Booktalks Quick and Simple

	Woodson, Jacqueline. HARBOR ME New York : Nancy Paulsen, 2018 IL 5-8 ISBN 9780399252525 (4 booktalks)
Click on the book to read Amazon reviews	Booktalk #1 Wouldn’t it be nice to have a chance to talk with other students about life and concerns? Six students in Harbor Me have the opportunity to meet regularly and discuss topics including deportation, jail, loss of parents, race, and belonging. Having the chance to listen to others and share stories will help the characters and readers of the story develop trust and compassion for others. (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2019-2020) Booktalk #2 Six kids, pulled from their regular classrooms into a new “special classroom” for kids who learn differently. One Friday afternoon their teacher Ms Laverne brings them to room 501, the ARTT (A Room to Talk) room, a space without any adults and she tells them they will be meeting here every Friday afternoon because she wants them to have a space to “talk about the things kids do when no grown ups are around.” It is in the ARTT room where these students discover a safe haven to share their struggles and to find support. It is a space where phones are away and hurtful words are not allowed. Issues of identity, bullying, racial profiling, immigration, incarceration and more are shared. As each story unfolds Amari, Haley, Holly, Tiago, Estaban and Ashton learn that life can change in an instant and is full of so many beginnings and endings, and they discover courage, hope and strength in the community they’ve created and the bonds they’ve made. (Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award 2019 - 2020) Booktalk #3 Mrs. Laverne opens the door to the old art room and says, “Welcome to room 501.” Then she tells us she is going to leave us alone for an hour. Not just today but every Friday. We are to talk. Talk? I don’t even know these kids. Except for being in the same ‘special’ class, what could we have in common? (Prepared by: Michelle Martin, South Middle School, michelle.martin@lcsd.k12.sc.us ) (South Carolina Book Awards, 2020-2021) Booktalk #4 Six students meet in a classroom every Friday to talk about their lives. They discuss issues such as bullying, a parent’s incarceration, racism, deportation, and language barriers. This is a fantastic book for discussing contemporary issues kids can face. (New Jersey Garden State Children's Book Award 2021)
	SUBJECTS: Friendship -- Fiction. Family problems -- Fiction. Schools -- Fiction. African Americans -- Fiction. Hispanic Americans -- Fiction.

Woodson, Jacqueline.
HARBOR ME
New York : Nancy Paulsen, 2018
IL 5-8
ISBN 9780399252525

(4 booktalks)

Click on the book to read Amazon reviews

Booktalk #1

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a chance to talk with other students about life and concerns? Six students in Harbor Me have the opportunity to meet regularly and discuss topics including deportation, jail, loss of parents, race, and belonging. Having the chance to listen to others and share stories will help the characters and readers of the story develop trust and compassion for others. (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2019-2020)

Booktalk #2

Six kids, pulled from their regular classrooms into a new “special classroom” for kids who learn differently. One Friday afternoon their teacher Ms Laverne brings them to room 501, the ARTT (A Room to Talk) room, a space without any adults and she tells them they will be meeting here every Friday afternoon because she wants them to have a space to “talk about the things kids do when no grown ups are around.” It is in the ARTT room where these students discover a safe haven to share their struggles and to find support. It is a space where phones are away and hurtful words are not allowed. Issues of identity, bullying, racial profiling, immigration, incarceration and more are shared. As each story unfolds Amari, Haley, Holly, Tiago, Estaban and Ashton learn that life can change in an instant and is full of so many beginnings and endings, and they discover courage, hope and strength in the community they’ve created and the bonds they’ve made. (Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award 2019 - 2020)

Booktalk #3

Mrs. Laverne opens the door to the old art room and says, “Welcome to room 501.” Then she tells us she is going to leave us alone for an hour. Not just today but every Friday. We are to talk. Talk? I don’t even know these kids. Except for being in the same ‘special’ class, what could we have in common? (Prepared by: Michelle Martin, South Middle School, michelle.martin@lcsd.k12.sc.us ) (South Carolina Book Awards, 2020-2021)

Booktalk #4

Six students meet in a classroom every Friday to talk about their lives. They discuss issues such as bullying, a parent’s incarceration, racism, deportation, and language barriers. This is a fantastic book for discussing contemporary issues kids can face. (New Jersey Garden State Children's Book Award 2021)

SUBJECTS:   Friendship -- Fiction.
                        Family problems -- Fiction.
                        Schools -- Fiction.
                        African Americans -- Fiction.
                        Hispanic Americans -- Fiction.