Illustration © Shane W. Evans from THE RED PENCIL
Monica Edinger, a fourth-grade teacher in New York City, the author of Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad, and blogger at Educating Alice, reviewed three I’m Your Neighbor-themed books for the New York Times Book Review. In her opening and closing she spoke beautifully of the mission of these titles.
“That the world can be a harsh place is unquestionable. For those of us who live in relative comfort, far from lands coping with brutal ethnic conflict and severe deprivation, the images of suffering are heart-wrenching, all the more when children are affected. With little or no firsthand experience of these distant places, how do we make sense of it? How do we help our children do so? For three North American writers, one answer is through literature…”
“…In order to hope that the future will be different, we have to find ways to help the young people of today do better than previous generations. These authors have found a place to start, creating sensitive mirrors into distant tragedies. Their books will encourage in young readers a desire to understand the plight of less fortunate others who happen to be far away.” —MONICA EDINGER, New York Times Book Review