Week 9: Realistic Fiction

Always with You

by: Ruth Vander Zee

Second Grade

 

• APA Citation: Zee, R. V., & Himler, R. (2008). Always with you. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

• Description: "After her mother is killed by an explosion that also destroys her Vietnam village, four-year-old Kim is alone and afraid. Eventually, she is rescued by soldiers who bring her to an orphanage.
  
  Surrounded by the love of the couple who run the orphanage, the companionship of the children who live there, and her mother's promise, “I will always be with you,” Kim finds the strength and courage to survive.
  
  This picture book for older readers, based on a true story from the Vietnam War, portrays the hope that exists in even the most desperate situations. Poignant illustrations capture the perseverance of the human spirit and the power of kindness." Retrieved from Amazon.com on November 2, 2017: https://www.amazon.com/Always-You-Ruth-Vander-Zee/dp/0802852955.

• Age/Grade Level: 8-12 years old, 2nd - 3rd Grade

• Justification: This story is heart-wrenching and based on a true story. It covers tough subject matter, but will educate students about war and its far-reaching effects, and be impactful as students can undoubtedly relate to feelings of loneliness and being scared to some extent. Kim's mother's love carries her through difficulties, which is something students should be able to relate to, although they have hopefully, probably not faced personal tragedy and devastation to such an extent. As a class we would read the book, and analyze the effectiveness of the illustration style in aiding the words to present a moving story. This will demonstrate CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7. Explain how specific images contribute to and clarify a text.  (English Language Arts Standards >> Reading: Informational Text >> Grade 2, Retrieved from Common Core State Standard Initiatives on November 2, 2017: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/2/.) We will also have a class discussion on a brief overview of war and what it could mean to live in an area affected by various aspects of war, expanding the content covered in the book. This will touch on CCS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3. Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6. Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe. ((English Language Arts Standards >> Reading: Informational Text >> Grade 2, Retrieved from Common Core State Standard Initiatives on November 2, 2017: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/2/.

• Keywords: tragedy, loneliness, war, inner-strength

• Review: "Toshi Maruki's Hiroshima no Pika (HarperCollins, 1982) and Eleanor Coerr's Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Putnam, 2002) are outstanding examples of books that try to describe the horrors and inhumanity of war in ways that children would understand. On a lesser scale of strength, this picture book takes a tragedy experienced by a four-year-old and makes it a universal story about being alone and afraid. When her village in Vietnam is bombed, Kim remembers her mother's dying words, "I will always be with you." She holds to them when she is struck on the head by a gun; when she is found, hungry and almost blind, by friendly soldiers; and when she is taken to an orphanage where she is cared for and loved. The pencil and watercolor illustrations are admirably suited to the text: Kim's expressions, the gray lines of marching soldiers, and the devastated land do more to deglorify warfare than any amount of adult preaching, just as the sight of her softly weeping in her bed and being reassured by the orphanage house mistress conveys her longing for her mother better than words would. This is a good book to use in classroom discussions of war, of what happens to the children, or, more specifically, of the Vietnam War and how it was that so many Vietnamese came to the United States."—Marian Drabkin, formerly at Richmond Public Library, CA  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

• Citation:  Retrieved from the School Library Journal on November 2, 2017, listed on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Always-You-Ruth-Vander-Zee/dp/0802852955.

• Awards: