Dear Reader,

If looking out your window reveals snow, ice, or (like here in western Washington) pouring rain, then find your escape in this week's book, A Bit of Earth. Reading about young teenagers learning to garden and cultivate beauty will be a bit like time traveling to the promising warmth of spring. If you and your students need a mood boost, bring A Bit of Earth into your classroom.

---

Title: A Bit of Earth​

Author: Karuna Riazi

Genre: Realistic fiction

Age range: 10+ (best for 11-13 year olds)

Summary: Maria is prickly. Growing up in Pakistan, she was shuttled from family member to family member, first due to her parents' extensive travel schedule and then due to their untimely deaths. Maria is accustomed to her various guardians becoming quickly tired of her—she's a difficult child, they say. When an old family friend invites Maria to stay in Long Island, New York, she figures it will be more of the same: not worth her efforts to settle in because she will simply be moved along to someone else. What she finds instead is a household of people who are also struggling, some friends who don't mind her prickliness, and a secret garden that makes her feel at home for the first time in a long time.

Recommend A Bit of Earth to students who enjoyed:

​A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat (young teenage protagonist creates a found family and together they make their community a more welcoming space)

​Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloane (young teenage girl who is suddenly orphaned and works through her grief by creating something new and beautiful with her found family)

​Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins (coming-of-age story for a young teenage girl living in the United States with family ties to the Indian/Pakistan region)

Why it's an engaging addition to your classroom library:

As you may have deduced, A Bit of Earth is a retelling of The Secret Garden. It has been a minute since I read The Secret Garden but I think A Bit of Earth captures the timelessness of a story about a young girl who learns to love herself—prickles and all—by cultivating a beautiful garden with her found family.

It would be an interesting addition to a Book Club or novel study unit that analyzes retellings in order to compare and contrast the original to the new version. Students can ponder essential questions such as:

• How do themes remain timeless?
• What is it about a new setting or character profile that makes a "classic" relevant today?
• Why do readers continue to connect with certain storylines?

There are many students who would gravitate towards it as an independent reading option. If you share about it in a Book Talk, highlight these aspects:

• Pakistani Culture: Filled with Urdu words, descriptions of shalwar pants and saris, references to Islamic traditions, and rabab music, students with Pakistani heritage will see their culture reflected back to them.
• Found Family: Slowly, begrudgingly, Maria forms relationships with Lyndsay (her new guardian), Mimi and Rick (neighborhood friends), and Colin (Lyndsay's step-son). She starts to believe that she belongs—and that she is lovable just the way she is.
• Gardening: Maria, Mimi, Rick, and Colin commit to bringing the hidden garden back to its former glory, leading them to learn about weeding, sowing, which plants like the shade, which like full sun. Your students who also count gardening as a hobby will enjoy their efforts.

---

Literacy love notes:

As demonstrated by the diversity of authors and stories featured in this newsletter, I am a proponent of teaching and recommending a diverse range books all year long—not simply during commemorative months. That said, not honoring these months can make students who are represented by them feel ignored. As we approach Black History Month in February, I have a fun and easy way for you to celebrate Black history, Black stories, and Black excellence: Black History Month Book BINGO. Challenge your students to earn a BINGO (or two) by reading more stories by Black authors. There are separate Middle School and High School boards—and both are free on Teachers Pay Teachers!​

Are you also a fan of Dr. Zaretta Hammond and her book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain? Her body of research has significantly shaped my pedagogical approach—three cheers for cultivating independent learners in our classrooms. I appreciate that I can learn from her on an on-going basis through her email newsletter. This week she shared about the transcendent power of awe, embracing Mr. Miyagi's "wax on, wax off" approach, and four empowering suggestions for Black History Month. You can sign up here!​

Have a good one and learn everything you can,

Hannah

This email includes affiliate links. Any purchases made through them come at no extra cost to you but they do help keep this newsletter free and accessible.

Teachers Pay Teachers

​