Sanctuary, The
Publication Information
Author:  Eskridge, Ann	Illustrator:
Title:  Sanctuary, The	Date:  1994
Publisher:  Dutton Children's Books	City:  New York, NY
ISBN, paperback:  0-525-65168-3	ISBN, hardback:
Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes	ESOL:
Family:   Yes	Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:
General Information:
Book Type(s):    fiction
HSE Descriptor(s):    language arts - reading
Summary:
Little Man, age 10, thinks that Tico and Aaron should let him join their gang. But first he must retrieve a piece of junk from the altar "sanctuary" that "crazy" Lucy Johnson built in her backyard. Little Man gets caught and comes to know and love the old woman, whom neighbors think is a witch. Little Man knows he must do something when the block club tries to destroy her sanctuary, which they consider an eyesore.
Teaching Ideas:
This is a touching story, based on an actual incident in Detroit some years ago. Teachers may wish to look for newspaper articles about neighbors who are intolerant of one another's differences. Characters are well developed, and their interactions ring true. Students might be interested in tracing Little Man's growing understanding of Lucy or in focusing on the ways which Lucy teaches Little Man about life. These explorations may lead students to consider how they learned (or teach) life's lessons, times when their first impressions of someone different proved false, etc. The whole novel or parts of it might be read aloud (by the teacher) using a DL-TA format. Students may wish to record their thoughts as the story unfolds by writing in response journals. Tower of Watts would be a good companion book.
Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
Social Studies > anthropology > folklore > witch Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > group > relationships > intergenerational Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > tolerance Communities > urban > urban living

We welcome your comments