Point-Five Asian! - Skipping Stones

"I feel it is a culture clash because inAsia people think ofme as a crazy American, but here I amjust Asian. I am who

I am, both."

-Iamra Martin,Thai/Danish

"It's easier being mixed thanbeing one or the other. Peopletreat you better because they can'tdiscriminate against you as easily."

-Devon Meister, Chinese/German

Portraits of Half-Asian Youth

Point-Five Asian!

"Being two races has made me careless about race. People try to label me assomething all the time, so I don't care what

people think anymore."

-Davis Young, Chinese/Polish-Norwegian

Please see pages 34 and 35 for continuation of this feature.

-Patricia Patterson, Filipina / German-Dutch-Irish

"Being halfand half is great. Itbrings out the goodqualities of both andminimizes the bad."

"I am not Mex

ican. I am not Fil

ipino. The weird

thing about beinghalfAsian and half

white is that no

one is ever quitesure what you really are."

-Chris Barnes,

Vietnamesellrish

"I like being mixed

because then you get to

experience and relateto two cultures rather

than just one."-Elizabeth Arakaki,

Japanese / Swede- German

Skipping Stones May-August 2007

Sl\ipping StonesVol. 19 no. 3 May-August 2007 ISSN: 0899-529X

"Most people think I am just one

or the other, but I feel unique

because I am two in one."

-Sandra Mazziotta, Vietnamese/Italian

From the Editor

Best of Both Worlds

RegUlar Departments4

5

6

89

15

18

25

31

36

32 Tan, I Am: Being Biracial

33 What's in a Name?

34 Point-Five Asian!

Portraits of Half-Asian Youth

lOOn the Day You Were Born...

12 Tibetan Sand Mandala

13 Tibetan Students Share their Culture and Daily Life

16 Zodiac Constellations! • Zoo of the Zodiac • Stars

26 N a School for aYear! Learning on the Road

29 A Kenyan Safari

30 Jambo, Watato! A Visit ]Yom the Maasai

19 The 2007 Book Awards!

Health Rocks!What's On Your Mind?

Editor's Mailbag

Poetry Page

Meet the Artist: Evette Tomlinson

Cultural Collage

Noteworthy N. E. W S.

Back Cover: Visiting KenyaIn the spirit if ecological sensi- Cover: Peter Picado-Curtis, 14, traverses the 50-meter canopy walktivity, we choose to print withsoy ink on recycled and recycla- in Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia. (Photo: Steve Curtis) ~

hie Living Tree Paper (90% © 2007 by Skipping Stones, Inc. Opinions expressed in these pages reflectpost consumer recycled content

d 10% fib ) I::::'Jt. views of the contributors, and not necessarily those of Skipping Stones, Inc.an oMn-~elm. ~ _

May- August 2007 Skipping Stones

Skipping Stones (Pub. No. 015

089) is published bimonthly,

except July/August, by Skipping

Stones, Inc., 166 W 12th Ave.,

Eugene, Oregon 97401. Postage

paid at periodicals rate at

Eugene, OR. Postmaster: Please

send address changes to: Skipping

Stones, Inc. P. O. Box 3939

Eugene, OR 97403-0939.

Subscriptions: Institutions:

$35 (call for multi-copy discount);

Individuals: $25; airmail: add $10;

Low-income discount: 50%. Single

or back issues: $5 each ($7, by air).

To submit, subscribe or reprint,

contact: Skipping Stones, Inc.

P. O. Box 3939, Eugene, OR

97403 USA; (541) 342-4956;

edi [email protected]

www.SkippingStones.org

About Skipping Stones:Skipping Stones is a nonprof

it magazine that encourages

cooperation, creativity and cel

ebration of cultural and linguis

tic diversity. We explore stew

ardship of the ecological and

social webs that nurture us. We

offer a forum for communica

tion among youth from dif

ferent lands and backgrounds.

Skipping Stones expands hori

zons in a playful, creative way.

We seek your suggestions,

submissions, subscriptions and

support.

Prom the CEdltor relling Our Stories

Art by Mariel Degli Esposti

After hours and hours of reading and

deliberation, we present you with this year's

Skipping Stones Honor Award books! We review

ers-editors, students, teachers and parents-chose

the winners by reading and critiquing dozens

and dozens of books of every kind: thick books,

picture books, nature books and books on many

different cultures, just to name a few. It's amaz

ing how, once written down,

even a story from a distant

land, or the tale of a tinyinsect living in the deepest

forest, is within arm's reach.

Simply by opening a book,we become members of its

secret world.

As we began reVIew

ing the books as a group,

I realized something else:

No two people ever readthe same book. What do

I mean? Well, of course,

we can each pick up thesame title and read it. But,

we never really read the same book. We interactwith what we read-each of us zeroing in on

different details and coming away with differ

ent understandings. One reviewer loved a book

for its illustrations. Another thought the bookwas wonderful because it accurately reflectedher childhood experiences. Yet another reviewerloved the book for its poetic language. Everyone

was talking about the same book, but each ofour responses is unique, based upon our own

values and experiences. In a sense, books hold up

mirrors-our reactions tell us much about ourselves-our beliefs, experiences and tastes.

As we narrowed down our list of possible win

ners, and re-read some of the books, another truthemerged: You can never read the same booktwice. Maybe you have noticed this phenomenon,

too: As time passes, and you read your favorite

books again, the story is familiar, but the feelings

and insights it gives you change with each reading.

Of course, in some ways none of this comes

as a surprise-as human beings, we're always rein

venting ourselves and reinterpreting the worldaround us, each from our own vantage points. Here

at Skipping Stones, our hope is that the books we've

selected allow you to open

closed doors and hear stories seldom told. We hope

you will find not only newcharacters between the cov

ers of these books, but also

someone who looks awfully

familiar-yours elf-your

dreams, imagination, courage

and weaknesses as a mem

ber of our human family on

Earth.

Dear Readers, as you

read these true and fictional

tales, do not forget that you,too, have a story to tell. It

may not be written down yet, but you are writing

it as you live each day of your life, in your heart

and in the hearts of others. It is a story you can tell

for yourself, for your friends, for the world, or evenfor all of those whom, silenced by fear, gagged by

history or muted by lives ending too soon, couldnot tell their stories.

This summer, as you lose yourself in a fewgood books, don't forget to make your own story

interesting! Make it challenging! Make it joyful!Make it memorable! Make it a story only you can

tell! And if you feel moved to do so, we invite you

to put it down on paper-keep a journal. You caneven send us what you write. Our next issue fea

tures the Annual Youth Honor Awards. See page 9

or our website for details on how to enter.

-Nicole Degli Esposti.

Skipping Stones May- August 2007

Whenever an incident happens in my neighborhood) I hear my name mentioned. It is assllmedthat I was involved. I want to clear my name and tzot get blamed any more. -Keith.

ever, had totally changed.was somber. Very little wasexchanged; inferences were

mentioned to ascribe blame.ments were heard, referring to

baseballs being used to break thedoors, usually left unlocked, now

Someone offered to keep an eye on

Send your questions or comments to:Dear Hanna c/o Skipping StonesP. 0. Box 3939, Eugene, OR 97403

More power to you, Keith! Two ways of accomplishing that come to mind:

First, become helpful, making yourself useful to those in need, and show kindness.

The second approach is to find out who was behind the event and make sure that everyone in yourneighborhood gets that information. Thus you would escape being suspected.

Let me know if you come up with other ideas!

This past winter, I experienced a perfect example of this tendency toblame certain individuals. It might be useful for your situation.

One morning, a few of us in our neighborhood saw aneighbor's patio light bulb shat- tered into countless bits of glassstrewn on the cement patio. We cleared it up and replaced thebulb. We never gave the event another thought. About fourdays later, we saw a different " 1- patio light bulb similarlyshattered on the ground. Of -If \ .... , course, we cleaned it up andagain changed the bulb.

The mood, how- <t ,\ ~This time, the atmospherespoken. Subtle looks weremade. No names were actuallyHowever, semi-humorous comthe possibility of baseball bats orbulbs. The question arose: shouldbe locked, "under the circumstances"?the area, to patrol it off and on.

Others offered to keep extra outdoor lights on "for the duration." Then again, it mightbe advantageous not to keep the lights on all night, in case the light bothered some people living nearby.Possibly, smashing the lights might have been a message from someone who was bothered by the lights.

The neighbors gradually drifted off to their homes. The homeowner was weary. Noticing lovely,large, soft snowflakes beginning to fall, he grabbed his winter jacket and stepped outside to breathe therefreshing air. He reflected: "Does someone have it in for me? Am I in danger?"

As he stood there worrying over the situation, in the quiet of the night, he heard faint noises ofsteam hissing and glass crackling. A smile came over his face. Of course! My had no one thought of it? Thecold snow falling on the hot light bulbs had caused the bulbs to break!

No one was guilty of an evil deed. The only guilt lay in our readiness to suspect innocent people ofviolent acts, without proof that any had been committed.

Keith, I hope this story might help to persuade yourneighbors to cease slandering potentially innocent people.Good luck!

May-August 2007 Skipping Stones

Keeping Cool in Sutntner!

When I came to this country, aclassmate asked me where I was

from. I answered, "India."

He said, "Cool!"

My response was, "Notreally; it's pretty hot whereI come from."

So, how did we keepour cool, especially inthose summer months,when the temperature

soared to 110° F. or more?

We did not rely on "BigGulps." Mostly, we drank lots of

water. The city was dotted withdozens of roadside pyaus, free, drinking water stations.Water was kept cool naturally in big, earthen pots madeby local potters. The pyaus were operated by religiousor civic organizations.We also had many water coolers.

When someone dropped in for whatever reason,we always offered them a glass of cold water. Hot tea orsomething cold would be next in line.

Homemade, cool drinks in a dozen different flavors(not all sweet) were the norm during the hot season.Because the heat made one sweat a lot, a bit of salt wasalso added to some cold drinks. A lightly-salted, thinbuttermilk drink (flavored with cumin) was commonlyserved at community feasts or gatherings.

Lassi (similar to the Western smoothie) was probably the favorite drink for us kids. It could be madewith the pulp of fresh, ripe mangos, bananas or otherjuicy, tropical fruits. If none was available, yogurt wasused. The flavor was enhanced with sugar, salt, rosewater or cardamom.

Another favorite, cool drink was fresh sugarcanejuice. From March until August, there were scores ofspecial corner stores set up in every city and townto serve sugarcane juice. They used hand-cranked orelectric juicers (or, even cow-powered ones in ruralareas) to squeeze the sugar cane right in front of youso you knew it was "fresh" and not watered down. Wewould also squeeze a bit of lemon and sprinkle a special spice mix to flavor the juice. Often, friends andfamily "went out" to drink this refreshing, healthy andinexpensive drink on summer evenings. The shops

HealtL Ro.:ks!stayed open until 10 p.m., or even later.

In coastal areas, the most common cold drink iscoconut milk. The seller skillfully uses a machete tocut open the end of a green coconut and inserts astraw in the hole. There you have it: a naturally bottled tasty drink! After sipping this fresh energy drink,you can ask the seller to scoop out the soft coconutmeat from the inside of the shell for you to eat.

In our region of India, yet another commoncold drink is panha. To make it, you boil a few green,raw mangos for a few minutes and let them cool offnaturally for a while. Hand-squeeze the pulp out ofthe now soft mangos. Add cold water and a touchof salt and sugar (and ice cubes, if available) and mixthoroughly before serving. Besides mangos, tamarind,kauth (the sweet and sour fruit of the Bel tree) andseveral other tropical fruits were also used to concoctsuch a cold drink at home. No wonder we nevermissed any of the bottled soda pop that one can buythese days. Bottled soda or juices were exceptions then,but now they're being pushed in the market.

During my travels in Mexico and CentralAmerica I came across similar drinks in their mercados,(markets). Licuados (smoothies) made with availablefruit-papaya, pina, mango, banana, Jresas, and mame,jugo de zanahoria, naranjas, or agua de sandia 0 limon forexample, offer a variety of rifrescos for the thirsty.

And, what do we get in our supermarkets, vending machines and corner stores these days? Bottledcold drinks with artificial flavors, artificial colors (likeRed #40, Blue #1), high fructose corn syrup, modified food starch, sodium benzoate, glycerol ester ofwood rosin, brominated vegetable oil, caffeine... Doesthat sound like a healthy, tasty treat? No wonderwhen I see the ingredient lists of soft drinks sold inthe stores, I turn my nose. I worry about their impacton the health of people who buy these drinks often.If you are concerned about this, try to avoid foods ordrinks with any artificial ingredients.

Thirsty? Plain water, freshly squeezed fruit juices-pineapples, oranges and apples, or fresh fruit are thebest! No fresh fruit? Frozen fruit or berries are greatin smoothies. Try preparing some of these cool concoctions with your siblings or parents. You might alsohave fun making your own recipes.;.'*.

-Arun TOke. editor.


Cool Concoctions!

Nicole Degli Esposti, Nina Forsberg

Beth Erfurth, Hanna K. Still

David Caruso

Shannon Lattin, Elsa Carcamo

U7ebmaster:

Interns:

Editorial Staff:

Student Reviewers: Haluk and Leyla Akay, Anupreet Kaur,Crystal Carpenter, Jennifer Hu, Stella Tu, Evin McMullen.

Board of Directors: Paulette Ansari, Esther Celis, Carla GarySteve Mallery, Ron Marson,Joachim Schulz, Hanna K. Still andArun N.Toke.

Special Thanks to Joachim Schulz, Shannon Lattin, MariMizobe,John Bush, Marie! Degley, contributors, volunteers andteachers whose students' work is in the issue. Thanks to TopsLearning Systems, Black United Fund, Oregon Country Fair,Helios Foundation, A & A Charitable Foundation, SELCO,MRG and Asian Council for their financial support.

Skipping Stones is an educational and charitable organization with a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status. Donations to SkippingStones are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Pleasesupport our free magazines, books and/or 50% discounts forlow-income schools, libraries and families with your donations.

Winner, the National Association for Multicultural Education,EdPress, Writer, Parent's, NewsStand Resources & EEA Awards.

~I~l 0

Lime or Lemon RefrescoTo a liter (or quart) of drinkingwater add hand-squeezed, freshly-made juice from one lime orlemon. Stir in a spoon of (preferably brown) sugar and a pinch ofsalt. Serve chilled or on ice cubes.Makes 3-4 servings.

Sunlight Mint TeaGot fresh mint leaves in your garden or at the farmer's market? Rinse 20-25 mint leaves, crumble themwith your fingers (make sure you have washed yourhands wellf) and add to a Mason jar filled with drinking water. Close the lid and set it on a windowsill,facing the sun for a few hours. When thirsty for acool drink, strain this sun-made tea in a glass. Add 2or 3 ice cubes and squeeze a few drops of lemon orlime, if you wish.If fresh mint isn't available, use dried mint leaves or amint tea bag. For a larger quantity, use a pitcher or agallon glass jar and triple the quantity of mint.

-Arun Toke, born in India, is a tea-totaler.

Acknowledgements

Editor/Publisher: Arun Narayan Toke

What's in an Energy Drink?

Read the ingredients bifore you buy that power or energydrink! Don't be surprised! Do you really want all thoseprocessed sugars, artificial chemicals, and caffeine in yourbody? One energy drink we looked at had these ingredients, listed in this order: Carbonated water, sucrose,glucose, sodium citrate, taurine, glucuronolactone,caffeine, inositol, niacinamide, calciumpantothenate, pyridoxine HCL, vitamin B12, natural andartificial flavors, colors.

Sumptuous Summer SmoothiesChoose a few ripe, juicy fruits (or

even frozen fruit) that you haveon hand-bananas, berries,

mangos, apples, pineapples,pears, melons, whatever youlike! Wash, peel and cut thefruit, as needed.Put the fruit, two cups ofmilk or buttermilk and onecup of water in a blender.Blend for about two minutes. Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Optional: Crushed ice, atouch of salt and black pepper.

Yogurt can also be used instead ofmilk or buttermilk.

Very Veggie Vegan Drink

Wash and cut three fresh, ripe,medium tomatoes, a bell

pepper, and a few leaves ofspinach, parsley or basil(whatever you like). Adda dash ofsalt, black pepper and cumin powderto taste. Blend for twominutes. Serve chilled.Makes 2-3 servings.Drink it fresh! If you

want to brave it, add aclove ofgarlic, a bit ofhot

pepper or a little onion tomake your mouth-watering,

no-sweat hot and cool drink!


WINNING A YOUTH HONOR AWARDWhat's (§)n Y~ur Mind?

MvEARS

My VoiceCan you hear my voice?not the one you listen toBut my voiceMy opinions, my emotionsMy thoughtsyou pay attention to the wayI talk but notthe way I speakMy point of view, my emotions, my ideasMy voice is encasedIn a rotting trunkShoved to the back of a closetJust like so many othersWhose voices are stuck in trunksThrown asideSo listen to a voice before you hear it.

-Michael Thomas, 13, German-American, New York."The recent loss if my father and older brother inspired thispoem. I lost them within a year of each other and had a hardtime expressing my emotions about it. I hoped that in writing this poem, other people would be able to identify with thejumble ifmixed emotions which accompany hard times. ))

THE WAIT WAS UNBEARABLE. It wasonly the first week, and already it feltlike an eternity. But, to tell you thetruth, I was afraid of the results. I hadwritten an adventure story, working

long and hard to perfect every last,wordy sentence, to submit it to Skipping

Stones. What if, when I sent it in, no onecared to read it? What if older kids stole the awards?

Just a year before, my mom, brother and I traveled to Bali, Singapore and Japan, and I was itching towrite about it. Eventually, I produced a fictional storyabout a girl traveling where I had, painting the scenesof my travels, from the wild monkey sanctuaries ofBali to the "Mock America." All the cultures werewoven in as much as possible. I didn't want to create aboring piece of the "I went there, did this" kind.

After working on my story, I found an announcement for Skipping Stones. They were looking forentries for their Honor Awards. It was perfect timing!I wanted credit for my piece, and they wanted storiesfor their magazine.

My mom and I looked at the requirements. Thereit stated, in little block print letters, "750 words." Mypiece was well over 2,000 words. I had some cutting to do! But soon enough, I found a way. Insteadof summarizing the entire story, I took an excerpt When I first came to this class, all the studentsfrom it and added a significant ending. With the story were strangers to me. I sat near the back of the classimproved, I knew it was ready to send. room. Behind me sat some boys from other places.

After sending the story in, I had a long time to After two or three weeks, whenever we took a break,wait. Who knew if I'd ever even get a comment from the boys would pull my ears until they became verythe magazine editors? But, like a reluctant little but- red. They called them, "Buddha's ears." I let them pullterfly coming out of its cocoon, it came back. Not my ears, but I didn't like it. I wanted to stop them, but Ionly did the story come back, but it had company. A was afraid they would be angry or think that I was veryhuge box appeared at our door, containing a Skipping unfriendly, so I let them pull my ears.

Stones Magazine with my story sandwiched between In evening conversations, my ears were often menother Honor Award stories. I had made it! At the tioned. Others said my ears were very nice, becausetime, I was awestruck. I was satisfied that my work they are similar to Buddha's ears. Sometimes theyhad paid off. laughingly said, "Why are your ears so big? Ha... Ha!"

Today, as I look back at that day, I feel that I have I realized that my ears had become longer and big-finally found a way to share my feelings about almost ger so now when I notice someone coming to pulleverything. Satisfied with my first story, I will be my ears, I stop them. I want to protect my appearance.looking forward to my next. No matter where I trav- These are my ears and I like my ears as they are; I don'tel, I will always have more to write about. ;.'*-. want them to be pulled, because then they will not

look good. ;.'*-.-Kalia Bistolas, Oregon.

(Send YOllr 2007 wtries byJune 25. See p. 9 for details.) -Bstan 'dzin g. yang sgron (Sophia), 19, Tibetan, PRe.


Edit~r's Mailbag!Hello, I'm Tanya. I have been learning to play the

piano for seven years already. I only played nonsensebefore I joined the music school. I also had weak fingers. So, I joined the school.

I study music theory-the structure of melodiesand the meaning of different chords. I have learned thehistory of composers' lives. My teacher taught me notonly to press the keys and learn the songs, but also tounderstand and love music. The main thing is to playwith your soul. I play classical music. I like Bach's fuguesand Kabalevsky's music.

But, the main thing for me is the competition forthe best execution of fast songs. It happens only oncea year.You must play with all of your skill. None of myacquaintances understand why I like this competition somuch. This competition makes my life more interesting.It's emotional, it's exciting and it's a trial.

I remember the last competition well. I had verystrong rivals. But, still, I had been prepared well, andI was a serious competitor, too. The nearer it was tomy turn, the stronger the anxiety. And then, the mostintense moment came-my turn to play! One mistake and that would be it! I played the prelude ofKabalevsky-a very fast one. My fingers trembled inthe most difficult place. Not all went well, and I got thesecond place. But, I lost by only a little.

I decided to continue studying at the music school.There will be a competition again this year. And, I willcertainly win! A

-Tanya Polinskya, 13, Bologoye, Russia.

My name is Samantha

Poremba. My ancestors camefrom Ireland and the CzechRepublic. My Great-grandfatherhad to leave the Czech Republicbecause of the threat of war. Hetook his mother's wedding ringand the clothes on his back andcame to America. He had to livewith strangers for twelve years

until his parents came over.

Right now, I'm learning how to speak Spanish.My Spanish name is Soledad-that means sunny,bright one, or the sun in general. Reading and writing play important roles in my life. Over the summer I read over 10,000 pages. In my spare time I playlacrosse, basketball, volleyball and tennis. As you haveprobably guessed, I love to use my hands!

At school we went on a field trip to the UnitedNations building. Someday, I'd like to be a U.N.ambassador for the United States. I also love to readthe New York Times Travel Section. If the U.N. pathdoesn't work out, I'd like to be a journalist for the NYTimes. It would be great to travel the world and writeabout everything I see.

As you probably already understand, I love tolearn. The best textbook to me involves people.

Cultures open so many doors. >-f<..

-Samantha Poremba, 12, New Jersey.

The 2007 Youth Honor AwardsVlk invite youth entries on any of the following themes:

Culture and Diversity, Family and Society, Nature and

Environment, Dreams and Visions,Youth Activism,

Creative Conflict Resolution, Peace and Justice

Writing should be under 1) 000 words; poetr~ under 30 lines. Artwork)

non-English writing and photo-essays also welcome. Send by June 25.Skipping Stones - Youth Honor AwardsP. O. Box 3939, Eugene, OR 97403 USA

[email protected]; www.SkippingStones.org

Skipping StonesMay-August 2007

On the Day You Were Born

VV'e recently invited you, the readers, to sharerecollections of your births or adoptions. TIzank youfor your stories abollt those memorable days!

Art on these pages was done by Englandborn artist, Caroline M. Dunn, who now lives inEugene, Oregon.

Jacqueline, on the day you were born, I had a dream. At that time, I wasa single man and I was adopting a newborn baby on my own. No single man inOregon before me had adopted a newborn. But that's what I wanted. Well, in mydream I saw myself giving birth to a blond baby girl. I woke up laughing and thinking, "I am really crazy."

But when the call came later, I found out I was getting a girl. And when I pickedyou up to take you home three days later, yes, you were

blond. I guess my dream wasn't so crazy.

On the day I picked you up I was so calm that I was able to drive our carthe 110 miles from Eugene to Portland. But once I got you, I couldn't letyou go and had to hold you all the way home (this was before the law thateveryone, even babies, had to be buckled in). My friend drove the car, and aswe drove down the interstate highway, a huge storm came up with thunderand even lightning. It doesn't do that very often in our part of Oregon. Butthere we were, me holding you and thunder and lightening crashing aroundus. It was awesome and a wonderful sign about your specialness and powers. Iloved you the second I saw you and loved you more as we were driven home.

You seemed pretty happy and loving, too. ;.~

-Dr. Irwin Noparstak, Oregon.

Rachel with her sister Rebecca.

Rebecca, on the day you were born, I became the proudest older sister in the world. I alreadyhad two little sisters, but when they were born, I was too young to remember.On the day of your birth, I was already seven years old, old enough to helpwith the new baby. Old enough to worry about Mama and about you.

Old enough to remember. Mama and Daddy left for the hospital earlythat January morning. Grandma came to stay with the rest of us. Monica wasonly two then; she started to cry when she couldn't find Mama. I told her thatwhen Mama came home, there would be a new baby to love. I don't thinkshe understood. She didn't stop crying.

I told my whole class that I was getting a new baby. Nobody cared. I hadbeen bragging about you for months. Besides, babies weren't anything specialamong my classmates. Babies meant strollers and car seats and cookie crumbsand diapers. They weren't exciting. But I was excited anyway.

My teacher didn't give me homework that day. On my way out the doorafter school, she told me that she expected a full report about the baby. Eye


color, hair color, everything. I smiledand ran out the door.

Grandma took us to the hospital.Mama was lying in bed, smiling, aswe ran to give her hugs.

"Where is the baby?" I asked.

Daddy took us to the nursery.You were lying in your bed, wearing a tiny jumper that covered yourhands so you wouldn't scratch yourself. Your tiny eyeswere shut and your mouth was opening and closing asyou slept. I wondered what you were dreaming.

As we watched, you woke up.Your eyes opened andlooked right at us. I smiled at you. My baby sister. Youstarted to cry.

The nurse picked you up and took you to Mama.After you fell asleep again, I held your little hand,amazed at how strong you were. Daddy drove us homethat night. He told us that your name was Rebecca. Itwas the most beautiful name I had ever heard.

You came home the nextday. I sat on the living roomchair and held you for the firsttime.You were so perfect.

I just knew you loved me.I knew I would love you, too.I would protect you and teachyou as you grew.

You've gotten older sincethen. We've played together, laughed together, cried together and fought together.But in the last nine years, one thing hasn'tchanged: I'm still the proudest older sister inthe world. J.~

-Rachel Mills, 16, Nevada.

Rachel adds, "1 live in afamily that seems large

to most Americans. 1 have an older brother and three

little sisters. The youngest one, Rebecca, is seven

years younger than me. She and 1 are very close,and 1 will neverforget the day she was born. JJ

Andrea & Mom: then and now

.,;'.• ..... ·~"Yli . ."..... .~. Ii. I.'), ..-. ..

..~' "r ,'....•.., J. t

.~;,

Andrea in the incubator.

On the day I was born, I was threemonths early and weighed 1 lb. 14 ounces. Myfeet were so small they looked like postage stamps,and my arms so skinny they looked like pencils.The doctors said I had a fifty-percent chance ofliving. My mom has toxemia, a disease that comeswith pregnancy. She had seizures and almost died.

I was in an incubator with tubes attachedto me, and my mom and dad couldn't hold me. But

they could reach into the incubator and lay their hands on me, with gloveson, and pray to God that I would live. They prayed every day for me. Thehospital machines went "beep, beep, beep" whenever I needed help from thenurses. That made my mom and dad very nervous.

After two weeks, Mom could hold me on her chest for the firsttime, even though I was still attached to all the wires. She couldn'thold me for long for fear I would get too cold. At last, over twomonths after I was born, I was able to come home from the hospital. Iam very thankful that God answered my parents' prayers with a miracle,and that neither my mom nor I died when my birth took place. J.~

-Andrea Alloway, 10, Connecticut.


Tibetan Sand MandalaAn Ancient Kind of Sand Castle (with a purpose!)

Tibetan Buddhist Altar with theDalai Lama in the Center.

Who is the Dalai Lama?

The Dalai Lama isTibet's Head of Stateand a Buddhist spiritual leader. He was bornto a farming family, butwhen he was a youngchild, monks determined that he was thereincarnation of the13th Dalai Lama. Thus,he began a specializededucation at the age ofsix in order to continuethe work of the DalaiLama. He serves Tibetpolitically from exilein Dharmasala, NorthIndia, where he fled asa result of the Chineseoccupation of Tibet. Asa Buddhist spiritual master, he frequently delivers spiritual teachings ontopics such as compassion, religious toleranceand non-violence.

Tibetan monks refer to it as a mandala. It is a circle, five-feet acrossand completed after three or more days using millions of grains of sandin fourteen different colors. The complicated pattern draws attentionand focus to the center as a point of meditation.

The monks start a mandala with an opening ceremony of music andmeditation. Once an outline of the pattern is put down, the slow processof filling in the areas with colored sand begins. Using a notched metaltube filled with sand, the monks rub another piece of metal against it inorder to regulate the sand flow.

Once the mandala is completed, a closing ceremony with moremusic and meditation occurs, and the mandala is wiped clean. What wasonce a delicate pattern of colors becomes a pile of mixed sand. This is avital part of the creation of a mandala, demonstrating the Buddhist tenetof impermanence. Simply put, everything changes and it is important notto cling to things. One young audience member of a mandala closing ceremony at the University of Minnesota stated, "There are moreimportant things than pretty pictures in the sand."

The sand is collected and shared with the audience as a blessing ofhealth. Whatever sand is left over is then released into a river to furthershare this blessing. ~~

-jason TOupence, Minnesota.

This photo of a sand mandala was taken at a mandala-making ritual in Minnesota.


Tibetan Students in China Write about Culture a Daily Life

Skipping Stones

Tibetan culture is famous all over theworld. There are various parts, such as thangka painting, architecture, embroidery, circledancing, weddings and proverbs. But the mostimportant parts of Tibetan culture are its art,religion and language.

For a nationality, languageis most important. If you wantto preserve your identity, youmust preserve your language.That is essential. Without alanguage, Tibetans couldn'tspeak or write anything toprepare themselves for a brightfuture.

Tibetan Buddhism alsoplays a very important role inTibetan culture. As early as thetime ofKing Songtsan Gambo,images of Buddha were introduced. A set of religions rituals, sacrifices and offerings were established.When you chant "mani," you can fall asleepwithout fear and wake up unharmed. It is afierce protector of our lives. So the majority ofpeople are devoted to Tibetan religion.

Tibetan art is present in the form of delicatedrawings and exquisite paintings called thangkas.My hometown, Rebgong has become a centerfor this kind of art. Year after year, large numbers of tourists go there to visit. They admirethe dazzling thangkas which many of thembuy to decorate their homes and to rememberTibetan culture after they leave.

These three parts of Tibetan culture arefundamental: as basic as water is to life. Withoutthem there would be no great culture, therewould be almost nothing left. So, we shouldpreserve our culture, make it meaningful andkeep it alive. I hope future generations willcontinue this bright culture so that it will existforever. ~~

-Pad-rna Mtso, "Emma.}}Drawing of theTibetan Thangka is by Mari Mizobe.

May-August 2007

Morning Circumambulation

A large prayer wheel is near my home. At aboutfive-thirty in the morning, a ringing bell awakens me.I reach the prayer wheel in three minutes, and see peo

ple going in and out of the building. It's time for their morning circumambulation. Each person holdsa string of prayer beads in their lefthand, and chants, "Om Mani PamiHung ..." Each time they completeone chant, they use their thumb topush back a bead. The dark of themorning lifts. People return home.It's now about six o'clock. ~~

-'jam Dbyang, "Steve.}}

Before Worship

Grandmother gets up at sixa.m., puts on her Tibetan robe, andties it with a sash. She sits on thebed, puts on her slip-on shoes, and

sits before the Buddha image at the front of the room.She chants scriptures for five or six minutes, then prepares a fresh butter lamp to replace the old lamp thatburned out during the night.

She takes a yellowed crutch beside the bed anduses her sweet voice to wake my sister. She tells her tomilk the yaks and then she slowly walks outside.

Our cat always waits to be fed. Grandmother takesmilk mixed with tsamba and puts it before the cat. Thecat will switch its tail back-and-forth energeticallywhile enjoying its breakfast.

She totters to the place where she worshipsBuddha, chants for a short time while catching herbreath completely from the exertion of her walks,removes her shoesand prostrates toBuddha. ~~

- Phyugs Skyid,"Destiny. }} Art byTshe-brtan Sgroi

Ma, "Samantha.}}

On the Way to theMountain Altar

As a child, on the 15thday of every lunar month,my father took me to themountain god altar, situatedat the peak of a high mountain in the southern part ofthe county. Although it isnot snow covered, from far

away, it looks almost the sameas Mt. Fuji in Japan.

Many people make burntofferings at religious times or atLosar (Tibetan New Year) becausethey think this mountain givesstrong protection from evil andinauspicious things. I clearly remember my father taking a bag containing wind horses, conifer needles,fruit, tsamba, dried-grass and scripture cloth. He carried the bag onhis shoulder with his left hand andheld my hand with his right. I didn'tlike him to hold my hand because Ithought, "I am strong enough toclimb and if I look like I am afraid,people will think I am not brave."

But I did need father's helpwhen the path steepened. The zigzag path stretches a long way to themountain peak. Sometimes fatherand I would rest when we reachedhalf way and we would look outover the country below. He wouldask me where our home was and hepointed it out when I couldn't findit. After a short rest, we would goon up the path. I would be breathing hard as we neared the top. Iwould be hot and bathed in sweat,but what a beautiful view! Thatis the picture that comes into mymind whenever I miss my homewhile here at school. J.~

-Tshe-ring rdo rje, "Noah. JJ

Every Evening

Every evening before I go to bed, I climb up a notched logladder to the third floor of our house to reach our family shrine.There is a light switch on the post inside.

If the shrine door is closed, I use my key to unlock it andturn on the light. The shrine is not large like a temple, but it isnot small. It is six meters wide and three meters high. There arenearly eighty Buddha images and many pictures of lamas; belowthem is a long, narrow table with butter lamps, offerings andsmall brass bowls of clean water for the deities. Many Buddhaimages and tangkas were left by my ancestors.

To the left of the shrine, hanging on the wall between twowindows, is a large, expensive thangka purchased by my grandfather. Scriptures are stacked near the windows on a wooden shelf.To the right, there are three middle-sized thangkas, two smallprayer wheels and one large prayer wheel. There are two armchairs for my grandparents to sit in when they come to pray.

I pray to the Three Jewels, clasping my hands together andtouching them to my forehead. Then I prostrate three times andsit on a square mat near the armchairs to wait for my familymembers to come. When all of the family is assembled, my fatherleans against one of the two large columns and chants mani forhalf an hour. This is good for us and makes our lives longer. Whenmani chanting is done, we all stand up, prostrate three times and

leave the shrine. J.~ -Mkha' 'gro, "Marissa. JJ

Just Before I Go To Bed

After supper, I collect the bowls and tsamba

box and put them back in their original places.My brothers clean the living room and throwthe garbage away. We also pour out the tearemaining in the kettle, wipe and fill it withclean water and put it back on the stoveagain. Some of my sisters get dry yak dungand prepare for the next day's fire. After several minutes, we sit around the warm stove,take out our beads, and hold a mani wheel-amoment to pray.

My father begins reciting a prayer, and all myfamily members loudly join in after him. The soundof these repeated prayers and scriptures rises in the air.We pray to Buddha for honesty and compassion; we pray for theremoval of sins and evil from our family; and we pray to havegood luck and prosperity. My family members close their eyes insincere prayer and concentrate on their scriptures. >-~

-Pa Sang, "Dakota. JJ


• •

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••

•

••••

Quiet~So quiet,

I can hear myself breathe,Like being on the beach at night,

My breath is the waves,And the night is the silence.

Our Father

Poetry Page

My father

Who art in heaven

My fatherWho resides on earth

Who is a stranger to me

And my familySince the day ofbirth

But I must commend you on yourContribution to my creation

So in all I sayI am sorry you missed so much

But thanks anyway.

-Diamond Riley, 16, Maryland.

Diamond adds: "My inspiration

for this poem was my mother's deter

mination and my feeling that although

I do not have a physical father who

takes care of me and looks eifter me,

I have God and he is my father. The

Lord blesses me constantly, keeps me

seife, wakes me up in the morning and

gets me to bed in one piece. My dreams

are to continue writing and make movies, meet people,

inspire and be inspired. I would also like to attend collegeand major in Biostatistics within African-Americans. "

Diamond recently published a book, A Few WordsI Live By. For more info, see www.diamondriley.com.

••

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••••

• -Elliot Grindle, Appleton Village School, Maine. •• •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Where's the reality?Hyperspace.

Where's the reality?Cyberspace.

Where's the reality?Flying.

Where's the reality?Aliens.

Where's the reality?I know.

Reality isA dream.

Which would meanLife

Is a dream.In that case

Would dreamingBe a life?

Thinking, thinking.The clock is ticking.

Our assignment"Draw an

inspirational picturefor art."

I have a jar of inkA thin paintbrush

Thinking, thinking.The clock is ticking.

SuddenlyI get a brain wave.

What about drawingSomebody drawing

A drawingOf a drawing?

Confusing, I knOw.But as brush meets paper

The lines start to flow.Now I can

Let my brush go.

-Melanie Kazanstev, 7th grade.

"Hiya! A_A I'm Melanie Kazantsev! I

enjoy writing, drawing, roller-blading, day-dream

ing, and web-design. I have Ukrainian heritage,with a bit of Russian and Siberian.


Zodiac Constellations

~.~.~

~~

*~'. do....,.'"

it '.~1-~ ..~.

Cancer, Leo, Libra, Scorpio,Sagittarius, Capricorn,Aquarius and Pisces.

There are myths about the zodiacs, too. Hereis Scorpio's myth: Once, there was a hunter namedOrion who said he could hunt anything. Thatangered the earth goddess, so she sent down ahuge scorpion to get Orion. Orion ran from the

scorpion and the scorpion chased Orioninto the water. Orion's sister followedthem into the water, and shot an arrowat Orion's head, which she mistook for ascorpion's head. It's a sad myth.

Anyone born from March 21 st toApril 19th has Aries as his or her sign.Astrologers think people born under eachsign have certain characteristics. Aries is

supposed to be bold, energetic and strong-willed.

There are twelve Eastern symbols and twelveWestern symbols of the zodiac. The Eastern zodiacs are a set of symbols used since ancient times inChina,Japan, Korea and other Asian countries.

The Cat and the Rat

The zodiacs help people by marking the seasons and month. The Asian calendar has been inuse for thousands of years. According to the Asian

calendar, the NewYear begins on the new sec-ond moon after the Winter Solstice. Have youbeen to the Chinese New Year festival? Haveyou seen the dragons whirl by you as dancers twirl? The festive foods and bright coloredpaper lanterns meet your eye. It is wonderfulto celebrate and welcome the Lunar NewYear! The Chinese Calendar signs are Rat, Ox,Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep,Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar.

Zodiacs are interesting and useful things. Thenext time you look at the night sky, think of howthe constellations can help you! You can find aconstellation with a star chart or map from thelibrary, and a telescope.

-Anna Gracey, 6th grade, NewJersey.

What's your Sign?

Astrologers divided the zodiacs into twelveequal parts named after the twelve zodiac constellations. The twelve signs are Aries, Taurus, Gemini,

The warm summer night sky, with a thousand stars glittering. You watch them as you lay ona fuzzy blanket; a gentle breeze floats by, as soft, wetdew tickles your toes. So many constellations! Howcan you possibly know them all? Start with theimportant ones, the ones that helped the prehistoric people know how to mark the seasons and themonths, the zodiac constellations. A constellation isa group of stars that form a shape or a pattern.

A Calendar in the Sky

Who made the zodiac constellations?The prehistoric people probably noticedthat the seasons changed every year whencertain groups reached a certain positionin the night sky. These early people mayhave invented the constellations by giv-ing the groups names that could be rep-resented by human, animal, or other figures. Theywere using the zodiac constellations as a calendar.

Wait your Turn!

According to some historians, the constellationsof the zodiac were named in three stages. Gemini,Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces were named in 5000B. C. Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians hadprobably identified the constellations Taurus, Leo,Scorpio and Aquarius as their seasonal markers.Aries, Cancer and Libra were added in1000 B.C. The earliest mention of alltwelve signs dates from 400 B.C.

Are the Stars Aligned?

Where are the zodiacs in the sky?The Western zodiacs are all in onecircle. The Eastern zodiacs have noconnections with the constellations.Peculiar! Over thousands of years, theconstellations have shifted their positions in the night sky. That's why people have identified different constellations at different times.


THE 2.00 OF 2.0DIA(The Rat

A sneaky grin of laughter

Sets this rodent apartFrom the others of the same craft

The RamThe first to complain

Over th~ simplest mattersQuiet Ram, can you not talk?

.~""':, .. ..,' .

The MonkeyYou need not fight to survive

You have incredible gifts of wits

and friendshipYou live the luckiest life

The DogLive honestly and faithfully

To those you truly loveYour heart is so true, you are naive

SItars.At night the stars are bright and glorious

In the morning it is so bright that the starsBlend in with the sun

Just like they are friendsJust like me and you

If you see the first star in the skyYou can make a wish!

The BoarWhy do you not sethigher goals?You have the powerto grasp themBut you must try

-Maya Gouw, 9, Chinese American, New York.

-Cooper Owen Meldrim, 7, New York.

The RoosterYou send warm, beating heartsBe it true or notDreamers roam free

The TigerA sob of truthBegging for lifefor his independence

The DragonDo not raid the Dragon's nest

Strength will push you farWhat lacks in romance makesup for in strength

The HorseStrong glares of selfishnessYet extremely passionateIntelligent horse, why act so?

The RabbitAsking for a single grain

Compassionate rabbit cannot say no

Thoughtful, humble heart.

The SnakeQuiver in fear of the snakePersistence will lead you farFrom the stunning, clever hiss

The OxA kind hearted smile is

Always free to helpAsks for none in return


May-August 2007

I was encouraged by myteachers in school and, mostof all, by my grandmother. Myadvice to young artists is to dowhat you enjoy most as an artist.I have enjoyed the experience ofbeing able to create artwork thatsometimes tells a story as well assome that just bring pleasure tothe viewer.

It has taken time and practiceto achieve the standard by whichI like my work to be judged, but

it really gives me pleasure whensomeone expresses enjoyment or asks me to do aspecial piece of work for them.

I would like to encourage those of you interested in creating art to practice constantly, carry asketchbook everywhere, and always be observantof the world around you. i*..

-Artist Evette TOmlinson lives and works in Texas.

Skipping Stones

Meet the Artist: Evette Tom.linson

I am originallyfrom Jamaica, so mostof my work is ethnic.I do a lot of portraits,as well as animal andplant life and otherthemes from nature. Iwas trained in painting and print making, but for the pastfew years I have donemainly pen and colored pencil drawings.

In Jamaica, Iworked in a children's

library for a number of years and worked a lotwith children doing summer programs. I alsoillustrated and wrote for the children's page of anewspaper. As a result, much of my work is centered around children at play orjust everyday life.

In addition to having beeninfluenced by everyday situations,I have found that as an artist I havealso been influenced by the beautyof the landscape that was aroundme as a child. I loved going upinto the hillside and just sketching and enjoying the beauty ofthe valley from up there. Besidesthe landscape, there was also thebeauty of the flowers and birds,which I tried to capture in art as ayoung person.

2007 Skipping Stones Honor Awards!This year, we honor 25 exceptional books with the 14th Annual Skipping Stones Honor Awards. Together, these

books encourage understanding of the world's diverse cultures, as well as nature and ecological richness. They promote cooperation, nonviolence, respect for differing viewpoints, and close relationships in human societies.

We present these new books to you as the summer season stretches before us. It's a time of year when manytravel to explore new places in the world, or to revisit meaningful ones. While that kind of travel is wonderfulwhen possible, reading books is also a way to travel! You can check these books out from your public library, orfind them in your local bookstore. Through their pages, you will explore new places and even other time periods.Welcome to this wonderful world of words!

Multicultural & International Books:A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by AmyLee-Tai, illust. by Felicia Hoshino (Children ~ Book

Press). Picture book. ISBN: 0-89239-215-0.

This book is based on a true story about theauthor's mother's family, who were also artists,justlike the main character Mari's parents. The colors of the pictures are warm and bright. For thisstory, told in Japanese and English, the illustratorhas painted golden drawings using watercolors,acrylics and tissue paper!

As her Mama tells her, "Flowers don't groweasily in the desert." Can Mari adjust to livingin the Japanese internment camp? As JapaneseAmericans, Mari and her family are sent to theinternment camps during World War II. They areforced to leave behind all that they own, exceptwhat they can carry. They must live under guard,not knowing when they will be released. ForMari this is hard because nothing in the desertmakes her happy, She can't seem to adjust ormake friends, until finally she begins to draw,reminding herself of what made her happy whenshe lived at home, and then the sunflowers grow.

Mari's story is about regaining hope when itfeels like one has lost everything they have everowned.

-Teyan So, Chinese American, high school senior.

Grandmama's Pride by Becky Birtha, illust. by ColinBootman (A. Whitman). Picture Book. ISBN: 0-80753028X.

Becky, an African American author, writes about a childhood experience from the summer of 1956, when she wassix. Sara Marie and her younger sister travel by bus throughthe segregated South with their Mom to visit their grandmother in Virginia. As young children, her sister and shewere unaware of the law that only Whites could ride in thefront. As they boarded the bus Sara Marie's mother alwaysreminded them to go all the way to the back of the busthat's where the best seats were, she'd explain. It's amazingthe steps their grandparents and parents took to shelter themfrom these ugly laws for as long as they could.

Sarah Marie learns to read that summer. So she asksher grandmother what the "white-only" signs mean. Hergrandmother explains the laws gently and with love. Onething she said could have walked right out of my owngrandmother's mouth:"Some grown folks still don't seem tounderstand that we're all of us, God's children." When SaraMarie and her family return the next summer, the signs aregone. However, the author explains that it was well into the1960s before segregation ended.

The illustrations look like the real thing. The clothingstyles, hardware store and drug store look like I rememberthem. This story will help any teacher explain discrimination and segregation laws.

-Paulette Ansari, school librarian, Oregon.


2007 Skipping Stones Honor Awards

Time's Memory by Julius Lester(Farrar Straus Giroux). Jr. high andhigh school. 230p. ISBN: 0-37437178-4.

Julius Lester plunges the reader into the hearts and emotions ofAfricans captured and brought to theUS on slave ships. Confronted bythe atrocious abuse and inhumane

conditions on the slave ships and plantations, one viscerally understands their physical and spiritual torment.A portrait of Southern White culture before the CivilWar also emerges.

Through the life of Ekundayo, a Dogon spiritinhabiting the body of a young African-Americanslave, this impeccably written story addresses profoundthemes of life and death, the spirit's life after death,grief and loss, spirituality, and finding personal peace.Ekundayo is sent to bring peace to the nyama, the soulsof the dead, by the god Amma, creator of life and death.

Though the subject matter is heartwrenching, theending is very satisfYing-an excellent springboard forclass discussion.

-Yvonne Young, storyteller and grandmother.

Drumbeat in Our Feetby Patricia A. Keeler andJulio T. Leitio, illust. byPatricia A. Keeler (Lee andLow). Picture Book. ISBN:978-1-58430-264-3.

Vitality, communityand connection to the past

are captured in this celebration of a youth dance troupe.Illustrations of spirited dancing sweep the pages of thisbook, showing how the ancient Mrican dance traditionhas inspired the Batoto Yetu dance troupe of NewYork.This book brilliantly blends modern and traditionalcultures. A reader can almost hear the call-and-responseand rhythmic drumbeats that move these dancers.

Information is provided about the instruments andbeliefs represented by the various dances and shownthrough body painting and costumes. The illustrationsshow enough of the dance movements that readers canjump up and improvise the steps on their own. It is difficult to read this book without moving your feet!

-Nina Forsberg.

Night Boat To Freedom by Margot Theis Raven,illust. by E.B. Lewis (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). PictureBook. ISBN: 0374312664.

Our story begins in slavery with Granny Judith andtwelve-year-old Christmas John. When she asks him torow a young slave woman across the river to Ohio, hegoes despite his fear of being caught. The language isvery beautiful: "I know you got fear, child," Granny Judith says, "but what scares the head is best done with theheart ... I'll be here praying and waitin' to know whatcolor Molly wore to freedom."

For the next four years Christmas John rows peopleover to the freedom side. He asks what color each iswearing so he can tell Granny Judith. She is making afreedom quilt with the colors people wore to freedom.Finally there are only two quilt pieces remaining beforethe quilt will be complete. She hands Christmas Johna fine turkey red shirt and tells him, "this is your colorto freedom." Christmas John runs almost to the hiddenrowboat. But he returns for Granny Judith and he tellsher, "Freedom's got no color for me without you."

The illustrations are bold and rich. You can easilyread expressions on the faces of the people. This storywas put together from a collection of slave narratives.

-Paulette Ansari, school librarian, Oregon.

Malian's Song by Marge Bruchac, illust. by Wil

liam Maughan (Vt?rmont Folklife Center). Picture Book.ISBN: 0-916718-26-3.

Malian's Song tells the true history ofwhat occurredwhen Major Robert Rogers raided the St. FrancisAbenaki village in 1759.

The Abenaki village is preparing for a big feastto celebrate the return of the hunters, a good harvest, and the marriage of Malian's cousin. As the village is celebrating, Malian's cousin steps outside theCouncil House for a breath of air. Hiding in the bushes,Samadagwis, who is scouting for the "White Devil,"secretively warns her that strangers are coming to burnthe village. The villagers escape and the story of thatnight was passed on through Malian to her descendentsvia oral history.

This account is a good example of the value andimportance of oral history passed on from generation togeneration. The illustrations give us a lively and colorfulglimpse into the daily life of an Abenaki village.

-Beth Eifurth, avid reader and well-traveled educator.


Ryan and Jimmy by Herb Shoveller (KidsCan Press). ISBN: 978-1-55337-967-6.

Ryan and Jimmy is an incredible accountof a boy, Ryan Hreljac, and his belief in helping others. What starts out as a topic thatRyan's first grade teacher shares with herstudents ends in his determination to bringfresh water to the village ofAgweo, Uganda.

Determined to build a well for $70, Ryanworks hard to earn this amount to send to Agweo.Unfortunately, Ryan finds out that $70 will only buy ahand pump-$2,000 is needed to build an entire well.With the help of many kind hearted people, Ryanraises the necessary amount. When he discovers that$25,000 will purchase a drill so that many wells can becreated, he finds more people to help him raise it.

This is just the beginning of how Ryan helps avillage: later, Ryan and his family help save a youngUgandan boy, Jimmy, from certain death, and hebecomes a member of Ryan's family.

Ryan's story is made of material that one mightfind in a Hollywood movie, but it's a true story. RyanandJimmy is a must-read in today's world.

-Beth Eifurth.

Rules by Cynthia Lord (ScholasticPress). Middle grades. 200 p. ISBN:0-439-44382-2.

It is difficult for us to acceptwhat we cannot fully understand.In this book, twelve-year-oldCatherine aches to have an average life without the rules that heryounger autistic brother, David,needs. Desperately hoping tomake new friends, she meets

someone who does not quite fither description of "normal," but nonetheless wins herheart and proves that difference is not shameful.

This empowering and endearing novel teachesacceptance, a value that is not often stumbled upon inyoung adult literature. The reader instantly becomes apart of the lives of two amazing children who deal withdifferences everyday. The story emphasizes personalgrowth, acceptance of diversity and different lifestyles.Lord writes with amazing use of visual language anddetailed scenes that could almost bring one to tears.

-ChrissyJahn, 18, high school senior.

Royal Koi and Kindred Spirits by Richard M. Wainwright, illust. by Becky Haletky(Family Life). ISBN: 1-928976-02-6.

Tamiko and her family move toGreenville, Virginia from Japan, along withher three prized Koi, and she is nervous aboutwhat to expect. Little does she know how thefriends she meets will change her life and theincredible legacy they will create together.

Sergio, one ofTamiko's new classmates, has beenbravely fighting cancer. Tamiko invites him and theclass to visit her father's new Koi ponds. The visit issuch a success that plans are made to create a Japanesegarden for all to enjoy, especially cancer patients andtheir families. Tamiko and her friends decide to taketheir project a step further, seeing it as a way to raisemoney for a much-needed van to take chemotherapypatients to and from the hospital, and to honor thesechildren's courage. However, the largest sacrifice of allcomes when Tamiko learns first-hand what it means togive up what you truly love for the happiness of others.

This illustrated chapter book shows how much acommunity can accomplish with enthusiasm and hardwork, the tremendous value that comes from sharingcultures, and how to make newcomers feel welcome.Issues facing children with cancer are addressed withsensitivity, emphasizing that it is not length of life thatmatters, but the joy and friendship it contains.

-Shannon Lattin.

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale ofFriendship &

Freedom by Tim Tingle, illust. by Jeanne Rorex Bridges(Cinco Puntos). Picture Book. ISBN: 0-93817-77-6.

Crossing Bok Chitto is a beautifully illustrated storyof courage and friendship. It is about how courageousNative Americans help African American slaves wintheir freedom.

My favorite part of the story is how the friendship between Little Mo, an African American boy, andMartha Tom, a Native American girl, helps save LittleMo's family. Martha Tom goes to the slave church andlearns their songs. She sings the songs to her peoplein the Choctaw language. Little Mo needs to find thesecret stepping stone pathway that Martha Tom hadshown him to cross the river, because if slaves crossedBok Chitto to the Choctaw side, they were free. MarthaTom's mom and other women dance in the moonlightto help Little Mo's family cross Bok Chitto to safety.

-Lena Shulz, 4th grade.



Up Before Daybreak: Cottonand People in America by Deborah

Hopkinson (Scholastic). Nonfic-. tion. Middle grades and up. 104

p. ISBN: 0-439-63901-8.Up Bifore Daybreak tells the

story of cotton in America-astory soaked by the sweat, andtold through the toil, oflaborers.

It follows the cotton industry from the pre-civilwar days of slavery through the industrial revolution,shedding light on the workers who made America'scotton products possible.

Readers learn that children in the South, both blackand white, spent their days picking cotton to help feedtheir families instead of playing and going to school.They learn that young women in the North left theirfamily farms for cotton mill jobs in cities. Poignant historical photographs include images of barefoot childrenworking alongside adults in the fields, trailed by hugebags for cotton. Others depict young laborers workingwith, or resting upon, overwhelming puffs of cotton.

Up Bifore Daybreak concludes by likening theseworking conditions of the American past to somemodern day labor practices, encouraging us to familiarize ourselves with the origins of our clothing andsupport fair working conditions for all. Well-told background information, first-hand accounts and historicalphotographs are searnlessly woven together to createthis story ofpromise, exploitation, and perseverance.

-Nina Forsberg, high school teacher and editor.

Landed by Milly Lee, illust. by Yangsook Choi (FrancesFoster I FSG). Picture Book. ISBN: 0-374-34314-4.

As we are a nation of immigrants, it is heartwarming to read Landed by Milly Lee, which tells the truestory of her father-in-Iaw's journey from China to SanFrancisco, gateway to the western shores of America.Lee Sun Chor has our empathy as he stands innocentlyon the docks awaiting his fortune, and hoping not todishonor his family. Sun must remember the numerousdetails of his home and village to prove to the immigration officials that he is not a "paper son," but a true sonofa Chinese merchant returning to America.

With vivid illustrations, Landed allows us to enterSun's world, one of uncertainty and innocence, as heawaits acceptance into a new culture.

-Deborah Gelzer, elementary school teacher and mother.

David and Max by Gary Provostand Gail Provost Stockwell ljewishPublication). Middle grades. 164 p.ISBN: 978-0- 8276-0837-5 .

When 12-year-old Daviddoesn't make his school basketballteam, he despairs because his shortness may keep him from gettinga chance to excel in his favoritesport. His loving family hopes thatDavid will come to terms with hisdisappointment when they bring him along on animpromptu vacation to the Massachusetts seashore.David's especially close relationship to Max Levine,his grandfather, deepens through an investigation theyshare: Max encourages David to play detective in seeking B.B., who appears from Max's distant past. Daviduncovers powerful mysteries while sleuthing for B.B.and brings hidden tragedies to light.

David and Max gives insight into Jewish-Americanculture, history, values and humor. The book is full ofrich characters whether they are warm, wise, playful oreccentric. I most enjoyed Max with his colorful dialectand admonition that, "Your heart must be filled withonly good things." Max's mischievous nature and lifeaffirming fascination with people is particularly appealing as horrific events in his past are revealed.

This book was right up my alley. I recommend it toreaders with a wide variety of interests: basketball, mystery, history, travel, art, self-discovery, and more!

-Cheri BlackJamily history researcher and mother.

Little Mama Forgets by Robin Cruise, illust. byStacey Dressen-McQueen. Picture Book. (MelanieKroupa Books IFSG). ISBN: 0-374-34613-5.

You have to experience this incredibly sweetbook-a heart-warming love song sung by a granddaughter for her abuelita, who lives with her. LittleMama Forgets offers a vivid portrait of an extendedMexican-American family, and brings to life universalvalues such as selfless love and acceptance. In her oldage, abuelita may forget a few details but she never forgets to express her love for her grandchildren!

You will appreciate the tender loving care withwhich this book has been created. A perfect read forbedtime, storytime, anytime!

-Arun Toke, editor and father.


Dear Miss Breed: 'True Stories if the Japanese AmericanIncarceration during World War II and a Librarian who Madea Difference by Joanne Opperheim (Scholastic). Middleschool and up. 288 p. ISBN: 0-43956992-3.

This book tells the story of Japanese incarcerationthrough the eyes of youth who corresponded with achildren's librarian, Clara Breed. In a time when masshysteria drove the country to incarcerate innocent citizens simply because of their ancestry, Miss Breed hadthe courage to speak out against this injustice.

On April 7, 1942, the day set for the Japanese andJapanese-American "relocation" from the West Coast,Miss Breed rushed to the train station in search ofthe children she had come to know and love. Shehanded them books and stamped postcards, askingthem to write to her. This simple act of encouragingand enabling correspondence made her a hero to manyJapanese-American children because it gave them hopeand a voice in the "outside" world.

The book blends together historical information,Congressional testimony, Miss Breed's articles in defenseof Japanese Americans, and the letters the childrenwrote to her. It provides for a striking contrast betweenthe children's often optimistic perception of what wasgoing on around them and the bleak truth. A wonderful teaching resource for social studies / history classes.

-Elsa Carcamo, University oj Oregon student intern.

John Lewis in the Lead: A Story oj the Civil RightsMovement by Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson, illust.by Benny Andrews (Lee and Low). Picture Book. ISBN:978-1-58430-250-6

As we begin this book, we identify with the children and families living in poor conditions. Abruptly,we find out that because all are Black, they live underlaws of segregation. They cannot vote, eat in restaurants,check out books from the library, or choose whichschool they attend.

We also meet an active leader in the movement forBlack liberation, John Lewis, now a U. S. Congressman.With Lewis leading, Black people who had sufferedenough risked their own safety and sometimes theirlives in order to gain rights legally. They marched andwere brutally beaten or jailed, and they held sit-ins todemand the right to eat in restaurants. Non-violentmeans were used to bring about change, and sympathetic Whites joined in the Blacks' efforts.

This picture book shows that it is possible for a

children's book to do justice to the Black struggle toemerge out of slavery and become citizens with equalrights. I would like to place this book into every household in the land.

-Hanna Still, educator and grandmother.

Face to Face With Katrina Survivors: A First Responder's 'Tributeby Lemuel A. Moye (Open Hand).Middle school to adult. 232 p. ISBN:978-0-940880-771.

Here's an opportunity to knowintimately the compassion and gracious strength of heart that characterized survivors of Katrina. Theauthor, a physician who went toHouston's Astrodome to help evacuees, was motivatedto write the book to help dispel the media's false, negative images of survivors. He artfully tells the real storiesof patience, pride, and conviction to embrace life.

We hear about people who passed up gettingon rescue boats because they would not desert theirbeloved pets. (The boats would not take animals.) Afather stood for 50 hours with his asthmatic daughteron his shoulders so she could breathe above the severely congested air of the New Orleans Superdome.

Even though many stories are troubling, the overriding theme of hope and compassion make readingthe book a positive experience. I felt like an insider,hearing real stories from real people.

-Charlotte Behm, author and educator.

The Ruiz Street Kids-Los Muchachos de la CalleRuiz by Diane Gonzales Bertrand (Pinata). Middlegrades. 105 p. / 112 pagina~. ISBN: 1-55885-321-9.

This English-Spanish bilingual book brings tolife the hot summer vacation days in a working-classneighborhood in the Southwest. The characters arewell-developed, and I was easily drawn into their lazysummer day activities-bicycling, swimming and birthday parties. And, of course, no story would be completewithout a "villain." David, the new kid on the block, isthe "mean" character in this book.

This sometimes humorous, at times exciting, andculturally informative adventure will definitely prove tobe engaging for ages 9 to 12. Unlike many other bilingual books, you flip this young adult novel over to readit in the other language.

-Arun TOke.


Nature and Ecology Books:No Room for Napoleon by Adria Meserve (Farrar

Straus Giroux). Picture Book. ISBN: 0-374-35536-3.

The book is about a small brown dog, Napoleon,who is sailing. As he looks through his telescope hespots an island. When he reaches the shore, a bear, abunny and a crab invite him to stay. Napoleon quicklysets out to build his house. His friends want to help,so he stops working and orders them to do it for him.When the house is finished, the three friends discoverthat the house has destroyed the island. So they leavefor another island. But when Napoleon finds them,they tell him, "There's no room for Napoleon!"

Napoleon makes a deal with his friends: if he putseverything on the old island back the way it was, theywill come back. Once he does, they return and rejoice.The pictures are colorful and the author has good wordchoice, so the book is incredible. The story teaches us torespect the environment and our friends.

-Raina Kamrat, grade 4.

Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley (Tilbury House).

Picture Book. ISBN: 978-0-88448-283-3.

This story of two elephants, Jenny and Shirley,reveals the complexity and intelligence of elephantsand their amazing memories. Shirley has lived at a zoofor many years and is sold to the Elephant Sanctuary inTennessee because she can no longer perform tricks.When Shirley arrives at the Sanctuary, she is isolateduntil she gets used to the new elephants. But soon, oneelephant, Jenny, comes into the barn and tries to climbover the bars. The two elephants trumpet and cry bigelephant tears for they realize they knew each othermany years ago when they were in the same circus.

I received a newsletter from the Elephant Sanctuarythat announced that Jenny has died recently. It wasnoted that Shirley was close by when Jenny passed, aftersharing happy years together since they were reunited.

-Charlotte Behm, educator.

Well-Schooled Fish and Feathered Bandits: The

Wondrous Ways Animals Learn from Animals by PeterChristie. (Annick). Ages 8-12. ISBN: 1-55451-045-7.

Orangutans with regional rain dances, dolphins thatwear nose protectors, and cannibalistic chickens are justa few of the real-life animals that populate this hilariousand informative book. Photographs on each page catchcreatures acting out antics they've learned from otheranimals. Starlings learn to steal quarters from a car wash


coin machine. Rats sniff each others' breath to decidewhat to eat for dinner. Humpback whales learn newsongs from travelers. Fun facts let you browse the pagesquickly, while more in-depth descriptions elaborate onsome of the more interesting animal tricks.

Christie emphasizes that it's not just people whouse tools, teach their young, and pick up tricks fromfriends-adaptation can be as important to survival asinstinct, and we need to reconsider what we label asstrictly human. After reading this book it is clear thatsocial structures of the natural world are much morecomplex than we could have imagined.

-Shanrwn Lattin, University oj Oregon student intern.

Kelly of Hazel Ridge by Robbyn Smith vanFrankenhuyzen, illust. by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen(Sleeping Bear). Picture Book. ISBN: 1-58536-268-9.

Written from the standpoint of a young girl growing up on her family's farm, Kelly oj Hazel Ridge engages the reader on many levels, offering a broad portraitof a place, family, and their farm life. Beautiful illustrations showing the lush landscape of the farm draw thereader in to a delightful world where people and animals live in peace with each other. Double pages illustrating a moment in Kelly's day, or a dreamed vision,further reinforce the story while at the same time easilyconveying stories of their own.

Love of nature and theimportance of a humble andcareful stewardship are illustrated by the daily actions of thecharacters. Their rewards are thejoy of finding peace and love inthe very existence of their family, the animals, and Nature as awhole. This book also alludes tothe fragile and transient natureof life and does not shy awayfrom pointing out that not every effort will be rewarded with a happy ending.

This book can be appreciated by all ages. It encourages us to take conscious ownership of our actionsin the natural world and appreciate it for its strength,beauty and temporary nature. It also encourages us tocontemplate nature and let its magic spell work on usas we realize that we are part of it.

-Alain Rebeyrol, architect andJather oj two boys.


-Nicole Degli Esposti, assistant editor.

Teaching Resources:

Nurturing the Peacemakersin Our Students: A GlIide toWriting & Speaking Gilt abollt Isslles of War & of Peace by ChrisWeber (Heinemann). 210 p. ISBN:978-0-325-00749-6.

Nurturing the Peacemakersprovides ways for students tocultivate their language skillsthrough units focused on peacemaking. If students are heartbrokenor outraged at something they learn about throughreading, how can they act to prevent similar tragicoccurrences? If an injustic in the real world outragesor disheartens students, how can they use language todefend human rights? Nurturing the Peacemakers suggests using non-fiction literature--first hand accounts,news media, and photographs-to encourage varioustypes of writing and critical thinking. Weber also suggests creating experiential simulations to foster empathy, such as placing "landmines" to be avoided arounda classroom. Many suggested teaching units culminatein taking action to change what students have cometo feel is wrong as a result of their study.

This book is for visionary teachers who feelcompelled to integrate consideration of war andother types of conflict resolution into their curriculum, encouraging respect for humanity and nonviolent forms of conflict resolution. The suggestions helpan educator carefully manage discussion of the potentially divisive issue of war with the sensitivity neededto make all students feel their views are respected andheard fairly.

The ability to empathize and listen to otherviewpoints is a trait that will serve the world well asthe students use their language skills to affect positive change for humanity. Social studies, geography,language arts teachers can readily use these activities,modified to fit the goals of their existing curriculum.

-Nina Forsberg, assistant editor.

Acknowledgements:VT1e would like to thank all the readers and reviewers

parents, teachers, librarians, students and interns-for theircontributions. With your diverse perspectives, the awardsbecome truly multicultural. We will be reviewing manynoteworthy books and resources not selected for the awardsin our upcoming issue. -Editors.

Black Ants and Buddhists:Thinking Critically and Teaching

Differently in the Primary Grades by

Mary Cowhey (Stenhouse). 244 p.ISBN: 1-57110-418-6.

Black Ants and Buddhists willrejuvenate the imaginations ofprimary grade educators passionate about empowering theirstudents to "think globally and

act locally." Largely in narrative form,Cowhey, a former community organizer and currentelementary school teacher, describes the diversity andsocial justice issues which arise in her classroom, as wellas how she engages her class in discussion and evenaction beyond the classroom. Her students write letters tocommunity leaders, collect funds for charity and engagein the sort of dialogue one might expect from studentsmuch older. These first- and second-graders even start avoter registration drive! Cowhey's book reveals an inquiry-based classroom at its finest-reflective, sensitive andengaged by the world around it! She also shares studentwork, sample classroom schedules and lesson plans.

-Nicole Degli Esposti.

People and Wildlife: COIif/ict or Coexistence? Edited byRosie Woodroffe, Simon Thirgood &

Alan Rabinowitz (Cambridge). 497 p.ISBN: 0-521-5303-5.

This international collectionof essays on the conflicts betweenhumans and wildlife covers the gamutfrom preventing animal attacks onhumans to the wolf-human conflict.In its essence, this book examines theways in which humans and animals

live in conflict and cooperation. People and Wildlifedoes not tie up all the loose ends of the conflicts betweenus and wildlife, but rather, reveals the complexity andambiguity of a world which people and animals muddlethrough, with separate needs and goals.

The writing is quite academic, but the subject is sureto captivate students and educators alike, making Peopleand Wildlife is an excellent resource for teachers coveringenvironmental issues or global studies at the middle orhigh-school level.


No School for a Year!Two brothers} Peter Picado-Curtis} 13} and Paul Picado-Curtis} 11} share what it was

like to travel around the worldJar a year with theirJamily instead ofattending regular school.

Peter: Skipping a year ofschool was no problem for mybrother Paul and me. Duringour adventure around the world,tackling four continents and27 countries all in one year,we acquired a great wealth ofknowledge that we could nothave possibly gained if we hadattended our regular school forour eighth and sixth grade years.

Paul: We started in CentralAmerica and spent about twomonths traveling there. Then wemoved to Asia for four months.Our next stop was East Africafor two months. For the last partof our trip, we traveled throughMediterranean Europe, wherewe spent five months.

During the trip, we alsoworked on three volunteer projects-one in Thailandand two in Africa. In Khao Lak, Thailand, the community hardest hit in the tsunami, we made boats forfishermen who had lost theirs.

On the trip, we were home-schooled, but it wasdifferent than regular home-school. We had a mathworkbook, read some other books, and learned aboutthe cultures of the countries we visited by readingCultureGrams.com about each of the countries, but

most of our learning came fromthe trip itself. As we visited thesights, we learned about thenatural, historical and culturalaspects of each country.

Throughout the trip, wekept a travelogue of what wedid and learned, and at the endof our visit in each country, wewrote a "cultural reflection"about one of the highlights ofthe country. For example, aftervolunteering in Thailand, as partof a cultural reflection, I wrote:"After this week I've learned a lot.I learned how to use power tools,carve, build boats, the steps in sanding wood, and learned more aboutthe tsunami. I also learned that Ireally like to volunteer and I wantto do more volunteering. JJ

Peter: This independence in our educationallowed us more freedom in our learning than a prescribed curriculum does. We sharpened our writingskills by writing essays on the books that the schoolgave us before we left and through our daily travelogues. In Uganda, I was inspired to start writing a book,and I'm looking to complete it in the upcoming year.

A down-to-earth understanding of science came aswe studied and documented species of mammals andbirds in their natural habitats. My brother Paul becamethe trip guide as he usually spotted more animals thanthe professional guides!

Paul: I got really into seeing all the animals acrossthe world and began recording every animal we saw. Ieventually created an Excel spreadsheet that documented common and scientific names, how many of eachspecies we saw, in which park the animal was sighted,and notes about the animal's behavior, appearance orother interesting observations. Overall, we saw 23 primates, 195 birds, and 60 mammals-over 278 animals.One of my favorite sightings was two tiger cubs and


their mother in Kanha National Park in central India.We didn't get to stay long with the tigers but it was stillin the top five most amazing experiences of my life.

Peter: Of course, geography was a given as welearned all the main cities and some small towns, rivers,mountains and other major geographical landmarks ineach country that we visited.

Paul: In India, we saw the first, third, fourth,and fifth highest mountains in the world: Everest,Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu. As the sun cameover the clouds, it illuminated half ofMt. Kanchenjunga,the third highest. Everyone was running to get thebest view. I spilled half my hot tea because one guyscreamed at the top of his lungs that the sun was risingas I was walking by him! When the sunrise was done,everyone started to leave but there were still some greatviews. We got to see Mt. Everest, just the top of it, butwe saw it and Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Makalu!

Peter: Languages also come much easier if you areactually in the country having to speak another lan-

guage. Though we never had to rely fully on anotherlanguage to get by, we did acquire a basic understanding of all languages of the countries we visited(except Hindi which was very difficult). I was able todevelop minimal proficiency in Spanish, Malay/BahasaIndonesian, Kiswahili, Italian and Portuguese. I understand basics of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese which Istill use and study today.

History was abundant in all the places we visited,though we were aided by a helpful resource in theCultureGrams. Lonely Planet also provides considerableinformation about each country in the front of their

Sketching at the 'Temple of Bayon,Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

books. Our view of the world is much different nowthat we have visited all these places.

Paul: It didn't feel like we were learning, but wewere. It's different from school where you're sitting in aclassroom; on the trip, we were learning while we wereseeing things-and seeing really cool things!

Peter: Music, of course, is heard the world over,though we did not get to participate in making it asmuch as we do at home. However, I did start to learnthe basics of playing the guitar in Kenya when we wentto the house of our good friend Sampuli, who was ourMaasai safari guide and a very talented musician. Hetaught me a song on the guitar.

Paul: For me, one of the highlights of the trip wascelebrating my 12th birthday in the Maasai village ofEnoosaen. After my birthday, one of my Maasai friends,Elijah, took Peter and me herding with him for a couple of days. We learned his routine of taking the cowsdown to the river to drink water and then sitting withthem as they eat grass. We left the cows grazing andthen went and got the goats to drink at the river andgraze. In the afternoon, we gathered them all togetherand herded them back to the stalls where they wouldbe safe for the night.


Uganda: Peter helps Lydia work theland at Kabale Community Garden.

Kenya: Chatting with neufoundfriends in Enoosaen village.

Photos by Peter and Paul's father, Steve Curtis, Oregon.

Peter adds: "if you would like to read more about our trip,

visit our website, www.picadocurtis.net. My travelogues are

at: www.picadocurtis.netlpg64.ifm. JJ

contrary. In Laos, a country where Americans droppedover two million tons of bombs in an effort to squashthe Pathet Lao and destroy the North Vietnamese supply lines during the Vietnam War, we encounteredextremely warm-hearted people. Our two Laos guides(To and Ta), on our three-day trek into a natural area innorthern Laos, invited us over to their homes, and westill keep in contact with them. We encountered thiskindness all over the world and in every country.

Also, some people will say that in larger CItIes,like the capitals of many countries, there is lots ofunchecked violence. Yes, I agree that usually you willfind more crime in the big cities; we were robbed inNairobi. However, just because there is crime in thebig cities does not make the entire country undesirable

or unstable. If this criterionwere applied to the USA, theStates would be consideredhighly dangerous.

Paul: Now that we'reback in regular school, Peterand I are doing fine academically. It seems that we learnedjust as much on the trip aswe would have in school, buthad a lot more fun becausewe got to see so many sights.

Peter: One of the mainquestions when we arrivedback was about our schooling. No, we did not have tore-do a year; I'm currently afreshman in high school. Ourteachers were extremely sup

portive of our endeavor. Our learning came more naturally, and I think that some of these subjects were muchbetter taught out traveling than in a classroom.

The trip was an unforgettable experience that Iam truly fortunate to have been a part of. It taught meabout other cultures and civilizations that I had no clueexisted. I was given a different perspective of the worldthat has changed how I look at everything now.

Kenya: Paul volunteers in the Enoosaen village water project.

Peter: I discovered, first-hand, thatthe media plays a significant role inshaping public opinion, for better orfor worse, usually the latter.

Before leaving on this trip, I was atwelve-year-old 7th grader. Back then,the world appeared daunting. Initially,I was unsure of the challenges or setbacks we would face. The media wassuccessful in sparking a fear in me.Although common sense would usually kick in, there was always a nagging thought that terrorists and bombswould be waiting for us at every turn.

We only felt unsafe once, inUganda while the country was tryingto overthrow its leader who had beenin command for twenty-five years.

N ever did we feel threatenedbecause we were American; actually it was much to the


modern clothes. The Maasai areeasily recognized by the red-checkered blankets that they wear.

For those who choose to remainin the Masai Mara Park, life isn'teasy. The Maasai are nomads whotravel, bringing their cattle. Theylive in compounds with huts madeusing cattle dung. At night, the cattle are brought into the protectivecompound and the calves are evenbrought into the huts to live among the people.

There are schools for the children throughoutthe Park so a child's education can continue even asthe family moves from place to place. All childrenget a basic education. But girls are not encouragedto continue past a certain age. The tribes still practice circumcision on both boys and girls.

The Maasai cannot grow their own vegetables because the gardens attract elephants that willdestroy everything in the compound. Their basicdiet consists of meat, milk and blood from theircattle. To get fruit and vegetables, Maasai men travelby bus to the local market and trade for food.Women make colorful beaded jewelry which canalso be traded or sold.

While I photographed a variety of wildlife, Ifound the trip was also very educational, excitingand encouraging. The Kenyans are actually preserving the last rainforests in the nation instead of harvesting the timber.

To protect wildlife, park rangers canlegally shoot at poachers, caught

in the illegal act. Land management and coopera

tion with Tanzaniakeep annual migration routes open forthe animals, securingand ensuring a healthy

population for all toenjoy and appreciate. (See

back cover for photos.) >-:~

-RoiJ. Iamkin, Georgia.

Last year, I took a trip across Kenya visitingmany national parks with diverse ecosystems. Wetraveled from Mt. Kenya's lush tropical rainforeststo Lake Nakuru's alkaline waters, and from MasaiMara's grasslands to a working coffee plantationoutside of Nairobi, the capital city.

At Thomson's Falls, near the equator, we visiteda Kikuyu tribal women's collective. Adjacent to thelookout across from the waterfalls, Kikuyu womenhave established a series of shops to sell jewelry,clothing, hand-carved animals and food. All moniesearned go back into the village and are distributedequally. The children roam and play freely, alwaysunder someone's watchful eye.

There are only a few tribes who remain trueto their native customs. Kenya's population is madeup of many tribes; most have modernized and globalized. Two tribes, the Maasai and the Samburu,are allowed to remain on their native lands andto manage the national parks theylive in, albeit with some severelimitations. For instance, theMaasai are not allowed tokill lions in the Park.

Many young Maasaiare moving away fromtheir traditions. In thetown of Narok, I sawmany Maasai commutingto work adorned in their traditional red blankets over their


Jarnbo, Watato! A Visit from the MaasaiBecause of my mother's work as an international

educator in Kenya, I used to spend a lot of time withthe Maasai, who tend to live in the wilderness, far fromany towns. When two of our friendsfrom Kenya were touring the USA,they passed through our town. Mymother arranged a presentation formy second-grade class at my school,so other children could learn aboutthe Maasai culture.

Reut Leuka, who also goes byChris, wore the traditional redcheckered blanket, tied with a colorful, beaded belt around his waist.When he shook hands with someone, his beaded bracelets rattled.Tito, his wife, was also wearingnumerous bracelets and anklets. Shewas like a walking music machine.

Chris and Tito greeted the children in Kiswahiliwith "Jambo, Watato." Everybody repeated "Jambo." Itmeans "Hello."

Tito spoke in a soft voice. "This is my first journey to America. We are visiting schools, sharing storiesabout our country, Kenya, and our Maasai culture. Ididn't go to school until I was a lot older than you,"Tito explained.

"As a young Maasai girl I had to help my motherand aunties with all the duties women are responsiblefor: sweeping, doing laundry, fetching water and firewood, milking the goats, looking after the youngerchildren, pounding the maize into flour for our dinner.Learning to bead is an important skill for a Maasai girl,so my mother taught me how to combine the differentcolored beads and make bracelets and necklaces."

Tito shook one of her colorful necklaces. "I was 12years old when I made this one," she said, smiling.

"A Maasai woman also builds the family's huts,"Tito explained. "My mother taught me how to buildthe round hut, starting with how to mix soil, manureand water. Then I plastered the wooden construction,and after some days when the walls were dry, I putdried grass on as roofing. We sleep on animal hides. Ifthere are newborn animals in the compound, they sleepwith us inside the huts, until they are strong enough totake care of themselves. Since we live with our parents,

uncles and maybe even grandparents, a manyatta (allthe huts for one family), might count as many as 50people."

I remembered thelast time I was inside aMaasai hut. My eyesstung so badly becauseof the smoke from thelittle fire in the middleof the hut. There wereno windows, only a fewtiny ventilation holes.And there were so manyflies, too. My father hadto bend his head to enterbecause the narrow door

opening was so low.

"If the girls do allthat work, what do the

men and boys do?" a student asked.

Chris laughed. He ran a hand across his nakedscalp, the traditional hairstyle for a Maasai. "The Maasaipeople are pastoralists," he said. "They own and rely onlivestock, such as goats, donkeys and cows, for their survival. My father is a wealthy man with more than 210cattle. When I was five, I helped my older brother herdthe animals. We had to stay with them all day, watchingout for hungry lions and hyenas."

Then Chris told about the time his brother had tohide out in a tree. "My father allowed only his oldestson to attend school. My brother walked about 6 milesto get to school. He crossed rivers and paths sharedwith elephants, lions, and buffaloes. Once my brotherran into a pride of lions. Not knowing whether thepride had just lunched on a kill or was looking forone, my brother's heart was in his throat. He climbedan acacia tree, hoping the lions would soon move on.Except they didn't. My brother reached home fourhours later than he was supposed to."

My second-grade class had already heard manystories about the time I lived in Kenya. But, I don'tthink anybody was prepared for the spectacular sightand stories that greeted them in the school auditoriumon the day of the Maasai visit. f.*-

-Charlotte Blessing, New York, has deep connections withthe Maasai culture. fllustration by Mariel Degli-Esposti.


Noteworthy North.East.West.South.• Climate Change: Local and Global Actions

The University of Oregon's Climate LeadershipInitiative will soon begin teaching participants aboutmaking changes to reduce their contributions to climate change. The free "Climate Master" workshopprepares participants to pass on their newfound insightsto others through presentations and free home energyaudits. If the results show that people are making andretaining changes, more workshops will be offered.

Similar concern over climate change was shownon a much larger scale, when European Unionnations recently met in Brussels, Belgium to developa multinational pledge to reduce their contributionsto climate change. The plan calls for renewable energyresources to meet 20% of the total energy use inorder to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EUnations envision using more solar and wind energyand biofuels made from plants. Making these changeswill involve lifestyle, business, and economic adjustments. However, controversies remain over proposalsto impose speed limits on the autobahn to save gasolineand also on nuclear energy usage.

• Celebrating Justice, Perseverance & Honor!In Eugene, Oregon, a new outdoor memorial was

inaugurated on Feb. 19,2007 to recognize the JapaneseAmericans who were interned duringWWII.The US.had unlawfully interned over 100,000 Japanese Ameri

cans living on the West Coast, under an executive order signed byPro Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942.The memorial depicting a youngJapanese girl celebrates the perseverance that eventually led to justice, honoring Japanese Americansas well as the government for acknowledging wrongdoing.

• Recycling Plastic, Aluminum and GlassOregon is considering expanding the state's 30

year-old bottle recycling bill. It may require a 10-centdeposit on all beverage containers sold in the state ofOregon that hold more than 7 ounces and less than agallon. Currently 83% ofbeer and soft drink containerswith deposit are recycled, while only 36% of bottles orcans without deposit are recycled. Raising the deposit to 25 cents would encourage even more recycling.Most cities in Oregon also provide curbside recycling.

• The International Polar Years have Begun!For the next two years, the animals of both the

North and South Pole regions will be sharing Arcticice space with scientists from all over the world.Concerned by increasing summertime ice melts, thescientists will work on 120 different projects related toclimate, ocean chemistry, and biology, among others, soas to better understand the effect of greenhouse gasesand global warming on the poles. More questions thananswers are expected from this enormous venture.

• Wanted: More Women in TechnologyDespite efforts to increase the number of female

students in engineering programs, female enrollmenthas not changed much in the last decade. Currently,women make up less than 20% of US. engineeringgraduates in any given year. China and India graduatemany plore female scientists and engineers each year.While enrollment has increased in biomedical andindustrial engineering, the overall ratio is still low.

"One of the reasons [for this] has to do with thenegative stereotype in engineering," William Wulf,president of the National Academy of Engineering,said. "The really important attribute of an engineer iscreativity. Somehow that's not what high school girlsare hearing about."

• Students Help End Darfur GenocideOver 6,000 students in 1,400 US. high schools

have entered Dollars for Darfur, a national challengeto raise funds and awareness around the crisis in Darfur.They are using social networking sites to harness thepower of young people to help curb the Darfur genocide. Since November, the youth have raised over$100,000. Each school determines independently howto fundraise and increase awareness of the genocidein Darfur. For example, in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, asophomore class studied the genocide in Darfur andcreated, Pennies for Peace, with a goal of2 million pennies ($20,000) to represent the number of Darfurianswho have been displaced from their homes.

Since 2003, the genocide has claimed over 400,000lives, displaced some 2.5 million and left more than 3.5million struggling to survive amid violence and starvation. According to a recent poll, 57% ofAmericans saythat Darfur should be a priority in US. foreign policy.

For more details, visit www.SaveDaifur.org.(Compiled from various news sources)


Being Biracial

was fine and dandy at home and IFAfunctions, but greater society did notalways welcome my "biracial-halfblack, half-white, thank-you-verymuch" attitude.

When I was about nine, I remember the president of IFA telling mymom that he recommended my family for an appearance on the GeraldoRivera show. Never shy, I was excitedabout appearing on a nationally-televised program. Next to my mom dur-

Ashley, the School Girl ing that all-important phone call from

the producer, I stood on my tip-toes and attempted tostretch my nine-year-old self to adult height, eyes wideopen, head tilted toward the receiver. I recall my momsaying, "She's biracial. Black and white."

Soon after my mom hung up, I learned that ourfamily would not be featured on the show. The producer had attempted to push my mom to corner me intoan easily defined box. "Which race does she prefer?Which race is she more comfortable with?"

Tan, lAm

About six-months later, my intuition seemed toevolve into insight beyond my years. I raised the samequestion to my parents regarding the awkward staresfrom strangers. My mother again noted, "We're justsuch a handsome family."

This time, I replied, "No, Mom, it's because you'reblack, Dad is white, and I'm tan."

~

"It's just because we're such ahandsome family."

As I glanced upwards, eyebrowsfurrowed, lips pursed, I sensed therewas more to the situation. My intuition led me to ask the question, yetmy mother's answer seemed insufficient. At four-years-old, I couldn'tquite wrap my mind around the ideaof accounting for the uneasiness ofothers around us due to an interracialfamily strolling through the mall hand-in-hand.

"Mom, why is everyonestaring at us?"

Ashley with her husband, Neal Harris

Surprised by my awareness, my parents chuckled."You know what? I think you're right," Mom replied.

Situations such as these helped me understand andembrace my biracial heritage. Racial identity commentsand questions were addressed rather than ignored in mychildhood, and my parentstook great care in fosteringthe multiracial identity oftheir "tan" daughter.

When I was in kindergarten, my parents joinedthe Interracial FamilyAlliance of Houston (IFA).I still remember walking in,freezing in mid-step, andtossing my arms out to mysides. "Look at all these tankids!" I exclaimed. My parents were delighted to seethe sheer joy on my caramel-colored face.

Time and time again my parents noted my selfawareness and my unashamed inquisitiveness regardinghow my family was perceived by others. Everything

Questions such as these were met with affirmations of my biracial identity. I carried this "proud to bebiracial" identity into my college years, though othersdid not always understand it. I specifically recall a blackacquaintance telling a friend that I "acted white." I

immediately affirmed that Iwas half-white, which gaveme the biological right toact white. I then questionedwhat "acting white" reallymeant in the first place. Whywas this acquaintance soconcerned about my image?

N ow I wonder whyI was so concerned aboutwho she perceived me to be.Was I subconsciously longing to fit into a more precise

racial category? How couldmy well-adjusted self not have a handle on the situationwith cool confidence? Sure, college is a place wherepeople can find themselves and become comfortable intheir own skin, but that didn't apply to me, or did it?


WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Comoco? Kokomo? Mumiko? Kumoko? No, Kumiko!Rarely can anyone say it right.I can though: it's my name. Itis pronounced koo-me-koe!I don't know why my parents

ever thought of giving me such aridiculous name. It's one of those

she'll-hate-me-now-but-will-like-itwhen-she's-older type of names. I don't think my parents ever looked ahead in time and saw people totallymispronouncing it and making fun of me for havingsuch a unique name.

However, in Japan, everybody can pronounce itright, and they don't make fun of it because it's a common name. It's not hard to pronounce if you look carefully at how it's spelled.

My name means "Nine fruits of the Spirit," inJapanese. Ku means nine, Mi is fruits and Ko meansspirit. Put them together, and voili-Kumiko is born!Being a Christian family, it felt right for my parentsto choose that name. They hoped I would live out allthe "fruits" of the Spirit. With my luck, I've probablyaccomplished only a few.

Another reason why it was chosen especially forme was because of the first letter. My siblings and I, inorder, are Keiko, Kenta, and Kumiko. The Three K's. Ialways thought that if I become famous, maybe everybody will be able to say my name for once. Mter all,they did learn how to say Arnold Schwarzenegger. >"*-

-Kumiko Matter, 16, Washington. Kumiko adds: "Icome from a multicultural family: my mother is Japanese, andmy father is Dutch. I like to call myself 'Dutchanese.' Musichas always been a part of my life; everybody in my family canplay an instrument. I play the guitar, piano, and trumpet, andI sing. One if my goals is to become a professional musician. "

In English, my namedoesn't mean anything, becausemy name comes from Sanskrit,an ancient Indian language. Inthis ancient language, it meanslotus flower, which symbolizestranscendence and love. The lotusflower is born out of the mud andblooms above water, indicating a person who can riseabove and be unaffected by the dualities of the world.

My name is a soft color. Light pink or the purestof whites. My mother was convinced I was going to bea boy, so she didn't even have a girl's name picked outfor me. She already had two boys, and was told by twodoctors (one of whom had been wrong only 4 timesout of 1,000), that I was to be a boy. My mother criedwhen she heard that news. I was supposed to be a Dave.So you can imagine how ecstatic my mother was whenI was born a girl. It took my parents ten days after I wasborn to pick the name they felt belonged to me.

My name might have been Shakuntala or Anasuya,two famous heroines of Indian literature. But, mymother felt that I embodied the feeling that the nameKamala gave her. She always tells me that all mothers have lotus eyes, eyes tinged with love, when theybehold their children. And she certainly was in lovewith her first daughter.

I believe a name is not just given to you by chance,that somehow it is fitted to you, an inspiration hintinga direction to strive towards. A name is like a crown, itis given to you; you don't choose it. It brings with it anexpectation, something to live up to. At times I wonderwhat it would feel like to be called Heidi, or how Iwould have written this if my name were Kendra. ButI've never really wanted anything different. I think myname is just fine. >"*-

-Kamala Baudichon, 16, French-American, Oregon.

-Ashley Harris, educator, 'Texas.

* * * * * * * TAN, I AM Continued * * * * * * *In my last year at the University ofTexas, I co-founded Neapolitan: Issues Affecting Multi-Ethnic Students. Finally,

the "multi's" had a voice! While we were a small organization, we were able to fellowship and discuss issues wefaced on campus and in greater society. Our events were well-attended, but almost always the attendees sharedsimilar views. We found it difficult to reach out to people who were unaware or uninterested in interracial issues.

Throughout my adult life, my African-American husband and close friends have helped me nurture myAfrican-American heritage, not just my biracial heritage. Thus I feel more complete as biracial, white, and black.I believe these are three separate entities and should be treated as such. Biracial children should have experienceswith all three groups, whatever their racial duality may be. >"*-


Point-Five Asian: Portraits of Half-Asians

Being half-Chinese and half-Caucasian has made me aware of other people whoare biracial, particularly half-AsiansV\for my senior project, I have taken twenty-oneportraits of high school and college students in the Seattle-area, who are half-Asianw

I asked each person to tell me how they felt about being biracialwhey brought upthe following themes, all of which I have also feltw

• Racial Ambiguity: Blending in with multiple groups of people or being

seen as someone from another racial groupw

• Racial Consciousness: Being aware of race and culture and the differences

between themw

• Two races, two cultures: Experiencing two different cultures and feeling a

sense of belonging to bothw

• Two races, one culture: Being two races, but identifYing with only onew

National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry's portraits of people from different countries greatly influ-ence me because of their ability to show the vibrancy and uniqueness of each person¥! hope that my portraits cancapture the liveliness and versatility of mixed race people¥! have taken my portraits with a single lens reflex camerausing b & w film and have printed them on fiber paper using traditional dark room techniquesw

Through these portraits and quotes I wish to portray the diversity of people who are mixed, and share somefeelings that they have about their identitiesvAlthough they all share the common experience and identity of beingmixed, they are all very unique¥! hope that you will be able to gain a better understanding of who people arew

-Kaitlin Banfill, high school senior, Washington. Kaitlin adds, "For eight months in 2003 I lived in Shanghai, China,where my mother's family is from. I am interested in the history and culture of different cultural/immigrant groups. I plan to

return to Shanghai to study Chinese after high school. JJ

"Some people may think beingmixed is strange or abnormal, butit isn't to mew Nrmality is relativew

-Darren Palmer, Filipino I

Jamaican-Panamanian

"Being mixed allows me a breadthof perspective that others will neverhave, I am susceptible to much negativity but those experiences let meknow that all I can be is myself, andit's up to me to define what that isw"

-Nathan Fihn, Chineseyawai ianlwatino

Skipping Stones

"I love being mixed andbeing Japanesew"

-3lex Gees man, WapreselGerman

May-August 2007

"Although I am the most Chinese racially, I startedScottish Highland dancing when I was ten and havebeen dancing seriously for the last ten years. It hasproved to be a huge part of my life."

-Becca Aerosmith, Chinese /German-Scottish-Irish-English

-Devon Palmer, Filipino /jamaican-Panamanian

"When wondering aboutmy ethnicity, people ask me,'What are you?' I always feellike replying, 'A human being.'"

-Jong Hee Amaral,japanese/Portuguese, English, French

"[Being mixed]has been a majordefining aspectof my life, sometimes for betterand sometimesfor worse."

-Eric Miller,Korean/German,

English, French,VVelsh, Irish

"I think it isinteresting whenI visit each side ofmy family and seethe different cultural values myrelatives have."

-Zach HingnChinese /EnglishGerman-Scottish

"I tell peoplethat I am Irish,and they don'tbelieve me."

-Anya Ford,Filipina / Irish

''I'm very lucky tobe mixed. Although I amKorean and Caucasian, Idon't look like either race,or necessarily a mixture ofthe two. Living with thisambiguous ethnicity hashelped me appreciate howall the absolutes we learnabout-from race to science to history-are probably more convoluted andmisleading and thereforemore interesting than weperceive them to be."

-Lizzy Baskerville,Korean/English, French

Photos by Kaitlan Banfill, Washington


Skipping StonesP.O. Box 3939Eugene, Oregon 97403

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VisitingKenyaImages of

the Maasaiand Kikuyuway of life byRoiJ Tamkin)Georgia.See pages 29-30.

Point-Five Asian! - Skipping Stones

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