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Book Review: War Stories

9/4/2020

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War Stories is the newest book by best-selling children's author Gordon Korman. I just finished reading it, and I loved it so much that I feel compelled to write about it here, in the hopes that more children (and adults) will pick it up and read it. 

The book introduces us to 12yo Trevor Firestone from Malborough, Connecticut. Trevor is a WWII fanatic; he loves WWII video games, movies, posters, toys, and aircraft models. This interest is due to the stories his 93yo great-grandfather, Jacob Firestone, tells him about his time serving as an infantryman during the war. Trevor adores his G.G. (as he calls him) and relishes his stories of battle, heroism, and camaraderie. When G.G. is invited to be the guest of honor in a French village he helped to liberate in 1944, Trevor convinces his dad, Daniel, to let him come along for the trip.

This novel is written in two alternating timelines; one following the three generations of Firestone men in their modern-day journey to France, and the other taking place in 1944, following 17yo Jacob from his home in Connecticut to his basic training at Fort Benning, GA, over the ocean to England, crossing the English Channel and the events of D-Day, and then his company's journey across the French countryside pushing back and battling Nazi forces.

And one of the things I LOVE about this story is that the three Firestone men don't just travel straight to France; they visit Fort Benning and London and Omaha Beach. They drive through challenging hedgerows of the French countryside to get to Paris and nearby small French villages, some of which were completely destroyed in the war, and some that survived. And all along, Jacob is telling his stories, recognizing the smallest details in the countryside, remembering where his brothers in service fell, and gradually, Trevor and his dad notice the physical and emotional toll the memories are taking on their beloved G.G.

Not only that, but not everyone is happy that Jacob Firestone is coming back to Sainte-R
égine, the small French village the Americans helped liberate from the Germans in 1944. Daniel notices some malignant comments directed towards Jacob on the village's Facebook page. Someone leaves a dead bird on their rental car, slashes their tires, and throws a rock into their hotel window once they reach the village. Why doesn't everyone believe Jacob Firestone is a hero? What is G.G. not telling his grandson and great-grandson about his time in France?
​
In an effort to stay spoiler-free, that is all you will get from me regarding the plot of this story. I will, however, say a few more words about the themes and characters of this book that I really, really love:

The relationship between Trevor and his great-grandfather. Unlike a lot of kids would, Trevor does not take for granted how lucky he is to be able to know his veteran great-grandfather and to be able to learn so much from him. They are truly best friends.

Trevor's father, Daniel, worries that G.G.'s war stories glorify war too much for Trevor - he is constantly reminding his son that war and its consequences, while sometimes necessary, are destructive and harmful to both sides, no matter who wins in the end.

Loss of life, particularly within a soldier's band of brothers, is heavy and heartbreaking and something awful that these boys carried with them for the rest of their lives. I don't know that I've ever read another middle-grade novel that deals with these situations in such a upfront and profound way as this book does.

War is complicated. Friendly fire kills people it shouldn't. War heroes didn't always do heroic things. The effects of war, good AND bad, are felt for many generations after the fact and the trauma remains in families for decades.

Overall, this is a great book for adults to read WITH kids. I certainly learned a lot, not only about the war itself, but it made me think about WHO writes the history and HOW that influences us to think certain things about historical events. Send me an email and let me know what you think of the book if you and/or the kids in your life end up reading it!

@2020 Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Book Review: I Can Make This Promise

10/29/2019

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I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
'I Can Make This Promise' by Christine Day is a new juvenile fiction middle-grade novel that has some great family history themes, so I thought I'd write about it on the blog today.

Edith (Edie) is a happy 12yo girl living in the Seattle area, who loves to draw and hang out with her two best friends. One day, while exploring the attic, they stumble upon an old, tattered box, and inside that box is a photo of a beautiful woman who looks just like Edie. Not only that, but also within the box are old letters signed by a woman named 'Edith,' apparently Edie's namesake. All Edie knows about her mom is that she is Native American and that she was adopted as a baby. The discovery of this box and its contents makes Edie want to know more about her family history, especially this mysterious woman in the photo. 

At first, Edie keeps her discovery of the box a secret from her parents, but tries, in subtle ways, to get them to answer some questions about the past. It doesn't go well, at first, but then there is one conversation between Edie and her mom that really resonated with me:

Edie asks, "You never tell me stories from when you were growing up."
And her mom's reply is, "That's because I never wanted you to feel sorry for me."

And, for me, it was like a light bulb clicked on. THIS. This was a large reason why so many people do not want to tell the story of their lives. I think I always just assumed it was because they didn't want to relive the pain of the memories, and, while this is indeed the case for many people, it's not the whole story. We do not want our life experiences to elicit pity from others.

And it got me thinking - Do we do this too much within the family history community? Do we inadvertently reinforce the shame placed on our family members (by society, religion, or other people) by feeling sorry for a person?  I think we do to some extent, but many of us don't even realize we are doing it.

People don't want you to feel sorry for them or their lot in life. They want you to see the person, not the circumstances. I will be thinking on this for a long time, as it relates to my family history and my own history.

I won't tell you how this novel ends, but I will say there is some closure for Edie, as well as an awakening, as far as learning more about her family's past and about who she is. 

This novel helps to fill a void that exists in juvenile literature with respect to Native stories being told by Native authors. Christine Day is a member of the Upper Skagit tribe of the Pacific Northwest. Again, I won't elucidate on the details of this story, as to avoid spoilers, but I'll just say that, with this novel, she brings to light fairly recent history (1940s-1970s) that literally tore Native families apart. If I could convince every adult I know to read this story, I would, because you WILL learn things that you never learned in school (and that may have been happening while you WERE in school). And you will find that the circumstances described in this book are still happening on American soil today. 

You can read more about and order 'I Can Make This Promise' at THIS LINK. A portion of the sale proceeds come back to help maintain the Growing Little Leaves website.

©2019 Emily Kowalski Schroeder. All opinions are my own.



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Book Review: The Laura Line by Crystal Allen

12/2/2018

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Book Review: The Laura Line by Crystal Allen // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Today, I am happy to share with you a children's novel I recently discovered entitled The Laura Line by Crystal Allen. The book is just so full of family history that I've decided to write a blog post about it.

Laura Eboni Dyson is a typical African-American 13-year old living in Texas with her mom and dad. She loves fashion, baseball, and her best friend, Sage. When her parents leave for two weeks to attend National Guard training, she must move in with her grandmother, who she does not know all that well. Her grandmother lives on a family farm that includes an old slave shack and family graveyard in the back, both of which Laura find to be creepy and depressing. At the beginning of the book, she doesn't understand why her family would keep around a symbol of her family's oppression and suffering. But Laura has never been inside the shack, and she doesn't realize what amazing pieces of family history are housed within.

​Laura's history teacher, who also happens to be her grandmother's best friend, wants to take her class on a field trip to see the shack, but Laura is worried that her classmates will only use it as fodder for even more bullying, as they already cruelly tease her due to her weight. Her teacher challenges her to go inside the shack, so that she can see (before her classmates) how her family's history is connected to The Amistad slave revolt that they've been learning about in class.

Laura does find the courage to enter the shack, and when she does she is blown away at the family history treasures within. There is a 'ledger' with letters, news articles, photos, and awards documenting Laura's entire matrilineal line, all named 'Laura,' going all the way back to mentions of the original Laura, a courageous and selfless slave. As Laura's relationship with her grandmother grows, she hears oral stories of her family's past from her, stories that are not found written or represented within the ledger itself. (I love the importance this book puts on oral history, and the responsibility of present family members to pass down that oral history to younger generations.)

But Laura makes a mistake in the course of this story that has damaging consequences to the contents of the slave shack and, more importantly, to her grandmother's feelings and memories. Laura must learn how to take responsibility for her choices, and, in the process of trying to make things right, she meets with a man from the Texas Historical Commission, to try to get the slave shack special protections due to its important history.   (And she finds solace in the fact that other Lauras in her line also made mistakes, but tried to make things right in the end.)

Laura's feelings about the slave shack transform from shame and depression to pride, and she volunteers to lead her classmates' tour of the property during her field trip. Her self-confidence sky-rockets and she realizes she, like her strong female ancestors, will be able to accomplish whatever she wants in life with hard work and by staying true to herself.

This book is full of heart and sass and I honestly feel like I was inside a 13-year old's head, worrying about my looks and dealing with bullies and crushing on boys. This is definitely a book for girls who are struggling during this awkward period of life, and I hope, after reading it, other girls have been inspired to find the strong women in their family history, as Laura did.

If you'd like to purchase The Laura Line, please click on this Amazon link. This is an affiliate link, so a small portion of the sale will come back to Growing Little Leaves, with no additional cost to you.

©2018 Emily Kowalski Schroeder


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Remembering Our WWI Ancestors

11/6/2018

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Remembering Our WWI Ancestors - GrowingLittleLeaves.com
The 100th anniversary of Armistice Day is nearly here, and a lot of nations and communities are commemorating the end of World War I and honoring the fallen in different ways - ceremonies, moments of silence, new statues and/or memorial sites, etc. On our own smaller scale, it's important to take the time to remember our family members who served in World War I - those who gave their lives for their countries and also those who survived, but had to live with the memories and other adverse effects of the war for the rest of their lives.

War was, unfortunately, a very real part of many of our ancestors' lives, and influenced their lives in sometimes very profound ways.  So, in order to help our kids understand our ancestors, we can't skip the discussion of war when we are talking about their lives, even though it IS a difficult topic to have with children.

My WWI veteran ancestor was Luigi Licciardi and he fought in the Italian Army during the War. We don't know much about his service, but by 1920 he was on a ship to America, with his wife and young daughters to follow in 1921. Had he always wanted to come to America, or did his experiences during the war push him to start a new life somewhere far from the destruction and chaos in Europe?  Enough Italian WWI veterans came to Cleveland, at least, that they started a social group/fraternal group known as Ex-Combattenti Italiani (Italian War Veterans), so perhaps that experience of serving and living through WWI did affect more peoples' decisions to emigrate out of Europe. Does your family have any ancestors that immigrated to America immediately after WWI? 

My husband had a great-uncle, Edward Tumbush, who served in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during the War. He was the grandchild of German immigrants who came from Northwest Germany. It's hard to think that he may have been fighting against some of his own cousins on the front lines. Unfortunately, a couple of my husband's ancestral towns in the Meuse department of Northeast France suffered damaged and enemy occupation during the war, as well.


I've made two simple worksheets kids can use if they want to write down some basic facts about their ancestors who served in World War I. Click on each image to download a PDF.

My WWI Veteran Ancestor Worksheet // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
My WWI Veteran Ancestor (2 pages)
My WWI Nurse Ancestor // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
My WWI Nurse Ancestor (1 page)
​Several years ago, I made some poppy crafts with my daughter while we talked about the war and what the poppy symbolizes. You can find that post at this link.

Below, I've listed some children's book recommendations for teaching children about WWI. It's a mix of non-fiction and fiction, for various ages, and certainly not comprehensive in scope, but it will give you a good start. Despite all the destruction and killing, there are actually some very inspirational and endearing stories from WWI, including several stories about how animals helped soldiers and the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914. (If you order through these links, a small portion of the sale will be returned to Growing Little Leaves. The sale price will be no different for you.)
©2018 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Naming Traditions

8/27/2018

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Naming Traditions // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Our names are central to who we are. Our name is literally the first part of our identity that we learn as babies and toddlers. And when our names are connected to traditions and people from our family's past, they become powerful ways in which to introduce our children family history.

My son's middle name is Joseph. Joseph is and was also the middle name of my son's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. (His 3rd great-grandfather had the first name of Joseph, and was the first of the Schroeder line to be born in America.) My husband and I wanted to make sure that this name and tradition lived on, and we wanted him to feel connected with his ancestors, so we deliberately chose Joseph as our son's middle name. Now, every time my son has to tell someone or fill out his full name on a form, this subject of having a name that was passed down comes up, and it's just another opportunity of reminding him of the origins and meaning of his middle name. 

Maybe your children or grandchildren are not named after anyone in particular in your family. That's ok, because, chances are, there is someone in your family tree - maybe even someone the child knows - who has been named after an ancestor. Start your discussion with that person. Show a child that person's pedigree chart, so that they can 'see' the relationship of that person to their namesake(s).

Also, talk with your child(ren) about the naming traditions that make up the different cultures and ethnicities of your family tree, and then try to find examples of those traditions in your pedigree charts. For example, my great-grandfather was born in Poland and his given name was Dominik. His birthday was August 4, which, at the time of his birth, was the feast day of St. Dominic. In the late 19th century, naming children after the saint on whose feast day they were born  was common in Roman Catholic communities. Some cultures regularly name children after grandparents or godparents, give names based on birth order or appearance, or determine given names based on the positions of stars and planets at the time of birth.


Family naming traditions are as vast as the cultures on Earth. Not only that, but each individual family, like mine, might also have some sort of naming tradition that is passed down through the generations. There are a few picture books that I recommend, as ways in which to introduce the subject of naming traditions with children. Reading these books with children is also a great way in which to introduce naming traditions of cultures that many American children may not be familiar with.

(Clicking on each book image will take you to that book's Amazon page. These are affiliate links; if you purchase an item through these links, a small portion of the sale price will come back to Growing Little Leaves. The price of the item will be no different for you.)

René Has Two Last Names by René Colato Laínez: Rene has just moved to America from El Salvador and becomes discouraged when his new teacher leaves off one of his last names, because he feels like he is losing half of his family when it is not included. He uses a family tree assignment at school to show his teacher and classmates what his two last names mean to him and his family.
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal: A young Peruvian girl learns the family history origins of each of her names, and goes from being discouraged by her long name to feeling empowered by it.
How Nivi Got Her Names by Laura Deal: A young adopted Inuit girl learns the origins of each of her names, and comes to see how she is the embodiment of those people and their character traits and personalities.
What naming traditions are present in YOUR family tree? Remember, talking about naming traditions is an easy way to teach kids a little family history! 
​
©2018, Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Book Review: Last in a Long Line of Rebels

5/1/2018

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Book Review: Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Lisa Lewis Tyre // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Happy May to everyone! Today, I have a book to share with you called Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Lisa Lewis Tyre, published in 2015. This novel, written for about ages 10 and up, has a strong family history focus and I really think it's great at showing kids just how exciting and interesting family history can be!

Twelve-year-old Louise (Lou) Mayhew lives with her Dad, the local junk dealer, her (pregnant) mom who is an artist, and her grandma Bertie, who, in addition to being the town flirt and gossip, is also a keen local history patron and the family's amateur genealogist. They all live together in an antebellum home in small-town Tennessee, a home that has been in the Mayhew family for generations. The story takes place in 1999.

Lou and her best friend, Benjamin Zerto (Benzer, for short) are lamenting over what is looking to be a boring and uneventful summer break, when they overhear Lou's parents talking about how they may lose their house and property to the town through eminent domain. 

Lou is heartbroken, but she, along with Benzer, her friend Franklin, and her cousin Patty become determined to find a way to somehow save the house. 

Before long, the kids discover a mysterious letter in an old family Bible, and set off on a mission to figure out any important Civil War connections the house may have had, so that it can be listed on the National Register of Historic Places (and saved from demolition). The kids visit the local library and county history museum in their quest, and learn an old story about stolen gold and murder involving Lou's ancestors during the Civil War.

In a style reminiscent of the 1980s movie Goonies, the four kids become determined to figure out what happened to this stolen gold, knowing that recovering it could help Lou's parents pay for the legal fees they would incur if they fought for the house. In a bit of family history serendipity, Lou finds an ancestor's diary in a secret compartment of a wooden box she saves from the remains of a local estate sale. And then, the pieces of the puzzle start to come together...but I'll save that for you to read about.

There are so many great family history themes presented over the course of this novel, some in actual conversations between the characters. Here are just a few that would lead to awesome discussions with kids in a book club setting:

- Our ancestors weren't perfect, and may have done things that were morally wrong.
- The beliefs and decisions of your ancestors do not define who you are as a person.
- Stories passed down orally through the generations will usually contain a little bit of truth and a little bit of fiction.
- Learning history becomes way more interesting when your own ancestors were involved.

A running parallel plot throughout this book involves Isaac, a teenager who works for Lou's father, and who is a pretty great football player with hopes of getting a local scholarship so he can attend the University of Tennessee. Isaac, who is African-American, does not receive the scholarship, which is due solely to the racist beliefs of a local high school coach. 

Honestly, I really enjoyed this plot as much as the family history one, because it demonstrated some of the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways in which racism still permeates through our modern society. And it shows kids how to have the courage to speak out against it and rally behind those who are affected by it.

If you are interested in reading this book, you can probably find it at your local library or feel free to click on the image below to be directed to Amazon.com. (This is an affiliate link; a small portion of your order amount will support the Growing Little Leaves website. There is no additional cost to you.)

©2018 Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Book Feature: When Mother Read Aloud by Katie Andrews Potter

12/8/2017

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Book Feature: When Mother Read Aloud by Katie Andrews Potter // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Today, I'd like to share with you the children's book, When Mother Read Aloud: The Life Story of Almyra King Holsclaw by Indianapolis author, Katie Andrews Potter. 

When Mother Read Aloud tells the story of Katie's 3rd great-grandmother, Almyra King Holsclaw, who grew up in Indiana in the 1840s and 1850s. The book is written in the first person, from the perspective of Almyra herself, which is appropriate because Almyra told the stories of her life to her daughter, who then shared them with HER descendants. It is a wonderful example of how family history can be passed down and shared through the generations.

In the book, Almyra shares much about what life was like for her family and friends during her childhood. She talks about the type of house her father built for the family, what they ate, chores and crafts they did, and how they interacted with other families in the community.  The book really is a nice way to introduce kids to how Midwestern pioneer families lived in the pre-Civil War era. 

The illustrations in When Mother Read Aloud are colorful and eye-catching. They were designed and drawn by five talented Indiana high school students. At the end of the book is a short biography of Almyra, complete with photographs. I enjoyed the biographical addition to the book, and I think having it side-by-side with the story version of Almyra's life will help kids understand that everyone's life is just one big story, and that all our stories are interconnected with each other. And you know what? Learning about Almyra's life might inspire a child to investigate their own family history and discover the stories of their own ancestors, which is a wonderful thing.

When Mother Read Aloud: The Life Story of Almyra King Holsclaw can be ordered here on Amazon. (A small portion of sales through this link comes back to Growing Little Leaves.)

*I received a complementary copy of When Mother Read Aloud for review, but all opinions remain my own.*

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Honoring Ancestors on Day of the Dead

10/25/2017

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Honoring Ancestors on the Day of the Dead // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated between October 31 and November 2 each year. Drawing on both indigenous and Catholic traditions, Día de los Meurtos festivities remember, celebrate, and welcome back the spirits of dead loved ones. Family members build altars (ofrendas) to honor their ancestors and visit cemeteries to clean and decorate grave sites. Though individual traditions can vary from place to place, most Día de los Muertos festivities generally take on a happy, celebratory tone, instead of a mournful one.  

Our family does not have Mexican roots, but we are Catholic and our family has been for many, many generations. All Saints Day (Nov 1) and All Souls Day (Nov  2) are a big deal in the Catholic faith. These days give us a chance to remember and honor our loved ones who are deceased, and I just love the Mexican traditions during the Day of the Dead of filling these days with music, dance, parades, food, prayer, and memories. And I think celebrating the memories of those who have passed on can be a very positive and healing experience for all people, especially children.

Last year, we spent a day in Cozumel, Mexico, and one of the villages we visited had a traditional ofrenda on display. It's important to say that these ofrendas are NOT made in order to worship ancestors; they are made to honor them and remember them.  

Honoring Ancestors on the Day of the Dead // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Authentic Mexican Ofrenda
This year, as late Oct and early November approached, I decided that my kids and I would try to create our own ancestor ofrenda and share it with you.

We used several online sources (links below) to help us learn what to include in our ofrenda. However, from what I have read, it seems that there is no 'wrong' way to create an ofrenda to honor your ancestor(s), and that every family has their own style and uses their own ideas and creativity to do it.

The Day of the Dead Ofrenda from Inside Mexico

Build a Day of the Dead Ofrenda to Honor Your Departed Loved Ones from Zinnia Folk Arts
How To Make a Day of the Dead Altar from TripSavvy
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​So, here is a photo of our ofrenda. We covered a bench with a white bed sheet and placed a large  photograph of our ancestor (my grandmother, my kids' great-grandmother) in the center. We've included bread, water, salt, and fruit, along with various symbols of our Catholic faith, such as a cross, a statue of the Virgin Mary, and a rosary. We also have scented candles, which we lit (with adult supervision only!).  We included one of my grandmother's books, because she loved to read, and a deck of playing cards, because she also enjoyed card parties with her friends. You can also include a few smaller photos, if you like.
Honoring Ancestor on the Day of the Dead // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Traditional ofrendas are decorated with cempasúchitl flowers, sometimes known as Mexican marigolds. We used some orange-colored silk flowers instead of real ones, but I still think it looks nice. You can also use mums, which are easy to find during this time of the year. Mexican ofrendas also typically include colorful papel picado banners. It is easy to make simple banners using string and tissue paper, but I found a good deal on Amazon for a small pre-made banner.

Day of the Dead ofrendas are also often decorated with artistic representations of human skulls, also known as calaveras or sugar skulls, because they are often made of candy or dough and edible. We did not make sugar skulls, but we did color some paper ones to include on our ofrenda. I found a public domain image of a black-and-white calavera, so I copied it to a document (in two sizes) and made a printable for you to download.
Sugar Skull Download
Here are a few other links at which you can download sugar skull templates or other free Day of the Dead printables and activities for kids:

Free Printable Dia de los Muertos Coloring Page
​Day of the Dead Printable Craft
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Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skull Boxes
​Free Day of the Dead Printable
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Day of the Dead Felt Craft for Kids
Elementary-Level Day of the Dead Vocabulary Worksheet & Word Search

​And, of course, don't forget that your local library likely has some great kid-friendly picture books about Day of the Dead festivities and what they mean. Some of these are bilingual, too, so they are great if you are trying to introduce your child(ren) to Spanish. I've featured a few below, and if you click on the image, you will be directed to the book's Amazon.com page. Purchasing through these links provides Growing Little Leaves with a small portion of the sale (at no extra cost to you).
Does your family regularly participate in Day of the Dead festivities? If so, I'd love to hear about your traditions and see photos! As always, thank you for reading!

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Connecting With Industrial-Era Ancestors

7/23/2017

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Connecting With Industrial-Era Ancestors // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
I haven't written too much about my own personal family history on this blog; I usually save those posts for my other blog, ​The Spiraling Chains. If you've ever happened upon that blog of mine, you know that my family history here in America began fairly recently. All of my great-grandparents immigrated to America between 1890 and 1920, coming from poor backgrounds in various parts of Europe to work urban foundry and steel mill jobs in the booming urban industrial atmosphere of the Great Lakes during that time period.

When it comes to teaching my kids about what life what like for my great-grandparents and their children in this urban industrial environment, I struggle. I struggle finding age-appropriate educational resources to help them understand this part of American history. There simply aren't that many children's books about average people during this time in American history. Why? Well, there isn't a whole lot of American nostalgia associated with dirty factories and the pollution that came with them. The people who worked these factories, steel mills, mines, and foundries were poor and uneducated, and, unfortunately, a lot of personal tragedy followed these families. Some were immigrants and some were African-Americans who came northwards during The Great Migration. They were all looking for unskilled labor jobs, and, although their manpower was needed, they were usually socially unwanted by the established neighborhoods and populations of the towns and cities to which they were moving.

It's called the Rust Belt for a reason. The neighborhoods in which these people lived and worked do not exist any longer - and that is often a literal statement - many homes, storefronts, and factories have been demolished, and those that haven't are often boarded up, no longer offering any clues to their former purpose or resemblance. And historical societies in most places aren't interested in restoring the small, utilitarian former homes and businesses of turn-of-the-century working-class families.

But, despite all of this, I have found a few resources and ways that I can use to help my children learn more about the lives of their industrial ancestors, and I will share some of them below:

Fiction Books:
No Star Nights by Anna Egan Smucker & Steve Johnson
(Told from the perspective of a girl growing up in a steel mill town in West Virginia during the 1940s and 50s, this book is the BEST storybook for helping kids understand what everyday life was like for working-class families whose livelihoods depended on coal and industry.)

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel & Melissa Sweet
Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop (children's novel)
Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson (children's novel)
​Factory Girl by Barbara Greenwood
Shovelful of Sunshine by Stacie Vaughn Hutton and Cheryl Harness
In Coal Country by Judith Hendershot and Thomas B. Allen
Finder, Coal Mine Dog (Dog Chronicles) by Alison Hart and Michael G. Montgomery


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​Non-Fiction Books:
Growing Up in Coal Country by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Kids on Strike by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor by Russell Freedman
Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman
Working Children by Carol Saller
The Great Migration: An American Story by Jacob Lawrence


Historical Sites & Museums:
Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City, New York
Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area in Homestead, Pennsylvania
The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum in Coatesville, Pennsylvania
​Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham, Kentucky
Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor in Youngstown, Ohio

Steel Plant Museum of Western New York in Buffalo, New York
Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee, Michigan
Coppertown USA Mining Museum in Calumet, Michigan
The Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, New Jersey
The Museum of Science & Industry: Coal Mine in Chicago, Illinois
The Baltimore Museum of Industry in Baltimore, Maryland
​National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Some local historical societies and universities also have resources (books, photos, maps) that can help you learn more about the daily lives of your industrial-era ancestors, and the good news is that more and more of these institutions are digitizing their collections for online access. Once I discovered where my great-grandfather worked, I did my own research, using information gathered online from Google Books and local history websites. Several years ago, I published this blog post about what I learned, and now my 9-year-old son can read the post and learn more about what his great-great-grandfather did for a living. 

Kids always connect better with visual images of the past, but finding photos of old homes, churches, and neighborhoods that are no longer around can be difficult. A simple Google image search may yield some surprising results, not only from collections of libraries, historical societies, and universities, but also from private collections that another person may have posted on a personal website or blog. In some locations, properties were photographed for tax purposes, so check with local town and county archives to see if that might be part of their collection; I obtained this photograph (on the left) of my great-grandfather's hardware store from old tax records held at the county archives. The photo on the right is what the property looks like today.
Picture
Picture
YouTube: There are so many great educational films and old news reels about the early 20th century steel and mining industries. Here is one produced during WWII that is informative, but short enough for kids' limited attention spans:
Lesson Plans & Teacher Guides:
The Industrial Age in America: Sweatshops, Steel Mills, and Factories from the National Endowment for the Humanities (Grades 6-8)
​Teacher Guide: The Industrial Revolution in the United States from the Library of Congress
​Industrial Revolution from Middle Tennessee State University (High School)
Photographs of Lewis Hine -- Documentation of Child Labor from the National Archives
​

I hope this (small) collection of ideas and resources helps you teach your children a little more about their late 19th and early 20th century industrial ancestors. Thanks for reading!

​©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder.

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Book Review: Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

4/20/2017

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Book Review: Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier // GrowingLittleLeaves.comGhosts by Raina Telgemeier
Part of honoring your family's history involves remembering family members who have passed away. Dealing with the loss of family members and processing the subsequent grief can be difficult for the younger members of our families. Ghosts, a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier, explores themes of death, loss, fear, and family heritage and tradition.

Cat is an average California teenager who is apprehensive over having to move upstate with her mom, dad, and younger sister, Maya, who suffers from cystic fibrosis. As Cat and Maya soon find out, their new town, Bah
ía de la Luna, is historically known for the thin veil that exists between the worlds of the living and the dead. 

Through the course of the book, Cat and Maya, who are part Hispanic, learn a little about their maternal grandmother, who passed away before they were born. The girls' mother laments over her troubled relationship with her mother, and expresses regret over not learning about or taking pride in her mother's Mexican traditions and recipes. With the help of neighbors and new friends, the girls start to learn a little more about traditional Mexican food and celebrations. They even build a traditional ofrenda for their grandmother in their home.


Like other Hispanic communities, every year, Bahía de la Luna hosts a festival to commemorate Día de los Muertos. Unlike at other community festivals, though, the ghosts of loved ones actually DO make themselves visible and speak and sing and dance with the living like they were any other party guests. Cat attends the festival saddened that Maya is too sick to join the party, but still hoping to find and speak with her deceased grandmother. 

Throughout the story, Maya struggles with the physical limitations of her cystic fibrosis, and Cat struggles with her fears of ghosts, the unknown, and losing her sister. In addition to the theme of 'resurrecting' family tradition and culture, this book has a unique, but comforting way of using the folklore of D
ía de los Muertos to paint a picture of what the afterlife might be like, AND to emphasize that our loved ones are still with us, even after they leave their mortal lives.

I recommend this graphic novel for Grades 3 and up. 

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

    Founder and Author of Growing Little Leaves

    Emily Kowalski Schroeder / Founder and Author of GrowingLittleLeaves.com

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