1. Bibliography
Kadohata, Cynthia. WEEDFLOWER. New York: Atheneum, 2006. ISBN 0689865740.
2. Plot Summary
Sumiko is a twelve-year-old Japanese-American girl, orphaned and living with extended family on a flower farm in California in 1941. Her life is fairly content, spending her days at school, taking care of her younger brother Takao “Tak-Tak”, and grading commercially-grown flowers the family cultivates and sells for their livelihood. The world outside is changing, and the friction amongst world powers is growing more intense. Although Sumiko’s family members try to keep her and Takao safely sheltered from the repercussions of that friction, especially between the United States and Japan, the realization of its effect upon their family and community is inevitable. Sumiko's rejection at the birthday party of a wealthy white classmate marks the beginning of her own experience in the “us against them” feeling permeating relations between the United States and Japan, and the anxiety growing with her Japanese-American community. Soon afterward, Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese, and the resulting hatred as well as government policy turns the lives of the Japanese-American community upside down. The family meets hardship after hardship and many unanswered questions about the future. This book shows their resilience and difficult decisions made in surviving the war in body and spirit.
3. Critical Analysis
The personalities in this story are memorable and distinctive. Kadohata describes them and tells this story in third person, from Sumiko’s perspective. The style was thoroughly engaging. This novel evokes a full range of emotions, and was difficult to put down at times. Other times, putting it down and absorbing the weight of what occurred seemed necessary. Kadohata based this book on stories she heard from her father, who was held in an internment camp during World War II. In addition, more survivors of internment were interviewed for this book, as were experts on Indian Reservations of this point in time. The Acknowledgments page in the front of this novel recounts those consulted in the writing of this novel.
4. Reviews and Awards
Publisher’s Weekly review:
"Kadohata clearly and eloquently conveys her heroine's mixture of shame, anger and courage. Readers will be inspired...."
Kirkus review:
”Kadohata combines impressive research and a lucent touch, bringing to life the confusion of dislocation.... “
Awards:
Agatha Award Finalist
ALA Best Books for Young Adults Nominee
ALA Notable Children's Book Nominee
Booklist Editors' Choice
CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council)
Charlie May Simon Book Award ML (AR)
Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List (VT)
Indian Paintbrush Book Award Master List (WY)
IRA/CBC Children's Choices
Jane Addams Children's Book Award
Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List
Keystone to Reading Book Award Master List (PA)
Massachusetts Children's Book Award Master List
Nene Award Master List (HI)
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award
Texas Bluebonnet Master List
Young Hoosier Book Award Master List (IN)
5. Connections
This book could be used as in a Social Studies unit about World War II, Indian Reservations, and Japanese Internment Camps. It could be used to discuss diversity.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Book Review -- The Game of Silence (Module 5)
1. Bibliography
Erdrich, Louise. THE GAME OF SILENCE. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0060297905.
2. Plot Summary
The Ojibwe Indians of the Northwestern United States and Canada are the subjects of this story. The story commences on The Island of the Yellow-Breasted Woodpecker (“Moningwanaykanig” in Ojibwe) in the year 1849. Ojibwe coming from further east arrive on this island by canoe, clearly having suffered greatly and having weathered something horrible. They are “a bony, hungry anxious group” with tattered clothing, or as with the little children, no clothing at all. These people have been driven out of their land by the U.S. government in efforts to claim possession of it, and in the process they have been pushed into territory claimed by the neighboring tribe of Bwaanag Indians. At one time these tribes coexisted and traded with each other, but this was based on clearly defined territories. As the Ojibwe encroach upon the Bwaanag lands, the Bwaanags grow to resent their presence, and respond by warfare. Collectively the survivors and the tribe endure another harsh year, and each season’s challenges are described in the chapters that follow. Eventually, the inhabitants must decide whether to move on and find a way to live elsewhere, or stay and risk losing their land to the U.S. government by force.
3. Critical Analysis
The narrative style of this novel is very factual. It is told in third person, as if we are observing the happenings rather than being inside the head of the characters. The author, Erdrich, made the effort to include Ojibwe dialect(s) in the story, and includes a glossary of Ojibwe words in the back of the novel. In the author’s note in the back of the book in regard to this complicated language, Erdrich explains that this language developed as a spoken language, and describes her attempts to phonetically spell out the words for this book as “idiosyncratic”. She further explains that there are many dialects of this language. She gave her best efforts, based upon these complexities of language, to make the text authentic. Many processes of Ojibwe life were delved into, such as the process of harvesting rice, or killing a moose for use as food and for its hide, cleaning a fresh catch of fish, constructing a canoe, and the like, in great detail.
4. Review(s) and Awards
Booklist starred review:
“Like its predecessor The Birchbark House (1999), this long-awaited sequel is framed by catastrophe, but the core of the story, which is set in 1850, is white settlers' threats to the traditional Ojibwe way of life. Omakayas is now nine and living at her beautiful island home in Lake Superior. But whites want Ojibwe off the island: Where will they go? In addition to an abundance of details about life through the seasons, Erdrich deals with the wider meaning of family and Omakayas' coming-of-age on a vision quest…In this heartrending novel the sense of what was lost is overwhelming.”
School Library Journal review:
“…Although the story is set on an island in Lake Superior in 1850, readers will identify with the everyday activities of the Ojibwa, from snowball fights to fishing excursions, providing a parallel to their own lives while encouraging an appreciation for one that is very different. The action is somewhat slow, but Erdrich's captivating tale of four seasons portrays a deep appreciation of our environment, our history, and our Native American sisters and brothers.”
Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Horn Book Fanfare
ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice
ALA Notable Children’s Book
Kirkus Editor’s Choice
New York Times Notable
5. Connections
This book could be used in a Social Studies unit, particularly about Native Americans. It could be used in a study of Indian reservations. It could be used to discuss diversity, and adversity from a particular cultural perspective.
Erdrich, Louise. THE GAME OF SILENCE. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0060297905.
2. Plot Summary
The Ojibwe Indians of the Northwestern United States and Canada are the subjects of this story. The story commences on The Island of the Yellow-Breasted Woodpecker (“Moningwanaykanig” in Ojibwe) in the year 1849. Ojibwe coming from further east arrive on this island by canoe, clearly having suffered greatly and having weathered something horrible. They are “a bony, hungry anxious group” with tattered clothing, or as with the little children, no clothing at all. These people have been driven out of their land by the U.S. government in efforts to claim possession of it, and in the process they have been pushed into territory claimed by the neighboring tribe of Bwaanag Indians. At one time these tribes coexisted and traded with each other, but this was based on clearly defined territories. As the Ojibwe encroach upon the Bwaanag lands, the Bwaanags grow to resent their presence, and respond by warfare. Collectively the survivors and the tribe endure another harsh year, and each season’s challenges are described in the chapters that follow. Eventually, the inhabitants must decide whether to move on and find a way to live elsewhere, or stay and risk losing their land to the U.S. government by force.
3. Critical Analysis
The narrative style of this novel is very factual. It is told in third person, as if we are observing the happenings rather than being inside the head of the characters. The author, Erdrich, made the effort to include Ojibwe dialect(s) in the story, and includes a glossary of Ojibwe words in the back of the novel. In the author’s note in the back of the book in regard to this complicated language, Erdrich explains that this language developed as a spoken language, and describes her attempts to phonetically spell out the words for this book as “idiosyncratic”. She further explains that there are many dialects of this language. She gave her best efforts, based upon these complexities of language, to make the text authentic. Many processes of Ojibwe life were delved into, such as the process of harvesting rice, or killing a moose for use as food and for its hide, cleaning a fresh catch of fish, constructing a canoe, and the like, in great detail.
4. Review(s) and Awards
Booklist starred review:
“Like its predecessor The Birchbark House (1999), this long-awaited sequel is framed by catastrophe, but the core of the story, which is set in 1850, is white settlers' threats to the traditional Ojibwe way of life. Omakayas is now nine and living at her beautiful island home in Lake Superior. But whites want Ojibwe off the island: Where will they go? In addition to an abundance of details about life through the seasons, Erdrich deals with the wider meaning of family and Omakayas' coming-of-age on a vision quest…In this heartrending novel the sense of what was lost is overwhelming.”
School Library Journal review:
“…Although the story is set on an island in Lake Superior in 1850, readers will identify with the everyday activities of the Ojibwa, from snowball fights to fishing excursions, providing a parallel to their own lives while encouraging an appreciation for one that is very different. The action is somewhat slow, but Erdrich's captivating tale of four seasons portrays a deep appreciation of our environment, our history, and our Native American sisters and brothers.”
Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Horn Book Fanfare
ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice
ALA Notable Children’s Book
Kirkus Editor’s Choice
New York Times Notable
5. Connections
This book could be used in a Social Studies unit, particularly about Native Americans. It could be used in a study of Indian reservations. It could be used to discuss diversity, and adversity from a particular cultural perspective.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Book Review -- Number The Stars (Module 5)
Historical Fiction
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. NUMBER THE STARS. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1989. ISBN 0440403278.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
What does it mean to be brave? This is a question Annemarie Johansen has to face at the tender age of ten years old in 1943 Denmark. Nazi soldiers occupy every street corner. The Danes are treated with cold suspicion. Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen, is Jewish. That fact becomes important to Annemarie as events unfold that show her the danger her friend and others like her face at the hands of the Nazi regime because they are Jews. At the same time, Annemarie sees the sacrifices her own family is willing to make and life-and-death risks that must be taken to keep their friends free. Early on in this story, when thinking about the danger that the Jews and those who were caught trying to hide them would face, the book tells us Annemarie’s thoughts: “Would she die to protect them? Truly? Annemarie was honest enough to admit, there in the darkness, to herself, that she wasn’t sure.” The time comes when circumstances require Annemarie to be brave and risk her life alongside her family. The reader learns of the historically heroic people of Denmark. In the Afterward of this book, it is explained that due to the efforts of such convicted, valiant people, “In the weeks following the Jewish New Year, almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark- nearly seven thousand people- was smuggled across the sea to Sweden.” This was not accomplished without bloodshed; very young men and women of the Resistance were executed when caught trying to aide the Jews in escape. This book reads as a testament to those brave souls.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The subject of the Holocaust brings to mind a very dark and depraved time in history. This book focuses on the bravery of Denmark, though captured by the Nazis. Through the eyes of the main character, Annemarie Johansen, the reader learns about what the world was like at that time and place. Annemarie tells us that people don’t laugh as they used to before the Germans came. Food is scarce and often confiscated by the Germans for their own use. A simple act of two young girls running and racing in the street is cause for suspicion from the two German guards who daily man that part of the street. Citizens of Denmark, whatever their faith, are easily made into targets for harassment or cruelty from the Nazi soldiers. Historic fact bears out in horrific detail the heinous acts of the Nazis against the Jews. To some degree the soldiers in this book seemed one-dimensional, as in a morality tale, without much individualization. Perhaps this was necessary to represent the entirety of the carnage left behind by that regime. So many ordinary people’s convictions compelled them to be nothing less than heroic. The poignancy of the risks taken and lives saved by so many people in a nation under German rule and guard is overwhelming.
4. Review Excerpts and Awards
Newbery Award Medal
Booklist review:
"Lowry tells her story well. . . . While the novel has an absorbing plot, its real strength lies in its evocation of deep friendship between two girls and of a caring family who make a profoundly moral choice to protect others during wartime. Permeated with clear elements of popular appeal as well as rich substance, this novel will also be an ideal support for classroom units on World War II."
Hornbook review:
“…The appended author's note details the historical incidents upon which Lowry bases her plot. By employing the limited omniscient third-person perspective, she draws the reader into the intensity of the situation as a child of Annemarie's age might perceive it. The message is so closely woven into the carefully honed narrative that the whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable--impossible to put down; difficult to forget."
5. CONNECTIONS
This book underscores the points of bravery, risk, and sacrifice.
It could be used in a Social Studies unit.
It could be used to discuss diversity.
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. NUMBER THE STARS. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1989. ISBN 0440403278.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
What does it mean to be brave? This is a question Annemarie Johansen has to face at the tender age of ten years old in 1943 Denmark. Nazi soldiers occupy every street corner. The Danes are treated with cold suspicion. Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen, is Jewish. That fact becomes important to Annemarie as events unfold that show her the danger her friend and others like her face at the hands of the Nazi regime because they are Jews. At the same time, Annemarie sees the sacrifices her own family is willing to make and life-and-death risks that must be taken to keep their friends free. Early on in this story, when thinking about the danger that the Jews and those who were caught trying to hide them would face, the book tells us Annemarie’s thoughts: “Would she die to protect them? Truly? Annemarie was honest enough to admit, there in the darkness, to herself, that she wasn’t sure.” The time comes when circumstances require Annemarie to be brave and risk her life alongside her family. The reader learns of the historically heroic people of Denmark. In the Afterward of this book, it is explained that due to the efforts of such convicted, valiant people, “In the weeks following the Jewish New Year, almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark- nearly seven thousand people- was smuggled across the sea to Sweden.” This was not accomplished without bloodshed; very young men and women of the Resistance were executed when caught trying to aide the Jews in escape. This book reads as a testament to those brave souls.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The subject of the Holocaust brings to mind a very dark and depraved time in history. This book focuses on the bravery of Denmark, though captured by the Nazis. Through the eyes of the main character, Annemarie Johansen, the reader learns about what the world was like at that time and place. Annemarie tells us that people don’t laugh as they used to before the Germans came. Food is scarce and often confiscated by the Germans for their own use. A simple act of two young girls running and racing in the street is cause for suspicion from the two German guards who daily man that part of the street. Citizens of Denmark, whatever their faith, are easily made into targets for harassment or cruelty from the Nazi soldiers. Historic fact bears out in horrific detail the heinous acts of the Nazis against the Jews. To some degree the soldiers in this book seemed one-dimensional, as in a morality tale, without much individualization. Perhaps this was necessary to represent the entirety of the carnage left behind by that regime. So many ordinary people’s convictions compelled them to be nothing less than heroic. The poignancy of the risks taken and lives saved by so many people in a nation under German rule and guard is overwhelming.
4. Review Excerpts and Awards
Newbery Award Medal
Booklist review:
"Lowry tells her story well. . . . While the novel has an absorbing plot, its real strength lies in its evocation of deep friendship between two girls and of a caring family who make a profoundly moral choice to protect others during wartime. Permeated with clear elements of popular appeal as well as rich substance, this novel will also be an ideal support for classroom units on World War II."
Hornbook review:
“…The appended author's note details the historical incidents upon which Lowry bases her plot. By employing the limited omniscient third-person perspective, she draws the reader into the intensity of the situation as a child of Annemarie's age might perceive it. The message is so closely woven into the carefully honed narrative that the whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable--impossible to put down; difficult to forget."
5. CONNECTIONS
This book underscores the points of bravery, risk, and sacrifice.
It could be used in a Social Studies unit.
It could be used to discuss diversity.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Book Review: Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World (Module 4)
1. Bibliography
Armstrong, Jennifer. SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD: THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF SHACKLETON AND THE ENDURANCE. New York: Crown Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0517800144.
2. Plot Summary
Antarctica was a mysterious frozen continent which had not been sighted prior to the 19th century. This is one of the facts we learn in Armstrong’s account of Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica in 1915. At the turn of the 20th century, numerous attempts were made by various adventurers to reach it, explore it, and literally “put it on the map.” One such adventurer was Englishman Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, who made several attempts in competition with others to walk on the ice of Antarctica’s interior and document what was found there. Shackleton took meticulous care in choosing his crew, filling his ship with necessary food and supplies, and relying upon the Norwegian craftsmanship and knowledge of icy water conditions that built his ship for the journey, The Endurance. Endurance in its psychological sense was certainly needed by the crew when the ship collapsed from the pressure exerted upon it by the frozen waters. Thereafter, the story shifts to the hardships suffered by the crew, and ultimately, the miracle that all crew members survived.
3. Critical Analysis
Captions under original photos, a wealth of information from the trivial to the essential within the text, and the bibliographical sources included in the back of the book give evidence of much research and discovery in the preparation for writing this account of Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica on the Endurance. The subject matter was compelling. Stating facts without emotion as a continuous narrative style through a book of more than 128 pages can seem a little dry – unfortunately, that was true of this book. Still, there was much to learn about what happened, and much to absorb in reading this book, at any age.
Although this book is intended for young adults, as with the expedition it documents, it is not for the faint of heart. There are disturbing revelations, such as on page 27. The necessity of hunting seals and penguins for supplemental food is as described as follows: “It was pitifully easy to kill the seals: they had no fear of anything on land, and the men could ski or walk up to the trusting animals and club them to death.” This may be more graphic description than is required, especially for young adults. Page 11 shows a photo taken of a ship’s stowaway (who became the ship’s steward) with a cat named Mrs. Chippy perched upon his right shoulder. Later in the book, after the shipwreck, we learn, “In the meantime, there was much to get ready. Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter’s cat, had to be shot, because without the protection of the ship the dogs would have eaten him.” A mercy killing of sorts is described, and desperate times are said to call for desperate measures. Still, the unemotional statement of these and other facts have the potential to depress the reader with brutality as much as to inform.
This book shows that exploring and documenting our world, even to recent centuries, has not been an easy task. It shows how wild and unforgiving our world can be, and yet how resilient and persevering mankind can be in trying to make the unknown the known.
4. Review Excerpts
Booklist review:
"Using text filled with details about daily life, quotes (unfortunately not sourced), fascinating archival photos by one of the members of the expedition, and insight into elements of science with important bearing on the story (navigation techniques, different kinds of ice), Armstrong paints a vivid picture of the ordeal."
School Library Journal review:
"...Utilizing Shackleton's memoirs and original expedition photographs, Kimmel re-creates events in exciting detail. She puts the story in historical perspective by comparing the exploration of Antarctica to the exploration of space, which plays a part in making this an accessible but not oversimplified account."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books review:
"...The author uses her sources well for provision of evocative details, such as the impact, a year after getting stuck in the ice and four months after abandoning the ship, of the discovery of a twig and the homesickness engendered by the smell of its burning. Nor does she shrink from harder truths about the fate of the ship's sled dogs and cat mascot, but the overwhelming impression is of the skill and luck that enabled Shackleton to bring all his men back alive."
Connections:
This book could be used in conjunction with a unit on exploration in history.
Armstrong, Jennifer. SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD: THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF SHACKLETON AND THE ENDURANCE. New York: Crown Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0517800144.
2. Plot Summary
Antarctica was a mysterious frozen continent which had not been sighted prior to the 19th century. This is one of the facts we learn in Armstrong’s account of Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica in 1915. At the turn of the 20th century, numerous attempts were made by various adventurers to reach it, explore it, and literally “put it on the map.” One such adventurer was Englishman Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, who made several attempts in competition with others to walk on the ice of Antarctica’s interior and document what was found there. Shackleton took meticulous care in choosing his crew, filling his ship with necessary food and supplies, and relying upon the Norwegian craftsmanship and knowledge of icy water conditions that built his ship for the journey, The Endurance. Endurance in its psychological sense was certainly needed by the crew when the ship collapsed from the pressure exerted upon it by the frozen waters. Thereafter, the story shifts to the hardships suffered by the crew, and ultimately, the miracle that all crew members survived.
3. Critical Analysis
Captions under original photos, a wealth of information from the trivial to the essential within the text, and the bibliographical sources included in the back of the book give evidence of much research and discovery in the preparation for writing this account of Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica on the Endurance. The subject matter was compelling. Stating facts without emotion as a continuous narrative style through a book of more than 128 pages can seem a little dry – unfortunately, that was true of this book. Still, there was much to learn about what happened, and much to absorb in reading this book, at any age.
Although this book is intended for young adults, as with the expedition it documents, it is not for the faint of heart. There are disturbing revelations, such as on page 27. The necessity of hunting seals and penguins for supplemental food is as described as follows: “It was pitifully easy to kill the seals: they had no fear of anything on land, and the men could ski or walk up to the trusting animals and club them to death.” This may be more graphic description than is required, especially for young adults. Page 11 shows a photo taken of a ship’s stowaway (who became the ship’s steward) with a cat named Mrs. Chippy perched upon his right shoulder. Later in the book, after the shipwreck, we learn, “In the meantime, there was much to get ready. Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter’s cat, had to be shot, because without the protection of the ship the dogs would have eaten him.” A mercy killing of sorts is described, and desperate times are said to call for desperate measures. Still, the unemotional statement of these and other facts have the potential to depress the reader with brutality as much as to inform.
This book shows that exploring and documenting our world, even to recent centuries, has not been an easy task. It shows how wild and unforgiving our world can be, and yet how resilient and persevering mankind can be in trying to make the unknown the known.
4. Review Excerpts
Booklist review:
"Using text filled with details about daily life, quotes (unfortunately not sourced), fascinating archival photos by one of the members of the expedition, and insight into elements of science with important bearing on the story (navigation techniques, different kinds of ice), Armstrong paints a vivid picture of the ordeal."
School Library Journal review:
"...Utilizing Shackleton's memoirs and original expedition photographs, Kimmel re-creates events in exciting detail. She puts the story in historical perspective by comparing the exploration of Antarctica to the exploration of space, which plays a part in making this an accessible but not oversimplified account."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books review:
"...The author uses her sources well for provision of evocative details, such as the impact, a year after getting stuck in the ice and four months after abandoning the ship, of the discovery of a twig and the homesickness engendered by the smell of its burning. Nor does she shrink from harder truths about the fate of the ship's sled dogs and cat mascot, but the overwhelming impression is of the skill and luck that enabled Shackleton to bring all his men back alive."
Connections:
This book could be used in conjunction with a unit on exploration in history.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Book Review -- The Road to Oz (Module 4)
Biography by Kathleen Krull
1. Bibliography
Krull, Kathleen. THE ROAD TO OZ: TWISTS, TURNS, BUMPS, AND TRIUMPHS IN THE LIFE OF L. FRANK BAUM. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. ISBN 03759322168.
2. Plot Summary
This autobiography of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull details the colorful life of the creator of "The Wizard of Oz" and the Oz books that followed. We learn of Baum's wealthy upbringing, his vivid imagination, and his love of children and storytelling. We learn of his various careers and his great love of his family life. "The Wizard of Oz" was published in 1900. In the "Storyteller's Note" at the back of the book, the author points out, "...Oz was the Harry Potter of it's day..."
3. Critical Analyis
The reader learns how very likeable and yet how very human Baum was. Children learn of some of Baum's inspirations for the book. Although several examples are given, one example is that the tin man likely came into being from Baum's stint as a window dresser in a hardware store, in which he made a unique display - a man made of metal parts.
Many of Kevin Hawkes illustrations hint at other inspirations. A scarecrow on a hillside, poppies growing roadside, and a broom being used for a prop for one of Baum's stories are several examples. The pictures throughout are very colorful. They carry the action on associated pages well.
4. Review Excerpts
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books review:
"...Sprinkled through with wry parenthetical asides, Krull's text is witty and reader-friendly, and it provides a narrative yellow brick road that makes the writing of the Oz books seem inevitable, a natural out'growth of all of the experiences Baum had along the way..."
Hornbook review:
"Though Baum's financial ups and downs before Oz offer dramatic "bumps," that may not be the most appropriate structure for his life story... Krull's frequent parentheses produce a distracting stop-start rhythm: "Finally it dawned on Frank that he could be writing down those bedtime fantasies he told the children. (Actually, his mother-in-law was the one who pointed this out.)" Krull does describe Baum's anti-Native editorials in his small Dakota newspaper more forthrightly than previous biographers. In all, an entertaining look at how a peripatetic man in a rapidly changing society produced a lasting fantasy tale."
The Christian Science Monitor review:
"Younger readers will enjoy the vibrant, detailed illustrations, while older readers (or history buffs) will delight in the little-known facts and literary allusions. . . . Sharp-eyed readers will also spot references to the story of the girl from Kansas who trekked to the Emerald city--even on the first page of this colorful biography..."
5. Connections
This book could be used in a unit to show what biographies are. It could also be incorporated supplementally into a study of "The Wizard of Oz" or any of the Oz books. It could also be used to illustrate the value of focus and perserverance.
1. Bibliography
Krull, Kathleen. THE ROAD TO OZ: TWISTS, TURNS, BUMPS, AND TRIUMPHS IN THE LIFE OF L. FRANK BAUM. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. ISBN 03759322168.
2. Plot Summary
This autobiography of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull details the colorful life of the creator of "The Wizard of Oz" and the Oz books that followed. We learn of Baum's wealthy upbringing, his vivid imagination, and his love of children and storytelling. We learn of his various careers and his great love of his family life. "The Wizard of Oz" was published in 1900. In the "Storyteller's Note" at the back of the book, the author points out, "...Oz was the Harry Potter of it's day..."
3. Critical Analyis
The reader learns how very likeable and yet how very human Baum was. Children learn of some of Baum's inspirations for the book. Although several examples are given, one example is that the tin man likely came into being from Baum's stint as a window dresser in a hardware store, in which he made a unique display - a man made of metal parts.
Many of Kevin Hawkes illustrations hint at other inspirations. A scarecrow on a hillside, poppies growing roadside, and a broom being used for a prop for one of Baum's stories are several examples. The pictures throughout are very colorful. They carry the action on associated pages well.
4. Review Excerpts
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books review:
"...Sprinkled through with wry parenthetical asides, Krull's text is witty and reader-friendly, and it provides a narrative yellow brick road that makes the writing of the Oz books seem inevitable, a natural out'growth of all of the experiences Baum had along the way..."
Hornbook review:
"Though Baum's financial ups and downs before Oz offer dramatic "bumps," that may not be the most appropriate structure for his life story... Krull's frequent parentheses produce a distracting stop-start rhythm: "Finally it dawned on Frank that he could be writing down those bedtime fantasies he told the children. (Actually, his mother-in-law was the one who pointed this out.)" Krull does describe Baum's anti-Native editorials in his small Dakota newspaper more forthrightly than previous biographers. In all, an entertaining look at how a peripatetic man in a rapidly changing society produced a lasting fantasy tale."
The Christian Science Monitor review:
"Younger readers will enjoy the vibrant, detailed illustrations, while older readers (or history buffs) will delight in the little-known facts and literary allusions. . . . Sharp-eyed readers will also spot references to the story of the girl from Kansas who trekked to the Emerald city--even on the first page of this colorful biography..."
5. Connections
This book could be used in a unit to show what biographies are. It could also be incorporated supplementally into a study of "The Wizard of Oz" or any of the Oz books. It could also be used to illustrate the value of focus and perserverance.
Book Review -- Giant Snakes (Module 4)
Non-fiction book by Seymour Simon
1. Bibliography
Simon, Seymour. GIANT SNAKES. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN 0118854108.
2. Plot Summary
Boa Constrictors and Pythons are the giant snakes of our world. This book describes and explains details about these two types of giant snakes. The reader finds that these snakes differ from each other in some ways - the boa gives birth to live young, while the python lays eggs which she guards until they hatch. These snakes are very much alike in other ways, such as their physical characteristics - they both lack outside ears and eyelids. Many facts are presented about the diet, hunting techniques, habitat, and size of these snakes. Full-color photographs of these snakes are provided on every page.
3. Critical Analysis
This book, written as a Level 2 reader for elementary grades 1-3, provides an overview of giant snakes, which are the boa constrictors and pythons of our world. The average lifespan of these snakes is an example of a question that this book does not address, focusing instead mainly on the birth, size, and eating habits of various giant snakes. Still, many interesting facts about these snakes are presented. The book concludes with the reassurance that attacks on human beings by giant snakes are rare, and the call to remember that "snakes are neither good nor bad. Giant Snakes are part of the natural life of the countries in which they live."
One page states that "Anacondas are the largest snakes in the world." The following page states that "[t]he reticulated (re-TICK-u-late-d) python of Southeast Asia is the longest snake in the world." It is difficult to determine which snake is the biggest, since it is unclear whether length or width is the determining factor. Despite this seeming contradiction, the idea that these snakes are quite large does come through, many of them approaching or exceeding 30 feet in length.
The photographs do add to the comprehension of the subject matter. There are some fairly graphic images included. One shows a snake suffocating a mouse, the mouse wearing an agonized expression. Another photo shows a boa constrictor giving birth to live young.
4. Review Excerpts:
Science Books & Films review:
"The text is lively, well organized, and clear, with the many facts it presents cleverly woven into the story. The illustrations, which are beautiful, show distinctly the intricate patterns of the snakes' skin. The differently colored pages of the book are attractive, and often the color is perfect for the information presented. The book is easy to read, and there was only one typo to mar the presentation. This book would be ideal for the classroom or the young reader's bookshelf."
5. Connections
This book could be used to supplement a study of reptiles in general or snakes in particular. It could be used in a compare and contrast study of snakes, some being poisonous, some not, some giant, some small, and the like.
1. Bibliography
Simon, Seymour. GIANT SNAKES. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN 0118854108.
2. Plot Summary
Boa Constrictors and Pythons are the giant snakes of our world. This book describes and explains details about these two types of giant snakes. The reader finds that these snakes differ from each other in some ways - the boa gives birth to live young, while the python lays eggs which she guards until they hatch. These snakes are very much alike in other ways, such as their physical characteristics - they both lack outside ears and eyelids. Many facts are presented about the diet, hunting techniques, habitat, and size of these snakes. Full-color photographs of these snakes are provided on every page.
3. Critical Analysis
This book, written as a Level 2 reader for elementary grades 1-3, provides an overview of giant snakes, which are the boa constrictors and pythons of our world. The average lifespan of these snakes is an example of a question that this book does not address, focusing instead mainly on the birth, size, and eating habits of various giant snakes. Still, many interesting facts about these snakes are presented. The book concludes with the reassurance that attacks on human beings by giant snakes are rare, and the call to remember that "snakes are neither good nor bad. Giant Snakes are part of the natural life of the countries in which they live."
One page states that "Anacondas are the largest snakes in the world." The following page states that "[t]he reticulated (re-TICK-u-late-d) python of Southeast Asia is the longest snake in the world." It is difficult to determine which snake is the biggest, since it is unclear whether length or width is the determining factor. Despite this seeming contradiction, the idea that these snakes are quite large does come through, many of them approaching or exceeding 30 feet in length.
The photographs do add to the comprehension of the subject matter. There are some fairly graphic images included. One shows a snake suffocating a mouse, the mouse wearing an agonized expression. Another photo shows a boa constrictor giving birth to live young.
4. Review Excerpts:
Science Books & Films review:
"The text is lively, well organized, and clear, with the many facts it presents cleverly woven into the story. The illustrations, which are beautiful, show distinctly the intricate patterns of the snakes' skin. The differently colored pages of the book are attractive, and often the color is perfect for the information presented. The book is easy to read, and there was only one typo to mar the presentation. This book would be ideal for the classroom or the young reader's bookshelf."
5. Connections
This book could be used to supplement a study of reptiles in general or snakes in particular. It could be used in a compare and contrast study of snakes, some being poisonous, some not, some giant, some small, and the like.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Book Review -- Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy (Module 3)
Verse Novel
1. Bibliography
Sones, Sonya. STOP PRETENDING: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY BIG SISTER WENT CRAZY. New York: HarperTempest, 1999. ISBN 0064462188.
2. Plot Summary
When the author was twelve years old, her older sister had a nervous breakdown on Christmas Eve, requiring months of hospitalization in a psychiatric ward. This book was drawn from that time in Sones’s life. The book provides a free verse poetic memoir of what that time was like for the author and her family, and their collective journey as a family toward recovery.
3. Critical Analysis
The strength of this verse novel is its straight-forward style. The narrator, affectionately called “Cookie” by her family, tells about dealing with her sister’s mental illness as if she were writing in her journal; it is offered with candor. We are allowed into her world and into her mind, where as a young adult she must cope with a sudden, tragic, and extreme change in her family status quo – her sister is suffering from a mental breakdown, and her entire family feels powerless to help her. The narrator desperately wants her sister back, as she was before, and wants her family to return to the happiness they knew before the breakdown happened. This verse novel is a journey toward hope.
4. Awards and Review Excerpts
Christopher Award
Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry
Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award
Gradiva Award for Pest Poetry Book
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
IRA/CBC Young Adults Choice
(And the list goes on…)
Review Excerpts:
School Library Journal review:
“An unpretentious, accessible book that could provide entry points for a discussion about mental illness-its stigma, its realities, and its affect on family members. Based on the journals Sones wrote at the age of 13 when her 19-year-old sister was hospitalized due to manic depression, the simply crafted but deeply felt poems reflect her thoughts, fears, hopes, and dreams during that troubling time…”
Kirkus review:
“In a story based on real events, and told in poems, Sones explores what happened and how she reacted when her adored older sister suddenly began screaming and hearing voices in her head, and was ultimately hospitalized. Individually, the poems appear simple and unremarkable, snapshot portraits of two sisters, a family, unfaithful friends, and a sweet first love. Collected, they take on life and movement, the individual frames of a movie that in the unspooling become animated, telling a compelling tale and presenting a painful passage through young adolescence…”
5. Connections
This verse novel could be used to discuss mental illness and its effect on the sufferer and their family and friends.
1. Bibliography
Sones, Sonya. STOP PRETENDING: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY BIG SISTER WENT CRAZY. New York: HarperTempest, 1999. ISBN 0064462188.
2. Plot Summary
When the author was twelve years old, her older sister had a nervous breakdown on Christmas Eve, requiring months of hospitalization in a psychiatric ward. This book was drawn from that time in Sones’s life. The book provides a free verse poetic memoir of what that time was like for the author and her family, and their collective journey as a family toward recovery.
3. Critical Analysis
The strength of this verse novel is its straight-forward style. The narrator, affectionately called “Cookie” by her family, tells about dealing with her sister’s mental illness as if she were writing in her journal; it is offered with candor. We are allowed into her world and into her mind, where as a young adult she must cope with a sudden, tragic, and extreme change in her family status quo – her sister is suffering from a mental breakdown, and her entire family feels powerless to help her. The narrator desperately wants her sister back, as she was before, and wants her family to return to the happiness they knew before the breakdown happened. This verse novel is a journey toward hope.
4. Awards and Review Excerpts
Christopher Award
Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry
Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award
Gradiva Award for Pest Poetry Book
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
IRA/CBC Young Adults Choice
(And the list goes on…)
Review Excerpts:
School Library Journal review:
“An unpretentious, accessible book that could provide entry points for a discussion about mental illness-its stigma, its realities, and its affect on family members. Based on the journals Sones wrote at the age of 13 when her 19-year-old sister was hospitalized due to manic depression, the simply crafted but deeply felt poems reflect her thoughts, fears, hopes, and dreams during that troubling time…”
Kirkus review:
“In a story based on real events, and told in poems, Sones explores what happened and how she reacted when her adored older sister suddenly began screaming and hearing voices in her head, and was ultimately hospitalized. Individually, the poems appear simple and unremarkable, snapshot portraits of two sisters, a family, unfaithful friends, and a sweet first love. Collected, they take on life and movement, the individual frames of a movie that in the unspooling become animated, telling a compelling tale and presenting a painful passage through young adolescence…”
5. Connections
This verse novel could be used to discuss mental illness and its effect on the sufferer and their family and friends.
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