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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
ISBN: 9781599900704
Rapunzel lives a quiet life behind the walls of the castle with her mother, Gothel. One day, bored of everything and dying with curiosity to know what is behind the wall, she disobeys her mother and finds a way over the wall. What she finds is a barren land and a line of dingy people waiting to get water from a well. One of the people, a woman, looks familiar. Rapunzel realizes that this woman is her real mother and that Gothel had taken her from her real family. When Gothel finds out she's discovered all this, she has Rapunzel placed in a large tree tower with no way down, located miles and miles from the castle. There she stayed for four years until one day her hair has grown long enough for her to lasso a neighboring tree to swing herself over. She journeys back to the castle, meeting Jack and his golden goose and other wronged citizens of the land on her way. Then, as all fairy tales must end, she defeats Gothel and liberates the whole kingdom.
An interesting take on the Rapunzel tale, this version features a wild west quality about it; with Rapunzel wearing a cowgirl outfit and using her hair as lassos. Even the dialect of the story carries that western twang. Perhaps the most interesting twist in the story itself is that Rapunzel, instead of waiting around to be rescued, gets herself out of the tree, and even passes a pseudo Prince Charming on his way to rescue/take advantage of her.
As a graphic novel, the colors are vibrant and the drawings are excellently suited to the story. Nathan Hale does an especially good job of bringing the landscapes to life. The arrangement of the panels remains dynamic enough not to bore the reader while also remaining easy to determine the direction to follow to continue the story.
Rife with humor, adventure, and a little romance, this book is recommended for readers 6th grade and up. Also recommended for those who like altered fairy tales, especially ones where the helpless maiden is transformed into a butt-kicking heroine.
Image taken from: http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/h1/h8093.jpg
ISBN: 9781600610707
The Zombie Apocalypse has come and for one guy, he's about to join the zombie population. Chris Lynch finds this poetry journal in the detached hand of a zombie who's just bitten him. He has time before the change to scribble a note in the first few pages detailing what happened to him. The reader then goes on to read the journal of the original owner, who liked to describe his day in haiku. The journal's owner continues to write haiku even after he has turned into a zombie, giving the reader poetic detail even as he eats his own mother's brains.
If gross humor is the way to a young adults heart, then this is the book for them. Each page of the book is filled with two to four haiku, that is each poem is three lines long with alternating 5-7-5 syllables in each line. Each page of the book is also filled with bloody fingerprints, photos of decaying zombies, and unidentified green goo. As the poems begin with a man who is still alive, the reader gets the fun of anticipating what's going to happen as the man is puzzled when "Beth from accounting, is just sitting in her car, eating spaghetti." Yeah, that's not spaghetti. Then the reader is treated to the introspective thoughts of what zombies do think about, eating brains and losing body parts. The frame story of the man who finds the poetry journal adds a second layer of fun. He begins by telling his story and at the end he knows he's going to turn into a zombie, and he apparently keeps writing through the transition as he says he loves his wife and he wants to eat her brains.
As before, gross humor and violence. Not to mention the illustrations, while definitely enhancing the book, would make me hesitate to put this into hands younger than high school. However, for the age appropriate audience, this book has a lot of potential to show young adults that poetry is not always stodgy, classical, or deep.
Image taken from: http://www.metroactive.com/metro/07.30.08/gifs/Books_Zombie.jpg
Monday, December 6, 2010
ISBN: 9780375714573
Satrapi illustrates the story of her life growing up in Iran from 1979 - to around 1984 while she was ages 9 - 14. The Islamic Revolution took place in 1979 and Satrapi begins the graphic novel with the immediate effect it had on her life: that schools must be gender separated and girls must start wearing the veil. What follows is the story of a young girl trying to make sense of the changes going on around her, learning who to look up to as a hero, facing bombings and death, and trying to come to terms with a God who allows such things to take place.
The illustrations in this graphic novel are done in a stark black and white. But far from lacking the vivacity of color illustrations, Satrapi's artwork comes to life with the use of patterns for textures and inking the negative space in most of the panels to make the people in them stand out more and overall setting a darker tone to the work.
The story manages to balance placing the reader into this vastly different world from America, yet makes it easy to put ourselves in Marjane's shoes as she reacts to the events going on around her. There comes a point in our lives where we are either think our parents are heroes for what they do or we are humiliated because our parents do not meet some societal ideal of heroic. For Marjane, she thinks her father's not a hero because he was not imprisoned and tortured.
Teens will enjoy this window into growing up in a very different country and may be surprised at the similarities they find between how Marjane thinks and how they do. There are many violent scenes and implied violence, but when you consider that Satrapi lived through these scenes and that she probably withheld even more violent ones, I think you'll find this graphic novel young adult appropriate. Recommended for 9th grade up.
Image taken from: http://iranpersepolis.wikispaces.com/file/view/persepolis_cover_big.jpg/32579625/persepolis_cover_big.jpg
Monday, November 22, 2010
ISBN: 0060502517
In this meandering biography, Crutcher lays bare stories from his childhood. He grew up in a small town in Idaho, where it was impossible not to be noticed. He tells of being a mediocre athlete in a place where everyone was expected to participate in all sports. In between laughs, we learn of his inability to control himself when he is angry, and his theory behind why that is so. We learn of his experience with religion and God, his family, and of revelations he's had about his childhood now that he's grown and studied psychology, and his realization of what truly makes someone a hero.
Having never read a novel of Chris Crutcher's this reviewer is at a disadvantage to point out what childhood stories Crutcher drew upon for his novels or how much of himself is inserted into each of his stories. Judging from this biography, I'm certain that many of his characters share his acerbic wit and short temperament. That said, the stories of childhood that King of the Mild Frontier is filled with are both funny and insightful to the experiences, good and bad, that have formed this person Chris Crutcher.
The timeline of the story changes from chapter to chapter, placing the reader when Crutcher was 6 at one moment and in high school the next. I will not call this a disadvantage of the book because I'm sure some readers will enjoy the plotting, but I will say that at times it took me a moment to catch up to what was going on.
Teens will read this book because it is easy to identify with the trials of high school, athletics, girls, and family (especially older siblings). Each humiliating event after the other, from getting shot in the head with a BB gun to getting his teeth busted by a baseball bat will make teens cringe and laugh. They will keep reading because Crutcher's style makes each story hilarious. And when they finish they will have gleaned the wisdom that a hero is not simply some great athlete, but everyday people who manage to overcome a real problem and spend every day using all their strength to keep overcoming those obstacles. For a genre that is hard to persuade most teens to read, this book gives teachers and librarians something to work with. Recommended for readers in high school.
Image taken from: http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/2/9780060502492.jpg
ISBN: 9780547237602
As the only student in his class not to have religious instruction on Wednesday afternoons, Holling Hoodhood was all that stood between Mrs. Baker and an afternoon off. For that reason he knows that she's out to get him. Enlisting the help of his parents is impossible. His father places business over everything and expects Holling to not cause any trouble that may damage their reputation. It's 1967 and there's a war going on in Vietnam, on college campuses across America, and in the Hoodhood household between Hollings parents and his sister, Heather. After a few rough Wednesdays in which chalk dust ruins some dessert, and two killer rats are set loose, Holling and Mrs. Baker settle in to reading Shakespeare each week, ultimately creating a rapport that guides Holling through life's obstacles and gives Mrs. Baker, whose husband is away at war, something to focus on.
For people in America today who feel unaffected by what's going on in the world, this novel does of great job of showing how major world events can affect every family in even the smallest neighborhood. The Vietnam war has not only taken the husbands of women like Mrs. Baker, it has also brought children like Mai Thi, a Vietnamese orphan, to America where she periodically experiences prejudice and cruelty. The unrest in the country divided households like Holling's as his sister followed the 'flower child' political view despite the disapproval and disgust of their father. Essentially, Schmidt brings us to 1967 and makes us feel as though we've now lived through part of it.
Also well done in this story is the coming of age transformation of Holling. Each month, each play, each major event and decision he makes lead him to exchange between him and his father in which they debate what makes a man a man, and his father asks the question, "so who are you Holling?" The reply is that he doesn't know yet, but you can be sure that whoever he turns out to be, he will have chosen that path for himself.
Each chapter of this book represents the events of one month, giving readers not as strong as others good places to leave off. The story is continuous, but each month is dominated by a major theme or event, such as Holling's relationship with Meryl Lee, or Holling joining the track team. Each set of events in Holling's life also mimic the Shakespeare plays he is reading with Mrs. Baker, making this novel a better read for high school students who've been exposed to Shakespeare.
Image taken from: http://www.melissacwalker.com/blog/wednesday%20wars.jpg
ISBN: 9780375831003
Three times death notices Liesel Meminger as he completes his never ending work of collecting the souls of the dead during World War II. The third time, he rescues from the garbage a hand written book titled The Book Thief; the writing of which saved Liesel's life. Liesel and her brother are sent to live with the Hubermanns as foster children. Her brother dies on the train ride there and is buried in the snow. One of the grave diggers drops a book, which Liesel takes even though she cannot yet read. In the Hubermanns she finds loving, if strange, parents. Rosa's words are often sharp, though the tone betrays her love. Hans is kind to a fault, which causes much difficulty under a Nazi regime. With Hans she learns to read the book she has stolen, a guide to grave digging, and soon hungers for more books to devour. Stealing books from the Mayor's wife with her best friend and cheering up the Jew hidden in the basement color Liesel's days until one day, as Death is not afraid to tell you, a lot of people die, though not Liesel because she was in the basement writing her book.
The narration of this story is the most excellently done aspect. Personifying death as someone who likes to notice colors and must perpetually take vacations in his mind to escape all the suffering he sees somehow makes humans bent on destruction and people living in pain seem more frightening than he is. Also well done are his frequent interjections with either: a note, or a definition, or explanation, or description of something in the story. Typically such exposition must be worked in by the main character or inferred in the description somewhere, but having death flat out explain that BDM stands for the Band of German Girls saves the reader some trouble.
Another thing excellently done and essential to the success of the book is that the author brings each and every character to life. Death makes very clear that most of these people are doomed to die but when it actually happens it is still surprisingly heartbreaking because the reader has come to care for the silly boy next door who only wants a kiss from Liesel. This is also important because it humanizes Germans living in Nazi Germany. Many times it is easy to believe that all Germans were inhuman automatons, and this book reminds us that there were real people with opposing view points just trying to survive and help their friends do the same.
This book is on the long side at 550 pages, but I think teens will remain hooked in the story as they read to find out the fate of Max, the Jew being hidden in the Hubermann's basement, or of Hans when he is sent off to war or to see if Liesel ever gives in and kisses Rudy. I would recommend this to readers 8th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://www.itsallwrite.net/aspbite_protect/imagemod/00000521_the%20book%20thief.jpg
Monday, November 8, 2010
ISBN 9780439023511
In the concluding novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss finds herself a refugee in District 13, previously thought to be devoid of all life. As a survivor of two Hunger Games and devastated by the capture of Peeta, Katniss is understandably troubled by nightmares and hallucinations commonly found in post traumatic stress patients. Across the districts all out war has commenced, with 13 doing everything in their power to prosecute the war all the way to the capital, including trying to recruit Katniss to film inspiring Mockingjay propaganda videos to spur on troops. Katniss is distrustful of 13, especially Alma Coin, the president. What follows in this book is an epic sized Hunger Games on a grand scale, with Katniss being used as a pawn by both sides of the fight. In the end Katniss' troubles all seem for naught, and as a woman with everything she loved stripped from her, makes the decision to kill the new President Coin to avoid a repeat of the same society she was fighting against.
Collins has already proven that she is not afraid of depictions of violence to children in this series and that trend continues here. Interestingly she does shy away from describing in detail the sexual perversions done to Finnick, and I wonder that she included it at all since the violence of the regime was quite enough to have me against President Snow.
This past September a Booklist reviewer said that this book shows, "that war mixes all the slogans and justifications, the deceptions and plans, the causes and ideals into an unsavory stew whose taste brings madness. That there is still a human spirit yearning for good is the book's primrose of hope." Dystopian novels work well for teens because they are supposedly not yet cynical about the world, that teens still have hope. That hope in this novel seems very obscure and hard to find for me. Or perhaps it is just that Katniss, after having hope for the whole series, seems to lose it after she kills Coin. By killing Coin she's expressing one last hope that their society can and will do better. She retreats to a simple life with Peeta and takes many years of convincing to bring children into the world. I guess frankly I was disappointed that the ending was so dismal. The ending did bring to mind the "cultivate your garden" message in Voltaire's Candide.
Each chapter is packed with either heart-rending or heart-stopping action that will have teens flying through the novel in no time. Due to the graphic violence of the novel though I'd only recommend it for mature teens in 9th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://www.bookpage.com/the-book-case/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/mockingjay.jpg
ISBN 978-0689865381
In this futuristic world everyone is made pretty on their sixteenth birthday using extreme nip / tuck methods. Tally's birthday is at the end of the summer, leaving behind while all of her friends are having fun in New Pretty Town. Then she meets Shay, who has the same birthday as Tally. The week before their birthdays, Shay tells Tally she's running away to the Smoke and invites Tally. Tally refuses to give up becoming pretty. Then on Tally's birthday, Special Circumstances gives Tally a choice, find and spy on the runaway uglies or remain ugly forever. Tally reluctantly agrees and makes the long and dangerous voyage to the Smoke. There she finds that she can adapt to this sort of lifestyle, learns what really happens when someone is made pretty and decides to join the Smoke permanently. However, her symbolic act of destroying the pendant communicator given to her by Special Circumstances actually sets it off and the Smoke is raided. After the rescue of most of the captives, Tally volunteers to be a guinea pig for one of the Smoke's scientists in order to discover a way to fix what is done when one is made pretty.
I found the reasons behind the dystopian society in this novel a little obscure. It is mentioned a few times that the Rusties were wasteful and neglected resources, but no real explanation for making everyone pretty and stupid is forthcoming. I am hoping it is further expanded upon in later books in the series.
I thought that the twist to the coming of age story was interesting. Normally a rite of passage makes you more mature, wiser, and accepts the teen into adult society. Here the rite of passage accepts the teen into adult society, but it actually makes them dumber and therefore more compliant. Therefore in this story the teen has to reject the accepted rite of passage in order to become an intelligent adult.
One reviewer from VOYA in June of 2005 felt that the "story loses momentum describing Shay and Tally's lives as Uglies, Tally's wilderness trek, and the society in the Smoke, making the narrative frustratingly heavy with detail," and that "the book cuts off at a key point." I disagree with this reviewer. I think the details of the technology like the hover boards will keep interest and the details of the Pretties society is needed to give a good contrast to the rebel culture of the smoke. As for the book cutting off at a key point, I think that ending tied up all the plot points brought up by this novel and set up very well for the beginning of the second. The idea of testing an actual cure for the dumbed down pretty is not brought up during the course of the novel but only discussed at the end, therefore Tally's volunteering to become a pretty is a good cliff hanger for the next book.
The length of this novel may be daunting to reluctant readers or younger ones, so I'd recommend it to 8th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://readthisnow.pbworks.com/f/1196693274/uglies.jpg
ISBN 0689824750
In the not so distant future, food supply is such a dire problem that the government has limited families to two children per family. Luke was born at a time when the consequences of having a third child were not as steep. Before, he the woods around his home gave him the freedom to do chores and play outside. But now the government has developed that land into a suburb for Barons. Luke is confined to the attic to be sure that no one sees him or even suspects that he exists. His whole world limited to the attic, dinner on the stairs to the attic, a few books he's read over a hundred times, and an air vent that gives him a view of the Baron neighborhood. Once day he spies a child's face peering out of a window on a house he knows had two children already out for the day. Once he gathers up his courage, he goes over and meets Jen and learns that he's one of many shadow children in the world. When the rally for freedom planned by Jen ends in bloodshed, Luke gets the opportunity to get a fake I.D. and another life. But what will he do with this new found freedom?
Among the Hidden is the beginning of a series about shadow children, or children born after the second child. As a first book in the series, the story spends much of its time setting up the world in which it set. We learn through the hardships of Luke's family and through Luke's imprisonment that the government is a strict and often uncaring and unfair leadership. We learn though Jen's rather more relaxed form of imprisonment, (thought not by much) that the government isn't perfect in discovering shadow children and that some officials can be bribed.
What impressed me most about this book is the potential for the growth of Luke's character. In this book he is too frightened to join the rally but sees the sense in shadow children uniting and asserting their freedom. The death of his friend Jen and the opportunity to leave his family with a fake I.D. to get an education are going to be major catalysts in the reasons and ways he goes about taking up the cause for shadow children everywhere. As a reviewer for School Library Journal noted in September 1998, "the loss of free will is the fundamental theme of an exciting and compelling story of one young person defying authority and the odds to make a difference." Luke's journey to becoming that one person to defy authority and beat the odds is sure to be a fantastic read.
The book is easily read and the shorter chapters make it accessible to reluctant readers. Once kids finish this first novel they will be begging for the rest of the series to find out what happens to Luke. Recommended for Middle School readers.
Image taken from: http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n5/n25124.jpg
Monday, October 25, 2010
ISBN 9780061433016
A tsunami devastates the island Nation and leaves the shipwrecked Sweet Judy washed far ashore. Mau, who had been away from the island performing the ritual to become a man, is now the only survivor of his tribe, and he is stuck in the limbo between boyhood and manhood. Daphne, the only survivor of the Sweet Judy, is unaware that she is also one of the last of her family, as the hundred or so people who needed to die in order for her father to inherit the crown have all in fact died in a plague that swept England. Together, these two must bind together and learn how to start over when everything has been taken away. Taking care of the strangers that appear periodically on the island and fighting off raiders, together everyone forms a new Nation.
This novel contains every conflict that can exist in a novel. Man versus man, man versus nature, man versus self, man versus maker, man versus society. Pratchett really makes us question what one should do when simply everything one knows is stripped away. Instead of turning the Nation into an island of boys gone mad like Golding, Pratchett gives us Mau, who gives rights to the dead, focuses on the things he needs to survive, and who defies the gods that demand he act in ways that he sees no reason in. He also gives us Daphne, who while also trying to find her way also, amusingly at times, tries to cling to the standards of British society. Readers will smile at the absurdity of having a dead man as a chaperone.
Readers of Pratchett's Discworld series will recognize the wit and humor that must pervade all of his novels. Particularly funny are the regurgitating Grandfather birds and the Monty Python-esque Gentlemen of Last Resort. But more than witty, readers will be challenged to think on the relationship between God and Man, on science, on what really constitutes a civilized society, and on who you really are when all things are stripped away. As one reviewer for VOYA put it in 2008, "There is a lot going on in the novel-this reviewer could not help feeling as if she were missing something-but there is something to be said for Pratchett's respect for the young reader whom he imagines can keep up with and find pleasure in the difficult worlds he creates." Recommended for 9th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://guyslitwire.blogspot.com/2008/09/book-review-nation-by-terry-pratchett.html
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter
0 comments Posted by Samantha S. at 8:37 PM
ISBN 9781423100042
Cammie Morgan attends a very prestigious private school. But she's not just learning the basic geometry and biology. She's also learning how to run undercover operations, how to speak most of the languages on the planet, and how to hack into fire walled computer systems. This school is churning out the next generation of great spies. One night while out on a graded track and observe mission, Cammie the Chameleon, known for being great at being invisible, is noticed by a local boy. She and her friends spend the rest of the semester on a mission to find out if this boy is a secret agent sent to find a crack in the academy's armor, or Cammie's soul mate.
No longer does the damsel have to wait for James Bond to rescue her from the villain. This novel features many strong female characters who know how to take care of themselves. Carter takes the typical high school crush to an adventurous level, making each date a mission, and making the conflict of choosing what path a girl must follow a life or death matter. The conflict Cammie faces of choosing to lead a normal life and have a boyfriend or to continue this dangerous path in spy school and train for deep cover assignments is really brought home by a few dark tones in the novel such as: Cammie's own father never returning from a mission, Cammie's teacher pretending that the friends she left behind on a mission are being tortured, and the unknown status of the father of one of Cammie's friends.
The story is easy to read and the relationships between the characters give this story that little bit extra to make it more than an adventure story (especially since there is no real villain). To quote School Library Journal 2006 though, "the cutesy dialogue quickly becomes grating." Still, action packed with a good climax, this book is sure to capture a teens attention and hook her into reading the rest of the series. Recommended for girls 6th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/ally-carter/id-tell-you-i-love-you-but-then-id-have-to-kill-yo.htm
ISBN 0590228544
Laura Williams' brother Billy was always friendly. He was an active eleven year old boy who collected everything and who had learned to make a profit selling American snacks to the other American kids at their school in London. Everyone knew and liked him. As he was leaving the tube station for school one morning, a stranger handed him a package. As Billy came to realize that he held a bomb in his hands, his last action in life was to shield the bomb with his body to save the woman in front of him with a baby from dying. Laura Williams wants answers. She is determined that someone picked Billy to hand the package to and that his death was not meaningless and random. And she thinks that someone goes to her school.
Americans don't like to think that they are so naive about the world, but the truth is that while most American kids could find countries like Israel and Afganistan on a map, they couldn't tell you much else about them. One of the things that struck me about Laura's character is that she's just like every other American teen. She's more concerned with having a date to the next dance than with current world politics. Laura however attends the London International Academy, where many of the students ride to school in bulletproof limos and would be arrested and executed if they ever set foot in their home country. Students at this school have to learn to not ask about backgrounds if they want to make friends or risk starting a mini culture war. Reading about Laura trying to navigate this environment, especially once she begins looking for her brother's murderer among her friends, makes one want to cringe. I felt both embarrassed that an American girl didn't know the political world and yet I related to her because I can't honestly say I know it myself.
The mystery of this story is of course, who planned for Billy to be killed and was it a random act of violence. The reader begins to wonder if Laura is simply mad with grief when she begins to interrogate all of her friends and seems to see terrorists everywhere she looks. Ironically, in keeping her eyes peeled for suspects, she dismisses an important one off hand and only comes to realize later who Billy's killer is. I think the mystery of Billy's killer is easily solved by the reader once the killer begins to move with her plan, but Cooney does a great job of keeping the action fast paced and interesting to carry the reader to the end of the book.
Lastly, the ending is a true ending where not everything ends happily or the way we'd like. Billy's killer is judged as a minor and placed in a foster home, where she runs away from not long after. There is no real justice for Billy. And in the real world, people sometimes have to accept that. Life is not always fair.
1997 School Library Journal, "Gripping from the very start, the narrative becomes nearly impossible to put down as it races to its nail-biting though slightly far-fetched climax."
Image taken from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/caroline-b-cooney/terrorist.htm
Monday, October 4, 2010
Angus Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
0 comments Posted by Samantha S. at 9:38 PM
Georgia has met the Sex God of her dreams! Big problem though, he's dating a girl named Lindsay, who wears thongs. On top of that, her Dad has to move to New Zealand to find a job, her cat Angus eats everything in sight, and it's possible that her three year old sister has peed somewhere in her room. Filled with delightful British-isms that keep us Americans flipping to the glossary in the back, teens will enjoy this light laugh out loud funny novel.
Novels written in the diary format depend entirely on the observations of the diarist for the details of events and other characters in the novel. Georgia's character is quite self involved, and her diary reflects that. Georgia longs to be older and more beautiful, but is still young enough to love the antics of her little sister and unruly cat Angus. The innocence she has when it comes to sexuality reminds the reader just how young she really is. For instance she identifies her crush, Robbie as Sex God through much of her diary, but is confused when a boy dumps her because some other girl "lets him do stuff." What stuff? is what she wonders.
I found it a bit disturbing that she seemed more troubled by the loss of her cat (don't worry, Angus reappears) than by the absence of her father, who's gone to New Zealand to find work, or than by the possibility that her mother could be having an affair in his absence. Perhaps Georgia simply chose not to express her loss or concern on paper? Why would Rennison leave this out?
This book is funny, in a Bridget Jones, look what humiliating situation I've gotten myself into this time kinda way. The crowning moment of funny for me is when Georgia, in an attempt to look older, tries to bleach a streak of hair blond. She leaves the bleach in for too long and her hair actually stiffens and breaks off in front of Sex God. Teens will either absolutely love or hate the British slang words and intermittent french vocabulary thrown around, especially since the french is not defined in the glossary. A 2000 review in VOYA agrees, saying "The only element that might keep this book from flying off the shelf is the preponderance of British slang in Georgia's journal entries and in the conversations among the main characters." If most parents knew what merde meant, they may protest its frequent use by Georgia.
Overall, a light read that I would give to my reluctant teenage girl readers, ages 7th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://childrensbookshop.netstep.co.nz/books/Angus_Thongs_and_FullFrontal_Snogging__Confessions_of_Georgia_Nicolson_1/0007218672.html?option=results&search_by=isbn&search_text=0007218672&Fnew_search=1&pagestyle=single&nsBookshop_Session=b8a501ec82a9ac348da16768342e9751
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Melinda is an outcast. Over the summer she called the cops during a party and got a lot of kids busted for drinking. She spends the rest of the summer doing nothing at home. When school starts, no one, not even her best friend, will speak to her. Not that Melinda has much to say anyway. She rarely speaks to anyone anymore. Her grades take a nose dive as things like homework and class seem less and less important. She spends a lot of her time in an abandoned janitor closet at school. Her parents barely notice that something is wrong, and are more concerned with the symptoms, such as her failing grades, than getting to the root of the problem. Her one bright spot is Art class. As the year goes by, we learn through flashbacks that the reason Melinda called the cops was because she was raped. She spends the year trying to come to terms with what happened. When her ex-best friend begins dating the very boy who raped her though, Melinda must decide whether to remain silent, or to finally speak.
"Anderson expresses the emotions and the struggles of teenagers perfectly. Melinda's pain is palpable, and readers will totally empathize with her." I agree with this quote from a 1999 School Library Journal article. Anderson's tale of a teen dealing with rape is heart rending, but not so heavy that the reader cannot get through a page without crying. Though Melinda does not speak much, her witty internal monologue makes the reader smile at her descriptions of the various cliques and the quirks of teachers. The most successful element of the story however is symbolism. Throughout the story trees are woven to symbolize where Melinda is on her journey to coming to terms with what has happened to her. Her art project for the year is to draw, sculpt, paint or use whatever medium she wishes to create a tree. She spends the year toiling over the tree, tossing out draft after draft and trying all sorts of mediums and styles, trying to get it perfect. In the end, she realizes that her tree "isn't perfect, and that's what makes it right."
Almost a second character in this story are the very defined cliques that exist at this school. Where Melinda didn't make any effort to fit in, Heather, the new girl, is perhaps an echo of the person Melinda might have been had she not been raped. Heather spends her time trying to figure out which cliques will get her farther in her social standing and proceeds to do everything she can to befriend those people. Ultimately shallow, the reader is glad when Melinda stops accepting Heather's fair-weather friendship, and perhaps in doing so saying goodbye to a piece of her old life that she knows will never come back.
Perhaps the best thing about this book is the expression of hope given by the last lines: "Words float up. 'Let me tell you about it.'" Melinda is changed, but eventually she's going to be ok. That is something that readers can take away from this story. Knowing that bad things happen but that one can recover. Recommended for 8th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/laurie-halse-anderson/speak.htm
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl by Barry Lyga
0 comments Posted by Samantha S. at 9:05 PM
Fanboy wants three things out of life. To own a mint condition Giant-Size X-Men #1, a new computer so that he can complete the work on his own graphic novel Schemata, and the third, well he's not telling. The rest of his life sucks. His best friend is a jock who secretly likes comics too. His mother and stepfather are expecting a new baby and expect him to be happy about it. And to top it all off, some jerk in his gym class repeatedly punches him in the shoulder every day. Then one day he receives an IM (Instant Message) from someone he doesn't know that asks: "Why do you let him hit you?" This begins a strange friendship that pulls Fanboy out of his comfort zone as well changes his view of the world.
Violence is a key theme of this story. Pervading the entire length of this book is the fear that Fanboy is going to be pushed to far by his tormentors and bring a gun to school to finally fulfill his fantasy of offing everyone on The List. Thankfully, the reader is treated to a nonviolent ending. But what Lyga has done is put the knowledge there that any young adult, no matter the GPA or seeming normality, has the capacity to be pushed that one step too far and do something violent. The contrast to Fanboy's fantasy about killing his tormentors is Goth Girl's (Kyra) attempts to commit suicide. Lyga shows the reader that teens in pain are not only liable to do violence to others but themselves as well.
Particularly well done in this story is the way the character slowly comes to really look at the world and the people surrounding him. Early in the story we see that Fanboy is writing a graphic novel, and that Goth Girl sees something of value in it. Under the guise of studying character and situation for later stories, Fanboy begins observing the people around him and thus seeing the truth of how things really are. His step-father is not quite the monster he makes him out to be, that the jocks mock each other just like they mock him, that the girl of his dreams doesn't have quite the perfect life he thinks, and finally that Kyra is suicidal and needs help.
A real selling point for this novel is the knowledge of comics and graphic novels displayed by Lyga. Teen fans of those media will enjoy the references to Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and other popular graphic novel series as well as the seriousness with which Lyga treats the media as a valid body of literature. A 2007 School Library Journal article agrees saying, "Here's a prose novel that includes lots of descriptive detail about graphic novels, an essentially visual medium, rendered into an aural performance with huge success."
Recommended for grades 9 and up.
Image taken from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/barry-lyga/astonishing-adventures-of-fanboy-amp-goth-girl.htm
Monday, September 20, 2010
Evie thought everything would be perfect once her stepfather, Joe, returned home from the war. Aside from the friction between Joe's mother and her own, life pretty much was. Except for a few phone calls that always seem to upset Joe. When Joe suggests that they take a vacation down in Florida, it all seems too good to be true.
In Florida they run into a soldier from Joe's company, twenty three year handsome Peter. Evie falls in love, despite her parents' wishes for her to stay away. Little does she know that her age is the least of their concerns for wanting her to stay away from him. A shocking event rocks Evie from her innocent life view and forces her to choose how far loyalty goes and who she will betray.
A true coming of age novel, this book take you back to those awkward years when you're not a little girl, yet not quite a woman either. Evie is always in the shadow of her gorgeous mother, trying on her clothes, working out the mannerisms that make her mother a paragon of femininity. A reviewer from the 2008 School Library Journal says it better than I do, "it is Evie and her rapidly maturing perception of herself and those around her that carry the story. In many ways she becomes the adult in the group, motivated by truth and justice rather than greed or superficial appearances."
The author does a wonderful job of keeping the first person narration, but at the same time letting the reader see and understand things that the young character is not yet able to understand. For instance, the reader understands that her mother is having an affair when Evie mentions that her mother always tips the hotel bellman for washing the orange puffs off of her car every afternoon; and then later when Evie has fled to Peter's house she mentions the same orange puffy flowers falling on the ground. This author also does not shy away from the anti-Semitic prejudices that governed behavior after World War II, which I think will shock young readers, as it did myself. Growing up and learning about the Holocaust, one tends to believe that antisemitism was a European prejudice, and not an American one.
One of the strengths of this novel is the ambiguity of the morality of Evie's decision to essentially cover for her parents while they are on trial for the murder of Peter, the man she was in love with. She doesn't know that her parents did or did not kill him for certain, and indeed it shakes her that she can no longer trust or look up to them. But she lies for them anyway. Perhaps she should have let them go to jail. Isn't that what the justice system is designed for? To convict the guilty? I think had Evie chosen to betray her parents instead of Peter, the reader would had accepted that as the right course of action too.
On the whole, I'd recommend this book to readers from about 8th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/judy-blundell/what-i-saw-and-how-i-lied.htm
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; V. 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
0 comments Posted by Samantha S. at 8:16 PM
Compared to other boys, Octavian Nothing leads a very strange life. But Octavian knows nothing of how other boys spend their childhood. Aside from his mother, called Cassiopeia, the people around him are not addressed by names, but numbers according to their station. You see, Octavian is the subject of study by a group of scientists at a place called the College of Lucidity. Their study? To discover if Africans are a separate and distinct species or if they are the equal to any white man. The scientists measure everything about Octavian: his food intake, the weight of his excrement, his height. He is even given an education "equal to any of the princes of Europe," to test his mental capacity. While the scientists are not cruel to him, they are scientific in their behavior to him. One day, the benefactor of the college dies and his heir is appealed to to continue supporting their experiment. Only this man is not interested in discovering if Africans are equal to the white man. In fact, it is in his interest to prove that they are not.
This book is set in the years leading up to and during the American Revolution. It is written as a series of journal entries, newspaper clippings, and even letters for a large portion of the novel. The style of the language, while true to the time period I imagine, will probably put off many teens from wishing to finish the novel. Agreeing with me on this point is a Mr. Cooperman from the June 2007 edition of School Library Journal. He says that "While the idea and the scope of Anderson's novel are fresh, the plot and the prose are so confusing that it becomes difficult to follow the story."
However this book does touch upon many themes that are well worth exploring. For a world like today, where science has almost become the new religion, this novel points out the fact that while science has its uses not everything in life can be weighed and measured. Mr. Gitney, a.k.a. 03-01, chronicled everything he could about Octavian's life in a volume of books. When Octavian finds them, he immediately notes that it cannot be his whole life, for though it they could record a peach he ate one night, the books would not mention the hue of the sunset or the feel of his mother's hands. Another important theme in this novel is that of slavery and freedom. Much like Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains, the dilemma of black people during the Revolution is brought into focus. Why would a black man choose to fight for the freedom of the white men of the American nation when their own freedom, should they win, was by no means guarantied?
While this book is well worth the read, I would only recommend it to students in the upper levels of high school.
Image taken from: http://bhlspectrum.wikispaces.com/
Thursday, September 9, 2010
ISBN 0143039857
Ponyboy is a 14 year old "greaser" who lives with his two brothers after their parents die. Despite being labeled as a "greaser," Ponyboy makes good grades; but he doesn't always think through the consequences of his actions. Greasers, kids from the poorer side of town who wear their hair longer and with grease, constantly clash with the "socs," rich kids who have so many things handed to them in life that their lack of want actually leaves them wanting and unfeeling. One night things go too far and the consequences leave their mark on greasers and socs alike.
I was browsing through a few Amazon reviews for this novel and decided to read a few of the one star ratings. Many of the reviewers were young adults who condemned it because it promoted violence and gang activity. They seemed to miss the point that the violence was a symptom of a deficiency in the needs of these young adults who are trying to find themselves and their way in the world. The story is told entirely from the point of view of Ponyboy, whose parents have been dead at least six months at the beginning of the story. These two characteristics are two of the qualities outlined by the Exeter University researchers. I chanced to listen to a portion of the audio book read by Jim Fyfe, who captured the dialect exceedingly well. When I sat down to read I found that the text of the novel flowed just as easily, as though I could hear Ponyboy speaking in my head.
There are many themes woven throughout the novel. Perhaps the most obvious one is that of brotherhood. It is shown by how Ponyboy's brothers sacrifice education in order to keep him living with them and to give him opportunities they won't get. It is shown by their "gang," who may not always get along, but always band together against a common enemy. It is shown by Dallas and Johnny, who've each had rough lives and bonded through the identification of the other's pain. It is even shown by the socs in the conversation Ponyboy has with Randy, the friend of the socs that Johnny killed.
Hinton gives us a great symbol to show the reader that Ponyboy has lost his innocence in this story. During an early encounter with the socs, one of the gang hands Ponyboy a broken glass bottle to fight with even though both acknowlede in the end that he would never have used it. After the major events of the novel when Ponyboy finds himself confronted with socs once more, he doesn't hesitate to break the glass bottle to threaten them off. Two-Bit, one of the gang, notices that he really would have used it this time. In order to reassure us that Ponyboy isn't completely hardened, the author has him pick up the glass from the bottle so that no one else steps on it.
Perhaps the most succinct review I've read so far comes from the March 1990 issue of Booklist. "Peer relationships, poverty, sacrifice, and a search for self underlie this story about Pony~boy, Sodapop, and Darrel--"greasers" who face death, defeat, and socioeconomic struggles." As evidenced by a few negative reviews from Amazon, this book may not please all young adults but it is worth the read and recommended for 6th grade and up.
Image taken from: http://ashleylyn.vox.com/library/book/6a0109815d8827000d0109d0fd6877000f.html
Monday, August 30, 2010
Hey everyone! Just doing a spacer post so that the content between my last class and this one are distinguishable. So if you reach Going Bovine, an excellent book by the way, you've gone to far. But just for coming this far, I'll show you a picture of Darcy, my studious kitty who also studies library science, as you can see.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Review:
Cameron is your typical bored with life teenager who indulges in the occassional joint, hates his family and doesn't see the point of anything. After a series of delusional episodes Cameron is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, or mad-cow disease; a condition that causes the patient to lose grip on reality and slip into their own world. For Cameron, slipping into his own world gives him a chance to learn to enjoy life.
The message in this book is to get out and live your life. Bray uses parallels with Don Quixote as the vehicle to give Cameron a series of adventures to battle evil, solve mysteries of the universe, and get the girl. Throughout the reader is never sure whether the adventure is real or all in Cameron's head. Each adventure seems more outrageous than the last but readers will enjoy watching Cameron shed his determination to be disappointed with everything and find value and meaning in his life. Bray takes a few satirical shots at today's society through the happiness cult, who has rigged the bowling alley to give everyone strikes and the MTV-like television channel that kills brain cells. Overall written with a good balance of humor and meaning, this story is a must read.
Reviews/Awards:
Michael L. Printz Award (WON AWARD) 2010
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books (WON AWARD) 2009
Locus Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2010
School Library Journal: "It's a trip worth taking, though meandering and message-driven at times."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "The novel is a laugh-out-loud, tear-jerking, fantastical voyage into the meaning of what is real in life and how someone can learn to live."
Booklist: Star Reviewed* "Bray's latest offering is an unforgettable, nearly indefinable fantasy adventure, as immense and sprawling as Cervantes' Don Quixote, on which it's based."
Publisher's Weekly: "what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World."
Library Journal: "Bray has not written a teen problem novel about mad cow disease. She swims in deeper water, defending the importance of friendship, family, and life purpose in the face of mediocrity."
Connections:
*Discuss the actual symptoms of mad-cow disease.
*Point out the parallels with Don Quixote and discuss.
Read Printz nominees for 2010:
Heiligman, Debra. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. ISBN 9780805087215
Yancey, Rick. The Monstrumologist. ISBN 9781416984481
Image credit: www.bookreader4.blogspot.com
"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." This chilling line is the opening of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. The hand belongs to a man named Jack, who uses that knife to kill all of the residents of the house bathed in darkness. Except one. A toddler, who somehow wandered out of the house to a graveyard up the hill, finds asylum in the graveyard. The inhabitants, ghosts from a variety of time periods, name the boy Nobody. Bod spends his formative years being raised by his ghostly parents and taught by his mentor, Silas, who is neither living nor dead.
If the opening line is not visual enough, it is printed on a black page with the text in white and the image of a hand holding a knife going across the page. The illustrations in this book are all black and white charcoal or pencil drawings and they add to the macabre feeling of reading a book about a boy growing up in a graveyard. Each of the chapters are like little mini-stories from Bod's life, which is probably good for weaker readers as it makes the story easier to digest piece by piece. Despite growing up in a graveyard, the love shared in Bod's family is heartwarming and the adventures with ghouls, ancient guardians, and school, make this tale one that kids are bound to enjoy.
Reviews/Awards:
Hugo Awards (WON AWARD) 2009
Los Angeles Times Book Prizes (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2008
Locus Awards (WON AWARD) 2009
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
Audie Award (WON AWARD) 2009
World Fantasy Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award (WON AWARD) 2009
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
Book Sense Book of the Year (WON AWARD) 2009
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2009
Great Stone Face Children's Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
School Library Journal: "Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family."
Library Journal: "An elegant combination of Gaiman's masterly storytelling and McKean's lovely drawings."
Booklist: Star Reviewed* "This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "Gaiman writes with charm and humor, and again he has a real winner."
Publisher's Weekly: "When the chilling moments do come, they are as genuinely frightening as only Gaiman can make them."
Other books by Neil Gaiman:
The Wolves in the Walls. ISBN 9780380810956
M is for Magic. ISBN 9780061186479
Coraline. ISBN 9780380977789
Image credit: www.pbs.org
Review:
Using a blend of hand drawings and diary entries, Jeff Kinney has created a witty romp through the life of middle school student and 52nd or 53rd most popular guy in his class, Greg Heffley. The diary chronicles Greg's adventures as he schemes a way to become more popular and inevitably gets held back from his goal by his parents, friends, his own actions, and an old piece of cheese. It can be sometimes difficult when writing a novel in the first person to show the reader how other characters are reacting and feeling, but Kinney does a very good job of giving the reader this information through Greg's observations; even though Greg is oblivious to most of them. The book is over 200 pages, which may discourage a reluctant reader, but the illustrations help to break up the text and illuminate the action on the page. The character of Greg Heffley is hardly an upstanding moralist given the treatment of his friend Rowley and a healthy dose of self-centeredness, but perhaps this only makes the character more believable. Over all a fun read that kids obviously love and recommended for kids 4th grade and up.
Reviews/Awards:
Quill Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2007
Original Voices Award (WON AWARD) 2007
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (WON AWARD) 2009
Garden State Children's Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2010
Booklist: "The simple line drawings perfectly capture archetypes of growing up, such as a preschool-age little brother, out-of-touch teachers, and an assortment of class nerds. Lots of fun throughout."
School Library Journal: "Kinney does a masterful job of making the mundane life of boys on the brink of adolescence hilarious."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "Kinney provides readers with a realistic view of middle school life as seen through the eyes of the entertaining but not very bright class clown."
Publisher's Weekly: "Kinney ably skewers familiar aspects of junior high life, from dealing with the mysteries of what makes someone popular to the trauma of a "wrestling unit" in gym class."
Connections:
*Invite readers to start their own diaries.
*For readers not yet in middle school, discuss what they think middle school will be like.
*Compare Greg's siblings to each reader's own family situation.
Further Reading
Continue the series with:
Kinney, Greg. Rodrick Rules. ISBN 9780810994737
Kinney, Greg. The Last Straw. ISBN 9780810970687
Kinney, Greg. Dog Days. ISBN 978-0810983915
Image credit: www.spinebreakers.com
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Review:
The story begins with Kit Tyler's journey from Barbados to Connecticut after the death of her doting grandfather. Even before she reaches her destination she begins to find that her manners and habits are shocking to the strict puritans who inhabit the area. Kit must also grow accustomed to the absence of the luxuries she grew up with and learn to work alongside her Aunt's family. After running off one afternoon, scolded for yet another offense, she meets the witch of Blackbird Pond; who is merely a simple Quaker woman, spurned from society because of her religion. It is at the witches home that Kit teaches a local neglected little girl how to read. After a deadly illness sweeps the town, Kit must rescue the witch from an angry mob and then face judgment herself when the mob discovers evidence that Kit also practices witchcraft.
It is easy for the reader to identify with Kit's unease with being surrounded by people who's ways are so different from her own, and are very different from our own. The outsider point of view of this character is part of what makes Speare's novel a good work of historical fiction. The plot of the story and the details of life in colonial Connecticut are simply written yet easy to visualize, such as how much work it takes to keep a small household fed and running, and the strict lifestyle of a Puritan community. Also noteworthy for this book is the way that tension runs among the colonists over the governors assigned to them when they feel they are better able to govern themselves.
Awards/Reviews:
Newbery Medal winner 1959
School Library Journal: "Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler unexpectedly arrives at her aunt and uncle's doorstep and is unprepared for the new world which awaits her."
Booklist: "On a visit to colonial Connecticut, Kit teaches a young girl to read, thus saving herself during the Salem witchcraft trials."
Connections:
Other books by Elizabeth George Speare:
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. ISBN 9780440479000
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Bronze Bow. ISBN 9780395137192
Image credit: www.quakerbooks.org
ISBN 9780060000165
Review:
The Seer of Shadows tells the story of a teen named Horace who is an apprentice to a photographer in New York circa 1872. When asked to take a portrait of a wealthy woman to place hanging in her deceased daughter's tomb, strange things begin to happen. Each time Horace snaps a picture, the deceased Eleanora appears in the photo looking angry. With the help of the wealthy family's servant, Horace discovers what really happened to Eleanora and learns the power he has when he aims the camera.
This story is extremely easy to read and captures the details of life in New York without bogging the reader down in details. Children today, who are accustomed to instant digital photos will enjoy reading about the complicated process it took to produce a single portrait. The supernatural element of the ghost of Eleanora slowly materializing to take revenge on her killers will be a good draw for young readers who like their books a little spooky. That the novel concludes with Horace (a white male) eventually marrying the black servant girl, Pegg, speaks more to today's social standards than those of that time period when such a union would be looked down upon. In no way in the novel however, is this marriage inflected as being against social norms. A good read filled with intrigue, a few ghosts, and a story that could take place today, but just happens to be set in a historical era.
Awards/Reviews:
Great Stone Face Children's Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
Rhode Island Children's Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2010
SCASL Book Award (South Carolina) (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
School Library Journal: "Boyer captures the moods of all the characters and the tension of the tale."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "Avi's rich language evokes images and speech patterns of a bygone era, and his careful chronicling of early photography's art and science make this novel a pleasure to read."
Publisher's Weekly: "Details about photographic processes add authenticity, while the book's somber ending will leave spines tingling."
Booklist: "Avi's latest is a fast-paced, yet haunting portrayal of an upright boy trying to make his way in a world that has suddenly gone strange and dangerous."
Connections:
Could be used to begin a discussion on the methods of photography or the status of blacks in America at the time.
Other books by Avi:
Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead. ISBN 9780689837777
Avi. The Escape From Home. ISBN 9780380728756
Image credit: www.bookfairpr.wordpress.com
ISBN 9781416905851
Review:
Laurie Halse Anderon's novel Chains follows the life of a slave girl name Isabel and her sister Ruth during the early years of the American Revolution. Cheated out of their freedom upon their master's death, the girls are sold to a married loyalist couple who live in New York. Under their cruel ownership, Isabel is persuaded to spy on her masters for the rebels. She soon learns that neither the rebels or loyalists will help her escape to freedom and makes plans to run after her sister, whom her masters sold away.
This novel, told from the unique point of view from someone who had nothing to gain by either side winning the war, is eye-opening and heartbreaking. The vivid details of life in New York while being occupied by rebels, fought over, and occupied by red coats; really brings the American Revolution alive. The plot of the story, of Isabel being asked to spy on her masters and being betrayed by both camps, is startlingly believable given the disdain masters held for their servants. The story is not watered down for its youthful audience. Particularly harsh are the details of the POW's left to starve to death in the harsh winter, and the branding of Isabel's face with the letter I for Insolence. Anderson tells the story from the girls point of view and uses phrases like "the bees built a hive of sadness in my soul" and "the buzzing echoed in my brainpan" that captures the dialect a young slave may have used. An excellent read and appropriate for 5th grade and up.
Awards/Reviews:
National Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2008
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award (WON AWARD) 2009
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2009
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year (WON AWARD) 2008
Nutmeg Children's Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2011
Booklist:" Anderson explores elemental themes of power ( She can do anything. I can do nothing, Isabel realizes about her sadistic owner), freedom, and the sources of human strength in this searing, fascinating story."
School Library Journal: "Chains addresses the price of freedom both for a nation and for individuals."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "Thought-provoking and emotional, Isabel's story will linger long after the last page has been read."
Publishers Weekly: " Anderson packs so much detail into her evocation of wartime New York City that readers will see the turmoil and confusion of the times, and her solidly researched exploration of British and Patriot treatment of slaves during a war for freedom is nuanced and evenhanded, presented in service of a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot."
Connections:
This novel can be used to launch discussions about slavery in America, about the conflict between Loyalists and Revolutionaries. This can also be used to discuss enlisted slaves during the Revolution and the treatment of prisoners of war and the rules that govern such treatment.
Other books:
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793. ISBN 9780606240611
Anderson, M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party. ISBN 0763636797
Image credit: www.riversendbookstore.com
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
This book thoroughly chronicles the events of the yellow fever epidemic that struck Philadelphia in the year 1793, as well as the political, civil, and scientific impact the plague had on the years to come. Readers are shown what life was like as the infant America struggled to find it's legs. The troubles President Washington faced in abandoning the U.S. capital. Also highlighted in this book are things we may take for granted today, such as proper drainage in our cities, clean water, and pest control. The book ends with how treatments and cures for some diseases were developed and how it was discovered that the tiniest mosquito can bring the deadliest illness to humans.
This book has twelve pages of sources and has many illustrations and newspaper clippings from the time period spread throughout the book. This all adds up to a very detailed book that is sure to interest those students who history and science. This book is organized for cover to cover reading and flows very well to encourage the reader to continue reading. The experiences, the desperation and horror, of the people living through this plague come through in the author's voice and brings history to life. Lengthy book and better suited to readers middle school and up.
Awards/Reviews:
National Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2003
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year (WON AWARD) 2003
Newbery Medal (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2004
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (WON AWARD) 2004
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2004
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award (WON AWARD) 2004
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (WON AWARD) 2004
James Madison Book Award (WON AWARD) 2004
Volunteer State Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
Garden State Teen Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
William Allen White Children's Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
Young Hoosier Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2007
School Library Journal: "The author masterfully weaves facts and fascinating stories in describing the course of the disease and the heroic roles played by a few doctors and the free African-American citizens of the city."
Voice of Youth Advocates: " This book represents nonfiction at its best."
Booklist: "Drawing on firsthand accounts, medical and non-medical, Murphy re-creates the fear and panic in the infected city."
Publisher's Weekly: "Murphy here adopts a leisurely, lyrical tone to chronicle the invisible spread of the deadly disease that not only crippled Philadelphia (then the temporary capital of the U.S.) but also set off a constitutional crisis."
Connections:
Relate to current events, H1N1 virus.
Books:
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793. ISBN 9780689848919
Markle, Sandra. Mosquitoes: Tiny Insect Troublemakers. ISBN 9780822572992
Image credit: www.betterworldbooks.com
ISBN 0439357918
Review:
This biography give a brief overview of the life of Walt Whitman and insight into his motivation for writing poems that sing America and American's praises. It begins when Walt began work as a printer's apprentice, tells that he was always scribbling in journals on his travels around America, and of the poets experiences during the Civil War as he spent time at hospitals with soldiers who'd been wounded.
This biography is liberally sprinkled with excerpts from Walt Whitman's poems, journals, and letters. The picture it paints of Whitman is perhaps too saintlike, but it really drives home the motivations Whitman had for writing brilliant works like Leaves of Grass and Drum-Taps! This biography also captures the hardship suffered during the Civil War. Especially poignant is placing the beginning of the poem "O Captain! my Captain!" after the part that tells of Whitman and the nation's grief after the assassination of President Lincoln. The end of the book features an author's note, an illustrator's note, notes on the poems, as well as a bibliography of sources used to create this book.
Deserving equal attention in this book are the illustrations, which are very bold, vibrant and imaginative. Two in particular are cleverly done. The first is the page opposite the title page, which is made to look like an old newspaper typeset of the title page. The relevance to the story of course is that Whitman's first job was as an apprentice printer. The second is the illustration that has open books in the night sky like so many stars, with each carrying a different word for the poem it is quoting. An extremely well done biography that is well suited to readers 4th or 5th grade and above.
Awards/Reviews:
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2005
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2005
California Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2005
Bluegrass Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
Volunteer State Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2007
School Library Journal: Starred Reviewed. "An exuberant picture-book biography that focuses on Whitman's formative years and his selfless work as a Civil War nurse."
Booklist: "Lines of poetry elucidate Whitman's thoughts about the war, with the full text of the poems or sections of poems appearing at book's end."
Publisher's Weekly: "Copious quotes from his poems and correspondence let Whitman's eloquent voice resonate through the pages."
Connections:
Have the students read some of the poems mentioned in the book.
Draw connections between the poems and life in America at that time: immigrant cultures, Civil War.
Other books:
Levin, Jonathan. Poetry for Young People: Walt Whitman. ISBN 9781402754777
Rappaport, Doreen. Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln. ISBN 1423104080
Image credit: www.lookingglassreview.com
Review:
There are many unpredictable and potentially dangerous creatures in the world. This nonfiction picture book goes through 17 of such creatures and outlines things that humans should avoid doing in order to not aggravate that creature. Some are obvious, such as "never harass a hippo," others one may not have heard of, such as "never collect a cone shell," which has poisonous barbs.
This book has very good shelf appeal. The image of the monkey staring at you on the front combined with the angry monkey image on the back scream 'pick me up.' Each of the 17 creatures gets an illustration and a full paragraph of what not to do and why it will kill you if you do. At the end is a few pages of more detailed information of each creature, as well as a list of books for further reading. The illustrations are done with cut paper and really pop off of the page. Especially for me the illustration of the African buffalo, which looks like it's done with crushed velvet. It is a topic sure to catch the attention of children.
Awards/Reviews:
School Library Journal: *Star Reviewed. "A visually stunning book illustrated with cut paper and torn collages."
Booklist: "The high-interest marriage of animals and danger, along with large, vibrant visuals, makes this a prime candidate for group sharing, and additional details and artwork at the end will flesh out some of the finer points for older children."
Connections:
Discuss local dangerous animals with children.
*More books on dangerous animals:
Simon, Seymour. 101 Questions and Answers About Dangerous Animals. ISBN 9780021795239
Eriksson, Christer; Susan Lumpkin, and John Seidensticker. Dangerous Animals. ISBN 9780783547626
Image credit: www.greatkidsreads.blogspot.com
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