Aleutian Sparrow
Written by: Karen Hesse
Illustrated by: Evon Zerbetz
Published by: Simon & Schuster in 2003 in NY
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age: grades 3-5
After viewing the websites:
I was absolutely shocked upon hearing that anything like this ever occurred. Our country is so very focused on other aspects of WWII that apparently this event was overlooked. I too am very interested in WWII because my grandfather fought in it and there is nothing wrong with learning about that era in our history. However, I am so stunned that something as monumental as relocating so many people and nearly 27,000 attacks on one island was withheld from the American public. On one hand I understand that the government wants to protect the American people and only tell us what we need to know, but on the other hand, I believe that something as monumental as this is something we should have known about. It seems as if the government was just protecting itself from the harsh reality that we did not do the right thing and we were attacked twice. I was also surprised to read that the fighting in Alaska during this time was the first time since the War of 1812 that fighting had occurred on US soil! In addition, the mear fact that the Aleut Restitution Act was not passed by Congress until 1988, 43 years after the end of WWII, was astonishing! I cannot believe that it took that long for us to try to help the Aleutians. Everything about this part of history is completely new to me and absolutely shocking. It makes me feel so terrible for all of the people involved who had to leave everything they knew of their lives and make the transition into such horrible living conditions.
After reading Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse:
After the shock of learning of this history in America, this novel was a more intriguing read. I think it was very important to learn about the tragedy before beginning this book. If I were using this novel in a classroom, I believe I would have read the author's note to the class to introduce them to the story before they began the book. I also think that viewing a few of the websites might also be beneficial, especially www.nps.gov/archive/aleu/home.htm, which has a children's section. This part of the website tells a story about the Aleuts which children can easily understand and also has a supplementary quiz and coloring pages. The entirety of this website is detailed and very informative.
The Temple textbook says that reading historical fiction, like Aleutian Sparrow, is very beneficial to children because it allows them to "step into" that time period and gives them a better grasp of the occurrences of the time as well as giving them answers to subjects in history they may naturally be curious to know more about. Temple also relates that historical fiction, as opposed to non-fiction, supplies readers with a closer connection to the story. I certainly agree with this statement because I believe that many more emotions are evoked through fiction than non-fiction simply because of the plethora of information in non-fiction. Fictional stories provide somewhat less information, but they do allow a more personal connection due to the story involved. Aleutian Sparrow maintains historical authenticacy through the background story, but fictionalizes the characters because they are "...not intended to depict specific individuals, but rather to represent the experience shared by many during the three-year relocation program(Hesse, 155). Furthermore, the setting and conflict in the story are completely true to reality according to information attained upon further research of the topic and upon viewing the websites. This work provides fictionalized family histories, but is based on research.
It is heartbreaking that throughout this novel, the same theme of "unwanted Aleutians" continues to reappear. "We are only trying to survive our exile, I want to say. Yet our white neighbors scratch at the rash of our existence. We didn't ask to come here. The Japanese are no longer a threat. Let us leave. Let us go home" (90). The Aleutian people never wanted to leave their homes in the first place; they never wanted or asked to become the burden they were. Yet, Americans remained prejudiced against them for all the trouble they caused. This work can teach children much about prejudices because it shows how little reason the Americans had to dislike the Aleuts and how much they took form the Aleutians in a way that children will understand. I absolutely believe that by helping children recognize injustice that we can empower them to initiate change. Children will be the leaders of the future, so if we do not teach them the difference between right and wrong, how can we expect them to know it? Because this novel is told from a child's perspective, children can more easily identify with the main characters an be more empathetic to their view of the situation because the character's view parallels what their own would have been. Vera talks of how her relationships with her friends, family, and the elders changed and how quickly she grew up and had to acquire employment, etc. due to the relocation.
Outwardly, Vera's life and the lives of all the Aleutians are very different from those of the children I will teach, but in some ways, they are much the same. The children still wish to keep their Christmas traditions within the church and go to the movies like normal children. Yet, to make the paper stars for the church they need glue and do not wish to "...catch four cod, Boil their eyeballs in water, crush the cooling goo with [their] fingers, and use that for glue" (107) as Alfred's grandfather suggests and they cannot afford to pay for a taxi to the movies, "But [they] all need to get out of camp. So [they] walk eight miles to Ketchikan and eight slow miles back home again" (99). Children's grandparents might not tell them to make glue in this way and children may not actually need to get out of the house bad enough to walk eight miles, but we all have daily struggles and perhaps looking and the trials and tribulations of others will help lessen the stress children have in dealing with their own struggles and make them more empathetic and compassionate.
In Because of Winn-Dixie Opal learns that just because people in her new town are different from her and different from her former friends, that these people are still good on the inside, even though they are outwardly different. Aleutian Sparrow teaches children the same lesson by portraying the Aleutians in a good light and showing that they are good people although they may have different customs and ways than white people. This further illustrates the injustice the American soldiers show toward the Aleutians by making them live in such harsh conditions without much medical assistance. The Aleuts are made to "...choose between warmth and privacy. [They] hang blankets to divide the space inside the crowded cabins...and [they] shiver (46). And when they become ill, "[They] ask for a doctor, beg for a doctor to come to [them]. When he finally arrives, he tells us we are not ill, only 'adjusting'" (91).
One thing I was disappointed in about the book was the relationship between Vera and her mother. I assume that it was just strained due to the loss of her father, but they really seem to never have a good connection and then her mother just leaves her during the war.
One of the quotes from the book really struck me as a great place to begin a topic of discussion with students. "We never thought who we were was so dependant on where we were" (139). I would read this quote to a classroom and have students volunteer to share their experiences about moving around or living in the same place all their lives and how they feel it affected them as people. I think this could potentially be a very interesting discussion to have with them.
Overall, I really feel like this is a very good novel to use in the classroom because it brings into view a part of history that most, if not all, students know nothing about and it does provide ample opportunities to discuss racial biases, prejudices, and injustices as well as empathy and compassion.
I was absolutely shocked upon hearing that anything like this ever occurred. Our country is so very focused on other aspects of WWII that apparently this event was overlooked. I too am very interested in WWII because my grandfather fought in it and there is nothing wrong with learning about that era in our history. However, I am so stunned that something as monumental as relocating so many people and nearly 27,000 attacks on one island was withheld from the American public. On one hand I understand that the government wants to protect the American people and only tell us what we need to know, but on the other hand, I believe that something as monumental as this is something we should have known about. It seems as if the government was just protecting itself from the harsh reality that we did not do the right thing and we were attacked twice. I was also surprised to read that the fighting in Alaska during this time was the first time since the War of 1812 that fighting had occurred on US soil! In addition, the mear fact that the Aleut Restitution Act was not passed by Congress until 1988, 43 years after the end of WWII, was astonishing! I cannot believe that it took that long for us to try to help the Aleutians. Everything about this part of history is completely new to me and absolutely shocking. It makes me feel so terrible for all of the people involved who had to leave everything they knew of their lives and make the transition into such horrible living conditions.
After reading Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse:
After the shock of learning of this history in America, this novel was a more intriguing read. I think it was very important to learn about the tragedy before beginning this book. If I were using this novel in a classroom, I believe I would have read the author's note to the class to introduce them to the story before they began the book. I also think that viewing a few of the websites might also be beneficial, especially www.nps.gov/archive/aleu/home.htm, which has a children's section. This part of the website tells a story about the Aleuts which children can easily understand and also has a supplementary quiz and coloring pages. The entirety of this website is detailed and very informative.
The Temple textbook says that reading historical fiction, like Aleutian Sparrow, is very beneficial to children because it allows them to "step into" that time period and gives them a better grasp of the occurrences of the time as well as giving them answers to subjects in history they may naturally be curious to know more about. Temple also relates that historical fiction, as opposed to non-fiction, supplies readers with a closer connection to the story. I certainly agree with this statement because I believe that many more emotions are evoked through fiction than non-fiction simply because of the plethora of information in non-fiction. Fictional stories provide somewhat less information, but they do allow a more personal connection due to the story involved. Aleutian Sparrow maintains historical authenticacy through the background story, but fictionalizes the characters because they are "...not intended to depict specific individuals, but rather to represent the experience shared by many during the three-year relocation program(Hesse, 155). Furthermore, the setting and conflict in the story are completely true to reality according to information attained upon further research of the topic and upon viewing the websites. This work provides fictionalized family histories, but is based on research.
It is heartbreaking that throughout this novel, the same theme of "unwanted Aleutians" continues to reappear. "We are only trying to survive our exile, I want to say. Yet our white neighbors scratch at the rash of our existence. We didn't ask to come here. The Japanese are no longer a threat. Let us leave. Let us go home" (90). The Aleutian people never wanted to leave their homes in the first place; they never wanted or asked to become the burden they were. Yet, Americans remained prejudiced against them for all the trouble they caused. This work can teach children much about prejudices because it shows how little reason the Americans had to dislike the Aleuts and how much they took form the Aleutians in a way that children will understand. I absolutely believe that by helping children recognize injustice that we can empower them to initiate change. Children will be the leaders of the future, so if we do not teach them the difference between right and wrong, how can we expect them to know it? Because this novel is told from a child's perspective, children can more easily identify with the main characters an be more empathetic to their view of the situation because the character's view parallels what their own would have been. Vera talks of how her relationships with her friends, family, and the elders changed and how quickly she grew up and had to acquire employment, etc. due to the relocation.
Outwardly, Vera's life and the lives of all the Aleutians are very different from those of the children I will teach, but in some ways, they are much the same. The children still wish to keep their Christmas traditions within the church and go to the movies like normal children. Yet, to make the paper stars for the church they need glue and do not wish to "...catch four cod, Boil their eyeballs in water, crush the cooling goo with [their] fingers, and use that for glue" (107) as Alfred's grandfather suggests and they cannot afford to pay for a taxi to the movies, "But [they] all need to get out of camp. So [they] walk eight miles to Ketchikan and eight slow miles back home again" (99). Children's grandparents might not tell them to make glue in this way and children may not actually need to get out of the house bad enough to walk eight miles, but we all have daily struggles and perhaps looking and the trials and tribulations of others will help lessen the stress children have in dealing with their own struggles and make them more empathetic and compassionate.
In Because of Winn-Dixie Opal learns that just because people in her new town are different from her and different from her former friends, that these people are still good on the inside, even though they are outwardly different. Aleutian Sparrow teaches children the same lesson by portraying the Aleutians in a good light and showing that they are good people although they may have different customs and ways than white people. This further illustrates the injustice the American soldiers show toward the Aleutians by making them live in such harsh conditions without much medical assistance. The Aleuts are made to "...choose between warmth and privacy. [They] hang blankets to divide the space inside the crowded cabins...and [they] shiver (46). And when they become ill, "[They] ask for a doctor, beg for a doctor to come to [them]. When he finally arrives, he tells us we are not ill, only 'adjusting'" (91).
One thing I was disappointed in about the book was the relationship between Vera and her mother. I assume that it was just strained due to the loss of her father, but they really seem to never have a good connection and then her mother just leaves her during the war.
One of the quotes from the book really struck me as a great place to begin a topic of discussion with students. "We never thought who we were was so dependant on where we were" (139). I would read this quote to a classroom and have students volunteer to share their experiences about moving around or living in the same place all their lives and how they feel it affected them as people. I think this could potentially be a very interesting discussion to have with them.
Overall, I really feel like this is a very good novel to use in the classroom because it brings into view a part of history that most, if not all, students know nothing about and it does provide ample opportunities to discuss racial biases, prejudices, and injustices as well as empathy and compassion.
(Image retrieved from http://www.kimfolio.com/mix2/Resources/aleut_txt.jpg on 19 April 2008)
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