Spoken Memories by Aliki

This book is upside down and in the back of the previous picture book that I read. I like this because it is a sequel to the first book but instead of having to check out a separate book, the child can have both of them at the same time. The little girl, Mari tells the class all about her life. I really like that the author takes the reader back in time to the little girl's previous home when she was younger. The pictures seem so realistic that I started to believe that the book was taking place in that time period. All of a sudden, Mari starts to talk about war and the pictures turn to black and white and have a depressing feel. This part begins to be very sad and Mari even tells about her baby brother that died in the famine. Having this be a memory and not the actual present is a subtle way to bring about such a tough topic. This book is great because the little girls tell her classmates about living such a hard life. Normally, kids would read this and just think that it is just something that does not affect them. However, since it is from the perspective of a little girl in a regular classroom, it is very relateable. She even talks about losing her father and being told that she shouldn't go to school because she is a girl. This is a very sad story that most kids don't ever have to deal with. Reading a book like this would be a great way to show kids that everyone comes from different backgrounds and they should be aware that their classmates may have been through many hard times without even knowing it.