The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Wow! The Other Side, by Jacqueline Woodson, amazed me because I didn’t know such a big message could fit into such a short book.  I loved it!  I loved it so much that I re-read it to myself twice and then read it to my fiancé.   It is a book about childrens’ ability to see past color for the sake of friendship.  The story appears to be set in the 1950’s and a fence is up in the middle of town that separates where black and white people can live.  What is interesting about the plot, is that the white little girl is the one who feels isolated and left out.  Despite their parent’s warnings not to cross the fence, two girls from opposite sides come to sit together every day on the fence and eventually become friends.  Their actions inspire other children to come and sit on the fence as well.  The book ends with the girls believing that someday the fence will get knocked down.  The illustrations are done in beautiful water colors and they compliment the story plot.  I would love to have the illustration of the little girls sitting on the fence as a piece of artwork for my home.  So awesome!  I loved this book so much because it teaches about a sad and uncomfortable topic in a way that also offers hope. 
            Needless to say, I will definitely be using this book in my classroom.  I think that if you teach in a school with any diversity at all, race relations will be brought into the classroom at some point or another.  I will address this topic using books like this and discussion.  I will introduce this book by saying, “We are now going to read a book about some brave girls.  These girls are brave because they were willing to see past the way someone looks in order to form a friendship.  About fifty years ago, children were only allowed to play with kids who had the same colored skin as themselves.  Some kids were really brave and kind, though, and wanted to be friends with everyone regardless of how they looked.  We are lucky that now days we can be friends with whoever we want.  We must always remember to choose our friends based on how they treat us and not on how someone looks.”  I would then read the book and afterwards we would discuss what it would be like to be one of the kids in this book.  For older children, they could journal from the perspective of one of the characters.  I think activities like this are important because, not only do kids get to hear about the characters’ experiences, they get to feel the same feelings as the characters.  I also think this would be a great book to teach about the literary element of symbolism because of the obvious meaning attached to the fence.  Clearly, the fence is symbolic for the larger social issue of segregation and I think older children would be able to identify this.   Children need to know about symbolism because it helps them realize that texts have many layers of meaning within them, and thus, children will gain a deeper appreciation for literature. 
Year Published: 2001   
Illustrator:    E.B. Lewis  
Awards: ALA Notable, Riverbank Review Book of Distinction, Texas Blue Bonnet List, SLJ Best Book, Booklist Editor’s Choice, New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, 2001 Time of Wonder Award, IRA Teacher’s Choices 2002, (featured on covers of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Booklist and The Baltimore Sun), 2004 Louisiana Young Reader’s Choice Award (Honor), 2003-2004 Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Master List, California Young Reader Medal Nominee, 2003-2004 South Carolina Book Award Nominee