And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell Illustrated by Henry Cole
Approaching And Tango Makes Three, I was prepared to find all kinds of ways to defend the viewpoint that it presents, as it is one that I happen to agree with. But, after some thought, I realized that, as a librarian, I neither needed to defend the viewpoint nor was it my place to express an opinion. My job is to select quality books on a variety of subjects for my library. Following the guidelines for quality children's literature as presented in Children's Literature, Briefly, I believe that And Tango Makes Three is a quality children's picture book.
The characters in the book are both unique (who has heard of gay penguins???) yet believable (crazy thing is, it's a true story!!!). The reader hasn't seen these characters a million times before but they have traits with which most people can identify. The desire to have a family, be a parent and the nurturing instinct are some of the first human emotions to which we are introduced through our parents and family.
The plot is engaging and elicits the reader's sympathy. Two super-cute beings falling in love are hard to resist and we tend to root for their success. Tension is introduced as they start to desire a family but realize that they cannot reproduce. The reader wonders, "will they ever get to be parents?" "will they be disappointed?" "how will they find a way to get what they want?". Finally, there is a satisfying conclusion as they become surrogate/adoptive parents who hatch an egg, parent the baby and become a fully formed family.
As a picture book, the book more than succeeds. The paintings of Central Park and the penguins are lovely. A reader is hard pressed to not love the round black & white penguins who always seem to be smiling. The paintings are not only enjoyable to look at, but also play an important part in the story. On the page in which the penguins sit on the rock, we know from the expressions of the penguins in the painting that the penguins go from curious to bored to tired to anxious as the rock fails to become a baby penguin, though the text never mentions how they felt about the failed experiment.
And Tango Makes Three is understandably controversial as it addresses one of today's hottest issues -- equal rights for same sex couples. However, it is a book that would be an important addition to a school library both in light of the quality of the book and the creation of a collection that represents many sectors of the population.
The book is most appropriate for Pre-K through 2nd grade students.
Work Cited: Tunnell, Michael O., Jacobs, James S., Young, Terrell A., Bryan, Gregory. Children's Literature, Briefly. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The Agony of Alice
The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
As I read The Agony of Alice, being 12 and 13 came rushing back to me -- the acute embarrassment of the slightest social mishap, the conviction that minor slights meant the end of friendship, the drama produced by every situation. Ms. Naylor writes about this age so convincingly, I felt as if I was back there, at Park Forest Elementary, feeling the exactly same way as Alice (How did I miss this book anyway? I was 12 in 1985, the year of its publication). The Agony of Alice portrays so perfectly that age at which girls are no longer children and not yet teenagers. Uncertainty and insecurity are the predominant feelings of that age, ironically coupled with the feeling that no one ever must know that you are anything but perfect.
The growth of the character Alice through the book is represented by her relationship with her teacher, Mrs. Plotkin. Completely disappointed that she got frumpy, middle aged Mrs. Plotkin instead of young & pretty Miss Cole, Alice is convinced that her sixth grade year will be disastrous. Alice's mother died when she was 4 and she thinks that she needs Miss Cole to act as her surrogate mother. However, she gets to know Mrs. Plotkin through after school activities, she sees past the surface of both her and Miss Cole to come to realize that Mrs. Plotkin is a special person who becomes her friend. Mrs. Plotkin has very good insight into girls at that age. After Alice attempts to sabotage the performance of a rival in the class pageant, Mrs. Plotkin says to her, "It seems that you are angry at Pamela for wanting the very things that you want. Its not so horrible to want to be special Alice." She takes on the role of Alice's surrogate mother as Alice navigates the tricky waters of early adolescence.
As a side note, this is a fun book for local readers, as it references areas of suburban D.C.
This would be a wonderful book for 5th through 7th grade girls who will surely see themselves in Alice.
As I read The Agony of Alice, being 12 and 13 came rushing back to me -- the acute embarrassment of the slightest social mishap, the conviction that minor slights meant the end of friendship, the drama produced by every situation. Ms. Naylor writes about this age so convincingly, I felt as if I was back there, at Park Forest Elementary, feeling the exactly same way as Alice (How did I miss this book anyway? I was 12 in 1985, the year of its publication). The Agony of Alice portrays so perfectly that age at which girls are no longer children and not yet teenagers. Uncertainty and insecurity are the predominant feelings of that age, ironically coupled with the feeling that no one ever must know that you are anything but perfect.
The growth of the character Alice through the book is represented by her relationship with her teacher, Mrs. Plotkin. Completely disappointed that she got frumpy, middle aged Mrs. Plotkin instead of young & pretty Miss Cole, Alice is convinced that her sixth grade year will be disastrous. Alice's mother died when she was 4 and she thinks that she needs Miss Cole to act as her surrogate mother. However, she gets to know Mrs. Plotkin through after school activities, she sees past the surface of both her and Miss Cole to come to realize that Mrs. Plotkin is a special person who becomes her friend. Mrs. Plotkin has very good insight into girls at that age. After Alice attempts to sabotage the performance of a rival in the class pageant, Mrs. Plotkin says to her, "It seems that you are angry at Pamela for wanting the very things that you want. Its not so horrible to want to be special Alice." She takes on the role of Alice's surrogate mother as Alice navigates the tricky waters of early adolescence.
As a side note, this is a fun book for local readers, as it references areas of suburban D.C.
This would be a wonderful book for 5th through 7th grade girls who will surely see themselves in Alice.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Barack Obama & Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Barack Obama by Jennifer Zeiger
Part of the Scholastic "Cornerstones of Freedom" - "Bringing History to Life" series
AND
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes Illustrated by Bryan Collier
I read two biographies for young readers that focus on Barack Obama. Though the books shared the same subject, each approach was different and make for an interesting comparison.
The first book is Barack Obama by Jennifer Zeiger. Written in 2012 prior to the election, this book covers Obama's life leading up to his involvement in politics as well as his ascent to become the first African American president. Zeiger draws the reader in from the first page, which focuses on the excitement of election night 2008. She describes the crowds in Chicago, waiting for results, wearing shirts and buttons with the words "hope" and "change" -- as she says, "He called himself a "skinny guy with a funny name". Could he win the presidency?" (p.7) The author continues to tell Obama's story in an engaging but straightforward fashion that brings the president's story alive to young readers.
Barack Obama contains several features that are very helpful for young readers who are new to a subject. There are many photos that support each section of the book which allows youth to see history as real occurrences rather than made up or (worse!) boring stories. At the end of the book there is a timeline, a short description of individuals that influenced Obama's life and a great "Living History" section which provides links to primary sources that are mentioned in the text.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope is a picture book written in the months prior to the 2008 election, focusing on the character of Barack Obama and the forces that formed it. Told from the perspective of an African American mother who is telling her son about Obama, the book traces Obama's life story from his beginnings as the child of a multi-racial couple to a young man determined to bring people together. The book is an extremely positive representation of Obama, showing him as a man full of hope and a desire for equity and healing. The author attempts to look into Obama's psyche (in a way that is understandable to young readers) to show that he is both a product of his diverse background and his determination to find his own way. By the end of the book, readers will be very excited by the hope that Obama represented to the people in 2008 and the excitement and pride that accompanied the upcoming election of the first African American president.
Biographies are a genre in which an author's bias may easily be expressed, even if the bias is not obvious. The trend in biographies for youth tends towards a positive representation of the subject except in the case of clearly evil people such as Hitler. Keeping this in mind, I'd say that most children's biographies are biased in that fashion. In the case of these two books, we must look at the authors and sources to determine if they are among the best resources. Barack Obama lists several print, online and primary sources as the resources used in the writing of the book. This would support using this book as a good source in research. In Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope, the author mentions one source (Obama's memoir, Dreams from My Father) and admits to "artistic license" in the text. This does not exclude the latter book as a good book, but does exclude it as a book that might be used in a research project.
Barack Obama by Jennifer Zeiger would be appropriate for readers in grades 3-5 and would be a great resource for a research project.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope is most appropriate as a Pre-K/Kindergarten read-aloud or for 1st and 2nd graders to read to themselves.
Part of the Scholastic "Cornerstones of Freedom" - "Bringing History to Life" series
AND
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes Illustrated by Bryan Collier
I read two biographies for young readers that focus on Barack Obama. Though the books shared the same subject, each approach was different and make for an interesting comparison.
The first book is Barack Obama by Jennifer Zeiger. Written in 2012 prior to the election, this book covers Obama's life leading up to his involvement in politics as well as his ascent to become the first African American president. Zeiger draws the reader in from the first page, which focuses on the excitement of election night 2008. She describes the crowds in Chicago, waiting for results, wearing shirts and buttons with the words "hope" and "change" -- as she says, "He called himself a "skinny guy with a funny name". Could he win the presidency?" (p.7) The author continues to tell Obama's story in an engaging but straightforward fashion that brings the president's story alive to young readers.
Barack Obama contains several features that are very helpful for young readers who are new to a subject. There are many photos that support each section of the book which allows youth to see history as real occurrences rather than made up or (worse!) boring stories. At the end of the book there is a timeline, a short description of individuals that influenced Obama's life and a great "Living History" section which provides links to primary sources that are mentioned in the text.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope is a picture book written in the months prior to the 2008 election, focusing on the character of Barack Obama and the forces that formed it. Told from the perspective of an African American mother who is telling her son about Obama, the book traces Obama's life story from his beginnings as the child of a multi-racial couple to a young man determined to bring people together. The book is an extremely positive representation of Obama, showing him as a man full of hope and a desire for equity and healing. The author attempts to look into Obama's psyche (in a way that is understandable to young readers) to show that he is both a product of his diverse background and his determination to find his own way. By the end of the book, readers will be very excited by the hope that Obama represented to the people in 2008 and the excitement and pride that accompanied the upcoming election of the first African American president.
Biographies are a genre in which an author's bias may easily be expressed, even if the bias is not obvious. The trend in biographies for youth tends towards a positive representation of the subject except in the case of clearly evil people such as Hitler. Keeping this in mind, I'd say that most children's biographies are biased in that fashion. In the case of these two books, we must look at the authors and sources to determine if they are among the best resources. Barack Obama lists several print, online and primary sources as the resources used in the writing of the book. This would support using this book as a good source in research. In Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope, the author mentions one source (Obama's memoir, Dreams from My Father) and admits to "artistic license" in the text. This does not exclude the latter book as a good book, but does exclude it as a book that might be used in a research project.
Barack Obama by Jennifer Zeiger would be appropriate for readers in grades 3-5 and would be a great resource for a research project.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope is most appropriate as a Pre-K/Kindergarten read-aloud or for 1st and 2nd graders to read to themselves.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
2006 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book & 2006 Newberry Honor Book
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow is a fascinating account of the youth of Germany under Hitler, both those who supported and those who opposed the Third Reich. Through first person interviews of German youth of the 1930s, examination of archives, and use of primary sources, Susan Campbell Bartoletti exposes how Hitler preyed on the most idealistic of his citizens, luring them into fanatical allegiance.
Bartoletti arranges the text by subject in chronological order which allows the reader to see the development of Nazism and the culture that led to the horrors of the Second World War. She examines the discipline and organization of the Hitler Youth group, the changes in education under Nazism and the anti-Semitism that brought about devotion from young people yearning for strong leadership and a cause in which they could believe. From first person accounts we learn that children would report their own parents for anti-Nazi beliefs, despite that they were aware that it would lead to imprisonment. One of the most upsetting chapters of the book concerns the end of the war, at which time the Nazi army was so desperate for replacement soldiers that they called up the youngest members of Hitler Youth. Boys as young as 13 or 14 fought fanatically as the Allies invaded, even after the death of Hitler.
Bartoletti also discusses the Resistance movement which existed in Germany. Many youth either were never convinced of Hitler's ideas or grew disillusioned by the Nazis. Bartoletti uses the example of a brother and sister, Hans and Sophie Scholl, who distributed leaflets expressing anti-Nazi views. For their actions, they were both executed. By reading about personal stories that Bartoletti presents(rather than dry textbooks), readers can make connections and understand the true human toll of the regime.
Hitler Youth very effectively makes the Nazi era come alive for young readers. By focusing on youth, Bartoletti shows students how people of their own age became involved in Nazism or bravely fought against it. In addition to text full of first-hand details, there are over 100 photographs that portray the individuals and events discussed, bringing them to life. The book includes a lengthy bibliography which notes sources of particular interest to young readers in addition to an index. Bartoletti is the author of several books for young people including another Sibert award winning book on the Great Irish Famine.
This book is appropriate for upper elementary students and older. The text is written simply enough for a fifth grader to understand, but the depth of the information would be useful for a high school research project. As with most books dealing with the subject of Nazism, the subject matter is often disturbing and the maturity of the student must be kept in mind.
2006 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book & 2006 Newberry Honor Book
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow is a fascinating account of the youth of Germany under Hitler, both those who supported and those who opposed the Third Reich. Through first person interviews of German youth of the 1930s, examination of archives, and use of primary sources, Susan Campbell Bartoletti exposes how Hitler preyed on the most idealistic of his citizens, luring them into fanatical allegiance.
Bartoletti arranges the text by subject in chronological order which allows the reader to see the development of Nazism and the culture that led to the horrors of the Second World War. She examines the discipline and organization of the Hitler Youth group, the changes in education under Nazism and the anti-Semitism that brought about devotion from young people yearning for strong leadership and a cause in which they could believe. From first person accounts we learn that children would report their own parents for anti-Nazi beliefs, despite that they were aware that it would lead to imprisonment. One of the most upsetting chapters of the book concerns the end of the war, at which time the Nazi army was so desperate for replacement soldiers that they called up the youngest members of Hitler Youth. Boys as young as 13 or 14 fought fanatically as the Allies invaded, even after the death of Hitler.
Bartoletti also discusses the Resistance movement which existed in Germany. Many youth either were never convinced of Hitler's ideas or grew disillusioned by the Nazis. Bartoletti uses the example of a brother and sister, Hans and Sophie Scholl, who distributed leaflets expressing anti-Nazi views. For their actions, they were both executed. By reading about personal stories that Bartoletti presents(rather than dry textbooks), readers can make connections and understand the true human toll of the regime.
Hitler Youth very effectively makes the Nazi era come alive for young readers. By focusing on youth, Bartoletti shows students how people of their own age became involved in Nazism or bravely fought against it. In addition to text full of first-hand details, there are over 100 photographs that portray the individuals and events discussed, bringing them to life. The book includes a lengthy bibliography which notes sources of particular interest to young readers in addition to an index. Bartoletti is the author of several books for young people including another Sibert award winning book on the Great Irish Famine.
This book is appropriate for upper elementary students and older. The text is written simply enough for a fifth grader to understand, but the depth of the information would be useful for a high school research project. As with most books dealing with the subject of Nazism, the subject matter is often disturbing and the maturity of the student must be kept in mind.
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
2007 Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon gives readers an "up close and personal" view of what it was like to get the first men onto the moon through interviews of the people that did it. What sets apart Team Moon from other books on the subject is that the focus is on the people in the background that made the mission happen -- the engineers, scientists, builders and even seamstresses -- rather than the astronauts with whom we are already familiar.
Through the interviews, Thimmesh relays each step in the launch and mission in a manner that makes one want to hold one's breath. The mission controller tells the story of dealing with program alarms blasting as the astronauts grow close to the moon. The engineers relate the panic of a possibly disasterous fuel line problem once the landing had been accomplished. We hear from the leader of the Atmospheric Descent System, who for the entire mission had few responsibilities -- except to get the astronauts back into the atmosphere alive. The tension and excitement of the 8 days of the mission are palatable.
In addition to providing an exciting first person account of a true life story, this book has several very practical features, which I was happy to see. The author lists her main sources, additional sources and suggested websites which readers may use for further information and exploration. In addition, the book contains a glossary to assist with unfamiliar terms. Finally, Team Moon contains an index, which I have found to be invaluable when assisting students in their research projects in the school library.
Both From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books and Children's Literature, Briefly point out that authors of informational texts require more scrutiny than those of fiction when it comes to assessing the quality of the book. In the case of Thimmesh, she is not an expert on NASA or space travel. However, she has written several award winning books of non-fiction for young audiences which presumably proves her excellence in this particular genre. As mentioned above, her source list (which includes first person interviews) is extensive, showing that she has done thorough research.
The only addition to Team Moon I would like to see is more information on the time from 1961 to 1969 which preceeded the actual mission. What did they have to go through to get to the point that they could launch? Where do you start a project like "Lets send a man to the moon"? I think that including that information would give important contextual information and make the story of the actual mission all that more impressive.
This book best suited for high level readers in upper elementary, middle & high school students. Although it won a children's literature award, much of the language and information contained in the book is quite complex and sophisticated.
2007 Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon gives readers an "up close and personal" view of what it was like to get the first men onto the moon through interviews of the people that did it. What sets apart Team Moon from other books on the subject is that the focus is on the people in the background that made the mission happen -- the engineers, scientists, builders and even seamstresses -- rather than the astronauts with whom we are already familiar.
Through the interviews, Thimmesh relays each step in the launch and mission in a manner that makes one want to hold one's breath. The mission controller tells the story of dealing with program alarms blasting as the astronauts grow close to the moon. The engineers relate the panic of a possibly disasterous fuel line problem once the landing had been accomplished. We hear from the leader of the Atmospheric Descent System, who for the entire mission had few responsibilities -- except to get the astronauts back into the atmosphere alive. The tension and excitement of the 8 days of the mission are palatable.
In addition to providing an exciting first person account of a true life story, this book has several very practical features, which I was happy to see. The author lists her main sources, additional sources and suggested websites which readers may use for further information and exploration. In addition, the book contains a glossary to assist with unfamiliar terms. Finally, Team Moon contains an index, which I have found to be invaluable when assisting students in their research projects in the school library.
Both From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books and Children's Literature, Briefly point out that authors of informational texts require more scrutiny than those of fiction when it comes to assessing the quality of the book. In the case of Thimmesh, she is not an expert on NASA or space travel. However, she has written several award winning books of non-fiction for young audiences which presumably proves her excellence in this particular genre. As mentioned above, her source list (which includes first person interviews) is extensive, showing that she has done thorough research.
The only addition to Team Moon I would like to see is more information on the time from 1961 to 1969 which preceeded the actual mission. What did they have to go through to get to the point that they could launch? Where do you start a project like "Lets send a man to the moon"? I think that including that information would give important contextual information and make the story of the actual mission all that more impressive.
This book best suited for high level readers in upper elementary, middle & high school students. Although it won a children's literature award, much of the language and information contained in the book is quite complex and sophisticated.
Inside Out & Back Again
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
2011 Newberry Honor Book & National Book Award Winner
2011 Newberry Honor Book & National Book Award Winner
Based upon the author’s own childhood experiences, Inside Out & Back Again is the story
of 10-year old Ha and her family’s heart-wrenching journey from war-torn Saigon
to America and their subsequent settlement in Alabama. Told through poems, Ha’s story relates her dealings
with intolerant and sometimes antagonistic community members, exposure to new
food and the difficult curiosities of American language and culture. Ha finds
that her excellent marks in Vietnamese school leave her poorly equipped to deal
with American school and she struggles to apply her previous knowledge to the
new culture. Slowly, Ha finds allies at school and in the community who assist
her in becoming comfortable in her new life.
I really enjoyed the first-person narrative and the perspective of a young girl. So many of the stories of that time are told from the perspective of an adult or boy, so it is refreshing to see it from Ha's point of view. This book would be a wonderful read for upper elementary kids for either a social studies or poetry unit. Jocelyn mentioned in her book review that this would be a great pairing with The Wednesday Wars, which I think is a fabulous idea. I think that kids would really get a lot out of seeing the war from a Vietnamese vs American viewpoint.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Return To Sender
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
The award winning adult's author Julia Alvarez turns her attention to a younger audience in Return to Sender, a tale of two children -- one an American farm boy and the other an illegally immigrated young Mexican girl -- who lives collide and change one another.
Tyler's family makes their living through their dairy farm in Vermont until their livelihood is threatened by an accident that seriously injures his father. In order to survive, they must find affordable help to keep the farm going. The solution is a group of Mexican workers who come to live at their farm. The Mexican family includes not just workers but also 3 young girls, including Mari, an 11 year old who is in Tyler's grade. Tyler's family suspects that they are not legally in the country, but chooses make the difficult decision to keep them on.
Through letters that Mari writes to relatives and third person observations, we learn of how Mari & her family came to the U.S., the fear that they live with and the disappearance of her mother over the past year. Tyler's fears for his family and farm are revealed as well, as he worries that they must sell the farm. Tyler & Mari become close friends and find that their similarities are far greater than their differences.
Alvarez does a wonderful job in putting "faces" to the issue of immigration and helping readers understand that the people that they hear about on the news are real human beings with individual stories. Through her story, one may learn about the reasons that immigrants often feel that they have few choices as well as the reasons that people in the United States may support their choice. Ms. Alvarez clearly feels strongly about the issue and unfortunately, the book is very biased towards one point of view. In my opinion, the book would have been strengthened by more attention being given to both sides of the story, making it clear to the reader that the issue has many complexities in which all parties must make hard choices. (I should add that I do not personally hold a strong opinion one way or the other on the immigration issue -- I am attempting to look at this regarding the strength of the story)
The book is made compelling by an exciting plot. Will the Mexicans be caught by the immigration authorities? If so, will they be deported? Will Tyler's family be punished for hiring them? And, where is Mari's mother? What happened to her? All of these questions are answered in a realistic but exciting manner that keeps the reader engaged.
I would like to read an adult book by Ms. Alvarez to make a comparison between her writing style for adults and children. In some sections, I felt that she used over simplistic language and expressions for her audience, which I would judge to be 9-13 year olds. In other cases, the young characters make statements that seem to be unlikely to come from an 11 year old. For instance, when Mari is surprised at the cost of a cup of coffee in a local cafe, she says "please believe me, those two dollars are not reaching my family" (p.61). I am not sure if some of this is because of Alvarez' writing style or an attempt to reach young readers while also imparting serious information.
This book would be good a good choice for 4th through 7th graders learning about different cultures or about modern issues in America. Because of the bias of the book, it would also be a good choice for a lesson on reading critically.
The award winning adult's author Julia Alvarez turns her attention to a younger audience in Return to Sender, a tale of two children -- one an American farm boy and the other an illegally immigrated young Mexican girl -- who lives collide and change one another.
Tyler's family makes their living through their dairy farm in Vermont until their livelihood is threatened by an accident that seriously injures his father. In order to survive, they must find affordable help to keep the farm going. The solution is a group of Mexican workers who come to live at their farm. The Mexican family includes not just workers but also 3 young girls, including Mari, an 11 year old who is in Tyler's grade. Tyler's family suspects that they are not legally in the country, but chooses make the difficult decision to keep them on.
Through letters that Mari writes to relatives and third person observations, we learn of how Mari & her family came to the U.S., the fear that they live with and the disappearance of her mother over the past year. Tyler's fears for his family and farm are revealed as well, as he worries that they must sell the farm. Tyler & Mari become close friends and find that their similarities are far greater than their differences.
Alvarez does a wonderful job in putting "faces" to the issue of immigration and helping readers understand that the people that they hear about on the news are real human beings with individual stories. Through her story, one may learn about the reasons that immigrants often feel that they have few choices as well as the reasons that people in the United States may support their choice. Ms. Alvarez clearly feels strongly about the issue and unfortunately, the book is very biased towards one point of view. In my opinion, the book would have been strengthened by more attention being given to both sides of the story, making it clear to the reader that the issue has many complexities in which all parties must make hard choices. (I should add that I do not personally hold a strong opinion one way or the other on the immigration issue -- I am attempting to look at this regarding the strength of the story)
The book is made compelling by an exciting plot. Will the Mexicans be caught by the immigration authorities? If so, will they be deported? Will Tyler's family be punished for hiring them? And, where is Mari's mother? What happened to her? All of these questions are answered in a realistic but exciting manner that keeps the reader engaged.
I would like to read an adult book by Ms. Alvarez to make a comparison between her writing style for adults and children. In some sections, I felt that she used over simplistic language and expressions for her audience, which I would judge to be 9-13 year olds. In other cases, the young characters make statements that seem to be unlikely to come from an 11 year old. For instance, when Mari is surprised at the cost of a cup of coffee in a local cafe, she says "please believe me, those two dollars are not reaching my family" (p.61). I am not sure if some of this is because of Alvarez' writing style or an attempt to reach young readers while also imparting serious information.
This book would be good a good choice for 4th through 7th graders learning about different cultures or about modern issues in America. Because of the bias of the book, it would also be a good choice for a lesson on reading critically.
Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy
Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt
2005 Newberry Honor Book
Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy is the moving tale of an unlikely friendship that develops against a backdrop of racism and self-serving interests that result in a de facto ethnic cleansing. The protagonist, 12 year old Turner Buckminster, has just moved with his family to Phippsburg, Maine. The year is 1912 and the town's fortunes are changing. The shipbuilding trade that once supported the town is in decline and the townspeople are searching for another means of support. Many see tourism as the way to go, but believe that the presence of the predominantly Negro community on the ajacent Malaga Island will deter tourists.
As in many of Schmidt's books, the protaganist is a boy who is not quite an adolescent but not still a child. He is in a new situation which challenges all that he has known before. He is starting to form his own opinions and discovering that he may not be the person that others expect him to be. In Lizzie Bright, the new situation is that Turner is new to town and not fitting in with the other children. He befriends a Negro girl (Lizzie Bright) from Malaga Island, which is met with strong disapproval from both his minister father and community members. He finds that Lizzie and her family are good people with whom he wants to spend time, despite the opinions of others. However, the townspeople want Lizzie and her people off of Malaga Island, no matter what they must do to accomplish this. A struggle of wills results, with Turner and his family being set against the townspeople.
What I have loved about each of the three Gary Schmidt that I have read is the artful way in which he constructs a personal struggle against the backdrop of a larger world struggle. Real life circumstances are woven with fictional situations in a manner that avoids preachy-ness or heavy-handed history lessons but instead allow us to view the events as a person living in that time might have experienced them. Each personal struggle leads to emotional independence on the part of the young person, but they do not achieve this independence without the assistance of an influential adult. I see this as a difference from most true "YA" books, thus placing his books in a middle category of neither books for young children nor older teenagers. In typical YA books, adults have a very small role and have relatively little influence on the growth of the character. In some ways, I find the influence of adults to be more true to reality, though many teenagers may not agree with this statement!
Lizzie Bright and The Buckminister Boy would be an excellent book for students in grades 5th through 7th or 8th. The treatment of the residents of Malaga Island is shocking but provides an important lesson for more mature elementary and middle school students.
NOTE: I refer to African Americans in this journal entry as "Negros" as that is the word used in the book.
2005 Newberry Honor Book
Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy is the moving tale of an unlikely friendship that develops against a backdrop of racism and self-serving interests that result in a de facto ethnic cleansing. The protagonist, 12 year old Turner Buckminster, has just moved with his family to Phippsburg, Maine. The year is 1912 and the town's fortunes are changing. The shipbuilding trade that once supported the town is in decline and the townspeople are searching for another means of support. Many see tourism as the way to go, but believe that the presence of the predominantly Negro community on the ajacent Malaga Island will deter tourists.
As in many of Schmidt's books, the protaganist is a boy who is not quite an adolescent but not still a child. He is in a new situation which challenges all that he has known before. He is starting to form his own opinions and discovering that he may not be the person that others expect him to be. In Lizzie Bright, the new situation is that Turner is new to town and not fitting in with the other children. He befriends a Negro girl (Lizzie Bright) from Malaga Island, which is met with strong disapproval from both his minister father and community members. He finds that Lizzie and her family are good people with whom he wants to spend time, despite the opinions of others. However, the townspeople want Lizzie and her people off of Malaga Island, no matter what they must do to accomplish this. A struggle of wills results, with Turner and his family being set against the townspeople.
What I have loved about each of the three Gary Schmidt that I have read is the artful way in which he constructs a personal struggle against the backdrop of a larger world struggle. Real life circumstances are woven with fictional situations in a manner that avoids preachy-ness or heavy-handed history lessons but instead allow us to view the events as a person living in that time might have experienced them. Each personal struggle leads to emotional independence on the part of the young person, but they do not achieve this independence without the assistance of an influential adult. I see this as a difference from most true "YA" books, thus placing his books in a middle category of neither books for young children nor older teenagers. In typical YA books, adults have a very small role and have relatively little influence on the growth of the character. In some ways, I find the influence of adults to be more true to reality, though many teenagers may not agree with this statement!
Lizzie Bright and The Buckminister Boy would be an excellent book for students in grades 5th through 7th or 8th. The treatment of the residents of Malaga Island is shocking but provides an important lesson for more mature elementary and middle school students.
NOTE: I refer to African Americans in this journal entry as "Negros" as that is the word used in the book.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Dead End in Norvelt
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos. Winner of the 2012 Newberry Award
You've got a small town with a lady who soaks her hands in boiling wax, the Hells Angels, a guy who keeps a small plane in his garage, and a kid who shoots bullets at the Drive In screen. Welcome to Norvelt.
Jack Gantos' laugh out loud semi-audiobiographical book follows the adventures of the eponymous twelve year old Jack during the summer of 1962. Jack has gotten himself in trouble again -- this time for the Drive In shooting incident, amongst other mischief. His punishment is to be loaned out as a transcriber by his mother to Miss Volker, the local obituary writer. Things start to get interesting.
Norvelt is a town in decline and getting smaller by the minute. Old people seem to be dropping like flies and there seems to be something suspicious about the way that it is happening. Jack tries to figure out what is going on while dealing with his parents, who are in a battle over whether to leave Norvelt.
The characters are what makes the book shine. Jack's "it seemed like a good idea at the time" antics get him into constant trouble, which is further complicated by his inclination to have violent nose bleeds every time he is the least bit excited. Miss Volker is a stubborn old lady with a mind of her own who is fighting off the advances of a suitor who has been waiting 50 years for her attentions. She sees no problem having Jack not only assist her in her obituary duties but also drive her around town in her Plymouth Valiant as she tracks down the most recently deceased citizen of Norvelt. Jack's mom is dedicated to the ideals of Norvelt, as established by Eleanor Roosevelt, to give "hardworking poor people a helping hand."(p. 54), even as most of the people around her abandon those ideals. Finally, his father, frustrated by the same "do nothing day here over and over" (p.55), has decided to build a runway in their backyard by mowing down his wife's prized corn.
Dead End in Norvelt echos many of the same characteristics as Gary Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now. The small town setting full of interesting characters, a boy who is simultaneously dealing with family and outside issues, growing up into an independent person and the historical context - all told with humor - will ring as familiar to readers of Schmidt's work.
This is a wonderful book for students from 4th to 7th grade. The humor will appeal to all readers, especially reluctant boys. This is also a perfect book to suggest to lovers of The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now.
You've got a small town with a lady who soaks her hands in boiling wax, the Hells Angels, a guy who keeps a small plane in his garage, and a kid who shoots bullets at the Drive In screen. Welcome to Norvelt.
Jack Gantos' laugh out loud semi-audiobiographical book follows the adventures of the eponymous twelve year old Jack during the summer of 1962. Jack has gotten himself in trouble again -- this time for the Drive In shooting incident, amongst other mischief. His punishment is to be loaned out as a transcriber by his mother to Miss Volker, the local obituary writer. Things start to get interesting.
Norvelt is a town in decline and getting smaller by the minute. Old people seem to be dropping like flies and there seems to be something suspicious about the way that it is happening. Jack tries to figure out what is going on while dealing with his parents, who are in a battle over whether to leave Norvelt.
The characters are what makes the book shine. Jack's "it seemed like a good idea at the time" antics get him into constant trouble, which is further complicated by his inclination to have violent nose bleeds every time he is the least bit excited. Miss Volker is a stubborn old lady with a mind of her own who is fighting off the advances of a suitor who has been waiting 50 years for her attentions. She sees no problem having Jack not only assist her in her obituary duties but also drive her around town in her Plymouth Valiant as she tracks down the most recently deceased citizen of Norvelt. Jack's mom is dedicated to the ideals of Norvelt, as established by Eleanor Roosevelt, to give "hardworking poor people a helping hand."(p. 54), even as most of the people around her abandon those ideals. Finally, his father, frustrated by the same "do nothing day here over and over" (p.55), has decided to build a runway in their backyard by mowing down his wife's prized corn.
Dead End in Norvelt echos many of the same characteristics as Gary Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now. The small town setting full of interesting characters, a boy who is simultaneously dealing with family and outside issues, growing up into an independent person and the historical context - all told with humor - will ring as familiar to readers of Schmidt's work.
This is a wonderful book for students from 4th to 7th grade. The humor will appeal to all readers, especially reluctant boys. This is also a perfect book to suggest to lovers of The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now.
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Okay for Now
Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
In his follow up to The Wednesday Wars, Gary Schmidt has created another appealing book about growing up and finding yourself when the odds don't appear to be in your favor.
Doug Swieteck has had to move from Long Island to the upstate New York town of Marysville because of his dad's new job. The town is small and everyone seems to have known each other forever. Doug's home life is no better. His father is hateful and abusive to both the children and his mother. His one brother is in Vietnam and the other has quickly earned a reputation as a juvenile delinquent.
Quite by accident, Doug discovers the local public library and it's treasure -- an original copy of John James Audubon's Birds of America. He is entranced by the artwork and is soon befriended by one the librarians, Mr. Powell, who teaches him about the hidden nuances in the paintings. Doug, who never has drawn before, finds himself drawing the birds and becoming very interested in Mr. Audubon's work.
Doug gets a delivery job with the local deli and befriends the daughter of the owner, Lil. Although he has made two allies in Marysville, all is not smooth sailing. Doug has what one would call an "attitude problem" at school, his rudeness and defiance covering up his insecurity and low literacy level. Slowly, he finds a teacher who recognizes his problem and reassures him that he knows that "...you are not your brother."(p. 102)
As in The Wednesday Wars, young readers will identify with Doug's everyday struggles to grow up and create relationships. This book is also a great choice for 5th through 7th graders, especially for boys who may be reluctant readers.
In his follow up to The Wednesday Wars, Gary Schmidt has created another appealing book about growing up and finding yourself when the odds don't appear to be in your favor.
Doug Swieteck has had to move from Long Island to the upstate New York town of Marysville because of his dad's new job. The town is small and everyone seems to have known each other forever. Doug's home life is no better. His father is hateful and abusive to both the children and his mother. His one brother is in Vietnam and the other has quickly earned a reputation as a juvenile delinquent.
Quite by accident, Doug discovers the local public library and it's treasure -- an original copy of John James Audubon's Birds of America. He is entranced by the artwork and is soon befriended by one the librarians, Mr. Powell, who teaches him about the hidden nuances in the paintings. Doug, who never has drawn before, finds himself drawing the birds and becoming very interested in Mr. Audubon's work.
Doug gets a delivery job with the local deli and befriends the daughter of the owner, Lil. Although he has made two allies in Marysville, all is not smooth sailing. Doug has what one would call an "attitude problem" at school, his rudeness and defiance covering up his insecurity and low literacy level. Slowly, he finds a teacher who recognizes his problem and reassures him that he knows that "...you are not your brother."(p. 102)
As in The Wednesday Wars, young readers will identify with Doug's everyday struggles to grow up and create relationships. This book is also a great choice for 5th through 7th graders, especially for boys who may be reluctant readers.
Monday, October 29, 2012
The Wednesday Wars
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
In The Wednesday Wars, we meet Hollis Hoodhood, the son of a Long Island architect who lives in the "Perfect House" with his perfect seeming family perfectly in the center of town. However, it is 1967 and things are changing in the United States and in Hollis' world.
As the sole 7th grader that is neither Jewish nor Catholic (and thus does not go to Hebrew school or Catechism after lunch on Wednesday afternoons), Hollis has effectively jailed his teacher who must now occupy him during what she thought would be free time. Mrs. Baker initially fills his time with punitive tasks but soon comes to the conclusion that the time may be spent more wisely -- through the reading of the plays of Shakespeare. Over the course of the school year, Hollis becomes a fan of the old Bard, learning about hate and power, goodness and honesty and finally, about "the endurance of love" (p. 172).
This is the thread that is woven through the story of 1967 at Camillo High School. The teacher's husbands are fighting in Vietnam and Walter Cronkite is reporting nightly on soldier's deaths. Two leaders who personify hope are horrifically killed -- Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
In one amusing incident after another, Holling can never seem to get ahead. He owes his class cream puffs which leads to a debt owed to Mr. Goldman the baker which leads to a photo of him in yellow tights splashed around the school. He has accidentally released a set of maniacal rats in the school and they seem to be after him. If that isn't enough, his sister has decided to become a flower child, which doesn't go over well with the owner of the "Perfect House".
Schmidt skillfully combines a story of the pains of growing up and figuring out who you are against a painful time in our history, as both the character of Holling and our country grew and changed. His book bridges a traditional "school/family novel" and historical fiction, neither ignoring the cultural changes that impacted daily life nor wandering into a heavy-handed history lesson (Tunnell, Jacobs, Young & Bryan, pp.152-154). Holling grows stronger through his tribulations, finding that his path may not be the one that his father has set for him -- or it may be -- but he wants to be the one to decide. He learns that much of what we see on the surface is not the entire story, but that the important people are the ones whose love will endure.
The Wednesday Wars is an excellent book for 5th through 7th graders. It is appealing to both boys and girls and may be a good choice for reluctant boy readers.
Work Cited: Tunnell, Michael O., Jacobs, James S., Young, Terrell A., Bryan, Gregory. Children's Literature, Briefly. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
In The Wednesday Wars, we meet Hollis Hoodhood, the son of a Long Island architect who lives in the "Perfect House" with his perfect seeming family perfectly in the center of town. However, it is 1967 and things are changing in the United States and in Hollis' world.
As the sole 7th grader that is neither Jewish nor Catholic (and thus does not go to Hebrew school or Catechism after lunch on Wednesday afternoons), Hollis has effectively jailed his teacher who must now occupy him during what she thought would be free time. Mrs. Baker initially fills his time with punitive tasks but soon comes to the conclusion that the time may be spent more wisely -- through the reading of the plays of Shakespeare. Over the course of the school year, Hollis becomes a fan of the old Bard, learning about hate and power, goodness and honesty and finally, about "the endurance of love" (p. 172).
This is the thread that is woven through the story of 1967 at Camillo High School. The teacher's husbands are fighting in Vietnam and Walter Cronkite is reporting nightly on soldier's deaths. Two leaders who personify hope are horrifically killed -- Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
In one amusing incident after another, Holling can never seem to get ahead. He owes his class cream puffs which leads to a debt owed to Mr. Goldman the baker which leads to a photo of him in yellow tights splashed around the school. He has accidentally released a set of maniacal rats in the school and they seem to be after him. If that isn't enough, his sister has decided to become a flower child, which doesn't go over well with the owner of the "Perfect House".
Schmidt skillfully combines a story of the pains of growing up and figuring out who you are against a painful time in our history, as both the character of Holling and our country grew and changed. His book bridges a traditional "school/family novel" and historical fiction, neither ignoring the cultural changes that impacted daily life nor wandering into a heavy-handed history lesson (Tunnell, Jacobs, Young & Bryan, pp.152-154). Holling grows stronger through his tribulations, finding that his path may not be the one that his father has set for him -- or it may be -- but he wants to be the one to decide. He learns that much of what we see on the surface is not the entire story, but that the important people are the ones whose love will endure.
The Wednesday Wars is an excellent book for 5th through 7th graders. It is appealing to both boys and girls and may be a good choice for reluctant boy readers.
Work Cited: Tunnell, Michael O., Jacobs, James S., Young, Terrell A., Bryan, Gregory. Children's Literature, Briefly. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The introduction to Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book immediately draws the reader in. The murder of a family has just occurred, but the youngest child has escaped. The child wanders to a nearby graveyard, where he is taken in and protected from the murderer by a community of ghosts. Questions abound: Why has the family been murdered? Why is it so important to the murderer that the child be killed as well? Who is the murderer? How can a graveyard of ghosts possibly raise a child? Will the child survive both the graveyard and the murderer?
We find all of these answers in the story of Nobody Owens, the boy that was "adopted" by the ghosts as an infant. Nobody grows up in the graveyard, only knowing ghosts, but remaining a live boy. He survives there through the help of his guardian, Silas, a mysterious ghost who has powers to cross into the living world as needed. As Nobody grows up, he gradually has more contact with the living world, first through a young girl that he befriends and later by attending school. These encounters with the living world are fraught with difficulties, but the ghosts manage to extract Nobody from any serious problems. As the years pass, the man who murdered Nobody's family tracks him down, determined that he will finally kill Nobody as well. An encounter and chase with the murderer ensue and Nobody must call on all of the secrets of the graveyard in order to save himself.
Gaiman's mysterious novel is a perfect example of children's fantasy. It has numerous fantastic elements -- magic, good versus evil, heroism, and special characters (Tunnell, Jacobs, Young and Bryan). The reader is pulled into a world that straddles life and afterlife, with ghosts having magical powers and abilities. There is the classic struggle of good versus evil as portrayed in innocent Nobody who must fight for his life against evil Jack, his would-be murderer. Nobody takes on a further role in the story, that of the hero, as he must face trials and mature, eventually defending himself using the knowledge that he has gained through the years. And, finally, The Graveyard Book is chock-full of special characters, ranging from the ghosts that raise Nobody to the Grey Lady to the Black Jacks and more.
This would be an excellent book for 4th through 7th graders, especially those who like "scary" stories or fantasies.
Source Cited:
Tunnell, Michael O., Jacobs, James S., Young, Terrell A.and Bryan, Gregory. Children's Literature: Briefly. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
The introduction to Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book immediately draws the reader in. The murder of a family has just occurred, but the youngest child has escaped. The child wanders to a nearby graveyard, where he is taken in and protected from the murderer by a community of ghosts. Questions abound: Why has the family been murdered? Why is it so important to the murderer that the child be killed as well? Who is the murderer? How can a graveyard of ghosts possibly raise a child? Will the child survive both the graveyard and the murderer?
We find all of these answers in the story of Nobody Owens, the boy that was "adopted" by the ghosts as an infant. Nobody grows up in the graveyard, only knowing ghosts, but remaining a live boy. He survives there through the help of his guardian, Silas, a mysterious ghost who has powers to cross into the living world as needed. As Nobody grows up, he gradually has more contact with the living world, first through a young girl that he befriends and later by attending school. These encounters with the living world are fraught with difficulties, but the ghosts manage to extract Nobody from any serious problems. As the years pass, the man who murdered Nobody's family tracks him down, determined that he will finally kill Nobody as well. An encounter and chase with the murderer ensue and Nobody must call on all of the secrets of the graveyard in order to save himself.
Gaiman's mysterious novel is a perfect example of children's fantasy. It has numerous fantastic elements -- magic, good versus evil, heroism, and special characters (Tunnell, Jacobs, Young and Bryan). The reader is pulled into a world that straddles life and afterlife, with ghosts having magical powers and abilities. There is the classic struggle of good versus evil as portrayed in innocent Nobody who must fight for his life against evil Jack, his would-be murderer. Nobody takes on a further role in the story, that of the hero, as he must face trials and mature, eventually defending himself using the knowledge that he has gained through the years. And, finally, The Graveyard Book is chock-full of special characters, ranging from the ghosts that raise Nobody to the Grey Lady to the Black Jacks and more.
This would be an excellent book for 4th through 7th graders, especially those who like "scary" stories or fantasies.
Source Cited:
Tunnell, Michael O., Jacobs, James S., Young, Terrell A.and Bryan, Gregory. Children's Literature: Briefly. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Love That Dog
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Sharon Creech (in the form of Mrs. Stretchberry) is very tricky! A person who is convinced that they don't like poetry (like me and Jack) might just be convinced that poetry is pretty cool by the end of this book without even knowing how it happened.
Love That Dog is the story (told through poems) of Jack, who thinks that he neither can write nor understand poetry. First attempts at writing result in "Brain's Empty". However, his teacher doesn't give up on him and soon, he is writing snippits of poems that hold a very personal story. First, he writes about a car, but doesn't want anyone to know that he was the one who penned the poems. As he slowly becomes more confident, he writes about his beloved dog, the fun that they had together, and, finally, the accident that takes his dog from him. His words are simple, but there would be few readers (including myself) who would not tear up as they read about the fate of Jack's dog.
As far as understanding poetry,Jack is initially not impressed with the genre. His reaction to Robert Frost's classic is "What was up with the snowy woods poem that you read in class?" Mrs. Stretchberry keeps introducing the works of other poets until Jack finds one that speaks to him - Mr. Walter Dean Meyers. Once Jack discovers Mr. Meyers - in his words, "the best, best, BEST" - a love of poetry is found. Meyer's work inspires Jack to expand his own poetry writing and, eventually, ask Mr. Meyers to come to his school.
Creech's book makes poetry accessible and interesting. She breaks down the idea that poetry is an unapproachable or esoteric genre by utilizing the simple words of a child and a story that nearly every person can relate to. She points out through the story that there are many kinds of poetry and many poets. Finding the style or poet that you love is the entrance point into enjoyment of poetry.
Creech's book would be a great addition the curriculum of a middle or upper elementary class that is starting a unit on poetry. It is a quick read (and may easily be done chorally in class, as demonstrated recently in our Children's Literature class) that will make students open to learning about and enjoying poetry.
Sharon Creech (in the form of Mrs. Stretchberry) is very tricky! A person who is convinced that they don't like poetry (like me and Jack) might just be convinced that poetry is pretty cool by the end of this book without even knowing how it happened.
Love That Dog is the story (told through poems) of Jack, who thinks that he neither can write nor understand poetry. First attempts at writing result in "Brain's Empty". However, his teacher doesn't give up on him and soon, he is writing snippits of poems that hold a very personal story. First, he writes about a car, but doesn't want anyone to know that he was the one who penned the poems. As he slowly becomes more confident, he writes about his beloved dog, the fun that they had together, and, finally, the accident that takes his dog from him. His words are simple, but there would be few readers (including myself) who would not tear up as they read about the fate of Jack's dog.
As far as understanding poetry,Jack is initially not impressed with the genre. His reaction to Robert Frost's classic is "What was up with the snowy woods poem that you read in class?" Mrs. Stretchberry keeps introducing the works of other poets until Jack finds one that speaks to him - Mr. Walter Dean Meyers. Once Jack discovers Mr. Meyers - in his words, "the best, best, BEST" - a love of poetry is found. Meyer's work inspires Jack to expand his own poetry writing and, eventually, ask Mr. Meyers to come to his school.
Creech's book makes poetry accessible and interesting. She breaks down the idea that poetry is an unapproachable or esoteric genre by utilizing the simple words of a child and a story that nearly every person can relate to. She points out through the story that there are many kinds of poetry and many poets. Finding the style or poet that you love is the entrance point into enjoyment of poetry.
Creech's book would be a great addition the curriculum of a middle or upper elementary class that is starting a unit on poetry. It is a quick read (and may easily be done chorally in class, as demonstrated recently in our Children's Literature class) that will make students open to learning about and enjoying poetry.
Friday, October 12, 2012
The Arrow Finds Its Mark: A Book of Found Poems
The Arrow Finds Its Mark edited by Georgia Heard illustrated by Antoine Guilloppe
The Arrow Finds Its Mark is an anthology of poems that resulted from a challenge which asked poets to create a poem using already existing text ("found text") that was not currently in poem form. Authors found text in all manner of places, from Twitter to magazines, book titles to crossword puzzle clues. The editor's goal was to show readers that poetry can be found anywhere and that text may be manipulated in varying ways to create new meanings.
The poems were created out of ordinary text in a surprising number of ways. Each poem is introduced at the top of the page by a short statement of "Found by (poet's name) in (location of original text)" so that the reader has information on the original source of the text. Beyond that, the techniques widely vary. Many poets used the exact words that they found, but arranged them into lines and stanzas that give them meaning, as in "Marilynne's Montessori Memo". Another method used is to re-arrange the words found in a different order, as in "How to Write a Poem on Your Computer". The most interesting technique, in my opinion, is that of simply adding a title to the text. It is striking how a title can completely change the meaning of text. For instance, the author Laura Purdie Salas used this road sign text as the basis for her poem:
The Arrow Finds Its Mark is an anthology of poems that resulted from a challenge which asked poets to create a poem using already existing text ("found text") that was not currently in poem form. Authors found text in all manner of places, from Twitter to magazines, book titles to crossword puzzle clues. The editor's goal was to show readers that poetry can be found anywhere and that text may be manipulated in varying ways to create new meanings.
The poems were created out of ordinary text in a surprising number of ways. Each poem is introduced at the top of the page by a short statement of "Found by (poet's name) in (location of original text)" so that the reader has information on the original source of the text. Beyond that, the techniques widely vary. Many poets used the exact words that they found, but arranged them into lines and stanzas that give them meaning, as in "Marilynne's Montessori Memo". Another method used is to re-arrange the words found in a different order, as in "How to Write a Poem on Your Computer". The most interesting technique, in my opinion, is that of simply adding a title to the text. It is striking how a title can completely change the meaning of text. For instance, the author Laura Purdie Salas used this road sign text as the basis for her poem:
Red Squirrels
Drive Slowly
The only changes that she made were to eliminate the capital letters and to title the poem, "They Don't Want Speeding Tickets, So..." so that it appears as:
They Don't Want Speeding Tickets, So...
red squirrels
drive slowly
With that title (a seemingly very small addition), she has completely changed the meaning of the text.
I think that this book could be very effectively used in poetry units for grades 4th through 8th. Not only does it show that poetry may be found anywhere, but that words may be used in many ways other than what our mind first sees. For students who are having trouble with writing poetry, the techniques in which the poets almost use words as an artist would use paint may open their eyes to the flexibility of text and words.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Where the Sidewalk Ends By Shel Silverstein
For my first poetry choice, I decided to return to a collection from my childhood that has become a classic, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. As a child of the decade in which it was published, my initial reaction to the drawings and poems is an affectionate, "They are so 70s!" It was a time in which children were being urged to be themselves (anyone remember "Free to be You & Me"???) and that children's literature was moving away from the idealized stories and images of the 1950s and 60s. However, Silverstein's poems remain as relevant and engaging to students in 2012 as they did in 1979 when I discovered the book.
What is it that makes these poems so timelessly engaging to children? First of all, they are funny, imaginative, silly & ridiculous in a wonderful way that children love. Everyday actions and objects are twisted into crazy situations, such as the boy who watched so much TV that he actually turns into a TV in "Jimmy Jet and his TV Set". Silverstein knows just how to tickle a kid's funny bone with the gross out factor of "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Will Not Take the Garbage Out" while also creating poems that every kid can relate to such as "Sick", in which a child is terribly ill until he realizes that he doesn't have to go to school. Silverstein uses rhyme, alliteration, consonance and onomatopoeia to create a rhythm in each poem that stays in the reader's head. To this day, a July 4th does not pass without his poem "The Fourth" coming into my mind:
For my first poetry choice, I decided to return to a collection from my childhood that has become a classic, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. As a child of the decade in which it was published, my initial reaction to the drawings and poems is an affectionate, "They are so 70s!" It was a time in which children were being urged to be themselves (anyone remember "Free to be You & Me"???) and that children's literature was moving away from the idealized stories and images of the 1950s and 60s. However, Silverstein's poems remain as relevant and engaging to students in 2012 as they did in 1979 when I discovered the book.
What is it that makes these poems so timelessly engaging to children? First of all, they are funny, imaginative, silly & ridiculous in a wonderful way that children love. Everyday actions and objects are twisted into crazy situations, such as the boy who watched so much TV that he actually turns into a TV in "Jimmy Jet and his TV Set". Silverstein knows just how to tickle a kid's funny bone with the gross out factor of "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Will Not Take the Garbage Out" while also creating poems that every kid can relate to such as "Sick", in which a child is terribly ill until he realizes that he doesn't have to go to school. Silverstein uses rhyme, alliteration, consonance and onomatopoeia to create a rhythm in each poem that stays in the reader's head. To this day, a July 4th does not pass without his poem "The Fourth" coming into my mind:
Oh
CRASH!
my
BASH!
it's
BANG!
the
ZANG!
Fourth
WHOOSH!
of
BAROOM!
July
WHEW!
Not only does he use onomatopoeia that reminds the reader of every fireworks display that they have seen, but also creates a concrete image in the way that he has placed the words, which brings to mind a firecracker shooting to the sky (Tunnell et. al, 98).
I believe that what sets apart Silverstein's collection apart are the moments in which his poems urge readers to think or to break out of the norms of expected thought. In "Magic", he points out that "...the magic I have known/I've had to make myself". In "Colors", he challenges readers to look past outward appearances and discover the uniqueness of each soul. "Listen to the Mustn'ts" points out to the reader that, while the world may seem to be constantly saying no, possibilities are actually endless. By spreading his message of a world that is full of imagination, acceptance and possibilities in the form of poems that speak to children, he manages to avoid the heavy-handedness into which less effective children's literature may stray.
I think that Where the Sidewalk Ends would be wonderful for 2nd graders through adults :)
Work Cited: Tunnell, Michael O., Jacobs, James S., Young, Terrell A., Bryan, Gregory. Children's Literature, Briefly. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Persephone
Persephone by Sally Pomme Clayton Illustrated by Virginia Lee
I chose Persephone as the traditional story with which I was not familiar. Somehow, in my education, I missed many of the ancient Greek myths, which are an essential part of an educated person's knowledge. I've often been lost when references were made to such things as Pandora's box or the nature of pomegranate seeds. Having read Sally Pomme Clayton's version of Persephone, I am now familiar with one more influential Greek myth.
The story of Persephone follows a beautiful young girl who is kidnapped by the God of the Underworld, Hades. Her mother, Demeter, the Goddess of Earth, is distraught and puts the world into a period of cold and death as punishment for allowing her daughter to be taken to the Underworld. Zeus, God of the Sky, intervenes and demands that Persephone be returned to Earth immediately. Hades acquiesces, but only after convincing Persephone to eat 3 pomegranate seeds before her departure. Upon returning to Earth, Persephone learns that the pomegranate seeds were food of the dead that will force her to return to the Underworld for 3 months a year -- one month for every seed eaten. And thus, each time she returns to the Underworld, Mother Earth, Demeter, condemns the world to cold and death until the return of her daughter, which heralds spring.
Tunnell, Jacobs, Young and Bryan point out in their book Children's Literature: Briefly that "Myths grew out of early people's need to understand and explain the world around them and their own existence." The story of Persephone clearly is an explanation of the mysteries of the changing seasons and the cycle of life and death. The death and cold of winter is the Goddess' punishment to Earth as the summer is Earth's reward for the return of her daughter. Persephone becomes the symbol for life, the seeds of the pomegranate, for death. What is interesting is the context that Clayton brings with her source notes at the end of the book. She connects the story to both ancient and modern Greek life. In the note, she reveals that the story of Demeter, Persephone, and pomegranates symbolized renewal and the mystery of life to the ancient Greeks. In modern Greece, she tells us that pomegranates are used at New Years and weddings to bring good luck and happiness. Interestingly, they are also used at funerals to honor the dead.
The inclusion of this final note in the book is one of the two outstanding features of the book. It gives deeper meaning not only to the story but also to the way in which the story affected Greek culture. The second outstanding feature of the book is the illustrations. Virginia Lee created images that convey the fear of the kidnapping, the power of Zeus and the beauty of the Earth as Persephone returns and spring comes back to the world. One of my favorite images is that of Demeter bringing winter to Earth. She is shown sweeping her wide white cape over the land, using it to bring death to all plants and making all that it touches become gray. A small quibble that I have with the illustrations is that the details do not always match the text, a problem I also noticed in Gift of the Crocodile. For instance, Hades' chariot is described as golden, yet the painting shows it as black. While the general excellence of the paintings more than makes up for such mistakes, they do cause pause for the reader.
I think that this book would be excellent as an introduction to Greek myths, probably for grades 1 through 3.
I chose Persephone as the traditional story with which I was not familiar. Somehow, in my education, I missed many of the ancient Greek myths, which are an essential part of an educated person's knowledge. I've often been lost when references were made to such things as Pandora's box or the nature of pomegranate seeds. Having read Sally Pomme Clayton's version of Persephone, I am now familiar with one more influential Greek myth.
The story of Persephone follows a beautiful young girl who is kidnapped by the God of the Underworld, Hades. Her mother, Demeter, the Goddess of Earth, is distraught and puts the world into a period of cold and death as punishment for allowing her daughter to be taken to the Underworld. Zeus, God of the Sky, intervenes and demands that Persephone be returned to Earth immediately. Hades acquiesces, but only after convincing Persephone to eat 3 pomegranate seeds before her departure. Upon returning to Earth, Persephone learns that the pomegranate seeds were food of the dead that will force her to return to the Underworld for 3 months a year -- one month for every seed eaten. And thus, each time she returns to the Underworld, Mother Earth, Demeter, condemns the world to cold and death until the return of her daughter, which heralds spring.
Tunnell, Jacobs, Young and Bryan point out in their book Children's Literature: Briefly that "Myths grew out of early people's need to understand and explain the world around them and their own existence." The story of Persephone clearly is an explanation of the mysteries of the changing seasons and the cycle of life and death. The death and cold of winter is the Goddess' punishment to Earth as the summer is Earth's reward for the return of her daughter. Persephone becomes the symbol for life, the seeds of the pomegranate, for death. What is interesting is the context that Clayton brings with her source notes at the end of the book. She connects the story to both ancient and modern Greek life. In the note, she reveals that the story of Demeter, Persephone, and pomegranates symbolized renewal and the mystery of life to the ancient Greeks. In modern Greece, she tells us that pomegranates are used at New Years and weddings to bring good luck and happiness. Interestingly, they are also used at funerals to honor the dead.
The inclusion of this final note in the book is one of the two outstanding features of the book. It gives deeper meaning not only to the story but also to the way in which the story affected Greek culture. The second outstanding feature of the book is the illustrations. Virginia Lee created images that convey the fear of the kidnapping, the power of Zeus and the beauty of the Earth as Persephone returns and spring comes back to the world. One of my favorite images is that of Demeter bringing winter to Earth. She is shown sweeping her wide white cape over the land, using it to bring death to all plants and making all that it touches become gray. A small quibble that I have with the illustrations is that the details do not always match the text, a problem I also noticed in Gift of the Crocodile. For instance, Hades' chariot is described as golden, yet the painting shows it as black. While the general excellence of the paintings more than makes up for such mistakes, they do cause pause for the reader.
I think that this book would be excellent as an introduction to Greek myths, probably for grades 1 through 3.
The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story
The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story by Judy Sierra & Illustrated by Reynold Ruffins
I choose The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story as a traditional story which echos a European traditional story with which I am familiar.
The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story is set in the Spice Islands in Indonesia and follows what most Westerns will recognize as the "Cinderella Story". A lovely young woman named Damura mother dies and her father marries another woman. The new wife is quickly revealed to be evil and cruel, her daughter and herself treating Damura as a servant. While she is washing clothes in a river, a magical talking crocodile gives Damura a lovely silver sarong when her own is lost. When a dance given by a local prince is announced, her stepsister decides to wear the silver sarong as her own. Damura, sad because she will not be able to go to the dance with nothing to wear, goes to the crocodile who gives her a golden sarong and matching shoes. However, she must return home before the rooster crows. She attends the dance and enchants the prince, but must run away when the rooster crows. The prince's only clue to her identity is the golden shoe that she mistakenly leaves behind. With the shoe, he travels the land to find its owner, which, of course, is Damura. After they are re-united, they marry. Her stepmother and stepsister remain insanely jealous of Damura and throw her into the river to be eaten by a crocodile, hoping that the stepsister will become the prince's new love. When the magic crocodile hears of this, she orders the other crocodile to spit out Damura and to hunt down the stepmother and stepsister. Damura and the prince are re-united and the stepmother and stepsister are never heard from again.
The similarities to the Cinderella story with which I am familiar are clear. The basic story and characters could be taken right out of the Disney version (minus talking mice of course). The differences are in the setting and the end, in which the stepmother & stepsister try to kill the Cinderella-like character in a last-ditch attempt at "winning" the prince. Since they are so similar, I wondered if this book was an attempt at creation of multi-cultural literature that modern educators are seeking (Horning, 50) and not a traditional tale at all? However, on the last page of the book, the author has included an extensive source note which not only cites the source of the original story but also explains the background of the story and why there are so many similar "Cinderella" stories around the world. I found it very interesting that evidence shows that spice traders from Asia traveled around the globe, bringing with them stories from their own lands and those that they visited. Since the first recorded Cinderella story was from China, it is quite possible that this tale was re-told and re-interpreted in the countries on the spice trade routes and beyond. This does not refute the idea that similar tales sprung up due to the universality of human experience. The tale was so popular because of this very reason, which led to its endurance. The extensive source notes in this book are a good example of why their inclusion is so important in traditional tales.
Since this is an illustrated book, it is important to make a few observations on the images. The paintings are bright, with vivid colors portraying a tropical locale. Mood is conveyed through color and light. For instance, in the scene in which Damura's mother is on her deathbed, her mother's bed is surrounded by darkness. We know that death is near, but that the light shining on Damura and her mother symbolizes the importance of these last few moments together. The scenes by the river are often dark, conveying mystery and sometimes, danger. One issue with the illustrations is that some of the paintings do not convey the same message as the text. For instance, the first sarong that is given to Damura is described as silver. In the painting, the sarong is blue. While this is not a huge difference, it does contradict the idea of illustrations supporting and further conveying the text. When they contradict one another, it is almost as if the illustrator hasn't read the text.
This book would be a wonderful read-aloud to support multi-cultural stories or a unit on folklore, in particular if the source information is shared with students. I believe that it is particularly well suited to primary grade students.
Source: Horning, Kathleen T. From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books. New York: Collins, 2010. Print.
I choose The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story as a traditional story which echos a European traditional story with which I am familiar.
The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story is set in the Spice Islands in Indonesia and follows what most Westerns will recognize as the "Cinderella Story". A lovely young woman named Damura mother dies and her father marries another woman. The new wife is quickly revealed to be evil and cruel, her daughter and herself treating Damura as a servant. While she is washing clothes in a river, a magical talking crocodile gives Damura a lovely silver sarong when her own is lost. When a dance given by a local prince is announced, her stepsister decides to wear the silver sarong as her own. Damura, sad because she will not be able to go to the dance with nothing to wear, goes to the crocodile who gives her a golden sarong and matching shoes. However, she must return home before the rooster crows. She attends the dance and enchants the prince, but must run away when the rooster crows. The prince's only clue to her identity is the golden shoe that she mistakenly leaves behind. With the shoe, he travels the land to find its owner, which, of course, is Damura. After they are re-united, they marry. Her stepmother and stepsister remain insanely jealous of Damura and throw her into the river to be eaten by a crocodile, hoping that the stepsister will become the prince's new love. When the magic crocodile hears of this, she orders the other crocodile to spit out Damura and to hunt down the stepmother and stepsister. Damura and the prince are re-united and the stepmother and stepsister are never heard from again.
The similarities to the Cinderella story with which I am familiar are clear. The basic story and characters could be taken right out of the Disney version (minus talking mice of course). The differences are in the setting and the end, in which the stepmother & stepsister try to kill the Cinderella-like character in a last-ditch attempt at "winning" the prince. Since they are so similar, I wondered if this book was an attempt at creation of multi-cultural literature that modern educators are seeking (Horning, 50) and not a traditional tale at all? However, on the last page of the book, the author has included an extensive source note which not only cites the source of the original story but also explains the background of the story and why there are so many similar "Cinderella" stories around the world. I found it very interesting that evidence shows that spice traders from Asia traveled around the globe, bringing with them stories from their own lands and those that they visited. Since the first recorded Cinderella story was from China, it is quite possible that this tale was re-told and re-interpreted in the countries on the spice trade routes and beyond. This does not refute the idea that similar tales sprung up due to the universality of human experience. The tale was so popular because of this very reason, which led to its endurance. The extensive source notes in this book are a good example of why their inclusion is so important in traditional tales.
Since this is an illustrated book, it is important to make a few observations on the images. The paintings are bright, with vivid colors portraying a tropical locale. Mood is conveyed through color and light. For instance, in the scene in which Damura's mother is on her deathbed, her mother's bed is surrounded by darkness. We know that death is near, but that the light shining on Damura and her mother symbolizes the importance of these last few moments together. The scenes by the river are often dark, conveying mystery and sometimes, danger. One issue with the illustrations is that some of the paintings do not convey the same message as the text. For instance, the first sarong that is given to Damura is described as silver. In the painting, the sarong is blue. While this is not a huge difference, it does contradict the idea of illustrations supporting and further conveying the text. When they contradict one another, it is almost as if the illustrator hasn't read the text.
This book would be a wonderful read-aloud to support multi-cultural stories or a unit on folklore, in particular if the source information is shared with students. I believe that it is particularly well suited to primary grade students.
Source: Horning, Kathleen T. From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books. New York: Collins, 2010. Print.
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood - Retold and Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
1984 Caldecott Honor Book
When selecting traditional stories to read (folktales, myths, legends, etc), I decided to choose one story with which I was familiar, one that I was not and a familiar story which has variations in many cultures. For the story with which I am familiar, I choose Trina Schart Hyman's version of Little Red Riding Hood.
The reason that I selected this version of the story was my immediate reaction to the illustrations. The watercolor images are lush, highly detailed and provide the perfect Old World atmosphere to the book. Each page is framed by a boxed border featuring flowers, small prints and quilt blocks, similar to the details that one would find on European Country style furniture and illustrations, lending a sense of place and history to the story.
Details in the paintings are wonderful. Little Red Riding Hood is shown as quite small in comparison to the adults, portraying her as very young (maybe 4 or 5, as opposed to the characterization of her being around 12 that I've seen in other versions). We know that she is very young not just from her size, but the details of the images of her. Her feet are often shown turned in or awkwardly placed, as if she is uncertain and unconfident. The artist shows her with wide, innocent eyes and sometimes, with a finger in her mouth. The reader knows from these details that this is a person who will be easily taken in and will not be able to defend herself.
We also know that the wolf is an evil character from our first sighting of him. While the rest of the illustrations are bright and full, the wolf is gray and lean, a stark contrast. Little Red Riding Hood does not recognize him as bad immediately, however. She is shown as watching him with big eyes which are focused on him, showing her as entranced by him. He easily strays her from her path to Grandmas by mentioning the flowers of the forest. When she goes to pick flowers, he dashes off to Grandma's and, before Grandma knows what is happening, he eats her whole.
As Little Red Riding Hood approaches the cottage, she knows that something is the matter. Everything in the house looks fine (as we see from the illustrations), but, as the text and her eyes tell us, something is not. As she asks Grandma about the changes in her appearance, her hand is to her mouth and one foot is stepping backwards. Before she can act on her fright, she also is eaten whole. Luckily, the huntsman comes along and rescues both of them from the wolf. The huntsman is painted as huge, at least a foot and a half taller than Grandma, as would be appropriate for a savior.
The story is much how I remember it, though I now recognize the features that make it a classic folktale. The world of the story is magical, in which animals talk and a large wolf can eat a whole person in one bite (and they escape unscathed!). There is also a moral element to the story - none of this would have happened if Little Red Riding Hood had only listened to her mother and not strayed from her journey to Grandma's house. In the future, she will listen to her mother. However, she finds comfort that, through the entire ordeal, she remembered her manners!
In Kathleen Horning's book on Children's Literature, From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books, she points out that there is a great deal of variation in the degree to which original sources are credited in adaptations of traditional stories. Keeping this in mind, I noted that the only credit given to a previous source is on the copyright page, in the Library of Congress headings that list "Grimm, Jacob. 1785-1863. Rotkappchen." This is unfortunate, as I believe that it is greatly helpful to know the background of the original story. While I've read Little Red Riding Hood previously, I do not know what the original story contained. Are the versions that I've read (including this one) softened, Americanized or otherwise changed for marketing reasons? It would be useful to be able to make a judgement using the original story as a baseline.
1984 Caldecott Honor Book
When selecting traditional stories to read (folktales, myths, legends, etc), I decided to choose one story with which I was familiar, one that I was not and a familiar story which has variations in many cultures. For the story with which I am familiar, I choose Trina Schart Hyman's version of Little Red Riding Hood.
The reason that I selected this version of the story was my immediate reaction to the illustrations. The watercolor images are lush, highly detailed and provide the perfect Old World atmosphere to the book. Each page is framed by a boxed border featuring flowers, small prints and quilt blocks, similar to the details that one would find on European Country style furniture and illustrations, lending a sense of place and history to the story.
Details in the paintings are wonderful. Little Red Riding Hood is shown as quite small in comparison to the adults, portraying her as very young (maybe 4 or 5, as opposed to the characterization of her being around 12 that I've seen in other versions). We know that she is very young not just from her size, but the details of the images of her. Her feet are often shown turned in or awkwardly placed, as if she is uncertain and unconfident. The artist shows her with wide, innocent eyes and sometimes, with a finger in her mouth. The reader knows from these details that this is a person who will be easily taken in and will not be able to defend herself.
We also know that the wolf is an evil character from our first sighting of him. While the rest of the illustrations are bright and full, the wolf is gray and lean, a stark contrast. Little Red Riding Hood does not recognize him as bad immediately, however. She is shown as watching him with big eyes which are focused on him, showing her as entranced by him. He easily strays her from her path to Grandmas by mentioning the flowers of the forest. When she goes to pick flowers, he dashes off to Grandma's and, before Grandma knows what is happening, he eats her whole.
As Little Red Riding Hood approaches the cottage, she knows that something is the matter. Everything in the house looks fine (as we see from the illustrations), but, as the text and her eyes tell us, something is not. As she asks Grandma about the changes in her appearance, her hand is to her mouth and one foot is stepping backwards. Before she can act on her fright, she also is eaten whole. Luckily, the huntsman comes along and rescues both of them from the wolf. The huntsman is painted as huge, at least a foot and a half taller than Grandma, as would be appropriate for a savior.
The story is much how I remember it, though I now recognize the features that make it a classic folktale. The world of the story is magical, in which animals talk and a large wolf can eat a whole person in one bite (and they escape unscathed!). There is also a moral element to the story - none of this would have happened if Little Red Riding Hood had only listened to her mother and not strayed from her journey to Grandma's house. In the future, she will listen to her mother. However, she finds comfort that, through the entire ordeal, she remembered her manners!
In Kathleen Horning's book on Children's Literature, From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books, she points out that there is a great deal of variation in the degree to which original sources are credited in adaptations of traditional stories. Keeping this in mind, I noted that the only credit given to a previous source is on the copyright page, in the Library of Congress headings that list "Grimm, Jacob. 1785-1863. Rotkappchen." This is unfortunate, as I believe that it is greatly helpful to know the background of the original story. While I've read Little Red Riding Hood previously, I do not know what the original story contained. Are the versions that I've read (including this one) softened, Americanized or otherwise changed for marketing reasons? It would be useful to be able to make a judgement using the original story as a baseline.
Monday, September 24, 2012
See Me Run
See Me Run by Paul Meisel
2012 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book
I will give an honest first impression of See Me Run -- in comparison with other award winning books that I've read, this book is not as impressive. It is not a bad story for very young readers, but (to me) lacks the creativity of other award winners.
Having said that, this book does exhibit many of the characteristics that move forward a good picture book story. The first thing that strikes the reader is the vivid color of the pictures. We know that this story is going to be exciting and fun. It is an outdoor adventure -- the fresh colors indicate a spring or summer day.
There is a lot of movement in the pictures. The dogs "come and come", not just shown running, but actually flying over the hill. Also, we know that they are going fast, by the dogs outstretched legs and lines showing air movement. We know that this is going to be fun & that these dogs are excited! The dogs are shown "smiling", with their tongues hanging out -- we know that they are having lots of fun.
The scene with the mud puddle/lake is one sure to make young kids giggle, with the dogs splashing in the mud, getting thoroughly dirty, followed by "we need a bath" on the next page, in which they clean off in a stream, including one scarf-wearing pup doing the backstroke. This scene is a particularly fun one, in the details such as aforementioned backstroking dog, a beagle who is chasing a fish and several dogs who are doing the dog classic full-body shake.
The fun comes to a sudden stop when the dogs dig up a dinosaur! Their shock is clearly shown in their rounded eyes and sniffing noses -- echoing the text "What is this?" This is one of the strengths of the book -- the way that the pictures clearly support the words, allowing greater comprehension for beginning readers.
This book would be very good for pre-K to 1st grade. Beginning readers will not only enjoy the fun pictures but will also gain confidence by being able to read the simple text.
2012 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book
I will give an honest first impression of See Me Run -- in comparison with other award winning books that I've read, this book is not as impressive. It is not a bad story for very young readers, but (to me) lacks the creativity of other award winners.
Having said that, this book does exhibit many of the characteristics that move forward a good picture book story. The first thing that strikes the reader is the vivid color of the pictures. We know that this story is going to be exciting and fun. It is an outdoor adventure -- the fresh colors indicate a spring or summer day.
There is a lot of movement in the pictures. The dogs "come and come", not just shown running, but actually flying over the hill. Also, we know that they are going fast, by the dogs outstretched legs and lines showing air movement. We know that this is going to be fun & that these dogs are excited! The dogs are shown "smiling", with their tongues hanging out -- we know that they are having lots of fun.
The scene with the mud puddle/lake is one sure to make young kids giggle, with the dogs splashing in the mud, getting thoroughly dirty, followed by "we need a bath" on the next page, in which they clean off in a stream, including one scarf-wearing pup doing the backstroke. This scene is a particularly fun one, in the details such as aforementioned backstroking dog, a beagle who is chasing a fish and several dogs who are doing the dog classic full-body shake.
The fun comes to a sudden stop when the dogs dig up a dinosaur! Their shock is clearly shown in their rounded eyes and sniffing noses -- echoing the text "What is this?" This is one of the strengths of the book -- the way that the pictures clearly support the words, allowing greater comprehension for beginning readers.
This book would be very good for pre-K to 1st grade. Beginning readers will not only enjoy the fun pictures but will also gain confidence by being able to read the simple text.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Me...Jane
Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell
2012 Caldecott Honor Award
Me...Jane is a wonderful book full of lovely, sweet paintings that reminds us that all great icons were once children who had a dream. Patrick McConnell uses a combination of his own paintings (based upon Jane Goodall's recollections of her childhood), detailed nature plates and Goodall's own childhood nature drawings to bring alive the wonder of nature that sparked Goodall's lifelong passion.
Through the scale and composition of the paintings, nature is shown as real, immediate and an important feature of young Jane's life, not merely the backdrop of her life. Jane is shown as approximately the same size as elements of nature such as animals, making nature and her seem equal and part of one whole. It is clear that the natural world is truly Jane's life force from the earliest age.
The drawings of her beloved chimp doll, Jubilee, are particularly wonderful. Jubilee is consistently shown as approximately the same size as Jane, with life-like expressions, showing that Jubilee is truly Jane's best companion and friends. It reminds me of the Calvin & Hobbes cartoons, in which Hobbes only comes to life in Calvin's presence. As with Calvin and Hobbes, Jubilee is as real to Jane as any human friend. This establishes for the reader Goodall's state of mind, in which she respects and connects to chimps in the way for which she became famous as an adult.
On one of the last pages, McDonnell very effectively switches from his paintings to a photo of young Goodall with chimp -- from fantasy to reality -- as if to say, dreams really can come true.
The text of the book is simple but effective. Words such as "magical, joy, dreamed and curious" create a little girl full of love for the world and aspirations to live her life investigating its wonders. One of my favorite parts is the section in which Jane "...would lay her cheek against its (tree) trunk and seem to feel the sap flowing beneath the bark. Jane could feel her own heart beating, beating, beating." (pp 19-21) It is as if Jane and the tree are part of the same life force. As an adult reading this, it is remarkable to know that Goodall had this connection at such a young age.
I think that this would be appropriate for children in many ranges, from pre-school children who would appreciate the lovely paintings and sweet story, to older children who will not only appreciate the story, but will understand the theme about dreams coming true.
2012 Caldecott Honor Award
Me...Jane is a wonderful book full of lovely, sweet paintings that reminds us that all great icons were once children who had a dream. Patrick McConnell uses a combination of his own paintings (based upon Jane Goodall's recollections of her childhood), detailed nature plates and Goodall's own childhood nature drawings to bring alive the wonder of nature that sparked Goodall's lifelong passion.
Through the scale and composition of the paintings, nature is shown as real, immediate and an important feature of young Jane's life, not merely the backdrop of her life. Jane is shown as approximately the same size as elements of nature such as animals, making nature and her seem equal and part of one whole. It is clear that the natural world is truly Jane's life force from the earliest age.
The drawings of her beloved chimp doll, Jubilee, are particularly wonderful. Jubilee is consistently shown as approximately the same size as Jane, with life-like expressions, showing that Jubilee is truly Jane's best companion and friends. It reminds me of the Calvin & Hobbes cartoons, in which Hobbes only comes to life in Calvin's presence. As with Calvin and Hobbes, Jubilee is as real to Jane as any human friend. This establishes for the reader Goodall's state of mind, in which she respects and connects to chimps in the way for which she became famous as an adult.
On one of the last pages, McDonnell very effectively switches from his paintings to a photo of young Goodall with chimp -- from fantasy to reality -- as if to say, dreams really can come true.
The text of the book is simple but effective. Words such as "magical, joy, dreamed and curious" create a little girl full of love for the world and aspirations to live her life investigating its wonders. One of my favorite parts is the section in which Jane "...would lay her cheek against its (tree) trunk and seem to feel the sap flowing beneath the bark. Jane could feel her own heart beating, beating, beating." (pp 19-21) It is as if Jane and the tree are part of the same life force. As an adult reading this, it is remarkable to know that Goodall had this connection at such a young age.
I think that this would be appropriate for children in many ranges, from pre-school children who would appreciate the lovely paintings and sweet story, to older children who will not only appreciate the story, but will understand the theme about dreams coming true.
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