Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis


So I begin my journey to Narnia. I remember an aunt giving me a copy of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe for Christmas one year. As a kid I was very reluctant to reading assignments both from teachers and well meaning aunts. I have now become interested in the Chronicles of Narnia and the first book of the series has sustained my curiosity. Put simply, The Magician's Nephew details the birth of Narnia. Now that I know how Narnia was made and why the wardrobe is so significant, I'm ready to move on to The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe.

My favorite thing about this book is the realistic and captivating characterizations. Thought the book is decades old situations and reactions between the characters remain true and entertaining. Full disclosure, I listed to the book as read by Kenneth Branagh who really brought the text to life. If you are a fan of audio books, I would totally recommend Branagh's recording.

Monday, December 27, 2010

More from my literary world.....


I know that I'm officially on break from school because I've started giving myself projects. Not big projects (surprised?), but I'm ready to work again. The upcoming semester of school at UNT looks to be a bit lighter than my last (we shall see). For now I'm making it my goal to continue updating this blog with thoughts, feelings and reviews on the things that I'm reading.

I will continue to post on children's and young adult literature in the same format previously used. I'm also planning on posting quick blurbs on "grown-up" books that I read.

Since being on break I read David Sedaris' Chipmunk Seeks Squirrel. By in large I am an avid reader of Sedaris and a huge fan. However, this book was not my favorite. I will say that the final piece of the book "The Grieving Owl" was simply brilliant and I will surely read it again and again.

Did I mention that I'm a big fan of David Sedaris? I have a tradition of reading Holidays On Ice each year around Christmas. This year was no exception. After many reads this books still sheds new light on old holiday truths while remaining as entertaining as ever.

I've just cracked open my second P.D. James novel, An Unsuitable Job For A Woman. So far the book is extreamly well written with a pace that moves but still says "classic English mystery." The tone of the book is less dark than expected do to the pragmatic protagonist Cordelia Gray. More on An Unsuitable Job For A Woman after I finish it.

Up next, I'll be listening to The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis and reading Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Module 15: The Grooming of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


Summary
Alice and her friends struggle through the summer before their freshman year of high school. Instead of having the time of her life, we see our heroine faced with a new set of challenges. Alice’s father is on the verge of becoming engaged, her friend Elizabeth is struggling with an eating disorder while her friend Pamela is facing major issues at home. Alice must also learn to cope as a dear friend and mentor struggles with health issues. The Grooming of Alice spends a great deal of time focusing on body image and the idea of finding your own “normal” as Alice and Pamela contend with Elizabeth and her struggle with weight.

Impressions
Overall I think Naylor does a fantastic job addressing some tough issues teens face while refraining from becoming moralistic or preachy. The reader is allowed to process difficult issues like weight, sexuality, and relationships along with Alice. Though part of a series, Naylor creates relationships in this book in a way that makes a newcomer feel like a veteran. I quickly felt like I knew Alice, her friends and her family. As a general note, this book does express sexuality and the female anatomy in a very upfront and honest way. I would feel comfortable recommending this book to older middle schoolers (8th grade) and high school students. In my opinion, all references are made in decent taste that empowers and educates the reader.

Review: Booklist
In the "Story behind the Story" about the Alice books [BKL My 1 99], Naylor talks about how she keeps up with the contemporary teen scene. This twelfth book in the series is as relevant, candid, and touching as ever, both funny and reassuring about what it means to be "normal." It's the summer before high school. One of Alice's friends seems headed for anorexia, her older brother has a superficial girlfriend, and another friend, Pamela, is having trouble at home. When Pamela runs away and asks Alice to hide her overnight, Alice must decide if loyalty to her friend comes before being honest with her dad. Alice is a bit too wise and therapeutic (she says she wants to become a psychiatrist), but fans of the series will grab this for the poignant friendship, family, and dating stories, as well as for the facts about their bodies and insights into themselves. In a great climactic episode, the friends attend a "For Girls Only" seminar at the YMCA, where they learn about grooming and nutrition and also about male and female private parts. They gasp and giggle and cover their faces when the nurse tells them to go home and examine themselves with a hand mirror, but, of course, they do what she says, Then Alice tries to tell her father and brother about it.

Suggested Activities
I would include this book in a library display that focuses on series targeted toward older teen readers, primarily female. The display would include a sign that reads “Books Girls LUV.” I would also include the Twilight series and the Gossip Girl series among others.

Bibliography
Naylor, P.R. (2000). The Grooming of Alice. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0689826338.

Rochman, H. (2000, June). [Review for the book The Grooming of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor] Booklist, 96, 1880-1880.

Module 14: Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff


Summary
In simple verse, Virginia Euwer Wolff tells the story of LaVaughn, a young teen charged with babysitting for a teen mother while maintaining good grades and potential for a good future. LaVaughn gets a job caring for Jolly’s children. Jolly, while fiercely attached to her children, is ill-equipped to care for them. With the help of LaVaughn and LaVaughn’s mother Jolly is able to get an education and learn to care for and support her children. During this process, LaVaughn gets an education into the real world, inspiring her to succeed in school to secure a place for herself in college.

Impressions
I was struck by the simple, yet powerful truth conveyed in this book. The characters in Make Lemonade are faced with enormous struggle that is understated in many cases. Wolff brings the facts to the reader and gives the reader an opportunity to meet half way with empathy and concern for the characters. LaVaughn is naive about Jolly’s challenges in many cases, which likely matches the naivety of the reader. The reader discovers the books’ heartbreaks and triumphs with LaVaughn. This book is written in verse, making it simple and void of fluff. Make Lemonade is a great read for older teens and adults. This book leaved the reader empowered and inspired to create change but person and in others.

Review: Publishers Weekly
Poetry is everywhere, as Wolff (The Mozart Season) proves by fashioning her novel with meltingly lyric blank verse in the voice of an inner-city 14-year-old. As LaVaughn tells it, "This word COLLEGE is in my house, / and you have to walk around it in the rooms / like furniture." A paying job will be her ticket out of the housing projects, so she agrees to baby-sit the two children of unwed Jolly, 17, in an apartment so wretched "even the roaches are driven up the wall." Jolly is fired from her factory job and her already dire situation gets worse. Through her "Steam" (aka self-esteem) class, LaVaughn decides that it isn't honorable to use Jolly's money to prevent herself becoming like Jolly, so she watches the kids for free while Jolly looks for work. But there are few opportunities for a nearly illiterate dropout, and LaVaughn sees that her unpaid baby-sitting is a form of welfare. Heeding her mother, LaVaughn decides that the older girl has to "take hold." She prods Jolly to go back to school, where the skills she learns not only change her life but save that of her baby. Radiant with hope, this keenly observed and poignant novel is a stellar addition to YA literature.

Suggested Activities

I would use Make Lemonade as resource for child development students, teen mothers and crisis center volunteers. While no book or person can predict each challenge a care giver or volunteer might encounter, this book opens up the realm of possibilities for the uninformed while still creating a sense of hope.

Bibliography

Wolff, V.E. (1993) Make Lemonade. New York: H. Holt. ISBN: 080502228.

[Review of the book Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff]. Publishers Weekly, 240(22), 56-56.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Module 13: Babymouse: Our Hero by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm


Summary
In this installation of the Babymouse graphic novel series, we see Babymouse face one of her greatest fears: playing dodge ball. The book gives us context for Babymouse’s fear of dodge ball as we see her previous exploits in the game. We are also given a portrait of her ultra intimidating dodge ball competitor, a bully cat. Babymouse faces her fears with the help of her friend Wilson. In the end Babymouse not only plays dodge ball, but is the hero of the game.

Impressions
Babymouse: Our Hero was the third graphic novel I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. After training my eyes and brain on how to read graphic novels with the previous two that I read, I was prepared to fully enjoy this book. Babymouse is a character that I think a lot of young readers can identify with. Babymouse is admittedly far from perfect, her every flaw shows. She likes to sleep late, misses the bus, and forgets her gym shoes— the list goes on. I like that this character, flaws and all, is able to prevail with a bit of courage and help from her best friend. This book perfectly illustrates how to show kids that you don’t have to be perfect to do something right or to do something well. Beyond a well told story, the illustrations in this book are really fun and entertaining. Like a well illustrated traditional picture book, the panels in this graphic novel give us further insight into the story beyond what is offered by the text. The illustrator draws your eye to key points of the illustration by highlighting them in pink against an otherwise black and white picture. This is a fun book that offers a great story accompanied by exciting illustrations, its sure to appeal to many young readers.

Review: Booklist
Our Hero, the first of two books in an energetic comics series created by a brother-sister team (Jennifer's Our Only May Amelia was a Newbery Honor Book), introduces Babymouse, a young rodent possessed of an admirably gender-bending array of interests and plagued by typical school traumas. The main confrontation takes place on the harrowing battlefield known as the dodge-ball court, the site of an earlier trauma for Babymouse. At the end of a furious match, arrogant class idol Felicia Furrypaws (a cat, of course) gets a satisfying comeuppance and Babymouse faces her fears. In Queen of the World, Babymouse, the wise-cracking rodent stand-in for your average, adventure-seeking nine-year-old, strives to capture Felicia's goodwill, finally achieving her end at the expense of Wilson Weasel, truest of friends. But, wouldn't you know it, Felicia's world has little to offer a smart, fun-loving mouse, after all.

The Holms spruce up some well-trod ground with breathless pacing and clever flights of Babymouse's imagination, and their manic, pink-toned illustrations of Babymouse and her cohorts vigorously reflect the internal life of any million-ideas-a-minute middle-school student

Suggested Activities
This book would be a great cross curricular material for a gym class and language arts class. At times students are sick or injured and cannot fully participate in gym. Having Babymouse: Our Hero on hand could be a great way to engage students in at least reading about dodge ball if they’re not able to participate in class.

Bibliography
Holm, J.L. & M. (2005) Babymouse: Our Hero. New York: Random House. ISBN: 0375832300.

Karp, J. (2005, December) [Review for the book Babymouse: Our Hero by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm]. Booklist, 102(7), 48-48.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Module 12: The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes


Summary
The Road to Oz follows the life of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum. Baum is born into a wealthy family, but struggles to find his place in life. To support his wife and four children Baum tries acting, sales and eventually begins to work in the newspaper industry. As Baum raised his children, he became known for inventing compelling stories for them. He eventually decides to turn his passion for storytelling into a book for children. He writes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the bestselling children’s book.

Impressions
As I was reading this book I knew Baum would eventually write The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Still, Kathleen Krull manages to create a wonderful sense of suspense. I kept thinking, “Will he get his life together so he can write the book already?” I think that beloved authors like Baum can be immortalized because of their works. This book shows his humanity as he struggles to find a vocation and support his family. Many artistic and literary greats are charged with a long road to success. This book uses Baum to illustrate the merits in continuously striving to do something you love. At the same time Krull shows the reader how Baum’s struggle affected his wife and family. Kevin Hawkes’s use of acrylic paint creates a vibrant picture that captures the Victorian setting beautifully. The characters on each page have life and motion which helped to keep me engaged in the story. The Road to Oz is a great read for anyone who loves The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or the film it inspired, The Wizard of Oz.

Review: Library Media Connection
Once upon a time, there was no Dorothy from Kansas and her little dog, Toto. There was no tornado that whirled them to a magic world named Oz--Someone had to make it all up.’ Author Kathleen Krull skillfully tells young readers precisely how an interesting man named Frank L. Baum did so. Through vivid anecdotes and strong research, Baum comes to life as not only the author of these beloved stories, but also as a human, who failed time and time again in a variety of pursuits. Persistence and heart are characteristics of Baum that shine through thanks to Krull. Kevin Hawkes’s skillful illustrations add much to the text, making this biography a delicious visual feast.

Review: Kirkus Review
With customary vivacity and a fine sense of irony, Krull portrays her subject as a genial family man who suffered reverse after reverse thanks to a bad combination of deep-seated optimism and zero business sense--but pulled through when his love of storytelling and sense of audience at last led to a novel that instantly became (she notes) the Harry Potter of its day. She does mention Baum's anti-American Indian screeds, but in general tells a brisk, admiring tale that mirrors the tone of his talespinning--aptly illustrated by Hawkes's scenes of a frail, dapper looking gent, generally sporting a smile beneath a bushy mustache and gazing abstractedly into the distance. An admirable companion to Krull's Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up To Become Dr. Seuss (2004), this profile not only provides a similarly illuminating peek beneath the authorial curtain, but leaves readers understanding just how groundbreaking The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was, as an adventure story with both a female protagonist and no overwhelming Moral Lesson.

Suggested Activities
I would include The Road to Oz in an Oz reading list. After reading each selection on the list, readers would be rewarded with a ticket to a screening of The Wizard of Oz complete with candy and popcorn.

Bibliography
Krull, K. (2008) The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum. New York: Alfred A. Knopf ISBN: 0375832165.

Coleman, J. (2008, November) [Review of the book The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull] Library Media Connection, 27(3), 83-84.

[Review of the book The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull] Kirkus Reviews, 76(15), 230-230.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Module 11: Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee


Summary
Baseball Saved Us tells the story of a Japanese boy living in an internment camp during World War II. In an effort to liven up the bitter experience of the camp, the boy’s father initiates the creation of a baseball field where adults and children can engage in baseball games. Men, women and children across the camp do their bit to make the baseball field. In a crucial baseball game the boy makes the game winning hit. We see him return to his home at the end of the book. He tells of how he faces discrimination from neighbors and classmates, but also how baseball helps him to find acceptance.

Impressions
As a baseball lover, I was very excited to read Baseball Saved Us. This book is a fantastic example of non-fiction information being conveyed in a way that is interesting and accessible to the reader. The text is succinct, understated and easy to read. The illustrations not only show the story, they set the mood of the book. I think that this book is a must read for children interested in World War II. The Japanese internment camps are an under taught section in American History. This book is a great tool for introducing the topic.

Review: Horn Book Magazine
Mochizuki's moving story opens with a note telling readers about the internment camps the United States government established in 1942 to house, against their will, people of Japanese descent. The author's parents were sent to the Minidoka camp in Idaho; this story, told in the first person, is inspired by actual events. A young boy and his family are prisoners, living in crowded barracks in a dusty camp surrounded by a barbed-wire fence. His father, in response to the growing boredom and resulting bad humor of the camp's residents, decides to build a baseball field. Everyone in camp contributes, and soon bleachers, bases, and uniforms are ready. The narrator, teased back home for his lack of ability in the game, now has the opportunity to shine, since he is the same height as so many of the other Japanese-American boys. The normally impassive guard From Grandmas at Bat. C) 1993 by Emily Arnold McCully. in the tower gives him a grin and a thumbs-up sign when he hits his first home run. When he returns home, the boy again feels insecure: "Nobody on my team or the other team or even anybody in the crowd looked like me." The racist taunts of the crowd spur him on to another homer and acceptance by his teammates. The story effectively conveys the narrator's sense of isolation, his confusion about being a target of prejudice, and the importance of baseball in his life. Dom Lee's pictures, executed in a scratchboard and oil paint technique, are highly accomplished. At first glance they seem monotonous and depressing, since they are suffused with the brown dust that was ever-present in many of the internment camps, located in the middle of deserts. In fact, these somber scenes provide a telling contrast to the last few pages in which the sky, as well as the boy's world, brightens as he is welcomed to his team. A suitable introduction to Sheila Hamanaka's The Journey: Japanese Americans, Racism and Renewal(Orchard), which deals with the same subject for slightly older readers.

Suggested Activities

I would include Baseball Saved Us in a display of sports books with the aim of introducing the book to readers who enjoy reading about sports.

Bibliography
Mochizuki, K (1993). Baseball Saved Us. New York: Lee & Low books, Inc. ISBN: 1880000199.

Fader, E. (1993, August). [Review for the book Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki]. Horn Book Magazine, 69(4), 453-454.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Module 10: A Big Cheese for the White House: The True Tale of Tremendous Cheddar by Candace Fleming, Illustrated by S.D. Schindler


Summary
In A Big Cheese For The White House: A True Tale of Tremendous Cheddar citizens of Cheshire, Massachusetts get word that the president, Thomas Jefferson, is serving the cheese in the White House made by another New England town. Cheshire citizens band together to create a giant wheel of cheese to give to the president. They are successful in their task and are able to secure a place in the White House for Cheshire cheese during Jefferson’s presidency and beyond.

Impressions
As a cheese lover, the title of this book alone captivated my interest. Joking aside, I thought this book was a wonderful illustration of a quirky moment in history and of how cheese is traditionally made. I think this story would be an excellent addition to a founding fathers social studies unit. I was very impressed with the illustrations and layout of this book. Each page contains a great amount of detail which is helpful considering the historic time period. The illustrations in this book can help students visually understand the time period. Even with detailed illustrations, each page contains a nice amount of white space making the book easy to read. I also liked that the text is ample content wise and large visually.

Review: Horn Book Magazine
Sometimes, as this lively picture bock proves, truth is stranger than fiction. At the time of Jefferson's presidency, the folks in Cheshire, Massachusetts, home of the best cheese in the United States, "heard news that threatened to sour their curds forever." Several Cheshire citizens reported that the townsfolk of Norton, Connecticut, were not only coloring their cheddar and flavoring it as well, they were also the favored suppliers to the nation's premier dwelling — the White House. Such an exigency demanded drastic action. Elder John Leland proposed a solution: a concerted effort to make a huge cheddar as a gift for President Jefferson — a cheese so large that he would serve it for years, thus eliminating the competition. Except for the dissenting voice of Phineas Dobbs, a curmudgeon if ever there was one, the citizens of Cheshire embarked on their historic project. How they solved problems from finding a cheese press large enough to squeeze the whey to transporting the huge object to Washington is a triumph of Yankee ingenuity documented in a reportorial, tongue-in-cheek style, extended in droll, elegantly limned pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations. The book is handsome — as pleasing to look at as it is delightful to read.

Suggested Activities
I would include this book in a storytime. Activities would include a snack time where participants can try different types of cheese and cheese flavored snacks.

Bibliography
Fleming, C. (1999) A Big Cheese for the White House: The True Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar. New York: DK Pub. ISBN: 0789425734.

Burns, M.M. (1999, September) [A review for the book A Big Cheese for the White House: The True Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar by Candace Fleming]. Horn Book Magazine, 75(5), 594-595.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Module 9: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, Illustrated by Brett Helquist


Summary
In transit to the Art Institute of Chicago from the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. a priceless Vermeer painting is stolen. Through major news papers the thief informs the public that many paintings attributed to Vermeer are fakes and he will destroy the stolen painting if the record isn’t set straight by the art community. While the public responds to the thief’s message with outcry to the art community, two Chicago schoolchildren, Petra and Calder hunt down the painting. Petra and Calder manage to save the painting through intelligence and by noticing the many coincidences that bring key players in this story together.

Impressions
Chasing Vermeer is an incredible book. Petra and Calder are realistic characters that are quirky enough to capture the reader’s attention. In addition to creating great characters, Balliett sets these two in a plot that is worth following. This book moves along without a hitch, the pace is fast and leaves the reader wanting more. The setting is crystal clear and the mood of this story is well established but descriptive language does not bog the reader down. Beyond being a well written story, this book is a lesson in art and would make an excellent cross curriculum read for English, social studies and art classes. Teachers and parents could also use this book as a pre-read before going to a museum or taking a trip to Chicago.

Review: Horn Book Magazine
"Dear Friend: I would like your help in identifying a crime that is now centuries old." Sixth-grade classmates Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay are drawn into the mystery: a claim that some of the works attributed to Johannes Vermeer were not, in fact, painted by that seventeenth-century Dutch artist. Their investigation--fueled by the enigmatic behavior of their favorite teacher, a shared interest in unexplained phenomena, and a few mystical experiences of their own--uncovers a series of coincidences and connections that, like the pentomino set (a puzzle-like math tool) Calder carries in his pocket, fit together in often-unexpected patterns. And when Vermeer's A Lady Writing disappears while in transit from the National Gallery to the Art Institute of Chicago, Petra and Calder end up hunting for the missing painting right in their own neighborhood. The protagonists are smart and appealing, the prose style is agreeably quirky, and fans of puzzle-mysteries will enjoy cracking the codes presented within the text and hidden in Helquist's stylish black-and-white illustrations. But they may also be frustrated that such a heady, elaborately plotted novel comes to a weak resolution, as the answers to the mysteries are explained away in a too-hasty summation--and the villain turns out to be an offstage figure. The conclusion may be disappointing, but the chase to the end is entertaining.

Suggested Activities
Honoring Calder’s coded correspondence in Chasing Vermeer I would have readers create a coded message recommending this book to a friend. The message would, of course, include a key for the code.

Bibliography
Balliett, B. (2004) Chasing Vermeer. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0439372976.

[Review for the book Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett]. Horn Book Magazine, 80(4), 446-446.

Module 8: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau


Summary
Ember, unbeknownst to its residents, is a city underneath the surface of the earth. The city is powered by a failing hydroelectric generator charged by a river that runs underneath the city. Citizens begin to panic as blackouts become more and more frequent. With no natural or portable lights, citizens are trapped in a doomed city. Lina finds partially damaged instructions to escape the city. Her new found knowledge threatens the establishment and threatens her life. Lina and her friend Doon decipher the instructions and escape to the surface of the Earth.

Impressions
The City of Ember is a very well written and rewarding read. The book starts a bit slow in the way of plot. DuPrau takes her time letting us get to know the characters and daily life in Ember. As blackouts become more frequent the plot speeds up and we find Lina and Doon in the thick of things. This book is an excellent example of young people using knowledge and determination to solve a problem. In addition, it’s a great example of team work. Neither Lina nor Doon could escape the city without the knowledge and talent held by the other. I think The City of Ember is also a great lesson in conservation. The citizens of Ember are running out of everything, the must conserve and reuse. A perceptive reader might stop to think, “Why not conserve before stores are low?” This book also educates the reader on political corruption. The city’s mayor hoards goods from citizens for his own benefit. He will stop at nothing to keep his wealth and control, even if it means the demise of the city. Lina and Doon fight this corruption and work to save the city.

Review: Kirkus Reviews
This promising debut is set in a dying underground city. Ember, which was founded and stocked with supplies centuries ago by "The Builders," is now desperately short of food, clothes, and electricity to keep the town illuminated. Lina and Doon find long-hidden, undecipherable instructions that send them on a perilous mission to find what they believe must exist: an exit door from their disintegrating town. In the process, they uncover secret governmental corruption and a route to the world above. Well-paced, this contains a satisfying mystery, a breathtaking escape over rooftops in darkness, a harrowing journey into the unknown and cryptic messages for readers to decipher. The setting is well-realized with the constraints of life in the city intriguingly detailed. The likable protagonists are not only courageous but also believably flawed by human pride, their weaknesses often complementing each other in interesting ways. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment.

Suggested Activities
DuPrau does an excellent job establishing setting. I would have readers choose a scene from the book to illustrate it according to DuPrau’s descriptions in the text.

Bibliography
DuPrau, J. (2003) The City of Ember. New York: Random House. ISBN: 0375822739.

[Review for the book The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau]. Kirkus Reviews, 71(10), 749-749.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Module 8: The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka


Summary
The Magician’s Elephant tells the story of Peter, an orphan who is being raised by a former soldier. Under Vilna Lutz’s strict care Peter lives with little joy and pleasure. One day Peter is sent to the market for food but spends Vilna’s money on a fortune teller instead. It is predicted that his sister, long thought dead, is still alive. The fortune teller tells Peter that he will be lead to his sister by an elephant. That night an elephant is conjured by a magician and falls through the ceiling of the venue where he is performing. Peter strives to correct the damage caused by the elephant and magician and is eventually lead to his sister and a life with her and two loving parents.

Impressions
Initially, I found this book difficult to get into. As the story progressed I began to fall in love with the characters and the mood created by DiCamillo. I found Peter’s determination inspiring. I was most touched by his concern for the elephant. He pursued the elephant with the belief that it would lead him to his sister. Upon meeting the elephant he realized that she was unhappy, uncomfortable and a long way from home in her current habitat. Peter shifts his focus from his sister to the well being of the elephant and in the end he is rewarded for doing what is right. This is a key lesson for readers that DiCamillo communicates beautifully without being heavy-handed in the way of morality. The mood DiCamillo creates is dark and shadowy with glimpses of light and hope. In regards to mood I am reminded of books like The Polar Express. Finally, this story contains multiple storylines that eventually weave together and are resolved with a common solution similar to Holes by Louis Sachar. I think stories like this one help readers think outside of themselves and realized that their problems are not the only problems that need to be resolved.

Review: Publishers Weekly
In DiCamillo's fifth novel, a clairvoyant tells 10-year-old Peter, an orphan living with a brain-addled ex-soldier, that an elephant will lead him to his sister, who the ex-soldier claims died at birth. The fortuneteller's prediction seems cruelly preposterous as there are no pachyderms anywhere near Baltese, a vaguely eastern European city enduring a bitter winter. Then that night at the opera house, a magician "of advanced years and failing reputation" attempts to conjure a bouquet of lilies but instead produces an elephant that crashes through the ceiling. Peter learns that both magician and beast have been jailed, and upon first glimpse of the imprisoned elephant, Peter realizes that his fate and the elephant's are linked. The mannered prose and Tanaka's delicate, darkly hued paintings give the story a somber and old-fashioned feel. The absurdist elements--street vendors peddle chunks of the now-infamous opera house ceiling with the cry "Possess the plaster of disaster!"--leaven the overall seriousness, and there is a happy if predictable ending for the eccentric cast of anguished characters, each finding something to make them whole.

Suggested Activities
I would use this book in a display of books with a magic related theme. My hope would be to attract readers to this story by displaying it with other magic related favorites like Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl.

Bibliography
DiCamillo, K. (2009) The Magician’s Elephant. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763644102.

[Review of the book The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo]. Publishers Weekly, 256(33), 63-63.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Module 7: The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg


Summary
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place details one summer in the life of Margaret Rose. Margaret’s parents leave for Peru for four weeks and place her in sleep away camp. At camp Margaret is bullied by campers and staff she responds with peaceful protest. Her refusal to participate in camp activities leads to her rescue by her Hungarian Great-uncle. For the remainder of the four weeks Margaret stays with her Uncles Alex and Maurice. Her uncles have spent four decades building decorative towers in their garden. Some consider the towers to be outsider art, others see them as eyesores. When the towers are condemned Margaret puts a plan into action that saves the towers from destruction.

Impressions
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place is a really great problem novel that wraps lots of issues neatly into one book. Margaret deals with bullying, her parents divorce, and a crush all while saving her uncles’ towers. Margaret is a brave character who does some pretty amazing and adult things while Konigsburg shows us her inner vulnerability. This book is extremely well written and falls in line with empowering children’s classics like A Wrinkle in Time.

Review: Kirkus Reviews
Master novelist Konigsburg hones her sense of irony to a razor edge in this exploration of the back story behind one of Silent to the Bone's secondary characters: Connor's older half-sister Margaret. Margaret, 12, has just been rescued from her authoritarian summer camp by her eccentric great-uncles. She is delighted to leave the tender offices of her vicious bunk-mates and the camp director's insistence on lockstep enjoyment of all camp activities; she is monumentally alarmed to discover that her beloved uncles' backyard Tower Garden, a fantasy of steel and glass, is slated for demolition, a victim of historical zoning. Determined to save the towers, Margaret begins a campaign informed by civil disobedience (in which camp has made her proficient: "I prefer not to," says she) and civic involvement. This story condescends not one whit to its audience, passionately confronting readers with the critical importance of history, art, beauty, community, love, and, above all, the necessity to invest oneself in meaningful action. This it does with every word in place, occasionally indulging in dizzying linguistic riffs, always conscious of the ironies inherent in the acts of living and growing up.

Suggested Activities
I would include The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place in a display with books about protest and social justice. Other titles would include Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice and Esperanza Rising.

Bibliography
Konigsburg, E.L. (2004) The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place. New York: Simon Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0689866364.

[Review of the book The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg]. Kirkus Reviews, 71(24), 1451-1451.

Module 7: Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin



Summary
Anything But Typical, is a story told from the point of view of Jason, an adolescent boy with autism. Jason’s disability hinders his ability to verbally communicate with most people. The book details the challenges of his everyday life. Jason shares how sensory experiences most people can easily ignore affect him in ways that totally disrupt his way of life. He explains his difficulty recognizing people by their faces. Most important, Jason explains the frustration of dealing with people who do not comprehend the implications of his disorder. Despite his limitations, Jason is a brilliant writer. Through Storyboard, an online writing community, Jason makes a friend who is a fan of his work. This friend is a girl, and Jason interprets this to mean he has a girl friend. This girl friend is a great source for anxiety for Jason as he prepares to go to a Storyboard convention where he is likely to cross paths with her. Jason’s worst fears about meeting his friend are put to ease and his love of writing is reinforced at the conference.

Impressions
Nora Raleigh Baskin has done an amazing job personalizing Jason and a great job writing this book. I think that disabled individuals and people with autism are often labeled and forgotten by the rest of the population. In truth, people with disabilities are valid members of society who have contributions to make. In Anything But Typical Jason is undervalued by many because he is autistic. His Storyboard friend, who does not know of his disability, values his talent so much that she asks Jason for writing help. This book gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a person with autism with the aim at teaching instead of creating pity.

Jason is extremely knowledgeable on the ins and outs of the English language. He describes literary devices and parts of speech in this book in a way that seems natural but is education for an uninformed reader. Because of this, I think Anything But Typical would make an excellent read for an English class. The book reinforces grammar while offering the class a great read.

Review: Publishers Weekly
Baskin. (All We Know of Love) steps into the mind of an autistic boy who, while struggling to deal with the "neurotypical" world, finds his voice through his writing ability. Though Jason initially seemed a prodigy, by third grade he had fallen behind academically, and his parents reluctantly had him tested CA year later the only letters anybody cared about were ASD, NVLD, and maybe ADD or ADHD, which I think my mom would have liked better. BLNT. Better luck next time"). Now in sixth grade, Jason still has behavioral difficulties, but is passionate about his writing and actively posts stories in an online forum. There he strikes up a friendship with (and develops a crush on) a fellow writer, though he becomes distraught when he discovers they will both be attending the same writing conference. The first-person narration gives dramatic voice to Jason's inner thoughts about his family and his own insecurities, even as he withholds details (usually about incidents at school) from readers. Jason's powerful and perceptive viewpoint should readily captivate readers and open eyes.

Suggested Activities

I would organize a group of young library patrons to read Anything But Typical. We would discuss the book and its implications about people with disabilities. I would then organize a “mixer” for these children and children with disabilities like Jason.

Bibliography
Baskin, N.R. (2009) Anything But Typical. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 1416963782.

[Review for the book Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin]. Publishers Weekly. 256(6), 48-50.

Module 6: Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis


Summary
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree is a realistic story about a middle school aged girl who is far more logical than her peers. Emma-Jean has an uncanny ability to think with true logic and reasoning, even in times of stress. The book begins as Emma-Jean discovers Colleen, a classmate, crying in the bathroom. Colleen has been uninvited from her best friend’s annual ski trip because Laura, the meanest yet most popular girl in school has taken her place. Emma-Jean resolves to help Colleen with her crisis. Emma-Jean’s tactics solve Colleen’s problem, but lead to more complicated issues in dealing with Laura. Emma-Jean learns that it is noble to want to help others, but one cannot lie and deceive in the process.

Impressions

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree is a fantastic depiction of middle school life told from the perspective of the obliviously confident Emma-Jean, and the overly insecure Colleen. By showing the story from both points of view, readers can get a sense of how different people deal with conflict. The book has a fantastic cadence that moves along nicely and is easy to read. Tarshis begins the story by immediately introducing the main conflict and allowing exposition to arrive when needed. Though the story primarily appeals to female readers, I think many different types of girls would identify with this book. Colleen and Emma-Jean are very different from one another, but both girls show the reader how to be a better person and a better friend.

Reviews: Booklist
Supremely logical Emma-Jean has little in common with her seventh-grade classmates, and she observes their often-tumultuous social interactions with a detached, scientific curiosity. But when kindly Colleen seeks her advice in dealing with the school's resident mean girl, Emma-Jean is moved to apply her analytical mind--and a bit of desktop forgery--to aid her classmate. Pleased with the initial results of her meddling and a newfound sense of belonging, Emma-Jean sets out righting the everyday wrongs of middle-school life with some surprising success. Told from the alternating viewpoints of ultrarational Emma-Jean and sensitive, approval-seeking Colleen, a few key events of the story seem implausible, such as a shady car dealership exchanging a new car for a lemon after receiving one of Emma-Jean's flimsy forgeries. Still, the story ends on an inspiring up note, with Emma-Jean attending her first school dance and developing tentative friendships with her fellow classmates, which should please fans.

Review: Kirkus Reviews

At the beginning of this incisively voiced story, Emma-Jean Lazarus, a self-possessed but socially isolated seventh-grade girl, has no friends her own age. In fact, Tarshis’s winning heroine views her classmates as an anthropologist might, observing them with great interest, but not really getting their strangely irrational behavior. And they, in turn, view her as simply strange. This begins to change when Emma-Jean comes across classmate Colleen Pomerantz sobbing her heart out in the bathroom. Colleen needs help in dealing with a girl bully, or as Emma-Jean sees it, the alpha chimp of Colleen’s social set. Emma-Jean decides that she’ll help Colleen and, later, others by utilizing the reasoning of her deceased father’s hero, the illustrious mathematician Jules Henri PoincarĂ©. However, emotions have a way of defying logical analysis, and after a while, Emma-Jean discovers that she’s become entangled—not only with peers, but with friends. The comic juice in the story comes from Emma-Jean’s hyper-rational yet totally skewed take on reality, and her evolution from analyst to actor makes for a captivating, highly satisfying read.

Suggested Activities

I would decorate a bulletin board with a large print out of the cover of Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell out of a Tree. I would then have students post quick descriptions of problems they have helped solved a-al-Emma-Jean on leaf cut outs.

Bibliography

Tarshis, L. (2007) Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree. Dial Books for Young Readers ISBN: 0803731647.

McKulski, K. (2007, August) [Review of the book Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis]. Booklist, 103(14), 49-49.

[Review of the book Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis]. Kirkus Reviews, 75(2), 81-81.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Module 5: Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin, Illustrated by Harry Bliss


Summary
Diary of a Spider offers readers a glimpse into the life of a kid spider. Just as the title implies, the book is written from the point of view of a spider in the form of a diary. Spider shares his likes and fears while also telling us about his family life, his best friends Fly and Worm, and school.

Impressions
Diary of a Spider was a really fun read and very well illustrated. Cronin endears Spider to the audience by showing that spiders have lives just like humans. Cronin shows that spiders have family, friends, hobbies and responsibilities. I most enjoyed the relationships depicted between Spider and other types of “bugs.” Spider is friends with a fly and a worm, but is very afraid of a daddy long legs. This element of the book shows readers that there is a hierarchy even in the world of bugs.

Harry Bliss’ illustrations do a great deal to tell the story. The objective of a picture book is to tell a story through words and pictures. While some picture books may rely more heavily on text, Diary of a Spider is very picture heavy. In this book an idea is presented by Doreen Cronin’s text and is then fully expressed by Harry Bliss’ pictures.

Reviews: Kirkus Reviews
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it's his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte's Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family-which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: "Never fall asleep in a shoe.")-and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, "just like me and Fly," if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious.

Review 2: School Library Journal
Children who enjoyed Diary of a Worm (HarperCollins, 2003) will be enchanted by this artistic team's latest collaboration. This time, Spider is the star. Through his humorous diary entries, readers learn about typical events in the life of a young spider. When Spider's mom tells him he's getting too big for his skin, he molts. Fly's feelings are hurt by a thoughtless comment from Daddy Longlegs, and Spider tries to help. He is concerned that he will have to eat leaves and rotten tomatoes when he has a sleepover with Worm. Spider's school doesn't have fire drills; it has vacuum drills ("...vacuums eat spiderwebs and are very, very dangerous"). Grampa tells him that spider-fly relations have improved over the years and shares the secret of long life-don't fall asleep in shoes. The amusing pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoons, complete with funny asides in dialogue balloons, expand the sublime silliness of some of the scenarios.

Suggested Activities
Diary of a Spider offers wonderful perspective both visually and conceptually on the life of a spider. After reading this book with a group, I would challenge them with the task of creating their own diary for a living thing much larger or much smaller than a human. One could create “Diary of a Skunk” or “Diary of a Whale.” I would urge readers to consider what the human world looks like visually from the perspective of the creature they have chosen, while creating text that communicates the similarities that creature might have with a human.

Bibliography
Cronin, D. (2005) Diary of a Spider. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN: 0060001542.

[Review of the book Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin] Kirkus Reviews, 73(13), 732-732

Combs, B. (2005, August) [Review of the book Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin] School Library Journal, 51(8), 87-87

Module 4: The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman


Summary
The Midwife’s Apprentice details the story of Alyce (also called Beetle), a medieval teen aged orphan who finds herself in the service of the village midwife Jane Sharp. Jane loads Alyce with chores in exchange for food scraps and a place to sleep on her floor. Alyce, who is supposed to be learning midwifery from Jane, sees a great deal of the auxiliary work involved in the trade, but no actual births. Eventually, Jane must tend to two births at once, which give Alyce a chance to prove her worth. After a successful delivery, Alyce is excited and confident in her skills as a midwife, but is crushed when she fails to successfully deliver her second baby. Alyce runs away from the village and works, for a time, as an inn keeper’s assistant. After delivering a baby at the inn, Alyce realizes that she is meant to be a midwife. Though she doesn’t know everything about delivering babies, Alyce knows that she knows more than most. She returns to Jane Sharp’s home and demands back her place as the midwife’s apprentice.

Impressions
The Midwife’s Apprentice was an easy read that simultaneously delivered a huge amount of entertainment as well as historical information. Alyce is a well developed character who is right on the brink of womanhood. Cushman gives Alyce a complex range of emotions that come across as true and honest to the reader. I was most struck by Alyce’s reaction to failure and the way Cushman narrated her emerging from failure to a place of triumph and determination in the end. Having researched women’s health in medieval and renaissance times, I am struck with the amount of detail Cushman uses to describe the methods of midwives in that time period. At the same time, the medical details of the trade never come across as boring to the reader. I think this book is an amazing resource for history classes in addition to being a great read.

Review: Horn Book Magazine
In a sharply realistic novel of medieval England by the author of Catherine, Called Birdy (Clarion), a homeless, hungry orphan girl called Beetle is discovered trying to keep warm in a pile of dung by the village midwife. The midwife, Jane Sharp, takes Beetle in to work as a servant for little food, barely adequate shelter, and cutting words. To Beetle, however, it is a step upward. The midwife is far from compassionate, but she is, for her times, a good midwife. Beetle becomes interested in the work and watches Jane covertly as she goes about her business. Beetle also adopts a scraggly cat that she has saved from the village boys' cruel mistreatment, and she feeds it from her own inadequate meals. As Beetle grows and learns, she begins to gain some hard-won self-esteem, and renames herself Alyce. She becomes more accepted by the villagers and is sometimes asked for advice. On one occasion she employs her common sense and compassion to successfully manage a difficult delivery when Jane Sharp is called away. Jane is far from pleased; she wants no rivals and is angered when a woman in labor asks specifically for Alyce. But Alyce finds she knows less than she thought, and Jane must be called in to save the mother. Alyce, in despair and humiliation, takes her cat and runs away. She spends some time working at an inn, where she learns a good deal more about herself and the world. At last she admits to herself that what she wants most is to become a midwife, and she returns to Jane. The brisk and satisfying conclusion conveys the hope that the self-reliant and finally self-respecting Alyce will find her place in life. The graphic and convincing portrayals of medieval life and especially the villagers given to superstition, casual cruelty, and duplicity — afford a fascinating view of a far distant time.

Suggested Activities
In a school setting, I would visit history classes and read excerpts from The Midwife’s Apprentice aloud to promote the book. Chapters in this book are short and easy to follow which would allow the book to “speak for itself” while not taking up too much class time.

Bibliography
Cushman, K. (1995) The Midwife’s Apprentice. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0395699296.
Flowers, A. (1995, August). [Review of the book The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman] Horn Book Magazine, 71(4), 465-466.

Module 4: Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond


Summary
Kit’s Wilderness begins as Kit, a teenage boy, moves to the town of Stonygate to care for his Grandfather after his Grandmother’s death. Stonygate is a mining town where is ancestors have worked for generations. Though the mine has shutdown, a small group of teens becomes fascinated with the history of the mine and begin traveling into the tunnels under the leadership of John Askew. Askew engages the other kids in a game called “Death.” In this game, one person enters a sleep state where they “become nothing.” “Death” leads Kit to a deeper understanding of the mine’s history, and the history of child laborers who died in the mine. Kit’s Wilderness also shows Kit as he grows into a deeper relationship with his Grandfather. Kit’s Grandfather passes down Stonygate history as he enters into a demented state and eventually approaches the end of his life. During the story, Askew, an outcast, runs away from his troubled home. The fate of Kit’s Grandfather and Askew come to parallel a story within the story that Kit is writing for school. As Kit resolves the narrative he is writing, Askew returns safely home and Kit’s Grandfather finds peace before his death.

Impressions
Kit’s Wilderness is an innovative story that circumvents expectations for a young adult novel. David Almond tells three stories at once: the story of Stonygate today, the story of Stonygate’s past, and Kit’s narrative about Lak. Each story is told with a great amount of maturity and honesty that I think young adult readers will appreciate. In terms of style, I thought the story within a story device was very clever. Instead having Kit resolve the issues of the story in a realistic linear way, Almond allows him to resolve the conflicts through a fantastic creative device. Overall, I loved this book for its content and style and I would recommend it to young adult readers and adults.

Review: Children’s Literature Review: January Magazine
Whitbread-winning author David Almond's most recent book is about the place where magic, dreams and everyday life collide. Almond's prose is elegant, sparse and powerful. He manages to speak volumes with the things he doesn't say, while entrancing his readers with what he does. Kit's Wilderness is a tautly rendered story filled with equal portions of suspense, mystery and wonder. His characters are real, his situations plausible even if somewhat fantastical and his conclusions satisfying. In fact, Kit's Wilderness satisfies on every level.
In Kit's Wilderness, 13-year-old Christopher Watson -- that's Kit -- has moved back to the town that is his ancestral home of Stoneygate, an old mining town in England. His grandmother has died and Kit's parents want his grandfather's remaining years to be happy. Grandfather Watson worked in the town's nearby coal mines as did his father and his father before him. In fact, most of the town's children are descended from men who spent most of their lives below ground level. As his grandfather tells him, "As a lad I'd wake up trembling, knowing that as a Watson born in Stoneygate I'd soon be following my ancestors into the pit."
Though the coal mine has long been closed, it holds an understandable fascination for the town's children. For a group of early teen misfits, led by 13-year-old John Askew, the pit holds a special allure. As the new kid, it doesn't take long for Kit to fall in with them. Every so often, the small bunch of adolescents troop down into the pit. There in candlelight, with knives and illicit cigarettes, they play the game of Death.
The water came to me and I sipped it. The cigarette came to me and I drew on it.... I stared down at the knife as Askew laid it on the glass.
"Whose turn is it to die?" he whispered.
"Death," we all chanted. "Death Death Death Death..."
The knife shimmered, spinning. It spun on and on.
Me, I thought, as it spun to me and then away again.
Me, not me, me, not me, me, not me...
And then it slowed and came to rest.
Me.
While it sounds like this snippet gives away a lot -- perhaps even a conclusion -- this scene plays out very near the beginning of the book. And if it sounds genuinely frightening, it is. Almond's mastery is such that he takes his young readers on a haunting journey that manages to hang in some positive messages in a very subtle way. That is to say that, while Kit is the first 13-year-old protagonist of a book aimed at that age group I've ever encountered taking a drag on a smoke, Almond successfully uses the incident as a sort of sharp punctuation. The drawing on the cigarette seems like a physical manifestation of the peer pressure he's become vulnerable to since the relocation of his family. But there's more here. So much more.
Almond weaves in enough threads for three kids' books, with some left over to do justice to a novel aimed at a more adult readership. Kit's strong and growing relationship with his grandfather is threatened by the latter's ill health. So the family elements in Kit's Wilderness are very strong. Kit's growing friendship with a girl named Allie provides some wonderful dialog between these two likable and vivacious characters. Kit's dreams are rich and connected, it seems, with the fantastical events that begin to unfold around John Askew in the depths of the pit.
As with all truly successful novels aimed at this age group, moral maturation happens in the time we spend with Kit. He learns several important life lessons and grows as a person as, it seems, do those around him. Almond's virtuosity here is awesome, however. The reader never feels led or fooled. Rather Almond tells his story honestly. With integrity. And the reader is left the richer for it.
David Almond's first children's book, Skellig, was the winner of the 1998 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award. With the storytelling mastery that Almond displays here, it's not difficult to see why.

Suggested Activities
Kit accomplishes a great deal through his writing in Kit’s Wilderness. I would have a library reading group read this book and follow the reading with writing exercises. With permission, completed stories written by teens would be posted on my libraries website.

Bibliography

Almond, D. (2000) Kit’s Wilderness. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN: 0385326653.

Stark, M. (2000, July) Soul Wilderness [Review of the book Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond]. January Magazine. Retrieved from: http://januarymagazine.com/kidsbooks/kitswilderness.html

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Module 3: The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, Pictures by Beth Krommes


Summary
The House in the Night is based on a pattern. There is a key to a house that contains light which contains a bed that contains a book. The pattern of “thing within a thing” continues inside of the book on the bed. We see the inside of the house, and the contents of the book that sits on the bed in the house.

Impressions
I would say that The House in the Night is among my favorite picture books. This book feels like a modern day Good Night Moon. The day is winding down, and the book takes a survey of the world captured within it. I think that books like this can offer a great deal of comfort to children as they wind down before bedtime. There is a place for everything and everything is in its place as the day ends. As Caldecott Award Winner, The House in the Night displays amazing quality in the way of illustrations. Illustrated primarily in black and white, the book places an emphasis on certain objects by showing them in yellow. Stylistically, the pictures in The House in the Night are very innovative and unique, and to me added a lot to the experience of the book.

Review: Booklist
A young girl is given a golden key to a house. “In the house / burns a light. / In that light / rests a bed. On that bed / waits a book.” And so continues this simple text, which describes sometimes fantastical pleasures as a bird from the book spirits the child through the starry sky to a wise-faced moon. The cumulative tale is a familiar picture-book conceit; the difference in success comes from the artwork. Here, the art is spectacular. Executed in scratchboard decorated in droplets of gold, Krommes’ illustrations expand on Swanson’s reassuring story (inspired by a nursery rhyme that begins, “This is the key of the kingdom”) to create a world as cozy inside the house as it is majestic outside. The two-page spread depicting rolling meadows beyond the home, dotted with trees, houses, barns, and road meeting the inky sky, is mesmerizing. The use of gold is especially effective, coloring the stars and a knowing moon, all surrounded with black-and-white halos. A beautiful piece of bookmaking that will delight both parents and children.

Suggested Activities
The House in the Night includes an author’s note that explains that the book is based on the nursery rhyme The Key to The Kingdom. I would read the nursery rhyme aloud and follow it with The House in the Night.

Bibliography
Swanson, S. M. (2008). The House in the Night. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0618862447.

Cooper, I. (2008). [Review of the book The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson]. Booklist, 104(16), 5-5.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Module 3: Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan


Summary
Esperanza Rising begins over a decade after the Mexican Revolution. Esperanza is the daughter of a wealthy Mexican land owner. As the book begins, Esperanza’s father is killed by bandits leaving Esperanza and her mother destitute. Following the lead of their former servants, Esperanza and her mother travel to California to work on a company farm. In her new life Esperanza is awakened to the differences between wealth and responsibility. In the beginning, she struggles with her life of labor and poverty. Eventually she grows to be a good worker, and is content with her simple life because she is surrounded by people she loves.

Impressions
Esperanza Rising is a great read for young adults and not so young adults. This book expresses some really valuable themes. We learn that money isn’t everything, and there is a limit to what a person should do for money. Poverty comes with great struggle, but the poor can still live blessed and fulfilled lives. Esperanza Rising also does a really great job illustrating the struggle of manual laborers, particularly in the depression era. The book is not an overt history lesson, but the reader gets a great sense of the era.

Review: Books R4 Teens
In Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan tells the story of Esperanza Ortega, only daughter of a wealthy Mexican landowner and his wife. The story begins in 1924 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on El Rancho de las Rosas, the ranch where Esperanza's father cultivates grapes and raises cattle. The day before Esperanza turns twelve, her beloved Papi is killed by bandits, and the girl's life of wealth, privilege, and security is shattered. Esperanza and her mother leave Aguascalientes with the people who were previously their servants and travel by train to California. There, they find work on a company farm, picking and packing produce. Esperanza and her extended family struggle through the hardships of the Depression- and Dust Bowl-era United States, and they even begin to flourish in the land of opportunity.
As the plight of immigrants and migrant workers continues to be of concern for many of us living in the Southwestern United States, this book speaks to adolescents from a variety of backgrounds. The occasional Spanish phrase increases the level of authenticity in the story, and Ryan is always careful to translate the phrases so that even someone who does not speak Spanish may easily comprehend. This book is an excellent choice for anyone interested in the Depression-era United States, the change in fortunes of immigrants from Mexico to the U.S., or the life of migrant workers in the past and present.

Suggested Activities
In a library book club, I would read Grapes of Wrath along with Esperanza Rising. Readers can discuss the similarities and differences between both groups of central characters setting out for farm work in California.

Bibliography
Ryan, P. M. (2000). Esperanza Rising. New York: Scholastic Press, 2000. ISBN: 0439120411.

Harris, J.M. (2005). [Review of the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan]. Books R4 Teens. Retrieved from: http://www.edb.utexas.edu/resources/booksR4teens/book_reviews/book_reviews.php?book_id=29

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Module 2: Swimmy by Leo Lionni


Summary
Swimmy is a black fish who lives with a school of red fish. He happens to be the best swimmer in his school. One day, the red fish get eaten by a big fish, but Swimmy escapes. He sets out to explore the ocean to fight off his loneliness. He sees seaweed, jelly fish, lobsters and an eel among other things. Swimmy comes to love the ocean. One day he finds a new school of red fish. He encourages them to see all that the ocean has to offer, but they are scared of being eaten by a big fish. Swimmy teaches the red fish to swim together in the shape of a big fish, Swimmy acts as the eye of the big fish. Together they swim through the ocean and chase big fish away.

Impressions
I fell in love with Swimmy for many reasons. First, the language is perfect for young readers (and listeners). At times, books become too wordy. Swimmy has short, yet ample sentences that tell the story without unnecessary frills. I was particularly moved by the theme of this book. The red fish are scared of exploring the ocean alone. When they work as a team they are able to see all that they wanted to see. The illustrations are my favorite part of Swimmy. This book is illustrated with what appears to be a mixture of stamps and finger painting. My favorite illustration is the seaweed made of stamped lace.

Review: Booklist
After losing his brothers and sisters to a hungry tuna, Swimmy, a little black fish, joins a school of small red fish. To prevent them from being eaten by a bigger fish, Swimmy teaches the red fish to swim close together, each in its own place, so they will look like one giant red fish—with himself as the eye. Illustrating this clever little tale are stunning paintings that, in their original and effective use of color and design, convey extraordinarily well the beauty and depth of the underwater world.

Suggested Activities
In a library, or classroom setting, I would set out finger paints and found materials and encourage readers to create their own ocean scene. Interesting found materials might be leaves, streamers, tissue paper, eating utensils. Anything with an interesting shape or texture would be fun to work with. The options are endless.

Bibliography
Lionni, L (1963). Swimmy. New York: Pantheon. ISBN: 0394817133.

[Review of the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni]. Booklist, Mar. 1963, 29-29.

Module 2: The Good Master by Kate Seredy


Summary
The Good Master is set in Hungary in the early part of the twentieth century. Our central character, Jancsi lives on a horse ranch with his mother and father. Early in the story, Jancsi learns that his cousin from Budapest will be coming to live on his family’s ranch because she is frail from getting over the measles. Jansci’s family quickly realizes that Kate was sent to the ranch because she is overly mischievous and needs the strong hand of Jancsi’s father Marton. Kate quickly finds that her antics will not fly under Marton’s roof and begins to change her ways. While on the ranch Kate discovers the pleasures of rural life. She learns to garden, ride horses and care for poultry. Kate and Jancsi go on many adventures in and around the ranch and encounter many old wise characters who tell them stories, each with an obvious moral. As time passes on the ranch, Kate becomes close to Jancsi’s family, but misses her father dearly. As Christmas nears, Marton arranges for Kate’s father to visit. When he arrives at the ranch, Kate, Jancsi and Marton are able to convince Kate’s father that he should join them in country life.

Impressions
Overall I liked The Good Master. Still, I feel like the book has its problems. The lessons of the book are presented in a contrived format. Instead of allowing the characters to learn these lessons in an organic way, each moral is wrapped in a story told by a sage wise man. The saving grace of the book is the ending. Kate and Jancsi are visited by Mikulas (Santa Clause). Mikulas turns out to be Kate’s father in costume. Kate’s father see’s how happy she is with country life and decides that they should live on the family ranch permanently. The ending to The Good Master is touching, but the book itself seems out of date with most child readers.

Reviews: Bookshare.org
This story takes place in feudal, Czarist Hungary, pre-revolution and World War 1. Kate's mother dies, she's out of control, and her teacher father sends her from Budapest to live with his rancher and feudal lord brother. Kate learns about the country's cultural history and many of the folk stories passed down orally through the generations. She becomes a well-behaved girl and part of the family. There is a sequel, The Singing Tree, which follows the family through the war years, with Russian prisoners of war staying on the farm and helping and becoming friends, and Kate's father is lost (then found). These are marvelous books for any age, a view of a country's past that is no longer there.

Suggested Activities
I would include this book in a display about Hungary. I would include travel books, CDs with traditional Hungarian music, cook books, and The Singing Tree, the sequel to The Good Master.

Bibliography
Seredy, K. (1935). The Good Master. New York: Viking Press, 1935. ISBN: 067034592X.

Halperin, L. (2008) [Review of the book The Good Master by Kate Seredy] Retrieved from http://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/36355?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9zZWFyY2g9U2VhcmNoJmtleXdvcmQ9dGhlIGdvb2QgbWFzdGVyJg%3D%3D

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Module 1: Miss Smith and the Haunted Library by Michael Garland


Summary
Miss Smith and the Haunted Library begins with Zack, our main character sitting idly in his classroom on an autumn morning. His teacher, Miss Smith, enters the room and tells the class that they will be visiting the library. Upon arrival at the library, we meet Virginia Creeper, a hip librarian with blue hair. Ms. Creeper begins to read scary stories to the students from the “Incredible Storybook.” Soon, the storybook characters come to life and join story time. Just as Zack begins to become scared and nervous at the sight of characters like Frankenstein and the Headless Horseman, Ms. Creeper passes out refreshments and the students have a party with the characters. Soon, senior citizens arrive at the library to start their book club meeting and it is imperative that the scary characters leave the library. It is up to Zack to read the end of each character’s story so that they can return to the “Incredible Storybook”. After clean up is done, each child checks out a book and the class leaves the library.

Impressions
Overall, I really enjoyed Miss Smith and the Haunted Library. Textually, the plot of this book is thin but well supplemented by the illustrations. The illustrations show us how the characters feel about each event and action in the book. They also offer inside jokes for adults. Miss Smith is wearing a “Blonde” button, and at the end, a student checks out Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars by David Bowie. Despite a lack of plot, the book offers a valuable theme. At two separate points in the book we see Zack, the main character, reform his initial judgment of another character in the book. When Zack meets the librarian with, “Blue hair, pale skin, deep dark eyes…” we find out, “…he hadn’t been expecting this.” Also, we see Zack, once scared by the creepy book characters, become amazed as they begin to party with the students. We see Zack realize that librarians can have blue hair and the Wicked Witch of the West can let loose and have a good time.

Review: School Library Journal
One fall day, Miss Smith takes her class to the public library to meet the librarian, Virginia Creeper. The scene is set as they enter the building, which looks a bit like a haunted house. The librarian reads spooky stories from Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook, which brings the characters to life. Soon the children are surrounded by frightening figures such as Frankenstein, Count Dracula, Captain Hook, and the Jabberwocky. They enjoy themselves so much that the youngsters forget what time it is and then must rush to finish each story so the characters can go back into the book. In all the chaos, it seems one story was overlooked. So far, Zack is the only student to notice a creature lurking nearby. Falling leaves and pictures of ghosts, pumpkins, and witches complete the autumnal scene. Halloween can be inferred, but it is not mentioned by name. Each page is full of clever details, and the characters have unique characteristics, from the librarian's bright purple hair and dress, to Miss Smith's stand-up red hair, to the book characters playing out their roles. The students in particular are expressive. One page shows them with their mouths open while the Headless Horseman looms above. The story captures the joy of reading and is sure to be a hit.

Suggested Activities
Young audiences may lack context for this book especially when it comes to the scary book characters at the library. I think that having a story time could remedy this problem and make kids excited about Garland’s text. I would read age appropriate books that include the Headless Horseman, Dracula and the Hound of Baskervilles. I would conclude the story time by reading Miss Smith and the Haunted Library.

Bibliography
Garland, M (2009). Miss Smith and the Haunted Library. New York: Dutton Children’s Books. ISBN: 0525421394.

Guenthner, L. A. (2009, July). [Review of the book Miss Smith and the Haunted Library by Michael Garland] School Library Journal, 55(7), 63-64.