PBT Redux Series #8 - Ruth and the Green Book

To continue my series in which I post again some of the best PBT books published in this century, I chose a story from American history that I believe the whole world should know. This picture book will offer another opportunity to explore how spiritual values can be tied to important historical phenomena. This book also reminds Americans how things used to be here. I believe remembering our history (especially our mistakes) is especially important politically and spiritually.

My impetus for posting this particular book today is an announcement I heard on Central Alabama's public radio WBHM. A play has opened in Birmingham that explores the relationship between black people and Jewish people during segregation. Highlighted in this drama is The Green Book, the title of the play and a publication for African Americans who were traveling through the segregated south. The WBHM article explains that The Green Book was inspired by a similar book published for Jews. Here's the story I heard and details about the play if you'd like to learn more. Below is my previous PBT post describing a fabulous picture book which tells the importance of The Green Book through the eyes of a young girl. 

Picture Book: Ruth and the Green Book

Author: Calvin Alexander Ramsey with Gwen Strauss

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Summary: Ruth is excited because she and her parents are driving from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandmother. It’s the 1950s so before the trip, Ruth’s mother spends days cooking meals knowing there will be few restaurants willing to serve Negros. After being rejected from various gas stations, hotels, and restaurants, Ruth’s family spends the night it their car. Eventually they learn to look for Esso stations where they will be welcomed. At one Esso, they purchase The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to places that would welcome black travelers. Ruth learns to use the book and is so happy to experience the hospitality of fellow African Americans.

Hanna’s Comments: I am a passionate advocate of the spiritual practice of hospitality so I especially loved the part of this story where Ruth’s family is welcomed into a “tourist home.” These were homes listed in The Green Book where travelers were warmly welcomed, in this case for no charge and a fun night’s sleep. In the back of the book, find The History of The Negro Motorist Green Book. 2014 was the 50^th anniversary of the Civil Rights Bill which outlawed Jim Crow Laws and therefore also the anniversary of the last edition of The Green Book. Thank goodness, this book is now a relic of the last century and no longer necessary for black individuals to comfortably travel for long distances. It is my prayer that families in our country will never have to travel in fear, surrounded by hatred.

Original Publisher & Date: Scholastic, 2010

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1^st and up

Formats other than Book: Tablet

Scripture Connections: Treat the stranger as the native among you (Leviticus 19:34); the Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10:30-37); seek to show hospitality (Romans 12:13); do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers (Hebrews 13:2); show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)

Idea(s) for Application: Use this picture book in a lesson or sermon on how scripture, like The Green Book, can be a comfort, a safety net, and a guide. Also, consider that the author of The Green Book might have been inspired by God’s desires for humans to be safe and hospitable in all situations.

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 314

Dynamic Duo: Book 1

Picture Book: Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship

Author: Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu

Photographer: Peter Greste

Summary: A 130 year old giant tortoise, Mzee, and a baby hippo, Owen, develop an amazing father-son relationship after the hippo is orphaned during the December 2004 tsunami. The book begins by explaining how Owen is rescued through the efforts of many Kenyan men and taken to an animal sanctuary, Haller Park. There he is placed in the same area as Mzee, who is known for keeping to himself. Afraid and exhausted, Owen immediately scrambles near Mzee, seeming to hide behind Mzee like typical hippos do with their mothers for protection. At first Mzee is resistant, but Owen is determined and faster. Within a day, Mzee seems to accept his new relationship and Owen is snuggled up beside him. Wildlife experts had never heard of a reptile-mammal bond such as this. Eventually the two are inseparable, and this bond seems to help Owen heal and flourish. Despite the possibility of both animals to injure the other, their interactions are gentle and affectionate. Photographs of the pair’s developing relationship spread around the world, and they became quite famous.

Hanna’s Comments: Several other children’s books about this story have been published about Owen and Mzee, some are by the same author and photographer. One is a sequel to this book that goes into more detail about how they seem to communicate. Its title is Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship. These 2 books have an abundance of information in the back including a link to a free discussion guide. The other 2 are board books for young children with some of the same photographs. Those titles are Owen & Mzee: A Day Together and Owen & Mzee: Best Friends. There are other books about this pair of animals by other authors. The ones featured here have photographs of the animals. A group of these and other authors have more recently published Looking for Miza: The True Story of the Mountain Gorilla Family Who Rescued One of Their Own. Another favorite for young children with drawings rather than photos is A Mama for Owen. Tomorrow I will complete this PBT Dynamic Duo about rescued animals with a more recent story about a gorilla.

Publisher & Date of Publication: Scholastic, 2006

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up

# of Pages: 40

Available in Spanish? Yes

Formats other than Book: This book states that a documentary and several television programs about this pair are available. There are several videos on Youtube.com as well.

PBT Category: Non-fiction

PBT Topics this Book Connects with:  affection, Africa, animals, bonds/connections, brokenness, caring/tending, comfort, companionship, dependence/interdependence, disaster, the environment/nature, fear, friends/friendship, gentleness/meekness, healing/healthcare, home, language/literacy/reading, love, mentors/teachers, new home/relocation, nurturing, pets, poaching/stealing/theft, rescue, respect, safety, safe place/sanctuary, security, shyness, transformation, trust/trustworthiness

Scripture Connections: Peaceable Kingdom (Isaiah 11:6); I will not leave you orphaned... (John 14:23)

Idea(s) for Application: Use these books in lessons about loving communication with those who are different or the concepts of “peaceable kingdom” in Isaiah or “sanctuary.”

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 210

               Dynamic Duo: Book 1                 

Picture Book: The Way Home    

Author & Illustrator: Nan Parson Rossiter

Summary: Young Samuel and his father find a Canadian goose caught in a fishing net near their Vermont farm. Nearby stands the gander, a loyal mate. The pair are taken back to Samuel’s farm where his father takes off the net and believes the wing will heal with time. The birds adapt quickly to their new home and the goose heals. Once her wing has healed and she can fly, the two geese take off to catch up with their flock. Samuel, who has grown attached to them, feels proud, but he is also sad to see them go. He knows they must leave to survive. Throughout the winter, Samuel hopes the birds will return come spring. The geese do return with several goslings in tow.

Hanna’s Comments: This PBT Dynamic Duo’s first book is a beautiful story of loyalty, tenderness, rescue, and healing. Samuel’s mixed feelings of pride and sorrow are particularly poignant. There is a nice mix of story and fact here as well. When you read this book, talk about the privilege of helping people and animals heal and tie it to stories of healing or coming home in your holy scriptures. I’ve paired this book with another that has a similar title, Way Home. Look for it tomorrow. It too has themes of brokenness, animal/human connection, and the desire for a loving home.

Publisher & Date of Publication: Dutton, 1999

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 5 and up, K and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: None at present

PBT Category: Pre 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: abundance/bounty, action, adaptation/assimilation, America, animals, awe, babies/children, belonging, blessings, bonds/connections, brokenness, caring/tending, care of creation, commitment, communication, companionship, fathers, found, gentleness/meekness, God’s nature, helping, healing/healthcare, home, hospitality, humanity, image of God, journeys/migrations/pilgrimages/quests, kindness, labor/work, North America, nurturing, openness, pollution, renewal/restoration, rescue, safe place/sanctuary, saving/savior, snow, survival  

Scripture Connections: Scriptures about the Israelites returning after their Babylonian exile; Jesus’ acts of healing in the Gospels

Idea(s) for Application: Use this book in a lesson on environmental concerns, creation care, the loyalty of love, the tenderness required for healing, or the importance of coming home after time away from those who love and have cared for you.

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 180

Picture Book: Leopard & Silkie: One Boy’s Quest to Save the Seal Pups

Author: Brenda Patterson

Photographer: Robin Lindsay

Summary: At the beginning of this book, Leopard is born on the shore of Puget Sound. Miles, a young boy, has been trained to protect this seal pup and others by educating their biggest threat, humans. This is especially needed when a seal pup sleeps alone on the shore for as long as 8 hours. Human curiosity and the dogs they might bring with them are a particular threat. Miles and his family build a floating platform to allow the pups to nap in safety. The pups adapt quickly and many use the platform. Later in the story, Leopard's mother doesn’t return so that he will learn to fish on his own. He grows lean, but thanks to the arrival of an older female seal, Silkie, Leopard improves his fishing and gets fat again.

Hanna’s Comments: This picture book has 2 parallel stories, Miles’ intervention and the seal pups’ story, as well as beautiful, instructive photographs. Other children who have been trained to protect the seal pups are photographed as well. I especially appreciated the photographs of the humans taken from what might be Leopard’s perspective, depicting the threat that well-meaning humans might have on such a vulnerable animal. Before reading this to your audience, be sure to check out the extensive Author’s Note in the back. There is also a bibliography.

Publisher & Date of Publication: Henry Holt & Co., 2012

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: Tablet, There is a 23 minute long video on Youtube.com of the author doing a presentation at a library giving more details of this story.

PBT Category: Nonfiction, Post 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with:adaptation/assimilation, animals, attentiveness/observation/seeing, call/calling/vocation, care/tending, commitment, community, cooperation, creativity/imagination/ingenuity, the environment/nature, generosity/giving/offering/stewardship, gifts/talents, goodness, helping, image of God, kindness, labor/work, mission, outreach, pacifism/peace/peacemakers, perspective, safety, safe place/sanctuary, saving/savior, servant/service/serving

Scripture Connections: God created the great sea creatures (Genesis 1:21); who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth? (Job 35:11); the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same, as one dies so dies the other (Ecclesiastes 3:18-19)

Idea(s) for Application: Use this book in a homeschool or private school setting where you can freely talk about God’s creation of all species and our role as caretakers, in partnership with God.

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 157

Picture Book: Talking Walls

Author: Margy Burns Knight

Illustrator: Anne Sibley

Summary: This unusual book is an overview of various walls around the world that were built to separate, to commemorate, to protect, or for prayer. Fourteen different walls are described here. Their histories and purposes are explained as are some of the cultural contexts then and now. Among them you’ll find The Great Wall of China, The Western Wall in Jerusalem, The Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, The Great Zimbabwe, and Cuzco, Peru where there are many Incan walls intact. In the back you’ll find a world map placing the walls and more details.

Hanna’s Comments: Consider checking out the sequel to this book: Talking Walls: The Stories Continue or better yet, the newest edition which combines these two texts in a more read-aloud friendly format: Talking Walls: Discover Your World. The last page of the book I’ve pictured here asks a series of questions that encourage deeper thinking on the theme of walls: Do you know about other walls? Are they visible or invisible? Are they monuments? Do they tell stories? How are walls built? Do they need to stay up or come down? Do you build walls? Would you tear them down? Can you imagine a world without walls?

Publisher & Date of Publication: Tilbury House, 1992

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 8 and up, 3 and up

# of Pages: 40

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: None at present

PBT Category: Non Fiction, Award Winner, Pre 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: Africa, America, ancestors/matriarchs/patriarchs, anxiety/worry, armor, art, artifacts, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Central America/South America, community, creativity/imagination/beauty, diversity, Earth/world, enemies, Europe, exclusion/inclusion, exile/separation/walls, fear, geography, heritage, hiding/isolation, humanity, insecurity, memories/remembering/ritual/tradition, Mexico, North America, prayer, protecting/protection, religious differences, reverence, safe place/sanctuary, time/timing/over time, worship

Scripture Connections: Marching around the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6); nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:38-39)

Idea(s) for Application:  This book and the later editions would be great to use in a homeschool or private school where you are allowed to comment on the religious nature of some of these walls and compare & contrast them with your faith traditions. For a church, this book would be a good resource for anyone planning a series of lessons with the theme of walls or a lesson on the wall of Jericho from the book of Joshua. 

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 136

Picture Book: Ruth and the Green Book

Author: Calvin Alexander Ramsey with Gwen Strauss

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Summary: Ruth is excited because she and her parents are driving from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandmother. It is the 1950’s so before the trip, Ruth’s mother spends days cooking meals knowing there will be few restaurants willing to serve Negros. As they are rejected from various gas stations, hotels, and restaurants and spend the night in their car, they eventually learn to look for Esso gas stations where they will be welcomed. At one of these stations, they purchase The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to places that would welcome black travelers. Ruth learns to use the book and is so happy to experience the hospitality of fellow African Americans. Eventually she makes it to the loving arms of her grandmother.

Hanna’s Comments: I am a passionate advocate of the practice of hospitality so I especially loved the part of this story where Ruth’s family is welcomed into a “tourist home.” These were homes listed in The Green Book where travelers were warmly welcomed, in this case for no charge. In the back of the book you’ll find The History of The Negro Motorist Green Book. 2014 was the 50^th anniversary of the Civil Rights Bill which outlawed Jim Crow laws and therefore also the anniversary of the last edition of The Green Book. Thank goodness this book is now a relic of last century and no longer necessary for families of color to comfortably travel for long distances.  

Publisher & Date of Publication: Scholastic, 2010

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1^st and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: Tablet, Amateur videos on Youtube.com

PBT Category: Post 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: bonds/connections, bullying/martyrs/persecution/oppression, civil rights, community, conflict, dependence/interdependence, difference, directions/maps, exclusion/inclusion, geography, hospitality, injustice, journeys/pilgrimages/migrations/quests, race relations/racism, safe place/sanctuary, segregation, social justice, travel, veterans

Scripture Connections: Treat the stranger as the native among you (Leviticus 19:34); the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37); seek to show hospitality (Romans 12:13); do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers (Hebrews 13:2); show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)

Idea(s) for Application: Use this in a lesson or sermon on how Holy Scripture, like The Green Book, can be a comfort, a safety net, and a guide. Also, consider that the author of The Green Book might have been inspired by God's desires for humans to be safe and hospitable in all situations.

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 125

Dynamic Duo: Book 1

Picture Book: The Blessing Cup                     

Author & Illustrator: Patricia Polacco

Summary: Anna, a child in this story, is the author’s great-grandmother. A beautiful china tea set is used as part of their Shabbat (Sabbath) ritual. Anna asks again for the story of the tea set, a wedding gift from a rich aunt. With the set came a note: “This tea set is magic. Anyone who drinks from it has a blessing from God. They will never know a day of hunger. Their lives will always have flavor. They will know love and joy… and they will never be poor.” When all Jews are forced to leave Russia, Anna’s family takes only a few items. Their treasured tea set is included. During their difficult journey on the way to America, Anna’s father becomes gravely ill. They are fortunate to be taken in by a widowed doctor who heals Anna’s father and supports and delights in the family. When the doctor is threatened for housing Jews, he arranges for and purchases their passage to America. Anna’s mother leaves the tea set with him as a gesture of gratitude and hope for his blessings, but she keeps 1 cup so that the blessings could also travel with them. They arrive in America where the author explains how this cup has continued to be part of her family’s rituals, being given to the oldest daughter upon her wedding day.  

Hanna’s Comments: Twenty-five years after the publication of The Blessing Quilt (see tomorrow's PBT offering), Polacco offers another lovely book about the bonds of love and ritual uniting generations of her family. Even a stranger, whose hospitality saves a life - perhaps a whole family, is bound to them because of this tea set. There is so much to explore here. Even though this book mentions the Shabbat ritual, I felt it was still appropriate to include as a secular picture book. The family’s theology is not a part of this story. If the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are part of your tradition, use this book to explore how the Shabbat ritual links generation upon generation going all the way back to the time of Moses.

Publisher & Date of Publication: Simon & Schuster, 2013

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up

# of Pages: 48

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: Tablet

PBT Category: Fresh off the Press, Non-fiction

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: aliens/immigrants/immigration/refugees/strangers, ancestors/matriarchs & patriarchs, artifacts, belonging, blessings, bonds/connections, bullying/martyrs/persecution/oppression, communion/Eucharist, difficulties, Europe, exclusion/inclusion, exile/separation, family, generosity/giving/offering/stewardship, gifts/giftedness/talents, God’s care/providence, heritage, home, homelessness, hospitality, image of God, immigration, insecurity, journeys/pilgrimages/migrations/quests, kindness, legends/myths, possessions, prejudice, religious differences, rescue, reverence, safe place/sanctuary, security, sharing, social justice, at table, time/timing/over time, travel, treasure, unity, victims

Scripture Connections: You shall keep my Sabbaths… a sign throughout your generations (Exodus 31:13)

Idea(s) for Application: Joyce Rupp has written many wonderful books designed for adult small groups. One of my favorites is The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth. Reading this book would be a fabulous way to begin such a small group.

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 53

Picture Book: Dolphins on the Sand

Author & Illustrator: Jim Arnosky

Summary: A pod of dolphins are stranded on a beach. When a kayaker spots them, he brings help, a diverse group of ordinary people who work hard to save the dolphins. Because of the dolphins' weakness and hungry sharks that are waiting for their return to the ocean, the dolphins are moved to a nearby lagoon where they grow stronger. Once each dolphin is deemed strong enough, it is released back to the ocean. A mother dolphin and her youngster offer the dolphins’ point of view.

Hanna’s Comments: This author is known for his beautiful books about nature that are filled with scientific details. This is an idealized account of an event the author witnessed. See his note in the back of the book. I was struck by the way the human community responded to this crisis, demonstrating swift determination and efficiency in saving their fellow mammals. 

Publisher & Date of Publication: Scholastic, 2012 

Age and Grade Appropriateness: 5 and up, K and up 

# of Pages: 32 

Available in Spanish? Not at present 

Formats other than Book: None at present

PBT Category: Non-fiction, Post 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: baptism/washing, beach/ocean/sea/shore, danger, dependence/interdependence, dying, the environment/nature, mothers, rescue, safe place/sanctuary, savior/saving, survival, water

Scripture Connections: Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), Jesus washes feet (John 13:1-38), baptism

Idea(s) for Application: Use this book as part of a lesson on the importance of water in our lives, the lives of other animals, and our religious rituals.