Altered Book on Display

Altered Book

I have had this book on display for about a month in the school library.  Some students are horrified at first that someone "damaged a book".   Other immediately start to talk about how cool this book is and ask who the artist is.

I tell the students that this is called an altered book. It is  a form of  artwork that changes a book from its original form into a different form, altering its appearance and meaning.  I point out that one of our seniors Alex took an old book and recycled it. He put cuts and created pop-ups of three-dimensional trees. He used multiple books in the creation of the finished piece of art. He did this in art class.   I am so happy that I have been able to display it this month.   It has inspired many conversations.  Thanks Alex for sharing your art and thank you Colleen for inspiring our students.

Reaching for Sun by J. Durango

Diary entries are used to respond to this book.

This novel in verse tells the story of Josie who is a girl with cerebral palsy.  The condition affected one side of her body more than the other.  Since it is written in verse it is a quick read due to all the white space. Josie is a little shy and a little embarrassed to be in special education class.  She is close to her mother and grandmother, but doesn't have any close friends at school.

Night by Elie Wiesel

A diary was created as a response to this book.

This is a true account of the author's experience as a Jewish boy in a Nazi concentration camp.

Award winner--We Are the Ship The Story of Negro Baseball League

The Power of One

Diaroma of The Power of One

The powerful drama The Power of One  by  Bryce Courtney is the adventure of Peekay, an English boy, living in South Africa during World War II whose dream is to become a winner.

What I Saw and How I Lied

Diaroma

Judy Blundell's thriller  What I Saw and How I Lied is set in 1947. The main character Evie finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

Timeline created as a response to this book.

 A Long Way Gone describes  the author's experiences after he was driven from his home by war in Sierra Leone and picked up by the government army at the age of thirteen.   He served as a soldier for three years before being removed from fighting by UNICEF and eventually moved to the United States.