When the Ground is Hard, Clap When you Land and Fighting Words

Lisa

I really loved all three books, and intend to have a copy of all of them in my library. All of these books made me laugh and cry, and invited me into strong girls lives very unlike my own. It was an eye opener to read about the caste system in Swaziland boarding schools and the second families that many white men have. These books all have the underlying theme of power, and who has it, and what individuals do when they are being oppressed: submit to the power or fight back. As we are acknowledging systemic racism, oppression and segregation in the western world, these are all timely books that have strong female characters that will change the status quo.

I loved the dual narrative in Clap When you Land, and the unexpected twists and turns as again we read about men with multiple wives and children.  I have empathy for the people who don’t want to leave their homes, but economic opportunities force them to leave the people and places they lovel.  The author did an incredible job of describing the lives of the two girls, and the struggles both faced in different parts of the world woven into an historic tragedy.  I could empathize with both girls, and the strength of the girls prevailed.  

Fighting words is still my favourite book.  The content is tough, but told with compassion and humor, and endearing characters.  We have to make space for tough books to tackle with important stories to be told.  

Brianne

This is a really tough round. All three books are deserving and offer timely narratives of strong, vulnerable female characters that readers can empathize with with ease. If I’m voting for my students, I think Fighting Words takes this round as it is the most accessible story of the three. I think Clap When You Land and When The Ground is Hard both offer twists and turns and excitement, yet the vocabulary in both might prove challenging for many readers. 

Karlee

I haven't finished “Clap when You land” yet although I am enjoying how real it is. It is so honest and true to what grief can look like for some. I think it is a real eye opener for how some families have to live and how dependent they are on one family member. 

I am enjoying some of the nuanced things in the actual text (i.e. spacing,  breaks in stanzas) that make me read it a little differently and more conscientiously. 

I love that all three books have strong and authentic female characters.  I love the depth of the characters in each book. I feel torn between When the Ground is Hard and Fighting Words but I still think about Fighting Words all the time. So my vote goes to Fighting Words. 

As Brianne said, I think the other 2 are fabulous books with great lessons but perhaps at a higher level or for stronger readers.

So 3 votes from Ellerslie for Fighting Words

1 vote for The Ground is Hard

Finals!!!!

 

My Final Thoughts.

Clap When You Land- I enjoyed the dual narrative of this story and was invested in the sister’s journeys of grief and of discovering each other. However, I felt that the story was resolved abruptly and somewhat unrealistically and it didn’t stick with me like the other two options. 

Fighting Words - I enjoyed this book far more than I was expecting to. Once I started reading, I needed to know more about Della and Suki’s story and could not put the book down. I appreciated how the author dealt with the heavy subject matter of trauma and abuse respectfully. As I read I could feel the heaviness of the events without anything becoming too graphic. 

When the Ground is Hard - I loved this book. I appreciated how the story dealt with class structure and racism in a thoughtful and meaningful way. I loved how Adele grew throughout the story through her relationship with Lottie. It was so satisfying to watch these two girls become friends and see how Adele learns to be more understanding of the people around her as a result. When the Ground is Hard is a powerful book and even though I read this book back in January, I still have an emotional response when I think about it. 

When the Ground is Hard wins it for me. 

Emily O from Sweet Grass

This Has Never Happened Before!

 I have no idea what will ultimately win this year's Mighty Smackdown but I can tell you it will be a victory for women.  One of the big complaints in Smackdown is that you are often required to compare two books or three that seem to have no connection to each other and somehow, then, come up with criteria to justify your choice.  Not this year. For the first time in Smackdown history you have a three way competition with books who all carry strong stories to readers about abuse and finding a way to grow into power when circumstances have told you that your are not entitled to it.  So now decisions will have to be made on delivery or audience or your own comfort level with the way we handle books about abuse.

I have voted but can say without hesitation that all three of these books have space on my shelf. 

I do not want to be accused of swaying votes so will not share my choice but I do want to encourage people to vote and to blog. 

Readers are the ultimate winners and these books are exactly what I think of when research shows us that reading builds empathy.

Pay Attention - Dia and Arlene Agree!

 Team ABM struggled...not to read two amazing books but to find the time and energy to talk through our choices. With this kind of lethargy you wouldn't expect an earth shattering result yet here we are.  

All of our communication this round came through email and a google doc.  Those participating unanimously selected New Kid to move on.  This is not to say we didn't enjoy Clap When You Land. Novel in verse and diverse stories always have a welcome home in our classroom libraries and hearts. However New Kid, the Newbery Award Winner, Sarah reminds us brings a graphic novel and racism into a book that is easy to pick up. It's easy to teach all the visual outcomes in our curriculum and necessary as we want to put books that touch our hearts and heads to the forefront. Lisa said she loved the way it encourages readers not to label and stereotype. Angie loved the relationship between Jordan and his grampa and how the sketchbook visually shared Jordan's inner thoughts. Andrea discussed how the book looks at the desire to fit in and the toll of inequity. It highlights the importance of asking real questions about what is going on in the life of kids and it shows kids how change can be not perfect but good over time. Ben wasn't really thrilled with either selection but he hadn't voted for Clap in the last round and he is a loyalist in his book fighting.

I wrestled back and forth but thought what does it matter? Almost every vote Arlene and I cancel each other out. Frankly, I think this is the most amazing legacy of Smackdown.  We both love books, reading, learning more about our teaching craft and we DISAGREE all the time. We are a living example of why readers need choice in reading - and that enduring classics (pay attention curriculum builders) are in the minds of the reader. Yet, every once in a while worlds collide and a New Kid finds us agreeing.

Two Great Books, but Fighting Words in a Unanimous Decision

 

One of the joys and frustrations of The Mighty Smackdown is when we get two rich, but fundamentally different reading experiences, paired up in one round. Oh wait, that basically is a description of the Smackdown in most rounds, but it really smacked us in the face on this one. Our general consensus was that we all really enjoyed both Fighting Words and This Place and we were struck by what important - and even, perhaps, visionary - books they are in terms of creating a space for our kids to hear some under-represented - and maybe find their own - voices. 

 I think we were all smacking our lips at the prospect of teaching This Place, both as English teachers, where one could do a ton with the various modes of graphic storytelling, and in Social Studies where there are such profound connections to the curriculum, particularly at the junior high level. We were also very excited about getting Fighting Words into the hands of as many kids as possible - even though it actually wasn’t our choice to go through when we first read it last round - because we found it not only immensely readable, but also one of those books that would likely activate the sometimes dormant empathy chip in a wide range of students (again, particularly at the junior high level). A tough decision all around and we’d encourage you to find a space for multiple copies of both books in your classroom/office libraries, but, ultimately, Fighting Words was our choice to move on. We had a fairly nuanced discussion about this the other day, and I won’t hash all of that out, but I think that what it boiled down to for us is that the very nature of an anthology is that not every story is going to land for everyone and such was the case with This Place. That is also, however, one of its strengths as I know that there would be at least one,and probably many more, of these stories that would hit home for anyone. It sounds like we all savored This Place in bite sized morsels, befitting its form and structure, but Fighting Words had us reading right through because we wanted to see that things were going to be ok for these girls. I’m not sure either is a more or less powerful reading experience, but we ultimately thought that Fighting Words was probably the book that we would see more of our students connecting with independently and it was our choice to move through to the final round. 

As noted above, despite Fighting Words being our pick in this round, it actually wasn’t our pick in the previous round. Our Zombie pick (for all of us at SBS) is - to no one’s surprise if you read our blog last round- When The Ground is Hard.  We feel really fortunate to have been able to read these three great books in our last two rounds.

 Clap When You Land VS New Kid

Both of these books are genres that some members of our team don't usually read.  I am a recent convert to enjoying novels in verse and, having enjoyed Poet X immensely, looked forward to Clap When You Land.  We read New Kid last round and chose it to move forward and blogged already about how much students have enjoyed it.  This round was a tough choice.  Ultimately, we brought in a student reader to hear her thoughts as well.  She was torn like we were.  She liked both a lot, but just thought that other students in our school would like Clap more. We concur and choose Clap When You Land to move to the finals.   

 A couple of us enjoyed the audio version of Clap.  We concur with the other bloggers who recommend that version.  It reads like something that is meant to be spoken aloud. 

New Kid vs Clap When You Land

 Team Sweet Grass is moving Clap When You Land forward for the finals.  Honestly, the majority of us did not want to move New Kid forward last round but the other teams in our bracket out-voted us.  The same 2 holdouts from last time are still holding out.  This time is was a graphic novel versus an novel-in-verse which lead some to say...I just want to read an old-fashioned book.

Like last round, the books really appealed to two different audiences, we could (and do have New Kid) in our school library.  But could not (and will not) have Clap When You Land in our library which is ironic because we have a Spanish bilingual program!  If you get a chance, listen to Elizabeth Acevedo read her own novel and hear it the way she meant for it to be heard - she is an excellent narrator.

So the applause goes to...Clap.

Team Sweet Grass