Literacy Now

by Judith A. Hayn 

Hoban, Russell. (2012). Soonchild. Illus. Alexis Deacon. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Russell Hoban, renowned British children’s literature author, passed away in 2011. This is the second to last book he wrote, and it is a masterpiece of weirdness coupled with lyricism. Sixteen-Face John’s story is based on Inuit mythology, and readers will need to suspend belief in concrete reality to appreciate the tale. John is a shaman with major self-doubts and severe depression while his wife No Problem is carrying their first child. Soonchild refuses to emerge, so John reluctantly gives up his Coca-Cola and TV-watching habits to fix the situation. 

He undertakes a mystical journey to locate the World Songs that Soonchild needs to own before she can be born. This quest leaves him in pieces (literally; then he is repaired, killed many times in epic battles, and finally left dead for thousands of years as the forces of nature take their toll. As a polar bear spirit tells him:  “When you boil up a Big-Dream Brew, you better be ready to drink to the bottom of the cup” (p. 50). His conversations with the animal spirits and with human dead, who are always with us, are peppered with humor as well as insights.

The narrative is breath-taking in suspense as now No-Face John eventually emerges triumphantly as his own man ready for fatherhood with a strong sense of identity. The mind-spirit connection is never forced and what results is a sort of Philosophy 101 for young adults, plus myriad other readers who will be mesmerized by the story. Alexis Deacon’s pencil renditions of both the spirit world and reality add just the right touch of mysticism to this superb piece of Hoban’s legacy.

Dr. Judith A. Hayn is an Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

This article is part of a series from the Special Interest Group Network on Adolescent Literature (SIGNAL).

Imagine, if you will, a world where not everyone's brain is the same.

In this world, not every brain processes inputs in the same way. A sunbeam, for instance, makes one person smile, one person write a corny song, one person squint, and another one sneeze.

In this imaginary world, some people take to music, some to art, some to sports, some to Farmville.

But all must learn to read, of course, because reading is the golden ticket, magic key, philosopher's stone, and a federally mandated part of state standards testing.

But could it be possible that not everyone will like to read the same thing?

I'm not referring to the different flavors of reading: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, vampires, et cetera...

I'm referring to the formats: graphic novels, hybrid mid-grades, endless gray walls of text, et cetera...

In this loony, upside-down-world, some people actually prefer books with pictures to the books with the endless gray walls of text. Yes, even when those gray walls of text are full of lyrical description, enchanting rhythms, pitch-perfect portraits, cunning observation, charming similes, and other combinations of words that their English teachers love.

In fact—and remember this is only an imaginary fact—these readers with a different sort of brain dislike some books precisely BECAUSE of all that stuff.

You see, in this world, a 230-word paragraph describing, say, the physical appearance of the main character's second-best friend, Jojo, does not actually produce in some brains a picture of that character. It produces instead an urgent desire to close the book and play video games.

Other people with other sorts of brains do get the picture, but really don't care what Jojo looks like. They just wish Jojo would do something instead of standing around all day being sun-dappled.

Yes, only on an alien plant could this be possible—that the book one person loves so much for the gorgeous, lyrical writing, might be completely impenetrable to somebody else BECAUSE of the gorgeous, lyrical writing.

There might simply be someone out there who gets nothing at all from description no matter how luscious the language. And, surprisingly, no amount of testing them about the hair color of the second-best friend can fix their brain for them.

We, as aliens to this strange world, might call such a person a reluctant reader. But really it's just a kid who is reluctant to read about what Jojo's hair looks like or what shade the sky in Taco Town was that fateful day. The same kid may be very very non-reluctant to read about what Jojo DID in Taco Town on that fateful day. They just never get there.

But imagine there was a type of book that gave that kid what she wanted. What if it showed a picture of Jojo and Jojo's hair and you could see Taco Town in the background and the reader could see all this in a glance and jump straight to the fateful part of the fateful day?

And then there is another type of book called a hybrid, that does have some blocks of text—maybe so we could find out what Jojo wrote in his diary about that day—but replaced most of the description with pictures.

Now comes the hardest part to imagine. Stay with me, folks…

Imagine that the people on this planet see nothing wrong with this.

The kid’s parents and teachers AREN'T trying to make him/her move on from comics and hybrids to "real" books.

Incredibly, these people fail to harass their younglings over the format of book they choose!

Shockingly, the quality of a story actually trumps its format on this bizarro world!

Scandalously, the prize for the "most distinguished contribution to children's literature" could go to a book that shows a picture of moldy cheese or a girl's messed up smile instead of describing them with words!

Now, before we return to the sanity of our own world, imagine one last thing:

Imagine that a book is a book, and that it's not instantly better because someone spelled out their vision in words rather than pictures.

Tom Angleberger is the bestselling author of the Origami Yoda series, which includes THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA and DARTH PAPER STRIKES BACK. The latest installment, THE SECRET OF THE FORTUNE WOOKIE, was released earlier this month. Tom is also the author of HORTON HALFPOTT and FAKE MUSTACHE. He lives in Christiansburg, Virginia, with his wife, the author-illustrator Cece Bell. Visit him online at www.OrigamiYoda.com.



Back to School Book Reviews

IRA 58th Annual Convention in San Antonio

It’s back to school time, and what better way for teachers to begin building those special relationships with students than sharing books together? Reading aloud, literature circles, independent reading, group sharing and simply sending kids home with books promotes the excitement of reading and sharing a good story in school and at home. This week the International Reading Association Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) provides a list of books to start an exciting new school year with funny stories, thoughtful stories, and lunch box facts! ReadWriteThink offers several pages of back to school reading lesson plan ideas to help teachers begin a successful school year.

 

GRADES K-3

 

Adams, Diane. (2012). I Want to Help. Illustrated by Nancy Hayashi. Peachtree.

Emily Pearl is back after appearing in her first book, I Can Do It Myself (2009). Ms. Glenn, Emily’s kindergarten teacher, is not always anxious for the kind of help that Emily offers. Hayashi’s illustrations reveal the reality of each scene with Emily’s so-called help in the classroom. The illustrations will make good discussion starters with young students as they observe, for example, Emily’s overactive exuberance to help around Ms. Glenn’s classroom when she pushes other kids out of the way to do such classroom tasks as pass out papers, play baseball and soccer, swing on the monkeybars, pass out cupcakes, stack the building blocks and other school activities. When her father is late picking her up after school and she is the only student left in the classroom, she is a bit scared. Her astute teacher senses that fear and tells Emily Pearl that she needs her help. Teachers might like to use this book with the ReadWriteThink lesson entitled “Catching the Bug for Reading Through Interactive Read Alouds” or “Using Children’s Natural Curiosity to Lead to Descriptive Writing.” Learn more about this author and her books at her website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Adderson, Caroline. (2012). Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week. Illus. by Ben Clanton. Toronto: Kids Can Press.

In this first title in a planned chapter book series likely to appeal to boy readers who resemble the protagonist, Jasper John Dooley vividly illustrates the wonders and woes of elementary school. In this introductory story, Jasper is thrilled to be named the class Star of the Week, and he eagerly anticipates showing his classmates his jewelry box filled with treasures. But these treasures aren’t sea glass, shells, buttons, or even insects. Instead, he has a collection of different colors of lint removed from the dryer screen and a small collection of lint from his father's belly button. "Yuck!" pretty much sums up his classmates' reaction to the collection, and Jasper finds being the Star of the Week less satisfying than he expected it to be. While his best friend Ori loses sleep due to a new baby, Jasper tries to persuade his parents that their family is too small. The descriptions of the voice of his teacher Ms. Tosh are spot-on, showing how it changes according to whether she believes what she is hearing and proving that children are more aware than some adults assume. For the most part, Jasper is blissfully unconcerned about what others think about his uniqueness. After all, he has supportive parents who give him enough space to explore his own interests. Readers will clamor for more from this unlikely but likeable and free-spirited hero.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Barnett, Mac. (2012). Oh no! Not again! (or, How I built a time machine to save history) (or at least my history grade). Illustrated by Dan Santat. Disney-Hyperion.

This book is busy from stem to stern, end paper to end paper, cover to cover including the back of the dust jacket which sports a movie poster of the storyline. The super smart student in this story has missed one answer on her history test and is incensed! Her solution is to build a time machine and go back and change history to make her answer right. Sparse text and lively action packed illustrations reveal the story. When a few first attempts with the time machine go awry, she finally transports to the correct time period only to find cavemen who do not quite understand art. For instance, the paintbrushes end up in their noses and the spray paint is just plain fun to splatter each other. While our determined student takes the matter into her own hands to create the cave painting, the early man pair take a spin in the time machine. The end of the book supplies possible routes for other time machine adventures that teachers might like to use for writing prompts. Fans of team Barnett and Santat will like the pair’s earlier book, Oh, No! based on a science-fair project run amok. Visit the author’s website for more information about his books or check out this blog for using his books as a possible author study.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Calmenson, Stephanie. (2012). Oopsy, teacher! Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa. Carolrhoda Books.

Mr. Bungles is having a bad day just like he did in Calmenson’s earlier book about Mr. Bungles, Late for School (2008). He bumps his head to start his day and then gets soap in his eyes and jam on his tie, and when he finally gets to school the classroom hamster, Nibbles, is on the loose! Mr. Bungles and his students are on the run after the hamster – around the school, around the track, and into town where they find him at the local pizza shop happily nibbling on some pepperoni. Yoshikawa’s bright and playful illustrations complement the humor and fast action of the story. This will be a good read aloud and maybe an introduction to taking care of the class pet. Calmenson likes to write early school stories and more can be found at her publisher’s website or at her own website. Another new book from author Stephanie Calmenson is the interactive response book Ollie’s School Day; a yes-and-no book.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Harley, Bill. (2012). Lost and found. Illus. by Adam Gustavson. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers.

Stories based only on rumor and assumptions often gather momentum in schools, sometimes prompting students to avoid certain individuals or parts of the building. In Justin’s case, he and his classmates fear the grumpy elderly janitor who keeps the school clean and picks up lost items. When he loses the hat his grandmother knitted for him, Justin dreads asking Mr. Rumkovsky for help, but his mother insists that he find that hat, even the halls leading to the janitor’s office are dark and frightening. But it turns out that Mr. Rumkovsky is a kindly man, not scary at all. As Justin peers into the box containing items found by the janitor, he spies several things his classmates have lost but never had the nerve to look for or claim. In fact, when Justin finally finds the hat he has been looking for, he realizes that he and his mother have something in common when it comes to hats and groundless fears. The narrator’s voice is clear in this story, typified by the phrase "I knew that already" (unpaged), which certainly sounds like a youngster's voice. The illustrations, consisting of oil on watercolor paper, are lively and amusing as Justin comes face to face with all sorts of long-lost stuff for which no one has bothered to look very hard, perhaps because they don’t miss it all that much. Musical Bill Harley has a fun-filled and action-packed website for teachers that include songs, lesson plans and other activities.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Hills, Tad. (2012). Rocket writes a story. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books/ Random House.

By the author and illustrator of How Rocket Learned to Read, this new picture book could easily jumpstart writing workshop in primary grades. Rocket sniffs out some new words and writes them down on sticky notes—buttercup, bug, feather, and nest. With the help of little yellow bird, his teacher, he reads all of his splendid words and announces, “I’m going to write a story!” But he experiences something many writers go through, he stares at the blank pages and no story comes. Yellow bird suggests he think about characters and something that has happened to him. In addition, walking, sniffing, drawing, and visiting his favorite tree help Rocket begin to slowly craft a story. Rocket’s persistence, revision and help from friends also help. Finally he completes his tale and he celebrates by reading it aloud to a new pal. Each step of Rocket’s writing process is exactly what young writers will experience as they learn to write this coming school year. Visit the author’s website to watch meet the real Rocket and view videos.

- Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver

 

Ransome, James. (2012). My teacher. New York: Dial.

A perfect gift for a teacher on the first or last day of school, this picture book is the author’s thank-you note to hard-working educators. Throughout the book’s pages the narrator ponders her teacher's career longevity. After wondering why she "keeps teaching here" (unpaginated), the student then begins listing the possible appeal of teaching in this particular school. This dedicated teacher somehow finds time to create community, fill the classroom shelves with books while fostering the love for reading. She also inspires the students to write and integrates art and music within the classroom. As every effective teacher knows, the students are a large part of why teachers keep teaching. With no mention of high-stakes testing or Common Core State Standards, this picture book is certainly a nostalgic look at teachers and all they do to make a difference in their students’ lives. The illustrations are every teacher’s delight, filled with highly engaged and motivated students eager to learn. Teachers will smile when they see the apple-pattern-filled vest this woman is wearing. Since all teachers have days when they could use a little encouragement, this book provides a reminder that teachers CAN change lives and provide positive examples for their young charges.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Van Lieshourt, Maria. (2012). Backseat A-B-See. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

This ABC book begins with, “Vroom! Vroom! From the backseat, what do you see?” Young children will follow the black road with the dotted white lines to each letter of the alphabet and the road signs that accompany each letter beginning with A for airport and B for bike route. In this fun and colorful book other road signs state L is for library, M is for merge and N is for no entry. This is perfect for children learning the alphabet and reading environmental print. Children will make connections to these road signs and become a backseat driver in their parents’ vehicles. Check out the book trailer online.

- Deanna Day, Washington State University, Vancouver

 

Yum, Hyewon. (2012). Mom, it’s my first day of kindergarten! New York: Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux.

The end pages showcase an eager five-year-old boy getting ready for school. On the first page the little boy shouts, “Mom, wake up! It’s my first day of kindergarten!” In the accompanying illustration the mom’s head peeks out from under the covers with an anxious face. She is illustrated in gray tones whereas the boy is in bold colors. This mom is not ready for her son to attend the big kids’ school. She is worried that there might not be enough snacks for her son in kindergarten. She wonders if she packed all of his school supplies. She also thinks he is still too little. Her son reassures her by saying, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, I am already five!” Many young children will begin school for the first time this year, and this humorous book presents what many parents will be feeling. Read aloud this picture book during open house or curriculum night to reassure parents that their children are ready for big-kid school. Author, Hyewon Yum, shares her writing process at this blog.

- Deanna Day, Washington State University, Vancouver

 

GRADES 3-6

 

Angleberger, Tom. (2012). The secret of the fortune wookiee. New York: Harry N. Abrams/Amulet Books.

McQuarrie Middle School simply isn’t the same without Dwight, who created the wise Origami Yoda who always seems to have the right answer to the students’ problems. Having been suspended from McQuarrie, Dwight now attends Tippett Academy where he is trying to stay out of trouble and blend in with the rest of his new classmates. But the students there treat Dwight as though he were a pet. Because Tommy and Dwight’s other friends at McQuarrie wonder how to save Dwight from mediocrity or losing his uniqueness and becoming just like everyone else, Tommy begins a case file. After all, doing so helped the students resolve their differences and get along better in the earlier two titles in this creative Star Wars-themed series, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Abrams, 2010), and Darth Paper Strikes Back (Abrams, 2011). When Sara, Tommy's girlfriend, shows up with an origami fortune teller that looks just like Chewbacca from the Star Wars films, he seems to possess the same wisdom as Origami Yoda. Tommy's case file reveals the truth about what's going on as one by one, his friends speak their piece. As in the case of the other two titles, this one is filled with humor and profundity and examples of how boys and girls differ in solving problems. As the school principal, Mrs. Rabbski replaces the students' electives with test preparation periods through a program called Funtime! Time to Focus on the FUN-damentals!, Tommy and his friends prepare for their next great battle. Readers will eagerly await the next title to find out whether the Force will be strong enough to combat the academic change that looms over the school.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Graff, Lisa. (2012). Double dog dare. New York: Philomel. 

Francine Halata has always wanted to claim the news anchor spot, and when she and Kansas Bloom, a student new to the school, get the same number of votes for the position, another classmate suggests that the prize should go to the individual who accepts the most dares. The ensuing humorous and barf-filled competition involves all sorts of gross activities such as licking a lizard, consuming several packets of ketchup, and hoisting underwear up the flag pole, among other weird dares. Throughout their efforts, they start to empathize with each other, realizing that they have quite a lot in common since both of their families are going through divorces. Despite Francine's wishes that her parents would reconcile, her father has clearly moved on, and the two of them must their own family traditions. Kansas helps his younger sister realize that their father rarely follows up on his promises despite his good intentions, making him more absent than present in their lives. Readers will be impressed with what can happen when two former rivals join forces. This title is filled with good lessons, a cast of complicated characters, and some unexpected developments.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Vande Velde, Vivian. (2011) 8 class pets + 1 squirrel divided by 1 dog = chaos. Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman.  New York: Holiday House.

Twitch, the schoolyard squirrel, runs across the snout of Cuddles, the principal’s dog who lives next to the elementary school. Cuddles is not happy about this tromp on his nose and so chases Twitch right into the school building and the fun, rather chaos, begins. Twitch runs from classroom to classroom seeking a way out but leaves a trail of havoc in his wake. Each dash into the classroom happens in order from the first grade classroom to the fifth grade including the library, the art room, and the science lab. As Twitch rushes into each classroom the class pet continues to narrate the action as they observe what is happening. Each pet has its own distinctive language style that will make this book an excellent read aloud or mentor text to discuss different writing styles employed by authors. The library rat, the hamster, the tetras, a rabbit, the geckos (Galileo and Newton), the parrot, snake, and turtle are the classroom pets that narrate each chapter. At the end of the book, Cuddles gets the chance to tell his side of the chase. Teachers might enjoy stopping by the website Pets in the Classroom after reading this book. Vivian’s website offers information behind the story, a video, a Q & A and more for teachers.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

GRADES 5-8

 

Eamer, Claire. (2012). The World in Your Lunch Box. Illustrated by Sa Boothroyd. Annick Press.

In the atmosphere of health and nutrition and childhood obesity, this nonfiction look at the food in kids’ lunch boxes is presented humorously as well as factually. Divided into seven sections for each day of the week Eamer explores the history and science behind food and lunch choices and even provides jokes relating to food. Foods popularly found in school lunch boxes include watermelon, peanut butter, hot dogs, macaroni, pizza, ham sandwiches, and more. The author discusses the history as to where these foods developed and includes interesting anecdotes about these culinary lunch box delights. A detailed plan for using the author’s lunch box ideas can be found at the publisher’s website for download.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Watts, Jeri. (2012). Kizzy Ann Stamps. Candlewick Press.

Kizzy is about to enter an integrated school for the first time. It is 1963 and her teacher has asked that students write letters to their new teacher to express their feelings about the transition to an integrated school. Kizzy has mixed feelings about the whole experience but she does like to write so this is a comfortable way for her to communicate what she is feeling. She is self-conscious about the scar across her face as a result of an accident with her white neighbor Frank Charles in addition to being a black student entering a previously all white school. Told in letters and journal entries, Kizzy expresses her anxiety but also her love toward her border collie, Shag, who faithfully stayed by her side during her recovery from the accident. She is determined to enter Shag in the AKC Border collie trials with the help of a trainer, Mr. McKenna. However, she is not sure that the rules will allow a black person to compete. This middle grade novel introduces several layers of discrimination in the life of this young black girl. Another story layer involves her older brother, James, who is a more hostile character than Kizzy about the integration concept. ReadWriteThink offers a lesson entitled “Using Literature to Promote Authentic Letter Writing” that would serve as an extension of this book. Or introduce the book with this short video from Animal Planet on training border collies.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

GRADES 7-12

 

Cashman, Erin. (2012). The exceptionals. New York: Holiday House.

Unlike everyone else in the Walker family, fifteen-year-old Claire has no special powers. Since there is nothing exceptional about her, Claire has attended public school rather than Cambial Academy, a boarding school for students with special talents established by one of her ancestors. After she gets in trouble at the public high school, her parents transfer her to Cambial Academy where she makes friends, finds a home, and begins to hone her own gifts. It seems that Claire has the ability to hear the thoughts of animals, something she has hidden. When several of the most talented students disappear from school, Claire, her family and classmates try to find them while pondering a prophecy that might involve the teenager. Amid all this excitement, Claire meets a mysterious young man in the woods near the school and isn't sure whether to trust him despite their immediate attraction. Readers will enjoy Claire’s evolution and interaction with her hawk friends and her confusion over the two romantic possibilities that present themselves to her.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Castan, Mike. (2012). Fighting for Dontae. New York: Holiday House.

Things couldn’t be much worse for seventh grader Javier. Although his mother works hard, there isn’t enough money for a new pair of cheap running shoes for the first day of school, and he steals the shoes he wants. He and his friends seem headed for disaster as they are drawn into the fringes of the gangsta life because they have little money and few other alternatives present themselves. School has always been boring, for the most part, and when Javier is assigned to work with the youngsters in a special education class, he is less than thrilled since he knows that his peers will ridicule him. For some reason, though, he connects with the students in the class, particularly a boy named Dontae, who loves having Javier read aloud an Ernest Hemingway novel. While Mrs. Aronson, the teacher of the class, is savvy enough to see through some of Javier's defensive behavior and knows that he has light fingers, she also sees his potential. Those who are disinterested in school are likely to find much truth in Javier's story as things improve for him at home and at school. While his future remains in doubt, his renewed sense of purpose seems to predict a much brighter one than what he had on the book’s opening pages. Like many bibliophiles, he seems to realize that reading often offers an escape from the world around him.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Sullivan, Mary. (2012). Dear Blue Sky. New York: Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books.

Her beloved older brother Sef’s decision to serve in Iraq in 2003 completely rattles the worlds of seventh grader Cassie and her entire family. She misses his strength, his wisdom, and his support, and it seems as though nothing is going right now that he has gone. Her younger brother Jack deals with a cruel neighborhood bully by refusing to speak to anyone, her older sister is involved in an unhealthy relationship that damages her self-esteem, and her best friend Sonia trades in their friendship for popularity. Cassie eventually finds friendship with Kim, another classmate the others have teased, and thanks to a school assignment, she makes friends with an Iraqi girl whose blog and e-mail describe the conditions in the country where Sef is serving. As hard as things may seem for Cassie, she realizes that the girl she knows as Blue Sky is coping with constant threats of violence and death and trying to survive in a world where everything familiar has changed. In fact, her father’s association with the Americans in the past has endangered the family’s lives, and they are forced to leave their home. The emails that fly back and forth between Cassie and Blue Sky and the missives from her brother hinting at the horrors of war make it impossible for Cassie to tolerate some of the judgmental comments of her history teacher. The author creates empathy for both girls and for Cassie's brother, who will never be the same after his experiences in Iraq. The writing is honest, showing the various ways that family members cope with stress, and the storyline provides plenty of material for class discussions on the effects of war on those on the frontline, those left behind, and those in the country where war is being waged.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Zeitlin, Meredith. (2012). Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters. New York: Putnam’s Sons.

Author Meredith Zeitlin, a voice-over artist, makes her debut as a teen author with fourteen-year old Brooklyn-born character Kelsey Finkelstein as she enters her freshman year in high school. Kelsey is excited and determined to have a stellar freshman experience. As the year unfolds her life as a high school student does not always go as planned. Her fashion statement is always in question, her athletic ability on the JV soccer team leaves something to be desired and her ability as an actress in the school play is probably not going to win an Academy Award. Her romantic inclination toward Jordan is crushed when her friend Cassidy is found making out with him. A new love interest looks like it might be spawning in the form of the school newspaper reporter, so romantic hope is near. Teen issues from alcohol to marijuana, boy-girl and girl-girl relationships, and the value of friendship with the sometimes serious but often hilarious outcomes make this an entertaining introduction to life as a high school freshman. Vimeo has posted a sneak peek book trailer, and the author has an informative website and blog.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Hautman, Pete. (2012). What boys really want. New York: Scholastic.

Although Lita and Adam have been friends for a long time, they haven’t always been as honest with each other as they might have been. For instance, Lita, who loves to write, has never told Adam that she blogs as acerbic advice columnist Miz Fitz. In the past, she has even plotted to wreck his previous romantic entanglements for his own good. In fact, she actually plans to do the same with his current attraction to Blair Thompson, a girl she judges as promiscuous because of her appearance. Adam, on the other hand, fails to tell Lita that he's writing a book about what boys really want when it comes to girls and relationships. Desperately looking for ideas for his book and finding writing harder than he had imagined, he searches online for inspiration and incorporates the ideas of other writers. Much of the writing that he has “borrowed” for his book originated in Lita’s blog although he doesn’t know that it’s her writing that he is reading. Naturally, when the truth comes out, the relationship between the two can never be the same. In many respects, this book is about assumptions about others, close calls, near misses, and failure to communicate. The daily drama that typifies high school is at the book’s heart, and if Lita is high strung and more emotionally unbalanced than might be desired, Adam himself seems clueless about basic ethical issues such as plagiarism. While the somewhat smug and clueless Lita justifies her own actions because they’re for the good of others, she fools no one in the end, a lesson worth considering by us all.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

ReadWriteThink.org is a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K–12 from the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and Verizon Thinkfinity.

This set of book reviews is a weekly contribution of the Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG).

 

 

AMELIA EARHART: THIS BROAD OCEAN (Hyperion Books, 2010)
Written by Sarah Stewart Taylor and illustrated by Ben Towle
Grades 5-9

AMELIA EARHART: THIS BROAD OCEAN, by Sarah Stewart Taylor and Ben Towle, is a work of historical fiction in a graphic novel format. The story centers on Earhart’s time in Trepassey, Newfoundland , as she prepares for her attempt to be the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1928.

The narrator is Grace, a young girl from the island of Trepassey with a nose for news. Grace writes THE TREPASSEY HERALD and is familiar with much of the opposition faced by Earhart as Grace, too, is trying to make it in a field that is dominated by men and not seen as a place for women. Earhart’s time in Trepassey is one of the highlights of Grace’s young life, especially when she has the opportunity to talk to Earhart directly.

The story continues into Grace’s future and shows her living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, still pursuing her dream to be a serious journalist. Grace has kept up with Earhart’s exploits and is devastated to learn of her disappearance. The parallel stories of Grace and Earhart serve to highlight the struggles faced by women as they attempt to break into male-dominated careers.

The images of this graphic novel are rendered in black, white, and turquoise. While this color combination may seem odd, the black and white provides detail, while the turquoise captures the feeling of both the sky and the ocean. Towle masterfully uses a variety of panel shapes and sizes to illustrate how time is passing in the story, as well as to emphasize the emotions in important moments.

The introduction by Eileen Collins provides another highlight of this historical fiction graphic novel. Collins was the first female pilot of a space shuttle and considers Earhart to be one of her inspirations and heroes. Without Earhart’s actions, Collins would not have had the opportunity to pilot a space shuttle.

Cross-curricular Connections: history/social studies, visual literacy, math, science, language arts/English

Ideas for Classroom Use:

How Much is too Much? (Grades 8-9)

In addition to the weather, the weight of Earhart’s airplane was cited as one of the reasons that the crew was having difficulty getting it into the air. Many calculations were done on the weight of the gas and the distance that had to be traveled. Students could complete these same calculations by determining the weight of a gallon of gas, the distance traveled, how many miles per gallon and how much fuel the plane could safely carry.

Students could also complete an experiment on the weight of gallons of different liquids, such as water, milk, soda, etc. Older, or more advanced students, could also include an exploration of the physics of flight and the impact that weight has on lift.

Panel Discussions (Grades 5-9)

The authors provide “panel discussions” in the back of the book that either expand upon information found in a panel, provide background to events in the panel, or give additional bibliographic information. Students can research and write their own panel discussions or add to the authors’ panel discussions.

A variation on this activity could be the creation of additional panels for the graphic novel with the research to support the panel.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (Grades 7-9)

The purpose of this activity is to develop and hone students’ visual literacy skills. Many theorists in the field of comics and graphic novels, including Scott McCloud (UNDERSTANDING COMICS), discuss the importance of “reading” and understanding visual images.

Towle is a master of using the elements of the graphic novel to capture a feeling. The image on page 51 is one such example. The lower left corner of the page features Grace’s back with her arms raised to the sky. The rest of the page is white except for a small black rendition of the profile of an airplane in the upper right hand corner. The open space and the subdued colors allow readers a window into Grace’s longing for both freedom and equality.

Ask students to analyze this image (or others) for the feelings and meanings that it conveys. Encourage students to find additional examples of pages where the images carry the weight of the meaning.

Pioneering Women Journalists (Grades 5-9)

Grace, the narrator of AMELIA EARHART: THIS BROAD OCEAN, wants to be a journalist, but in the 1930s this was not considered “women’s work.” However, just like Earhart, there were pioneering women in the field of journalism. Have students complete research on these early women journalists. Students could present their findings in a wide variety of fashions; in keeping with the journalism theme, students could write a newspaper story about a pioneering woman journalist or conduct a mock television interview.

Classroom News/Herald (Grades 5-7)

Grace authored her small town’s newspaper, THE TRESPASSEY HERALD, and tried to report on all the important local events. Using this as inspiration, have students write a classroom newsletter. Ask them to consider some of the following questions:

• What format will the newsletter take (digital or print)?
• How often will the newsletter be published?
• What will you call the newsletter?
• What are considered important events worth covering?

In addition to this being a fun and educational experience for students, it may also provide an interesting way to keep parents informed of class happenings.

Additional Resources and Activities:

Random House Teacher’s Guide to AMELIA LOST: THE LIFE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF AMELIA EARHART by Candace Fleming

Fleming’s 2012 Orbis Pictus Honor Book is targeted towards middle grade readers, and as such, presents the story of Amelia Earhart’s life and disappearance in interesting and understandable ways. The link is to a PDF version of the educator’s guide to the text.

George Palmer Putnam Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers (Purdue University Libraries)

In 1934, Earhart was invited to lecture at Purdue University by Purdue’s then-president Edward C. Elliott. In fact, Earhart was on a leave of absence from Purdue when she disappeared in 1937, during her attempt to fly across the world along the equator. This archival collection of pictures, documents, correspondence and more is maintained by the Purdue University Libraries. More than 3,500 materials from this collection are available online, including some of the maps used by Earhart and her marriage license. The site also includes an extensive biography of Earhart and links to additional resources.

American Experience: Amelia Earhart

PBS’s American Experience series is well-known for its depth of coverage on the events and people that have contributed to the American experience. This is a link to the almost hour-long exploration of Amelia Earhart’s life, achievements, and historical impact. This video could serve as great way to build background knowledge or to serve as a supplement after reading AMELIA EARHART: THIS BROAD OCEAN.

The Official Website of Amelia Earhart

While the “official” nature of this website is difficult to determine, it does provide a great deal of information and links to additional web sources. Visitors to this website can read an extensive biography of Earhart and view several images of Earhart. One of the most interesting resources on this site is its collection of recent news stories related to Earhart.

Aimee Rogers is a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota studying children’s and adolescent literature. Prior to her return to school, Aimee taught high school students with special needs, in a wide variety of settings, for ten years. She misses working with adolescents but is developing a passion for working with undergraduate pre-service teachers. She has a growing interest in graphic novels for children and young adults and is hoping to make them the topic of her dissertation.

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Putting Books to Work: Joseph Lambert’s ANNIE SULLIVAN AND THE TRIALS OF HELEN KELLER

Putting Books to Work: Jacobson and Colon's ANNE FRANK: THE ANNE FRANK HOUSE AUTHORIZED GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY

by Paul Morsink

In the March 23, 2012 TILE-SIG feature, Thomas DeVere Wolsey wrote about curating a Personal Learning Environment (PLE)—a personalized digital pegboard where students and teachers can hang links to all the digital tools and resources they use. A free interface such as Symbaloo makes creating such a digital pegboard even easier than, well, hanging your do-it-yourself tools on an old-fashioned pegboard.

The benefits of PLEs are that they “provide entry points [to the Web], organization, and a network that makes sense; these entry points serve as a table of contents to an individual user’s multiple digital interactions.” Further, PLEs are easily shared. Students can assemble their own PLE and then share it with the class. Teachers can create specialized PLEs for different topics or units. With a tool like Symbaloo, users can own any number of PLEs (one for each subject area, for example) and switch between them at will.

Which brings us to the logical next step: assembling your digital Personal Reading Environment (PRE).

Think of the PRE as a more specialized PLE. It’s a curated collection of the digital tools, supports, and other resources you like to have within reach specifically for reading—and/or that you’d like your students to have at their fingertips when they read.

Today, such digital tools and supports for reading abound: online dictionary tools (many different ones worth comparing); text-to-speech engines that will speak aloud a selected section of text; virtual tutors that provide reading strategy tips and advice; specialized glossaries; grammar tools; translation tools; digitally annotated pages from Shakespeare plays and other specific texts of interest; various online encyclopedias for quick access to helpful background information; tools to “clean up” webpages and remove from view everything but the text you want to read; and much, much more.

Having your personal mix of favorite tools and supports always at your fingertips is convenient. But it can be much more than that. With the Common Core State Standards (2010) now calling for K-12 students to read more challenging texts at younger ages, digital reading supports (DRSs) need to be part of the conversation. DRSs can help students improve their on-the-spot comprehension of a given difficult text. Over time, DRSs can also be part of an overall plan for building students’ stamina for challenging texts; empowering students to be active, can-do, problem-solving readers (with and without digital tools); and nurturing their motivation to read.

With September approaching, one idea might be to have every student you teach start the year with a blank Symbaloo Personal Reading Environment. During the first week, you might introduce the idea of the PRE and find out what digital reading supports, if any, your students are already using. Over time, have students add new tools and supports they find useful—and have students explain to you and their peers why they’ve added a particular DRS and how exactly they use it.

I predict you will find these discussions about DRSs to be a valuable addition to the conversations you’re already having with your students about reading strategies and how to tackle difficult texts. Having students talk with each other about their PRE, about the DRSs they find most useful, and about the DRSs they wished they had, is a great way to foster metacognitive reflection about reading.

One final nice thing about using Symbaloo to host your PRE: it’s web-based, so a student can instantly access her Symbaloo PRE from any computer or other device that has an Internet connection. So your PRE really is a toolbox you can bring with you wherever you go!

Paul Morsink is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at Michigan State University, morsinkp@msu.edu.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).