Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Grade 8 students skype with 'The Bite of the Mango' authors

By Lisa Goudy

King George Elementary School students Chloe Peterson (left), Max Pilsworth and Britnee Dunlop were among the students who skyped with the authors of the memoir, The Bite of the Mango. Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

Reading about someone whose hands were cut off and seeing that same person are two very different things.     
      
“She loses her hands in the book and stuff and has to try and learn how to use new hands,” said King George Elementary School Grade 8 student Max Pilsworth. “It was pretty cool seeing her using her phone and her laptop and stuff with just her arms and no hands.”

Grade 8 students skype the authors of 'The Bite of the Mango.' Photo courtesy Dana Ansell, Prairie South School Division

Pilsworth was one of nine students who used Skype to talk with Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland on Friday, authors of the bookThe Bite of the Mango. The book is Kamara’s first hand account of what happened to her growing up in Sierra Leone.


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Grade 8 students speak with Mariatu Kamara via Skype. Photo courtesy Dana Ansell, PSSD

Learn more about Kamara and her work in Sierra Leone 

Additional, full comment from Lynn Kirk, student support teacher at King George Elementary School

Photo courtesy Dana Ansell, PSSD

“She writes really well as far as its not disgustingly graphic, but it is disturbing because of the situation so I wouldn’t suggest it for kids under Grade 8 unless they’re very very mature readers, but above grade 8 everybody should be reading this book and I mean right up to 95. 

"It really is that important that we didn’t know this was going on and I was raising my kids at the time and I didn’t know this was going on in Africa. It’s digusting. It’s sad," said Kirk.