Resource Guide: Books and Movies

Are you intrigued by the themes of the Smithsonian exhibit, Between Fences? Curious to look at how these themes are echoed in literature and film? We offer a list of books and movies that are sure to provide more thought-provoking avenues to explore. Many of them provide a unique Maryland perspective to Between Fences.

Whether you are looking for books for mature readers, books for children and young readers or movies and documentaries, we have a great collection here to browse.

Books for Mature Readers

Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Algonquin Books. Reprint 2010.
This is the story of the immigrant experience as lived by the four Garcia sisters. As adults, the girls look back on their lives in the US and examine the challenges they faced and the struggle to be themselves in a new land with new language and customs.

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Mariner Books 1995.
In this classic novel first published in 1918, Cather imbues Antonia with qualities typical of the early immigrants who settled on the prairie. In a foreign land, speaking a foreign language, she and her family struggle to establish their place in their new society.

Danson, Edwin. Drawing the Line: How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Famous Border in America. John Wiley and Sons 2001.
Professional surveyor, Danson, not only tells a thrilling story of the danger and challenges the famed duo faced while marking the line that bears their names, but he also describes in layman's terms the techniques and science behind their successful effort.

Gibbons, Boyd. Wye Island: Insiders, Outsiders, and Change in a Chesapeake Community. RFF Press 2007 reprint.
Wye Island in the Chesapeake Bay was the object of a raging controversy between 1973 and 1974. The battle centered on conservation and planned development. Boyd captures this story of rich landowners, poor "natives," and many recent newcomers who distrusted change and feared the onslaught of "outsiders."

Jenkins, Virginia Scott. The Lawn: A History of An American Obsession. Smithsonian Institution Press 1994.
This is an engaging account of Americans' obsession with their lawn, Jenkins gives us a reason to pause and reflect on multiple meanings of the landscape right outside our front door.

McBride, James. Miracle at St. Anna: A Novel of the Buffalo Soldiers of World War II.
Penguin 2008.
This book follows four black American "Buffalo Soldiers" on a mission behind enemy lines in Italy during World War II. Besides depicting gripping war conditions and violence, the background story of troop segregation belies the fact that the men were treated with more respect by the Italians than their comrades.

Mitchell, Charles W. Maryland Voices of the Civil War. JHU Press 2007.
A slave-holding, border state below the Mason-Dixon Line, Maryland stayed with the Union during the Civil War. But where did Marylanders' loyalties really lie? Using contemporary materials, Mitchell creates a vivid and authoritative examination of Marylanders during the Civil War.

Pynchon, Thomas. Mason & Dixon. Macmillian 2004.
In this celebrated romp through the 18th century world of English astronomers and famed surveyors of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, Pynchon demonstrates his wit erudition. We follow the unlikely team as they meet, encounter slavery, conflicts of religion vs. science, and the massacre of American Indians, all the while performing their work with precision.

St. John, Warren. Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town. Spiegel & Grau 2009.
In the 1990s, Clarkston, Georgia became a resettlement center for refugees from war zones in Liberia, Congo, Iraq, and Sudan. When Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman, founded a youth soccer team to keep boys off the streets, the transformations begin. This is the story of the resilience of children, the ability of one person of goodwill to make a difference, and the challenges all immigrants face to make a home where people seem to have little in common. This book is also our One Maryland One Book selection for 2010.

Stavans, Ilan (Editor). Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing. Library of America 2009.
This is a revealing collection of first-hand immigrant accounts from 17th century Jamestown to contemporary Los Angeles. It includes poems, stories, and diary excerpts that relate the immigrant experience in America over 400 years.

Stockett, Katheryn. The Help. Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam 2009.
Set in 1962 in Mississippi, The Help tells the tale of a time when black women were trusted by white families to raise their children, but not allowed to use their toilets. When Skeeter Phelan returns from college, she begins to collect stories from the black women who serve the country club set. The book she puts together shocks the white community, makes the blacks proud, and sets her on the way to pursuing her dreams of being a writer.

Books for Ages 3-7

Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Warne; Original edition 2002.
Young bunny Peter disobeys his mother and gets into trouble when he goes through the gate into Mr. McGregor's garden, where he was explicitly told not to go.

Books for Young Readers

Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Algonquin Books 2010.
This is the story of the immigrant experience as lived by the four Garcia sisters. As adults, the girls look back on their lives in the US and examine the challenges they faced and the struggle to be themselves in a new land with new language and customs.

Blair, Margaret. Brothers at War. White Mane 1997.
The teenage Henry Brothers, reenact the Civil War travel back through time to Maryland's Battle of Antietam, where they fight on opposite sides.

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Oxford World's Classics 2006.
In this classic novel first published in 1918, Cather imbues Antonia with qualities typical of the early immigrants who settled on the prairie. In a foreign land, speaking a foreign language, she and her family struggle to establish their place in their new society.

Cuneo, Mary Louise. How to Grow a Picket Fence. Harper Collins 1993.
A child uses a basket of sticks, some daisy pudding, and sun-dried socks to grow a picket fence.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Perigee Books 1959.
This is the tale of a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain social order. The situation deteriorates as the wall between civilized and savage gives way, exposing the boundary between human reason and animal instinct.

McCurdy, Michael, ed. Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words. Alfred A. Knopf 1994.
Douglass recounts his childhood in slavery in Talbot County, Maryland, vividly describing oppressive conditions and a forced mentality of fear and isolation.

McKissack, Patricia C. A Friendship for Today. Scholastic Press 2007.
Rosemary enters sixth grade in 1954, just after her Missouri town acts upon the Supreme Court school desegregation decision and closes the "colored school" the girl has attended. Rosemary is the only black child in her class at her new school, where she ultimately forms a friendship across racial boundaries.

Munoz Ryan, Pam. Esperanza Rising. Random House 2001.
Young Esperanza dreams of someday reigning over her family's beautiful estate in Mexico, but her dream is shattered by her father's violent death. She and her mother are forced to flee to California and live in a farm labor camp. There, Esperanza enters a new life where she is no longer a princess.

Murphy, Jim. The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War. Clarion 1990. This is a sensitive and vivid account of the boy soldiers in the Civil War, their motivations, and the significant roles in that conflict.

Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved. Crowell/HarperCollins 1980.
A jealous twin must find herself and better understand of her sister. This book is set on an island in the Chesapeake Bay. (Newbery Medal)

Sachar, Louis. Holes. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) 2008.
When Stanley Yelnat ends up in a juvenile detention center, he must dig a new hole in the earth each day. What appears to be punishment is actually an inside caper by the warden.1999 Newbery Medal; 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

Sis, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. Frances Foster Books 2007.
The author recreates his childhood through his remarkable artistry, journal entries, historical context and period photography to create a powerful account of his life in Cold War-era Prague. Caldecott Honor

Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Puffin 2004.
Nine-year old Cassie Logan's African-American family fights to stay together in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty and betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s. Newbery Medal (1977)

Schanzer, Rosalyn. John Smith Escapes Again! National Geographic Society 2006.
Captain John Smith was an explorer, an adventurer, writer, and fighter. His life included a series of daring escapes from slavery, pirate attacks, Indian ambushes, and more.

St. John, Warren. Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town. Spiegel & Grau 2009.
In the 1990s, Clarkston, Georgia became a resettlement center for refugees from war zones in Liberia, Congo, Iraq, and Sudan. When Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman, founded a youth soccer team to keep boys off the streets, the transformations begin. This is the story of the resilience of children, the ability of one person of goodwill to make a difference, and the challenges all immigrants face to make a home where people seem to have little in common. This book is also our One Maryland One Book selection for 2010.

Stavans, Ilan (Editor). Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing. Library of America 2009. This is a revealing collection of first-hand immigrant accounts from 17th century Jamestown to contemporary Los Angeles. It includes poems, stories, and diary excerpts that relate the immigrant experience in America over 400 years.

Movies and Documentaries

Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
A young boy who's father works at a Nazi prison camp befriends another boy who lives on the inside the camp fence. Not understanding his father's role or why the prisoners wear "striped pajamas," he sneaks inside of the camp and dons a pair to look for his friend. PG-13

The Diary of Anne Frank (2009) BBC
Moving but not sentimental retelling of this profoundly moving story of the Frank family's hiding from the Nazis during World War II. While the world tears itself apart and life becomes tense in their apartment, young Anne clings to her romantic notions of human nature right up until they are rounded up. NR

Hairspray (1988)
This is Baltimore native, John Water's, original cult film about the racial segregation of a teenage dance show in 1960s Charm City. It is the film that inspired the Broadway musical of the same name. PG

Liberty Heights (1999)
Set in the late 1950s-60s, follows a Jewish family in Baltimore through the social changes of the day, including integration of schools and social venues as barriers begin to fall, but integration is not a smooth transition as individuals one at a time make decisions to cross fences that divide. R

Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
This film follows for black American Buffalo Soldiers on a mission behind enemy lines in Italy during World War II. Besides depicting gripping war conditions and violence, the background story of troop segregation belies the fact that the men are treated with more respect by the Italians than their comrades. R

Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
Molly, Gracie, and Daisy are young victims of Australia's aboriginal integration program of the 1930s, when they were torn from their families and taken to an orphanage. The girls decide to return to their home 1,500-miles away, all the while a tracker from the orphanage is on their trail. PG

The Soloist (2008)
This is the true story of LA newspaper reporter, Steve Lopez, who discovers a brilliant street musician, Nathanial Ayers, who struggles with mental illness. Their unique friendship transforms both of their lives. PG-13

Thundering Hooves: Maryland and Her Horses (2008)
W. Drew Perkins' Maryland Public Television documentary follows Maryland's steeplechase circuit over the fences of the Old Line State in a tradition dating back to 17th century Chesapeake Country. NR

Witness (1985)
A young Amish boy is witness to murder while on a trip to the city. A loner cop follows him to his isolated community to protect him. R