Woodson, Jacqueline. (2003). Hush. New York: Puffin, 192 pp.

Grade Range: 6-9

Genre: contemporary fiction

Summary and Critique

Life will never be the same for Toswiah Green. After her father witnesses two fellow Anglo policemen shoot an innocent, 15 year old, African American boy, he must decide what is just. Should he testify against his colleagues to provide justice to the murdered boy or keep quiet to uphold the silent policeman's honor to defend each other no matter what? He decides to testify against his fellow colleagues, which forces his family to enter the witness protection program. Toswiah, along with her parents and her older sister must begin a new, completely different life without any connections to their past. Toswiah, now Evie Thomas, leaves behind her best friend, Lulu, her Grandma, and everything else that is a part of her old life. This story describes the family's struggles and triumphs as seen through Evie/Toswiah's eyes.

Written about the present with memories from the past inserted throughout, the young girl's account describes her own identity issues along with her family struggles. It demonstrates courage, bravery and the coming of age for Evie/Toswiah. Young readers struggling with their own crises will be able to relate to this character through this excellent journey of self discovery.

Awards

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2002

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

Challenges and Triumphs

The Individual vs. Society

Author/Illustrator/Editor Information

Jacqueline Woodson has written many books ranging from picture books to young adult titles. She has won numerous awards for her writing including the Coretta Scott King Medal Winner for Miracle's Boys (USA, Penguin Group Inc., 2000. 192pp.) Other popular titles include I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This (USA, Random House Children's Books, 1995. 128 pp.), Locomotion (USA, Penguin Group Inc., 2003. 128 pp.), From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun (USA, Scholastic, Inc. 2003. 160 pp.), and If You Come Softly (USA, Penguin Group Inc., 2000. 192pp.).

For more information about Jacqueline Woodson:

http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/ This Web site provides a biography with photographs, books with annotations including notes from the author, frequently asked questions, and contact information.

Media Connections

Movies/Documentaries

Elf (2004) When a little baby crawls into Santa's bag, he finds himself in the North Pole being raised by elves. When he becomes too big for ‘elf life,'he is sent to New York City to find his biological father. Buddy (played by Will Ferrell) searches to find his place in the world as he teaches people about the importance of Christmas spirit.

The Incredibles (2004) The Incredible family must enter the witness protection program in order to lead a normal, safe life. When the father is offered a chance to return to his old, superhero life he takes it. The family is jeopardized, but they have a chance to save the world.

Little Women (1994) This story details the life and struggles of four sisters. As the girls come of age, they find their self identity and form lasting relationships with each other.

White Fang (1991) A young boy, Jack Conroy, moves to Alaska in search of his father's gold mine. He bravely leaves everything that he knows behind him. Along the way he befriends a wolf named White Fang. Together they go on adventures as they search for the lost treasure. This movie shows the struggles and bravery of a young man.

Sister Act (1992) When Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a vicious murder, she is placed in the witness protection program to keep her safe. Her new life is completely different from her old in that she goes from a lounge singer to a nun. In this hilarious movie, Deloris (played by Whoopi Goldberg) turns the quiet convent choir into a jazzy, hip-hop ensemble.

The Karate Kid (1984) A young boy moves to California from New Jersey. He doesn't fit in and is immediately the victim of the school bullies. Daniel (played by Ralph Macchio) meets an older Japanese man who teaches him the art of karate. Daniel must find his place in the new city without using his karate skills to hurt his enemies. He learns about life, love and friendship.

Television

7^th Heaven—any episode (family relationships and struggles)

The Cosby Show—any episode (family relationships)

Music/Audio Recordings

"It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday." Sung by Boyz 2 Men. Legacy Greatest Hits Collection. Universal, 2001. (A song reminiscing about the memories of the past, realizing it is hard to leave them behind)

Woodson, Jacqueline. Hush. Narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson. USA: Recorded Books, LLC. 3 hrs. 15 mins.

Online Resources

http://www.doj.gov.ph/faqs_witness.html A government site that explains and details the witness protection program. It answers questions such as "What is the program?","Who can be admitted?","How is someone admitted?" and"What are the benefits of the program?"

http://humanityquest.com/topic/art_activities/index.asp?theme1=racism This site provides teacher ideas for discussing racism with students. Most of the ideas suggest multimedia, artistic activities that allow students to explore racism.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson294.shtml Teach students about tolerance using the lesson ideas from this site.

http://teen.lifetips.com/ Here you will find teen tips to help deal with family, friends, personal growth, and spirituality. Teenagers can also get advice and support for their teen issues.

http://www.lucie.com/default.asp Dear Lucie provides advice, support, and tips to Teens and adolescents. This syndicated teen advice columnist guides young people through depression, friends, health, love, and much more.

http://www.relocatecanada.com/kidsmoving.html This article offers tips and advice on how to making moving easier for kids, Teens and parents.

Related Texts

Alvarez, Julia. (1991). How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 290pp. Four young Latina sisters search for their identities in a new world. From Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic to the Bronx in New York, these girls must endure a life completely opposite from the pampered one to which they were accustomed. Their coming-of-age story is told in fifteen connected tales.

Hiaasen, Carl. (2002). Hoot. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 292pp. Roy has just moved from beautiful, wonderful Montana to boring Florida and is already assaulted by a bully. However, this one encounter leads to a series of encounters that take Roy on a roller coaster of a ride. He meets Mullet Fingers, Beatrice, and the owls that help make a new kid feel like he belongs.

Howe, James, ed. (2003). Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen. New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 278pp. Editor James Howe, along with several admired young adult authors, has created this short story anthology. It is filled with stories to which any thirteen year old can relate. Issues such as friendship, self-esteem, family, and life changes are addressed.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. (1999). What Have You Lost? New York: Greenwillow Books, 205. This moving poetry collection contains over 100 poems about different types of loss. Classic black and white photographs compliment the touching, thought-provoking text.

Park, Linda Sue. (2002). When My Name Was Keoko. New York: Clarion Books, 199pp. This tale depicts the harsh lives of two young Korean adolescents as they live in a Japanese dominated town. They must keep their true identity a secret, even denying their Korean names, in order to save their lives.

Steinbeck, John. (1939). The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, 619 pp. Many families are forced to leave their land and go west to California. This book shows the harsh realities of the world as you see a family struggle to survive this emotional and physical journey.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. (1999). Like Sisters on the Homefront. New York: Lodestar, 165pp. Gayle becomes pregnant at age 14 for the second time. After the forced abortion, her mother forces her to move down South to live with her religious relatives. Through the new relationship with her great grandmother, Gayle learns about her family history and begins to love and respect herself.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Teaching About Tolerance Through Music" Hand out lyrics of songs that depict prejudices or racism like Peter, Paul and Mary's"Right Field" or "Don't Laugh at Me." After students have had a chance to read the lyrics, engage them in a discussion of the song's message. Following a discussion have students do one of the following: paint or draw a picture showing the song's emotions, write a poem about their personal feelings dealing with prejudices against them, or join other students to perform the song discussed.

[Summarized from Education World, a lesson plan by Gary Hopkins at http://www.educationworld.com/alesson/03/lp294-04.shtml ]

(2) "Dealing with Pressures" Have students watch Dealing with Pressures, a video from the ‘Big Changes, Big Choices'Series. Use questions from the Web site to guide the class in a discussion. Have students make and write their first entry into their"Pressure Journal." Assign students to write in journal daily for one week. Have them reflect on pressures from the day, what caused them, how it made the student feel, and how he/she handled the situation.

[Summarized from http://www.goodcharacter.com/BCBC/Pressures.html. Copyright Elkind+Sweet Communications / Live Wire Media. Reprinted by permission. Copied from www.goodcharacter.com ]

(3) "More Than Words" Hold a class discussion on the different definitions of "identity." Make a list of different identities and then go back and brainstorm negative names associated with the identities. Discuss the negative slurs including any personal experiences students have had. Read"But Names Will Never Hurt Me: When Other Kids Insulted and Taunted Me Because I'm Asian, I Looked Inward for the Answers" by Warittha Srichankrad, 1999. Then discuss the article using the questions from the Web site as a guide. Lead students to think of ways to stop prejudices and racism. Have students write an essay describing a personal situation when they experienced some type of discrimination, a time when they inflicted racism or prejudice thoughts on others, and changes they can make in their own lives to fight racism or prejudice actions. [Summarized from LA Youth Lesson Plans at http://www.layouth.com/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=53]

(Review written by Sonya Butler and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)