Wrap Up: Mrs Katz and Tush

We have been CRAWLING to the end of the year with Five in a Row.  I have taken very few pictures and barely remember what we did during our last couple of rows, but I thought I'd go ahead and make posts for them, for consistency's sake. 

Mrs Katz and Tush is a book by Patricia Polacco about a boy named Larnel who befriends his elderly neighbor, Mrs Katz, gives her a kitten, and promises to help her care for it.  He grows to love her company as she shares with him about her past, her immigration from Poland to the United States, and her Jewish faith and culture.  

We did all the normal things with this row.  We found Poland on the map and talked about immigration.  When Mrs Katz tells Larnel that "your people and mine are very much alike" we discussed what she meant by that (the persecution and discrimination that both Jewish people and African Americans have faced).  We talked about Tush's babies and watched a cat give birth on YouTube.  We drew cats and made them into "lost cat" signs like the ones that Mrs Katz and Larnel posted to find Tush.  

We read storybooks about Passover and the Seder.  And then we invited some friends also use FIAR over to have a Seder with us.  Given that we are not Jewish, and neither were our friends, I'm quite sure it was not "right" but we really enjoyed the experience regardless!  I mostly used this resource for planning, and would recommend it for other Christian families who are interested in celebrating this Jewish feast day.  

Mrs Katz and Tush was very typical for Patricia Polacco books.  It was long, and a little heavy, but absolutely beautiful.  It was not one of my children's favorite FIAR selections, but I loved it.