Island of Hope, Island of Tears

This summer my dad took my sister and I to New York City. We had a wonderful time but one of the most meaningful things was visiting Ellis Island where my great-grandmother Alma first set foot in America in 1909. This book, Island of Hope, Island of Tears, chronicles many immigrants' stories and is a fascinating read.

~A

Out of the Dust

Right now I am reading the book, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, with my classes. It is historical fiction about the Dust Bowl and written in free verse poetry.

It has been fascinating to learn more about this period in our nation's history. I had a vague idea what a dust storm would look like but when I saw some of the actual pictures I was amazed.

Here is one of my favorite poems from this book:

Breaking Drought

After seventy days

of wind and sun,

of wind and clouds,

of wind and sand,

after seventy days,

of wind and dust,

a little

rain

came.

~A