Title: Aleutian Sparrow
Author: Hesse, Karen C.
Publisher and Date: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2005
Genre: Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Multicultural
Age Range: 4th-6th
Pre-reading:
When I began to explore the websites about the Aleutian people I was overcome with an odd mixture of sadness and anger. My sadness resulted from learning about the horrible things that were done to the Aleutian people. They were first attacked by the Japanese army and then forced to relocate to an area that is comparable to a third world country. They had one suitcase of belongings, no electricity, no running water, and no hope of returning home to their previous lives (their houses and churches were burned). My anger resulted from a combination of the fact that we as American citizens never knew that this went on in our own country and the fact that this was just such an unjust thing to do! I could not imagine what it would be like to go from living your normal everyday life with all the amenities and comforts of the time, to being forced to move to a destitute place and watching all your belongings, everything you’ve worked for, disappear into the flames. It must have been heartbreaking. The Aleutian people not only suffered in material ways, but they also lost many of their friends and family because of illness. The website said that with the loss of the old they lost their history and tradition and with the loss of the young they lost their future. Somehow the Aleutian people were able to push through and survive against all odds; It makes me wonder if my family and I would be able to be so brave .
This is a quote that I think sums up the sense of loss the Aleutians suffered:"In 1942, my wife and our four children were whipped away from our home...all our possessions were left...for mother nature to destroy...I tried to pretend it really ws a dream and this could not happen to me and my dear family. "--Bill Tcheripanoff, Sr., Akutan Aleut Evacuee
After reading the Aleutian Sparrow:
Wow! What a powerful book! The reader is drawn into the fascinating world of the Aleutian people, and gets to experience the sorrow, anger, and disbelief along with the Aleutians. Our guide through this story is an amazing girl named Vera. I loved Vera; she continues to amaze me even now (days after I have finished the book). She is one of those characters whose story and plight can haunt you for a lifetime. Her attitude and positive outlook throughout the book inspired me. Vera went through so much; she was uprooted from her home, her own mother abandoned her, and her best friend (Pari) and surrogate parents (the Golodofs) died in exile. If any body had cause to despair she did; yet, through all of this Vera continues to help others. She got a job at a laundry mat to earn money, she told stories to the younger children, and she and Pari made a gigantic star to help decorate for Christmas. It makes me wonder if I could do the same if I was put into her situation.
The writing style of the Aleutian Sparrow is also very unique; I have never read anything like it. I think the brevity of the book and the diary like entries adds intensity to the book. The reader hangs on to every word Vera writes because there are so few words written. The entries are so beautifully written; they have a poetic quality that makes you just want to read them over and over again. The imagery in the passages also amazes me; one of my favorite lines is on page 58. Vera is describing the rising sun on her way to Ketchikan. She says, “My spirit rises with the sun, which parts the fingers of trees and slides its light through to the forest floor.” I think it is important to note that the brevity of the entries does not take away anything from the book; the reader still gets a full sense of the events that are occurring and their impact on the Aleutian people.
The story of the Aleutian people reminds me of two other groups of people who have also been mistreated, judged, and abandoned by the majority of their countrymen. The first group is the Jewish people. These people suffered in atrocious ways. They were ripped out their homes and communities and sent to work or “death camps”. One book from this era that particularly touched me is The Diary of Anne Frank. This book had so many similarities to the Aleutian Sparrow. Both groups of people lack medical care and amenities such as suitable bathrooms and food, Anne falls in love with Peter just as Vera falls in love with Alfred, and Anne and Vera both experience unspeakable heartaches and hardships. The second group is the African Americans. This one hits home for us. Americans mistreated these people so badly. We forced them to work for no wages, we ripped them away form their “homes” on a whim, and we often separated them from their husbands and children. The cruelty that was afflicted on them is unbelievable to me. Once again, just like in the case of the Aleutians, Americans were responsible for this.
I found two particularly sad facts in the book that I want to share. The first is that German POW’s were treated better then our own US citizens. On page 56 Vera explains that, “they are well fed…..they have cots and blankets, every last one….good sanitation and an infirmary….a variety of foods and recreation.” I cannot comprehend why we would do this for our ENEMY but not for our own people. The second is that not only did the government abandon then, their own countrymen did too. Vera talks about the people of Ketchikan and their disdain of the Aleutian people. How they want them moved away from them. One passage in particular that caught my attention is on page 124. It reads, “We are called undesirables and told we must leave Ward Lake….we are called a menace and told to leave.”
When teaching this book to children, I think it is important to stress that this story is fictional but the experience is not. This really happened to the Aleutian people. Hesse’s author note (pg. 154-155) in the final pages of her book gives a very understandable synopsis of the events that occurred between 1942 and 1945.The Aleutian websites are also good way to teach this topic. The documentary mentioned in the http://www.aleutstory.tv/ website would be a great way to show children a visual representation of what happened. There are several topics I would want to address with this book. I would have them perform the exercise that we did in class last week. We listed all of our favorite things and imagined each one being taken away. It was a very powerful illustration. This would help the children to gain perspective about what it would be like to be an Aleutian. I would also have them imagine that they were the ones who were sending the Aleutians away into exile. I would want them to be able to see and talk about both sides of the story.
Like we talked in about in class last week, I think it is very important to realize that prejudice, unfairness, and abuse exists in our society. I want my future classroom to be a place where we discuss those issues and try to find ways that we as a whole will not participate in those types of things. A child CAN develop empathy for others. I am one of those few people who have had a great life so far. I have been raised in a loving home with both of my parents present, gone to private schools, and lived in the same house since birth. I have never experienced anything close to what the Aleutians did, but I can empathize with them and all children can learn to do that as well. We all are interconnected; we all have common emotions and experiences that can be the building blocks that lead us to have empathy for others.
check out these websites to learn more about the Aleutian people:
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