Readers Against Prejudice and Racism discussion

Hello everyone! This month's winner for the July monthly read is by Jean Little. Please feel free to talk about what you loved or hated about this book!

Both this book and From Anna are lovely. As a person of German background, I found the bullying that Anna and her family experienced in Listen for the Singing more horrible than the teasing she received in the first book (because of her bad eyesight), especially the fact that the animosity was at times perpetrated by the teachers themselves (or at least condoned by them). I found it profoundly troubling that Rudi basically felt that he had to enlist in order to feel as though he was a loyal Canadian (and although this was never mentioned in the novel itself, I have to admit that when I first read about Rudi's accident, I wondered if it was really simply a tragic accident, I wondered wether there might have been more to what happened, that Rudi might have been deliberately splashed with the chemical that blinded him simply because of his German background).

Gundula wrote: "Both this book and From Anna are lovely. As a person of German background, I found the bullying that Anna and her family experienced in Listen for the Singing more horr..."

That's terrible! It's so sad that some people would condemned you just because you came from a different country or you are of a different race or cultural background. I just wish that people would look past those cultural barriers and accept the person for who they are.

Ronyell wrote: "Gundula wrote: "Both this book and From Anna are lovely. As a person of German background, I found the bullying that Anna and her family experienced in [book:Listen for the Singing|8..."

Well, the book takes place in World War II, so some of the prejudice is or at least can be understandable (but not from the teachers who really should have been intelligent enough to realise that Anna and her family immigrated to Canada from Germany to escape from the Nazis, because the father saw the threat Hitler posed). One thing that is good about this book is that Jean Little also has shown Anna to have some very loyal friends who do not care about her ethnic background.

Gundula wrote: "Ronyell wrote: "Gundula wrote: "Both this book and From Anna are lovely. As a person of German background, I found the bullying that Anna and her family experienced in [book:Listen f..."

That's great to hear! It's nice to have friends who accept you for who you are!