La Force du Berger
by Azouz Begag
Deux récits pudiques et poétiques sur l'immigration et la différence. Imagine que ton père nie les principes de physique que tu apprends à l'école! Que lui dirais-tu pour le convaincre? Il est des routes qui n'ont pas de carrefours : celle du père, ancien berger, ignorant des découvertes de l'humanité mais tourné vers La Mecque, et celle du fils qui a rejoint le savoir du monde moderne.
Publication Information
Published: 1995
Originally written in French
Number of pages: unknown
Recommended FSL Programs and Grades
Grade 9 (Extended, Immersion)
Grade 10 (Extended, Immersion)
Grade 11 (Core, Extended)
Grade 12 (Core)
Race/Ethnic/Geographic Information
Author: Black/African/Caribbean Heritage
Characters: unknown
Setting: unknown
Notes from a teacher-reader
2 stories (current story and a challenging Christmas-focused story)
Nicely written, clear vivid imagery
Hook: Newton, physics, Islamic and other cultural content
Conspiracy theories
Cultural content (about Islam) - what it means to know something through religion and through science
Lots of vocabulary. Potential for overlap with vocabulary units.
Classroom use:
Familiar school and home contexts and vocabulary
Written in the present and the 2 past tenses
Allows for discussions of education vs intelligence and conspiracy theorists
Add on or beginner text for high school Core
Content warnings: Religion vs science, scientific fact versus religious belief