Books and Resources
Restorative Justice Practitioners Sarah F. and Amanda have compiled a list of books that can be used as resources. Short summaries of the books and some of Sarah’s (S) and Amanda’s (A) thoughts are included. Please feel free to utilize them as they apply to you.
Kids Resources:
Gangs/Fighting
(S) Durango Street. Bonham, Frank. New York: Penguin, 1965. A young boy feels that joining a gang is his only way to escape being terrorized in his neighborhood. When a sympathetic social worker enters the neighborhood, all are suspicious, but they decide to accept his overture and try to use their gang for more than fighting.
Atonement/Restorative Justice
(S) Whirligig. Fleischman, Paul. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998. Brent comes to terms with the consequences of his actions on a cross-country trip. After his drunk-driving results in the death of a young woman, Brent is asked by the girl’s mother to travel to the four corners of the U.S. and create whirligigs in her memory. In building the devices, Brent not only learns about himself, but creates objects that bring good to other’s lives.
(A) I loved Whirligig when I read it back in elementary school. In reading it again as adult, I realized new things. Brent's journey to build whirligigs is begun by the mother of the girl he killed in a Restorative Justice-type agreement. The journey helps Brent learn about himself and connect to the girl that he killed in a way that touches him. This is not something that the traditional justice system allows for. In the end, Brent and the reader realize that he is better off for his efforts.
(S) Touching Spirit Bear. Mikaelsen, Ben. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
After a violent attack on a peer, a Restorative Justice conference results in Cole being banished to an isolated Alaskan island to come to terms with himself and his actions. Furious at his punishment, Cole tries to escape and nearly loses his life. Sent home to recuperate, Cole realizes he blew a big chance and asks to go back to the island, where he learns more about himself than he had imagined.
(A)When Cole commits a violent crime against a classmate, Circle Justice decides to send him to a remote Alaskan island as a form of punishment. Cole is supposed to learn about himself by living in isolation with the rough conditions of the island. Instead, his immense anger attracts a Spirit Bear. Through attacking Cole and bringing him to the edge of life, the Spirit Bear teaches Cole more than he ever would have learned with his anger. Cole is permitted to go back to island to finish his sentence once he has healed. The reader can grasp the significance of what he has learned in the end of the story when Cole invites his victim to come stay with him on the island.
(A) Rules. Lord, Cynthia. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Catherine is a twelve-year-old girl who wants nothing more than to be best friends with the new girl who moved in next door. However, Catherine’s younger brother David has autism and requires a lot of looking after. Catherine tries to teach her brother rules so that he won’t embarrass her in front of her new friends. In the end, Catherine realizes that it is her own behavior she should be worried about. In relation to RJ, one of the main themes of the book is the relationship Catherine forms with others in her community. The importance of accountability and apology are demonstrated when she finally “comes clean” and takes responsibility for her actions.
(A) Please Stop Laughing At Me... Blanco, Jodee. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2003. This memoir of the bullying and abuse Jodee encountered during her school years is a shocking and inspiring read. From elementary through graduation, Jodee suffered mental and physical abuse from her peers. Changing schools did not help her; nor did telling her parents, school administrators, teachers, or therapists. Through her pain, she describes understanding that those bullying her thought of themselves as “kids being kids” and she is aware of the social rules that determine their behavior. Community and respect are a central theme of Restorative Justice, and in this book Jodee only experiences them at home. However, in the conclusion, Jodee finally meets with her old tormentors and receives the respect that she deserves and a regenerated community that she couldn’t have dreamed of. Finally she is able to let go and begin to heal. Personally, I couldn’t stop cheering for Jodee’s small victories throughout the book and thinking how much Restorative Justice could have helped her as the victim in the situation.
(A) Ida B. Hannigan, Katherine. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc., 2005.
Ida B. is a free-spirited child being home-schooled by her loving parents. She has a deep appreciation for the earth around her and her life itself. One terrible day, Ida B.’s world gets turned upside down. Her response to events out of her control is to harden her heart and push away from those who love her and try to help her. She transforms into an angry, hurtful person. Before she knows it, the real Ida B. has almost disappeared. Thankfully, Ida B. discovers the power of apology before it’s too late.
Domestic Violence
(S) Breathing Underwater. Flinn, Alex. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.After his former girlfriend takes out a restraining order against him, Nick is forced to attend anger management classes and begins to reflect on what went wrong.
Girl/Self-Confidence
(S) Keeping the Moon. Dessen, Sarah. New York: Viking, 1999. When Colie is sent to spend the summer with eccentric aunt in the country, she makes unexpected friends, and ends up coming to terms with herself.
(S) Girl Culture. Greenfield, Lauren. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. 2002.
Greenfield, a photographer, presents images of girls at play, girls growing up, and girls playing at growing up. Often compelling, the images and captions are sometimes disturbing, featuring little girls pretending to be Britney Spears, teen girls dressing up for a night on the town and more. Not suitable for elementary or early middle school children, but it would make for a great discussion piece in a girls’ group.
(A) Stargirl. Spinelli, Jerry. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2000. A unique home-schooled girl enters Mica High School and turns it on its head. She swiftly changes the school climate with one song on her ukulele. One minute the student body is cheering for her and she is enjoying a relationship with her boyfriend, Leo. The next minute everything that makes her different makes her an object of school-wide shunning and abandonment. Desperately trying to regain any type of social status, Stargirl transforms herself into everything she isn’t. This is a great book about community, nonconformity and what it means to be “normal.”
(A) Love, Stargirl. Spinelli, Jerry. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007. Stargirl is sad and lonely without Leo, so she begins to write him letters. As the days pass, the letters become a diary. Stargirl makes some new and unlikely friends over the course of the story. She has gone back to home-schooling, yet becomes a large part her new community. Stargirl gives support to those who need it, and, when she doesn’t expect it, receives the support she needs as well. She manages to make unlikely connections between many people in her community. One excerpt of this book that I believe is RJ-related and simply wise is a conversation between Stargirl and her five-year-old friend Dootsie:
***
“I hate Alvina.”
I pulled her onto my lap. “No, don’t hate Alvina.”
“I do. I hate your boyfriend too. Because he dumped you.”
I laughed. “Don’t hate him either. You shouldn’t hate anybody.”
“I can’t help it. I have to.”
“No,” I told her, “you don’t have to. If you start by hating one or two people, you won’t be able to stop. Pretty soon you’ll hate a hundred people.”
“A zillion?”
“Even a zillion. A little hatred goes a long, long way. It grows and grows. And it’s hungry.”
“Like Cimmamum?” [Referring to Stargirl’s pet.]
“Even hungrier. You keep feeding it more and more people, and the more it gets, the more it wants. It’s never satisfied. And pretty soon it squeezes all the love out of your heart” –I pointed to her heart; she looked down at her chest – “and all you have left is a hateful heart.”
She gave me a serious look and shook her head. “I’m not gonna get hungry. I’m just gonna hate Alvina.”
So much for my lesson.
“Tell you what,” I said. “Before you start hating Alvina, let’s give her another chance.”
***
The story culminates in a fitting occasion that exemplifies respect and community. I highly suggest you read it to find out the ending.
Rape
(S) Speak. Anderson, Laurie Halse. Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith Pub Inc. 2006 (Second printing). The summer before her freshman year of high school, Melinda is raped at a party and calls the cops. None of her friends know of the incident, and blame her for busting up the party and getting everyone in trouble. Feeling that no one cares about her, Melinda stops speaking and withdraws from her environment. As the book ends, she confronts her attacker and makes steps towards restoring herself.
Self-Mutilation
(S) Cut. McCormick, Patricia. New York, NY: PUSH printing. 2002. Callie, a fifteen year old high school student, begins to cut herself and is sent to an institution to protect herself and receive help. Slowly, she opens up to the other patients and her therapist, and begins the process of recovery.
Eating Disorders
(S) Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self. Gottlieb, Lori. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2000. Gottlieb, now grown, went back to her parents’ house and discovered her adolescent diaries. In them, she describes her battle with anorexia at age twelve.
Adult Resources:
Poverty
(S) A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Payne, Ruby. Highlands, Texas: aha! Process, Inc. 1996.Payne provides an excellent overview of the “hidden rules” of class that affect interactions with others, as well as suggestions for how to bridge the gaps between middle-class adults and children in poverty.
(A) This book is very informative and offers a lot of good information relating to class and social interaction. Some notes I took during reading that I found interesting:
· Poverty is not just a lack of financial resources. It usually includes a lack of many types of resources, including: emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, role models, and knowledge of middle-class hidden rules.
· One example of a hidden rule of the middle class is the knowledge of how to decorate your house for different holidays. This example took me by surprise.
· “In poverty discipline is about penance and forgiveness, not necessarily change.” After forgiveness is granted (usually by mother) behaviors and activities return to the way they were. Structure and choice need to be a larger part of discipline in schools because it is usually not available at home.
· To improve achievement, educators should have students set goals, identify all parts of a task (and check them off as they go), identify all steps that need to be taken to complete a task and the quality of work that needs to be put into each step, and give a time limit to how long students have to complete it.
· RELATIONSHIPS MATTER the most. Everyone deserves respect and to feel like they are in a safe environment.
Inspiration
(S)The Freedom Writers Diary. Gruwell, Erin. New York: Broadway Books. 1999. Erin Gruwell, and enthusiastic young teacher, is assigned one of the most difficult classes at an inner-city school in California, where she asks her students to keep a diary of their lives for her. The book is a collection of her, and her students, writings over the course of several years, documenting the incredible events they caused.
(A) Erin Gruewell is a young, new teacher assigned a class of “hopeless” students at an inner-city school in California. Through her unorthodox methods of teaching, she convinces her students that she cares about their education and is determined that they gain knowledge and enjoy doing it. She has each student keep a journal for all 4 years of high school. The experiences of the class and the individuals are portrayed to the reader through these journal entries. Some record the most magnificent accomplishments of the class while others tell of heartbreaking family situations and gang violence. This book reminds people that there is much more to teenagers beneath what you can see on the surface.
Cliques
(S) Queen Bees and Wannabes. Wiseman, Rosalind. New York: Crown Publishers. 2002. Wiseman provides lots of solid information and advice on how to help teenage girls navigate the difficult issues they face- cliques, boys, parties, bullying- as well as how to respond to situations as a parent or caregiver. Excellent resource!
(A) Queen Bees & Wannabes is a great resource for parents and educators. It lends insight into Girl World with honesty and humor. Issues pertaining to girls are addressed, from the everyday things such as where they sit at lunch, to serious issues such as drugs and rape. Wiseman offers ways to talk and listen to teen girls so that they feel safe sharing information with you, a trusted adult. She also gives great tips about words or phrases to avoid that automatically make girls clam up or make the adult seem out of touch. There is also information about Boy World and its influence on boys, and the influence of boys on girls. I would recommend this book to anyone working or living with teen girls.
Girl Aggression
(S) Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. Simmons, Rachel. New York: Harcourt. 2002.Simmons explores the undercurrents of the girl world that were previously uncharted: Are girls mean to each other? Do they fight? What is girl aggression? Through hundreds of interviews, she uncovers the uncomfortable truths, and offers advice on how to combat girl aggression. Must read for anyone working with girls.
Eating Disorders
(S) The Cult of Thinness. Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy. New York: Oxford University Press. 2007.
The Author discusses the social aspects of American women’s desire to be thin, including what causes our drive and what is behind it.
(S) Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia. Hornbacher, Marya. New York: HarperFlamingo. 1998.
With unflinching honesty, Hornbacher recounts her battles with eating disorders that began when she was nine. This is an extremely difficult book to read, but brings the reader closer to understanding eating disorders than they ever will be without having one themselves.
Other:
(A) Generation Myspace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence. Kelsey, Candice. New York, NY: Marlowe and Company, 2007. A practical look at the world of the internet and the social networking that takes place online. Kelsey helps the reader understand why a teen’s online identity is important to them and why you should know what it is. While going through the process of doing Myspace research and creating your own Myspace profile you become internet-literate. This book is a great tool for parents and teachers who feel foreign in this part of teen culture that is rapidly gaining importance.