FICTION, FANTASY AND YA LITERATURE BLOG #3: MONSTER
BIBILIOGRAPHY
Myers, Walter Dean. 1999. Monster. New York, NY. Harper Collins Children’s Books. ISBN: 0-06-028077-8
PLOT SUMMARY
Steve Harmon is a sixteen year old by from Harlem who finds himself on trial for murder. The book’s title comes from the word that the lady prosecutor calls him. Monster. So what really happened? What did Steve do? Was he a part of the robbery gone wrong, at the wrong place at the wrong time, or guilty because he has the same brown skin as the criminals? The reader is able to act as a fly on the wall in the courtroom by reading the fast paced screen play of the courtrooms activities. The handwriting typeface journal entries from Steve allow the reader to understand Steve’s feelings and fears while he sits in jail awaiting the verdict. This fast paced book has the reader engaged and engrossed until the final verdict is in.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The story opens with a journal entry from Steve: “The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way if you sniffle a little they won’t hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they’ll start talking about it and soon it’ll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out.” Steve introduces his screenplay with a cast of characters and then gets right to the story of the courtroom with the dialogue as the main vehicle used to reveal the characters, although we are able to come to understand Steve’s feelings and character through his journal entries scattered throughout the book. The story is set at the Manhattan Detention Center in New York. I liked the fact that the book allows the reader to come to their own conclusion after being presented with the evidence, the witnesses and the final remarks. There is a sense of ambiguity about the book. We never learn the exact truth, but learn a lot about our main character, and our own judgments and biases. One thing is for sure Steve’s life will be forever changed by this experience.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Amazon.com
"Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the trial of Steve's life. To calm his nerves as he sits in the courtroom, aspiring filmmaker Steve chronicles the proceedings in movie script format. Interspersed throughout his screenplay are journal writings that provide insight into Steve's life before the murder and his feelings about being held in prison during the trial. "They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can't kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment."
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost. Christopher Myers's superfluous black-and-white drawings are less successful. Their grainy, unfocused look complements the cinematic quality of the text, but they do little to enhance the story. Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers. In some respects, the novel is reminiscent of Virginia Walter's Making Up Megaboy (DK Ink, 1998), another book enriched by its ambiguity. Like it, Monster lends itself well to classroom or group discussion. It's an emotionally charged story that readers will find compelling and disturbing.Edward Sullivan, New York Public Library Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.
CONNECTIONS
Motown and Didi by Walter Dean Myers
Bad Boy: A Memoir by Walter Dean Myers
Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
Hoops by Walter Dean Myers
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
FICTION, FANTASY & YA LITERATURE BLOG #2 RULES
FICTION, FANTASY AND YA LITERATURE BLOG #2: RULES
BIBILIOGRAPHY
Lord, Cynthia. 2006. Rules. New York, NY. Scholastic Press. ISBN: 0-439-44382-2
PLOT SUMMARY
This contemporary modern fiction novel tells the story through the eyes of twelve-year-old Catherine. Catherine’s little brother David is different from the other kids because he has autism. To help David be more ‘normal’ in the eyes of others, Catherine teaches him rules and talks with him even when he needs to borrow words from others, mostly from the Lobel’s Frog and Toad are Friends. Of course Catherine is struggling with her own life and sometimes wishes things were not so hard. She desperately wants to be friends with the new neighbor girl, Kristi, but finds friendship in the last place she would expect.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The characters in this book are revealed mostly through dialogue and conversation. Jason, a boy Catherine meets at David’s OT (Occupational Therapy) office uses communication cards and the conversations between Catherine and Jason help the reader to understand each characters thoughts and feelings better. The dialogue is natural and suited for the characters age and attitudes. The story is set in a small town on the coast during the summer. The book has a lot of funny parts and kid humor as well as some sad and touching parts. I liked the part where Catherine makes more communication cards for Jason and she makes one that says “stinks a big one!” and he uses it in his sentence, Speech.Woman.Stinks a Big One! And I loved the part where Catherine takes Jason out for a run by running behind him and pushing his wheelchair as fast as she can. The reader can imagine the seagulls flying in the air and the feel of cool air on the kids faces, while the townspeople look on in amazement. Catherine’s character develops and she comes to learn more about herself and as well as the concept of ‘normal’ and why she just might have to throw out some of her rules.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It's okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. "No toys in the fish tank" is one of many rules that 12-year-old Catherine shares with her autistic younger brother, David, to help him understand his world. Lots of the rules are practical. Others are more subtle and shed light on issues in Catherine's own life. Torn between love for her brother and impatience with the responsibilities and embarrassment he brings, she strives to be on her parents' radar and to establish an identity of her own. At her brother's clinic, Catherine befriends a wheelchair-bound boy, Jason, who talks by pointing at word cards in a communication notebook. Her drawing skills and additional vocabulary cards--including "whatever" (which prompts Jason to roll his eyes at his mother)--enliven his speech. The details of autistic behavior are handled well, as are depictions of relationships: A heartwarming first novel. Cindy DobrezCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
CONNECTIONS
Looking After Louis by Lesley Ely
Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism by Laurie Lears
Taking Autism to School (Paperback) by Andreanna Edwards Illustrated by Tom Dineen
BIBILIOGRAPHY
Lord, Cynthia. 2006. Rules. New York, NY. Scholastic Press. ISBN: 0-439-44382-2
PLOT SUMMARY
This contemporary modern fiction novel tells the story through the eyes of twelve-year-old Catherine. Catherine’s little brother David is different from the other kids because he has autism. To help David be more ‘normal’ in the eyes of others, Catherine teaches him rules and talks with him even when he needs to borrow words from others, mostly from the Lobel’s Frog and Toad are Friends. Of course Catherine is struggling with her own life and sometimes wishes things were not so hard. She desperately wants to be friends with the new neighbor girl, Kristi, but finds friendship in the last place she would expect.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The characters in this book are revealed mostly through dialogue and conversation. Jason, a boy Catherine meets at David’s OT (Occupational Therapy) office uses communication cards and the conversations between Catherine and Jason help the reader to understand each characters thoughts and feelings better. The dialogue is natural and suited for the characters age and attitudes. The story is set in a small town on the coast during the summer. The book has a lot of funny parts and kid humor as well as some sad and touching parts. I liked the part where Catherine makes more communication cards for Jason and she makes one that says “stinks a big one!” and he uses it in his sentence, Speech.Woman.Stinks a Big One! And I loved the part where Catherine takes Jason out for a run by running behind him and pushing his wheelchair as fast as she can. The reader can imagine the seagulls flying in the air and the feel of cool air on the kids faces, while the townspeople look on in amazement. Catherine’s character develops and she comes to learn more about herself and as well as the concept of ‘normal’ and why she just might have to throw out some of her rules.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It's okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. "No toys in the fish tank" is one of many rules that 12-year-old Catherine shares with her autistic younger brother, David, to help him understand his world. Lots of the rules are practical. Others are more subtle and shed light on issues in Catherine's own life. Torn between love for her brother and impatience with the responsibilities and embarrassment he brings, she strives to be on her parents' radar and to establish an identity of her own. At her brother's clinic, Catherine befriends a wheelchair-bound boy, Jason, who talks by pointing at word cards in a communication notebook. Her drawing skills and additional vocabulary cards--including "whatever" (which prompts Jason to roll his eyes at his mother)--enliven his speech. The details of autistic behavior are handled well, as are depictions of relationships: A heartwarming first novel. Cindy DobrezCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
CONNECTIONS
Looking After Louis by Lesley Ely
Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism by Laurie Lears
Taking Autism to School (Paperback) by Andreanna Edwards Illustrated by Tom Dineen
Monday, November 5, 2007
FICTION, FANTASY & YA LITERATURE BLOG #1: THE GIVER
FICTION, FANTASY AND YA LITERATURE BLOG #1: THE GIVER
BIBILIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. 1993. The Giver. New York, NY. Random House Children’s Books. ISBN: 0-440-23768-8
PLOT SUMMARY
Jonas lives in the Community, a world that knows no pain, hunger, poverty or even death. But it is also a world without love, passion, choices, or freedom. At the Ceremony of Twelve Jonas enters adulthood and is given his Assignment. But unlike the other Twelve’s who receive Assignments such as Doctor, Engineer or even Assistant Director of Recreation, Jonas is given the mysterious Assignment of Receiver of Memory. With this Assignment Jonas begins to learn the scary truth of the Community.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Giver is a wonderfully thought provoking modern science fantasy for young adults. I enjoyed how the author did not give a forward or explanation of the setting or story, but instead plunges the reader headfirst into the story and allows the reader to experience the Community through the eyes of the young protagonist, Jonas. The plot begins with Jonas feeling anxious about the Ceremony of Twelve and of what Assignment he will receive, and ends with his personal growth, discovery and courage to do what is right. At first I was confused as to what time period and country the setting is in, but then realized as this is a fantasy, the setting needs only to be enough to help the reader visualize the surroundings and might be an “other world” or “imaginary place.” The reader quickly comes to learn that the Community is a Utopian place where the people in the community have no freedom to choose their jobs, their spouses, or their children, but no one is left hungry or homeless. Everyone has their place and if rules are not abided the perpetrator will be “released” to Elsewhere. Babies are cared for by Nurturers until married couples apply for children and are assigned a child, only one boy and one girl. After the children are grown they are given an Assignment and are free to leave and apply for a spouse of their own. The parents are sent to be with the Childless Adults and later in life to the House of the Old, and lastly released to Elsewhere. The characters are revealed through their conversation and actions, but since members in the community besides Jonas and the Giver seem to be devoid of any real feelings, their characters are rather blank and flat. Jonas character develops and grows as he receives memories and learns more about the community and the world he lives in. The story comes to a climax when Jonas learns the truth of a “release” and must choose to disobey the rules in order to save a Newchild he has come to love like a brother. The theme emerges naturally from the story and is not stated or pushed upon the reader. The reader is allowed to come to their own conclusion through by using their critical thinking skills. The story makes me think of a line from movie I really liked, Vanilla Sky. The sidekick character said, “The sweet is never as sweet without the sour” I think that is so true. This book allows the reader to come to the conclusion that differences, pain, choices and feelings are all important and necessary to really live.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-- In a complete departure from her other novels, Lowry has written an intriguing story set in a society that is uniformly run by a Committee of Elders. Twelve-year-old Jonas's confidence in his comfortable "normal" existence as a member of this well-ordered community is shaken when he is assigned his life's work as the Receiver. The Giver, who passes on to Jonas the burden of being the holder for the community of all memory "back and back and back," teaches him the cost of living in an environment that is "without color, pain, or past." The tension leading up to the Ceremony, in which children are promoted not to another grade but to another stage in their life, and the drama and responsibility of the sessions with The Giver are gripping. The final flight for survival is as riveting as it is inevitable. The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time. --Amy Kellman, The Carnegie Library of PittsburghCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Amazon.com
BIBILIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. 1993. The Giver. New York, NY. Random House Children’s Books. ISBN: 0-440-23768-8
PLOT SUMMARY
Jonas lives in the Community, a world that knows no pain, hunger, poverty or even death. But it is also a world without love, passion, choices, or freedom. At the Ceremony of Twelve Jonas enters adulthood and is given his Assignment. But unlike the other Twelve’s who receive Assignments such as Doctor, Engineer or even Assistant Director of Recreation, Jonas is given the mysterious Assignment of Receiver of Memory. With this Assignment Jonas begins to learn the scary truth of the Community.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Giver is a wonderfully thought provoking modern science fantasy for young adults. I enjoyed how the author did not give a forward or explanation of the setting or story, but instead plunges the reader headfirst into the story and allows the reader to experience the Community through the eyes of the young protagonist, Jonas. The plot begins with Jonas feeling anxious about the Ceremony of Twelve and of what Assignment he will receive, and ends with his personal growth, discovery and courage to do what is right. At first I was confused as to what time period and country the setting is in, but then realized as this is a fantasy, the setting needs only to be enough to help the reader visualize the surroundings and might be an “other world” or “imaginary place.” The reader quickly comes to learn that the Community is a Utopian place where the people in the community have no freedom to choose their jobs, their spouses, or their children, but no one is left hungry or homeless. Everyone has their place and if rules are not abided the perpetrator will be “released” to Elsewhere. Babies are cared for by Nurturers until married couples apply for children and are assigned a child, only one boy and one girl. After the children are grown they are given an Assignment and are free to leave and apply for a spouse of their own. The parents are sent to be with the Childless Adults and later in life to the House of the Old, and lastly released to Elsewhere. The characters are revealed through their conversation and actions, but since members in the community besides Jonas and the Giver seem to be devoid of any real feelings, their characters are rather blank and flat. Jonas character develops and grows as he receives memories and learns more about the community and the world he lives in. The story comes to a climax when Jonas learns the truth of a “release” and must choose to disobey the rules in order to save a Newchild he has come to love like a brother. The theme emerges naturally from the story and is not stated or pushed upon the reader. The reader is allowed to come to their own conclusion through by using their critical thinking skills. The story makes me think of a line from movie I really liked, Vanilla Sky. The sidekick character said, “The sweet is never as sweet without the sour” I think that is so true. This book allows the reader to come to the conclusion that differences, pain, choices and feelings are all important and necessary to really live.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-- In a complete departure from her other novels, Lowry has written an intriguing story set in a society that is uniformly run by a Committee of Elders. Twelve-year-old Jonas's confidence in his comfortable "normal" existence as a member of this well-ordered community is shaken when he is assigned his life's work as the Receiver. The Giver, who passes on to Jonas the burden of being the holder for the community of all memory "back and back and back," teaches him the cost of living in an environment that is "without color, pain, or past." The tension leading up to the Ceremony, in which children are promoted not to another grade but to another stage in their life, and the drama and responsibility of the sessions with The Giver are gripping. The final flight for survival is as riveting as it is inevitable. The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time. --Amy Kellman, The Carnegie Library of PittsburghCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Amazon.com
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
CONNECTIONS
- Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare
- The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George SpeareA Newbery Honor Book
- I Am Regina by Sally M. Keehn
Thursday, October 25, 2007
HISTORICAL FICTION BLOG #2 THE ART OF KEEPING COOL
HISTORICAL FICTION BLOG #2: THE ART OF KEEPING COOL
Bibliographic Data
Lisle, Janet Taylor. 2000. THE ART OF KEEPING COOL. New York,NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0-689-83787-9
Plot Summary
This historical fiction book for teens is set in Rhode Island in 1942 during World War II while Nazi submarines are torpedoing U.S. ships off the coast. Thirteen year old Robert has moved with his mother and younger sister from Ohio to stay with his Grandpa’s house in Rhode Island while his father is off fighting in the war. He gets to be friends with his cousin Elliot, a budding artist who keeps his talent hidden. Together they attempt to solve a few mysteries: why will Grandpa never speak of Robert’s father? And what is Abel Hoffman, a famous German artist doing living as a recluse in the backwoods?
Critical Analysis
The setting is vividly described. When Robert and his younger sister Carolyn sneak off to hear the big guns fire off for military exercise you can almost hear the explosions and see the fiery field ablaze almost to the beach embankment. The characters are real and believable. Elliot has a quiet and meek demander, Grandpa is stubborn and almost ruthless self, and Robert is hard working, curious and kind. One of the most interesting characters is Abel Hoffman, who is mysterious at first, but as his character develops we are able to see the war from a different point of view. The climax of the plot comes very near the end of the book and I felt that it was wrapped up a little quickly in the last chapter. I would have liked to get to know the fathers character a little more or seen more resolution between the father and grandfather. But you know what, there are not always nicely packaged endings in real life and this piece of historical fiction stays true to that.
Review Excerpt(s)
From Publishers Weekly
"This wrenching WWII novel traces the relationship between two 13-year-old American boys and a German-born Expressionist painter reputed to be a spy. The intimate first-person narrative brings universal themes of prejudice and loss to a personal level." Ages 10-14. (May) Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Like Hahn's Stepping on the Cracks (1991), this is a powerful story of World War II at home, told by a young teenager who comes to question both friends and enemies and finds the dark inside himself. Robert is excited by the hometown military maneuvers and threatening submarines near his grandparents' New England village, where he's living while his dad's away fighting the Nazis. But the battle inside his family is scarier than the military exercises. Why Robert’s father is never mentioned? What's the secret of why he left as a teenager and never came back? And why does Robert's friend and cousin, Eliot, cower before their raging grandfather? Shy, artistic Eliot has dangerous secrets, too: he's helping a German painter, Abel Hoffman, who lives in a shack near the beach. Is Abel a Nazi spy, as the angry mob in the village believes? To Robert's lasting shame, he helps them track the fugitive, then he hears about the Nazi mobs that attacked "degenerative" writers and artists like Abel and burned their work. Is the U.S. any different? Lisle weaves together the thrilling war action and the spy mystery with the battles in Robert's family and Robert's personal struggle with anger, jealousy, guilt, and betrayal. There's nothing reverential about the portrait of the gifted "crackpot" artist; in fact, all the characters are drawn with subtlety and depth (except, perhaps, the demonized Grandpa). Like Abel's expressionist art, Lisle's story shows and tells what's behind the appearances of things, the "hidden feelings and memories, terrors and passions . . . everyone knows are there but cannot speak about." Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Connections
A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer
The Last Mission by Harry Mazer
Bibliographic Data
Lisle, Janet Taylor. 2000. THE ART OF KEEPING COOL. New York,NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0-689-83787-9
Plot Summary
This historical fiction book for teens is set in Rhode Island in 1942 during World War II while Nazi submarines are torpedoing U.S. ships off the coast. Thirteen year old Robert has moved with his mother and younger sister from Ohio to stay with his Grandpa’s house in Rhode Island while his father is off fighting in the war. He gets to be friends with his cousin Elliot, a budding artist who keeps his talent hidden. Together they attempt to solve a few mysteries: why will Grandpa never speak of Robert’s father? And what is Abel Hoffman, a famous German artist doing living as a recluse in the backwoods?
Critical Analysis
The setting is vividly described. When Robert and his younger sister Carolyn sneak off to hear the big guns fire off for military exercise you can almost hear the explosions and see the fiery field ablaze almost to the beach embankment. The characters are real and believable. Elliot has a quiet and meek demander, Grandpa is stubborn and almost ruthless self, and Robert is hard working, curious and kind. One of the most interesting characters is Abel Hoffman, who is mysterious at first, but as his character develops we are able to see the war from a different point of view. The climax of the plot comes very near the end of the book and I felt that it was wrapped up a little quickly in the last chapter. I would have liked to get to know the fathers character a little more or seen more resolution between the father and grandfather. But you know what, there are not always nicely packaged endings in real life and this piece of historical fiction stays true to that.
Review Excerpt(s)
From Publishers Weekly
"This wrenching WWII novel traces the relationship between two 13-year-old American boys and a German-born Expressionist painter reputed to be a spy. The intimate first-person narrative brings universal themes of prejudice and loss to a personal level." Ages 10-14. (May) Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Like Hahn's Stepping on the Cracks (1991), this is a powerful story of World War II at home, told by a young teenager who comes to question both friends and enemies and finds the dark inside himself. Robert is excited by the hometown military maneuvers and threatening submarines near his grandparents' New England village, where he's living while his dad's away fighting the Nazis. But the battle inside his family is scarier than the military exercises. Why Robert’s father is never mentioned? What's the secret of why he left as a teenager and never came back? And why does Robert's friend and cousin, Eliot, cower before their raging grandfather? Shy, artistic Eliot has dangerous secrets, too: he's helping a German painter, Abel Hoffman, who lives in a shack near the beach. Is Abel a Nazi spy, as the angry mob in the village believes? To Robert's lasting shame, he helps them track the fugitive, then he hears about the Nazi mobs that attacked "degenerative" writers and artists like Abel and burned their work. Is the U.S. any different? Lisle weaves together the thrilling war action and the spy mystery with the battles in Robert's family and Robert's personal struggle with anger, jealousy, guilt, and betrayal. There's nothing reverential about the portrait of the gifted "crackpot" artist; in fact, all the characters are drawn with subtlety and depth (except, perhaps, the demonized Grandpa). Like Abel's expressionist art, Lisle's story shows and tells what's behind the appearances of things, the "hidden feelings and memories, terrors and passions . . . everyone knows are there but cannot speak about." Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Connections
A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer
The Last Mission by Harry Mazer
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
HISTORICAL FICTION BLOG #1 THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE
HISTORICAL FICTION BLOG #1: THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE
Bibliographic Data
Cushman, Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-69229-6
Plot Summary
In this historical fiction novel we are introduced to an unwashed, unnourished, unloved and unnamed girl who is so poor she must sleep in the dung heap for warmth. This girl becomes an apprentice to Jane the midwife and grows to learn that she is a worthy person, worthy of name, worthy of love and with a place in this world.
Critical Analysis
The setting of the story takes place in a village somewhere in Medieval England. The village is vividly described, as is the cottage that Alyce stays in with Jane the midwife, and later the Inn in the next village over. The characters seem real and believable and the reader is able to emphasis with the protagonist. She has nothing and has never been loved so the reader can understand why she has little self worth and runs away after failing to deliver Emma Blunt’s baby on her own. The plot is realistic to the time period and the main character, Alyce’s character develops from the beginning of the story to the end. At the beginning she feels unworthy of even a bed to lie on, and in the end she comes to know herself and understand that she is a worthy person. She makes a decision to not give up and to keep trying to better herself and her situation. The style and dialog capture the time but do not overwhelm the story. The characters does not use current slang in their dialogue, instead they capture the speech patterns of the era. For example Joan the Bailiff’s wife moans, “Let me die. By the bones of Saint Mildred, let me die. Or help me to die.” The story has a universal theme of growing and coming to know oneself that is as relevant today as it is in the historical context of the story.
Review Excerpt(s)
From Publishers Weekly
In reviewing this 1996 Newbery winner, PW said that Cushman "has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent." Ages 8-12. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Like Cushman's 1994 Newbery Honor Book, Catherine, Called Birdy, this novel is about a strong, young woman in medieval England who finds her own way home. Of course, it's a feminist story for the 1990s, but there's no anachronism. This is a world, like Chaucer's, that's neither sweet nor fair; it's rough, dangerous, primitive, and raucous. Cushman writes with a sharp simplicity and a pulsing beat. From the first page you're caught by the spirit of the homeless, nameless waif, somewhere around 12 years old, "unwashed, unnourished, unloved, and unlovely," trying to keep warm in a dung heap. She gets the village midwife, Jane Sharp, to take her in, befriends a cat, names herself Alyce, and learns something about delivering babies. When she fails, she runs away, but she picks herself up again and returns to work and independence. Only the episode about her caring for a homeless child seems contrived. The characters are drawn with zest and affection but no false reverence. The midwife is tough and greedy ("she did her job with energy and some skill, but without care, compassion, or joy"), her method somewhere between superstition, herbal lore, common sense, and bumbling; yet she's the one who finally helps Alyce to be brave. Kids will like this short, fast-paced narrative about a hero who discovers that she's not ugly or stupid or alone. Hazel Rochman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Connections
Other historical fiction novels by Karen Cushman
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman
Matilda Boone by Karen Cushman
Bibliographic Data
Cushman, Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-69229-6
Plot Summary
In this historical fiction novel we are introduced to an unwashed, unnourished, unloved and unnamed girl who is so poor she must sleep in the dung heap for warmth. This girl becomes an apprentice to Jane the midwife and grows to learn that she is a worthy person, worthy of name, worthy of love and with a place in this world.
Critical Analysis
The setting of the story takes place in a village somewhere in Medieval England. The village is vividly described, as is the cottage that Alyce stays in with Jane the midwife, and later the Inn in the next village over. The characters seem real and believable and the reader is able to emphasis with the protagonist. She has nothing and has never been loved so the reader can understand why she has little self worth and runs away after failing to deliver Emma Blunt’s baby on her own. The plot is realistic to the time period and the main character, Alyce’s character develops from the beginning of the story to the end. At the beginning she feels unworthy of even a bed to lie on, and in the end she comes to know herself and understand that she is a worthy person. She makes a decision to not give up and to keep trying to better herself and her situation. The style and dialog capture the time but do not overwhelm the story. The characters does not use current slang in their dialogue, instead they capture the speech patterns of the era. For example Joan the Bailiff’s wife moans, “Let me die. By the bones of Saint Mildred, let me die. Or help me to die.” The story has a universal theme of growing and coming to know oneself that is as relevant today as it is in the historical context of the story.
Review Excerpt(s)
From Publishers Weekly
In reviewing this 1996 Newbery winner, PW said that Cushman "has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent." Ages 8-12. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Like Cushman's 1994 Newbery Honor Book, Catherine, Called Birdy, this novel is about a strong, young woman in medieval England who finds her own way home. Of course, it's a feminist story for the 1990s, but there's no anachronism. This is a world, like Chaucer's, that's neither sweet nor fair; it's rough, dangerous, primitive, and raucous. Cushman writes with a sharp simplicity and a pulsing beat. From the first page you're caught by the spirit of the homeless, nameless waif, somewhere around 12 years old, "unwashed, unnourished, unloved, and unlovely," trying to keep warm in a dung heap. She gets the village midwife, Jane Sharp, to take her in, befriends a cat, names herself Alyce, and learns something about delivering babies. When she fails, she runs away, but she picks herself up again and returns to work and independence. Only the episode about her caring for a homeless child seems contrived. The characters are drawn with zest and affection but no false reverence. The midwife is tough and greedy ("she did her job with energy and some skill, but without care, compassion, or joy"), her method somewhere between superstition, herbal lore, common sense, and bumbling; yet she's the one who finally helps Alyce to be brave. Kids will like this short, fast-paced narrative about a hero who discovers that she's not ugly or stupid or alone. Hazel Rochman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Connections
Other historical fiction novels by Karen Cushman
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman
Matilda Boone by Karen Cushman
Sunday, October 21, 2007
BIOGRAPHY BLOG #1: Out of Darkness The Story of Louis Braille
BIOGRAPHY BLOG #1: OUT OF DARKNESS THE STORY OF LOUIS BRAILLE
Bibliographic Data
Kielser, Kate. 1997. Out of the Darkness The Story of Louis Braille. by Russell Freedman. New York, NY. Clarion Books. ISBN: 0-395-77516-7
Plot Summary
Most everyone knows about the system of Braille, which is the reading and writing system for the blind. But did you know the story of Louis Braille who invented this system? Louis Braille who lived in France in the year 1821 wanted to read and write but as a blind boy was unable to do so as there was not yet a good system in place. This is the story of a young boy’s determination to create a way for the blind to read and write and come “out of the darkness.”
Critical Analysis
This book is very interesting and readable, it reads very much like a story, as it is the story of Louis Braille’s life. The book is attractive and caught my eye with the title and the watercolor drawing of a blind boy sitting on the corner bench in France. Once I read the first chapter I was hooked. The writer brings us into the story where a small boy sits in the dark of his dormitory punching holes across a page with the sharp point of a stylus. We learn this boy is Louis and he is a student at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in France and that he wasn’t born blind. The next chapter is titled The Accident and really interests the reader to find out more and keep reading.
The organization is very logical. After the introduction, it begins the story with Louis’s early childhood and leads into his time at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in France and eventually to his death. The most significant facts, people and dates are included. The reader learns about “embossed books” the cumbersome system of reading and writing developed by Valentin Hauy that was in place when Louis first goes to school. We also learn about Louis’s meeting with Captain Barbier, the inventor of “nightwriting” or sonography, which Louis uses as a model for his own system. The black and white pencil sketch illustrations complement the story of his life. The chapter titled, The Braille Cell, a diagram of the system of Braille and the Braille alphabet is shown. There is also a diagram of the grooved slate, sliding ruler, and stylus used to write sonograpahy and later Braille. The author Russell Freedman is a highly qualified writer whose acclaimed titles include three Newberry Honor Books: Lincoln: A Photobiography; Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane as well as Kids At Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor, an Orbis Pictus Honor Book.
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6.
An extremely well-written and informative book that tells about Braille's life and the development of his alphabet system for the blind. Freedman's gift for making his subjects both accessible and intriguing comes through wonderfully in this book. Readers learn not only about Braille and his struggle to communicate through the written word once he lost his sight, but also how long it took for his revolutionary innovation to become universally accepted. They also become aware of how isolated the blind were before his invention. Finely detailed pencil drawings and diagrams appear throughout the readable narrative. An entertaining and fascinating look at a remarkable man.?Melissa Hudak, North Suburban District Library, Roscoe, ILCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4^-8.
More than 170 years ago, a blind French boy at age 15 invented a system of raised dots on paper that allows the sightless to read and write. Without melodrama, Freedman tells the momentous story in quiet chapters in his best plain style, making the facts immediate and personal. At age 3, Louis Braille was blinded in an accident with a knife. From the age of 12, he worked doggedly, sometimes secretly through the night at a special school in Paris, punching dots on paper, trying to develop a simple code for the alphabet that the blind could read with their fingertips. Woven into the story is an awareness of how the blind child experiences the world, what he remembers. Tension mounts as he refuses to be discouraged by technical and bureaucratic setbacks, until eventually he proves his system to his school and finally to the world. The handsome book design is clear and open. A diagram explains how the Braille alphabet works, and Kate Kessler's full-page shaded pencil illustrations are part of the understated poignant drama. But what about documentation? Is the opening chapter partially fictionalized? No sources are given for the facts and quotes throughout the book, and there's no bibliography. Hazel Rochman
Connections
Other Biographies by Russell Freedman
Lincoln: A Photobiography
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane
Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade against Child Labor
Bibliographic Data
Kielser, Kate. 1997. Out of the Darkness The Story of Louis Braille. by Russell Freedman. New York, NY. Clarion Books. ISBN: 0-395-77516-7
Plot Summary
Most everyone knows about the system of Braille, which is the reading and writing system for the blind. But did you know the story of Louis Braille who invented this system? Louis Braille who lived in France in the year 1821 wanted to read and write but as a blind boy was unable to do so as there was not yet a good system in place. This is the story of a young boy’s determination to create a way for the blind to read and write and come “out of the darkness.”
Critical Analysis
This book is very interesting and readable, it reads very much like a story, as it is the story of Louis Braille’s life. The book is attractive and caught my eye with the title and the watercolor drawing of a blind boy sitting on the corner bench in France. Once I read the first chapter I was hooked. The writer brings us into the story where a small boy sits in the dark of his dormitory punching holes across a page with the sharp point of a stylus. We learn this boy is Louis and he is a student at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in France and that he wasn’t born blind. The next chapter is titled The Accident and really interests the reader to find out more and keep reading.
The organization is very logical. After the introduction, it begins the story with Louis’s early childhood and leads into his time at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in France and eventually to his death. The most significant facts, people and dates are included. The reader learns about “embossed books” the cumbersome system of reading and writing developed by Valentin Hauy that was in place when Louis first goes to school. We also learn about Louis’s meeting with Captain Barbier, the inventor of “nightwriting” or sonography, which Louis uses as a model for his own system. The black and white pencil sketch illustrations complement the story of his life. The chapter titled, The Braille Cell, a diagram of the system of Braille and the Braille alphabet is shown. There is also a diagram of the grooved slate, sliding ruler, and stylus used to write sonograpahy and later Braille. The author Russell Freedman is a highly qualified writer whose acclaimed titles include three Newberry Honor Books: Lincoln: A Photobiography; Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane as well as Kids At Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor, an Orbis Pictus Honor Book.
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6.
An extremely well-written and informative book that tells about Braille's life and the development of his alphabet system for the blind. Freedman's gift for making his subjects both accessible and intriguing comes through wonderfully in this book. Readers learn not only about Braille and his struggle to communicate through the written word once he lost his sight, but also how long it took for his revolutionary innovation to become universally accepted. They also become aware of how isolated the blind were before his invention. Finely detailed pencil drawings and diagrams appear throughout the readable narrative. An entertaining and fascinating look at a remarkable man.?Melissa Hudak, North Suburban District Library, Roscoe, ILCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4^-8.
More than 170 years ago, a blind French boy at age 15 invented a system of raised dots on paper that allows the sightless to read and write. Without melodrama, Freedman tells the momentous story in quiet chapters in his best plain style, making the facts immediate and personal. At age 3, Louis Braille was blinded in an accident with a knife. From the age of 12, he worked doggedly, sometimes secretly through the night at a special school in Paris, punching dots on paper, trying to develop a simple code for the alphabet that the blind could read with their fingertips. Woven into the story is an awareness of how the blind child experiences the world, what he remembers. Tension mounts as he refuses to be discouraged by technical and bureaucratic setbacks, until eventually he proves his system to his school and finally to the world. The handsome book design is clear and open. A diagram explains how the Braille alphabet works, and Kate Kessler's full-page shaded pencil illustrations are part of the understated poignant drama. But what about documentation? Is the opening chapter partially fictionalized? No sources are given for the facts and quotes throughout the book, and there's no bibliography. Hazel Rochman
Connections
Other Biographies by Russell Freedman
Lincoln: A Photobiography
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane
Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade against Child Labor
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
NONFICTION BLOG #3: HITLER YOUTH
NONFICTION BLOG #3 HITLER YOUTH: GROWING UP IN HITLER’S SHADOW
Bibliographic Data
Campbell Bartoletti, S. 2005. Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic, Scholastic Nonfiction. ISBN: 0-439-35379-3
Plot Summary
In this nonfiction book the reader is taken on a journey through Nazi Germany from the date the Hitler Youth was formed in 1926 to the date Germany collapses as Allies invade in 1945. This book is about the millions of boys and girls who belonged to Hitler Youth. Twelve young people’s personal stories are interwoven in the book; from the story of Elizabeth Vetter who at age 8 told her Hitler Youth leaders on her father, which led to his arrest, to the story of Hans and Sophie Scholl who joined Hitler Youth eagerly as children but later rebelled and joined with other on a dangerous campaign against Hitler, the Nazis, and the War.
Critical Analysis
The author Susan Campbell Bartoletti explains in the Authors Note at the end of the book how she came to research for the book. She researched and read many books on the subject including Hitler’s chilling autobiographical work, Mein Kampf. She continued her research by traveling to Germany and visiting Berlin, Nuremberg, and riding out to the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. She used oral histories, diaries, letters, and other personal accounts. She also met and interviewed former members of the Hitler Youth where they shared stories, memories and photographs.
The layout of the book is visually appealing. The book begins with a table of contents. The next page introduces each of the 12 young people in the book with a picture and a small brief biography. There are ten chapters ranging from Chapter 1: “For the Flag We Are Ready to Die” Hitler’s Rise to Power, to Chapter 7: “Serving a Mass Murderer” The Holocaust Begins to the conclusion in Chapter 10: “I Could Not Help but Cry”. Each page of text includes black and white historical photographs of young people in the book that complement the text and captions are included to further explain the photo. The back of the book contains an epilogue which tells what became of the young people in the book, a timeline, the authors note, information about the photographs, quote sources, a bibliography, and index.
The writing is clear and interesting. Each chapter begins as a personal story of one of the young people in the book while including dates and information on what was happening in Nazi Germany at the time. Quotations and first person accounts are used throughout the book are much more descriptive and moving than the author’s narrative would be alone. The writing is objective and encourages critical thinking skills of the reader. It encourages further reading as well. After reading this I would like to further read and research the topic. It is important to learn and understand history so we do not repeat it.
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 5-8–Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. The book is structured around 12 young individuals and their experiences, which clearly demonstrate how they were victims of leaders who took advantage of their innocence and enthusiasm for evil means. Their stories evolve from patriotic devotion to Hitler and zeal to join, to doubt, confusion, and disillusion. (An epilogue adds a powerful what-became-of-them relevance.) The large period photographs are a primary component and they include Nazi propaganda showing happy and healthy teens as well as the reality of concentration camps and young people with large guns. The final chapter superbly summarizes the weighty significance of this part of the 20th century and challenges young readers to prevent history from repeating itself. Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has.–Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. What was it like to be a teenager in Germany under Hitler? Bartoletti draws on oral histories, diaries, letters, and her own extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, Hitler Youth, resisters, and bystanders to tell the history from the viewpoints of people who were there. Most of the accounts and photos bring close the experiences of those who followed Hitler and fought for the Nazis, revealing why they joined, how Hitler used them, what it was like. Henry Mentelmann, for example, talks about Kristallnacht, when Hitler Youth and Storm Troopers wrecked Jewish homes and stores, and remembers thinking that the victims deserved what they got. The stirring photos tell more of the story. One particularly moving picture shows young Germans undergoing de-Nazification by watching images of people in the camps. The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
Ann Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank
Edith's Story: The True Story of a Young Girl's Courage and Survival During World War II by Edith Velmans
A Child of Hitler by Alfon Sheck
Bibliographic Data
Campbell Bartoletti, S. 2005. Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic, Scholastic Nonfiction. ISBN: 0-439-35379-3
Plot Summary
In this nonfiction book the reader is taken on a journey through Nazi Germany from the date the Hitler Youth was formed in 1926 to the date Germany collapses as Allies invade in 1945. This book is about the millions of boys and girls who belonged to Hitler Youth. Twelve young people’s personal stories are interwoven in the book; from the story of Elizabeth Vetter who at age 8 told her Hitler Youth leaders on her father, which led to his arrest, to the story of Hans and Sophie Scholl who joined Hitler Youth eagerly as children but later rebelled and joined with other on a dangerous campaign against Hitler, the Nazis, and the War.
Critical Analysis
The author Susan Campbell Bartoletti explains in the Authors Note at the end of the book how she came to research for the book. She researched and read many books on the subject including Hitler’s chilling autobiographical work, Mein Kampf. She continued her research by traveling to Germany and visiting Berlin, Nuremberg, and riding out to the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. She used oral histories, diaries, letters, and other personal accounts. She also met and interviewed former members of the Hitler Youth where they shared stories, memories and photographs.
The layout of the book is visually appealing. The book begins with a table of contents. The next page introduces each of the 12 young people in the book with a picture and a small brief biography. There are ten chapters ranging from Chapter 1: “For the Flag We Are Ready to Die” Hitler’s Rise to Power, to Chapter 7: “Serving a Mass Murderer” The Holocaust Begins to the conclusion in Chapter 10: “I Could Not Help but Cry”. Each page of text includes black and white historical photographs of young people in the book that complement the text and captions are included to further explain the photo. The back of the book contains an epilogue which tells what became of the young people in the book, a timeline, the authors note, information about the photographs, quote sources, a bibliography, and index.
The writing is clear and interesting. Each chapter begins as a personal story of one of the young people in the book while including dates and information on what was happening in Nazi Germany at the time. Quotations and first person accounts are used throughout the book are much more descriptive and moving than the author’s narrative would be alone. The writing is objective and encourages critical thinking skills of the reader. It encourages further reading as well. After reading this I would like to further read and research the topic. It is important to learn and understand history so we do not repeat it.
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 5-8–Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. The book is structured around 12 young individuals and their experiences, which clearly demonstrate how they were victims of leaders who took advantage of their innocence and enthusiasm for evil means. Their stories evolve from patriotic devotion to Hitler and zeal to join, to doubt, confusion, and disillusion. (An epilogue adds a powerful what-became-of-them relevance.) The large period photographs are a primary component and they include Nazi propaganda showing happy and healthy teens as well as the reality of concentration camps and young people with large guns. The final chapter superbly summarizes the weighty significance of this part of the 20th century and challenges young readers to prevent history from repeating itself. Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has.–Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. What was it like to be a teenager in Germany under Hitler? Bartoletti draws on oral histories, diaries, letters, and her own extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, Hitler Youth, resisters, and bystanders to tell the history from the viewpoints of people who were there. Most of the accounts and photos bring close the experiences of those who followed Hitler and fought for the Nazis, revealing why they joined, how Hitler used them, what it was like. Henry Mentelmann, for example, talks about Kristallnacht, when Hitler Youth and Storm Troopers wrecked Jewish homes and stores, and remembers thinking that the victims deserved what they got. The stirring photos tell more of the story. One particularly moving picture shows young Germans undergoing de-Nazification by watching images of people in the camps. The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
Ann Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank
Edith's Story: The True Story of a Young Girl's Courage and Survival During World War II by Edith Velmans
A Child of Hitler by Alfon Sheck
Saturday, October 13, 2007
NONFICTION BLOG #2: THE MAN-EATING TIGERS OF THE SUNDARBANS
NONFICTION BLOG #2: THE MAN-EATING TIGERS OF THE SUNDARBANS
Bibliographic Data
Briggs, Eleanor. 2001. THE MAN-EATING TIGERS OF THE SUNDARBANS. by Sy Montgomery. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0-618-07704-9
Summary
In this photo essay the reader is taken on a trip to the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve along the Bay of Bengal, between the countries of India and Bangladesh. About three hundred people a year are killed by the tigers of the Sundarbans and no one knows why. This book asks questions and shares findings from scientists and the natives to try to solve the mystery of the man eating tigers of the Sudarbans.
Critical Analysis
The layout of the book is very attractive. I was immediately drawn to the book because of the beautiful photography of the tiger on the cover as well as the title, THE MAN-EATING TIGERS OF THE SUNDARBANS. The author Sy Montgomery traveled to the Sundarbans on four separate expeditions searching for answers to the mysteries surround the tigers that live there. She listened to scientists and stories of the villagers who live by and respect the tigers on the reserve. I believe this sort of research and travel lead to a very accurately written nonfiction book. The layout is logical and there is a clear sequence to the information. There are six sections separated by titles much like chapters. The first section titled The Tiger is Watching serves as an introduction and attention grabber, where many questions and ideas on how to solve the mystery of the man eating tigers are posed to the reader. Other sections include A Visit to the Sundarbans, which serves to teach the reader about the natural wildlife of the Sundarbans, How Tigers Live, What the Scientists Say, What the Villagers Say and lastly Tiger Magic. The writing is clear, lively and exciting and avoids “talking down” to the reader. The writing encourages curiosity in the reader by sharing hypothesis from scientists and villagers stories to encourage critical thinking skills. Facts are presented but the author acknowledges that the answers are not black and white and therefore lead to more questions and inquiry. The photography complements the journey the reader is taken on to the Sundarbans. There are many pictures of wildlife, villagers, mangrove forests and close up photos of the tigers, which along with the personal voice of the writing make it seem as if the reader has been taken on a personal trip to the Sundarbans themselves. The back of the book includes a section on how to say some phrases in Bengali, statistics on tigers, other books on tigers and a list of organizations helping tigers.
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-These unusual creatures of the Sundarbans-a mangrove forest stretching along the Bay of Bengal in India and Bangladesh-really do hunt and eat humans. Montgomery invites readers to journey with her to the region to better understand these elusive animals. "And here you-leave cars behind. You can get to the tigers' forest only by boat." She introduces several knowledgeable residents who describe their experiences. The author also explains many aspects of the rapid loss of the world's tiger population, the little understood behavior of this region's tigers, the lives and beliefs of local people, and the special features of the habitat and its role in supporting a chain of animal life. The largely conjectural knowledge of the tigers is handled carefully, but the lack of immediacy may tax the patience of readers expecting the more dramatic encounter with tigers suggested by the title and cover photo. The mysterious creatures are well concealed by the mangroves, and the few appearing here in handsome photographs are actually in captivity..-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. The author of the acclaimed Snake Scientist (1999) has spun off this title from her 1995 adult book Spell of the Tiger, but this oversize volume has clearly been written with young people in mind. It immediately captures attention with fresh, engaging writing that turns a scientific study into a page-turning mystery. Montgomery carefully sets the place: a flooded forest called the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, which runs along the bay dividing India from Bangladesh. It's the text, with as many questions as answers, that excites, as a fascinating topic meets a talented storyteller. Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Booklist, ALA, Starred Review : "Immediately captures attention with a fresh, engaging style that turns scientific study into a page-turning mystery. . . . A fascinating topic meets a talented storyteller."
Connections
Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon by Sy Montgomery
Man-Eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks) by Jim Corbett
Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest by Sy Montgomery
Jungle Lore by Jim Corbett
The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag (Oxford India Paperbacks) by Jim Corbett
Activities
Students can write to some of the organizations helping tigers for more information.
Bibliographic Data
Briggs, Eleanor. 2001. THE MAN-EATING TIGERS OF THE SUNDARBANS. by Sy Montgomery. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0-618-07704-9
Summary
In this photo essay the reader is taken on a trip to the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve along the Bay of Bengal, between the countries of India and Bangladesh. About three hundred people a year are killed by the tigers of the Sundarbans and no one knows why. This book asks questions and shares findings from scientists and the natives to try to solve the mystery of the man eating tigers of the Sudarbans.
Critical Analysis
The layout of the book is very attractive. I was immediately drawn to the book because of the beautiful photography of the tiger on the cover as well as the title, THE MAN-EATING TIGERS OF THE SUNDARBANS. The author Sy Montgomery traveled to the Sundarbans on four separate expeditions searching for answers to the mysteries surround the tigers that live there. She listened to scientists and stories of the villagers who live by and respect the tigers on the reserve. I believe this sort of research and travel lead to a very accurately written nonfiction book. The layout is logical and there is a clear sequence to the information. There are six sections separated by titles much like chapters. The first section titled The Tiger is Watching serves as an introduction and attention grabber, where many questions and ideas on how to solve the mystery of the man eating tigers are posed to the reader. Other sections include A Visit to the Sundarbans, which serves to teach the reader about the natural wildlife of the Sundarbans, How Tigers Live, What the Scientists Say, What the Villagers Say and lastly Tiger Magic. The writing is clear, lively and exciting and avoids “talking down” to the reader. The writing encourages curiosity in the reader by sharing hypothesis from scientists and villagers stories to encourage critical thinking skills. Facts are presented but the author acknowledges that the answers are not black and white and therefore lead to more questions and inquiry. The photography complements the journey the reader is taken on to the Sundarbans. There are many pictures of wildlife, villagers, mangrove forests and close up photos of the tigers, which along with the personal voice of the writing make it seem as if the reader has been taken on a personal trip to the Sundarbans themselves. The back of the book includes a section on how to say some phrases in Bengali, statistics on tigers, other books on tigers and a list of organizations helping tigers.
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-These unusual creatures of the Sundarbans-a mangrove forest stretching along the Bay of Bengal in India and Bangladesh-really do hunt and eat humans. Montgomery invites readers to journey with her to the region to better understand these elusive animals. "And here you-leave cars behind. You can get to the tigers' forest only by boat." She introduces several knowledgeable residents who describe their experiences. The author also explains many aspects of the rapid loss of the world's tiger population, the little understood behavior of this region's tigers, the lives and beliefs of local people, and the special features of the habitat and its role in supporting a chain of animal life. The largely conjectural knowledge of the tigers is handled carefully, but the lack of immediacy may tax the patience of readers expecting the more dramatic encounter with tigers suggested by the title and cover photo. The mysterious creatures are well concealed by the mangroves, and the few appearing here in handsome photographs are actually in captivity..-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. The author of the acclaimed Snake Scientist (1999) has spun off this title from her 1995 adult book Spell of the Tiger, but this oversize volume has clearly been written with young people in mind. It immediately captures attention with fresh, engaging writing that turns a scientific study into a page-turning mystery. Montgomery carefully sets the place: a flooded forest called the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, which runs along the bay dividing India from Bangladesh. It's the text, with as many questions as answers, that excites, as a fascinating topic meets a talented storyteller. Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Booklist, ALA, Starred Review : "Immediately captures attention with a fresh, engaging style that turns scientific study into a page-turning mystery. . . . A fascinating topic meets a talented storyteller."
Connections
Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon by Sy Montgomery
Man-Eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks) by Jim Corbett
Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest by Sy Montgomery
Jungle Lore by Jim Corbett
The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag (Oxford India Paperbacks) by Jim Corbett
Activities
Students can write to some of the organizations helping tigers for more information.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
NONFICTION BLOG #1: ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES
NONFICTION BLOG #1 ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES
Bibliographic Data
Simon, Seymour. 2001. ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES. Vancouver, British Columbia: Chronicle Books LLC. ISBN: 1-58717-080-9
Plot Summary
In this attractive photo-essay nonfiction book, Seymour Simon teaches us about the most unlovable of animals. While many of the animals are familiar, some are more unusual like the Gila Monster and the Man-of-War. The facts and details about each animal are presented in a personal voice which makes each animal interesting and exciting to read and learn about. We also learn little know facts : Did you know that headless cockroaches can live for as long as a week ? or that piranha’s have killed more people than the great white shark?
Critical Analysis
The layout of the book is attractive, inviting and well organized. The book begins with an introduction explaining what the book is going to be about and setting the stage for keeping an open mind about the animals that are going to be discussed. The book is made up of double pages spreads for each of the 20 featured unlovable animals. For each animal presented there is a full page color photograph of the animal. The photographs are full page sized close ups that capture the animal in their natural habitat. The photograph of the piranha is one of my favorites. The reader is able to look at the piranha’s sharp pointed row of teeth while reading the text:
“Piranhas can strip the flesh from a large animal in just a few minutes. There are horrible stories of people being eaten alive by piranhas. No wonder this small fish is so feared.”
Wow, that definitely doesn’t read like a boring textbook! As from this excerpt from the book you can tell that the writing is clear, lively and interesting. The sharing of interesting details and little know facts show that the author is enthusiastic about the subject.
The book ends with some questions for the reader which encourages critical thinking and more reading. The last page asks these questions:
“Do you feel any differently about the animals in this book now that you know more about them? If you do, can you think of any reasons that made you change your mind? Perhaps you might make your own list of animals that you don’t love and think about why each of these animals is on your list.
Review Excerpt
From BooklistGr. 4-6. The photos (and even the text) won't do much to change the reputation of animals such as the vulture and the rat, but there's no denying they'll draw a crowd and a chorus of "Gross." The pictures are fine, large, and in full color, as fascinating as they are repulsive and scary: the yawning jaws of a shark; a hyena consuming bloody food; a wasp enlarged bigger than a human fist, stinging a grasshopper. Simon puts forward some interesting facts and dispels a few myths about these 20 unlovable subjects, but report writers won't find enough material here, nor are there notes to lead curious kids on to more information. There's no question this will look great on display, but it will serve kids best when it's presented with more fact-rich natural histories. Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Connections
Crocodiles and Alligators by Seymour Simon
Gorillas by Seymour Simon
Spiders by Seymour Simon
Snakes by Seymour Simon
Wolves by Seymour Simon
Sharks by Seymour Simon
Big Cats by Seymour Simon
Wild Babies by Seymour Simon
Activities
Ask students to call out the names of some animals they don’t love
Write the list on the white board as students call out animals names
Group students to research more about one of the animals
Go to the library for students to look at other trade books on the animals and write up some new learned facts.
Bibliographic Data
Simon, Seymour. 2001. ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES. Vancouver, British Columbia: Chronicle Books LLC. ISBN: 1-58717-080-9
Plot Summary
In this attractive photo-essay nonfiction book, Seymour Simon teaches us about the most unlovable of animals. While many of the animals are familiar, some are more unusual like the Gila Monster and the Man-of-War. The facts and details about each animal are presented in a personal voice which makes each animal interesting and exciting to read and learn about. We also learn little know facts : Did you know that headless cockroaches can live for as long as a week ? or that piranha’s have killed more people than the great white shark?
Critical Analysis
The layout of the book is attractive, inviting and well organized. The book begins with an introduction explaining what the book is going to be about and setting the stage for keeping an open mind about the animals that are going to be discussed. The book is made up of double pages spreads for each of the 20 featured unlovable animals. For each animal presented there is a full page color photograph of the animal. The photographs are full page sized close ups that capture the animal in their natural habitat. The photograph of the piranha is one of my favorites. The reader is able to look at the piranha’s sharp pointed row of teeth while reading the text:
“Piranhas can strip the flesh from a large animal in just a few minutes. There are horrible stories of people being eaten alive by piranhas. No wonder this small fish is so feared.”
Wow, that definitely doesn’t read like a boring textbook! As from this excerpt from the book you can tell that the writing is clear, lively and interesting. The sharing of interesting details and little know facts show that the author is enthusiastic about the subject.
The book ends with some questions for the reader which encourages critical thinking and more reading. The last page asks these questions:
“Do you feel any differently about the animals in this book now that you know more about them? If you do, can you think of any reasons that made you change your mind? Perhaps you might make your own list of animals that you don’t love and think about why each of these animals is on your list.
Review Excerpt
From BooklistGr. 4-6. The photos (and even the text) won't do much to change the reputation of animals such as the vulture and the rat, but there's no denying they'll draw a crowd and a chorus of "Gross." The pictures are fine, large, and in full color, as fascinating as they are repulsive and scary: the yawning jaws of a shark; a hyena consuming bloody food; a wasp enlarged bigger than a human fist, stinging a grasshopper. Simon puts forward some interesting facts and dispels a few myths about these 20 unlovable subjects, but report writers won't find enough material here, nor are there notes to lead curious kids on to more information. There's no question this will look great on display, but it will serve kids best when it's presented with more fact-rich natural histories. Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Connections
Crocodiles and Alligators by Seymour Simon
Gorillas by Seymour Simon
Spiders by Seymour Simon
Snakes by Seymour Simon
Wolves by Seymour Simon
Sharks by Seymour Simon
Big Cats by Seymour Simon
Wild Babies by Seymour Simon
Activities
Ask students to call out the names of some animals they don’t love
Write the list on the white board as students call out animals names
Group students to research more about one of the animals
Go to the library for students to look at other trade books on the animals and write up some new learned facts.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
POETRY BLOG #3 A Pizza the Size of the Sun
POETRY BLOG #3: A Pizza the Size of the Sun
Bibliographic data
Stevenson, James. 1994. A PIZZA THE SIZE OF THE SUN. by Jack Prelutsky. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0-688-13235-7
Plot Summary
In this collection of poetry by Jack Prelutsky shares all types of humorous poems, including lyric, limerick, and concrete poems that children will enjoy, relate to, and most of all have fun reading. Poems include My Brother’s Really Stingy, Quentin Quimble Quamble Qualye the tattletale, and Gloppe’s Soup Shoppe to name a few. Children can read from start to finish, or pick and choose poems at random.
Critical Analysis
Jack Prelutsky’s poems are very imaginative, varied and humorous. He creates imaginary animals such as Moopies and Doddies and the Fummawummalummazumms in his rhymes. Prelutsky uses rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration in his poems. This collection includes concrete poems, such as I Was Walking in a Circle, where the poem is written on the page as a representation of a circle and the reader has to read the poem in the circle turning the book around in the process. Concrete poems are meant to be seen more than heard and often do not have a rhyming scheme or particular rhythm. The poem, I Was Walking in a Circle, does have a rhyming scheme as the words red and said do rhyme, but the visual is the most important part of the poem. Prelutsky uses word play and has even has fun with the way the poems are presented on the page. For example in I Am your Mirror Image, the reader has to look at the poem in the mirror to read it, also in Reverso is Name My, the reader has to figure out to read the poem left to right instead of the normal right to left. In the concrete poem a Dizzy Little Duzzle, the poem is never-ending, but the words fly around the page like a little bug. I also like the play on words in the poem If. This poem uses the double meanings of words like pain and pane, peal and peel, pries and prize, hares and hairs, and bear and bare to create a fun rhyming poem. These poems are great to read as an adult read aloud, unison, chorus and groups. The poem Rat for Lunch is a great poem to read with a class. The students can read aloud the repeated lines of the poem, while the teacher reads the rest of the pieces of the poem in between the chorus.
Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch!
Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!
One by one or by the bunch –
Rat, oh rat, oh rat for lunch!
James Stevenson’s water color black and white cartoon illustrations complement the poem very well. In I Got out of Bed, and I’m Proud of My Preposterpus the picture simply makes the poem. In other poems the illustrations add to the humor and wit of the poetry. Children will fall in love with the silly and fun poems and pictures in this poetry collection.
Review Excerpts
Booklist, 9/15/96 Gr. 3-6.
Prelutsky is up to his old tricks, using verbal sleight of hand to create another magical anthology of light verse. Poems such as "Penguins" display an elegance of wit and style: "Penguins cautiously reside / on our planet's underside, / Where they're careful not to cough, / lest they trip and tumble off." Others appeal to a grosser humor ("Eyeballs for sale! / Fresh Eyeballs for sale! / Delicious, nutritious, / not moldy or stale") or to children's delight in wordplay (I hide my dromedary / inside of our garage, / my parents don't suspect it's there / it's wearing camel-flage"). Librarians who have trouble locating concrete poems (in which the words are placed on the page in a shape suggested by the poem's subject) for school assignments will be glad to find a few examples here. The verse finds perfect visual expression in Stevenson's witty ink drawings touched with gray wash. A delightful addition to poetry collections that will not stay on the shelf for long.
Horn Book,9/10/96
The duo responsible for The New Kid on the Block and Something Big Has Been Here have again combined talents to create an appealing collection of short poetry. Stevenson's spirited line and wash drawings effectively convey the tone of the jaunty, usually funny, often silly, sometimes gross, and always childlike poems.... A fast-paced and accessible collection that's loads of fun.
Connections
The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky
Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Falling up by Shel Silverstein
Activities
Students read poems from books and pick their favorite to memorize and/or read aloud to the class
Adult read aloud, chorus and groups
Bibliographic data
Stevenson, James. 1994. A PIZZA THE SIZE OF THE SUN. by Jack Prelutsky. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0-688-13235-7
Plot Summary
In this collection of poetry by Jack Prelutsky shares all types of humorous poems, including lyric, limerick, and concrete poems that children will enjoy, relate to, and most of all have fun reading. Poems include My Brother’s Really Stingy, Quentin Quimble Quamble Qualye the tattletale, and Gloppe’s Soup Shoppe to name a few. Children can read from start to finish, or pick and choose poems at random.
Critical Analysis
Jack Prelutsky’s poems are very imaginative, varied and humorous. He creates imaginary animals such as Moopies and Doddies and the Fummawummalummazumms in his rhymes. Prelutsky uses rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration in his poems. This collection includes concrete poems, such as I Was Walking in a Circle, where the poem is written on the page as a representation of a circle and the reader has to read the poem in the circle turning the book around in the process. Concrete poems are meant to be seen more than heard and often do not have a rhyming scheme or particular rhythm. The poem, I Was Walking in a Circle, does have a rhyming scheme as the words red and said do rhyme, but the visual is the most important part of the poem. Prelutsky uses word play and has even has fun with the way the poems are presented on the page. For example in I Am your Mirror Image, the reader has to look at the poem in the mirror to read it, also in Reverso is Name My, the reader has to figure out to read the poem left to right instead of the normal right to left. In the concrete poem a Dizzy Little Duzzle, the poem is never-ending, but the words fly around the page like a little bug. I also like the play on words in the poem If. This poem uses the double meanings of words like pain and pane, peal and peel, pries and prize, hares and hairs, and bear and bare to create a fun rhyming poem. These poems are great to read as an adult read aloud, unison, chorus and groups. The poem Rat for Lunch is a great poem to read with a class. The students can read aloud the repeated lines of the poem, while the teacher reads the rest of the pieces of the poem in between the chorus.
Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch!
Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!
One by one or by the bunch –
Rat, oh rat, oh rat for lunch!
James Stevenson’s water color black and white cartoon illustrations complement the poem very well. In I Got out of Bed, and I’m Proud of My Preposterpus the picture simply makes the poem. In other poems the illustrations add to the humor and wit of the poetry. Children will fall in love with the silly and fun poems and pictures in this poetry collection.
Review Excerpts
Booklist, 9/15/96 Gr. 3-6.
Prelutsky is up to his old tricks, using verbal sleight of hand to create another magical anthology of light verse. Poems such as "Penguins" display an elegance of wit and style: "Penguins cautiously reside / on our planet's underside, / Where they're careful not to cough, / lest they trip and tumble off." Others appeal to a grosser humor ("Eyeballs for sale! / Fresh Eyeballs for sale! / Delicious, nutritious, / not moldy or stale") or to children's delight in wordplay (I hide my dromedary / inside of our garage, / my parents don't suspect it's there / it's wearing camel-flage"). Librarians who have trouble locating concrete poems (in which the words are placed on the page in a shape suggested by the poem's subject) for school assignments will be glad to find a few examples here. The verse finds perfect visual expression in Stevenson's witty ink drawings touched with gray wash. A delightful addition to poetry collections that will not stay on the shelf for long.
Horn Book,9/10/96
The duo responsible for The New Kid on the Block and Something Big Has Been Here have again combined talents to create an appealing collection of short poetry. Stevenson's spirited line and wash drawings effectively convey the tone of the jaunty, usually funny, often silly, sometimes gross, and always childlike poems.... A fast-paced and accessible collection that's loads of fun.
Connections
The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky
Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Falling up by Shel Silverstein
Activities
Students read poems from books and pick their favorite to memorize and/or read aloud to the class
Adult read aloud, chorus and groups
Sunday, September 30, 2007
POETRY BLOG #2: one of those hideous books where the mother dies
POETRY BLOG #2: one of those hideous books where the mother dies
Bibliographic data
Sones, Sonya. 2004. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHRE THE MOTHER DIES. New York. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-689-85820-8
Plot Summary
In this verse novel fifteen year old Ruby is sent to live with her father in Los Angeles after her mother dies. Ruby is upset to leave her best friend Lizzie, her aunt Duffy and her boyfriend Ray to live with her famous movie star father who she has never met before.
Critical Analysis
I had never read a verse novel before and after reading this one I think I may be hooked. Each poem seems like a condensed chapter of a book, the free verse and rhyming poems are told as poems written by the main character, Ruby. These poems capture the voice of Ruby. The poems are sarcastic, humorous, and sad. In each poem I can feel the pain, the surprise, and the young love and heartache that Ruby is experiencing. Each poem is a part of the novel, but could also serve as a poem to read alone as well. The author also mixes things up by including letters of correspondence from herself to Lizzie, Ray and her late mother in the novel. The author uses a distinctive use of spacing, line breaks and poem formatting in her poems. My favorite poem is on page 208 after Ruby finds out her best friend and boyfriend back home have hooked up at the Halloween party.
I Used to Love the Rain
The way it filled the airU
with the musky smell
of earth,
the way it painted
the streets
with glistening neon light,
the way it turned
the inside of your Mustang
into a snug cocoon
Now
I hate
the rain.
I hate it
for reminding me
of that night last summer
when the rain
licked at my lashes
while your lips covered mine.
I used to love the rain.
You used to love
me.
I also liked the spacing and formatting of the poem, Suddenly There’s Another Tremor where the spacing is shifted right, left and middle to illustrate the earthquake rumbles. When the quaking finally stops the words on the page go back to left alignment illustrating the stillness. I think that book would be very appealing to young readers especially girls. I am not wasnt sure if it would be appealing to boys but after reading a few reviews from kids I did note that a lot of boys who reviewed it really liked it. It is a quick easy read, but also makes you think about the power of few words and the value of poetry to capture a feeling. Young readers will be able to identify with the main characters feelings and writing and humor. I laughed out loud on many occasions. Such as the last 4 lines of the poem, I Didn’t Want to Get on This Plane.
painfully aware that every step I take
is leading me
closer and closer
to the sperm donor himself.
I wish I would have read this when I was young, it would have definitely gotten me more interested in poetry. I loved this book!
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–In one- to two-page breezy poetic prose-style entries, 15-year-old Ruby Milliken describes her flight from Boston to California and her gradual adjustment to life with her estranged movie-star father following her mother's death. E-mails to her best friend, her boyfriend, and her mother ("in heaven") and outpourings of her innermost thoughts display her overwhelming unhappiness and feelings of isolation, loss, and grief ("…most days,/I wander around Lakewood feeling invisible./Like I'm just a speck of dust/floating in the air/that can only be seen/when a shaft of light hits it"). Ruby's affable personality is evident in her humorous quips and clever wordplays. Her depth of character is revealed through her honest admissions, poignant revelations, and sensitive insights, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 7-12. After the death of her mother, high-schooler Ruby is sent from Boston to L.A. to live with the father she has never met: "He's such a scumbag / that he divorced my mother / before I was even born." The "scumbag" is Whip Logan, a famous movie actor, but Ruby is too angry to be impressed; at the airport she wonders whether to "ask him for his autograph, / or kick him in the balls." Sones' latest free-verse novel follows Ruby through her first few months in her new home, a mansion where her every desire is granted--except what she longs for most: her best friend, her boyfriend, and of course, her mother. Sones' novel is an unusual combination of over-the-top Hollywood fairy tale and sharp, honest story about overcoming grief. A satisfying, moving novel that will be a winner for both eager and reluctant readers. Gillian EngbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
Other novels in verse by Sonya Sones
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Stop Pretending: What Happened When my Big Sister Went Crazy
Over 60 Novels in verse are listed on Sonya Sones webpage at http://www.sonyasones.com/greatbooks.htm
Activities
Have students choose a novel in verse written by Sonya Sones or from her booklist on her webpage. Her booklist also includes a brief description of each novel in verse, which may help students choose.
Have students try their hand at writing a poem that can be a part of a verse novel. Work in groups and share with class.
Students can discuss their favorite page in a verse novel. Students can share by reading it a loud in the class.
Bibliographic data
Sones, Sonya. 2004. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHRE THE MOTHER DIES. New York. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-689-85820-8
Plot Summary
In this verse novel fifteen year old Ruby is sent to live with her father in Los Angeles after her mother dies. Ruby is upset to leave her best friend Lizzie, her aunt Duffy and her boyfriend Ray to live with her famous movie star father who she has never met before.
Critical Analysis
I had never read a verse novel before and after reading this one I think I may be hooked. Each poem seems like a condensed chapter of a book, the free verse and rhyming poems are told as poems written by the main character, Ruby. These poems capture the voice of Ruby. The poems are sarcastic, humorous, and sad. In each poem I can feel the pain, the surprise, and the young love and heartache that Ruby is experiencing. Each poem is a part of the novel, but could also serve as a poem to read alone as well. The author also mixes things up by including letters of correspondence from herself to Lizzie, Ray and her late mother in the novel. The author uses a distinctive use of spacing, line breaks and poem formatting in her poems. My favorite poem is on page 208 after Ruby finds out her best friend and boyfriend back home have hooked up at the Halloween party.
I Used to Love the Rain
The way it filled the airU
with the musky smell
of earth,
the way it painted
the streets
with glistening neon light,
the way it turned
the inside of your Mustang
into a snug cocoon
Now
I hate
the rain.
I hate it
for reminding me
of that night last summer
when the rain
licked at my lashes
while your lips covered mine.
I used to love the rain.
You used to love
me.
I also liked the spacing and formatting of the poem, Suddenly There’s Another Tremor where the spacing is shifted right, left and middle to illustrate the earthquake rumbles. When the quaking finally stops the words on the page go back to left alignment illustrating the stillness. I think that book would be very appealing to young readers especially girls. I am not wasnt sure if it would be appealing to boys but after reading a few reviews from kids I did note that a lot of boys who reviewed it really liked it. It is a quick easy read, but also makes you think about the power of few words and the value of poetry to capture a feeling. Young readers will be able to identify with the main characters feelings and writing and humor. I laughed out loud on many occasions. Such as the last 4 lines of the poem, I Didn’t Want to Get on This Plane.
painfully aware that every step I take
is leading me
closer and closer
to the sperm donor himself.
I wish I would have read this when I was young, it would have definitely gotten me more interested in poetry. I loved this book!
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–In one- to two-page breezy poetic prose-style entries, 15-year-old Ruby Milliken describes her flight from Boston to California and her gradual adjustment to life with her estranged movie-star father following her mother's death. E-mails to her best friend, her boyfriend, and her mother ("in heaven") and outpourings of her innermost thoughts display her overwhelming unhappiness and feelings of isolation, loss, and grief ("…most days,/I wander around Lakewood feeling invisible./Like I'm just a speck of dust/floating in the air/that can only be seen/when a shaft of light hits it"). Ruby's affable personality is evident in her humorous quips and clever wordplays. Her depth of character is revealed through her honest admissions, poignant revelations, and sensitive insights, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 7-12. After the death of her mother, high-schooler Ruby is sent from Boston to L.A. to live with the father she has never met: "He's such a scumbag / that he divorced my mother / before I was even born." The "scumbag" is Whip Logan, a famous movie actor, but Ruby is too angry to be impressed; at the airport she wonders whether to "ask him for his autograph, / or kick him in the balls." Sones' latest free-verse novel follows Ruby through her first few months in her new home, a mansion where her every desire is granted--except what she longs for most: her best friend, her boyfriend, and of course, her mother. Sones' novel is an unusual combination of over-the-top Hollywood fairy tale and sharp, honest story about overcoming grief. A satisfying, moving novel that will be a winner for both eager and reluctant readers. Gillian EngbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
Other novels in verse by Sonya Sones
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Stop Pretending: What Happened When my Big Sister Went Crazy
Over 60 Novels in verse are listed on Sonya Sones webpage at http://www.sonyasones.com/greatbooks.htm
Activities
Have students choose a novel in verse written by Sonya Sones or from her booklist on her webpage. Her booklist also includes a brief description of each novel in verse, which may help students choose.
Have students try their hand at writing a poem that can be a part of a verse novel. Work in groups and share with class.
Students can discuss their favorite page in a verse novel. Students can share by reading it a loud in the class.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
POETRY BLOG #1: NIGHT GARDEN Poems from the World of Dreams
POETRY BLOG #1: NIGHT GARDEN Poems from the World of Dreams
A. Bibliographic data
Paschkis, Julie. 2000. NIGHT GARDEN Poems from the World of Dreams by Janet Wong. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. ISBN: 0-689-82617-6
B. Brief plot summary
In this collection of poetry Janet Wong captures the surreal magic of dreaming and dreams. Common themes of dreaming, flying, falling, swimming, fear, lost loved ones, and food are brought to life with Wong’s lyric and free verse poetry. Each page is dedicated to a single poem and illustrated in beautiful painterly media. Each poem has a single picture on the opposite page of the type, and a single color is used to in the drawings that surround the rest of the page. For example in Dog Dreams, there is a color illustration of a sleeping dog across from the type. The rest of the page is filled with drawings of different types of dogs running, flying and sitting on the moon. All of these pictures are done in brown.
C. Critical analysis
The book is organized as 15 poems by Janet Wong about dreaming and dreams. There is a table of contents in the beginning of the book to help the reader find certain poems. The poetry consists of lyrical and free verse poetry. In Gently Down the Stream every second line rhymes. In contrast, there is little rhyming in the poem Flying. This poem is more free verse. The author born in America of Korean and Chinese descent introduces new vocabulary such as lo bak go and dim sum in the poem Turnip Cake. However, the poems are all universal as dreaming is timeless. Children can relate to dreaming about falling, nightmares and dreaming of good food. There is distinct use of spacing and line breaks and formatting. Some poems are broken up into 2 lines together and a space between the next 2 lines and so forth. In other poems the type itself is a part of the poem. For example, in Falling the type illustrates the dream as the words falling, down, falling fall down the page. Wong also uses repetition as a sound element to make the poem come to life. In Even in My Sleep the 3 lines
you monster
you monster
You monster
These lines coupled with the illustrations really make the capture the feeling of fear and mistrust of the dreamer. I especially liked these illustrations and the choice of red as the main color for the illustrations. The main color illustration is a picture of a hand with candy in the palm of it and a ghoulish hand reaching for the candy. The pictures in red covering the rest of the pages are of sharp toothed rat like creatures grabbing the candy from the dreamer and hungrily devouring it. I think that young readers will enjoy these poems as they are imaginative and also relatable. They are especially good for adult read aloud. The illustrations are surreal and beautiful and complement the poems very well. I like the fact that the poems are not all done in lyric and limerick style as a lot of fun poetry is for kids. This is a good way for children to become exposed to more free verse poetry that is imaginative, surreal and beautiful.
D. Review excerpt(s)
Publisher's Weekly
"In this absorbing volume, Wong (A Suitcase of Seaweed and Other Poems) and Paschkis (Play All Day) examine the familiar yet surprising qualities of dreams. The poems recall a weightless feeling of flying, an anxious sense of being late or an unexpected visit from a dead or living acquaintance ("I had forgotten you, friend./ Is that why you came/ into my dream?"). "Gently Down the Stream" alludes to the phrase "life is but a dream" and describes swimming in clear water; the accompanying illustration pictures a sinuous orange-and-turquoise fish with a peaceful human face...Paschkis's swirling imagery and Wong's quiet yet haunting words skillfully simulate the reveries they recount."
School Library Journal
"[G]entle language that evokes wonder and thoughtfulness rather than fear. . .Children will enjoy capturing their own dreams and giving them shape and meaning after they have experienced these poems."
E. Connections
Students can read the following poetry collections by Janet Wong
* A Suitcase of Seaweed and Other Poems By Janet S. Wong
* Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions By Janet S. Wong
* The Rainbow Hand: Poems About Mothers And Children By Janet S. Wong
Activities:
* Have students share their own dreams and write their own free verse or lyric poems about their own dreams
* After reading the poetry collection Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions have students discuss superstitions they are familiar with. Discuss. Students can write poems about a superstition of their choice.
A. Bibliographic data
Paschkis, Julie. 2000. NIGHT GARDEN Poems from the World of Dreams by Janet Wong. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. ISBN: 0-689-82617-6
B. Brief plot summary
In this collection of poetry Janet Wong captures the surreal magic of dreaming and dreams. Common themes of dreaming, flying, falling, swimming, fear, lost loved ones, and food are brought to life with Wong’s lyric and free verse poetry. Each page is dedicated to a single poem and illustrated in beautiful painterly media. Each poem has a single picture on the opposite page of the type, and a single color is used to in the drawings that surround the rest of the page. For example in Dog Dreams, there is a color illustration of a sleeping dog across from the type. The rest of the page is filled with drawings of different types of dogs running, flying and sitting on the moon. All of these pictures are done in brown.
C. Critical analysis
The book is organized as 15 poems by Janet Wong about dreaming and dreams. There is a table of contents in the beginning of the book to help the reader find certain poems. The poetry consists of lyrical and free verse poetry. In Gently Down the Stream every second line rhymes. In contrast, there is little rhyming in the poem Flying. This poem is more free verse. The author born in America of Korean and Chinese descent introduces new vocabulary such as lo bak go and dim sum in the poem Turnip Cake. However, the poems are all universal as dreaming is timeless. Children can relate to dreaming about falling, nightmares and dreaming of good food. There is distinct use of spacing and line breaks and formatting. Some poems are broken up into 2 lines together and a space between the next 2 lines and so forth. In other poems the type itself is a part of the poem. For example, in Falling the type illustrates the dream as the words falling, down, falling fall down the page. Wong also uses repetition as a sound element to make the poem come to life. In Even in My Sleep the 3 lines
you monster
you monster
You monster
These lines coupled with the illustrations really make the capture the feeling of fear and mistrust of the dreamer. I especially liked these illustrations and the choice of red as the main color for the illustrations. The main color illustration is a picture of a hand with candy in the palm of it and a ghoulish hand reaching for the candy. The pictures in red covering the rest of the pages are of sharp toothed rat like creatures grabbing the candy from the dreamer and hungrily devouring it. I think that young readers will enjoy these poems as they are imaginative and also relatable. They are especially good for adult read aloud. The illustrations are surreal and beautiful and complement the poems very well. I like the fact that the poems are not all done in lyric and limerick style as a lot of fun poetry is for kids. This is a good way for children to become exposed to more free verse poetry that is imaginative, surreal and beautiful.
D. Review excerpt(s)
Publisher's Weekly
"In this absorbing volume, Wong (A Suitcase of Seaweed and Other Poems) and Paschkis (Play All Day) examine the familiar yet surprising qualities of dreams. The poems recall a weightless feeling of flying, an anxious sense of being late or an unexpected visit from a dead or living acquaintance ("I had forgotten you, friend./ Is that why you came/ into my dream?"). "Gently Down the Stream" alludes to the phrase "life is but a dream" and describes swimming in clear water; the accompanying illustration pictures a sinuous orange-and-turquoise fish with a peaceful human face...Paschkis's swirling imagery and Wong's quiet yet haunting words skillfully simulate the reveries they recount."
School Library Journal
"[G]entle language that evokes wonder and thoughtfulness rather than fear. . .Children will enjoy capturing their own dreams and giving them shape and meaning after they have experienced these poems."
E. Connections
Students can read the following poetry collections by Janet Wong
* A Suitcase of Seaweed and Other Poems By Janet S. Wong
* Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions By Janet S. Wong
* The Rainbow Hand: Poems About Mothers And Children By Janet S. Wong
Activities:
* Have students share their own dreams and write their own free verse or lyric poems about their own dreams
* After reading the poetry collection Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions have students discuss superstitions they are familiar with. Discuss. Students can write poems about a superstition of their choice.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #3: Porch Lies Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wiley Characters
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #3: Porch Lies Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wiley Characters
Bibliographic data
Carrilho, Andre. Ed 2006. PORCH LIES TALES OF SLICKSTERS, TRICKSTERS, AND OTHER WILEY CHARACTERS. First Ed. By Patricia McKissack. New York: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 13:978-0-375-83619-0
Brief plot summary
This book is a collection of original folktales written by Patricia McKissack, an African American author. She introduces the reader to ‘porch lies’ which are orally told folktales that include trickster and noodlehead tales. The author shares with the reader her experience listening to ‘porch lies’ on hot summer evenings at her grandparent’s house in Nashville, Tennessee. The Author’s Note section of the book introduces porch lies and sets the stage for the reader to enjoy the wonderfully written and entertaining 10 folktales or ‘porch lies’ as listed in the table of contents. The trickster tales include Mingo Cass who swindles people with his hundred dollar bill that no one has change for, to Aunt Gran, a sweet old lady who uses outlaws to protect her farm. The stories are entertaining, funny and a genuine joy to read.
Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to genre
My two favorite stories from the collection are AUNT GRAN AND THE OUTLAWS, and A GRAVE SITUATION.
AUNT GRAN AND THE OUTLAWS is set in the year 1882 during a cold Tennessee winter in the community of Webb Hollow. The KKK made midnight rides on the Webb Hollow citizens, in attempt to torment them into selling their land. When all hope is seems lost two outlaws come riding into town. Gran tricks the outlaws by telling them a story of the Webb treasure and they stay with Gran successfully being uses as a “wolf to chase out the fox.”
The story uses dialogue to reveal character and make the story come to life. For example on page 46, “Aine nobody gon’ disturb you lesson they get by me. And I reckon I can protect the likes of you two businessmen, don’t you think?” Aunt Gran said with a nod and a wink.
The folktale has many of the special literary elements particular to folk literature including a simple setting, good and evil characters, and a fast moving plot. This story is specifically a trickster folktale in that Aunt Gran outsmarts everyone in the story. At first you might think that Aunt Gran is naïve in letting the outlaws stay in her home, but you later learn that she knows the who they really are the whole time and is playing them for her advantage.
The ability to hope, one of the values of fantasy, is present in the story as well. When it seems all hope is lost Aunt Gran prays to god for someone to come and help, and the next day the two outlaws arrive.
A GRAVE SITUATION is set in Lynn Cove, Tennessee. Lincoln Murphy, whose reputation precedes him, arrives back in town after being gone for fifteen years. With his slickster moves he gains both a job as Mis Crickett’s driver starts his own jitney service using her car. When Mis Crickett gets ill, Lincoln saves her from being buried alive. We learn that Goodie Harken is a wolf in sheeps clothing and maybe Lincoln was just the opposite. The story unwinds like a mystery and the reader can form their own decision at the end. The ability to develop a capacity for belief is present in this story. The reader may realize the goodness in people and learn not to judge people before getting to know them. The author uses dialogue to reveal the character. The characters speech is natural and illustrates the characters personality. For example on page 92 when Link is explaining why he dug Ms. Cricket up.
“Mis Crickett’s been like kin to me,” Link explained. “When Mr. Harken didn’t honor Mis Crickett’s wishes, I didn’t know what to do. Who would’ve belived me? So, like a coward, I decided just to leave town. After sitting by the levee all night thinking ‘bout po’ Mis Crickett – I decided come morning to dig her up when no one was around.” Using this dialogue helps the reader to identify and understand Link’s feelings and motives.The author uses figurative language to covey meaning with emotional intensity. For example on page 90: “Once we all got home, Mis Cricket immediately sent for Goodie Harden, Dr.Tate, and the police chief, Joe Sullivan. You could have pushed Mr.Harken over with a broom straw when he found out that Mis Crickett was alive and well.
The Illustrations done by Andre Carilho are done in a black and white. They are part cartoon, part silhouette portraits with the human character always as the focal point. The use of vertical lines direct the readers eye to the action part of the illustration. For example, in A GRAVE SITUATION the thin vertical lines of Lincoln’s legs next to the long vertical line of the shovel direct your eye to the action of digging the grave. The illustrations captivate the eyes with the way they are presented off balance and at various angles
Review excerpt(s)
From Booklist*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5.
Like McKissack's award-winning The Dark Thirty (1992), the nine original tales in this uproarious collection draw on African American oral tradition and blend history and legend with sly humor, creepy horror, villainous characters, and wild farce. McKissack based the stories on those she heard as a child while sitting on her grandparents' porch; now she is passing them on to her grandchildren. Without using dialect, her intimate folk idiom celebrates the storytelling among friends, neighbors, and family as much as the stories themselves. "Some folk believe the story; some don't. You decide for yourself."
From School Library JournalGrade 5 Up
These 10 literate stories make for great leisure listening and knowing chuckles. Pete Bruce flatters a baker out of a coconut cream pie and a quart of milk; Mingo may or may not have anything smaller than a 100-dollar bill to pay his bills; Frank and Jesse James, or the Howard boys, help an old woman against the KKK-ish Knights of the White Gardenia; and Cake Norris wakes up dead one day–again. Carrilhos eerie black-and-white illustrations, dramatically off-balance, lit by moonlight, and elongated like nightmares, are well-matched with the stories. The tales are variously narrated by boys and girls, even though the authors preface seems to set readers up for a single, female narrator in the persona of McKissack herself. They contain the essence of truth but are fiction from beginning to end, an amalgam of old stories, characters, jokes, setups, and motifs. As such, they have no provenance. Still, it would have helped readers unfamiliar with African-American history to have an authors note helping separate the truth of these lies that allude to Depression-era African-American and Southern traditions. That aside, theyre great fun to read aloud and the tricksters, sharpies, slicksters, and outlaws wink knowingly at the child narrators, and at us foolish humans.–Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Connections
Sister Tricksters: Rollicking Tales of Clever Females by Robert and David San Souci
The Dark Thirty by Patricia McKissack
The Barefoot Book of Trickster Tales retold by Richard Walker
Bibliographic data
Carrilho, Andre. Ed 2006. PORCH LIES TALES OF SLICKSTERS, TRICKSTERS, AND OTHER WILEY CHARACTERS. First Ed. By Patricia McKissack. New York: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 13:978-0-375-83619-0
Brief plot summary
This book is a collection of original folktales written by Patricia McKissack, an African American author. She introduces the reader to ‘porch lies’ which are orally told folktales that include trickster and noodlehead tales. The author shares with the reader her experience listening to ‘porch lies’ on hot summer evenings at her grandparent’s house in Nashville, Tennessee. The Author’s Note section of the book introduces porch lies and sets the stage for the reader to enjoy the wonderfully written and entertaining 10 folktales or ‘porch lies’ as listed in the table of contents. The trickster tales include Mingo Cass who swindles people with his hundred dollar bill that no one has change for, to Aunt Gran, a sweet old lady who uses outlaws to protect her farm. The stories are entertaining, funny and a genuine joy to read.
Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to genre
My two favorite stories from the collection are AUNT GRAN AND THE OUTLAWS, and A GRAVE SITUATION.
AUNT GRAN AND THE OUTLAWS is set in the year 1882 during a cold Tennessee winter in the community of Webb Hollow. The KKK made midnight rides on the Webb Hollow citizens, in attempt to torment them into selling their land. When all hope is seems lost two outlaws come riding into town. Gran tricks the outlaws by telling them a story of the Webb treasure and they stay with Gran successfully being uses as a “wolf to chase out the fox.”
The story uses dialogue to reveal character and make the story come to life. For example on page 46, “Aine nobody gon’ disturb you lesson they get by me. And I reckon I can protect the likes of you two businessmen, don’t you think?” Aunt Gran said with a nod and a wink.
The folktale has many of the special literary elements particular to folk literature including a simple setting, good and evil characters, and a fast moving plot. This story is specifically a trickster folktale in that Aunt Gran outsmarts everyone in the story. At first you might think that Aunt Gran is naïve in letting the outlaws stay in her home, but you later learn that she knows the who they really are the whole time and is playing them for her advantage.
The ability to hope, one of the values of fantasy, is present in the story as well. When it seems all hope is lost Aunt Gran prays to god for someone to come and help, and the next day the two outlaws arrive.
A GRAVE SITUATION is set in Lynn Cove, Tennessee. Lincoln Murphy, whose reputation precedes him, arrives back in town after being gone for fifteen years. With his slickster moves he gains both a job as Mis Crickett’s driver starts his own jitney service using her car. When Mis Crickett gets ill, Lincoln saves her from being buried alive. We learn that Goodie Harken is a wolf in sheeps clothing and maybe Lincoln was just the opposite. The story unwinds like a mystery and the reader can form their own decision at the end. The ability to develop a capacity for belief is present in this story. The reader may realize the goodness in people and learn not to judge people before getting to know them. The author uses dialogue to reveal the character. The characters speech is natural and illustrates the characters personality. For example on page 92 when Link is explaining why he dug Ms. Cricket up.
“Mis Crickett’s been like kin to me,” Link explained. “When Mr. Harken didn’t honor Mis Crickett’s wishes, I didn’t know what to do. Who would’ve belived me? So, like a coward, I decided just to leave town. After sitting by the levee all night thinking ‘bout po’ Mis Crickett – I decided come morning to dig her up when no one was around.” Using this dialogue helps the reader to identify and understand Link’s feelings and motives.The author uses figurative language to covey meaning with emotional intensity. For example on page 90: “Once we all got home, Mis Cricket immediately sent for Goodie Harden, Dr.Tate, and the police chief, Joe Sullivan. You could have pushed Mr.Harken over with a broom straw when he found out that Mis Crickett was alive and well.
The Illustrations done by Andre Carilho are done in a black and white. They are part cartoon, part silhouette portraits with the human character always as the focal point. The use of vertical lines direct the readers eye to the action part of the illustration. For example, in A GRAVE SITUATION the thin vertical lines of Lincoln’s legs next to the long vertical line of the shovel direct your eye to the action of digging the grave. The illustrations captivate the eyes with the way they are presented off balance and at various angles
Review excerpt(s)
From Booklist*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5.
Like McKissack's award-winning The Dark Thirty (1992), the nine original tales in this uproarious collection draw on African American oral tradition and blend history and legend with sly humor, creepy horror, villainous characters, and wild farce. McKissack based the stories on those she heard as a child while sitting on her grandparents' porch; now she is passing them on to her grandchildren. Without using dialect, her intimate folk idiom celebrates the storytelling among friends, neighbors, and family as much as the stories themselves. "Some folk believe the story; some don't. You decide for yourself."
From School Library JournalGrade 5 Up
These 10 literate stories make for great leisure listening and knowing chuckles. Pete Bruce flatters a baker out of a coconut cream pie and a quart of milk; Mingo may or may not have anything smaller than a 100-dollar bill to pay his bills; Frank and Jesse James, or the Howard boys, help an old woman against the KKK-ish Knights of the White Gardenia; and Cake Norris wakes up dead one day–again. Carrilhos eerie black-and-white illustrations, dramatically off-balance, lit by moonlight, and elongated like nightmares, are well-matched with the stories. The tales are variously narrated by boys and girls, even though the authors preface seems to set readers up for a single, female narrator in the persona of McKissack herself. They contain the essence of truth but are fiction from beginning to end, an amalgam of old stories, characters, jokes, setups, and motifs. As such, they have no provenance. Still, it would have helped readers unfamiliar with African-American history to have an authors note helping separate the truth of these lies that allude to Depression-era African-American and Southern traditions. That aside, theyre great fun to read aloud and the tricksters, sharpies, slicksters, and outlaws wink knowingly at the child narrators, and at us foolish humans.–Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Connections
Sister Tricksters: Rollicking Tales of Clever Females by Robert and David San Souci
The Dark Thirty by Patricia McKissack
The Barefoot Book of Trickster Tales retold by Richard Walker
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #2: The Korean Cinderella
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #2: The Korean Cinderella
A. Bibliographic data
Heller, Ruth. Ed 1993. THE KOREAN CINDERELLA. First ed. by Shirley Climo. Mexico. ISBN 0-06-020432-X
B. Brief plot summary
This version of Cinderella takes place in Korea. Pear Blossom is the beautiful daughter of her happy Korean mother and father. When her mother passes her father remarries an awful woman who treats Pear Blossom horribly and makes her do seemingly impossible chores. But with the help of some magical creatures Pear Blossom gets the chores down and attends the village festival where she meets the magistrate who seeks her out to marry.
C. Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to each genre.
The characters in this traditional fantasy story are not developed thoroughly as is explained in the Tunnels and Jacobs text page 102. The character development is lean and spare and the characters are mostly symbolic in terms of basic human traits. The step-mother symbolizes evil and Pear Blossom symbolizes beauty and goodness. The ability to hope, one of the values of fantasy, is illustrated by the Cinderella story. Pear Blossom may have a terrible step-mother and step-sister, but when she is about to lose all hope, magical animal friends come to her aid. I enjoyed this version of the Cinderella story because it brought in elements of the Korean culture, her straw sandals replace the glass slippers and tending rice paddies replace cleaning out the chimney. I also really liked the fact that Pear Blossom does not have to change her appearance or get all “prettied up” in order to attend the festival. Her basket of fruit and honey candy are all she needs to have a fun time at the festival. The fact that the magistrate falls in love with her the way she is, is a welcome change from the original.
The illustrations are done in a realistic style but with an ornate eastern feel. The illustrations are done in a painterly media and fill the entire page, save space for the type. I like the way some times two pages together will be reserved for illustration only. This allows the reader to absorb the beauty of the picture which is telling the story as well.
The Illustrator explains that the designs found on the cover and throughout the book were inspired by patterns painted on the eaves of Korean temples.
D. Review excerpt(s)
From Publishers WeeklyConflating several Korean variants of Cinderella, this story is "at once comfortingly familiar and intriguingly exotic," said PW, with "lavish" and extensively researched art. Ages 5-9. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Book Description‘Climo and Heller conflate several Korean variants of Cinderella to offer up the story of Pear Blossom, a lovely girl who is sorely mistreated by her nasty stepmother and stepsister.… At once comfortingly familiar and intriguingly exotic, the text is especially noteworthy for its instructive but unobtrusive incorporation of Korean words.’—Publishers Weekly. ‘Heller’s paintings are exotically lush and colorful as well as engaging.… An agreeable retelling of the Cinderella story.’ —BL.
Notable 1994 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)
E. Connections
Students can read the following
* The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo and Illustrated by Ruth Heller
* The Irish Cinderlad by Shirley Climo and Illustrated by Ruth Heller
* The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo and Illustrated by Ruth Heller
Activities:
* Discuss the similarities and differences of the books
* Create their own Cinderella story, student can use own culture and knowledge and be creative!
A. Bibliographic data
Heller, Ruth. Ed 1993. THE KOREAN CINDERELLA. First ed. by Shirley Climo. Mexico. ISBN 0-06-020432-X
B. Brief plot summary
This version of Cinderella takes place in Korea. Pear Blossom is the beautiful daughter of her happy Korean mother and father. When her mother passes her father remarries an awful woman who treats Pear Blossom horribly and makes her do seemingly impossible chores. But with the help of some magical creatures Pear Blossom gets the chores down and attends the village festival where she meets the magistrate who seeks her out to marry.
C. Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to each genre.
The characters in this traditional fantasy story are not developed thoroughly as is explained in the Tunnels and Jacobs text page 102. The character development is lean and spare and the characters are mostly symbolic in terms of basic human traits. The step-mother symbolizes evil and Pear Blossom symbolizes beauty and goodness. The ability to hope, one of the values of fantasy, is illustrated by the Cinderella story. Pear Blossom may have a terrible step-mother and step-sister, but when she is about to lose all hope, magical animal friends come to her aid. I enjoyed this version of the Cinderella story because it brought in elements of the Korean culture, her straw sandals replace the glass slippers and tending rice paddies replace cleaning out the chimney. I also really liked the fact that Pear Blossom does not have to change her appearance or get all “prettied up” in order to attend the festival. Her basket of fruit and honey candy are all she needs to have a fun time at the festival. The fact that the magistrate falls in love with her the way she is, is a welcome change from the original.
The illustrations are done in a realistic style but with an ornate eastern feel. The illustrations are done in a painterly media and fill the entire page, save space for the type. I like the way some times two pages together will be reserved for illustration only. This allows the reader to absorb the beauty of the picture which is telling the story as well.
The Illustrator explains that the designs found on the cover and throughout the book were inspired by patterns painted on the eaves of Korean temples.
D. Review excerpt(s)
From Publishers WeeklyConflating several Korean variants of Cinderella, this story is "at once comfortingly familiar and intriguingly exotic," said PW, with "lavish" and extensively researched art. Ages 5-9. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Book Description‘Climo and Heller conflate several Korean variants of Cinderella to offer up the story of Pear Blossom, a lovely girl who is sorely mistreated by her nasty stepmother and stepsister.… At once comfortingly familiar and intriguingly exotic, the text is especially noteworthy for its instructive but unobtrusive incorporation of Korean words.’—Publishers Weekly. ‘Heller’s paintings are exotically lush and colorful as well as engaging.… An agreeable retelling of the Cinderella story.’ —BL.
Notable 1994 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)
E. Connections
Students can read the following
* The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo and Illustrated by Ruth Heller
* The Irish Cinderlad by Shirley Climo and Illustrated by Ruth Heller
* The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo and Illustrated by Ruth Heller
Activities:
* Discuss the similarities and differences of the books
* Create their own Cinderella story, student can use own culture and knowledge and be creative!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #1: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #1: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
A. Bibliographic data
DePaola, Tomie. Ed 1988. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. First ed. Hong Kong: South China Printing Co. ISBN 0-399-2153-4
B. Brief plot summary
In the book The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, Little Gopher is small and left out from the other boys who will grow to be warriors. But Little Gopher has a special gift. A Dream-Vision comes to him on the mountain and explains the way he will become great among his people. He will put paintbrush to buckskin to paint pictures of the deeds of the warriors. Little Gopher follows his Dream-Vision but he cannot seem to find the right colors to paint the magnificent sunset. Finally, at the end of the story Little Gopher goes finds the color of the sunset in beautiful brushes on top of the hill. Later the Indian Paintbrush flowers flourish all over the hills and he earns the title of He-Who-Brought-the-Sunset-to-the-Earth.
C. Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to each genre.
This folktale retold by Tomie DePaola is a type of Pourquoi tale as it gives an explanation of how the lovely red, orange, yellow (and even pink) Indian Paintbrush flower came to bloom throughout Wyoming, Texas, and the high plains areas of the United States. This folktale story tells a story of sacrifice and value of being true to oneself. The boy works hard at his dream, never gives up and is rewarded in the end for his perseverance.
This Native American folktale helps children to understand and appreciate the Native American culture and is a good multicultural literature to expose young children to. It reads like an orally told story and is thus good for read-alouds.
The illustrations are done in a simple realism style using a painterly media and give the story a true American Indian feel. The watercolors lend to the creation of the beautiful sunset illustrations. The illustrations complement the story as the story would not be the same without them. The reader is able to see the colors of the sunset and rejoice when the Little Gopher finds the paintbrushes with the exact colors he needs. I enjoyed this book when I read it as a child and again reading it as an adult.
D. Review excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly
In this companion to The Legend of the Bluebonnet, Little Gopher is smaller than the rest of the children in his tribe and can't keep up with those who ride, run, wrestle or shoot with bows and arrows. But, he has a talent of his ownhe is an artist. When he grows older, a Dream-Vision comes to him: a young Indian maiden and her grandfather tell him that he will paint pictures of the great warriors with colors as pure as the evening sky. Little Gopher's paintings never satisfy him because the colors are dull and dark, but he keeps trying. In the night, a voice tells him how to find paint-filled brushes; Little Gopher locates them, and they become brilliantly colored flowers known as Indian Paintbrush. This tale is related with deceptive simplicity by dePaola; he enhances the plainness of the story with his primitive illustrations, and, like Little Gopher, he finds inspiration in the colors of the sunset. Ages 2-7. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Semrau, R. School Library Journal. Jun/Jul88. Vol. 34 Issue 10, p96.
"Little Gopher was smaller than the other young Indian boys of his Plains tribe, and although he tried hard, he could not do what the others did. The tribe's wise shaman assures him, however, that he has a different gift. As he grows up it is revealed to him in a vision that he will paint pictures of the glories of his tribe, that his own greatest work will someday be ``a picture that is as pure as the colors in the evening sky.'' As he grows older he does indeed paint the great deeds, the hunts, the visions of his tribe. But making paints to match the colors of the evening sky eludes him. One night, a voice directs him to a special vantage point where he finds brushes filled with wonderful colors. He creates at last his masterwork, and the next day the brushes have rooted and become the brilliant flowers we now call Indian Paintbrush. This book will inevitably be compared with The Legend of the Bluebonnet (Putnam, 1983), but the pivotal elements are very different. The humanity expressed in this story illustrates the value of perseverance, and of endurance of effort that will bring its reward. DePaola's softly rounded shapes and his hero's diminutive stature, downcast eyes, and sober mien breathe attitudes of acceptance, of quiet waiting, of diligent persistence. The picture of the boy gazing mutely, patiently, into the western sky is ineffably moving. And de Paola must have had a wonderful time painting the gloriously uplifting skies depicted here."
E. Connections
* Students can read The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaulo
* Discuss the books similarities and differences
* Student can choose a flower or plant and create their own Pourquoi tale, explaining how it came to exist. Students can be creative and illustrate their story. Younger students can dictate to a teacher. This could be and individual, group or whole-class activity.
Lesson Idea derived from
Gretchen Schroederhttp://tiger.towson.edu/~gschro2/childrenslit/multicultural/legendoftheindianpaintbrush.htm
Last Updated: December 9, 2004
A. Bibliographic data
DePaola, Tomie. Ed 1988. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. First ed. Hong Kong: South China Printing Co. ISBN 0-399-2153-4
B. Brief plot summary
In the book The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, Little Gopher is small and left out from the other boys who will grow to be warriors. But Little Gopher has a special gift. A Dream-Vision comes to him on the mountain and explains the way he will become great among his people. He will put paintbrush to buckskin to paint pictures of the deeds of the warriors. Little Gopher follows his Dream-Vision but he cannot seem to find the right colors to paint the magnificent sunset. Finally, at the end of the story Little Gopher goes finds the color of the sunset in beautiful brushes on top of the hill. Later the Indian Paintbrush flowers flourish all over the hills and he earns the title of He-Who-Brought-the-Sunset-to-the-Earth.
C. Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to each genre.
This folktale retold by Tomie DePaola is a type of Pourquoi tale as it gives an explanation of how the lovely red, orange, yellow (and even pink) Indian Paintbrush flower came to bloom throughout Wyoming, Texas, and the high plains areas of the United States. This folktale story tells a story of sacrifice and value of being true to oneself. The boy works hard at his dream, never gives up and is rewarded in the end for his perseverance.
This Native American folktale helps children to understand and appreciate the Native American culture and is a good multicultural literature to expose young children to. It reads like an orally told story and is thus good for read-alouds.
The illustrations are done in a simple realism style using a painterly media and give the story a true American Indian feel. The watercolors lend to the creation of the beautiful sunset illustrations. The illustrations complement the story as the story would not be the same without them. The reader is able to see the colors of the sunset and rejoice when the Little Gopher finds the paintbrushes with the exact colors he needs. I enjoyed this book when I read it as a child and again reading it as an adult.
D. Review excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly
In this companion to The Legend of the Bluebonnet, Little Gopher is smaller than the rest of the children in his tribe and can't keep up with those who ride, run, wrestle or shoot with bows and arrows. But, he has a talent of his ownhe is an artist. When he grows older, a Dream-Vision comes to him: a young Indian maiden and her grandfather tell him that he will paint pictures of the great warriors with colors as pure as the evening sky. Little Gopher's paintings never satisfy him because the colors are dull and dark, but he keeps trying. In the night, a voice tells him how to find paint-filled brushes; Little Gopher locates them, and they become brilliantly colored flowers known as Indian Paintbrush. This tale is related with deceptive simplicity by dePaola; he enhances the plainness of the story with his primitive illustrations, and, like Little Gopher, he finds inspiration in the colors of the sunset. Ages 2-7. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Semrau, R. School Library Journal. Jun/Jul88. Vol. 34 Issue 10, p96.
"Little Gopher was smaller than the other young Indian boys of his Plains tribe, and although he tried hard, he could not do what the others did. The tribe's wise shaman assures him, however, that he has a different gift. As he grows up it is revealed to him in a vision that he will paint pictures of the glories of his tribe, that his own greatest work will someday be ``a picture that is as pure as the colors in the evening sky.'' As he grows older he does indeed paint the great deeds, the hunts, the visions of his tribe. But making paints to match the colors of the evening sky eludes him. One night, a voice directs him to a special vantage point where he finds brushes filled with wonderful colors. He creates at last his masterwork, and the next day the brushes have rooted and become the brilliant flowers we now call Indian Paintbrush. This book will inevitably be compared with The Legend of the Bluebonnet (Putnam, 1983), but the pivotal elements are very different. The humanity expressed in this story illustrates the value of perseverance, and of endurance of effort that will bring its reward. DePaola's softly rounded shapes and his hero's diminutive stature, downcast eyes, and sober mien breathe attitudes of acceptance, of quiet waiting, of diligent persistence. The picture of the boy gazing mutely, patiently, into the western sky is ineffably moving. And de Paola must have had a wonderful time painting the gloriously uplifting skies depicted here."
E. Connections
* Students can read The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaulo
* Discuss the books similarities and differences
* Student can choose a flower or plant and create their own Pourquoi tale, explaining how it came to exist. Students can be creative and illustrate their story. Younger students can dictate to a teacher. This could be and individual, group or whole-class activity.
Lesson Idea derived from
Gretchen Schroederhttp://tiger.towson.edu/~gschro2/childrenslit/multicultural/legendoftheindianpaintbrush.htm
Last Updated: December 9, 2004
Saturday, September 8, 2007
PICTURE BOOKS BLOG #3: Talking with Artists
PICTURE BOOKS BLOG #3: Talking with Artists
A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cummings, Pat. ed. 1992. Talking with Artists. (1st ed). New York: Bradbury Press. ISBN 0027242455
B. PLOT SUMMARY
The book Talking with Artists by Pat Cummings is a compilation of 14 interviews with famous illustrators of children’s books. Each illustrator tells a short story of their life and childhood and explains how they came to love drawing. Each artists answers questions including what type of media they use, where they get their ideas from and how they got their first book published. Artists include men and women artists from varied backgrounds and ethnicity who never gave up on their dreams.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Patricia Cummings creates an informational picture book that is interesting for children to read. The photographs of the artist as a child and adult entice the reader to learn more about the artist. Drawings and paintings created by the artists as a child are included as well as illustrations from their books now. The short autobiographies of the artists give the reader a glimpse into their life, and often include unique and funny anecdotes of their childhood. The book is inspirational and reminds children to follow their dreams, whatever they might be.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Publishers Weekly
In this wide-ranging survey, 14 talented illustrators talk about their childhoods, their work and their daily routines. The broad cross-section includes Caldecott medalists (Chris Van Allsburg, David Wiesner), women (Amy Schwartz, Victoria Chess, Lois Ehlert) and African Americans (Leo Dillon, Jerry Pinkney). Brief autobiographical statements precede interviews that touch on both personal and professional concerns--working conditions, pets, business associates. Each subject is represented by one or two samples of his or her current work and one childhood piece, usually a real charmer. Unfortunately, the often poignant reminiscences and outstanding talent on display cannot overcome the book's unimaginative layout and distractingly pragmatic text. Some interview topics--how to get that first book contract, for example--seem less suited to children than to parents, who might be reassured to learn that making art can be financially as well as personally rewarding. Ages 9-up. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-8-- Conversations with Victoria Chess, Leo and Diane Dillon, Richard Egielski, Lois Ehlert, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Tom Feelings, Steven Kellogg, Jerry Pinkney, Amy Schwartz, Lane Smith, Chris Van Allsburg, and David Wiesner form the content of this book. All say that ``practice, practice, practice'' is the key to success. The illustrators that Cummings interviewed and her own comments are primarily aimed at young people who love to draw. They tell about how they got started, and where they get their ideas and techniques. There are chatty bits of information about the artists themselves, examples of their childhood drawings, and beautifully reproduced samples of current work. The same questions are asked of each contributor, but the answers range from serious commentary to lighthearted humor. The cumulative result is a short course in how to succeed in the book business and general agreement that illustration is a tremendously satisfying and enjoyable occupation. Young artists will learn a lot; teachers and other children will also love it. Well designed and well conceived, this book will be welcomed in all those classrooms in which children's literature has become central to the curriculum. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
E. CONNECTIONS
After reading the book the class could take a trip to the library to check out books illustrated by one of the artists featured in the book. Students could discuss each artist’s style and practice drawing their own pictures for the book, finding their own style.
OR
After reading the book the teacher could lead the class in a discussion on what they want to be when they grow up. The students could then take a trip to the library to find informational books on specific careers they are interested in. Depending on age level students could create a “book” with illustrations on what they want to be when they grow up and include the information found on the specific career choice.
A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cummings, Pat. ed. 1992. Talking with Artists. (1st ed). New York: Bradbury Press. ISBN 0027242455
B. PLOT SUMMARY
The book Talking with Artists by Pat Cummings is a compilation of 14 interviews with famous illustrators of children’s books. Each illustrator tells a short story of their life and childhood and explains how they came to love drawing. Each artists answers questions including what type of media they use, where they get their ideas from and how they got their first book published. Artists include men and women artists from varied backgrounds and ethnicity who never gave up on their dreams.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Patricia Cummings creates an informational picture book that is interesting for children to read. The photographs of the artist as a child and adult entice the reader to learn more about the artist. Drawings and paintings created by the artists as a child are included as well as illustrations from their books now. The short autobiographies of the artists give the reader a glimpse into their life, and often include unique and funny anecdotes of their childhood. The book is inspirational and reminds children to follow their dreams, whatever they might be.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Publishers Weekly
In this wide-ranging survey, 14 talented illustrators talk about their childhoods, their work and their daily routines. The broad cross-section includes Caldecott medalists (Chris Van Allsburg, David Wiesner), women (Amy Schwartz, Victoria Chess, Lois Ehlert) and African Americans (Leo Dillon, Jerry Pinkney). Brief autobiographical statements precede interviews that touch on both personal and professional concerns--working conditions, pets, business associates. Each subject is represented by one or two samples of his or her current work and one childhood piece, usually a real charmer. Unfortunately, the often poignant reminiscences and outstanding talent on display cannot overcome the book's unimaginative layout and distractingly pragmatic text. Some interview topics--how to get that first book contract, for example--seem less suited to children than to parents, who might be reassured to learn that making art can be financially as well as personally rewarding. Ages 9-up. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-8-- Conversations with Victoria Chess, Leo and Diane Dillon, Richard Egielski, Lois Ehlert, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Tom Feelings, Steven Kellogg, Jerry Pinkney, Amy Schwartz, Lane Smith, Chris Van Allsburg, and David Wiesner form the content of this book. All say that ``practice, practice, practice'' is the key to success. The illustrators that Cummings interviewed and her own comments are primarily aimed at young people who love to draw. They tell about how they got started, and where they get their ideas and techniques. There are chatty bits of information about the artists themselves, examples of their childhood drawings, and beautifully reproduced samples of current work. The same questions are asked of each contributor, but the answers range from serious commentary to lighthearted humor. The cumulative result is a short course in how to succeed in the book business and general agreement that illustration is a tremendously satisfying and enjoyable occupation. Young artists will learn a lot; teachers and other children will also love it. Well designed and well conceived, this book will be welcomed in all those classrooms in which children's literature has become central to the curriculum. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
E. CONNECTIONS
After reading the book the class could take a trip to the library to check out books illustrated by one of the artists featured in the book. Students could discuss each artist’s style and practice drawing their own pictures for the book, finding their own style.
OR
After reading the book the teacher could lead the class in a discussion on what they want to be when they grow up. The students could then take a trip to the library to find informational books on specific careers they are interested in. Depending on age level students could create a “book” with illustrations on what they want to be when they grow up and include the information found on the specific career choice.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
PICTURE BOOKS BLOG #2: Big Jabe
A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nelson, Kadir. 2000. BIG JABE by Jerdine Nolen. First ed. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books. ISBN 9780060540616
B. PLOT SUMMARY
This tall tale tells the story of a special little boy who was found in the river by a slave girl named Addy. The boy grows up to be a huge man with the strength of fifty. He works on the plantation and finds magical ways to free the slaves on Plenty Plantation farm.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Nolen’s writing uses dialogue to reveal the character of the people in the story. The speech is natural for the characters in the time and place they live. For example “Sho’ nuff strange.” Jubal agreed. “Bet they’s in Ohio by now!” He chuckled and slapped his knee. The way the dialogue is written you can almost hear Jubal saying his dialog and slapping his knee. The writer even uses the narrator as a character bringing life to the story as if the reader were hearing it from the grandmother themselves. Nolen also uses music in language to help appeal to the ear. For example when Jabe calls: “Fish, fish, where is you, fish? Jump to the wagon like Miss Addy wish!” The use of rhyme is pleasant to the ear and stays in the readers mind.
Kadir’s illustrations are done in painterly watercolor media in realism style. The illustrations bring action to the story as can be observed from the page where young Jabe yells to the fish. The fish appear to leap from the page as the watercolor white dots on the river show the light bouncing off of the river and the water splashing up into the air with the fish. The illustrations also bring action to the page where the twister blows in and when the rain storm comes. The illustration uses dark watercolors painted over each other to illustrate the ominous and bleak rain storm.
The book is an entertaining tall tale in a historical setting. The characters are brought to life through the narration and dialogue and the illustrations bring the action and excitement to the book.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
POWELLS’ BOOKS: [Nelson's] finely hatched watercolor and gouache illustrations emphasize images of slave life; when he does depict Big Jabe's fantastic feats, his naturalistic style permits him to depict them with an apparent realism. Author and artist empower the audience to confront an unbearable history and come away with hope. (xSTARREDx Review, Publisher's Weekly, April 17, 2000)
POWELLS’ BOOKS: [Nelson's] finely hatched watercolor and gouache illustrations emphasize images of slave life; when he does depict Big Jabe's fantastic feats, his naturalistic style permits him to depict them with an apparent realism. Author and artist empower the audience to confront an unbearable history and come away with hope. (xSTARREDx Review, Publisher's Weekly, April 17, 2000)
E. CONNECTIONS
*This story could be used in a unit on the history of slavery as it emotional engages students to feelings of the slaves at that time.
Students could discuss their own definitions of freedom
Students could discuss the mood of the story and their feelings about the characters
Students could create their own children’s book that focuses on escaping to freedom.
"Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt" Interdisciplinary Unit By Cynthia Weeden
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/amliterature/amlit_lp_clara_reading.htm
*Other books about slavery
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Nettie’s Trip South by Ann Turner
The Invisible Princess by Faith Renggold
"Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt" Interdisciplinary Unit By Cynthia Weeden
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/amliterature/amlit_lp_clara_reading.htm
Nelson, Kadir. 2000. BIG JABE by Jerdine Nolen. First ed. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books. ISBN 9780060540616
B. PLOT SUMMARY
This tall tale tells the story of a special little boy who was found in the river by a slave girl named Addy. The boy grows up to be a huge man with the strength of fifty. He works on the plantation and finds magical ways to free the slaves on Plenty Plantation farm.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Nolen’s writing uses dialogue to reveal the character of the people in the story. The speech is natural for the characters in the time and place they live. For example “Sho’ nuff strange.” Jubal agreed. “Bet they’s in Ohio by now!” He chuckled and slapped his knee. The way the dialogue is written you can almost hear Jubal saying his dialog and slapping his knee. The writer even uses the narrator as a character bringing life to the story as if the reader were hearing it from the grandmother themselves. Nolen also uses music in language to help appeal to the ear. For example when Jabe calls: “Fish, fish, where is you, fish? Jump to the wagon like Miss Addy wish!” The use of rhyme is pleasant to the ear and stays in the readers mind.
Kadir’s illustrations are done in painterly watercolor media in realism style. The illustrations bring action to the story as can be observed from the page where young Jabe yells to the fish. The fish appear to leap from the page as the watercolor white dots on the river show the light bouncing off of the river and the water splashing up into the air with the fish. The illustrations also bring action to the page where the twister blows in and when the rain storm comes. The illustration uses dark watercolors painted over each other to illustrate the ominous and bleak rain storm.
The book is an entertaining tall tale in a historical setting. The characters are brought to life through the narration and dialogue and the illustrations bring the action and excitement to the book.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
POWELLS’ BOOKS: [Nelson's] finely hatched watercolor and gouache illustrations emphasize images of slave life; when he does depict Big Jabe's fantastic feats, his naturalistic style permits him to depict them with an apparent realism. Author and artist empower the audience to confront an unbearable history and come away with hope. (xSTARREDx Review, Publisher's Weekly, April 17, 2000)
POWELLS’ BOOKS: [Nelson's] finely hatched watercolor and gouache illustrations emphasize images of slave life; when he does depict Big Jabe's fantastic feats, his naturalistic style permits him to depict them with an apparent realism. Author and artist empower the audience to confront an unbearable history and come away with hope. (xSTARREDx Review, Publisher's Weekly, April 17, 2000)
E. CONNECTIONS
*This story could be used in a unit on the history of slavery as it emotional engages students to feelings of the slaves at that time.
Students could discuss their own definitions of freedom
Students could discuss the mood of the story and their feelings about the characters
Students could create their own children’s book that focuses on escaping to freedom.
"Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt" Interdisciplinary Unit By Cynthia Weeden
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/amliterature/amlit_lp_clara_reading.htm
*Other books about slavery
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Nettie’s Trip South by Ann Turner
The Invisible Princess by Faith Renggold
"Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt" Interdisciplinary Unit By Cynthia Weeden
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/amliterature/amlit_lp_clara_reading.htm
Friday, August 31, 2007
PICTURE BOOKS BLOG #1: The Hello, Goodbye Window
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Raschka, Chris. 2005. THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW by Norton Juster. First ed. Michael di Capua Books, Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786809140
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this bright and colorfully illustrated picture book a young bi-racial girl tells the story of the adventures she has while staying at her grandparent’s house. It is written from the young girl’s perspective and centers on the loving and caring relationship she has with her grandparents, Nanna and Poppy. It begins from the moment she greets her grandparents through the window, and includes looking at her reflection through the window with her Poppy, saying goodnight to all the stars with her Nanna, looking out at the garden and greeting the new day, and to eventually blowing kisses goodbye as she is picked up by her parents.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Juster’s tells the story through the voice and point of view of the little girl, which gives the story a playful and fun mood. His writing uses a good balance of narration and dialogue. The dialogue helps to reveal the grandpas good natured and humorous character. For example, when the little girl and grandpa are looking at their reflections in the mirror, Poppy says, “What are you doing out there? You come right in and have your dinner.” And the little girl says, “But I’m here with you, Poppy.” And then he looks at me in his funny way. Poppy’s good natured humor is also revealed in the following dialogue, when Poppy says in a real loud voice, “HELLO WORLD! WHAT HAVE YOU GOT FOR US TODAY?” The book tells a good story that I think children will enjoy because they can relate to some of the experiences the little girl has.
Raschka’s illustrations are done in a painterly watercolor style and the wash of bright yellows, greens and oranges complement the story’s upbeat and fun mood. The illustrations complement the writing by depicting action, providing differing viewpoints, and reinforcing the text. The picture of the grandpa spraying the little girl with the hose shows the little girl running with a big smile and half moon eyes, which provide a differing viewpoint than the text before it: Sometimes when it’s hot Poppy chases me with the hose and I yell, “Stop it, Poppy, stop it!” The illustration reinforces the text below: When he does I ask him to do it again. The illustrations bring life to the words and used together they complete the story. The illustration helps provide differing viewpoints in another part of the story when the little girl helps her Nanna in the garden: It is a very nice garden, but there’s a tiger who lives behind the big bush in the back so I don’t ever go there. And you can see the illustration of a cute little cat sitting in the garden.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
BOOKLIST: “The window imagery is less important than the title would make it seem. More intrinsic is Juster's honest portrayal of a child's perceptions (a striped cat in the yard is a tiger) and emotions (being happy and sad at the same time “just happens that way sometimes”).
From BookList, March 15, 2005, Copyright © American Library Association.
POWELL’S BOOKS: “Juster departs from the over-the-top punning of his earlier works to create a gently humorous account of a family's conversations and games, all centered on the special window.”
Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
5. CONNECTIONS
*This story could be used as a springboard for writing in a language experience approach story. Students could share stories of their own adventures visiting their grandparents or other relatives and develop and create a class book.
*Other stories about grandparent/grandchild relationships
Ziefert, Harriet. GRANDMA, IT’S FOR YOU. ISBN 9781593541095
Ona, Gritz. TANGERINES AND TEA, MY GRANDPARENTS AND ME: AN ALPHABET BOOK. ISBN 9780810958715
Smalls-Hector, Irene. MY POP POP AND ME. ISBN 9780316734226
Raschka, Chris. 2005. THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW by Norton Juster. First ed. Michael di Capua Books, Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786809140
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this bright and colorfully illustrated picture book a young bi-racial girl tells the story of the adventures she has while staying at her grandparent’s house. It is written from the young girl’s perspective and centers on the loving and caring relationship she has with her grandparents, Nanna and Poppy. It begins from the moment she greets her grandparents through the window, and includes looking at her reflection through the window with her Poppy, saying goodnight to all the stars with her Nanna, looking out at the garden and greeting the new day, and to eventually blowing kisses goodbye as she is picked up by her parents.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Juster’s tells the story through the voice and point of view of the little girl, which gives the story a playful and fun mood. His writing uses a good balance of narration and dialogue. The dialogue helps to reveal the grandpas good natured and humorous character. For example, when the little girl and grandpa are looking at their reflections in the mirror, Poppy says, “What are you doing out there? You come right in and have your dinner.” And the little girl says, “But I’m here with you, Poppy.” And then he looks at me in his funny way. Poppy’s good natured humor is also revealed in the following dialogue, when Poppy says in a real loud voice, “HELLO WORLD! WHAT HAVE YOU GOT FOR US TODAY?” The book tells a good story that I think children will enjoy because they can relate to some of the experiences the little girl has.
Raschka’s illustrations are done in a painterly watercolor style and the wash of bright yellows, greens and oranges complement the story’s upbeat and fun mood. The illustrations complement the writing by depicting action, providing differing viewpoints, and reinforcing the text. The picture of the grandpa spraying the little girl with the hose shows the little girl running with a big smile and half moon eyes, which provide a differing viewpoint than the text before it: Sometimes when it’s hot Poppy chases me with the hose and I yell, “Stop it, Poppy, stop it!” The illustration reinforces the text below: When he does I ask him to do it again. The illustrations bring life to the words and used together they complete the story. The illustration helps provide differing viewpoints in another part of the story when the little girl helps her Nanna in the garden: It is a very nice garden, but there’s a tiger who lives behind the big bush in the back so I don’t ever go there. And you can see the illustration of a cute little cat sitting in the garden.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
BOOKLIST: “The window imagery is less important than the title would make it seem. More intrinsic is Juster's honest portrayal of a child's perceptions (a striped cat in the yard is a tiger) and emotions (being happy and sad at the same time “just happens that way sometimes”).
From BookList, March 15, 2005, Copyright © American Library Association.
POWELL’S BOOKS: “Juster departs from the over-the-top punning of his earlier works to create a gently humorous account of a family's conversations and games, all centered on the special window.”
Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
5. CONNECTIONS
*This story could be used as a springboard for writing in a language experience approach story. Students could share stories of their own adventures visiting their grandparents or other relatives and develop and create a class book.
*Other stories about grandparent/grandchild relationships
Ziefert, Harriet. GRANDMA, IT’S FOR YOU. ISBN 9781593541095
Ona, Gritz. TANGERINES AND TEA, MY GRANDPARENTS AND ME: AN ALPHABET BOOK. ISBN 9780810958715
Smalls-Hector, Irene. MY POP POP AND ME. ISBN 9780316734226
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