Advanced Lit for Young Adults - LS 5623

Mod. 6 - THINGS I HAVE TO TELL YOU - edited by Betsy Franco

2009-11-23T21:56:00.000-08:00

Bibliographic data
Things I Have to Tell You. Cambridge: Candlewick, 2001.

Critical analysis
This is a must-have book for many girls because the girls that authored this book say so many things most girls want to say, and have questions about. This is a collection of poems, stories, and essays written by girls between the ages of fourteen and nineteen years old. They reveal secrets that have helped them overcome challenges they have had to face. One young author reveals that she looked up in the thesaurus the listing for “gentle” because she was taught that women were gentle creatures. The words she found as synonymous to the term are not what she wanted to be referred to as. Some of the terms she lists are: restricted, limited, not tough, broken, muted, stifled, lacking authority, long-suffering, servile, harmless, knowing no better, and bit of fluff.

There are many issues covered in this collection. These topics are very important for teenage girls and include such issues as how to be perfect, finding happiness, love, loss of love, drug use, suicide, strength, living, and even a bad hair day.

The black and white photographs in this collection are not pictures of the authors, but even so, they are depictions of strong young girls, average girls, just like typical readers. The photographer, Nina Nickles did an outstanding job catching simplistic but yet powerful photographs. There are photographs of girls that feel good about themselves, and those that look troubled. There are pictures of young girls with their friends, and even with boys.

Excerpt:

SECRETS
Do you know my secret,
Did I tell you it last night,
Were you listening to my dreams,
Were you hiding out of sight?

Do you look to find my secret,
Reading letters, reading notes,
Picking up sometimes on phone calls,
Opening books to see what I wrote?

Do you really want to know my secret,
Will it answer all your questions,
Take away your mass of worries?
Or maybe, you could ask for my suggestions.

Do you ever think to ask me about my secret,
Being honest and forthright,
With no lies or hidden feelings?
Only then will my secret come to light.
~Jessica L. McCloskey, age 16 (p. 1)

Practical suggestion
Have students – girls and yes, even boys – write their own poems, short stories, essays, etc. What can they tell someone about growing up? What tricks have they learned that they would like to pass down? Don’t have the young authors sign their name to it. Leave it anonymous for the sake of embarrassment. Sometimes activities like these can be personal.

External assessments
VOYA
Poet and anthologist Franco vividly remembers the feelings of loneliness and isolation that she experienced as a teenager. Her personal memories prompted a wish to give girls from twelve to eighteen years old a way to tell their own stories, offering their peers help in facing the pain and challenge of adolescence. Recommend this title to inspire and empower other young women. Teachers considering using the book in a classroom situation should be aware of some strong language and adult themes.

School Library Journal
And while the poems are triumphant in their realism, the book is elevated by the inclusion of gritty, unposed black-and-white photographs. These pictures, not taken to illustrate the poems, do so in an exemplary fashion. Like snapshots from personal photo albums, the images of a multicultural array of "everygirls" are harmonious complements to this outstanding collection.

Mod. 6 - THE ROSE THAT GREW FROM CONCRETE - by Tupac Shakur

2009-11-23T21:32:00.000-08:00

Bibliographic data
Shakur, Tupac. The Rose That Grew from Concrete. New York: Pocket Books, 2008.

Critical analysis
This is an amazing book of urban poetry by the deceased rapper, Tupac (2pac) Shakur. This collection of very personal poetry from the rapper was published after his early death.

These 72 poems were written from the time he was nineteen years old. On the facing page, the poem is typed out. It is difficult for some to read some of Tupac’s poems, as they were not always written in complete words. He drew an eye for “I,” the number two for “to” and so forth.

Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur wrote an acknowledgement in the preface of the book of his poetry. One can truly feel the sadness and hopelessness of a young black male. He is also a child of a single mother.

The lyrics to his rap songs are more negative than his poems. There are many emotional poems about heartbreak, crack destroying a relationship, government issues, love, racism, God, and even poems about Van Gogh and Marilyn Monroe. He covers the gamete of relationship issues and issues that involve the environment in which he grew up in.

This collection of Tupac’s poetry is raw, emotional, and sincere. It will allow readers to see a different side of the well-known ruthless rapper that most are more accustomed to. Sprinkled throughout the book are black and white photographs of the rapper at different stages of his short life. It is a great collection for those reluctant readers that fear jumping into poetry because they are afraid they will not understand it.

Excerpt:

The Rose That Grew from Concrete
~Autobiographical ~

Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack
in the concrete
Proving nature's laws wrong it learned 2 walk
without having feet
Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams
it learned 2 breathe fresh air
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else even cared!
(p. 3)

Practical suggestion

http://www.poetryvisualized.com/media/1530/Tupac_Poem_By_Nikki_Giovanni_-_The_Rose_That_Grew_From_Concrete/

Have students write a campaign for D.A.R.E, but using poems or haikus. Use Shakur’s “U R Ripping Us Apart!!!” poem about the drug, crack, as an example.

http://www.2paclegacy.com/

External assessments
VOYA
[The collection of poems] might allow the reader to see the hopelessness that the author felt as a young black male, a poet who thought he had to be tough to survive and whose posturing killed him. It is strongly recommended that librarians and teachers read his rap lyrics if they have not already done so. Shakur's lyrics are currently posted on the Internet at http://www.tupac.net/lyrics. After reading this poetry collection, the raps are not only frightening, they are also sad. To paraphrase the poster from the United Negro College Fund, a mind is, indeed, a terrible thing to waste.

School Library Journal
YA-A collection of poetry written by the rapper between 1989 and 1991, before he became famous. The poems are passionate, sometimes angry, and often compelling. Selections are reproduced from the originals in Shakur's handwriting, personalized by distinctive spelling and the use of ideographs (a drawing of an eye for I, etc.), and complete with scratch outs and corrections. With the exception of "In the Event of My Demise," all of the pieces are accompanied by typed text, which leaves his spelling intact. Some poems are also accompanied by his drawings. A few black-and-white photographs appear throughout. A preface by Shakur's mother, a foreword by Nikki Giovanni, and an introduction by his manager, Leila Steinburg, in whose writing group the poems were written, complete this unique volume.

Mod. 6 - PERSEPOLIS: THE STORY OF A CHILDHOOD - by Marjane Satrapi

2009-11-23T20:16:00.000-08:00

Bibliographic data
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon, 2004.

Critical analysis
This graphic novel is inspiring, unnerving, and saddening. Satrapi depicts the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen. These years saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime and the triumph of the Islamic Revolution.

This graphic novel also details the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The author’s parents are forward-thinking individuals. They have televisions, read and debate politics, read newspapers, listen to American music, and live a pretty good life in Iran. That is until Islamic fundamentalists take over and create rules and regulations that stifle the family. Young Marji’s strong will and independence makes her parents both proud and fearful.

Marjane Satrapi’s life events take place in this short graphic novel. The drawings are simply black and white, but portray the intense events that are happening. This new movement is explained in such a way that readers are able to understand how the Islamic fundamentalists disintegrated the country, community, and its people. It also signifies the difference between home life and public life.

Practical suggestion
A New York Times Notable Book
A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year”
A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller

Watch the movie based on Satrapi’s book.

As a class, investigate the recent history, geography, culture, and political climate of Iran.

Key vocabulary words to explain: Muslim, Fundamentalism, Shah, Ayatollah, Shador, Taliban

Make connections with other topics related to this book: Modern World History, Social Problems, and Woman’s Literature.

At the core of the book is Marji’s family. What is this family like? What is important to Marji’s parents? What environment do they create for their daughter despite living under an oppressive regime and through a brutal, prolonged war? From where do they get their strength?

Describe the writer’s voice. Is it appealing? Which aspects of Marji’s character do you identify with or like the most, the least? Did your reaction to the little girl affect your reading experience?

Persepolis became an animated film in 2007.

http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/satrapi.html

External assessments
Publishers Weekly
Skillfully presenting a child's view of war and her own shifting ideals, she also shows quotidian life in Tehran and her family's pride and love for their country despite the tumultuous times. Powerfully understated, this work joins other memoirs-Spiegelman's Maus and Sacco's Safe Area Goradze-that use comics to make the unthinkable familiar.

School Library Journal
The girl's independence, which made her parents both proud and fearful, caused them to send her to Austria. With bold lines and deceptively uncomplicated scenes, Satrapi conveys her story. From it, teens will learn much of the history of this important area and will identify with young Marji and her friends. This is a graphic novel of immense power and importance for Westerners of all ages. It will speak to the same audience as Art Spiegelman's Maus.

Mod. 5 - THE BOOK THIEF - by Markus Zusak

2009-11-09T20:37:00.000-08:00

Bibliography
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief (Signed!). Chicago: The Bodley Head, 2007.

Critical Analysis

First the colors.
Then the humans.
That’s usually how I see things.
Or at least, how I try.

***HERE IS A SMALL FACT***
You are going to die.

Death narrates the story of a girl, Liesel in 1939 Nazi Germany. It is the story of the power of words and reading in a time and place where it was frowned upon. No one was supposed to form their own opinions. Opinions were handed to you by the Fuhrer. This is a story of Nazi Germany. Most of the time we read stories of the oppressed in this situation, so it is a different read with many of the same qualities we usually read about during this war.

This writer creates a very strong character development throughout the novel. Watching and reading about how Liesel grows up to be such a smart and mature young lady captivates the heart and creates an instant bond between the character and reader. Readers are also instantly touched by Rudy’s candidness. Finding moments to laugh while reading of such a depressing time is difficult, so it is nice to smile when we read about Rudy painting himself black with charcoal to impersonate Jesse Owens while he races.

Although the book is a little bit too lengthy, it still captivates the reader’s attention with each word that Death narrates. Death uses so many metaphors, similes, analogies and other descriptive language that it is a very poetic and easy read that one pictures as the story folds out in front of them. Death being personified as this character, usually viewed as dark and evil, but in this instance is just as sad with all the, well…death, that surrounds the place, as the rest of us are.

Even though this is a gloomy, dark, and sad book to read it is well worth finishing to fully appreciate the strength and perseverance of these characters from this time period. Personally, I found it one of the most difficult books to finish and it took the longest out of this course to complete the reading because of the stories I have heard from my grandfather of WWII. Zusack is such a great writer and the words that he uses are even felt by the reader.

Practical suggestion

http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/thebookthief/

Have young adults create a book trailer for this novel.

Read this novel after reading a nonfiction portrayal of the Holocaust, preferably “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

Awards:
2008 Ena Noel Award - the IBBY Australia Ena Noël Encouragement Award for Children's Literature
2007 Michael L. Printz Honor book by the Young Adult Library Services Association
2006 Kathleen Mitchell Award 2006 (literature)

External assessments

School Library Journal
Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesel’s story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.

Booklist
There's too much commentary at the outset, and too much switching from past to present time, but as in Zusak's enthralling I Am the Messenger (2004), the astonishing characters, drawn without sentimentality, will grab readers. More than the overt message about the power of words, it's Liesl's confrontation with horrifying cruelty and her discovery of kindness in unexpected places that tell the heartbreaking truth.

The Horn Book Magazine
Exquisitely written and memorably populated, Zusak's poignant tribute to words, survival, and their curiously inevitable entwinement is a tour de force to be not just read but inhabited.

Mod. 5 - 33 THINGS EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW - by Tonya Bolden

2009-11-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Bibliography
Bolden, Tonya. 33 Things Every Girl Should Know: Stories, Songs, poems, and Smart Talk by 33 Extraordinary Women. New York, New York: Crown Books For Young Readers, 1998.

This book uses poems, photographs, essays, and more to present empowering women and their stories. This book does not tell how girls should live their life, rather it gives advice for certain situations for girls. Tonya Bolden, the compiler, offers an introduction to these short but empowering sections. The female contributors portray independence, positivity, they cheer readers on through their difficulties, and their advice helps young ladies grow into strong women.

Sigourney Weaver writes about her commencement address she delivered in 1990 for an all-girls school. Weaver left the graduates with a poem:

“Come to the edge,” I said.
“No, we’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“No…We’re afraid. We’ll fall.”
“Come to the edge,” I said again.
And they came.
And I pushed them.
And they flew.

This book includes stories by Sandra Cisneros, who wrote the short story “Eleven,” novelist Alice Hoffman, supermodel and actress Lauren Hutton, writer M. E. Kerr, singer and songwriter Natalie Merchant, spina bifida inflicted Gretchen Rosenkranz, MTV news correspondent Tabitha Soren, and designer Vera Wang, among many others.

This book is a great book for pre-teen and teenage girls to embrace their femininity, independence, and learn to love themselves as who they are. It is mostly an enticing read with witty remarks from the authors. Some sections of this book tend to drag on and become boring to read, but since this is a short collection of many different contributors, readers are not bored for too long. It is a book to read in many short sittings or easy and short enough to read all at once.

Full List of Contributors:
· Lynda Barry
· Barbara Brandon
· Sandra Cisneros
· Judith Ortiz Cofer
· Johnnetta B. Cole
· Ann Decker
· Rebecca Goldstein
· Alice Hoffman
· Lauren Hutton
· Joyce Ladner
· Natalie Merchant
· Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
· Bernice Johnson Reagon
· Faith Ringgold
· Deborah Tannen
· Vera Wang
· Wendy Wasserstein
· Sigourney Weaver

Practical suggestion

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

More books like this:

33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History by Bolden

Dealing with the Stuff That Makes Life Tough: The 10 Things That Stress Teen Girls Out and How to Cope with Them by Jill Zimmerman Rutledge

Being A Teen: Words of advice from someone who's been there (Teens & Young Adults)
By Diane Mastromarino

Interesting and related website:

http://www.smartgirlsknow.com/

http://www.tonyaboldenbooks.com/index.html

http://www.tonyaboldenbooks.com/33_things_every_girl_should_know.html

External assessments

School Library Journal
Some selections are heavy-handed and preachy, but others speak with a true voice easily heard by adolescents. There's something here for everyone. Perhaps the title is a bit misleading since it seems to promise 33 different ideas. This is a worthwhile purchase for any library. The challenge is to channel it to its intended audience.

Booklist
Astute, compassionate, sometimes witty, sometimes painfully honest, the pieces are highly readable, entertaining, and educational--and together achieve an important, amazing dichotomy: broadening horizons and possibilities while bringing the world into a manageable, realistic perspective during the confusing, often difficult teen years.

Kirkus Reviews
The whole, however, is a little wearing, as if a favorite, well-intentioned aunt is nattering on too long. Bolden mentions in the introduction her wish that a book similar to this one had existed when she was 12.

Mod. 5 - HOLE IN MY LIFE - by Jack Gantos

2009-11-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

Bibliography
Gantos, Jack. Hole in My Life. New York: Farrar, Straus And Giroux (Byr), 2002.

Critical Analysis

Jack Gantos recounts events that happened in his life in which ended him up in prison. Desperate for money, he finds a job boating a load of marijuana from the Virgin Islands to New York City. He thinks he will get $10,000 when in actuality it will land him to a six-year prison sentence instead.

This is an oddly-refreshing recollection of Gantos’ criminal life because he does not make excuses for himself or his actions. He takes responsibility for his criminal acts and does not try to rationalize his misbehavior by the many excuses we so commonly hear.
Readers know that Gantos will be going to jail at some point in the book so this is a
suspenseful reading, although it does ramble at times. The rambling is not distracting to
the narrative; instead it somehow keeps the dialog feeling as real as it truly was for
Gantos.

This is a great first autobiography narrative for young adults to begin to gain interest in
this genre. There’s Gantos, a young man ready for adventure, for something to jump-
start his life. This adventure almost ruins him and his future, but thankfully the idea of
going to college and becoming a writer saves him. Gantos writes frankly on his
experiences and critically examines his own life dissecting it piece by piece. Gantos
never lectures to readers. Instead, he writes of his wrong choices, his experiences and
lets the readers travel with him on this dark road, observing it as they wish to see it,
hopefully benefiting from his decisions and learning from them.

Excerpt:
From my cell window I could see a line of houses in the distance. As the months passed, I
watched people celebrate their lives – Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day. In October I watched them put up Halloween decorations. We didn't celebrate Halloween in prison - or, I should say, every day in prison was scarier than any Halloween, so there was no reason to do anything special on October 31st. But thinking of Halloween reminded me of a funny story from when I was in fifth grade. We were living in Kendall, Florida, right on the train tracks. One Halloween afternoon police cars flooded our neighborhood and announced that Halloween was canceled because there had been a prison break upstate at Raford. A couple of guys had hopped a freight and the cops thought they may have jumped off in our area. We locked our doors and turned on all the lights. We pulled the curtains. All night I scampered from window to window peeking out and looking for unshaven suspicious types in striped outfits. Every time a bush rustled in the wind my heart leapt. I saw rugged prison mugs in every shadow. It was the most exciting Halloween ever. The escapees were caught not far from our house and I was
disappointed that I hadn't spotted them slinking around.

[…]I wrote this story down in my prison journal, and it gave me a lot of pleasure to recall my childhood.

(p. 174-5)

Practical suggestion

http://www.jackgantos.com/

http://www.jackgantos.com/holeinmylife.html

Awards and Honors:
American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
American Library Association Notable Children's Books
Booklist Editors' Choice
Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library
Bulletin Blue Ribbon, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Horn Book Magazine Fanfare List
Massachusetts Children's Book Award
Michael L. Printz Award - Honor
Parents' Choice Award
Robert F. Sibert Award - Honor
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Discuss drug awareness and consequences – also as it related to Gantos.

This would be a great autobiography to have young adults write a reader’s response to.
Ask student’s questions like:

While on the boat, Jack said he wasn’t doing anything wrong by smuggling drugs;
he was just afraid of the punishment. He planned to use the $10,000 to pay for
college. Is he justified? Does he feel the same way at the end of the story?

Other Books by Jack Gantos:
The Jack Henry Books
Jack Adrift: Fourth Grade Without a Clue (2003)
Jack on the Tracks: Four Seasons of Fifth Grade (1999)
Jack's Black Book (1999)
Jack's New Power: Stories from a Caribbean Year (1995)
Heads or Tails: Stories from the Sixth Grade (1994)
The Joey Pigza Books
What Would Joey Do? (2002)
Joey Pigza Loses Control (2000)
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (1998)
The Rotten Ralph Rotten Readers
Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph (2002)
Rotten Ralph Helps Out (2001)
Young Adult
Desire Lines (1997)

Other Authors' Memoirs Geared for a Young Adult Audience:
Chris Crutcher, King of the Mild Frontier: an Ill-Advised Autobiography (2003)
Walter Dean Myers, Bad Boy: A Memoir (2002)
Lois Lowry, Looking Back: A Book of Memories (2000)
Madeleine L’Engle, Madeleine L’Engle Herself: Reflections on a Writing Life (2001)

External assessments
Publishers Weekly
Knowing that the narrator is destined to land in jail keeps suspense at a high pitch, but this
book's remarkable achievement is the multiple points of view that emerge, as experiences
force a fledgling writer to continually revise his perspective of himself and the world around
him. The book requires a commitment, as it rambles a bit at times, but it provides much
food for thought and fuel for debate. It will leave readers emotionally exhausted and a little
wiser.

School Library Journal
Much of the action in this memoir-some of it quite raw and harsh-will be riveting to teen
readers. However, the book's real strength lies in the window it gives into the mind of an
adolescent without strong family support and living in the easy drug culture of the 1970s.
Gantos looks for role models and guidance in the pages of the books he is reading, and his
drive to be a writer and desire to go to college ultimately save him.

Booklist
Gantos' spare narrative style and straightforward revelation of the truth have, together, a cumulative power that will capture not only a reader's attention but also empathy and imagination. This is great for every aspiring writer and also a wonderful biography for teens struggling to discover their deepest, truest selves.

Mod. 4 - NEW MOON by Stephenie Meyer

2009-10-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Meyer, Stephenie. New Moon. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. ISBN 9780316024969

Critical analysis
This fantasy-romance novel is the second book in the Twilight Saga series.
Sidenote: Edward is gone throughout most of this novel. I know…it’s sad. But some readers might be happier because Jacob is with Bella as a replacement. I, however, wasn’t impressed and missed Edward tremendously.

Bella is celebrating her 18th birthday at the Cullens’ residence. She opens a gift and gets a paper cut. Jasper cannot control his vampire hunger and lunges for her.

Jasper slammed into Edward, and the sound was like the crash of boulders in a rock slide. There was another noise, a grisly snarling that seemed to be coming from deep in Jasper’s chest. Jasper tried to shove past Edward, snapping his teeth just inches from Edward’s face. (28-9).

To protect Bella, Edward decides that the Cullens family must move away to keep her safe. Bella is brokenhearted and lonely. He asks her to keep herself safe, but the only way Bella can still “hear” Edward is when she is risking her life in daredevil stunts. Jacob and Bella become closer and she finds out he is a werewolf. There is a bit of miscommunication and Edward thinks Bella has died. He cannot go on with living and goes to the Volturi so that he may die. An action-packed track across the world keeps readers at the edge of their seat in hopes that the two may be reunited again.

This installment of Twilight Saga parallels Romeo and Juliet. Both stories deal with losing your true love, a forbidden love. It’s forbidden because of the, me vampire – you human concept of course and also because of the rivalry between the werewolves and the vampires. Juliet and Bella both appear to commit suicide and Romeo/Edward is so distraught by the news that they go and try to commit suicide themselves. Edward fans are lucky though because he does not succeed in this attempt. The beginning of the book has:

These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss, consume. (Act II, Scene VI)

This novel is less romance and more action this time around for the series. Thank goodness because how long can Bella long for Edward in a 563-paged book? However, there is some love-tension concerning Bella and Jacob. It is nice that there is a change in the relationships in this book. Jacob’s character has really starts to develop and create a mold for himself in this novel. About the middle of the book the story started to drag and I once again longed for Edward’s return to keep me interested. Bella is still a flat and boring character in my opinion, which moviegoers will be in luck because she’s depicted in the same way, thanks to Kristen Stewart’s lack of acting skills. For any readers that have been dumped by their loved ones before and then if they’re lucky reunited with that handsome vampire…er boy, this book will tug at their heartstrings.

Practical suggestion
Book website: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/
Author website: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Prepare a book/movie trailer
Of course – go see the movie in November!

Questions:
How do you think Edward and Bella’s relationship will change when she transforms into a vampire? Will Edward be as attracted to Bella? Will she be as attracted to him? Do you think they'll stay in love forever?

How well does Bella deal with the pain of losing Edward? Does she grow as a person from the experience of losing and then regaining him?

Will Charlie and Renée notice the change in Bella if she transforms into a vampire?

External assessments
Kirkus Reviews
Psychic miscommunications and angst-ridden dramatic gestures lead to an exciting page-turner of a conclusion drenched in the best of Gothic romantic excess. Despite Bella's flat and obsessive personality, this tale of tortured demon lovers entices.

Children’s Literature
Readers who have not read Twilight may find some of the references to previous relationships and plotlines hard to follow. This is an overly long novel with a minimum of action. The ending makes it clear that there is another sequel to follow.

VOYA

While certainly better written than its predecessor, it may leave the reader wishing for something different-a more empowered and self-assured heroine, comic relief to balance the perpetually brooding Edward, fewer references to the vampires' innate beauty. Meyer is at work on the third addition to the Forks saga so there is hope these transformations can occur. Despite the flaws, expect this book to remain checked out by its legions of fans as they await the third novel's release.

Mod. 4 - UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld

2009-10-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. ISBN 9781415586198

Critical analysis
Uglies is set in a dystopian world, in the future, where when teenagers turn sixteen, they are given an operation to make them pretty. Pretties have big eyes, fat lips, not too skinny and not fat. Sounds perfect, right? This “pretty” comes at a cost to the teenagers, but they do not know what that cost is…even after their surgery.

Tally is the main protagonist in this first book in the trilogy. She is nicknamed “Squint” because of her eyes. She is tired of being an ugly and dreams of the day she can return to Peris, her best friend in New Pretty Town. Tally meets Shay and they become fast friends. Tally believes in the Pretty transformations and doesn’t understand why Shay hasn’t decided to start planning her new look. Shay is more adventurous than Tally. She knows of another place, another town, called Smoke, where Pretties don’t matter.

When her friend lives to go to Smoke to evade her own surgery, Tally does not go with her and instead chooses to stay for her surgery. However, she is forced to go seek Shay by a Dr. Cable. Tally is faced with a decision to either turn in her friend or never turn pretty at all.

Westerfeld’s take on this dual society, The Pretties and The Uglies is different and familiar at the same time. In the Uglies’ world the government raises the children – not the parents. The government keeps them all controlled with many rules and regulations. The Pretties are allowed to do whatever they want. All Pretties want to do is party and socialize. Because of their transformation from Uglies, the government is not worried about Pretties getting into trouble.

Tally finds love in the Smoke, which seems a bit rushed and forced to this reader. Because of it’s hurried romance it seemed less believable, but he and his parents (former doctors that helped perform the transformation) helped Tally see the truth behind the prettiness. David informs Tally of the disagreements with The Uglies/Pretties and the others that live in the Smoke. In school Tally tells him they say it's a complicated matter and don't discuss it any further. David tells her that it's not so complicated. He explains,

Maybe the reason war and all that other stuff went away is that there are no more controversies, no disagreements, no people demanding change. Just masses of smiling pretties, and a few people left to run things. (267)

Tally figures it out...and says,

Becoming pretty doesn't just change the way you look.

And David answers,

No [...] it changes the way you think. (268)

The great storyline of Pretties that conform to the rest of society and the others in Smoke have minds of their own is reminiscent of our society today. With reality shows about making people look “pretty” and transforming themselves it’s no wonder teenagers will think this is an enticing and thrilling read. It’s a wonderful parable of adolescent life that teens will quickly relate to. The ending left readers searching to find out what happened next for Tally. It is definitely a keep-you-at-the-edge-of-your-seat reading with all the suspense.

Practical suggestion
Book website: http://www.scottwesterfeld.com/books/uglies.htm
Author website: http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/

Because a movie is in works for this project, have teens create a book/movie trailer for this first book in the trilogy. And, of course, read the rest of the series and do the same.

Discussion questions to ask:
Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?

Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)

On your sixteenth birthday, how would you feel about being forced to have the surgery to become pretty? Would you feel like Tally -- looking forward to being beautiful and bubbly -- or like Shay -- wanting to escape the surgery and stay ugly, but remain herself? If your best friend asked you to not have the surgery, what do think you would have chosen to do?

Activities:

Have teenagers develop their own hoverboard.

Watch for the movie scheduled to come out in 2011!

External assessments
School Library Journal
Ethical concerns will provide a good source of discussion as honesty, justice, and free will are all oppressed in this well-conceived dystopia. Characterization, which flirts so openly with the importance of teen self-concept, is strong, and although lengthy, the novel is highly readable with a convincing plot that incorporates futuristic technologies and a disturbing commentary on our current public policies. Fortunately, the cliff-hanger ending promises a sequel.

Booklist

Although the narrative's brisk pace is more successful in scenes of hover-boarding action than in convincingly developing Tally's key relationships, teens will sink their teeth into the provocative questions about invasive technology, image-obsessed society, and the ethical quandaries of a mole-turned-ally. These elements, along with the obvious connections to reality programs such as Miami Slice, will surely cause this ingenious series debut to cement Westerfeld's reputation for high-concept YA fiction that has wide appeal. Suggest M. T. Anderson's Feed (2002) and Westerfeld's own So Yesterday (2004) to readers antsy for the next installment.

Mod. 4 - GOING BOVINE by Libba Bray

2009-10-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Bray, Libba. Going Bovine. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. ISBN 9780385733977

Critical analysis
“The best day of my life happened when I was five and almost died at Disney World. I’m sixteen now, so you can imagine that’s left me with quite a few days of major suckage” (1). This is how Cameron’s journey begins in Going Bovine. Libba Bray’s dark and twisted novel poses many questions about life. A few questions that Cameron seeks are: Why are we here? What is real? Why must we die? How do we really live? Cameron is given some terribly bad news in his early life. He finds out he has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is mad cow disease. It’s a degenerative neurological disorder, incurable and fatal. Bray certainly did her homework in researching this disease and how it affects the victim. Somehow, the fact that Cameron has mad cow disease and he will die does not sadden this novel at all because readers are on this fantastic hallucinating and weird journey with these crazy characters. Readers will definitely enjoy Bray’s dark, twisty, sarcastic humor throughout this novel.

This humorously dark novel parallels Don Quixote’s storyline. It begins early in the novel, when Cameron’s class is taking part in reading and discussing the Spanish novel. The characters in this book are all similar to many different characters in other pieces of magnificent works, like Don Quixote, Metamorphoses, and On the Road.

Cameron meets Dulcie, a punk/angel that helps guide him when he needs that extra push in the right direction. She has quite a sugar habit. Cameron, along with readers, does not quite know if Dulcie is real or part of Cam’s hallucinations. Cameron takes friends along for this journey. Gonzo is a video-gaming dwarf who thinks he’ll die of common circumstances. His mother makes him fear everything will kill him, he won’t eat nuts because he could be allergic to them and die. Also along for the ride is Balder, a yard gnome. Balder is tired of being strewed around the world having his pictures taken with fraternity boys and getting urinated on by dogs.

In the end, Cameron finds out what it really means to live. It had to take death for him to actually do it though. The threat of death somehow woke up his life and he enjoyed this hallucinating journey. Bray writes an excellent journey and it shouldn’t just be marketed for teens because adults will get a kick out of Cameron’s voyage, too. The old lady in the hospital with Cameron says it best, “I don’t think you should die before you’re ready. Until you’ve wrung out every last bit of living you can” (97). Whether Cameron actually lived or just hallucinated these events is up to the reader to decide, but he lived it.

Practical suggestion
The book website: http://goingbovine.com/
The author website: http://www.libbabray.com/

A book talk video would be a great idea for teens to attempt. Let them watch the author’s video of this book on the book’s website to get some ideas.

There are many storylines within storylines in this book. Have teenagers flesh out these people/groups in more detail. Have the CESSNA group create smoothies, create music to the “happy” songs and lyrics that the group sings about incessantly.

Find the parallel stories in the works Bray provide links for in GB. She uses many great novels and stories within GB. What are these stories? Where do these stories connect in GB? Similarities? Differences?

External assessments
Publishers Weekly
Bray's surreal humor may surprise fans of her historical fantasies about Gemma Doyle, as she trains her satirical eye on modern education, American materialism and religious cults (the smoothie-drinking members of the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack 'N' Bowl). Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy.

VOYA
Readers will be rooting for Cameron to overcome his obstacles to save himself and claim his love for Dulcie. The novel is a laugh-out-loud, tear-jerking, fantastical voyage into the meaning of what is real in life and how someone can learn to live. It is a must-purchase for any libraries wanting to reach out to all teens who need to know there are stories out there for them.

School Library Journal

It's a trip worth taking, though meandering and message-driven at times. Some teens may check out before Cameron makes it to his final destination, but many will enjoy asking themselves the questions both deep and shallow that pop up along the way.

Mod. 3 - FALLEN ANGELS - by Walter Dean Myers

2009-10-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels. New York: Scholastic, 1988. ISBN 0590409433

Critical analysis
Richie Perry, an African-American protagonist and the narrator, joins the Army right after graduating from high school in Harlem, so he may be able to attend college when he returns. Having Richie tell his story in the first person gives readers an intimate glance into his personal thoughts throughout his time in Vietnam. He and others in his squad joined for many different reasons, but all have one goal in mind – leaving alive. Some views portray war as a romantic event, as in a lover goes off to war and returns to his love a hero and all is well. This is not that type of novel.

Richie finds himself in the depths of Vietnam, and having to deal with race issues within the Army along with the troubles of combat. The crew is a mixture of all different cultures, religions, as well as race. One soldier is even gay while another is Jewish. These differences are put aside once they all come to the realization that they must come together in order to survive.

Richie finds that the line between good and evil is sometimes ambiguous. Richie’s captain is all too focused on rising up in the ranks in the Army than keeping his platoon safe. The platoon search for answers on why they are there fighting in the first place. This seems to have happened a lot during Vietnam. The soldiers, families, friends, and neighbors all wondered the ambivalent question of “Why?” In this search for answers, Richie also searches to find himself. Myers writes a beautiful, sad, and realistic portrayal of a coming-of-age story.

His friend in his squad, Peewee, tends to get through the trials of war by using humor. He seems immature at the beginning, only interested in drinking wine, smoking, and making love to a foreign woman. Peewee later leaves a more mature man looking to take a responsible role as a stepfather to his girlfriend’s child. Many soldiers, like Richie, are at a loss as to what they should do when they return to home. These boys enter this war, some not by their own choice, but throughout their trials and tribulations they are able to leave as men.

The language of the book is the usual basic language of survival in the armed forces. There is plenty of curse words, hateful language, derogatory name-calling, etc. Words are usually exchanged quickly and without a flowing narrative. This quote from the book demonstrates the type of conversations that are exchanged in wartime. Something goes awry in combat.

The machine gun on the right opened up again, and Doyle started screaming.

“Cease fire! Cease fire!” Doyle was jumping around and waving

both of his arms over his head.

“Oh, shit!” Scotty turned around and leaned against the sandbags.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I hope not what I think it is,” Scotty said.

We waited as Doyle walked a little ahead of his position, hands on his hips, and

looked out to the field ahead of us. Behind us I heard choppers. I turned and

saw them headed for us. They went by us out to the target zone.

“Hey, Scotty, did we…?”

“Yep, we just shot the shit out of the first platoon.”

(102-103).

Practical suggestions:
Invite a local Vietnam Vet to talk to the class about problems that soldiers faced both in Vietnam and in the United States upon their return. Students will prepare interview questions for the guest speaker.

Have students prepare a book talk using a story telling medium, such as PhotoStory. Students use a combination of music, images, and carefully chosen quotations from the novel.

1989 Coretta Scott King Award
Fallen Angels is listed as number 24 in the ALA’s list of 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–2000 due to its use of profanity and mature themes involving war.

External assessments:
Children’s Literature
By showing what is going on in the minds of teenagers both drafted and volunteering to serve their country, the reader is drawn into the experience, sharing the good and the bad. Hiding no horrors, the reader experiences death, fear, loss, friendship, hate, racism, and hope for the future along with the characters in the army, particularly Richie's friends, Peewee, Lobel, Johnson, and Brunner. A useful book for any literature tie-in with a history class studying war or racism, this work will assist students in gaining a real-life understanding of what occurs during such situations, rather than solely the facts studied in a traditional history course.

School Library Journal
This is a compelling, graphic, necessarily gruesome, and wholly plausible novel. It neither condemns nor glorifies the war but certainly causes readers to think about the events. Other difficult issues, such as race and the condition of the Vietnamese people, are sensitively and realistically incorporated into the novel. The soldiers' language is raw, but appropriate to the characters. This is a book which should be read by both young adults and adults.

Mod. 3 - I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU - by Ally Carter

2009-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Carter, Ally. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You. New York:
Hyperion, 2006. ISBN 9781423100041

Critical analysis
This story follows Cammie who attends Gallagher, a school for extremely gifted girls. Girl spies run very few in the mystery/adventure world, especially those with genius IQs and that can assassinate someone using a spaghetti noodle.

Cammie is dealing with her mother being the head mistress of the Gallagher house. Cammie’s father was killed in a covert operation, which is also difficult for her to deal with because many instructors and other VIPs she meets send along their condolences.

Carter’s book is not full of “girl-power” and fluff. These young women are smart and witty. However, Carter does not reach the heights of more popular Young Adult authors that write adventure stories for other females. The Gallagher house is full of secret passageways, hidden rooms, secret gadgets, and CSI/FBI/CIA-type of classes. Some of these descriptions remind readers of a Hogwarts-type environment, such as the group house with different passageways.

When Cammie meets a cute boy she handles the situation as any normal girl would…a normal Gallagher girl, that is. Cammie and her friends wire tap his house, dig through his trash, hacks into his email accounts, and finds out anything else that the can using their skills they’ve learned in the Covert Operations class. Despite her intelligence and familial ties to the Gallaghers, Cammie struggles to find her true self outside of the house, staff, and cohort. Cammie feels a stereotype about outsiders just as outsiders have a stereotype pegged on the Gallagher girls.

This story is a great adventure for readers to enjoy. It has many aspects that young girls will appreciate. The novel is easy and fun to read, filled with witty humor, typical teenage-girl conversations but mixed with a secret agent attitude.

Excerpt:
Report of trash taken from the home of Josh Abrams
Number of empty cardboard toilet paper rolls: 2
Preferred variety of canned soup: tomato (followed closely by Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom).
Number of empty Ben & Jerry’s containers: 3 – two mint chocolate cookie, one plain vanilla. (Who buys plain vanilla ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s, anyway? Is there a greater waste?)
Number of Pottery Barn catalogs: 14 (No items marked or otherwise identified, even though the Windsor Washable Throw Pillows were on sale and appeared to be quite a bargain.) – (p. 124-5).

Practical suggestion
This novel would be fun to get some classmates together and have them create a book talk video for a class assignment. It could be in a “James Bond” type theme.

Follow up with readings of the rest of the series:
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover

External assessments
http://www.allycarter.com/

http://www.allycarter.com/blog.html

Awards

2007-2008 Texas Lone Star Reading List Book

2007-2008 Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers

2007 Amelia Bloomer List

School Library Journal
Subplots include Cammie's relationship with her mother–the headmistress at Gallagher–and her grief over the loss of her father, who died while on a spying assignment. The teen's double life leads to some amusing one-liners, and the invented history of the Gallagher Girls is also entertaining, but the story is short on suspense. The stakes never seem very high since there are no real villains, and the cutesy dialogue quickly becomes grating. However, the novel has been optioned for a film and will likely attract readers who enjoy lighthearted, frothy tales and squeaky-clean romances. Unfortunately, it lacks the warmth and appeal of other teen books turned into movies, such as Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries (HarperCollins, 2000) and Ann Brashares's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

VOYA
Think Alias meets Gilmore Girls. The causal explanation for the complex inner workings of the secretive Gallagher Academy and the diversity of the group inside its walls make a unique and enjoyable setting. The characters and their relationships, including Cammie's mother-Headmistress of the Gallagher Academy-propel this story beyond just being an action-packed novel into something special. The promise of a second Gallagher Girl book is the promise of good times to come.

Mod. 3 - STAYING FAT FOR SARAH BYRNES by Chris Crutcher

2009-10-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York Philadelphia: Econo-Clad Books, 1999. ISBN 9780785735656

Critical analysis
This story is told from a perspective of a boy that is overweight. This problem novel deals with many complex family issues as well as with how young people view and treat one another based on physical appearance. People judge others by how they look on the outside and teenagers do so more quickly and ruthlessly. Eric Calhoune, known as Moby, and Sarah Byrnes became friends to deal with the fact that they were both outcasts. Eric is overweight and Sarah’s face and hands are disfigured from a mysterious burn accident. Eric starts to lose weight when he joins the swim team, but is afraid to lose Sarah as a friend, so tries to stay fat to be an outcast with her. Sarah explains that he doesn't need to intake massive amounts of calories to be an outcast with her to stay friends.

In Contemporary American Thought (CAT) class, Eric discovers that dealing with issues is never easy, especially when the issues revolve around sex, religion, and the existence of God. The theme follows the same template as many other young adult novels, which is, do not judge someone solely based on how they look. Sarah is so disfigured that she has lost control of how her life is managed. The only things she can now control are her peers. She even makes them all call her by her first and last name.

The tone of the novel is very straightforward; nothing is ambiguous besides how Sarah became hideously disfigured, which readers finally find out the real reason why she is disfigured later in the novel. The manner in which the teenage boy, Eric, speaks to adults, including his mother is not normal. There is foul language scattered throughout the book. It is not just the foul language but also the manner in which Eric talks to his mother, using disrespectful language.

The book is a thrilling adventure of going with Eric in this quest to find out what really happened to Sarah Byrnes’ disfigured face and hands. It simply was not accidentally a spill from cooking spaghetti, is it? Her cold, daunting father must have something to do with it, right?

Practical suggestions

Serve crispy pork rinds for a discussion group get together.

This website has lesson plans for this novel:
http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/view/726/64/

External assessments
ALA Best Book for YA

SLJ Best Book for YA

American Booksellers Pick of the List

California Young Reader Medalist

1995 Joan Fassler Memorial Book Award

ALA Best of the Best Books for YA

Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

1994 South Dakota YARP Best Books

Nominee 1995-1996 Iowa Teen Award

Nominee 1995-1996 SC YA Book Award

Nominee 1996 Young Reader's Choice Award

Nominee 1996-1997 ILF Rosie

http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/blogcategory/65/54/

Publisher’s Weekly
A subplot centering on a self-righteous teammate drives home the point that nothing is as it appears on the surface, and leads to Eric being caught between his menacing vice-principal and the even more malevolent Mr. Byrnes--with spine-tingling results. Superb plotting, extraordinary characters and crackling narrative make this novel one to be devoured in a single unforgettable sitting.

Kirkus Reviews

Though Crutcher doesn't always play fair in developing his themes--all the conservative Christians here are humorless dupes or hypocrites, and one tries to commit suicide after it comes out that his girlfriend had an abortion--his language, characters, and situations are vivid and often hilarious. In the end, he deals out just deserts all around: Eric gets a stepfather he can respect; Virgil, a vicious mauling plus 20 years in stir; Sarah, a new and loving set of parents. Readers may find the storybook ending a welcome relief, though it does seem forced after the pain that precedes it. Pulse-pounding, on both visceral and intellectual levels--a wild, brutal ride.

Mod. 2 - Realism, Romance and Censorship - ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sarah Dessen

2009-09-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Dessen, Sarah. Along for the Ride. New York: Viking, 2009. ISBN 9780670011940

Critical analysis
Characterization -

Auden has an interesting life full of wonderfully peculiar supporting characters. She is not spontaneous, an avid reader, and lacks social skills that most teenagers have. Sadly, she has not accomplished as much as most children and teenagers have thus far in their lifetime. It is easy for readers to relate to Auden.

Eli is a mysterious man that creates a sort of quest for Auden. Many things she has missed out on in life he sets up scenarios so that she can accomplish them.

The girls that work at Clementines are upon first glance from Auden, your typical shallow, pink-clothes-wearing, girly girls. Heidi is characterized perfectly as a tired, struggling, young new mother. The dynamic between Auden’s mother and father portrays a great story line. Auden feels like an outcast and doesn’t fit in with either one of her parents or her lackadaisical brother.

Plot –
For her whole life, Auden has concentrated on her studies. Her mother and father are both scholarly individuals, so academia has always come easily for her. She has concentrated so much on her education that she lacks social skills and she has even missed out on parts of her childhood. With high school being over, she decides to spend some time with her father and his wife and new baby. Auden realizes that her father is still selfish as he was while he was married to Auden’s mother. Her mother seems to have gone off the deep end, having relationships with new graduate students as they roll in every semester. Her brother is off gallivanting around different countries. Finally, Auden meets Eli, a mysterious character that sends her off on a mission, to conquer what she has missed out on as a child. While Eli helps Auden create some belated childhood memories, she helps him heal from the distraught he feels about the accident that took away his friend.

From the novel:

"I thought of my mother, sitting at her kitchen table, with Hollis off working at a bank, and me, for all she knew, riding in a car with boys while wearing a pink bikini. How different we had to be from what she had expected, or planned, all those days when, like Heidi, she rocked us and carried us and cared for us. It was so easy to disown what you couldn't recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling. The only person you can be sure to control, always, is yourself. Which is a lot to be sure of, but at the same time, not enough" (318).

Setting –
The novel is set in a small intimate town of Colby on the boardwalk by the calming ocean in the summertime.

Theme –
People are not always like they appear and Auden finds this to be true in this novel. The girls in Heidi’s shop are not as shallow and dumb as she perceives them to be. One of them will be attending the same university, as she will be in the fall.

The theme of riding a bike is perfect because that is a very important skill that most children go through in life. If you haven’t learned to ride a bike, there’s probably a lot that you’ve missed out on.

Whether or not people can or cannot change seems to be another underlying theme in this novel. Her dad doesn’t seem to be able to change the way he is a selfish man, only thinking about himself and not his family, until finally towards the end of the novel. Her brother, the care-free spirit, oddly settles down for an intelligent and nice woman and he even gets a job at the bank. All while Auden, the not-so-carefree spirited person, spreads her wings and jumps out of her comfort zone. She beings her transformation and matures in a different way, not just academically.

The one thing that irritated me was not anything inside the novel. The outside cover bothered me. Auden never should be portrayed in a frilly pink polka-dot dress. I just didn’t think the cover complemented the actual portrayal of the characters.

Review excerpts
Publisher’s Weekly

Studious good girl Auden, named for the poet, makes a snap decision to spend her summer before college at her father's beach house rather than with her mother, a professor whose bad habits include male grad students. Auden's thoughtful observations make for enjoyable reading-this is solid if not "top shelf" Dessen: another summer of transformation in which the heroine learns that growing up means "propelling yourself forward, into whatever lies ahead, one turn of the wheel at a time."

VOYA

The subtheme of bike riding is a perfect ploy—especially because she never learned as a child—for Auden to grow. The juxtaposition of Auden's carefree older brother falling in love and settling down while Auden spreads her wings shows how people can change given the right circumstances. The dialogue is true to both adult and teenage language. The summer resort town setting is perfect. As with all Dessen's books, her latest is a must-have.

Kirkus

Dessen reworks well-traveled terrain and creates a remarkably original story with realistic teen dialogue, authentic girl friendships and a complex underlying question: Can people really change? Taut, witty first-person narration allows readers to both identify with Auden's insecurities and recognize her unfair, acerbic criticisms of people.

Connections
http://www.sarahdessen.com/along-for-the-ride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFyPlKoac-M - Sarah Dessen reading an excerpt
http://www.youtube.com/user/sdessen#play/all/uploads-all/1/BwNIsrMBqzY - Dessen answers questions readers had about her book

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/sarah-dessen - fan site

Mod. 2 - Realism, Romance and Censorship - ZEN AND THE ART OF FAKING IT by Jordan Sonnenblick

2009-09-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Sonnenblick, Jordan. Zen and the Art of Faking It. New York: Scholastic Press, 2007. ISBN 97804398370701

Critical analysis
Characterization -San Lee’s character has encompassed many things in the past. He had been a skater in California, a Bible-thumper in Alabama, a rich preppie in Houston, and a jock in Germany. Woody is the mysterious girl that fascinates San. She plays her guitar for a bit of money during lunch at school.

Plot –
Teenager, San Lee is trying to “find himself” as most teenagers struggle similarly. An eighth-grader, San is trying to fit in at the new school. He and his mother move from Houston to leave a troubled life behind. San’s father is a con and constantly moved the family from state to state so that he could have a con artist lifestyle. San, always changing personalities at each school, continues this tradition once moved to Pennsylvania. At this school he decides to be a practicing Buddhist, even though both of his adopted parents are Anglo-Americans, after he answers a question correctly in class about Buddhism. From then on, he is known as Buddha Boy. San and his new persona take on twists and turns until finally the truth has to be told about his real identity. This is a serious but funny take on this type of subject, especially in dealing with his father's incarceration.

Setting –
The setting is in a Pennsylvania school and also in San Lee’s home with his mother. The school is an important setting because it holds all the different characters that one typically has in a school, which creates quite a dynamic to San’s character.

Theme –
A theme that is common in YA novels is the rite of passage theme, which is what San is trying to accomplish in this novel. He has trouble fitting in at each different school he attends. He never decides to be himself because he can’t find out who that is just yet.

Review excerpts
Kirkus Reviews
“Sonnenblick pens this story, so all that soul searching is side-splittingly funny as well. San, suddenly poor due to his swindling father's incarceration, becomes the only Asian child at Harrisonville Middle School. That, combined with the fact that he once did a project on Taoism and Zen Buddhism at another school, causes him to come up with a new persona: Buddha Boy.”

VOYA
“Despite the novel's essential seriousness, San's quick mind and self-deprecating humor make it a light read. As a Zen devotee, San is forced into some tight spots-forgoing a "huge, juicy charcoal-y" hamburger for "the soggy horror" of a veggie wrap to maintain his Buddhist vegetarian identity, for example. In the end, his efforts pay off. He wins the girl, becomes a school celeb, leads the B basketball team to a Zen-inspired victory, is exposed as a fake, repents, and is enlightened and forgiven, all of which require the reader's repeated suspension of disbelief.”

Connections
http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/

Author video-interview: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/video.jsp?pID=1640183585&bcpid=1640183585&bclid=1683701963&bctid=1688353597

Discuss what it would be like to reinvent yourself at a new school. What kind of persona would you choose to be – and why?

Mod. 2 - Realism, Romance and Censorship - ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING by Louise Rennison

2009-09-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging. London: Piccadilly Press
Ltd, 2003. ISBN 9781404665668

Critical analysis
Characterization –
This book is in diary format from fourteen-year-old Georgia. She lives in England with her so-called “old-fashioned” parents and three year-old sister, Libby. She also has a rescued cat named Angus. Georgia is honest, sarcastic, and funny. What is refreshing about this novel and the characters is that there are no discussions about what the world typically thinks of along the same lines with teenagers. There are no drug or violence discussions. Georgia, along with the other teenagers in this novel, are typical teenagers anxious about the same issues and concerns real teenagers have today. Rennison truly captivated how teenagers act and talk. Here is a sampling of her humor:

5:30 p.m. I’ve just found I’ve got hairs growing out of my armpits. How did they get there?
They weren’t there yesterday.

5:40 p.m. I’ve got some on my legs as well. I’d better distract myself by getting rid of them
with Mum’s razor.

6:00 p.m.
Oh God! Oh God! I’m hemorrhaging. My legs are running with blood-I had to
stanch the flow with Mum’s dressing gown. […] (p. 157).

This is typical behavior of a teenager trying to learn to shave her legs on her own spontaneously. The characters in this novel are filled with this slapstick type of humor and conversation, which makes for an enjoyable read.

Plot –
Georgia is a typical teenager dealing with parents and an annoying little sister. Georgia dislikes her body, mostly her nose. She is satisfied with her life (as much as she can be, being a teenager), until her mother tells her that they are moving to another country. Jas is Georgia’s best friend. Jas likes Tom who works at the supermarket and Georgia likes his older brother, Robbie. The road to become a couple is not an easy one for these two. But in the end, Georgia finally snags Robbie.

Setting –
The setting is dated from August until July and is in a contemporary small town in England. The setting is usually at Georgia’s house or at school.

Theme –
As in most teenaged books, this novel has a rite-of-passage theme for Georgia, the main character. Regular teenage-type issues are apparent throughout the novel. How and when to snog is another important issue these teens discuss with each other. The British slang entices American readers with the absurd language choices for common actions, ideas, and other things that are discussed with each other.

Review excerpts
Booklist

“Although performer and comedy writer Rennison clearly owes a large debt to Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary (1998), her Georgia is a wonderful character whose misadventures are not only hysterically funny but universally recognizable. This "fabbity, fab, fab" novel will leave readers cheering, "Long live the teen!" and anxiously awaiting the promised sequel.”

Publishers Weekly

“British writer Rennison's subject matter may be the stuff of Bridget Jones's Diary, but the wit and bite of her delivery shares more in common with Monty Python. In a spectacular YA debut (Rennison is a comedy writer and columnist), the author creates a winning protagonist in the persona of 14-year-old Georgia Nicolson, whose wry observations and self-deprecating humor covers everything from prudish parents and bed-wetting three-year-old siblings to errant cat behavior and kissing (aka snogging) lessons. Teens will discover that nothing is sacred here (e.g., "Talking of breasts, I'm worried that I may end up like the rest of the women in my family, with just the one bust, like a sort of shelf affair"). Rennison exquisitely captures the fine art of the adolescent ability to turn chaos into stand-up comedy.”

Connections
There is a great British glossary at the end of this novel.
Watch the film version of the first two books in this series: Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

Have students create a booktrailer for the novelCompare this YA novel to the similar Bridget Jones’s Diary.

YA Printz Award Book - SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

2009-09-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. ISBN 9781428737761

Critical analysis
Characterization -Melinda Sordino’s outlook on her life is sometimes comical, sarcastic, narcissistic, and sad. High school is a difficult time period for almost any adolescent, but for Melinda it’s more difficult. She was raped at a party this past summer. She called the police and they broke up the party. Her friends thought that she called the police to stop the party, when in fact she was reporting the boy that raped her. In doing this, her friends disowned her and made her social life unbearable when the school year started back up.

Plot –
The plot takes readers on a journey of an outcast teenager struggling to survive yet another year of school. This school can’t even decide on a mascot. They started out as the Trojans but administrators thought that didn’t push the abstinence thinking. Anderson witty text describes the other choices the school has for mascots.
a. The Bees – useful to agriculture, painful to cross
b. Icebergs – in honor of our festive winter weather
c. Hilltoppers – guaranteed to frighten opponents
d. Wombats – no one knows if they’re endangered
(p. 50)

Reading about all the typical issues in Melinda’s school that most teenagers deal with while in school is comforting, funny, and realistic. Readers get to follow Melinda through her summer, gearing up for the school year, the rape, and how it affected her during the school year. IT affects her socially as well as academically.

Setting –
The novel is set mostly in high school. There are a few times when readers are taken to Melinda’s home. Melinda makes her safe haven in the janitor’s closet at school. It is here that she feels the safest, displaying her artwork, a picture of Maya Angelou, and even brings her old blanket. She is safe from rude comments, long stares, and hopefully IT, the boy that raped her at the party.

Theme –
Speaking and lack thereof is a theme in this novel, hence the title of the book. There is also limited dialog. Instead most of the novel is a bit like stream of consciousness type of writing. Melinda spoke up and called the police at the end of summer party to report her rape. In doing so, she became socially outcasts because her friends thought she wanted the party to be busted. Melinda silenced herself and was never again outspoken, until IT met up with her inside her safe haven, the janitor’s closet. She finally found the nerves to yell for help. Melinda states, "It's easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.”

Review excerpts
School Library Journal
Anderson expresses the emotions and the struggles of teenagers perfectly. Melinda's pain is palpable, and readers will totally empathize with her. This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story.

Booklist
Melinda's voice is distinct, unusual, and very real as she recounts her past and present experiences in bitterly ironic, occasionally even amusing vignettes. In her YA fiction debut, Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers.

Connections
Debut novel
http://halseanderson.livejournal.com/
National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Winner of the Printz Award
Have teenagers create a booktalk
Break up students into groups and have them discuss how they would define “survival.” How does it compare with the dictionary definition?
Plan a charity activity, like a carwash, to make funds for a women/children shelter.

YA Recent Award Winners - THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

2009-09-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. Illus. By Dave McKean ISBN 9780060530938

Critical analysis
Characterization –
This leading postmodern writer has once again created these amazing and diverse characters. These characters are what make this imaginary scenario seem real. The mysterious character of man Jack keeps readers on edge. Readers constantly worry and wonder why Jack killed Bod’s family and why he is still, after all these years out to finish Bod off. The ghostly characters of the novel are left ambiguous, their full story is never clear, for readers to use their imagination.

Plot –
The plot plays homage to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book for obvious reasons of a boy being taken care of by people not ordinary in the role of the child’s caretakers. In this case, the guardians of Bod are deceased. Readers are swept away in this fantasy of the ability of a little boy that is alive and well that interact with ghosts.

Setting –
As Gaiman writes him characters to be well-rounded individuals that are more than just an imaginary aspect of the story, the setting itself. Dave McKean’s simple but intrinsicate illustrations help place readers inside the mind of Gaiman and along with Bod in his journey.

Theme –
Death and murder create a prominent theme throughout this book. This is how the book begins, with a gruesome family murder.
Belonging is also an important theme for this novel. Poor Bod neither fits in within the living world or the dead world. He feels more comfortable in the ghostly graveyard world, but he really doesn’t fit in there. He longs to have a real life outside of the graveyard but it’s more of a tumultuous time for him “out there.”
Jack finally tells of the reason why the boy was supposed to be murdered along with his family:
"We killed you for protection. Long time ago, one of our people . . . foresaw that one day there would be a child born who would walk the borderland between the living and the dead. That if this child grew to adulthood it would mean the end of our order and all we stand for” (271).
It was more important for the young toddler boy, Bod, to die than his family, but he escaped. The entire length of the novel is a gripping read because readers are there with Bod as he escapes as a toddler, grows up, and has to escape death again.

Review excerpts
School Library Journal

The child Bod's behavior is occasionally too precocious to be believed, and a series of puns on the name Jack render the villain a bit less frightening than he should be, though only momentarily. Aside from these small flaws, however, Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.”

Booklist

This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages.”

Connections
http://www.thegraveyardbook.com/
2009 Newbery Winner
Book Tour: http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool%20Stuff/Video%20Clips/The%20Graveyard%20Book%20Tour
Write a Readers’ Response
Take a fieldtrip to a graveyard and research a person from the graveyard.

YA Classic - THE CHOCOLATE WAR by Robert Cromier

2009-09-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Cromier, Robert. THE CHOCOLATE WAR. New York: Random House, 2004.ISBN 9781439518755

Critical analysis
Characterization -Jerry Renault’s character is the protagonist in this novel. He is a very quiet young man that uses his actions instead of speaking out against conforming to sell the chocolates in school. Harassment, beatings, and other traumatizing events ensues the protagonist. Renault gains readers’ sympathy with his determination to make a statement, stoically. Renault stands up for what he believes is right, which is admirable with readers, especially other teenagers facing similar issues in their own school.

Plot –
This plot follows the self vs. society conflict. Renault goes against the norm and stands solid for what he believes in. The Vigils are used to making the rules up in school and students are to always follow these rules. Renault causes quite a stir with his refusal to do what The Vigils tell him to do. They are not prepared to handle what to do when Renault refuses to do as they say. Fear plays an important role in THE CHOCOLATE WAR. Everyone seems to be afraid of Archie. Archie frightened boys to do anything he asked them to do. Jerry Renault plays an important role when faced with bullies such as Archie. He is understandably frightened but he never lets it show. The chocolate roll call is always a heart-stopping moment for readers and is chock-full of tension. The roll call creates the “self vs. society” conflict. Everyone else is selling their chocolates but Renault. It creates him as being an outcast.

Setting –
This third-person narrative is set in an all boys school called Trinity for most of the novel. There is another setting at Jerry Renault’s home as well, but most of the novel is set at and around the school.

Theme –
The Self vs. Society conflict is a common theme within the Young Adult genre of literature. Teenagers do feel the need to make a stand against something, speak their minds, question authority, and find their own voice in the world. This sometimes creates a conflict situation that will have to be worked out in some way throughout the novel. Manipulation is also a very important theme throughout the novel, which is followed by corruption.

Review excerpts
School Library Journal

"The characterizations of all the boys are superb... This novel [is] unique in its uncompromising portrait of human cruelty and conformity."

New York Times Book Review

"The Chocolate War is masterfully structured and rich in theme; the action is well crafted, well timed, suspenseful; complex ideas develop and unfold with clarity."

Connections
An ALA Best Books for Young AdultsA School Library Journal Best Books of the YearA Kirkus Reviews ChoiceA New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year

Compare/Contrast the novel to the movie.
Compare public school community to the private catholic school community.
Discuss “Would I dare disturb the universe?” quotation.

New class - Advanced Literature for Young Adults

2009-08-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings! This blog will now be used for the new fall class, Advanced Literature for Young Adults!

Courtney K

Inclusive Literature - "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

2009-08-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Justin, M.D./ Parnell, Peter/ Cole, and Henry (Ilt) Richardson. And Tango Makes Three. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

Brief plot summary
This book is based on the true story of two male penguins who ended up raising a chick - from an egg that had been abandoned by the biological parents. Roy and Silo were two boy penguins that liked each other’s company. The penguins became adoptive parents to an orphaned egg. They kept it warm just like they saw the other penguin parents doing.

Critical analysis
This book is a sweet story about diversity and going against the grain. Every penguin coupled up with another penguin of the different sex. Silo and Roy were friends and liked being with each other.

First of all, this is just a sweet story. The author’s note in the back of the book tells readers that the events in the picture book are true. The happy family lives at the Central Park Zoo in New York.

The book constantly being one of the most challenged books is absolutely absurd. The controversy of it suggests that this is a horribly vulgar book, which is definitely not the case in this true, cute story. It doesn’t brainwash children into becoming homosexuals. It is a true story about two penguins that enjoys each other’s company and wanted to help raise a baby penguin together. That is all.

The illustrations are adorable throughout this book. The penguins are really brought to life with the details of the fuzzy feathers when Tango is first born and in the manner of the penguins.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Done in soft watercolors, the illustrations set the tone for this uplifting story, and readers will find it hard to resist the penguins' comical expressions. The well-designed pages perfectly marry words and pictures, allowing readers to savor each illustration. An author's note provides more information about Roy, Silo, Tango, and other chinstrap penguins. This joyful story about the meaning of family is a must for any library

Booklist
Indeed, intrusions from the zookeeper, who remarks that the nuzzling males "must be in love," strike the narrative's only false note. Further facts about the episode conclude, but it's naive to expect this will be read only as a zoo anecdote. However, those who share this with children will find themselves returning to it again and again--not for the entree it might offer to matters of human sexuality, but for the two irresistible birds at its center and for the celebration of patient, loving fathers who "knew just what to do."

Connections
Read :“Heather Has Two Mommies”

“It’s Okay to be Different”

Inclusive Literature - "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

2009-08-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Habibi. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1999.

Brief plot summary
Liyana received her first real kiss and then found out that she and her family will be moving all the way to Palestine. Moving is traumatic for anyone, especially a teenager moving across the world to a place where she doesn’t even understand the language. Liyana knows very little about her father’s homeland and culture. Will Liyana learn to love this part of the world or will she continue to come across difficulties that make her yearn for St. Louis and the boy that kissed her?

Critical analysis
Nye is of Palestinian and American descent. Nye’s works of literature and poems are taken from personal experiences and knowledge. Habibi has won several awards including the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (1998) and the American Library Association Notable Books for Children (1998). Nye has lived in America as well as around the Middle East, so her stories have great significance and authenticity.

Cultural differences are demonstrated early on in the novel. Right before leaving for Palestine, Liyana had her first kiss. This is normal for a fourteen year-old in the United States, but she soon finds out that this is basically banned in Palestine. She can’t walk around wearing her skirts or shorts, but instead she has almost a uniform-type look to make herself covered and to look like all the other women walking around.

One of the most important significant cultural differences within Habibi was the difference in the feelings of the Arabs, Jews, Palestinian, and other Middle Easterners. The differences in cultures are difficult to grasp, partly because they don’t make sense. There is too much hatred and violence going on.

Each short chapter begins with a phrase, usually something that brings some deep thinking to the mind, or good talking points. These would be great additions to discuss with students if one so chooses to use this book as a school assignment.

Review excerpts
School Library Journal
Nye introduces readers to unforgettable characters. The setting is both sensory and tangible: from the grandmother's village to a Bedouin camp. Above all, there is Jerusalem itself, where ancient tensions seep out of cracks and Liyana explores the streets practicing her Arabic vocabulary. Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident. Habibi succeeds in making the hope for peace compellingly personal and concrete...as long as individual citizens like Liyana's grandmother Sitti can say, "I never lost my peace inside.”

Kirkus Reviews
Nye shows all of the charms and flaws of the old city through unique, short-story-like chapters and poetic language. The sights, sounds, and smells of Jerusalem drift through the pages and readers glean a sense of current Palestinian-Israeli relations and the region's troubled history. In the process, some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story- -Liyana's emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother's reactions overall--fall away from the plot. However, Liyana's romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own.

Connections
Read other stories and poem selections by Nye

Read “Sitti’s Secrets” by Nye

Inclusive Literature - "Dad, Jackie, and Me" by Myron Uhlberg

2009-08-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Uhlberg, Myron. Dad, Jackie, and Me. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 2005.

Brief plot summary
Jackie Robinson is the first Negro player in major league baseball. A boy is surprised by his deaf father with tickets to watch the Dodgers. The boy is worried that Jackie Robinson wouldn’t know how to talk to his dad because Jackie probably does not know sign language. The boy’s dad didn’t understand baseball so well. He asked his son to help him learn more about the game. The story tells of a few details on how Jackie Robinson was discriminated against in baseball by other players.

Critical analysis
This book was inspired by the author’s own experiences as a boy. Myron Uhlberg has two deaf parents and takes his knowledge of living with parents with disabilities and uses it to write children’s stories. In doing so, it gives children in the same situations something to read and look up to because they feel that they are not alone in their situation.

This book tells of Jackie Robinson’s story as well as the boy and his deaf father’s story. Jackie Robinson, the great baseball player, was discriminated against because he was African American. This book tells of how other players abused him even during the game. The author details an example of this by explaining that other players would hurt him during the game.

The author tells readers more about his father towards the back of the book. He states that his deaf father went to a special school where sports were not encouraged so he was terrible at baseball, but still enjoyed it. He also sates that most people considered deaf children severely handicapped.

His father told him to watch out other players singled Robinson out for unfair treatment. Seeing Robinson get discriminated against but still excel at playing baseball made his dad realize that he too gets discriminated against because he’s deaf, but excels at life just like the average person does as well. This heartwarming story connects discrimination and disabilities. It allows readers to understand that they are similar and just the same as everyone else.

Review excerpt
Booklist
It takes the young Uhlberg, narrator of the story, a while to overcome his embarrassment at his father's attempts to cheer for Robinson ("AH-GEE, AH-GEE," the deaf man yells from the Ebbetts Fields grandstand, attempting to say Jackie), but eventually Dad's devotion wins the day in a moving finale.

School Library Journal
Surprisingly, the narrator's deaf father is interested too; he has recognized his own struggle for respect and acceptance mirrored in Robinson's triumph. The two begin attending games and keep a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the first baseman. Though baseball and Robinson are at the heart of this story, its strength lies in its depiction of the bond between father and son. It is evident that their relationship is characterized by respect and tenderness, though, at the ballpark, the boy is at first embarrassed when his father's awkward cheer causes other fans to stare.

Connections
Read more about Jackie Robinson.Discuss Satchell Paige as well.
Winner of the Scneider Family Book Award

Asian Pacific American Literature - "The Imp That Ate My Homework" by Laurence Yep

2009-07-31T19:41:00.001-07:00

Bibliographic data
Yep, Laurence. The Imp That Ate My Homework. New York: HarperCollins, 1998.

Brief plot summary
Jim doesn’t know what to write about when his teacher gives him an assignment about writing about his grandfather, who just happens to be the meanest man he knows. An Imp shows up and eats the report that Jim just finished about his grandfather. Jim and everyone around him is in trouble with that mischievous Imp running around destroying everything. Follow Jim and his grandfather around Chinatown as they try to keep the sanity while the Imp runs around destroying things.

Critical analysis
This was a very odd book for me to read in this module. I have never heard of anything named “Imp.” I actually had to look up what Imps really were about after reading the short novel. I found out that they are not devious, as they most commonly are referred to as, but instead they act mischievous.

The family and their culture truly stand out in this book by Yep. Jim’s grandfather truly has difficulty with feeling comfortable in American civilization. He criticizes everything about American and American culture. He causes traffic jams with his temper, criticizes the way his family cooks rice, not staying with Chinese traditional methods.

The language is also a bit different in this novel. It contains some broken English when the grandfather is speaking. The entire family works hard in Chinatown to make ends meet. The mother works in a sweatshop. What is different than today is that Jim tends to be able to visit his entire family while they are at work. I know that is not a custom in most family’s work situations today.

The illustrations in the book are plain with just pencil-type drawings but very detailed. The drawings of the Imp help readers like myself be able to see what an Imp truly looks like. They almost tend to look like the Chinese dragon that is used to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Yep has written a fast-paced, light adventure that is full of the flavor of San Francisco's Chinatown. The clash of modern and traditional cultures is common among many immigrant groups and perhaps this whimsical look at the conflict will help children value and understand their grandparents. Huang's humorous and lively illustrations capture the personalities and action of the story.?

Kirkus Reviews
Yep telescopes the plot severely; he occasionally checks the pace long enough for a peek into a sweatshop, or a conversation about the younger generation's drift away from traditional culture. Still, readers will not be able to put this light, funny fantasy down.

Connections
Laurence Yep is a very prominent Asian American author. Read Dragon’s Gate, his Newbery Honor book and his picture book, The Dragon Prince.

Asian Pacific American Literature - "Tea with Milk" by Allen Say

2009-07-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Say, Allen. Tea with Milk. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

Brief plot summary
May’s parents speak Japanese and eat Japanese food at home, while May eats American food and prefers to speak English. Her parents get homesick so they decide to move the family back to Japan. May struggles in Japan and doesn’t feel like she belongs. Will she finally embrace her parents’ country and feel more accepted?

Critical analysis
These touching book signifies the difficulties of not finding a place for someone from another culture to fit in. May’s parents were not comfortable in American and May is not comfortable in Japan. This is a sad story because neither one of them is comfortable together in one place.

Not only does May have to move to another country, but her name also is changed. In American she was known as May, but in Japan her Japanese name is used, Ma-chan. Her food choices change from eating pancakes and muffins and tea with milk and sugar at her friends’ houses to only eating Japanese cuisine.

The illustrations are simple but still full of detail. The skin detail is a faint white with just a hint of tan. The watercolors Say uses are brilliant soft colors. The clothing changes style very early in the book. The first page has May in her dress on the front porch and above her waves an American flag. The next illustration shows May in her kimono in Japan. Her facial expressions are very blank throughout most of the story. Readers will be able to appreciate the turn of events for May and notice the change of expression on her face. She begins to look more elated and personable.

What makes this book more special than most, is that the story is about the author’s parents and how they met. It is a touching story and tribute to them and even has a watercolor picture of the both of them in the back.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
The pages are filled with detailed drawings featuring Japanese architecture and clothing, and because of the artist's mastery at drawing figures, the people come to life as authentic and sympathetic characters. This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own.

Publishers Weekly
Say sets off his cultural metaphor from the very start, contrasting the green tea Masako has for breakfast in her home, with the "tea with milk and sugar" she drinks at her friends' houses in America. Later, when she meets a young Japanese businessman who also prefers tea with milk and sugar to green tea, readers will know that she's met her match. Say reveals on the final page that the couple are his parents.

Connections
Read: TREE OF CRANES by Allen Say
GRANDFATHER’S JOURNEY by Allen Say

Asian Pacific American Literature - "Sixteen Years in Sixteen Second: The Sammy Lee Story"

2009-07-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Yoo, Paula. Sixteen Years in Sixteen Second: The Sammy Lee Story. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2005.

Brief plot summary
In 1932, twelve-year-old Sammy struggles with segregation. Sammy wants to jump in the pool on hot summer days but is only allowed at the pool on Wednesdays because he is “of color.” Sammy’s father wants him to concentrate on his studies and to get into medical school, but Sammy wants to practice diving instead. A man watches him diving in the pool and critics his diving. He offers to coach him and prepare him for the Olympics. Sammy fulfills both of their dreams in this poignant true story of discrimination.

Critical analysis
This great picture book tells of a true story of the first Asian American to win a gold medal in the Olympics. Most of the time when we read or hear about discrimination we usually think it’s about African Americans and Caucasians. In this story it reminds readers that anyone can be discriminated against. Readers that do not know much about the discrimination in the 30’s on throughout WWII, will get to read about a true story of one boy and his struggle to achieve his dream and his father’s dream for him.

Many people link Asians with intelligence. Many more Asians than Americans spend more time with their studies. Sammy’s father wants him to concentrate more on his studies than his diving activities. He wants him to become a doctor while Sammy wants to become an Olympic diving champion. Throughout the book, Sammy’s father reminds him, “In America…you can achieve anything if you set your heart to it.” Sammy’s father like most parents, want only the best for his child. He tries to steer him in the right direction, of becoming a doctor. Finally, through hard work, Sammy achieves both of their dreams.

The pictures throughout the book are all illustrated in lovely rich earth tones. The illustrations are large with particular attention to detail. My favorite pictures in this book are the diving illustrations. For each dive, there are three panels, each showing the motion of the jump. Dom Lee, the illustrator, pays close attention to detail, even mapping out the muscles in Sammy’s figure perfectly. Family is important for this culture and the illustrator demonstrates this by the closeness seen with Sammy and his father in the book. In one particular illustration, Lee portrays Sammy looking through his father’s shoebox, which is filled with money. Behind him on the wall framed pictures of his family are displayed along with the trophies Sammy has one in his diving competitions.

This story is important to have available for readers because it tells of the first Asian American to win an Olympic medal. It took Sammy sixteen years to become an Olympian and the dive took sixteen seconds. This is a great book to incorporate into anyone’s library, public, school, or personal collection. On the back of this hardcover picture book there is a photograph of the real Sammy Lee.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Yoo brings the biography to a dramatic conclusion with the 16 seconds of a three-and-a-half somersault dive. Lee's painterly illustrations give texture and depth to the full-page spreads. More than a story about discrimination and unfair treatment, this story shows one young man's determination and resolve toward accomplishing a goal in life.

Booklist
Yoo describes how Sammy found a coach, maintained a grueling balance between academics and training, and finally earned both a medical degree and an Olympic gold medal. The minimal, well-shaped language focuses on powerful scenes that demonstrate Sammy's indestructible determination, his struggles with his father, and the prejudice he faced. Washed in nostalgic sepia tones, Dom Lee's acrylic-and-wax textured illustrations are reminiscent of his fine work in Ken Mochizuki's watershed Baseball Saved Us (1993), and like Yoo's understated words, the uncluttered images leave a deep impression; an aerial view of Sammy facing the blue expanse of the Olympic pool is particularly affecting. A page of facts closes this handsome, inspiring biography, which will make both an excellent read-aloud for younger children or a read-alone for confident older ones.

Connections
Read: GOOD ENOUGH by Paula Yoo

BASEBALL SAVED US by Ken Mochizuki

Discuss: Segregation issues

Native American Literature - "Jingle Dancer" by Cynthia Leitich-Smith

2009-07-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Jingle Dancer. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.

Brief plot summary
Jenna daydreams about her Grandma Wolfe’s dress and the jingling noise it makes as she dances to the powwow drum. She watched a videotape of her dancing and mimicked her moves. Jenna borrows jingles from her Great-aunt Sis because she can no longer dance. She borrows other’s jingles, enough to make her four rows that she needs to dance in the powwow. She practiced her dance steps and finally performed with all four rows of jingles at the powwow.

Critical analysis
This is Cynthia Leitich-Smith’s first book. She has since became a popular young adult author. The author is a mixed-blood member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and currently lives in Austin, Texas.

She uses terms that are serene and full of nature in this picture book. Some of the phrases used are, “As Moon kissed Sun good night,” “As Sun fetched morning,” “As Sun arrived at midcircle,” and “As Sun caught a glimpse of Moon.” This type of language is commonly seen in Native American legends and tales.

The back of the book gives readers an “Author’s Note” area with a glossary. In the Author’s Note she details more information about Creek Nation. She also explains that the story of Bat that Great-aunt Sis retells to Jenna is a Muscogee traditional story.

Cynthia Leitich-Smith also explains the origin of jingle dancers and their dresses. She states that the tink-tink noise the bells or metal makes is compared to rain falling on a tin roof. Because of the four rows of jingles that are needed for the jingle dance, Smith also explains that the number four is an important number, even sacred for many Native Americans.
There is much to learn from this book about this culture. Dancing and singing is an important part of Native American culture. This book captures the importance of music and dance. The illustrations are large with beautiful coloring. The illustrators use bright colors but not too bright. It’s more of bright, soft watercolor paintings throughout the pages.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Watercolor paintings in bright, warm tones fill each page. In scenes where she is dancing, backgrounds of blurred figures effectively represent both the large audience and the many generations whose tradition the gathering honors. Seeing Jenna as both a modern girl in the suburban homes of her intertribal community and as one of many traditionally costumed participants at the powwow will give some readers a new view of a contemporary Native American way of life.

Publishers Weekly
Smith's language consciously evokes legend. For example, "As Sun caught a glimpse of the Moon" indicates the time of day; and Jenna is careful to borrow only a limited number of jingles, "not wanting to take so many that [another's] dress would lose its voice." Van Wright and Hu's (Jewels) lifelike renderings capture the genuine affection between Jenna and these caring older women. Their easy integration of Native and standard furnishings and clothing gracefully complement Smith's heartening portrait of a harmonious meshing of old and new.

Connections
Read more about the local Texas author, Cynthia Leitich-Smith
Read Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich-Smith
Read Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich-Smith

Native American Literature - "The Boy Who Lived With The Bears: And Other Iroquois Stories" by Joseph Bruchac

2009-07-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Bruchac, Joseph. Boy Who Lived With Bears and Other Iroquois Stories. New York: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1995.

Brief plot summary
This book contains six short tales from the Iroquois. “Rabbit and Fox” is a story about a Rabbit outwitting a sly Fox. “The Boy Who Lived With the Bears” is a tale about a boy that had to live with his uncle. The uncle decided he didn’t want to take care of him anymore so the boy found a family of bears to live with. “How the Birds Got Their Feathers” birds were too hot or too cold. The buzzard was chosen to fly to get clothes for the birds. This buzzard was greedy about choosing the feathers so he was left with an ugly suit. “Turtle Makes War on Man” is about a turtle that decided to go to war with man. Bear and Wolf try to go with Turtle but he feels like they are not as mighty of warriors as him. Turtle picks up Skunk and Rattlesnake but they don’t make it to go to war with the Haudenosaunee people. “Chipmunk and Bear” is a tale about a foolish Bear and a bully of a Chipmunk. “Rabbit’s Snow Dance” is about a greedy Rabbit that dances and sings for more snow.

Critical analysis
Once again, many of the tales begin, “Long ago, backing the days when the animals could talk and the people could understand them” (40). It’s interesting to note that the tales end with, “This is how that story goes. Ho? Hey.” What is nice about these tales is that all have a reason and it provides something for readers to learn while enjoying the stories.

In the story about the boy who lived with bears, tell adults to love their children. Many of the tales have to do with choosing not to be greedy. All of the tales have something to learn from and that is an important aspect of oral traditional storytelling in Native American culture.
This is a special book because it was originally produced for audio and it appears in written form for the first time for many of the tales. Just as most of us grew up reading or listening to Aesop’s Fables, The Iroquois have gone through several generations hearing these tales.

Murv Jacob, the illustrator in this book is a painter and pipemaker of Cherokee descent. He lives in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which is where most of the Cherokee population now lives. The tops and bottoms of the pages have lovely ornately drawn pictures in a soft grey color. For each story there is a full-page picture depicting what is happening in the tale. These pictures are rich in color and very detailed. Jacob uses deep, rich colors in his paintings.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Although these stories can be found in other anthologies, including Bruchac's Iroquois Stories (Crossing, 1985), they are gathered here for younger children and presented as lessons the tribal elders might pass on during winter story times. The reteller's introduction is instructive and sets the mood for these humorous, moral?but never didactic?tales. Each one is carefully crafted with precise language and striking images.

Booklist
His direct, immediate language makes the book accessible to a wide range of children, including reluctant and new readers, and the humor and inherent drama make the tales ideal for reading and telling aloud. The seven full-page color paintings by Murv Jacob are brightly framed with floral and other patterns that enhance the vibrant compositions, and, whether animal or human, the characters are nicely individualized and energetically executed. A gray flowered border surrounds each page of text, the type is large, the design is spacious, and the detailing is attractive.

Connections
Discuss the differences between the many Native American tribes
Compare these tales to Aesop's Fables

Read:
Bruchac, Joseph, Code Talker:A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two
After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

Bruchac, Joseph. A Boy Called Slow: The True Story of Sitting Bull.
The true story of a child so deliberate and methodical he was called Slow; he turns out to be Sitting Bull, the Lakota's greatest leader.

Native American Literature - "How Turtle's Back Was Cracked" by Gayle Ross

2009-07-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Ross, Gayle. How Turtle's Back Was Cracked: A Traditional Cherokee Tale. New York: Dial, 1995.

Brief plot summary
This is traditional Cherokee tale is about Turtle and Possum. Turtle and Possum are friends that help each other and share persimmons. Wolf comes up and starts eating all their persimmons. The wolf dies at the hand of the possum but the turtle takes all the credit and flaunts his triumph. A pack of wolves try to even the score with Turtle but Turtle is pretty quick-witted and begs for them not to throw him in the river. The wolves do so and the turtle’s shell is broke from hitting a rock. The turtle mends himself and that is why turtles always have cracked looking shells.

Critical analysis
Gayle Ross is a professional storyteller and a direct descendant of John Ross who is the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation during the Trail of Tears. She states inside the book that she inherited her love of storytelling from her grandmother. In the author’s note she writes that she has known this story since she was a small girl. The end of the book brings readers into a short synopsis about the Cherokee nation.

This story began as an oral tale as most of the Native American stories began. The animals are able to talk and understand each other. This is a prominent theme in Native American stories. When Turtle takes the wolf’s ears and turns them into spoons, it signifies the Native American culture as well because they believed if you did that you would be taking a piece of animal spirit.

The turtle seems like an important symbol in Native American culture. Turtles are ancient animals, being around for many, many years. Turtles also live around water and land, which the Indians tried to also do because of the convenience. The turtle is considered sacred to most Native American cultures.

The paintings in the book are by Murv Jacob and has Cherokee heritage. His illustrations draw from traditional Southeastern Indian cultures. His paintings are nothing like Paul Goble’s simple drawings and colors. Jacob’s paintings are full of detail and rich in color. It almost seems that it looks too busy. The Native Americans depicted in the book are very cartoon-ish.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Jacob's naive paintings depict animals in Cherokee dress. Stylized sun and moon faces look out of a pointillist sky, and there is an autumnal hue to the landscape. Details like Turtle's wolf-ear spoons and the male body ornaments and fringed belts add authenticity. Patterned borders also use traditional design motifs.

Publishers Weekly
Jacob's tapestry-like acrylics, dense with pattern and detail, bring memorable theater to this story-they suggest a world in which everything, even the breezes in the sky, has tangible presence and import. The prose reflects Ross's expertise as a professional storyteller as well as her intimacy with Cherokee culture (a note on the jacket explains that she is a direct descendant of the chief who led the Cherokee Nation on the Trail of Tears). An endnote briefly summarizes Cherokee history.

Connections
Read more about the Cherokee nation
Read Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back by Joseph Bruchac
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes (Picture Puffins) by Joseph Bruchac
The First Strawberries (Picture Puffin) by Joseph Bruchac How Rabbit Tricked Otter: And Other Cherokee Tricks... by Gayle Ross

Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature - "Tomas and the Library Lady" by Pat Mora

2009-07-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Mora, Pat. Tomas and the Library Lady. New York: Knopf Books For Young Readers, 1997.

Brief plot summary
Tomas and his family travel from Texas to Iowa to harvest crops. He carries out water to his family while they are busy farming. On breaks his grandfather has the children gather all around and tells them stories. He tells Tomas that he is now old enough to visit the library where there are many more stories. The librarian gave Tomas some water and introduced him to a variety of books. She let him check out a couple of books and he took them home to show his grandfather. Tomas has to go back to Texas again and has to tell the librarian goodbye.

Critical analysis
This book, written by Pat Mora, is a cute story about Tomas Rivera, a very distinguished man in the Hispanic culture and literature. He was a migrant worker who valued education and Mora puts a nice spin on this introduction for children.

Like Tomas, many Hispanics are migrant workers. They travel from place to place farming and doing other manual labor work. There is some interlingualism scattered throughout the book as the character Tomas teaches the librarian a few choice words and phrases in Spanish.

Again, the sense of a strong-knit family is apparent in this book. The family travels together and plays together. They all have a close bond, especially the grandfather with the grandchildren, including Tomas.

At the end of the book, Tomas tells the librarian he has to now teach her a sad word, adios. They are leaving to go back to Texas. In a nice gesture, Tomas’ mother bakes the librarian a sweet bread, called in Spanish pan dulce.

Raul Colon illustrated this book. His lined illustrations with warm colors definitely brings a hint of Hispanic look to the book. His illustrations are very serene and simple. He captures Hispanic features on the characters distinctly and different than the librarian, who is Caucasian.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Tomas Rivera, who at his death in 1984 was the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, grew up in a migrant family. Here, Mora tells the fictionalized story of one summer in his childhood during which his love of books and reading is fostered by a librarian in Iowa, who takes him under her wing while his family works the harvest.

Kirkus Reviews
A charming, true story about the encounter between the boy who would become chancellor at the University of California at Riverside and a librarian in Iowa. Tom s Rivera, child of migrant laborers, picks crops in Iowa in the summer and Texas in the winter, traveling from place to place in a worn old car. Colon's dreamy illustrations capture the brief friendship and its life-altering effects in soft earth tones, using round sculptured shapes that often depict the boy right in the middle of whatever story realm he's entered.

Connections
Discuss what migrant workers are and do some research about where migrant workers worked and what they did.

Read more of Soto’s works.

Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature - "Marisol" by Gary Soto

2009-07-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Soto, Gary. Marisol (American Girl Today). Middleton, WI: American Girl, 2004.

Brief plot summary
Marisol is a ten year-old girl that loves to dance. Her favorite dance is the ballet folklorico, which is a Mexican dance. Her parents decide to move to a suburb of Chicago, where they feel that Marisol might have a better life because the city is getting dangerous. Marisol is saddened because the streets hold all of her friends and she will miss dance lessons. What she finds out is that she can be happy elsewhere also, but keep her friends close from Chicago. She might even come upon another dance studio in her new town.

Critical analysis
This book keeps a reader’s attention, like many other American Girl series books. The book has a great sense of a typical Latino family. They live in a city and their neighborhood seems to be not safe enough for Marisol anymore.

The Latino girl focuses on all the good characteristics her old neighborhood as she prepares to leave. She will forever love dance and is saddened when she can’t find a dance studio in her new town.

I found it odd that this book focused on the negative aspects of living in a Latino neighborhood that seem to have more positive aspects than negative, then to move to a predominantly white, suburban neighborhood to make Marisol more safe and to provide a better life for her. The book did not embrace Latino culture in that sense.

The book has a few Spanish words within the English language dispersed, which is called interlingualism. The names of the characters are typical Hispanic names.

There were just a few illustrations throughout the book depicting the events that were going on in the text. In the back of the book there is a small section that lets readers follow along with four different girls, from many different cultural backgrounds and their types of dances. Anna is learning ballet but likes modern dance. Sisters Laura and Anna are very well trained in pointe ballet. They have been in many different ballet recitals, including The Nutcracker. Alinne is from Mexico City and enjoys ballet folklorico and has many different skirts for the different type of Mexican dances she performs.
The end of the book contains a glossary of Spanish words used throughout the book. This glossary would be helpful to those that do not know many Spanish words and their meaning.

Review excerpt
I have looked everywhere for editorial reviews and have exhausted my search. I’ve checked many of the databases located in the Texas Woman’s University. I have also checked Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I even tried to use Google for any reviews and came up with nothing.

Connections
Children and read more books by Gary Soto and also check out more of the American Girl series.
A lot of the book consists of discussing different types of dance. Show children the different costumes of dances and perhaps even demonstrate the ballet folklorico.

Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature - "How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay" by Julia Alvarez

2009-07-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Alvarez, Julia. How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay. New York: Yearling, 2002. ISBN 0375802150

Brief plot summary
Ten year-old Miguel and his mother and sister just moved to Vermont from New York. His parents divorced and his Aunt Lola comes to visit them in Vermont from the Dominican Republic. Tia Lola doesn’t speak English and the children do not speak Spanish very well. Despite the language barrier, the children and their colorful Aunt Lola learn a lot from each other.

Critical analysis
Julia Alvarez does a great job of incorporating the Spanish/Dominican culture and language with the English/U.S. culture and language. This book, along with many of her other books, is an excellent introduction to cross-culturalism. This book contains difficult situations. First, the children’s parents divorce. Secondly, the mother moves the children to a different state and they have to adjust to a different school, town, and friends. These are issues that any race has to deal with sometimes. However, the difficulties of language and culture barriers surpass expectations in this book. Upon seeing Tia Lola, Miguel fears all of distinctions that make him different from the other children at school. Tia Lola is very eccentric and this makes it difficult for Miguel to embrace her at first.

Nevertheless, as found in many Hispanic communities, family plays an important role and Tia Lola and the children are able to work together in order to get past the difficult divorce of their parents, which is why their aunt came to visit them anyway.

Communication is where the children and Tia Lola first begin to have difficulty. In order for the children to go see their father in New York, Tia Lola must learn some English. She also asks that the children learn some Spanish in return. It is quite humorous to read about their escapades in this process.

Alvarez uses Spanish words and terms throughout the novel and most of the time those Spanish words are defined in English. However, I found in reading the novel that not all Spanish terms were defined in English. There were a few instances when I had to use my own background in Spanish classes to figure out what that word had meant.

Alvarez included a page in her novel entitled, “A Word About the Spanish” for readers not fluent in the Spanish language. She provides readers with a synopsis on the different Spanish dialects and pronunciations. Her Spanish language stems from Dominican Republic Spanish, which combines words into one word and their s’s are swallowed. This gives readers a sense of culture as well. It is a great addition to the novel.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Readers will enjoy the funny situations, identify with the developing relationships and conflicting feelings of the characters, and will get a spicy taste of Caribbean culture in the bargain.

Booklist
Alvarez's first book for young readers sometimes reads like a docu-novel, but the warmth of the individual characters and the simple music of the narrative will appeal to middle-graders. So will the play with language. Tia Lola teaches Miguel and Juanita Spanish as she talks, so the English translation is right there in the text. They teach her English, which she practices on everyone in town with hilarious effect.

Connections
Read more of Julia Alvarez’s books:
· In the Time of Butterflies
· How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
· Before We Were Free

Talk about the Spanish words in the book and discuss what the definitions of those terms are. Use this as a way to build a child’s Spanish vocabulary.

African American Literature - "Goin' Someplace Special" by Patricia C. McKissack

2009-06-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
McKissack, Patricia C. Goin’ Someplace Special. New York: Athenum Books for Young Readers, 2001. ISBN 0689818858

Brief plot summary
‘Tricia Ann is ready to head to Someplace Special all on her own, but Mama Frances is nervous about letting her go out all by herself. Readers follow along as ‘Tricia heads towards the special place. We see her get on a bus, sitting past the “colored section” line. This book, set in the 1950s, explains the Jim Crow laws to children of today. Near a water fountain she goes to sit on a bench but finds that it is inscribed with “FOR WHITES ONLY.” Everyone she comes across tell her to keep her head up, walk proud, and don’t let the laws or the signs steal her happiness. She finally arrives at Someplace Special, and it is indeed special.

Critical analysis
The language in this book demonstrates the vernacular of African Americans, but it is not difficult to read as some books with heavy vernacular. ‘Tricia asks if she can go to this place and Mama Frances answers, “hold yo’ head up and act like you b’long to somebody” (3). The narrative has a little vernacular language in it, but not too much.

This is a great book to introduce children to the Jim Crow segregation laws. McKissack covers important places where the population is segregated, buses, benches at parks, hotels, and movie theaters. Finally, ‘Tricia is allowed into one special building, the public library. Chiseled in the stone of the building the words “PUBLIC LIBRARY: ALL ARE WELCOME” is a welcoming site to ‘Tricia and to many people of all color. This book with its soft watercolors is an important book to add to any collection and to use for school introductions in history/social studies/language arts classes.

There is a lovely relationship story in this book. ‘Tricia and her grandmother have a special bond, which is an important aspect in many African American novels and picture books.

Jerry Pinkney beautifully illustrates this book. His fresh watercolors and drawing brings a softness look over the large pages. Pinkney has been the only illustrator to have won the Coretta Scott King Award four times. The way he has drawn and painted the hair with so much detail with life-like features for the characters really makes the illustrations more special.

The author's note at the end of the book states that this story is based on actual events, the author's as a matter of fact. This also brings in so much realism to the story and situation.

Review excerpt
Publishers Weekly
Pinkney's luminescent watercolors evoke the '50s, from fashions to finned cars, and he captures every ounce of 'Tricia Ann's eagerness, humiliation and quiet triumph at the end.

Booklist
Pinkney's watercolor paintings are lush and sprawling as they evoke southern city streets and sidewalks as well as Tricia Ann's inner glow.

Connections
Have a discussion about the Jim Crow segregation laws
Ready more books illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
- Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
- The Patchwork Quilt
- Minty: A Story of a Young Harriet Tubman
- God Bless the Child

African American Literature - "Harlem" by Walter Dean Myers/Illustrated by Christopher Myers

2009-06-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997. ISBN 0590543407

Brief plot summary
Walter Dean Myers provides readers with a glimpse of what it’s like to be in Harlem

Critical analysis
Walter Dean Myers is well known for his chapter books and young adult novels, but not so much for his poetry. Myers traces the history of Harlem and describes the people of Harlem. He writes in free-verse format while his son, Christopher uses ink and gouache over torn paper, creating a beautiful collage for the artwork throughout the book.

An excerpt from page 4:

Harlem was a promise
Of a better life, of a place where a man didn’t

Have to know his place

Simply because he was

Black

The pictures by Christopher Myers are rich in color. The pictures are either in two page spreads or one picture on each page. He depicts the many colors of African Americans, from the light browns to the deep dark blacks. There are pictures of women braiding each other’s hair, playing instruments, playing in the streets, sitting in church,

I happened upon a website that had a snippet of an audio file of one of the poems. This was such a great thing to hear! It’s one thing to read the poems to yourself silently, but to hear it read aloud brought a deeper feeling to the poem. Myers relays both the triumph and despair of African Americans and the hardships that they still face in Harlem.

Find the audio version - it will be worth it to find this book on cd format.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
A visually striking, oversized picture book. Walter Dean Myers's songlike poem relates the story of a group of people who settled in New York City, hoping to improve their lots in life, only to discover that racism could still keep them from achieving success.

Booklist
The two Myerses--author and artist, father and son--celebrate Harlem, which they perceive both as a city and a "promise of a better life," in quite different but wonderfully complementary ways. The author views Harlem--where he grew up--as a symbol of African American aspiration; the artist shares a more concrete city composed of "colors loud enough to be heard."

Connections
Coretta Scott King Award
Caldecott Honor
Read other books by Myers

African American Literature - "Hush" by Jacqueline Woodson

2009-06-25T19:28:00.001-07:00

Bibliographic data
Woodson, Jacqueline. Hush. New York: Putnam Juvenile, 2002. ISBN 0399231145

Brief plot summary
Evie Thomas used to be Toswiah Green. Her whole family has a past life that they will always long for. Her father was a police officer that witnessed a horrible crime. He testified against a fellow officer in a murder case and put his family in danger in doing so. The Green family had to go into the Witness Protection Program. With new names, new town, new home, and no friends how is the family supposed to continue living their new life, happily?

Critical analysis
This coming-of-age novel is very suspenseful. Woodson has created such well-rounded characters with a believable plot. The African American heritage plays an immediate strong role in this novel. Toswiah’s father is the only African American officer in the precinct. The family has never had racial issues while living in Denver, until the night of the crime. Officer Green was witness to a crime where one of his fellow officers shot a 15 year-old African American boy because “he thought” he was going for a gun, when in fact he was just putting his hands up in the air. This becomes a “black and white” issue and the Green family receives many threats over the phone. The Thomas family that previously did not have to worry about racial tension in Denver now worries about living another life and fitting in where no one knows them.

Toswiah narrates many passages where she describes the color of certain people’s skin. She states that her mother is “brown – all-over brown – hair, eyes, skin” (2). She continues describing her mother, “mother’s brown reminds her of everything she loves: Chocolate. Dark wool. The smell of the earth. Trees” (2). Her father’s nicknames for his girls are “copper pennies.” Toswiah describes their hair. They can keep braids in their hair without elastic bands because their hair is so kinky. What is a nice change from this book as compared with other African American literature is that there is no African American vernacular language within this book.

Review excerpt
School Library Journal
This multifaceted novel from the talented Woodson may be too introspective for some readers, but those sophisticated enough to manage the intricacies of the story will come away with images and characters who are impossible to forget.

Publishers Weekly
"Evie/Toswiah Thomas/Green," as the narrator once refers to herself, taps hidden stores of inner strength, ultimately realizing that "I am no longer who I was in Denver, but at least and at most I am." Readers facing their own identity crises will find familiar conflicts magnified and exponentially compounded here, yet instantly recognizable and optimistically addressed.

Connections
“Hush” in a Newbery Honor winner
other awards and recognitions include:National Book Award (nominated), ALA Best Book for Young Adults, School Library Journal Best Book, Booklist Editor’s Choice, New York Public Libraries Books for the Teen Age, Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year, Riverbank Review Children's Books of Distinction Short list, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Master List, Maine Student Book Award Master List, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Young Adult Top 40 Nominees, Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award (nominated,) Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee

Check out more books by Woodson:
“I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This”
“Miracle’s Boys” – a Coretta Scott King Award
“After Tupac and D Foster”
and the Newbery Honor book: “Feathers”

International Lit - "The Magic Hat" by Mem Fox

2009-06-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Fox, Mem. The Magic Hat. New York: Harcourt Children's Books, 2002. ISBN 0152010254

Brief plot summary
A magical hat blows into a town and brings magic upon the heads of some unexpected people.

Critical analysis
The illustrations of this book are what first attract the reader’s attention. Tricia Tusa’s vibrant watercolor scenes only add to this humorous story. The people to animals’ depiction are quite humorous. For example, a mother carrying her baby in her arms is seen as a kangaroo with a baby kangaroo (joey) in her pouch, after the magic hat lands on her head.

The Australian culture within this cute story is very few and far between, but peeks up with the kangaroo featured in the book as one of the characters. However, the story is very cute and children will definitely read along with you as you read the singsong words.

Even though this picture book is not drenched with the Australian culture as a few other Mem Fox books are, this story is still a great book. This book will make a great read aloud for story time programs.

Review excerpt
Booklist
The bouncy rhyme is fun if undistinguished, but the artwork, in its oversize format, overflows with good humor. Executed in watercolors, the paintings feature rambunctious children, delightful animals, and a fresh-faced wizard who finagles the hat here and there. Fox moves this feast across the two-page spreads with an ease that buoys the spirit. Good for story hours; even children in the back row will be able to see what's going on.

Publishers Weekly
Kids will eagerly join in the guessing game, which Tusa's (Camilla's New Hairdo) fittingly silly, bustling ink-and-watercolor illustrations whip up into high-octane action. Her clever details add to the clues; for instance, a fruit-stand seller juggles bananas as the hat transforms him into a baboon.

Connections
“Koala Lou” by Mem Fox
“Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild!” by Mem Fox
“Tough Boris” by Mem Fox
“Possum Magic” (Voyager Books) by Mem Fox

International Lit - "The Robber and Me" by Josef Holub

2009-06-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Holub, Josef. The Robber and Me. New York: Henry Holt And Co. (Byr), 1997. ISBN 0805055991

Brief plot summary
A young orphan, Boniface Schroll is abandoned in the forest close to a German village, Graab. A man in a big black hat rescues him and takes Boniface to his uncle’s house. Boniface faces many challenges as he tries to adjust to a new family, new schoolmaster, and a new life. Boniface finds out that the mysterious man that saved him in the forest is the supposed dangerous robber in the village. Boniface befriends a boy in his school, only to find out that it’s the robber’s son. Boniface’s uncle urges him not to be friends with the robber’s son. This torments Boniface and he struggles to live a happy life in this new village without befriending the robber’s son.

Critical analysis
This German to English translation is a well-written book for children. Children reading this book will definitely pick up on the Christian theme throughout this book, which is always an issue in Germany.

Since a few of the terms are in German, Holub provides the reader with a glossary with 18 terms in the back of the novel. Like in Ellis’ The Breadwinner, this helps readers figure out what is meant by certain terms. This is a great positive attribute to this novel. The word “Exakt” is used quite often throughout the books. This word is defined as meaning “precisel,” and “absolutely.” Of course readers can derive that from the term, but with its odd spelling and being used so often in the novel, it is a good idea to add this word to the glossary.

Besides the language and the far away village theme, I found it was difficult to notice the Germanic culture in this novel. It seems like this novel could be set anywhere. It is a well-written novel, but for this to introduce a young reader to the German culture, I feel that it needs more of that written in the novel.

The translator’s note towards the end of the novel helps to highlight some of the issues within this book. Holub relates to the readers that there are many rulers, which was true for Germany in the 19th century. This is an interesting book, a quick read, and held on to my attention throughout the novel. The only drawback is that there needs to be more Germanic culture sprinkled throughout the novel.

Review excerpt
Kirkus Reviews
It's hard to ask for more than this: an old-fashioned story that starts with an orphan, includes a mystery, and ends happily. This is a sophisticated read, for those who like to escape to times past and lands far away, with a translator's note to provide context.

School Library Journal
Boniface, an orphan, is sent to live with his uncle, the mayor of a small German village. On the way, he is left to fend for himself in the middle of the forest and is rescued by a mysterious stranger.... Full of humor and good spirit... Crawford’s translation ... invites reading aloud, especially with a twinkle in one’s eye.

Connections
The 1998 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Book.
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year1998 ALA Notable Children's Book

International Lit - "The Breadwinner" by Deborah Ellis

2009-06-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Bibliographic data
Ellis, Deborah. The Breadwinner. New York: Groundwood Books, 2001. ISBN 0888994192

Brief plot summary
The Breadwinner is a story about a family living amongst the Taliban in Afghanistan and the struggles that ensue them.

Critical analysis
Parvana and her family live a difficult life in Afghanistan. Parvana and her sister fight, the mother is understandably depressed because her husband has been taken to prison by the Taliban, and the family runs out of food with no way to get more.

The women are not allowed to go outside the house without a male escort. When the females do get to leave the house, they must be covered from head to toe. The lengths that the family goes through in order to take care of their necessities really show how strong and determined this culture is. This culture is resilient and has gone through so much.

Although many critics have mentioned that Ellis did not depict the culture to its truest nature, I thought that she did a great portrayal of what kind of world this young girl has to grow up in. The family lost one son to a landmine. Ellis opens up the lives of these trouble people so we can understand their culture better.

The great thing about this novel is that this will open the door for readers to grow along with this genre. This novel is a step into the direction of more multicultural readings, such as Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, two popular novels set in the same areas with some of the same issues.

A Glossary helps educate readers on the culture’s differences. There are many names for different pieces of clothing, food, different languages, and even pieces of furniture. Having the glossary helps readers understand what is going on throughout the story. It is a nice addition to the novel.

The back of the book details the research that Ellis put into making this novel. There have been instances where women and girls cut off their hair, put on boy’s clothes and sold things off a tray in order to make ends meet. It also states that all royalties from The Breadwinner will be donated to Women for Women in Afghanistan, dedicated to the education of Afghan girls in refugee camps in Pakistan.

Review excerpt
Booklist
The Breadwinner is a potent portrait of life in contemporary Afghanistan, showing that powerful heroines can survive even in the most oppressive and sexist social conditions.

Publishers Weekly
There are some sympathetic moments, as when Parvana sees the effect on her mother when she wears her dead brother's clothes and realizes, while reading a letter for a recently widowed Taliban soldier, that even the enemy can have feelings.

Connections
Read the sequel to The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey and the third book in the trilogy, Mud City.

Welcome!

2009-06-09T19:55:00.001-07:00

This blog has been created as a requirement of the class Multicultural Children's Literature.