Wednesday, March 14, 2012

America's White Table - Picture Book #14


America’s White Table
Author: Margot Theis Raven
Illustrator: Mike Benny
Publisher: Sleeping Bear press/ China 2005

Genre: Picture Book
Themes: Rites and ceremonies, Veterans, Heroes, Tables, Uncles, Vietnam
Primary Characters: Katie-girl
Secondary Characters: Uncle John, Gretchen, Samantha, Mom
Summary:

          America’s White Tables is a touching story that explains white tables set for veterans.  After being told the story, three girls set a table for their Uncle John who was a prisoner of war.  Then they each wanted to find a way to dedicate the table to him personally.  While Uncle John’s story as a POW was not based solely on one person it was fabricated from the many stories across the branches of the Armed Forces.  It represents the stories that come from every branch.  

I would definitely read this story near Memorial and Veteran’s Day to honor those soldier's.  I would also read it if my class’s social studies talked about the Vietnam War because that is when the table setting originated.  Most schools have a memorial and/or Veteran’s day ceremony and I would have my class set a table and do a rendition of this story.

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