{"id":37321,"date":"2020-07-05T21:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T01:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37321"},"modified":"2020-07-05T21:00:08","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T01:00:08","slug":"review-of-harbor-me-by-jacqueline-woodson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37321","title":{"rendered":"Review of Harbor Me, by Jacqueline Woodson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Harbor Me<\/em><\/p>\n

by Jacqueline Woodson<\/p>\n

Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin), 2018. 176 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written August 30, 2018, from a book sent by the publisher
\n2018 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n#9 Contemporary Children’s Fiction<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unfortunate when you read as many children\u2019s books as you can, all put out in the same year, when some of the books lose some of their impact because you\u2019ve read a similar story already. Harbor Me<\/em> reminds me of Between the Lines<\/em> by Nikki Grimes. In both cases, you\u2019ve got a group of kids from tough backgrounds coming to care about each other as they open up and share their stories. In Just Like Jackie<\/em>, something similar happens. I\u2019m a little tired of hearing about teachers pulling this off, because I’m starting to be skeptical \u2013 but at the same time, personal stories do have a powerful effect.<\/p>\n

In the case of Harbor Me<\/em>, it\u2019s a group of six 5th and 6th graders in the same class. Every week, they get to meet for one hour in a room without a teacher and say whatever they want. They learn each other\u2019s stories.<\/p>\n

It begins with Esteban, whose father was taken away and put in a detention center. Esteban was born in America, but now his mother is afraid she\u2019ll be taken, too.<\/p>\n

And Haley, our narrator, who\u2019s thinking back over the year, has a dad who was in prison. She\u2019s lived with her uncle as long as she can remember.<\/p>\n

This book isn\u2019t poetry, but Jacqueline Woodson has a poet\u2019s facility with language. This may also explain why my favorite parts of the book were Esteban\u2019s father\u2019s poems, which he wrote in the detention center and sent to his son, who translated them into English.<\/p>\n

The book feels a little short \u2013 I\u2019d like to know more about more of the kids\u2019 stories \u2013 but it\u2019s also refreshing to read a book for 5th graders that\u2019s less than 200 pages long. This book is about kids on the margins, and it is short enough that kids on the margins themselves might not be intimidated by it.<\/p>\n

The day I read this, I also reviewed Jacqueline Woodson\u2019s new picture book, The Day It Begins<\/em> — which is also about making friends by sharing your stories. We are all different, but we all have things in common. When we hear stories, we can find those things in common. The picture book tells about that, and the novel fleshes it out.<\/p>\n

Yes. Let\u2019s share stories. And then we\u2019ll have people to harbor us when times are hard.<\/p>\n

jacquelinewoodson.com<\/a>
\npenguin.com\/middle-grade<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/harbor_me.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a book sent by the publisher<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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