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Big Library Read - First Post!
Apr. 28th, 2019 11:55 am I am seriously considering dropping livejournal as one of my blogging locations, which would mean losing these extra icons that were gifted to me by a friend of a friend.I'm on the fence about this. I'd ask your opinion, but I'd only get one answer. What I'm really here to do is talk about is the Big Library Read that just finished April 15th. Yeah, I was too busy to finish it with everyone else, but I read the book, which is the point.  Everyone says they are so stressed in their modern lives, but let me tell you something: you've got nothing on this family, who has to deal with the violence in Syria every day of their lives. Written by child refugee Abu Bakr al Rabeeah with the help of his English teacher, Winnie Yeung, this is really a work of wonder. It's a fictional nonfiction of sorts, and by that I mean that the events were written as could best be remembered by the child and members of his family, then those memories were put into a story that went from beginning to end. I don't care if the Big Read is over, pick up this book and drown in it. The world will be a better place for our understanding of this family's struggles during the violence and after finding safety in Canada. You thought struggle ended with evacuation? Think again. Discussion Questions1. In three words or less, what is this book about? Violence, hope, family. 2. What surprised you about the descriptions of growing up in a warzone? Honestly, I was surprised how easy it was to simply play video games. I don't mean that the kids' ability to ignore the violence surprised me, but that the actual physical act of playing video games was just what happened while everything went on around them. 3. Which any characters—other than Abu Bakr—did you relate to the most? Probably the father, who is trying to provide for his family under these extreme situations. My live isn't nearly as extreme, but even as hard as I work, I am in constant frustration that I'm not going to be able to take care of my family the way I should. 4. What were some of the images from the book that stick in your mind? The very first scene in the Mosque, with the glass shattering and prayers still going on. The devotion and the uncertainty of all of that... It really hit hard. 5. Were you frustrated by any of the decisions that the Abu Bakr’s immediate or extended family made? While I understood the uncle's need to honor his mother's request not to leave for Canada, I just wanted to slap him upside the head for not going through with it like the rest of the family did. 6. As Abu Bakr and his family began to settle into their new life Canada they faced lots of challenges, including many conflicting emotions. What parts of this journey were predictable or surprising to you? I think that my experience with working with ESL students prepared me for just about all of what went on here, though I wasn't expecting such special attention set aside for Abu Bakr, taking the trauma and his religion into account by having a dog to calm him and place for his prayers. 7. It seems like many countries and communities are dealing with political controversy over welcoming immigrants and refugees into their society. How has this book affected the way you view this issue? My position on this hasn't changed. We are becoming a world society and the sooner we learn to live with that, the better. 8.What questions does this book raise about newcomers in a society? Do you think this book will change your impression of the people in your own community? The only question it raised was why the hell do the Canadians respect Abu Bakr's religion while Americans don't? Where I am currently living no school would reassure him that the food was halal or give him a prayer room. That's wrong, by the way. We need to allow for these things. 9. One of the main reasons this book was written was to build empathy. What parts of Abu Bakr’s journey connects to a life story of your own? I work with someone who came to this country through a visa lottery program. They haven't experienced violence or anything like that, but they still get people telling them to go back to their country. Their son especially, even though he was born here. Hatred of religious background or country of origin has got to stop. 10. While this is Bakr’s story, written from his point of view, it is authored by Winnie Yeung. What responsibilities does Winnie have, as an author of creative non-fiction, to honor Bakr’s voice? This is a task I wouldn't have been able to take on, let me tell you. The responsibility to be true to the characters of the family, to the events of each day, is so much more weight than I would be willing to take on. She also has to think and talk like her student on each page and honor those he loves with what she writes about him and his feelings for them. She really captured that, the feeling toward the family members. |
