Module 7- Split and Close To Famous

Summary
Split tells the story of Jace, a 16-year-old who has run away from home after years of abuse.  Showing up on his brother Christian's doorstep who left home years before, Jace is filled with a variety of emotions.  He is relieved to be out of his abusive home, but also feels guilty for leaving his mother, is angry at his father for what he has done, and is confused as to why he sometimes misses the situation that he has left.  As the story unfolds, Jace and his brother work through these feelings, sometimes stumbling along the way.  The two finally come to acceptance and an uneasy peace at the end of the book.

Avasthi, S. (2010). Split. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

My impressions
This was an incredibly hard book to read due to the graphic depiction of abuse that was present throughout the story.  However, Split offered a very real portrayal of domestic abuse and its effects.  I feel very strongly that this book should be recommended to older students, (Grades 11 and up), due to some disturbing scenes.  Reading such material at a younger age could have negative effect on readers.

Reviews

Carrillo, E. (2010). Split. School Library Journal, 56(3), 151.  After Jace Witherspoon is kicked out by his abusive father, he seeks refuge in Albuquerque with his older brother, whom he hasn't seen in six years. Their mother, also a victim of her husband's abuse, promises to leave him and join her children on Thanksgiving. Jace counts down the days while trying to start a new life and rebuild his relationship with Christian, but he's haunted by a terrible secret and the people he left behind. This gripping story is especially noteworthy because Jace is a victim who has also become an abuser: he hit his girlfriend during an argument the night he left Chicago. He is quick-tempered, proud, and charming, like his father. In contrast, Christian is more like their mother: restrained, deliberate, and humble. Their father's abuse has made Christian emotionally distant, but Jace's presence forces him to open up and confront his guilt about leaving his sibling behind. The brothers' growing relationship, as they turn to each other to escape from their father's shadow, is touching. Jace's narration is raw and intimate, dramatic and poetic; readers will feel his internal struggle keenly. The rest of the characters aren't as richly or skillfully drawn, however, and the plot occasionally lacks subtlety. The book contains graphic depictions of physical abuse, as well as adult language and underage drinking.

Split. (2010). Publishers Weekly, 257(4), 121.
This powerful, never maudlin debut paints a visceral portrait of a 16-year-old on the run from an abusive father. After being kicked out of his family's house in Chicago, Jace flees to his estranged older brother Christian's apartment in Albuquerque, N. Mex., but starting over isn't easy. An array of expected emotions surface, from Jace's hatred toward his father, to hope that his mother will leave her abusive marriage, and resentment over Christian's having abandoned the family years earlier. But it's the less anticipated side of Jace--gradually revealed over the course of the novel--that makes this story so gripping and heartbreaking. He still loves his father despite the terrifying abuse his family has suffered and is ashamed of his own violent tendencies; readers learn Jace attacked his girlfriend when he was still in Chicago, and both brothers fear that Jace could follow in his father's footsteps. When Jace finally turns his back on his past to forge a new future, readers will fully understand the difficulty of the decision. As Avasthi demonstrates, leaving a bad situation and forgiving those responsible is easier said than done. Ages 14up.

Suggestion for library use
Split would make for a good discussion of domestic abuse and the effects that it has on those involved.  The librarian could start by leading a discussion on each of the characters and the effect that the abuse has had on them.  It might also be interesting to discuss whether or not students think that the father himself was abused as a child.  Then, if the discussion lends itself to it, students could discuss their own similar experiences.
 

Summary
Foster McFee and her mother have just left Memphis, leaving behind the mother's abusive boyfriend.  They don't know where they are headed, and after a few days driving they end up in a small town in West Virginia.  Foster soon makes friends with some of the town's inhabitants, including a reclusive movie star.  Remaining steadfast in her dream to become a Food network star, Foster cooks her way into even the hardest hearts of the town. 

Bauer, J. (2011). Close to famous. New York: Viking.

My impressions
While this book felt a little cliché to me, I think that it would have great appeal to middle school or upper elementary-aged girls.  I liked the positive message of the story and the strength that the main character exhibited. 

Reviews

Close to Famous. (2010). Publishers Weekly, 257(49), 58-59.
Bauer (Peeled) tweaks a familiar recipe in this heartwarming novel about a determined girl who faces adversity with humor, heart--and cupcakes. A recent sixth-grade graduate (by the skin of her teeth), Foster McFee lands in tiny Culpepper, W.Va., with her mother after the two of them hightail it away from Mom's abusive, Elvis-impersonator boyfriend in Memphis. Foster has already known her share of tough times: her soldier father was killed in Iraq, and she's been struggling through school, unable to read. But Foster's dream of having her own show on the Food Network is a powerful force, and she takes comfort in baking and in emulating her favorite TV chef. With the help of kind and quirky locals, including a former movie star, Foster makes friends, earns fans for her cupcakes, and even begins to conquer her reading difficulties. Bauer skillfully brings readers to the heart of Culpepper with rich depictions of a contemporary small town and its residents and rhythms. The characters' eventual triumphs are the type that this author's fans eat up.

Gruver, K. E. (2011). Close to Famous. School Library Journal, 57(3), 154.

Sixth-grader Foster McFee is a supremely talented baker and dreams of being a famous television chef like Sonny Kroll, star of her favorite show on the Food Network, but she has already had to face some major challenges in her life. After her father's death in combat in Iraq, she and her mother, a talented singer, have had a hard time financially, and ultimately they are forced to leave Memphis in order to escape her mother's abusive Elvis-impersonator boyfriend. Worst of all, Foster is unable to read because of a learning disability. When she and her mother accidentally end up in Culpepper, WV, Foster finds some unlikely supporters among the tiny town's eccentric residents, including a boy with no camera who dreams of being a documentary filmmaker and a famous retired actress who lives in seclusion on the outskirts of the community. Thanks to them and to her own perseverance, Foster is able to work toward her dream of making the world a better place, one cupcake at a time. The story is fast paced, and readers will be rooting for likable and gutsy Foster, who expresses her views on life in baking metaphors. The quirky residents of Culpepper are equally believable and appealing. Youngsters will find this story tastier than a batch of Foster's triple chocolate cupcakes.

 

 

Suggestion for library use
For this book, it might be fun for students to make up their own Close to Famous-themed recipes.  Students could write out recipes, incorporating ingredients and titles inspired by the story.  They could then either share the recipes by making them, or simply by reading them to their classmates and explaining where they got their ideas.

Module 6- Zero The Hero

Summary
Zero is a happy number, convinced that he is a superhero.  But all of that changes one day when he realizes that his fellow numbers think that he is nothing at all-- literally.  Only after he saves the day when a mischievous group of Roman numerals attacks is his positive self image restored.  Creative in its writing and subject matter, Zero the Hero weaves mathematical concepts into a fun story that older children will enjoy.

Holub, J., & Lichtenheld, T. (2012). Zero the hero. New York: Henry Holt.

My impressions
This was such a fun, creative story that I really enjoyed reading to my kids!  I was impressed with the author's integration of mathematical concepts and puns.  In addition to being a great read for kids, I think that it would be useful to teachers who may be unsure of how to incorporate different content areas into their read alouds.

Reviews

Rogers, B. (2012). Zero the Hero. Library Media Connection, 31(1), 90.
In this super fun book, Zero believes he is a hero. Unfortunately, it takes saving One through Nine from their Roman captors before the other numbers begin to see his true value and bravery. This clever story will bring new life to your number line! Younger audiences will enjoy the graphic novel-type conversations and illustrations, while older students will laugh at the funny puns, subtle math jokes, and conversations regarding multiplication, division, and Roman numerals. This story will reward teachers and students with a break from their daily math routine and is a perfect segue for teachers asking students to creatively write about math. Hooray for another entertaining book about math-a rare treasure for elementary math teachers!

Roth, K. (2013). Zero the Hero. School Library Journal, 59(6), 62.
Zero is a number who is starting to feel utterly worthless. His friends, like One and Seven, have fun playing counting games. Zero can't join in because he's not a counting number. His friends are frightened by him when it comes to multiplication because he will make them disappear. Zero leaves when his confidence reaches an all-time low. His friends realize that they need him when they can't finish math problems, but before they can tell him, they are captured by the Roman numerals. Zero becomes the hero he believed himself to be when he successfully makes the Roman numerals disappear and saves his friends. L. J. Ganser voices each number and Roman numeral in a uniquely appropriate manner, giving an added oomph to Holub's story (Holt, 2012) of mathematical heroism and witty puns.

 

 

Suggestion for library use
This would be a great book to introduce creative writing as well as Roman numerals.  Students could make up similar stories relating to letters or other academic topics.

Module 5- How I Live Now and Ellington Was Not A Street

Summary
Set in the near future, How I Live Now tells the story of Daisy, a teenager sent to live with her family in rural England after her father has remarried.  Chaos quickly ensues as a war breaks out while Daisy's aunt is out of the country.  Daisy and her four cousins are left to fend for themselves while the situation around them quickly deteriorates.  How I Live Now is a story of survival as well as being an unorthodox love story with a bittersweet ending.

Rosoff, M. (2004). How I live now. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

My impressions
Even though this book is written for young adults, it was by no means a light or carefree read.  Dealing with such heady topics as war, underage sex, and a love affair between cousins, it is quite edgy!  I enjoyed How I Live Now, particularly because I felt like the author respected the audience that she wrote for.  She wasn't afraid to broach difficult topics even though they might be controversial, and she seems to understand that teenagers go through, (and want to read about), things that their parents may not be comfortable with.
Reviews

Baker, D. F. (2004). How I Live Now (Book). Horn Book Magazine, 80(5), 597-580.

This first novel is intelligent, funny, serious, and sweet; a winning combination of acerbic commentary, innocence, and sober vision. Sent from Manhattan to live with four English cousins on their farm, fifteen-year-old Daisy is smitten with the lush, pastoral beauty around her, but especially with her cousin Edmond, who surprises her "in about half a million ways each day." Daisy's and Edmond's idyllic love is interrupted when an unnamed enemy power invades the country (à la Marsden's Tomorrow, When the War Began): the British army confiscates the farm, and the children are split up and evacuated to separate places. As the violence escalates, Daisy and youngest cousin Piper escape their caretakers and make their way home through an uncertain countryside, where fields and woods may yield either carnage or sustenance. Daisy's account, in eccentrically punctuated run-on sentences, has a breathless directness, a mixture of urbane self-mockery and first-time wonder, that is utterly captivating. Through her eyes, we see the practical effects of the occupation--how civilians rally to bring in the harvest, provide medical care, and even milk cows in the absence of electricity. Refreshingly, Rosoff understates Daisy's transformation from self-absorbed, defensive anorexic to generous, loving hero, but that inner evolution is always apparent in her bracing wit and intense response to beauty, both human and natural. Hilarious, lyrical, and compassionate, this is, literarily and emotionally, deeply satisfying.

 

Hofmann, M. (2005). How I Live Now. School Library Journal, 51(11), 60.

Anorexic Daisy, a miserable, quirkily perceptive 15-year-old New Yorker, is sent to live with British cousins whose mom is off on a peace mission. An idyllic adventure becomes more intense as Daisy and her cousin Edmond develop a deep but also physical relationship. During her stay, unidentified terrorists attack England, global war ensues, and the cousins are separated. Privation and growth necessitated by crisis move Daisy past anorexia into wisdom, and love changes her--and possibly her readers'--perspectives forever.

 

Suggestion for library use

This book might be fun for students to use as inspiration for a role-playing game.  Students could divide into groups and work together to form a survival plan for dealing with a situation like the one that Daisy and her family found themselves in.  They could come together afterwards to share their plans, discussing which points would and would not work in a real life war zone.

 

 

 

Summary
 Recipient of the Coretta Scott King award, Ellington Was Not A Street is a sort of historical fiction picture book for school-aged children.  Prominent African American figures such as Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, and of course, Duke Ellington all gather in the main character's house. 

Shange, Ntozake. (2004). Ellington was not a street. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

My impressions
While there is no doubt as to the importance of the figures depicted in the book, as well as the beautiful illustrations that accompany the story, I don't know how many children would pick this book up to read just for fun.  Ellington Was Not A Street undoubtedly has value as a historical teaching tool, but beyond that, I don't see it as being a popular pick.

Reviews
Ware, F. (2005). Ellington Was Not a Street. Black Issues Book Review, 7(4), 65-67.
The warmth and pride of the Harlem Renaissance comes alive in this poignant story of great African American men who made outstanding contributions to American culture. The strong, powerful illustration by Kadir Nelson capture the reader and make the period real and the reader proud.

Wysocki, B. (2007). Ellington Was Not a Street. School Library Journal, 53(4), 59.

Velvet smooth, this illustrated rendition of the free-verse poem "Mood Indigo" highlights men of color such as Paul Robeson, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and W.E.B. DuBois. Based on the musicians, politicians, fighters, and other notables who visited the author's childhood home, the biographical endnotes fill in the facts. Eloquent paintings make this a book to share. Video and audio versions available from Weston Woods.

 

Suggestion for library use

This book would be a good introduction to historical figures in the African American community.  Students could choose a person from the story and do a research report on that person.

Module 4- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh and The Tale of Despereaux

Summary
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Frisby is left on her own to care for her family, including her ailing son Timothy.  While looking for a way to move the family to a safer home, Mrs. Frisby endures a series of adventures and dangers, finding strength and courage she never knew she had.  She also finds that both help and friends can be found in the most unexpected places.

Brien, R., & Bernstein, Z. (1971). Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH. New York, NY: Atheneum.

My impressions
Mrs. Frisby is a wonderful tale of courage, persistence, loyalty, empathy, and so many other things that we want our kids to learn.  It was also beautifully written, and the few illustrations that were included were quite charming.  This book goes down as one of my all time favorites.

Reviews
Bird, Elizabeth. Top 100 Children’s Novels #33: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien. (2012). School Library Journal, 5028. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/05/31/top-100-childrens-novels-33-mrs-frisby-and-the-rats-of-nimh-by-robert-c-obrien/# 

All right!  One of my favorite science fiction books out there (or is it fantasy since Mrs. Frisby can talk too?).  You’ve got your rats.  Your lee.  Your stone.  What else do you need?
The plot, according to the publisher, reads, “Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma.”
According to Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book, Anita Silvey says of the author that, “He wrote Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH while on staff at National Geographic.  Since the magazine frowned on their writers developing projects for others, Robert Leslie Conly adopted a pseudonym based on his mother’s name and published this novel covertly.”  As a kid, I always wondered why the sequels (Racso and the Rats of NIMH, R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH, etc.) were written by a Jane Leslie Conly and not Mr. O’Brien.  It makes a lot more sense once you know it was a pseudonym.  Jane was actually his daughter.  Nice when they keep it in the family like that, eh?
In the end, the man didn’t do that many books.  Just The Silver Crown, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,  A Report From Group 17 and Z is for Zachariah.  I’ve read two of those four.  Now I’m mighty curious about The Silver Crown (which gets republished every once in a while) and A Report From Group 17 (which I have NEVER heard of!).

Suggestion for library use
After reading Mrs. Frisby, the librarian could lead students in a discussion about how our perception shapes the way we view others.  In the book, the rats were viewed by the other animals as outsiders, and even as dangerous.  It would be interesting to help students notice similarities between this perception and the ones that we make about each other in society.

Summary
Despereaux is a small mouse destined for great things.  Despite continuous discouragement from his family and community, he pursues very un-mouselike interests, including talking with humans.  The tale of his pursuit of a princess is interwoven with the tragic tales of other characters such as Miggery Sow and Roscuro.  In the end, the various problems are resolved as a result of the bravery and resilience of Despereaux.

DiCamillo, K., & Ering, T. (2003). The tale of Despereaux: Being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

My impressions
This was the most recent of the books that I read this week, (2003), and it was a great updated slant on the traditional fairytale.  I loved the narrator's voice and the little asides to the reader. True to more modern fairytales, I thought that Despereaux did a great job of explaining the characters' complexities instead of oversimplifying things by painting some as "good" and others as "bad."  For example, at one point when the princess is being described, the author ticks off all of her good attributes and then her not so great ones. I loved this!  She wasn't assumed to be inherently "good" just because she was a princess-- it was more complicated than that.  The author did the same thing with the villians of the story, helping you to emphathize with them, (she even beautifully explained what it means to empathize with others).  What a great read and such a promising book for teaching students all sorts of things!

Reviews
Sieruta, P. D. (2003). The Tale of Despereaux. Horn Book Magazine, 79(5), 609-610.

Despereaux Tilling is not like the other mice in the castle. He's smaller than average, with larger than average ears. He'd rather read books than eat them. And he's in love with a human being--Princess Pea. Because he dares to consort with humans, the Mouse Council votes to send him to the dungeon. Book the First ends with Despereaux befriending a jailer who resides there. Books two and three introduce Roscuro, a rat with a vendetta against Princess Pea, and Miggery Sow, a young castle servant who longs to become a princess. Despereaux disappears from the story for too long during this lengthy middle section, but all the characters unite in the final book when Roscuro and Miggery kidnap Princess Pea at knifepoint and Despereaux, armed with a needle and a spool of thread, makes a daring rescue. Framing the book with the conventions of a Victorian novel ("Reader, do you believe that there is such a thing as happily ever after?"), DiCamillo tells an engaging tale. The novel also makes good use of metaphor, with the major characters evoked in images of light and illumination; Ering's black-and-white illustrations also emphasize the interplay of light and shadow. The metaphor becomes heavy-handed only in the author's brief, self-serving coda. Many readers will be enchanted by this story of mice and princesses, brave deeds, hearts "shaded with dark and dappled with light," and forgiveness.

 

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (Book). (2004). School Library Journal, 5028.

Gr 3 Up--In this delightful novel, a tiny mouse risks all to save the princess he loves from the clutches of a devious rat and a slow-witted serving girl. With memorable characters, brief chapters, and inventive plot twists, this fast-paced romp is perfect for reading alone or sharing aloud. Winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal

Suggestion for library useStudents could do a comparison between this current fairytale and more traditional ones.  They might explore the differences in the way the main characters are depicted now versus then.

Module 3- A Sick Day For Amos McGee and The Hello, Goodbye Window

Summary
Amos McGee is a zookeeper who makes time for each of his animal friends, despite his busy schedule.  But when he wakes up sick one morning, his animal friends make their way to his house to take care of him for a change.

Stead, P., & Stead, E. (2010). A sick day for Amos McGee (Caldecott Medal 2011). New York: Roaring Brook Press.

My impressions
The expressive illustrations in this book really make the story.  There is so much detail that each time you read the book, you find something new.  The book is fanciful, fun, and sends the wonderful message that friends, (of all sizes and shapes), take care of each other.

Reviews

Romriell, D. (2012). A Sick Day for Amos McGee. School Library Journal, 58(9), 59-60.
When Amos McGee wakes up feeling under the weather and stays home from work, his animal friends at the zoo board the bus to pay Amos a visit. They spend the day cheering Amos up by playing quiet games, caring for his every need, and reading him a bedtime story so he won't be afraid of the dark. The final frame shows a pile of animals snuggled around Amos in an attitude of comfort and friendship. Erin Stead's gentle pencil-and-woodblock illustrations in muted colors with spots of red match the tone of Philip Stead's Caldecott-winning story (Roaring Brook, 2010) and depict the real comfort that friendship provides. David de Vries offers perfectly paced, quiet narration to fit the sweet nature of the tale. He provides a distinct voice for Amos as well as the bus driver (the two characters given solo lines in the story). Just enough movement is added to Stead's illustrations to hold the attention of viewers. An excellent music score is provided by Ernest Troost. This enchanting production adds a whole new level of enjoyment to this winning picture book.

Dejean, E. (2013). A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Library Media Connection, 31(4), 97.

This charming, quiet, Caldecott award-winner (Roaring Brook Press, 2010) features an elderly zookeeper caring for a small group of anthropomorphic animals. When he stays home with a cold the animals go to his house and care for him. The animation is true to the original illustration, but moves minimally and somewhat awkwardly. Ernest Troost's music is quiet and repetitive like the story. David de Vries's British sounding narration pauses after each phrase which slows the pace and could lose the attention of some viewers. Brief interviews with the author and illustrator provide insight into the development of the story. An accompanying lesson plan provides objectives and activities.

Suggestion for library use
This book would be great to use in conjunction with an Animal or Friends theme for younger children.  Librarians could lead students in a discussion about how each of the animals cared for Amos and then ask them to describe how their family cares for them when they are sick.

Summary
 "The Hello, Goodbye Window" tells of a little girl who delights in using a front window in her grandparents' house for play.  She details all of the fun ways that she and her grandparents use the window, including to say 'hello' and 'goodbye' to each other.

Juster, N., & Raschka, C. (2005). The hello, goodbye window. New York: Michael di Capua Books/Hyperion Books for Children.

My impressions
This book ticks the boxes for many things that I look for in a good children's book.  It is visually appealing, it is well-written, it covers social/emotional issues that are relevant to young children, and it is fun. Written and drawn from a child's perspective, the book gives children the chance to see themselves in the story and to hear phrasing similar to their own.  I also particularly liked that it depicted an interracial family.

Reviews

Von Drasek, L. (2006). The Hello, Goodbye Window. Teaching Pre K-8, 36(7), 62-63.

The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster (Hyperion, 2005. ISBN: 0-786-80914-0). This joyous tale of a little girl's relationship with her Nonna and Poppy is rendered in riotous splashes of color. The first-person narrative describes, from the granddaughter's point of view, her various activities from doodling at the kitchen table to saying goodnight to the stars. (Grades preK-1)

Reynolds, A. J., Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., & Raben, D. (2005). The Hello, Goodbye Window. School Library Journal, 51(3), 174.

The window in Nanna and Poppy's kitchen is no ordinary window-it is the place where love and magic happens. It's where the girl and her doting grandparents watch stars, play games, and, most importantly, say hello and goodbye. The first-person text is both simple and sophisticated, conjuring a perfectly child-centered world. Sentences such as "When I get tired I come in and take my nap and nothing happens until I get up" typify the girl's happy, imaginative world. While the language is bouncy and fun, it is the visual interpretation of this sweet story that sings. Using a bright rainbow palette of saturated color, Raschka's impressionistic, mixed-media illustrations portray a loving, mixed-race family. The artwork is at once lively and energetic, without crowding the story or the words on the page; the simple lines and squiggles of color suggest a child's own drawings, but this is the art of a masterful hand. Perfect for lap-sharing, this book will find favor with children and adults alike.

Suggestions for library use
This book would be a good read around Grandparents Day in September.  Students could compare their own experiences with their grandparents to the ones in the story.

Another suggestion would be to create a hello, goodbye window to use after reading the story.  Students could reenact the ways that the girl and her grandparents "played" with the window, or come up with their own ideas.

Module 2- The Secret Garden and The Outsiders

Summary
"The Secret Garden" tells of a young girl, Mary Lennox, who is unexpectedly sent to live with her distant relative in England after having lived in India.  Over the course of the book, Mary evolves from being a bored, neglected, and spoiled child into a vibrant, lively one.  This comes about as the result of her discovering a secret garden, as well as meeting various friends.  The garden is truly magical in the manner that it changes not only Mary, but those around her, bringing them together in ways that none of them could have imagined.

Burnett, F., & Tudor, T. (1962). The secret garden. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

My impressions
What a delight this book was!  I listened to a large portion of it in the car with my five-year-old twins while driving to and from school.  I wasn't sure how much they would be able to understand or how much it would hold their attention, but I was thrilled to find that they both asked to listen to the "Mary story" each time we got in the car.  They also learned so much new vocabulary and talked about what they thought the characters looked like.  One day after we got home, my daughter started carefully walking across the grass in our front yard, stooping down to listen.  When I asked what she was doing, she told me "I want to see if the grass makes my footsteps softer like it said in the story."  :)  To me, this is the sign of a true classic-- that a book written over a century ago, describing things that are so different from a reader's experience can still be engaging.

Reviews

Gray, B. (2011). The Secret Garden. School Library Journal, 57(5), 64.

Many laudable versions of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic have been recorded, and this is another worthy selection. Spoiled Mary Lennox is sent to the English moors to live in a mysterious mansion that holds many secrets. Classic characters such as Dickon, the almost magical gardener/animal whisperer, and Colin, the spoiled, sickly son of the house, grow to know and trust each other as well as Mary. Finola Hughes does a marvelous job with the Yorkshire accent, Colin's childishly peremptory remarks, and Dickon's peaceful mien. At the beginning, Hughes doesn't quite succeed in portraying Mary's self-centeredness and meanness, but as the girl begins to blossom, she becomes much more assured in her portrayal. The pacing is excellent and the production quality is very good. This enchanting production belongs in most library collections.

Radloff, L. (2008). The Secret Garden. Library Media Connection, 27(2), 69.

This new edition of Burnett's well-loved classic illustrated in ink and watercolor will stand up well against Tasha Tudor's 1930 version, and is much more engaging than some more recent editions. The story of Mary Lennox, Dickin, and Collin needs no retelling, but the size of the book, about one foot tall, and the new illustrations should be considered if newer versions of the story are needed. The illustrator, who lives in England, has captured the Victorian era in detail, the Yorkshire landscape, and the changes in the garden over time. The children, too, are more lifelike contrasting nicely with the sweetness of Tudor's illustrations and line drawings. The cover, with its embossed gold lettered title is a wraparound scene inviting the reader to enter into the garden along with Mary as she hears the robin's winter song. There are nice details in the other drawings, particularly the flowers, even if some of the animals appear a bit too Beatrix Potterish for me. Perhaps Moore will undertake Burnett's other works and give them an English feel. Recommended.

Suggestion for library use
This book would be good for students to use in a character study.  Students could be divided into groups, each taking one of the main characters.  The groups could then either discuss or create reports on their assigned character, discussing how the character evolved over the course of the story and providing an example of a similar character from another book.

Summary
"The Outsiders" tells the story of the struggles and clashes between two groups of teenagers in a small town.  Taking place in the 1960s, the story delves into issues that are still relevant today, such as class struggle, poverty, and violence.  The conflict between the two groups, (the Greasers and the Socs), is raw and heartbreaking, resulting in the death of some of the main characters.  It also unexpectedly brings together members from both groups, who are becoming increasingly frustrated by their daily lives.

Hinton, S. (1967). The outsiders,. New York: Viking Press. 

My impressions
I know that this is a wildly popular book, but it just was not my favorite.  I don't think that it was a bad book, and I can see it sparking some important conversations among young people, but I just didn't enjoy it.  I think that at the time it was written, the book was probably much more cutting edge, since it deals with topics that are at once taboo and representative of the realities that many teenagers live with.  However, having read many books and seen many movies that deal with these same issues, I found the book to be a little hokey and cliché.  The retro language probably added to this feeling, but the storyline was also fairly predictable.  However, I would still recommend this book to young readers, particularly if I felt that they could relate to its story.

Reviews

Peck, Dale. "'The Outsiders': 40 Years Later." The New York Times Book Review 23 Sept. 2007: 31(L). Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.

Few books come steeped in an aura as rich as S. E. Hinton's novel ''The Outsiders,'' which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. At a time when the average young-adult novel was, in Hinton's characterization, ''Mary Jane went to the prom,'' ''The Outsiders'' shocked readers with its frank depictions of adolescents smoking, drinking and ''rumbling.'' Although other pop culture offerings had dealt with these themes -- most notably ''Rebel Without a Cause'' and ''West Side Story'' -- their intended audience was adult. By contrast, ''The Outsiders'' was a story ''for teenagers, about teenagers, written by a teenager.'' Hinton's candid, canny appraisal of the conflict between Socs, or Socials, and Greasers (for which one might substitute Jets and Sharks), published when she was 17, was an immediate hit and remains the best-selling young-adult novel of all time.

Long credited with changing the way Y.A. fiction is written, Hinton's novel changed the way teenagers read as well, empowering a generation to demand stories that reflected their realities. In fact, in the novel, the need for a representative literature is a central aspect of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis's existential crisis. The book's famous statement of theme, ''Stay gold,'' is of course a reference to Robert Frost's ''Nothing Gold Can Stay,'' and then there's the not-quite-believable assertion that the novel was written as a ''theme'' for Ponyboy's English class: ''Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn't be so quick to judge.'' Despite its obviousness, this device strikes me as crucial to the book, providing a context for the occasionally clunky deus ex machina and foreshadowing, not to mention the sometimes workmanlike prose. To an adolescent, the clunkers probably reinforce the authenticity of the book's voice, but the framing device establishes that unpolished authenticity as an aesthetic construction.

One suspects, however, that it was accidental here, or unconscious, just as it's likely that Hinton's echo of the testimonial frame Salinger used in ''The Catcher in the Rye'' (''If you really want to hear about it'') wasn't consciously intended, nor was Hinton's literalization of Holden's ''If a body catch a body coming through the rye'' into the rescue of a group of children from a burning church. In fact, what struck me most as an adult reader (and sometime Y.A. novelist) is the degree to which ''The Outsiders'' is derivative of the popular literature of its time, sometimes obliquely, as in the Salinger parallels, sometimes more directly. Hinton once said that ''the major influence on my writing has been my reading'' and names Shirley Jackson as one of her favorite writers. The literal truth of this statement is borne out in these two passages taken from the opening paragraphs of ''The Outsiders'' and of Jackson's ''We Have Always Lived in the Castle'' (1962).

First Jackson: ''I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had.''

And now Hinton: ''I have light-brown, almost-red hair and greenish-gray eyes. I wish they were more gray, because I hate most guys that have green eyes, but I have to be content with what I have.''

Although such a strong resemblance between two works would probably be viewed with suspicion in this time of heightened alertness to plagiarism, this and other echoes strike me as crucial to the success of Hinton's novel. They soften the challenging nature of the book's subject matter by wrapping it in references, tropes and language familiar to its adolescent readers, even as they alleviate the fears of those readers' too-earnest parents. Right after the Jackson echo, for example, Ponyboy's older brother, Sodapop, is characterized as ''16-going-on-17.'' A quotation from ''The Sound of Music'' would seem out of place in a novel rife with ''blades'' and ''heaters'' and teenage pregnancy, but it's hard to deny after Ponyboy's immediate assertion that ''nobody in our gang digs movies and books the way I do.''

Indications of Ponyboy's, and Hinton's, love continue throughout. Randy Anderson's ''If his old man had just belted him -- just once, he might still be alive'' sounds a lot like James Dean's ''If he had the guts to knock Mom cold once, then maybe she'd be happy'' in ''Rebel Without a Cause,'' while the scene in which Dallas Winston waves around a gun until the cops shoot him is a cross between the climax of that movie, when Sal Mineo is gunned down for brandishing a weapon that (like Dally's) is unloaded, and Natalie Wood's famous ''How many bullets?'' speech from ''West Side Story.''

Going right down the honors English syllabus: Ponyboy and Johnny curl up together for warmth like Ishmael and Queequeg in ''Moby-Dick.'' Pony's admonition to himself --''Don't think'' -- is as Hemingway ''code hero'' as it comes. Johnny's half mechanical, half sublime parsing of Frost's ''Nothing Gold Can Stay'' is reminiscent of Mick Kelly's response to Beethoven's Fifth in ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.'' And of course Pony, witness to and chronicler of his friends' demise, could be the Midwestern cousin Nick Carraway left behind. If there's a reference to ''To Kill a Mockingbird,'' I can't find it, save perhaps in the Boo Radleyesque names (although Hinton has said that ''Peanuts the Pony'' was the first book she ever checked out of the library, so who knows). The text even presupposes judgments about appropriate reading material for a 14-year-old: ''I'd read everything in the house about 50 million times,'' Ponyboy informs us, ''even Darry's copy of 'The Carpetbaggers,' though he'd told me I wasn't old enough to read it. I thought so too after I finished it.''

The intertextual musings come to a head when Johnny tells Pony that Dallas reminds him of the Southern men in ''Gone With the Wind,'' which the two boys have been reading to combat boredom while they hide from the police. In Johnny's view, Dally's refusal to turn in his friend Two-Bit for vandalism is like the Confederate rebels' ''riding into sure death because they were gallant.'' Pony initially rejects this reading, but something about it nags him: ''Of all of us, Dally was the one I liked least. He didn't have Soda's understanding or dash, or Two-Bit's humor, or even Darry's superman qualities. But I realized that these three appealed to me because they were like the heroes in the novels I read. Dally was real. I liked my books and clouds and sunsets. Dally was so real he scared me.''

This is good stuff -- great stuff for a teenager. Dally's ''realness'' is made apparent by characters in a book; by contrast, the other members of the gang, who've limited themselves to playing roles they've picked up elsewhere, are suddenly seen as less real, enabling Pony to understand why, at the beginning of the novel, Cherry Valance shyly declared, ''I kind of admire him.'' What goes unsaid until the end of the story is that Pony, like Dally, needs a book to explain him, but is forced to write it himself.

In his introduction to ''Slow Learner,'' Thomas Pynchon remarks that the appropriate ''attitude toward death'' that characterizes serious fiction is usually absent in young-adult literature; but one feels ''The Outsiders'' would pass Pynchon's test. Dally is fearless, which Pony recognizes as heroic but also foolish. That Dally's death scene is a mesh of two of the most enduring moments in American cinema is beside the point. The question is not where the material comes from (''West Side Story'' is based on ''Romeo and Juliet,'' after all, and James Dean's antihero is a latter-day Bartleby or Raskolnikov) but what the writer does with it. The test comes when Ponyboy sums up the conflict between Socs and Greasers as ''too vast a problem to be just a personal thing.'' Salinger couldn't get away with that line, and neither could Pynchon, because their books are too idiosyncratic, too distinct. But Hinton, earnest teenager that she was, wrote to reveal the universality of her Greasers, just as Wright and Ellison did for African-Americans, or Paley and Roth did for Jews.

Each time I came across another borrowing, the success of her strategy was impressed upon me. And at the same time I was reminded of 19-year-old Kaavya Viswanathan, who was flayed last year for borrowing excessively from various sources for her own novel. If some high-minded, plagiarism-wary reader had persuaded S. E. Hinton to remove all references to the books and movies that inspired her, ''The Outsiders'' probably wouldn't have slipped past the internal (let alone official) censors that governed '60s adolescence. Forty years on, we may see the seams of its gilding, but the heart of Hinton's groundbreaking novel is still, indisputably, gold.

Solomon, Charles. "Review of The Outsiders." The Los Angeles Times Book Review (12 Aug. 1990): 10. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter and Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol. 111. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.
Written when she was only 16, The Outsiders was S. E. Hinton's first novel. It set the pattern for her later works, which all focus on disaffected, underclass teen-agers in the Southwest. The hero of the story, Ponyboy Curtis, who conceals a poetic soul under a self-styled "greaser" exterior, finds himself drawn into a gang war that teaches him the difference between the right and wrong side of the tracks. The Outsiders is currently the basis of a show on Fox television and was made into a feature film by Francis Coppola; these adaptations should encourage teen-agers to read the work of this excellent juvenile novelist.

Suggestion for library use
"The Outsiders" would lend itself well to a group discussion on some of the issues depicted in the story, such as socioeconomic disparity and poverty.  Reluctant readers might see themselves in this book, sparking the possibility for good discussion and debate.

Module 1- Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't)

Summary
Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) tells the story of a young girl who cannot find any books that interest her.  In complete contrast, and much to the girl's embarrassment, the school librarian, Miss Brooks, is crazy about books.  She turns story time into a real event, complete with costumes and lots of student interaction.  Miss Brooks never tires of trying to find books that will entice the girl to read, but she is never successful.  Finally, the child's mother reads her Shrek, a book about ogres and warts.  The girl is immediately hooked, and cannot wait to reread the book and share it with Miss Brooks as well as the rest of her class.

Bottner, B., & Emberley, M. (2010). Miss Brooks loves books (and I don't). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

My impressions
I enjoyed Miss Brooks for several reasons.  First, I liked that a librarian was featured so prominently in a picture book, as I haven't encountered this very often.  By making Miss Brooks' character quirky yet endearing, children get a non-traditional view of librarians, as well as an understanding of part of their job-- helping people find interesting books.  I thought it was also a nice touch that the main character didn't quite know what to think of Miss Brooks.  She was a bit put off by her quirkiness and her love of books, especially since she herself had no interest in books whatsoever.  This felt very natural to me.

Another thing that I liked about this book was that the main character was not interested in the same things that other children liked to read about.  No butterflies, fairies, or princesses for her!  This was refreshing to me, and an important message to promote to young children:  that it's okay to be different...and that you will eventually find your thing, even if it takes a while.  Along those same lines, I loved that neither the librarian nor the mom gave up on the girl; they continued to search for books that she might like and to talk to her about the predicament throughout the story.  What a clear way to send the message that reading is important and worthwhile!

Incidentally, my five-year-old twins were not huge fans of this book.  (I thought that I would include their impressions as well, as the book is written for children their age).  They enjoyed the story well enough when I read it to them, particularly the illustrations.  However, they didn't ask to read it again, which is how I know when they have truly enjoyed a book.

Reviews

Hulick, J. (2010). Miss brooks loves books! (and I don't). Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 63(9), 371. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223686729?accountid=7113

 

"The first-grade girl who narrates this story is not a fan of the printed page, despite

the best efforts of her enthusiastic school librarian, Miss Brooks, who regularly

dons elaborate costumes and reads the class a dismaying (to the narrator) variety

of books. When our protagonist has to find a story she likes to share with the class

(and wear a corresponding costume) for Book Week, the girl grumpily despairs,

until a comment by her mother (“You’re as stubborn as a wart”) finally leads her

 

to her kind of book: William Steig’s Shrek. Filled with new purpose, the girl happily

practices her presentation, even making stick-on warts for her classmates to

wear, and both librarian and student rejoice at this newly kindled passion for a

book. Head and shoulders above the usual purposive pro-library materials, this

will undoubtedly resonate with children who just haven’t bought into the pleasure

of books yet and also with the librarians or other adults trying to win them over.

Bottner’s comically wry, no-nonsense text (“I ask my mother if we can move to

a new town. My mother says there’s a librarian in every town”) is a stitch to read

aloud. Emberley’s illustrations (drawn with pencil, then scanned and printed onto

watercolor paper and painted with watercolor) are cheerfully casual, with the figures

posed against lots of refreshing white space. The bespectacled girl in her slouchy

striped sock cap, bedraggled brown hair, and overalls is clearly one tough (if short)

customer, while Miss Brooks is a long, tall figure with a riot of sproingy brown hair

(frequently bedecked with theme-appropriate accessories) and colorfully eccentric

costumes. This would make a great beginning-of-the-year class read or preparation

for a Book Week celebration for aficionados and resisters alike. JH"


Lukehart, W. (2010, February 1). [Review of the book Miss Brooks loves books (And I don't)]. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com.

"All children need a librarian like Miss Brooks. Her love for reading flows from every fiber of her lanky, quirky self. When not happily immersed in one of the colorful choices from the mountains of books surrounding her, she is dressed as Babar, a Chinese dragon, or a groundhog–her puppet-clad arm popping through a hole on the page. She shares stories with a diverse group of young people, and all are captivated–except for one. This first-grade narrator believes Miss Brooks is a little too enthusiastic–to the point of being "vexing." During Book Week’s student presentations, the overall-clad girl with large, round spectacles and a woolen beanie finds the other kids’ books "too flowery. Too furry. Too clickety. Too yippity." When her mother observes that she is as "stubborn as a wart," interest is aroused, Shrek is discovered in the pile supplied by the librarian, and the transformation begins. An ogre costume and stick-on warts for the whole class complete the conversion to bibliophile. Children will delight in Emberley’s spirited watercolor and ink renderings of literary favorites from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a Wild Thing. Bottner’s deadpan humor and delicious prose combine with Emberley’s droll caricatures to create a story sure to please those who celebrate books–and one that may give pause to those who don’t (or who work with the latter)."

Suggestion for library use

 

This book would lend itself well to an activity similar to the one in the story-- having Book Week in the library.  As in the story, students could choose their favorite book and present it to the rest of the class in an interesting way, (costumes, reenacting part of the story, etc.).  The librarian could read this book as the lead-up to Book Week as a way of introducing the activities that will take place.  Reading the book would also encourage students to find a book that "fits" them, and to seek help from the librarian if they are having trouble finding that book.