I just started reading the wonderful historical fiction novel The Invention of Wings to my 8th grade students.  The story is written by one of my all-time favorite authors, Sue Monk Kidd, who also wrote The Secret Life of Bees.  This story follows the famous abolitionist sisters, Sarah and Angelina Grimke, who rebelled against their societal upbringing at the risk of being exiled from their family, church, and community.  When Sarah tries to return her tenth birthday present, a ten-year-old slave named Hetty, she sets into motion events that cannot be undone. The story is told from the duel perspective of Sarah Grimke and Hetty (aka Handful), and extends over several decades. 

What is so beautiful about this story is that, even though these two women have completely different lives, they are both facing monumental discrimination.  Somehow, they form a bond that transcends their different worlds, but leads to a mutual respect and admiration for one another.  My goal is that the culmination of this novel will coincide with my social studies units on Slavery and the Reform Unit.  I'm excited to develop some meaningful units with both depth and complexity.

As I mentioned, Sue Monk Kidd is one of my favorite authors.  Her novel, The Secret Life of Bees is the culminating novel in my 8th grade classroom, and ties into our social studies exploration of the Civil Rights Era. It is also one of my favorite books and have read it numerous times.  Kidd has an amazing knack with juxtaposition of language, which allows us to examine how one concrete subject can be compared with abstract ideas.  She weaves words together in such a way that the reader must pause and marvel at her mastery of the English language.  Every year that I teach this novel, I discover new sections that reveal themselves in a way that I never thought of before.  The beauty of this is that it is often a student who points something out that I never considered before.  If you haven't read this book yet, do yourself a favor and borrow one of my copies!

Kelly Sporrer - EDRL 524