Running Shoes

In honor of International Women's Day, I Running Shoes by Frederic Lipp. It is about a young girl named Sophy who secretly yearns to go to school to learn to read and write. However, she and her mother live in a poor Cambodian village where the closest school is 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) away over difficult rocky road and she has only sandals to protect her feet. When she is given a pair of running shoes she is determined she can use them to get her education. She starts out before dawn and runs the entire way. Only boys attend the one-room school-house, and at first she is ridiculed. Yet, the teacher allows her to stay and eventually she earns the respect of her fellow pupils. By the end of the year Sophy has learned to read and write and dreams of becoming a teacher so she can teach the children in her village.

The plot is very minimalist. There's not much more detail in the book, than in my summary. It was brief enough that both my children were able to follow along with ease, although I imagine the larger message was lost on my three year old. The illustrations by Jason Gaillard are replete with beautiful detail, bringing the rural Cambodian village to life. Both my children and I ended the story thirsting for more. The fictional Sophy had become real to us and I half-way wished the author had written a chapter book so that we delve even deeper into her world. However, the book is a perfect length for young children and also does a marvelous job of depicting the very real challenges that girls like Sophy face all over the world in a way that's age-appropriate and ultimately hopeful.

Afterward I asked my six year old why he thinks that only boys were allowed to go to Sophy's school. He thought it was because they wanted to be mean. I explained how an education gives people more opportunities for jobs and a future, but that in many parts of the world people feel that only men should get those opportunities while women should stay home and raise children. Then I asked him if it would be better for Sophy's village if she had not been allowed to go to school and he determined that it would be worse for them because then she could never open a school and teach the other children. I pointed out that when opportunities for women are limited, that it hurts not only the women themselves, but that their whole community suffers. Finally, I asked him to think about how even little things like a pair of shoes can change the future for an entire village and that it doesn't always require something big to make a difference.

Elena's Serenade

The other day I took my kids into the dentist. As my kindergartener was discussing the visit afterward, I realized that he'd confused the hygienist with the dentist so I reminded him that the hygienist (a woman) was the one who had cleaned his teeth and the dentist (a man) was the one who had showed us his x-rays. After thinking for a minute he queries, "So boys are dentists and girls are hygienists?" This surprised me, given that we've already had several discussions about this sort of thing, but it seems we can always use a reminder. Elena's Serenade by Campbell Geeslin is a fantastical tale about a young Mexican girl who dreams of becoming a glass blower like her papa, but is told that girls cannot make glass. When Elena sets off on a journey to meet the master glass blowers in Monterrey, she discovers she is able to make glass like no one else, using music to bring the glass to life. The story is rich with Mexican culture and tradition and the vibrant illustrations by Mexican folk artist, Ana Juan, give this story life.

My sons were enthralled by this magical tale and afterward we discussed that while this is obviously not a true story, it still talks about true things. I asked them if they thought Elena would have ever discovered her magic abilities if she had listened to the people who told her that girls cannot be glass blowers. We talked about whether it's true that girls cannot accomplish the same things as boys and how it affects girls when the people don't believe in them. Then we touched upon the other parts of the story that are true. My boys learned that Mexico is a real country and that Monterrey is a place that really was famous at one time for their glass blowers who made bottles. To top it off we watched this video clip illustrating how modern glass blowers blow and shape glass. This book both challenges sexism and celebrates Mexican culture, yet it is entertaining first and foremost. The plot is fun and imaginative on it's own with the added bonus of imparting a valuable lesson.