I love Marie Bradby's More Than Anything Else. Tonight I ordered a copy of Momma, Where Are You From? for my wife, Susan. She's taking a writing class (with a wonderful Denver-area teacher who doesn't use a "program," but actually teaches children to write through mentorship, inquiry, and trust... the only formula she uses is her passion for writing... imagine that!) and fell in love with the book after her teacher shared it.
Susan's teacher's advice... "If you have a book in your classroom that doesn't serve as the type of writing you'd like your students to have a go with... perhaps you should get rid of it." But, this is one of her favorites. The language is this book is so poetic and its message is rich, thoughtful, and simple. Through the mother's words, her child learns about her childhood memories of growing up in the segregated South. And, her memories are of a happy childhood in a not-so-happy time in our history.
It's the perfect mentor text to get our students writing about real-life things from the get-go. It's the perfect book to use when launching quick writes or memory writes or notebooks. Although it's not a new book, I can't to add it to our at-home collection.
Perhaps Susan will loan it to me when it's time to use it with my writers. Can't wait to borrow it!
What a great reminder to use a wonderful book. We had some thoughtful conversations with students using it last year and it brings back some memories for me--sprinkling clothes and rolling them up while my mom ironed. :) I love this one!
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