Bibliography
Krosoczka, Jarrett J. LUNCH LADY AND THE LEAGUE OF LIBRARIANS. New York: Random House, 2009. ISBN 978-0-375-84684-7.
Plot Summary
The librarians are hiding something from the school. Three inquisitive students set out to uncover the mystery, but have to enlist the help of the Lunch Lady and her partner to solve the crime and rid the streets of the evil League of Librarians.
Critical Analysis
The story, itself, is very funny. It is written for children, but can be appreciated by any age. Krozoczka inserts funny lines for the lunch ladies that fit their job and their personalities like “Things are getting applesaucy” and “Great Tuna!” When the ultimate showdown between the two teams occurs, the librarians power is the unleash characters from various books upon the lunch ladies. This includes Black Beauty and the Lion from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. These touches make the book humorous. The lunch ladies retaliate with hairnet nets and banana boomerangs. The author knows his audience wants a story they can understand and find humor in quickly and he does an excellent job of delivering on both parts.
It is so obvious Krozoczka has a deep passion for comics and graphic novels. His illustrations are beautifully done, but provide the humor needed to accompany his story. While only using shades of black, white and yellow throughout the book, nothing is lacking and it feels like a fully colored book. He includes tiny details like the computer keyboard “click” in the background of the illustrations. It shows the level of detail he put into making this book. I think my favorite illustrations were of the characters the League of Librarians unleashed. The wolf from The Three Little Pigs and all the characters from Alice in Wonderland made a funny and well drawn climax to the story. The greatly done illustrations paired with a funny story make this a fun read for many ages.
Review Excerpts
“When not serving up French fries and gravy to students, Lunch Lady escapes to her secret kitchen lair to lead the life of a crime fighter. Using an assortment of lunch-themed gadgets (created by her sidekick Betty), she is definitely a quirky superhero. Tipped off by the Breakfast Bunch (three students who discovered Lunch Lady's crime-fighting alter ego in Book 1), she attempts to foil the plans of the evil League of Librarians, who seek to destroy all video games. The black-and-white pen-and-ink illustrations have splashes of yellow in nearly every panel. The clean layout, featuring lots of open space, is well suited for the intended audience. Terrence, Hector, and Dee become more developed in this second installment in the series, especially Dee, who asserts herself as the strong-willed leader of the group. The winking references to book fairs, read-a-thon enrollment, and media specialists fit well with the story line. With its appealing mix of action and humor, this clever, entertaining addition to the series should have wide appeal.” – School Library Journal
Connections
Read other books in Krozoczka’s Lunch Lady series: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown, Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta, and Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit.
Have students write their own comics of adults with their own superpowers. What kind of superhero props would their math teacher have? What about the principal? Their parents? Their grandparents?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bibliography
Anderson, Laurie Halse. SPEAK. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0142407325.
Plot Summary
Melinda begins her freshman year of high school barely speaking to anyone because of an event over the summer that emotionally scarred her. She spends her freshman year trying to reconcile what happened at the seniors’ party over the summer with the way her life has dramatically changed in the course of a year.
Critical Analysis
The story is beautifully told by Anderson. She allows the reader to discover the reasons behind Melinda’s muteness and decide for themselves which side they want to take. Anderson presents the rape from Melinda’s perspective which makes it feel like an invasion against the readers themselves. Melinda is an outcast in her school because she doesn’t want to conform to the other kids in her school because of the incident with Andy. I think what Anderson does best is present a story that is not centered around the incident, but the aftermath of it. This makes the trauma Melinda goes through much more relatable. I think readers that may be the same age as Melinda understand what it’s like to have an event that so shakes you that you don’t even know how to handle it. Because Anderson is able to go at it from the angle of an outcast because of something beyond her own doing, the book is a success in bringing readers a story of having to deal with issues as well as finding hope from it.
I think Mr. Freeman is one of the most rewarding parts of the book. At such a time in a child’s life, I think they need an adult figure to look up to. Because Melinda’s parents seem to be more and more absent from Melinda’s daily activities, Mr. Freeman is the adult in Melinda’s life that pushes her to express herself which she does through art. Eventually, Mr. Freeman is the one Melinda tells her story to and she is finally able to move on.
The tone is dark, but rightly so. As Melinda has to deal with this secret, she is not able to move on and be a happy teenager until her pain has been absolved. The title of the book is interesting. While Melinda just does not talk for part of the book, it is because her pain has manifested itself into physical silence. The title reflects not only Melinda’s need to speak about the incident in order to move on, but her inability to speak. In the newest cover of the book, there is a face with a tree over it. The leaves go over the face, but there mouth is noticeably absent.
Awards and Review Excerpts
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Top-10 Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
Edgar Allen Poe Award finalist
IRA Young Adult Choice
Junior Library Guild Selection
Michal L. Printz Honor Book (American Library Association)
National Book Award Finalist
New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
New York Times Bestseller List
SCBWI Golden Kite Award
YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults
“In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. Divided into the four marking periods of an academic year, the novel, narrated by Melinda Sordino, begins on her first day as a high school freshman. No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. A girl at a school pep rally offers an explanation of the heroine's pariah status when she confronts Melinda about calling the police at a summer party, resulting in several arrests. But readers do not learn why Melinda made the call until much later: a popular senior raped her that night and, because of her trauma, she barely speaks at all. Only through her work in art class, and with the support of a compassionate teacher there, does she begin to reach out to others and eventually find her voice. Through the first-person narration, the author makes Melinda's pain palpable: "I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special." Though the symbolism is sometimes heavy-handed, it is effective. The ending, in which her attacker comes after her once more, is the only part of the plot that feels forced. But the book's overall gritty realism and Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired.” – Publisher’s Weekly
“Anderson’s words often seem gleaned directly from a confused teenager’s soul.” – Audiofile
Connections
Read other young adult novels by Anderson. Catalyst, in particular, is set in the same community as Speak and focuses on what happens to Kate when her world suddenly spins out of her control.
Watch the 2004 film version of Speak. Starring Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, it is a great movie version of the novel.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. SPEAK. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0142407325.
Plot Summary
Melinda begins her freshman year of high school barely speaking to anyone because of an event over the summer that emotionally scarred her. She spends her freshman year trying to reconcile what happened at the seniors’ party over the summer with the way her life has dramatically changed in the course of a year.
Critical Analysis
The story is beautifully told by Anderson. She allows the reader to discover the reasons behind Melinda’s muteness and decide for themselves which side they want to take. Anderson presents the rape from Melinda’s perspective which makes it feel like an invasion against the readers themselves. Melinda is an outcast in her school because she doesn’t want to conform to the other kids in her school because of the incident with Andy. I think what Anderson does best is present a story that is not centered around the incident, but the aftermath of it. This makes the trauma Melinda goes through much more relatable. I think readers that may be the same age as Melinda understand what it’s like to have an event that so shakes you that you don’t even know how to handle it. Because Anderson is able to go at it from the angle of an outcast because of something beyond her own doing, the book is a success in bringing readers a story of having to deal with issues as well as finding hope from it.
I think Mr. Freeman is one of the most rewarding parts of the book. At such a time in a child’s life, I think they need an adult figure to look up to. Because Melinda’s parents seem to be more and more absent from Melinda’s daily activities, Mr. Freeman is the adult in Melinda’s life that pushes her to express herself which she does through art. Eventually, Mr. Freeman is the one Melinda tells her story to and she is finally able to move on.
The tone is dark, but rightly so. As Melinda has to deal with this secret, she is not able to move on and be a happy teenager until her pain has been absolved. The title of the book is interesting. While Melinda just does not talk for part of the book, it is because her pain has manifested itself into physical silence. The title reflects not only Melinda’s need to speak about the incident in order to move on, but her inability to speak. In the newest cover of the book, there is a face with a tree over it. The leaves go over the face, but there mouth is noticeably absent.
Awards and Review Excerpts
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Top-10 Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
Edgar Allen Poe Award finalist
IRA Young Adult Choice
Junior Library Guild Selection
Michal L. Printz Honor Book (American Library Association)
National Book Award Finalist
New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
New York Times Bestseller List
SCBWI Golden Kite Award
YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults
“In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. Divided into the four marking periods of an academic year, the novel, narrated by Melinda Sordino, begins on her first day as a high school freshman. No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. A girl at a school pep rally offers an explanation of the heroine's pariah status when she confronts Melinda about calling the police at a summer party, resulting in several arrests. But readers do not learn why Melinda made the call until much later: a popular senior raped her that night and, because of her trauma, she barely speaks at all. Only through her work in art class, and with the support of a compassionate teacher there, does she begin to reach out to others and eventually find her voice. Through the first-person narration, the author makes Melinda's pain palpable: "I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special." Though the symbolism is sometimes heavy-handed, it is effective. The ending, in which her attacker comes after her once more, is the only part of the plot that feels forced. But the book's overall gritty realism and Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired.” – Publisher’s Weekly
“Anderson’s words often seem gleaned directly from a confused teenager’s soul.” – Audiofile
Connections
Read other young adult novels by Anderson. Catalyst, in particular, is set in the same community as Speak and focuses on what happens to Kate when her world suddenly spins out of her control.
Watch the 2004 film version of Speak. Starring Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, it is a great movie version of the novel.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Bibliography
Stead, Rebecca. WHEN YOU REACH ME. New York: Yearling, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0375850868.
Plot Summary
New York sixth-grader Miranda suddenly receives mysterious notes asking her to do things in the future. As she tries to decipher what the notes mean, she has to grapple with the falling apart of her friendship with her best friend Sal, the curious homeless man on her street corner and her mother as she grows closer to her boyfriend. Coupled with her mother’s upcoming appearance on $25,000 Pyramid, Miranda’s life takes twists she never expected.
Critical Analysis
The book is categorized as a mystery/science fiction book, but the story is so well put together it really seems like mystery is the underlying genre. It makes many mentions to Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time which Steadman said she loved growing up and relied on the premise of in this story. Because Miranda’s relationships around the happenings in her life are at the forefront of the story, the book can still be enjoyed by someone who doesn’t necessarily go to the mystery/sci-fi genre.
I think the biggest strength in the book is that Miranda is a likeable character. It is easy to care about her relationship with Sal and with her mother because you care about her. She is smart, nice and a little precocious. She genuinely wants to help the homeless man on her street and tries to be a good employee when she goes to work at the sandwich shop. Steadman greatly understands the feelings and thoughts of a twelve year old. Miranda is like most girls at her age, realizing that life has suddenly gotten hard and people leave. She is starting to see how life changes when friendships fail and parents don’t make you their day to day priority. She deals with making new friends and balancing her mother’s attention in a delicate way that actually makes sense. Once combined with the mystery that suddenly appears allowing her to be distracted from her other problems, Miranda shows she’s much stronger than she even thought.
Steadman’s writing is grown up, but completely applicable to her target audience. She doesn’t talk down to them, but lays out the story in a complex, but easy to follow way. Through this, Steadman allows the readers to travel through the story through Miranda’s eyes.
Awards and Review Excerpts
2010 Newberry Award Winner
2009 New York Times Notable Book
2009 Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books
2009 Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year
2009 School Library Journal Book of the Year
2009 Booklist Editor’s Choice
2009 Horn Book Fanfare
2010 ALA Notable Children’s Book
"Every scene, every nuance, every word is vital both to character development and the progression of the mystery that really is going to engage readers and satisfy them.” – Katie O’Dell, Chairwoman of Newberry Award Committee
“Sixth-grader Miranda lives in 1978 New York City with her mother, and her life compass is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. When she receives a series of enigmatic notes that claim to want to save her life, she comes to believe that they are from someone who knows the future. Miranda spends considerable time observing a raving vagrant who her mother calls the laughing man and trying to find the connection between the notes and her everyday life. Discerning readers will realize the ties between Miranda's mystery and L'Engle's plot, but will enjoy hints of fantasy and descriptions of middle school dynamics. Stead's novel is as much about character as story. Miranda's voice rings true with its faltering attempts at maturity and observation. The story builds slowly, emerging naturally from a sturdy premise. As Miranda reminisces, the time sequencing is somewhat challenging, but in an intriguing way. The setting is consistently strong. The stores and even the streets–in Miranda's neighborhood act as physical entities and impact the plot in tangible ways. This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers.” – School Library Journal
Connections
The book deals with clues that reveal something in the future. Have students write letters or clues to their future self. What do they want to realize or to find out? What do they think will be important or life changing to them in a couple months or a couple years?
Miranda loses a friend, but makes others along the way. One of the friends she makes is someone she didn’t like the first time she met her. Have students write about a time in their life when they felt that way. Did they lose someone they were once close to? Did they end up friends with someone they disliked the first go round? What made them change their mind?
Stead, Rebecca. WHEN YOU REACH ME. New York: Yearling, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0375850868.
Plot Summary
New York sixth-grader Miranda suddenly receives mysterious notes asking her to do things in the future. As she tries to decipher what the notes mean, she has to grapple with the falling apart of her friendship with her best friend Sal, the curious homeless man on her street corner and her mother as she grows closer to her boyfriend. Coupled with her mother’s upcoming appearance on $25,000 Pyramid, Miranda’s life takes twists she never expected.
Critical Analysis
The book is categorized as a mystery/science fiction book, but the story is so well put together it really seems like mystery is the underlying genre. It makes many mentions to Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time which Steadman said she loved growing up and relied on the premise of in this story. Because Miranda’s relationships around the happenings in her life are at the forefront of the story, the book can still be enjoyed by someone who doesn’t necessarily go to the mystery/sci-fi genre.
I think the biggest strength in the book is that Miranda is a likeable character. It is easy to care about her relationship with Sal and with her mother because you care about her. She is smart, nice and a little precocious. She genuinely wants to help the homeless man on her street and tries to be a good employee when she goes to work at the sandwich shop. Steadman greatly understands the feelings and thoughts of a twelve year old. Miranda is like most girls at her age, realizing that life has suddenly gotten hard and people leave. She is starting to see how life changes when friendships fail and parents don’t make you their day to day priority. She deals with making new friends and balancing her mother’s attention in a delicate way that actually makes sense. Once combined with the mystery that suddenly appears allowing her to be distracted from her other problems, Miranda shows she’s much stronger than she even thought.
Steadman’s writing is grown up, but completely applicable to her target audience. She doesn’t talk down to them, but lays out the story in a complex, but easy to follow way. Through this, Steadman allows the readers to travel through the story through Miranda’s eyes.
Awards and Review Excerpts
2010 Newberry Award Winner
2009 New York Times Notable Book
2009 Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books
2009 Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year
2009 School Library Journal Book of the Year
2009 Booklist Editor’s Choice
2009 Horn Book Fanfare
2010 ALA Notable Children’s Book
"Every scene, every nuance, every word is vital both to character development and the progression of the mystery that really is going to engage readers and satisfy them.” – Katie O’Dell, Chairwoman of Newberry Award Committee
“Sixth-grader Miranda lives in 1978 New York City with her mother, and her life compass is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. When she receives a series of enigmatic notes that claim to want to save her life, she comes to believe that they are from someone who knows the future. Miranda spends considerable time observing a raving vagrant who her mother calls the laughing man and trying to find the connection between the notes and her everyday life. Discerning readers will realize the ties between Miranda's mystery and L'Engle's plot, but will enjoy hints of fantasy and descriptions of middle school dynamics. Stead's novel is as much about character as story. Miranda's voice rings true with its faltering attempts at maturity and observation. The story builds slowly, emerging naturally from a sturdy premise. As Miranda reminisces, the time sequencing is somewhat challenging, but in an intriguing way. The setting is consistently strong. The stores and even the streets–in Miranda's neighborhood act as physical entities and impact the plot in tangible ways. This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers.” – School Library Journal
Connections
The book deals with clues that reveal something in the future. Have students write letters or clues to their future self. What do they want to realize or to find out? What do they think will be important or life changing to them in a couple months or a couple years?
Miranda loses a friend, but makes others along the way. One of the friends she makes is someone she didn’t like the first time she met her. Have students write about a time in their life when they felt that way. Did they lose someone they were once close to? Did they end up friends with someone they disliked the first go round? What made them change their mind?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Bibliography
Williams-Garcia, Rita. ONE CRAZY SUMMER. New York: Amistad, 2010. ISBN 978-0-06076088-5
Plot Summary
African American sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are sent from their father and grandmother’s house in Brooklyn to Oakland , CA to spend the summer with their estranged mother, Cecile. Their mother seems to be hiding a big secret, being somehow involved with the Black Panthers. When Cecile sends her daughters to the rec center down the street, the three girls end up in a Black Panther summer camp for children. The girls don’t quite understand why they are placed in this new place, especially since Cecile doesn’t seem to be at all interested in the daughters she left behind in Brooklyn. Delphine, eleven, is the oldest of the three girls, acting as the motherly figure to her sisters. She is responsible and smart beyond her years. Vonetta, nine, seeks to be the center of attention in all situations. Fern, seven, is the youngest and clings to her white baby doll, trying to be more grown up like her older sisters. As the summer progresses, the girls stop counting down the days until they leave and start to learn more and more about the Panthers and the mother who left them behind seven years prior. It is a summer of discovery of themselves, their family past and the future being made in front of their eyes in Oakland.
Critical Analysis
This book taught me a lot I did not know about the Black Panthers in a way that kept me entertained and did not feel like a history lesson. Garcia-Williams weaves the history of the Black Panthers and their cause into the story of Delphine and her sisters. Between learning about Huey Newton and the changing of Cassius Clay into Mohammed Ali, the overthrow of oppression of African Americans was thriving in Oakland .
Delphine is a strong young lady who has clearly been forced to grow up and care for her sisters far too early. Throughout the story, it is clear that the lack of her mother has led her to be the girl she is. Her sisters were younger when their mother left (with Fern being a newborn) so they have not been expected from their father or grandmother to step up like Delphine. I liked the very different personalities the three sisters had, but also the way Garcia-Williams explains how they are so similar. It is very hard to like Cecile who cares so little about her children, but as the story unfolds, it is apparent that she has had to do this in order to make her girls strong for the fights they’ll have to fight in their lives. A lot of very adult actions are introduced in front of the girls at the rec center, but I think they are actions that young children saw in real life. While hard lessons, I think those taught to Delphine and her sisters are worthwhile. I loved reading about the three girls finding their own voice, standing up for oppression and learning to accept a mother who abandoned them.
Awards and Review Excerpts
2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner
2011 Newbery Honor Book
2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction
2010 National Book Award Finalist
Junior Library Guild Selection
Texas Library Association Best Book for 2010
“Author Rita Williams-Garcia has a fine ear for the squabbles and fierce loyalties of siblings and a keen eye for kid-centered period details, including collect phone calls, go-go boots and the TV dolphin Flipper. With authenticity and humor, she portrays the ever-shifting dynamics among ultra-responsible Delphine, show-off Vonetta and stubborn Fern.” – Washington Post
“Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent’s love.” - Booklist
“And, I’m sorry. You can make amazing, believable characters all day if you want to, but there’s more to writing than just that. This writer doesn’t just conjure up people. She has a way with a turn of a phrase. Three Black Panthers talking with Cecile are, “Telling it like it is, like talking was their weapon.” Later Cecile tells her eldest daughter, “It wouldn’t kill you to be selfish, Delphine.” This book is a pleasure to cast your eyes over.” – School Library Journal
“Each girl has a distinct response to her motherless state, and Williams-Garcia provides details that make each characterization crystal clear. The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page.” – Kirkus Starred Review
Connections
· Travel from Brooklyn, NY to Oakland, CA plays a big role to the girls in the book. Have children learn about the cultures in Brooklyn and Oakland. What are the people like? The weather? What is there to do in these towns?
· Have students investigate the Black Panthers and prominent figures in the African American Civil Rights Movement. Read biographies like Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man With a Dream by Dharthahula H. Millender.
Williams-Garcia, Rita. ONE CRAZY SUMMER. New York: Amistad, 2010. ISBN 978-0-06076088-5
Plot Summary
African American sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are sent from their father and grandmother’s house in Brooklyn to Oakland , CA to spend the summer with their estranged mother, Cecile. Their mother seems to be hiding a big secret, being somehow involved with the Black Panthers. When Cecile sends her daughters to the rec center down the street, the three girls end up in a Black Panther summer camp for children. The girls don’t quite understand why they are placed in this new place, especially since Cecile doesn’t seem to be at all interested in the daughters she left behind in Brooklyn. Delphine, eleven, is the oldest of the three girls, acting as the motherly figure to her sisters. She is responsible and smart beyond her years. Vonetta, nine, seeks to be the center of attention in all situations. Fern, seven, is the youngest and clings to her white baby doll, trying to be more grown up like her older sisters. As the summer progresses, the girls stop counting down the days until they leave and start to learn more and more about the Panthers and the mother who left them behind seven years prior. It is a summer of discovery of themselves, their family past and the future being made in front of their eyes in Oakland.
Critical Analysis
This book taught me a lot I did not know about the Black Panthers in a way that kept me entertained and did not feel like a history lesson. Garcia-Williams weaves the history of the Black Panthers and their cause into the story of Delphine and her sisters. Between learning about Huey Newton and the changing of Cassius Clay into Mohammed Ali, the overthrow of oppression of African Americans was thriving in Oakland .
Delphine is a strong young lady who has clearly been forced to grow up and care for her sisters far too early. Throughout the story, it is clear that the lack of her mother has led her to be the girl she is. Her sisters were younger when their mother left (with Fern being a newborn) so they have not been expected from their father or grandmother to step up like Delphine. I liked the very different personalities the three sisters had, but also the way Garcia-Williams explains how they are so similar. It is very hard to like Cecile who cares so little about her children, but as the story unfolds, it is apparent that she has had to do this in order to make her girls strong for the fights they’ll have to fight in their lives. A lot of very adult actions are introduced in front of the girls at the rec center, but I think they are actions that young children saw in real life. While hard lessons, I think those taught to Delphine and her sisters are worthwhile. I loved reading about the three girls finding their own voice, standing up for oppression and learning to accept a mother who abandoned them.
Awards and Review Excerpts
2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner
2011 Newbery Honor Book
2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction
2010 National Book Award Finalist
Junior Library Guild Selection
Texas Library Association Best Book for 2010
“Author Rita Williams-Garcia has a fine ear for the squabbles and fierce loyalties of siblings and a keen eye for kid-centered period details, including collect phone calls, go-go boots and the TV dolphin Flipper. With authenticity and humor, she portrays the ever-shifting dynamics among ultra-responsible Delphine, show-off Vonetta and stubborn Fern.” – Washington Post
“Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent’s love.” - Booklist
“And, I’m sorry. You can make amazing, believable characters all day if you want to, but there’s more to writing than just that. This writer doesn’t just conjure up people. She has a way with a turn of a phrase. Three Black Panthers talking with Cecile are, “Telling it like it is, like talking was their weapon.” Later Cecile tells her eldest daughter, “It wouldn’t kill you to be selfish, Delphine.” This book is a pleasure to cast your eyes over.” – School Library Journal
“Each girl has a distinct response to her motherless state, and Williams-Garcia provides details that make each characterization crystal clear. The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page.” – Kirkus Starred Review
Connections
· Travel from Brooklyn, NY to Oakland, CA plays a big role to the girls in the book. Have children learn about the cultures in Brooklyn and Oakland. What are the people like? The weather? What is there to do in these towns?
· Have students investigate the Black Panthers and prominent figures in the African American Civil Rights Movement. Read biographies like Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man With a Dream by Dharthahula H. Millender.
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
Bibliography
Meyer, L.A. BLOODY JACK: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE CURIOUS ADVENTURES OF MARY “JACKY” FABER, SHIP’S BOY. New York: Graphia, 2010.
Plot Summary
After being orphaned in London and left on the street, Mary Faber is taken in as a ship boy. Life is hard on the ship, but she is taken under the wing of Rooster who treats her like family. Mary disguises herself as a boy to continue to stay on the ship. Soon, she comes back to the ship after killing a pirate to defend her shipmate covered in blood and nicknamed “Bloody Jack”.
Critical Analysis
From the Prologue on, Meyer does not hold back, but jumps right in to the harsh world of living on the high seas. There is blood and fighting and poor Mary being abandoned and orphaned. In the past few years, particularly with The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, pirates have been brought to the forefront of popular culture. Told in first person, Jacky has the speech of a ship boy down pat. At first a bit distracting, after a few pages it becomes expected and necessary to the story.
Meyer’s story easily fits into the pirate genre. Jacky is a likeable character that shows readers that even someone young can be brave in the face of adversity. Jacky was put under enormous pressure to survive for herself and shows she was able to do so. While the characters in the book are a ragamuffin team, it is easy to like them. Rooster really steps up to become a great influence in keeping Jacky safe and being able to survive on the ship. The book has a lot of action with interesting characters. It makes for an enjoyable read, but one that is deep and fulfilling. Like the movies in the pirate pop culture, this book shows life on the high seas as it was while making it something worth reading.
Review Excerpts
“"I prays for deliverance," confides Mary Faber, orphaned at eight years old by a pestilence that relegates her to a life of begging and petty crime on the streets of London. After her gang's leader is killed, she dons his clothing, trading in the name Mary for Jack, and takes to the high seas aboard the HMS Dolphin. Meyer evokes life in the 18th-century Royal Navy with Dickensian flair. He seamlessly weaves into Jacky's first-person account a wealth of historical and nautical detail at a time when pirates terrorized the oceans. Interspersed are humorous asides about her ongoing struggle to maintain "The Deception" (she fashions herself a codpiece and emulates the "shake-and-wiggle action" of the other boys when pretending to use the head, for instance), she earns her titular nickname in a clash with pirates and survives a brief stretch as a castaway before her true identity is discovered (the book ends as she's about to be shipped off to a school for young ladies in Boston). The narrative's dialect occasionally falters, but this detracts only slightly from the descriptive prose ("He's got muscles like a horse and looks to have a brain to match") and not at all from the engine driving this sprawling yarn: the spirited heroine's wholly engaging voice. Her budding sexuality (which leads to a somewhat flawed plotline involving a secret shipboard romance) and a near-rape by a seaman mark this one for older readers, who will find the salty tale a rattling good read.– Publisher’s Weekly
“With the plague running rampant in London in 1797, Mary's parents and sister are soon counted among the dead. Left alone and penniless, the eight-year-old is taken in by a gang of orphans and learns survival skills. However, when their leader is killed, Mary decides to try her luck elsewhere. She strips the dead body, cuts her hair, renames herself Jack Faber, and is soon employed as a ship's boy on the HMS Dolphin. When the vessel sees its first skirmish with a pirate ship, her bravery saves her friend Jaimy and earns her the nickname "Bloody Jack." Told by Mary/Jack in an uneven dialect that sometimes doesn't ring true, the story weaves details of life aboard the Dolphin. Readers see how she changes her disguise based on her own physical changes and handles the "call of nature," her first experiences with maturation, and the dangers to boys from unscrupulous crew members. The protagonist's vocabulary, her appearance and demeanor, and her desire to be one of the boys and do everything they do without complaint complete the deception. This story also shows a welcome slant to this genre with an honorable, albeit strict Captain, and ship's mates who are willing and able teachers. If readers are looking for a rousing, swashbuckling tale of pirates and adventures on the high seas, this title falls short. However, it is a good story of a brave ship's "boy" with natural leadership abilities and a sense of fair play and humanity.” – School Library Journal
Connections
· Read the other books in the Bloody Jack series: Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady; Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber; In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of the Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber.
· Compare the life of Jacky’s at sea to the lives of other people at sea. How is her life different from that in The Pirates of the Caribbean?
Meyer, L.A. BLOODY JACK: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE CURIOUS ADVENTURES OF MARY “JACKY” FABER, SHIP’S BOY. New York: Graphia, 2010.
Plot Summary
After being orphaned in London and left on the street, Mary Faber is taken in as a ship boy. Life is hard on the ship, but she is taken under the wing of Rooster who treats her like family. Mary disguises herself as a boy to continue to stay on the ship. Soon, she comes back to the ship after killing a pirate to defend her shipmate covered in blood and nicknamed “Bloody Jack”.
Critical Analysis
From the Prologue on, Meyer does not hold back, but jumps right in to the harsh world of living on the high seas. There is blood and fighting and poor Mary being abandoned and orphaned. In the past few years, particularly with The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, pirates have been brought to the forefront of popular culture. Told in first person, Jacky has the speech of a ship boy down pat. At first a bit distracting, after a few pages it becomes expected and necessary to the story.
Meyer’s story easily fits into the pirate genre. Jacky is a likeable character that shows readers that even someone young can be brave in the face of adversity. Jacky was put under enormous pressure to survive for herself and shows she was able to do so. While the characters in the book are a ragamuffin team, it is easy to like them. Rooster really steps up to become a great influence in keeping Jacky safe and being able to survive on the ship. The book has a lot of action with interesting characters. It makes for an enjoyable read, but one that is deep and fulfilling. Like the movies in the pirate pop culture, this book shows life on the high seas as it was while making it something worth reading.
Review Excerpts
“"I prays for deliverance," confides Mary Faber, orphaned at eight years old by a pestilence that relegates her to a life of begging and petty crime on the streets of London. After her gang's leader is killed, she dons his clothing, trading in the name Mary for Jack, and takes to the high seas aboard the HMS Dolphin. Meyer evokes life in the 18th-century Royal Navy with Dickensian flair. He seamlessly weaves into Jacky's first-person account a wealth of historical and nautical detail at a time when pirates terrorized the oceans. Interspersed are humorous asides about her ongoing struggle to maintain "The Deception" (she fashions herself a codpiece and emulates the "shake-and-wiggle action" of the other boys when pretending to use the head, for instance), she earns her titular nickname in a clash with pirates and survives a brief stretch as a castaway before her true identity is discovered (the book ends as she's about to be shipped off to a school for young ladies in Boston). The narrative's dialect occasionally falters, but this detracts only slightly from the descriptive prose ("He's got muscles like a horse and looks to have a brain to match") and not at all from the engine driving this sprawling yarn: the spirited heroine's wholly engaging voice. Her budding sexuality (which leads to a somewhat flawed plotline involving a secret shipboard romance) and a near-rape by a seaman mark this one for older readers, who will find the salty tale a rattling good read.– Publisher’s Weekly
“With the plague running rampant in London in 1797, Mary's parents and sister are soon counted among the dead. Left alone and penniless, the eight-year-old is taken in by a gang of orphans and learns survival skills. However, when their leader is killed, Mary decides to try her luck elsewhere. She strips the dead body, cuts her hair, renames herself Jack Faber, and is soon employed as a ship's boy on the HMS Dolphin. When the vessel sees its first skirmish with a pirate ship, her bravery saves her friend Jaimy and earns her the nickname "Bloody Jack." Told by Mary/Jack in an uneven dialect that sometimes doesn't ring true, the story weaves details of life aboard the Dolphin. Readers see how she changes her disguise based on her own physical changes and handles the "call of nature," her first experiences with maturation, and the dangers to boys from unscrupulous crew members. The protagonist's vocabulary, her appearance and demeanor, and her desire to be one of the boys and do everything they do without complaint complete the deception. This story also shows a welcome slant to this genre with an honorable, albeit strict Captain, and ship's mates who are willing and able teachers. If readers are looking for a rousing, swashbuckling tale of pirates and adventures on the high seas, this title falls short. However, it is a good story of a brave ship's "boy" with natural leadership abilities and a sense of fair play and humanity.” – School Library Journal
Connections
· Read the other books in the Bloody Jack series: Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady; Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber; In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of the Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber.
· Compare the life of Jacky’s at sea to the lives of other people at sea. How is her life different from that in The Pirates of the Caribbean?
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Bibliography
Cushman, Karen. CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. ISBN-10: 0064405842.
Plot Summary
Set in the thirteenth century, fourteen year old Catherine (or Birdy as she is often called) writes to her brother in the form of a diary. Coupling her father’s search for a suitable husband for her with the constant supervision she has from her mother and her nurse, Birdy feels total oppression in her life. The book follows Birdy as she deals with day to day struggles of being a young girl wanting independence in a time when that was not something that was even possible.
Critical Analysis
Birdy is the kind of girl I’ve always seen myself as – free-spirited and extremely strong willed. Cushman takes a character that is so out of the norm during her time and places her right in the thick of it. Birdy, so called because of her love for birds, is just as trapped as the birds she keeps in cages in her room. Once Birdy leaves the cage her father has her in, she’ll be trapped by her husband. She tries to find ways to get rid of each of the suitors her father finds for her by tricking them or making them find her repulsive. All of this is much to her father’s dismay which, judging by the way she talks about her father in her journal, doesn’t bother her one bit.
I think Cushman shines in her historical knowledge throughout the novel. Each page of Birdy’s journal is dedicated to a different saint. Cushman’s ability to understand and incorporate the saints into Birdy’s daily life shows how much work she put into the historical accuracy of the time. Cushman easily talks about the day to day activities of Birdy like she lived the life herself at Birdy’s age. The first line of the book sets the tone for the rest of the novel: “I am commanded to write an account of my days: I am bit by fleas and plagued by family.” Because historical fiction relies on an accurate historical data, finding out this much day to day information from so long ago had to be difficult. Cushman delivers it with ease, letting readers feel the pain Birdy feels while explaining why this time in the world was so trying for a girl like Birdy.
Awards and Review Excerpts
Newberry Honor Award Winner
“A Newbery Honor Book, this witty and wise fictive diary of a 13th-century English girl, according to PW, "introduces an admirable heroine and pungently evokes a largely unfamiliar setting." – Publisher’s Weekly
“This unusual book provides an insider's look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girl's witty, irreverent diary. She looks with a clear and critical eye upon the world around her, telling of the people she knows and of the daily events in her small manor house. Much of Birdy's energy is consumed by avoiding the various suitors her father chooses for her to marry. She sends them all packing with assorted ruses until she is almost wed to an older, unattractive man she refers to as Shaggy Beard. In the process of telling the routines of her young life, Birdy lays before readers a feast of details about medieval England. The book is rich with information about the food, dress, religious beliefs, manners, health, medical practices, and sanitary habits (or lack thereof) of the people of her day. From the number of fleas she kills in an evening to her herbal medicines laced with urine, Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable. A somewhat philosophical afterword discusses the mind set of medieval people and concludes with a list of books to consult for further information about the period. Superb historical fiction.” – School Library Journal
Connections
· What would student’s diaries look like if they lived in another time? Have them look at what their problems would be in the 1200s if they lived when Birdy lived. How do these compare to the problems they have day to day now?
· Read Cushman’s book The Midwife’s Apprentice. It takes place around the same time as Birdy’s story and focuses on Alyce’s first foray into midwifery.
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