Monthly Recommended Books
Allow these recommendations to inspire you to do group reads, focus on specific genres (like History or mystery), or recommend for independent reading to your participants. In addition to books updated here, check out these recommendations from years past.
Pulse of Perseverance:
Three Black Doctors on Their Journey to Success
by "The Three Doctors": Pierre Johnson, MD; Maxime Madhere, MD; and Joseph Semien, Jr., MD
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How about a "Friends-giving" special meal to feast on this holiday season? This auto-biography was written by three childhood friends who made a pact as boys to overcome the adversity, hardships, and dangers of growing up young, Black, and urban, and to not only succeed individually, but to specifically achieve success as medical doctors. To do this, they relied upon their togetherness, dedication to one-another, shared senses of hope, and their ability to support one another and lift each other up. Now, that's something to be thankful for.
A perfect book for group reads, independent reading, and covering themes of the power of friendship, hope, love, and support. Pulse of Perseverance is the honest, deeply personal tale of three young black men's refusal to succumb to failure and how, together, they overcame daunting odds to take their place among the just five percent of U.S. doctors who are black. Through writing as passionate as it is relatable, the authors provide an unflinching look at the barriers black Americans face as they try to move out of the place society has designated for them. This book is a searing indictment of our still separate and unequal education system, one that ensures the road to becoming a doctor, or a lawyer or professor, will be much harder for black children than it will be for white. Yet, at its core, Pulse of Perseverance is an inspirational story of what can be accomplished with dedication, the support of people with similar goals, and the investment from institutions dedicated to black success. This book is the North Star for every black child who sees something greater for himself than the world would have him believe. |
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
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Fans of the classic Star Trek (or, Trekkers) series might recognize George Takei as Lt. Sulu, the masterful helmsman of the star ship Enterprise that was commanded by Capt. James T. Kirk. But starring on that 1966 TV series was just a small yet important chapter of a very long book of life for this Japanese-American actor. George Takei is also a consummate social justice activist, author, social commentator.... and a survivor of Japanese internment camps that were run by the US Government during World War II.
In his graphic novel They Called Us Enemy, Takei recounts his experiences when, as at the age of 4, he and other Japanese-Americans living on the west coast were rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard. There, he faced barbed wire fences, state-sanctioned racism, tough choices from his parents, but also his father's hope in democracy despite all the pain and unfairness. This occurred as the United States was at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy, and was an order issued by FDR at the same time Adolf Hitler was ordering similar round-ups into Nazi German concentration camps. This is a story that even non-history buffs will find engaging --and should, since it is an often forgotten history of our country. But wait, there's more.... In addition to making the graphic novel available to your participants, you could also make a reading by the actual author available to them too. On Nov 4, 2023, the educational non-profit Facing History and Ourselves will host a webinar to introduce the graphic novel and provide strategies and resources for reading this book with your participants/students. This event has already taken place, but you can view the free recording of it by registering with FHAO here. And, as part of their yearlong Community Read of They Called Us Enemy, on Tues, Feb 24th, 2024, Facing History will host author George Takei as he does a virtual live community reading and book talk of his memoir. Both events are free to anyone who registers. 
The complete Hazardous Tales series by Nathan Hale
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George Takei
(Disponible en Español)
Believe it or not, your participants are more into history than you might believe. It's just that while most contemporary history-based literature for young people has been long on facts and information, they've fallen short on being engaging and entertaining. That is, until Nathan Hale came along with his Hazardous Tales series. Who could pass up titles that are both ironic and humorous, while the events are historically accurate and enthralling and span a diverse range of people, cultures, and perspectives? And the more obscure and untold the story, the more engaged (and, because they are stories that don't make it to the text books, maybe even enraged) your readers will be. Learn the seldom-taught story of the Haitian slave revolt that led to independence from France in Blades of Freedom: A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase; discover the utter importance of truth-telling and bravery in journalism in Cold War Correspondent: A Korean War Tale; and find out what's actually on the menu ill-fated Donner Dinner Party (hint: it isn't cattle beef). This collection would make an excellent addition to the after school library AND any middle school history classroom. |
Nathan Hale talks about the origins of the Hazardous Tales series
A word about using Graphic Novels in Education
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See what the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has to say about using Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales and other graphic novels in education. |
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