Will I ever care about blogging again? I don't know. Maybe not. I am certainly on hiatus, here.

I think, as the children grow up, blogging about our schooling life feels less and less appropriate. Their set backs are private. Blogging their triumphs feels like bragging.

And meanwhile, I'm just dog-gone busy around here. Hum, maybe I'm over it? Time will tell. In the mean time (love that phrase, what ever it means) y'all have a good summer.

~~ "Solar time as measured by the mean sun, resulting in equal 24-hour days throughout the year. If days were measured by the actual movement of the Sun, they would vary slightly in length at different times of the year due to differences in Earth's orbital speed and other factors. Mean time is the basis for standard clock time throughout most of the world." ~~

Diane McKenzie on The Atomic Bomb

The stories of the building of the atomic bomb in the United States, the decision to use the bomb and its aftermath are stories that we must remember and must learn from. For many years every August our family read aloud the entire book, Hiroshima by John Hersey. It only takes a couple of hours to read and is always moving and profoundly affecting. Originally I read the entire book aloud, but by the time my girls were 10, they wanted to take turns with reading as well. It is a way to remember the devastation that human beings can cause and also how human beings can recover from what seems to be total destruction. The essay was first published in the August 31,1946, issue of the New Yorker just after the anniversary of the dropping of the bomb. The entire issue was devoted to the essay with no other columns and no cartoons. Hersey also read the essay aloud on ABC radio in four half hour sessions (this was before NPR). The Book-of-the-Month Club sent a free copy to all its members. My parents were Book Club members and that was the copy that I first read about 1954 or 1955 when I was 11 or 12 years old.

The building of the bomb and the Manhattan Project is part of the story of Hiroshima. The recent biography of J Robert Oppenheimer is excellent but it is also massive and probably few adults or children will read it. (American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird.) However there is another recent book written by Jennet Conant, 109 East Palace : Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos. The story is told from the point of view of Dorothy McKibbon who was an employee at Los Alamos and a confidant of many of the people working there. The author is the granddaughter of James Conant, former president of Harvard and a key figure in the creation of the Manhattan Project. The introduction is critical to the book, describing the Conant family views on the dropping of the bomb.

In addition, there is a wonderful young adult book on the Manhattan project and the building the bomb, The Green Glass Sea, by Ellen Klages. It provides a look at the Los Alamos facility through the eyes of two young girls whose father and mother are working on the bomb.

Diane McKenzie on The Holocaust

One person commented on my blog post about Japanese Internment Camps, that she and her daughter were reading and learning about World War II and the holocaust. My granddaughter read many books on the holocaust when she was in her pre and early teen and my daughters and I continue to read books on the holocaust.

Books for children and teenagers about the Holocaust

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr. 1971

Partly autobiographical novel of escape from German by a wealthy Jewish family in about 1933. They lose all their possessions. The concerns of the children seem to be very realistic – having friends, school. Apparently this book is now used in German schools to introduce the Nazi period.

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, 1990

A wonderful book for all ages. I have read it several times. It is used in many curricula as early as 3rd^h grade. The story is set in Denmark and reflects how the Danish really did save many Jewish families during WW II.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, 2005

After reading The Book Thief we all went out and read everything else that Zusak had written. His other books are good, but The Book Thief is a masterpiece. It is set in Germany during the war. The heroine is not Jewish, but lives in a lower class working family. The horror of repression is all the more real because you see how it affects everyone in society and infiltrates individual decision making. With help, children around 12 could probably read it. It is a thick book but thanks to Harry Potter that no longer is a deterrent.

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

Anne Frank remains the standard for books about the holocaust. Written during the time her family was hiding from Nazis her positive attitude is amazing. It also gives a good picture of how people had to live – the silence, the sharing of food and the difficulties of being unable to leave their hiding place.

The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. 1974.

Personal narrative of a young woman who worked in the anti-Nazi Dutch underground. She was eventually sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. This book has very strong religious overtones. I am not sure of your religious outlook, but it worth noting that many religious people played significant roles in the underground during World War II. Of course, there is another side to how various churches responded.

Movie about the Holocaust

The movie Schindler’s List is a masterpiece. I am typically so upset by seeing films about atrocities that I do not watch them. But my husband told me that I really needed to watch this one. We watched it at home so I could stop and look around and recognize where I was – watching movies in a darkened theatre heightens my reactions. I would not have younger children watch this unless they were prepared for what is happening and have a chance to discuss and ask questions. I still have nightmares but then the holocaust was a nightmare and we should have nightmares about it.

Other Books about the Holocaust that I have not read

There are many other books about the Holocaust. I have not read these but hope toand several of these were recommended by my family members. I have listed mostly memoirs and true stories since these have such immediacy. I also tended to select titles that reflect children’s experiences. All the books are supposed to be accessible to children in 6^th – 7^th or 8^th grade. The Holocaust Museum (which everyone should visit) maintains a wonderful website with suggestions of books and other excellent information.

The Hidden Children: The Secret Survivors of the Holocaust, by Jane Marks. 1993. Personal narratives of Holocaust survivors who experienced World War II as children.

A Field of Buttercups, by Joe Hyams. 1968
The story of Dr. Janusz Korcza, who gave up a successful medical practice to open the Our Children's Home orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw. When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, the orphanage was forced to move into the Warsaw Ghetto. In August 1942, the orphanage was evacuated from the ghetto to the death camps. Dr Korcza was given the option of abandoning the 200 Jewish children in his care, but chose to die together with the children.

Worlds Torn Asunder, by Dov Beril Edelstein.. 1985
A rabbi describes his experiences as a deeply religious 17-year-old confronting the hell of Auschwitz.

Liliana's Journal. By Liliana Zuker-Bujanowska, 1980.

Lilian’s memoir about her experiences from 1939-1945 in Warsaw

The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square by Joseph Ziemian,1975
The true story of a group of Jewish children who escape from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942 and survive in the Nazi-occupied city, while supplying food and arms to the Jewish.

A Partisan's Memoir, Woman of the Holocaust, by Faye Schulman.1995.
Personal narrative of a Jewish teenager from Lenin, a small town on the, Polish - Russian border. Includes photographs taken by the author.

There is Always Time to Die, by Adam Starkopf. 1981

Personal narrative of an extraordinary escape from the Warsaw Ghetto and years of hiding under Catholic identities. (Also published as Will to Live: One Family's Story of Surviving the Holocaust, 1995)

Mischling, Second Degree: My Childhood in Nazi Germany, by Ilse Koehn 1977
The memoirs of a German girl who became a leader among the Hitler Youth while her Social Democratic family kept from her the secret of her partial Jewish heritage.

Diane McKenzie on Iran And The News

Iran is in the news a lot these days. That reminded me of how important we found it was to listen to the current. We also received Time magazine which both kids used a lot. I might think about a different magazine such as the Economist, but Time does a good job. For older kids, the New Yorker would be my choice. The recent article on health insurance by Atul Gwande (one of my all time favorite authors) has become required reading for members of Congress.

But, back to Iran. You might consider reading the graphic novel Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi. Here is my GoodReads review from a few months ago (I did not enjoy Persepolis 2 nearly as much):

This is a black and white graphic novel sort of in the style of Wanda Gag. It seems to be totally autobiographical and tells the story of living in Iran before and during the revolution and the rise of the religious state. The story is told through the eyes of a child from about age 7 to 13. At times I was confused about what was happening or who was whom - but I realized that this was exactly how a child would see the complexity of the world. Marjane's family were devoted Marxists and liberals and she was raised to be outspoken and was given a good education. Her family's situation grows more and more tenuous as the novel progresses, but it is not clear that Marjane is aware of how bad things are. It ends with her leaving to attend school in Austria and the tension surrounding this move is very high for her, for her family and for the reader. By this point I had totally forgotten that I was reading a graphic novel.

I think the book is for adults and for young adults. It would be an amazing book to read in school and discuss.

This week has been insanely busy. I'm going to leave most of the details alone. Offering only this food for thought. I met a third generation dairy farmer today. For three generations, her family has owned the same dairy farm. They milk 150 Holsteins a day, every day. She riveted my attention and I had 150 questions for her. Do they keep bulls? No. Would her husband offer a class on artificial insemination? No. Do they drink their own milk? No. Wait, back up, maybe I misunderstood. You buy the milk you drink? That's right. They buy the milk they drink from the local grocery.

There is no way for me to compute this. I stand there with my jaw waggling on its silent blond hinge. My face must betray me, though I promise I was trying to look neutral. So she said, "Our milk is too high fat. And raw milk spoils so fast, because its not pasteurized, you know."

Later I overheard her saying to another mother, "I could never homeschool my children." And I am not proud to admit this but I thought to myself, No, I reckon you couldn't. There are so many possible implications to a dairy farm that doesn't drink their own milk, it honestly scares me.

I mean, if you grow up on a dairy farm and you don't know how to skim for butter... I find myself speechless. If the milk you produce is so dirty that it spoils in a day... I find myself speechless. Thinking this is the milk being sold for the general public... I find myself speechless.

But you know what I suspect is going on here? People believe what they are taught. And we are all taught that milk must come from a market, government processed and graded. Just as we are taught our children must come through the school system, government processed and graded. Most people believe that. I find myself speechless.

Diane McKenzie on Japanese Internment During WW II

Japanese Internment during World War II

In 1976, my daughter was assigned a first-grade project on Japanese Internment Camps. We lived in Seattle and this was a time when there was renewed interest in the camps. By chance we found the book Citizen 13660, by Miné Okubo. Miné was interned shortly after earning an art degree and used her skills to create a book of black and white line drawings and straightforward, beautiful text about her family’s experience. It is the single most important book I have ever read on the internment camps and it gave me a life-long interest in the social context of this period of history. It was first published in 1946 so has an immediacy lacking in most other books I have read. In 1976 it was hard to find a copy of this book, but it has subsequently been reprinted.

The story of the internment camps is rich for discussion. The obvious topic is racism – only the Japanese were interned as a whole group of people, not the white Germans or white Italians. In addition to the immediate racism after Pearl Harbor, the history of the US with Japanese immigrants and citizens before and after the war is worth exploring. But there is much more, such as the concept of what is an American and what is patriotism, and if patriotism a good thing? One of my interests is the importance of social structures and how these change; the internment camps forever changed the structure of the Japanese family and had some disastrous consequences. In addition, most families destroyed most of their ancestral pictures and memorabilia – can you imagine having to burn pictures of your grandparents and other family treasures? The photographs and descriptions of the crowding, the lack of privacy and the severe terrain of the internment camps always make me think about how I would have survived in such places. Imagine what it would be like to have two weeks or less to sell or give you’re your home and belongs and pack everything into two pieces of luggage, not knowing when you would return. And always there is the question of how would you or I react to our Japanese neighbors or to the Japanese in the United States if we had been alive in 1941 and how can we judge those who hated the Japanese with only today’s eyes and sensibilities. Comparing the reactions to Pearl Harbor with the reactions to the 9/11 attacks (approximately the same number of people were killed in 9/11 as at Pearl Harbor) is a chance to see what our society may have learned since 1941.

In addition to the Okubo book, there are many excellent books on the Japanese Internment and you should explore what your library has available. Here are a few of the best. I have given the original publication dates, but all should be readily available.

Farewell to Manzanar, A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment by James A. Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. (1973)This is a first person narrative by a woman who experienced the camps as a young girl. Her writing is straightforward and honest and accessible to younger readers as well as to adults. I particularly like books that record personal experiences rather than researched stories or texts.

Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson. (1994 ) This novel explores the Japanese removal and return to the Pacific Northwest. It is a lovely book and became a best seller and is used in many schools. It is definitely accessible to older students and probably to serious students ages 12 and older. I have not seen the film but hear that it is very good.

Hotel on Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford. (2009) A new and sweet novel set in Seattle in Nihonmachi and China town during WWII and also in 1986. It tells the story of a young Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl during the war and shows the conflicts and issues confronting cities like Seattle and its immigrant communities. It also is the story of fathers and sons and their relationship. The book is written in a simple straight-forward style but it is best for the serious teenage readers or adults.

When the Emperor Was Divine, by Julie Otsuka (2002) This book is one of my favorite books from any genre, but is for the serious teenage reader and adults. The story of one family’s internment is told very simply and gently but the story shows the devastating effect that the internment had on Japanese families. Notice that the people have no names – reflecting the dehumanized way they must of felt in the camps.

In Defense of Our Neighbors: The Walt and Milly Woodward Story, by Mary Woodward (2008) This is the story of the World War II removal and internment of the Japanese from Bainbridge Island, Washington, and the local newspaper editors who kept faith with their Japanese neighbors. The book uses pictures, newspaper clippings and oral histories and recreates the bigger story of Japanese-Americans during World War II using individual stories. The questions of patriotism and nationalism after Pearl Harbor are well addressed. I am always pleased to read about people like Walt and Milly Woodward who follow their conscience and do the right thing and keep their heads when all about are losing theirs. It always makes me wonder what I would have done and hope that in my own world I would do the right thing. It also shows how one couple did make a difference. It also shows how important our newspapers and media are in a democracy – something it is easy to forget.

"Come on down to the mermaid cafe and I will buy you a bottle of wine...."

Last night was the second annual Fairy Circle Sleepover. There was swimming and eating and firefly catching and chatting and movie watching and even some sleeping. But bestly, there was dancing. The girls were outside in the dark catching fire flies, running amok, and shouting. But us Moms couldn't hear them. Because we were inside having a few faerie-drinks and cranking up Joni Mitchell. Of course. Is she not the ultimate fairy? And we started dancing. Oh, its been so long since I've really danced with a bunch of other people who were really dancing too. It was great. It was soul reviving. And the feeling must have leaked out into the yard. The baby fairies congregated at the back door, peering in. Then suddenly, they all came in to dance - really dance. We all danced together. At one point I stepped to the side with Joubert to catch my breath and watch the joyful noise. A sweaty red faced little fairy ran up to us and shouted, "THIS IS THE BEST PARTY EVER!" Then she ran away. And we laughed. And that pretty much sums it all up. Here is a quick snippet I filmed as we Fairy Mothers were just getting warmed up.

Pulling up a comment:

For the record, I've now reached the end of my (mandatory) schooling and with it all perfectly fresh in my mind, I can say in total certainty that it was a complete waste of my time and of the time of everyone else involved: taxpayers, "teachers" and other "education professionals," classmates, legislators, and parents. I hope you were being purely facetious here, but if not: please, please, please, don't ever worry that Henry and Riley are missing out on something good or necessary. They aren't.

Potatoes used to be bred for taste, which meant that in effect they were selected for nutrient content, because we crave what nourishes us. Once upon a time you could get all the vitamin E you needed just by eating your French fries. Yield is what's important in the modern market, though, and today varieties are bred for quantity over quality. There's nothing in them but empty carbs. It's the same thing.

--Meringue

Yesterday I decided to paint. I painted nothing much, for no good reason other than to model painting. This enticed a kid to the table, which, of course, was the real point. We painted with Max, the visiting Bearded Dragon, watching over our progress.
Artists can be weird and shy, yet,
thoughtful people.
Meanwhile, scholars are busy.
Too engrossed in their work to stop for painting.

Very Best Children’s Books for “Talking Book” by Diane McKenzie

All the best kid books are wonderful for adults too. I looked at some of our family’s favorites to see if there was some theme – something that made these ones we loved. It seems that all of them have a certain sense of humor – the authors, the characters and the books themselves don’t take themselves too seriously. They are also all quotable – be it a few words or several sentences there are pieces of each book that are perfect comments on life and these quotes can be used over and over to express a whole range of ideas and as a way of describing or reacting to certain situations. We called this use of quotes from our favorite books “talking book”.

I no longer have copies of these books (part of the early inheritance for children and grandchildren) so the wording is totally from memory and I may not have it exactly right – but we still “talk book” a lot when we are together (and also in email) and need just the right words for a given situation.

Frog and Toad Together, by Arnold Lobel (also a read along record)
Frog and Toad are wonderful and I believe they are still appreciated today. Our favorite story was “Cookies”. Frog and Toad tell each other, “We have to stop eating cookies!” and they try everything to keep themselves away from the cookies. In the end they have to feed the cookies to the birds. I also liked the garden story because it is a beautiful and wonderful idea to play violin for your plants.

Mouse Tales, by Arnold Lobel
The story of “The Journey” (I believe mouse is going to visit his grandmother) is famous in our family and anyone who knows us well knows this story. When mouse starts out to visit his grandmother he first wears out his car, then his bicycle, then his roller skates, his shoes, and finally his feet. Each time that something wears out there is a “Man by the side of the road selling…..” We loved to say “And he walked and he walked and walked…” When he wears out his feet, lo and behold, there is a “Man by the side of the road selling feet.” Such a practical thing that I don’t know why the American enterprise system hasn’t adopted it. We often looked for this guy when our feet wear out and sometimes it helps get us just that little bit further when we are really tired.

Throw a Kiss Harry, by Mary Chalmers
Like the first two books, this is a set of stories. We use many, many lines from Harry but part of what is important is the look on the faces of Harry and of his mom. The mom’s comments are so, well so “mom-ish”. One line we quote a lot is, “Any other time he would.” (And of course we see that Harry DOES even though his mom doesn’t) Being the “best taster” is also a big hit still.

The Littlest Rabbit, by Robert Krauss
My younger daughter was very little so this book had a lot of appeal. How can you not love that “He wasn’t even as big as a carrot.”

Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman
I read this book 8,373 times and I never got tired of the line “I am a cow.” Said the Cow. This book is pretty well known and everyone who ever missed his mom knows why. It also brings up the point, that a good book can be read 8,373 times and still be fresh and good.

The Fat Cat, a Danish Folktale, by Margaret MacDonald
The illustrations in the original book were wonderful – especially Skolinkinlot and Skohottentot – and who doesn’t like to say those names together. When we have eaten a lot we still say “And I ate the gruel and the pot and the old woman too, and now I am going to also eat YOU.” And if you are really good you can say the ENTIRE set of things the little cat ate in ONE breath.

Pierre, by Maurice Sendak
Parent’s really do sound like this: “If you would only say you care, we’ll let you fold the folding chair.” It always makes me laugh and it rang in my ears whenever I started to make equally patently stupid bargains. My kids always knew whose turn it was to get to say, “I Don’t Care!”

Winnie Pooh, by A A Milne
We were/are Winnie the Pooh lovers. The old line drawings lovers. I read these aloud to both girls from the time they were very little. Later they read them to me. Life is full of situations when you need a Poohism. One of our very favorites is
“Would you like honey or condensed milk with your bread? Asked Rabbit.
“Both.” Said Pooh. “But never bother about the bread.”

Of course there are many books we use when we “talk book,” But these are some of our favorites I would love to hear your favorite “talk book” quotes.