The Chalk Circle

Praise for The Chalk Circle

“The Chalk Circle is a truly important book.”

—Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize Winner and recipient of the Tu Do Chinh Kien Award

“And like a favorite teacher willing to share, The Chalk Circle tells the stories that need to be told in order to foster an environment of empathy and tolerance... The Chalk Circle should be required reading for today’s global citizens.”
—HOTT, 2016 (read the full review here)

“Tara Masih’s The Chalk Circle is a superb collection of essays that moves the reader outside of their comfort zone. These award winning writers cover a wide range of topics which raise questions about war, violence, forgiveness, racism, love, innocence, and ultimately, what it means to be human.”
—Christina Mock, Mom Egg Review

“Tara Lynn Masih assembles a resonant collection of writing by authors hailing from worlds as diverse as San Francisco’s Chinatown; Hamburg, Germany; and a hilltribe village in Thailand. These essays will enrich the reading lives of young adults grappling with intercultural issues of their own.”
—Teaching Tolerance, Number 45: Fall 2013 (recommended for middle and high school)

“There is such a range of experience here that it’s hard to do justice to the collection.”
—BookLoons Reviews, April 2012 (read the full review here)

“In these pages, we’re allowed to revel in a real diversity of stories, and discover that there are no easy answers. These essays exude a realisticand often troublingambiguity, an ambiguity inherent in the process of constructing a genuine intercultural identity.”
—Terrain.org (Winter 2013) (read the full review here)

“High school and adult readers will appreciate The Chalk Circle, [which] serves as an introduction to 19 ... skilled and insightful writers on crossing cultures and exploring one's own background. A selection of 4-5 questions for discussion for each essay adds to the usefulness of this anthology for the high school or college classroom or reading groups.”
—Lyn Miller Lachmann, Times Union (Women Waging Peace blog) (read the full review here)

“The essays . . . are brilliantly penned by various writers.”
—Vivek Tejuja, The Hungry Reader, May 2012 (read the full review here)

“Masih has assembled an intelligent and eloquent collection of essays touching upon the complexities of intercultural relations. This book provides plenty of food for thought (fried locusts, anyone?) and fodder for meaningful classroom discussion, but there is much to engage the casual reader as wella journey to Japan, the subtext of a song, art that burns, the confusion of being a Third Culture Kid, and much more. As soon as I reached the last page, I wanted to read it again.”
—Suzanne Kamata, editor of Call Me Okasaan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering and author of Losing Kei

“We are currently living in a time when students from myriad cultural backgrounds are becoming prominent in educational institutions in the United States. These students bring with them rich cultural experiences that are often lost as they feel compelled to assimilate into American society. Tara Masih has provided a microphone for these students to project their voices, to affirm and validate their experiences by telling their own stories. . . . This collection of essays provides a lens into intercultural experiences that will offer important insights for teachers as well as students. . . . and can lead to a greater understanding of and appreciation for our global community.”
—Dr. Zaline M. Roy-Campbell, Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Program in Teaching English Language Learners, Syracuse University

“This contemporary collection of essays will be an invaluable resource. I'm especially impressed by the range of themes. . . .”
—Mary McLaughlin Slechta, ESL instructor, Nottingham High School

“‘Places are best soaked in through the tongue,’” Grigg-Saito writes in her essay. It is true—local markets define a place—but so do these fine stories that also come from the tongue. These mixed and multicultural writers are at work in The Chalk Circle, telling their stories, each in their own voice, finding, as Wright says, "the place where the rainbow gets its color.”
—Diane Glancy, editor of Two Worlds Walking and author of The Dream of a Broken Field