Module 12: Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka

Summary
Knucklehead is an autobiography written by the popular children's author Jon Scieszka.  Accompanied by family photos and comic book-like illustrations, Knucklehead offers readers a glimpse into Scieszka's childhood.  Being one of six boys, Scieszka's book is filled with plenty of rambunctious anecdotes that are sure to delight young readers.

Scieszka, J. (2008). Knucklehead: Tall tales & mostly true stories about growing up Scieszka. New York, N.Y.: Viking.

My impressions
Biographies and autobiographies in particular are usually a tough sell with me.  I often find them disappointing, either because they go into too much detail or because I find out things about the subject that I would rather not have known.  However, Knucklehead was a refreshing change from that.  Written for a younger audience, the book had a sweet message amidst all of the fart jokes and pranks.  Definitely an enjoyable read.

Reviews

Whitehurst, L. S. (2008). Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories About Growing Up Scieszka. School Library Journal, 54(10), 174-175.

Just try to keep kids away from this collection. Inspired book design makes the volume look like an old-school comic. The front cover features an elementary-aged Scieszka popping up out of a military tank, surrounded by explosions and bombers, while the back advertises a "Treasure Chest of Fun" and displays chapter titles and excerpts along with nostalgic graphics. Scieszka answers the oft-asked question, "Where do you get your ideas?" with a slew of childhood anecdotes and his family's escapades that have given him plenty of material from which to draw. Born in 1954, the second of six brothers, he writes about Catholic and military schools, buying gifts, chores, and hand-me-downs-all familiar experiences related with a specific Scieszka twist. His mother, a nurse, insisted that her sons use proper terms for anatomy ("rectum" rather than "butt") and bodily functions ("urinate" rather than "pee"), making way for several laugh-out-loud moments. Some stories are just amiably funny, such as wearing recycled Halloween costumes, while others help readers understand more about how the author developed his unique sense of humor. Although it includes the car trip story from Guys Write for Guys Read (Viking, 2005), Knucklehead is aimed at a younger audience. Family photographs and other period illustrations appear throughout. Entertaining and fast-moving, silly and sweet, this homage to family life is not to be missed.

KNUCKLEHEAD: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories of Growing up Scieszka. (2008). Kirkus Reviews, 76(17), 957.

Offering an answer to the perennial query about where his ideas come from, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature looks back to his early 1960s youth. Fans will not be surprised to learn that, except for his mother (a nurse, fortunately) he grew up in an all-male household: father, five brothers and "even our dogs and cats and fish." The resulting memories include group pukes in the back seat, slipping toy soldiers into the Christmas cr'che, playing neighborhood games like "Slaughterball" and idyllic summer expeditions into the woods around his grandparents' cottage--not to mention the pleasures of random dips into the household children's encyclopedia and spurning "those weirdos Dick and Jane" to "find out more about real things like dogs in cars and cats in hats." Illustrated with truly dorky school-yearbook photos and family snapshots, this account of a thoroughly normal childhood doesn't match Gary Paulsen's memoirs for hilarity or Tomie DePaola's for cultural insight, but it will draw chuckles of amusement from middle-graders (particularly less eager readers) and of recognition from their parents and grandparents.

Suggestion for library use
After reading Knucklehead, students could write their own mini-biographies.  They could supplement their writing with pictures and drawings, as the author did.

Module 11- How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

Summary
This informational book describes in vivid, often gruesome, detail how 19 different historical figures died.  Accompanied by quirky, comic illustrations, How They Croaked puts a light-hearted twist on a taboo topic.

Bragg, G., & Malley, K. (2011). How they croaked: The awful ends of the awfully famous. New York: Walker & Co.

My impressions
I was not expecting to like this book, but in the end I looked forward to reading it each night!  The comic tone in which it is written kept it from being overly depressing or textbook-like.  It presented information in a fun way, and I could see many middle school-aged students enjoying it.

Reviews

Danner, B. (2011). How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous. School Library Journal, 57(4), 189-190.

Gr 5-9--King Tut died of malaria; Edgar Allan Poe is suspected to have had rabies. Beethoven and Galileo both met their ends due to lead poisoning. Fifteen other historical figures, including world leaders, writers, and scientists, were felled by things as mundane as pneumonia and as unpredictable as angry mobs. Each entry provides the circumstances of the person's death and gives context to those circumstances, from discussions of the political climate to medical practices of the time. Chapters are separated by a spread of brief facts related to the individual, the demise, or the era. Lively, full-page caricatures set in decorative frames appear throughout, along with spot illustrations. Back matter includes a lengthy list of sources. The sometimes-snarky writing gives the material a casual, conversational tone that will appeal to many readers. The title alone provides an easy booktalk; expect this one to be passed around and pored over.

HOW THEY CROAKED The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous. (2011). Kirkus Reviews, 79(3), 201.
 The most reluctant of readers will find it difficult to resist this consistently disgusting chronicle of the gruesome deaths of 19 will famous people. Bragg opens with King Tut, discussing in gory details the embalming and mummification processes of the ancient Egyptians. Among the many macabre details is an explanation for why mummy eye sockets look empty: "Eyeballs shrink to almost nothing during the drying process" (the author notes that if mummy eyeballs are rehydrated, they return to almost normal size). Among the other famous figures profiled are Henry VIII, whose corpse exploded in its coffin while lying in state; George Washington, who was drained of 80 ounces of his blood by doctors before dying; and Marie Curie, who did herself in with constant radiation exposure. The accounts of how ill or injured people were treated by doctors through the 19th century reveal that medical practices were usually more lethal than the maladies. Between each chapter, there is a page or two of related and gleefully gross facts. Bragg's informal, conversational style and O'Malley's cartoon illustrations complement the flippant approach to the subject; the energetically icky design includes little skulls and crossbones to contain page numbers. Engaging, informative and downright disgusting.  

Suggestion for library use
After reading this book, students could choose a historical figure whose death they would like to research.  After gathering the information, they could write a report in a style similar to this book, which would give them practice with different writing styles.

Module 10- The Book Thief

Summary
The Book Thief tells the story of a young girl, Liesel, growing up in Nazi Germany.  She is sent to live with foster parents after her mother is unable to care for her brother and her.  The story that follows is a vivid description of Liesel's daily life in her new home in a small town outside of Munich.  She overcomes numerous tragedies and difficulties, making friends and enemies along the way.  Among her adventures are various episodes of book stealing, from which Liesel gets her alter ego and the book its name.  The Book Thief is a touching story of enduring friendship, strength, love, and survival.

Zusak, M. (2006). The book thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

My impressions
I think that this may be one of my favorite books of all time.  The fact that Death acts as the narrator gave the book such a unique feel and tone.  There was enough humor interspersed throughout the book to keep it from being too depressing.  Yet I couldn't help but be moved to tears as the story continued and Liesel and her family suffer through seemingly never-ending tragedies.  One thing that I liked in particular about this book was that it gave the perspective of everyday Germans living through World War II.  I haven't found this perspective in many books, and it was refreshing to explore the complexities of the characters and their struggles.

Reviews
The Book Thief. (2006). Publishers Weekly, 253(5), 70-71.
This hefty volume is an achievement--a challenging book in both length and subject, and best suited to sophisticated older readers. The narrator is Death himself, a companionable if sarcastic fellow, who travels the globe "handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity." Death keeps plenty busy during the course of this WWII tale, even though Zusak (I Am the Messenger) works in miniature, focusing on the lives of ordinary Germans in a small town outside Munich. Liesel Meminger, the book thief, is nine when she pockets The Gravedigger's Handbook, found in a snowy cemetery after her little brother's funeral. Liesel's father--a "Kommunist"--is already missing when her mother hands her into the care of the Hubermanns. Rosa Hubermann has a sharp tongue, but Hans has eyes "made of kindness." He helps Liesel overcome her nightmares by teaching her to read late at night. Hans is haunted himself, by the Jewish soldier who saved his life during WWI.

The Book Thief. (2006). Kirkus Reviews, 74(23), 26.
Said Kirkus, "When Death tells a story, you pay attention." More so when he's got a mordant sense of humor and a pathological fear of humans, like the narrator of Markus Zusak's elegant story of a young German girl's small rebellions against the Nazi government. "I just thought of the old theory that war and death are like best friends," says the author. "So why not use Death to narrate a novel set during war--since he was everywhere during that time." In his many travels around the continent, Death becomes mesmerized by Liesel Meminger after her brother dies and she's given over to a foster father (who's also hiding a Jewish man in his Munich basement). Watching her steal books from Nazi book-burnings and tend to her hidden refugee, Death attempts to understand the dueling human compulsions toward great evil and great generosity. It's Death's vulnerability that appeals to Zusak: "As soon as I thought that Death would be afraid of humans because of what we do to each other, I had the voice I needed," he says. "I also loved the irony that Death would be afraid of us." "Philosophical and moving," said Kirkus. "This big, expansive novel is a leisurely working out of fate, of seemingly chance encounters and events that ultimately touch, like dominoes as they collide… even at its length, it's a work to read slowly and savor." 

Suggestion for library use
Given the great difference between the portrayal of Germans living through World War II in this book versus others, it would be nice to explore that difference in more detail.  After reading The Book Thief, students could compare and contrast the normal ways that Germans in this time period are portrayed versus the way they are depicted in the book.  This could also lend itself to a discussion of the way our own perspectives are shaped by these portrayals.

Module 9- Code Name Verity

Summary
Code Name Verity is a tale of friendship, heartbreak, and strength set in World War II.  The two main characters, Maggie and Queenie, become friends while working as part of the British War Effort.  Queenie narrates the first part of the story, having been captured by Nazis in France.  She makes a deal with her captors and spills information about the British War Effort in the form of a written story.  The second part of the story is narrated by Maggie, who makes certain details in Queenie's story clearer.  Through Maggie's telling, we also discover truths that Queenie has not shared, as well as the ultimate fate of the two friends.

Wein, E. (2012). Code name Verity. New York: Hyperion.

My impressions
What a wonderful book!  As hard as it was to read, Code Name Verity was thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and always interesting.  I saw this book as more of historical fiction than mystery.  There were mysterious elements, but they had more of a thriller feel than a traditional mystery.  But whatever category the book fits in, it is one of those unforgettable, haunting books that stays with you long after you finish reading it.

Reviews
CODE NAME VERITY. (2012). Kirkus Reviews, 84.
Breaking away from Arthurian legends (The Winter Prince, 1993, etc.), Wein delivers a heartbreaking tale of friendship during World War II. In a cell in Nazi-occupied France, a young woman writes. Like Scheherezade, to whom she is compared by the SS officer in charge of her case, she dribbles out information--"everything I can remember about the British War Effort"--in exchange for time and a reprieve from torture. But her story is more than a listing of wireless codes or aircraft types. Instead, she describes her friendship with Maddie, the pilot who flew them to France, as well as the real details of the British War Effort: the breaking down of class barriers, the opportunities, the fears and victories not only of war, but of daily life. She also describes, almost casually, her unbearable current situation and the SS officer who holds her life in his hands and his beleaguered female associate, who translates the narrative each day. Through the layers of story, characters (including the Nazis) spring to life. And as the epigraph makes clear, there is more to this tale than is immediately apparent. The twists will lead readers to finish the last page and turn back to the beginning to see how the pieces slot perfectly, unexpectedly into place.

A carefully researched, precisely written tour de force; unforgettable and wrenching.

 

Code Name Verity. (2012). Publishers Weekly, 259(16), 66.

Wein (The Empty Kingdom) serves up a riveting and often brutal tale of WWII action and espionage with a powerful friendship at its core. Captured Scottish spy Queenie has agreed to tell her tale--and reveal any confidential information she knows--in exchange for relief from being tortured by Nazis. Her story, which alternates between her early friendship with a pilot named Maddie and her recent sufferings in prison, works both a story of cross-class friendship (from an upper-crust family, Queenie realizes that she would likely never have met Maddie under other circumstances) and as a harrowing spy story (Queenie's captor, von Loewe, is humanized without losing his menace). Queenie's deliberately rambling and unreliable narration keeps the story engaging, and there are enough action sequences and well-delivered twists (including a gut-wrenching climax and late revelations that will have readers returning to reread the first half of the book) to please readers of all stripes. Wein balances the horrors of war against genuine heroics, delivering a well-researched and expertly crafted adventure. Ages 14-up.

 

Suggestion for library use

As complicated as this book was, I think that it would be good to have a discussion about its plot, characters, and sequence of events.  I am still confused about some of the details, and discussing it would be beneficial to me!  Students may have similar experiences and benefit from a discussion.  I also see this book as stirring up some strong emotions in readers, warranting a good discussion.