Awards
- Commended for In the Margins Recommended Nonfiction List 2020 (United States)
- Commended for The List, Toronto Public Library 2020 (Canada)
Overview
Deborah Ellis, activist and award-winning author of The Breadwinner interviews young people involved in the criminal justice system and lets them tell their own stories. Jamar found refuge in a gang after leaving an abusive home where his mother stole from him. Fred was arrested for assault with a weapon, public intoxication and attacking his mother while on drugs. Jeremy first went to court at age fourteen (""Court gives you the feeling that you can never make up for what you did, that you're just bad forever"") but now wears a Native Rights hat to remind him of his strong Metis heritage. Kate, charged with petty theft and assault, finally found a counselor who treated her like a person for the first time. Many readers will recognize themselves, or someone they know, somewhere in these stories. Being lucky or unlucky after making a mistake. The encounter with a mean cop or a good one. Couch-surfing, or being shunted from one foster home to another. The kids in this book represent a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations and ethnicities. Every story is different, but there are common threads - loss of parenting, dislocation, poverty, truancy, addiction, discrimination. The book also includes the points of view of family members as well as ""voices of experience"" - adults looking back at their own experiences as young offenders. Most of all, this book leaves readers asking the most pressing questions of all. Does it make sense to put kids in jail? Can't we do better? Have we forgotten that we were once teens ourselves, feeling powerless to change our lives, confused about who we were and what we wanted, and quick to make a move without a thought for the consequences? Key Text Features illustrations photographs further reading glossary resources Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
Full Product Details
Author: Deborah Ellis
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd ,Canada
Imprint: Groundwood Books Ltd ,Canada
Dimensions:
Width: 18.40cm
, Height: 1.50cm
, Length: 26.60cm
Weight: 0.381kg
ISBN: 9781773061214
ISBN 10: 1773061216
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 14 November 2019
Recommended Age: From 12 years
Audience:
Children/juvenile
,
Children / Juvenile
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
Young people of different genders, sexual orientations, and ethnicities share powerful stories of being incarcerated or homeless ... poignant, hopeful, and rage-inducing. * Booklist * A worthy addition to a middle or high school library... * School Library Journal * The stories are compelling and dark ... A powerful collection. * Kirkus Reviews *
Author Information
DEBORAH ELLIS is the author of The Breadwinner, which has been published in thirty languages. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Deborah has donated more than $2 million in royalties to organizations such as Right to Learn Afghanistan, Mental Health Without Borders and the UNHCR. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.
