and privateer) lives and journeys would also be of interest. Also the historic explorations of the Vietnam war as events unfolded abroad and at home. (Bryant did a great job in balancing the events in Vietnam with the socio-political events occuring within the US during this time.
Oh the places this story could go with a little imagination and a geospatial curriculum twist!
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