This is a story about how he built a baseball field from scratch in Gila River Japanese internment camp during WW2, bringing hopes and dreams to people even during the toughest of times. I think this text honors the resiliency, character, and spirit of Zeni and many Japanese-Americans when faced with the gross injustice of imprisonment within their own country and can invite students into deeper inquiry surrounding racial injustice and prejudice, human rights, immigration policies and protection of US citizens originally from other countries, etc. Graphic Novel-Inspired Writing Lesson: Showing, Not Telling, Access, Choice, and Organizing Class Libraries. Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with a sense of hope. through Marissa Moss’s rich text and Yuko Shimizu’s beautiful Engaging Students in Graphic Novels & Hosting School Comic-Cons! ( Log Out /  Zeni built several ballparks in his lifetime, but his crowning glory was the one in the dusty desert of Arizona surrounded by barbed wire. TALLCHIEF: AMERICA’S PRIMA BALLERINA, January 26: Bessie Coleman. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. to the camp, along with a sense of hope. When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and his family are sent to one of ten internm Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with a sense of hope. With this mindset, literacy and Language Arts instruction can be a conduit for social justice and social change. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Barbed Wire Baseball. As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. nagrajk_34694. Educators have to critically and continually examine our own biases and prejudices as well as socializations to critically engage with diverse literature in fullness. We can either provide students with excellent diverse literature and teach through a critical lens, engaging in inquiry with our students to build empathy and debunk detrimental stereotypes OR we only provide students with books that maintain “status quo”, reflecting and validating the stories of only students whose positionality puts them in a situation of power and privilege while continuing to ignore and silence the power, importance and humanity of students with societally marginalized backgrounds. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! Edit. Additionally, Boyd et al. A true story, he finds the support and excitement he needs to continue on in his baseball career after the liberation of the internment camps. There’s no neutral ground in the classroom and the instructional choices we make greatly affect our students’ understandings of self and others from a very young age. The reader can now understand the role of baseball in the camps behind barbed wire. « January 24: Maria Tallshief. This is a dangerous. d. November 13, 1968, by Marissa Moss ***I am wary of my ability to analyze text through this criteria as I cannot view most culturally diverse literature through an authentic insider perspective. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese-American, baseball player tells an important story and shares voices and experiences that should be discussed in the classroom. Who did they play for? We must critically consider our students each year to select relevant, high-quality, and appropriate culturally diverse literature for our classrooms (Boyd et al., 2014). Study the work of authors and illustrators to determine the quality of the content and literature (considering style, topics, themes, and perspectives). Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with a sense of hope. As a young boy, Kenichi Zenimura (Zeni) wanted to be a baseball player, even ... bleachers with wood scrounged from the barbed-wire fence posts surrounding the camp. “The implementation of culturally diverse literature in the classroom only occurs when teachers are willing to make change happen” (Boyd et al., 2014, p. 380). Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and his family are sent to Praise for Barbed Wire Baseball "In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni’s fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. What was the society he was awarded membership to? Praise for Barbed Wire Baseball "In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni’s fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. 6th - 7th grade. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. (2013). All in all, I think that Barbed Wire Baseball tells an important story and shares voices and experiences that should be discussed in the classroom. b. January 25, 1900 Kenichi Zenimura (known as Zeni) loved baseball. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! I think MUCH more needs to be done in University’s curriculum for pre-service teachers to challenge future educators to develop critical consciousness, unpack their own positionality, and begin to explore the world and social constructions of power and oppression so that we are equipped to invite students into this critical inquiry through literature and discussion. 7 months ago. Entering History: Nikki Giovanni and Martin Luther King, Jr. Discovering Memory: Li-Yong Lee’s Poem “Mnemonic” and the Brain, (writing about personal memories with anatomy connections), Textual Lineage: The Stories that Shaped Me, Food Insecurity Cluster Texts for Crenshaw, Critical Literacy: Revolution > Evolution. Key Concepts: Terms in this set (10) Japanese americans, including zeni's family, were forced into internment camps. Change ), You can follow me on Instagram at @mrs_lamlovesliteracy, ReadWriteThink lesson: Color of Silence: Sensory Imagery in Pat Mora’s Poem “Echoes”, ReadWriteThink lesson: Entering History: Nikki Giovanni and Martin Luther King, Jr. (text set and reader’s theatre), ReadWriteThink lesson: Discovering Memory: Li-Yong Lee’s Poem “Mnemonic” and the Brain (writing about personal memories with anatomy connections), Notable Books for a Global Society (NBGS), Multicultural & Diverse Children’s Lit Lists, USBBY Outstanding International Book Lists, https://alookintomsramirezclassroom.wordpress.com/, https://mspughsteacherblog.wordpress.com/, http://katiekellysclassroom.wordpress.com, https://amylauren95.wixsite.com/mrsspeerishere, https://intheclassroomdotblog.wordpress.com, http://writingliteracylinked.wordpress.com/, https://tinawilsonpaulsblog.wordpress.com/, https://theresasreadingblog.wordpress.com/, https://setthestandardblog.wordpress.com/, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s work raising awareness about the dangers of a single story (. ) Additionally, students need the opportunity to identify not only with the cultures, languages, and experiences represented in books with culturally diverse characters and storylines, but students also need access to books written BY authors with culturally diverse backgrounds so that students can see themselves reflected in authors (Boyd et al., 2014). Learn faster with spaced repetition. However, I CAN think critically about the text, images, messages, power dynamics, and stereotypes that may be presented or challenged and research the author’s and how their work is received by their communities. Barbed Wire Baseball: How One Man Brought Hope to the Japanese Internment Camps of WWII [Moss, Marissa] on Amazon.com. (2014) outline three broad categories through which to carefully consider the quality of culturally diverse texts: Evaluate texts for art that visually reinforce stereotypes/reflect tokenism of culturally diverse characters, Evaluate language for stereotypical speech or authentic dialect. Additionally, Adichie asserts that reading just ONE book about a particular culture or group of people is problematic, as no group of people can be represented in a single narrative and representing a group with a single story and experience contributes to stereotypes and assumptions (Boyd et al., 2014). Boyd, Causey & Galda (2014) invite educators to consider an additional facet of diverse children’s literature and encourage us to seek out books that provide students with an opportunity to experience stories as if looking through a window at twilight – at first seeing out into a new world, but then seeing their own reflections in the window as the darkness settles in for the evening, thus RECOGNIZING oneself in the humanity of the experiences of others. I know I will have the opportunity to work with students who could become the next generation of necessary authors like Nikki Grimes, who took action when she didn’t see books that reflected her reality by creating them herself (Boyd et al., 2014). The Reading Teacher, 68(5), 378-387. Color of Silence: Sensory Imagery in Pat Mora’s Poem “Echoes”. 40 pages. 0. A multitude of stories from a multitude of perspectives and detailing a multitude of diverse experiences are necessary in the classroom to combat the dangers of a single story. ... Zeni felt homesick and powerless when he got to the internment camp, but building the baseball field helped him to feel free again. ( Log Out /  "The classroom that does not create its own legends has not traveled beneath the surface to where the living takes place." Yet he grows up to be a Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. Study Barbed Wire Baseball flashcards from Martha Lambertsen 's STRATH HAVEN MS class online, or in Brainscape's iPhone or Android app. successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! Read 132 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. “All readers need a rich and varied diet of books that reflect the many different ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic groups that make up multiple voices, individual lives, social attributes, and perspectives around the world” (Boyd, Causey & Galda, 2014, p. 378). Praise for Barbed Wire Baseball "In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni's fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. He went on to play with many baseball legends. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! TALKIN’ ABOUT BESSIE: THE STORY OF AVIATOR ELIZABETH COLEMAN », You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know—Questions to Ask a Potential Agent. The Path to a Traditionally Published Picture Book – Simplified, Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-Winning Children’s Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing, STEP RIGHT UP: THE STORY OF BEAUTIFUL JIM KEY. 0. Barbed Wire Baseball DRAFT. Barbed Wire Baseball Analysis. Evaluate for truthful, authentic portrayal of cultural details…. It is SO helpful to have another mind with their radar up with stereotypes, cultural appropriations, inaccuracy/inauthenticity. Culturally diverse literature features themes and critical topics such as race, ethnicity, culture, and language as well as gender and sexual identity, diverse abilities, socio-economic status, religion, and diverse family units (Boyd et al., 2014). At what age was Zeni when she saw her first basesball? Moss, M., & Shimizu, Y. English. Barbed wire baseball / By: Moss, Marissa [author.] He had a long career with semiprofessional Japanese-American baseball leagues in the western United States and Hawaii; these leagues were … New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. introduces children to a little-discussed part of American history The book includes author and illustrator notes, archival photographs, and a bibliography. Using Boyd et al.’s (2014) 3 categories for evaluating the quality of culturally diverse literature for guidance, I’ve chosen to explore the 2013-2014 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature-winning Barbed Wire Baseball, written by Marissa Moss and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. When I think about the powerful, formative role that diverse literature can play in the lives of students, I feel hopeful for the continued growth of diverse literature through diverse authors in the years to come. This true story, set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, introduces children to a little-discussed part of American history through Marissa Moss’s rich text and Yuko Shimizu’s beautiful illustrations. As a boy, Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura dreams of playing professional illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. Hiroshima Carp. As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! BARBED WIRE BASEBALL (Abrams, 2013) by Marissa Moss illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. Barbed Wire Baseball. When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and his family are sent to one of ten internment camps where more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry are imprisoned without trials. This honor speaks to the integrity of this text. This true story, set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, Barbed wire baseball by Marissa Moss, 2013, Abrams Books for Young Readers edition, Hardcover in English In an afterword, Moss notes that Zenimura won posthumous induction into Japan's Shrine of the Eternals, the equivalent of baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Culturally diverse literature: Enriching variety in an era of Common Core State Standards. 2. (2014) also advise educators to develop a community of critical thinkers who can offer their critical perspectives and analyses of the quality and appropriateness of culturally diverse literature based on your class dynamics. Yet he grows up to be a Here's a synopsis from Abrams: "As a boy, Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. However, the author writes with an outside voice and perspective that I think at times glosses over the injustice of the internment camp, the rights and liberties that Japanese-Americans were denied, and the fear-driven backlash from other American citizens during this time and even after the Japanese-Americans were released from imprisonment. – Vivian Gussin Paley. ancestry are imprisoned without trials. 7 months ago. by nagrajk_34694. Kenichi Zenimura (January 25, 1900 – November 13, 1968) was a Japanese-American baseball player, manager, and promoter. ... Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with a sense of hope. Overview: As a boy, Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. (2014) give educators three main tips for finding and selecting high-quality culturally diverse literature: 1. As a boy, Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. ITB Barbed Wire Baseball, Zeni's sons went on to play professional baseball. Boyd, F. B., Causey, L. L., & Galda, L. (2014). SPECIAL EVENT! At the foundation of an educators’ ability to engage students in critical discussions of culturally diverse literature is one’s own level of critical consciousness. Thick brush lines create heavy textures in the digitally colored pictures, giving some the appearance of woodcut prints. 3-Author Lincoln-Inspired Virtual Author Visit. Contributor(s): Shimizu, Yuko, 1965-[illustrator.] ITB Barbed Wire Baseball, after his death Zeni was inducted into an honorary society similiar to Baseball Hall of Fame. All in all, I think that Barbed Wire Baseball tells an important story and shares voices and experiences that should be discussed in the classroom. , written by Marissa Moss and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! Consider the author’s lived experiences and positionality – is this an inside or outside voice telling this story? Barbed Wire Baseball - Kindle edition by Moss, Marissa, Shimizu, Yuko. As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. photographs, and a bibliography. Played 2 times. Edit. As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. The barbed wire and hostile atmosphere does not stop Zeni from bringing the joy of baseball from the outside of the fences into the camps. Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu.Grades 2-5. illustrations. 6th - 7th grade . Ultimately, I hope to develop this kind of community with my students as well so that when we read literature together, we are all contributing to our class analysis of diverse literature, considering the authenticity, power, perspective, positionality of the author, and diving into further inquiry to expand well beyond single stories together. Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese-American, baseball player b. January 25, 1900 d. November 13, 1968. Grace Lin: The Year of the Dog and so much more! Boyd, F. B., Causey, L. L., & Galda, L. (2014). 94% average accuracy. Zeni brings the game of baseball Praise for Barbed Wire Baseball "In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni’s fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. 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