(Personal Note from Professor Bento: You all truly deserve the biggest, brightest, happiest holiday EVER my friends. And when it is safe to do so, go on that exciting adventure with friends and loved ones!! Travel to places unknown, be fearless and joyful! Make LOTS of new memories and friends, and, along the way, gather as many stories you can to share with loved ones for an entire lifetime.)

The Inspiration:

Imagine you are planning a holiday!!!

(Remember what a ‘real’ holiday is like??? 🙁 yikes – COVID is the worse – right?).

Ok 🙂 So…….here we go! (use your imagination my dear friends!)

You are looking for a great book to read for your much deserved vacation to a beautiful beach, a scenic mountain resort and spa, a sparkling glamour filled city, or anywhere you want to go in your imagination right now!!! (Fill in your Dream Vacation here:).

You feel that your time is best spent reading a book that illuminates the struggles and triumphs of people who are marginalized and discriminated against because of the color of their skin, their gender, their sexual identity, or, their adaptive ability. And you remember taking a class in college, EDUC 121 :). This class focussed the lens on social justice within children’s literature and you remember practicing critical literacy as you unraveled both the plot and character development of each story. You enjoyed viewing the pages of a book where a world could reflect the best in humanity. You enjoyed reading stories where the seeds of social justice grew gardens inside of the fertile minds of both children and adults – one story, one page, one word at a time. You remember the words that now echo in your memory : YOUR STORY MATTERS…..YOU MATTER. You want to remind yourself of this truth by choosing an awesome book that will shed light on the potential of a better humanity . You remember your last writing assignment for the course where folks rated their Young Adult Novel 🙂 In particular, one of the books reviewed by a peer stood out to you as noteworthy. Happily, you recall typing the name of this book title inside of your notes on phone. Eureka! You found it!

With one click of the button on your phone, and one click of the button on Amazon, the perfect companion book for your much deserved vacation awaits you…..You pack!:)

The Prompt:

Post a 450 Word Review of the Young Adult Novel that you have enjoyed reading for this class. State the attributes of this book based its’ success showcasing overcoming the challenges of discrimination and achieving social justice.

Write 450 Words please discussing the bulleted and numbered points listed below // Write a 50 Word Response to a PEER about their assessment of their book:)

1. Begin your 450 Word Review with the Name of Your Book, (Author, Date)

2. Include in your discussion an account of the most remarkable and meaningful part of the story that you feel showcases social justice and/or conversely, social injustice. Include 1 (one) quote from your Young Adult Novel that illuminates this part of the story.

3. Rate your Young Adult Novel : How many stars would you give this book? 5 Stars: Excellent *****4 Stars: Great ****3 Stars: Good ***2 Stars:Just Ok ** & 1 Star: HMMMM Want my time back!*

4. Would you recommend this book to a friend or a future student in EDUC 121?

5. Include answers to the following questions inside your writing:

• Do you feel that your book contained ‘the right stuff’ to open up the minds and hearts of the reader to garner empathy for those marginalized?
• Do you think that the story somehow ‘transformed you‘ in such a way that you feel your capacity for empathy has been strengthened?
• Do you feel that you were inspired by the characters? Do you want to delve deeper into helping this group somehow? Volunteering? Working?
• Did the characters and storyline allow you to walk in the shoes of folks that walk a different path than your own?
• Was the book told from an Insider Perspective? (Quick research about author needed here)
• Would you recommend this book to be required reading at the High School Level?
• Should this book be made into a movie?
• Should you buy for a friend for the holiday season?:)

• 6. Conclude your writing review with one (1) supportive APA formatted citation from any author derived from the Reader that connects strongly with your reflection about the importance of social justice being reflected within the pages of literature. No reference page required. No abstract page. No cover page. This is a casual response paper that will guide one of your classmates to find what you found inside of your book selection. In other words, your book review might inspire another person to read your chosen book! Your message matters! Your words matter. You matter.

Thank you for sharing your story with us my friend!