Module 5: Looking for Alaska

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Book Summary:

This is the story of a teenage boy who has recently moved from public to private school. The story displays his experiences in his new school from the average everyday moments to the fun and full of excitement pranks to the tragic and inexplicable hurts that occur in friendship. The story, in its wide variety of emotions, details Mile's deepest, hardest moments in full and living color, most of which find their center in Alaska Young. His encounters with her shape his character throughout the text and shape his future and perspective on life. 

APA Reference of Book:

Green, J. (2005). Look for Alaska. New York, NY: Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Impressions:

My major impression of this book is that it is rough on the reader. There is nothing spared in terms of emotion and experience. John Green is an expert at reality and chooses the harshest light with which to examine and detail it. This story is no different than others he has written in that sense. The language is challenging and requires much of the reader, however, the characters and their experiences are deep and provoke the reader to move forward. The style moves from prose to letters and a few times throughout the text, which offers some freshness to the story as a whole. It makes it feel more realistic, as if that is needed. All in all, I think the reality of the story is necessary for young readers, but the content will be controversial to many. Definitely a good one for more mature collections, but due to the language level and extreme content, perhaps a younger collection would not be the best fit for this text.

Professional Review:

A collector of famous last words, teenage Miles Halter uses Rabelais's final quote ("I go to seek a Great Perhaps") to explain why he's chosen to leave public high school for Culver Creek Preparatory School in rural Alabama. In his case, the Great Perhaps includes challenging classes, a hard-drinking roommate, elaborate school-wide pranks, and Alaska Young, the enigmatic girl rooming five doors down. Moody, sexy, and even a bit mean, Alaska draws Miles into her schemes, defends him when there's trouble, and never stops flirting with the clearly love-struck narrator. A drunken make-out session ends with Alaska's whispered "To be continued?" but within hours she's killed in a car accident. In the following weeks, Miles and his friends investigate Alaska's crash, question the possibility that it could have been suicide, and acknowledge their own survivor guilt. The narrative concludes with an essay Miles writes about this event for his religion class -- an unusually heavy-handed note in an otherwise mature novel, peopled with intelligent characters who talk smart, yet don't always behave that way, and are thus notably complex and realistically portrayed teenagers.

Reference: 

(2005). HornBook. Retrieved from www.titlewave.com 

Library Uses:

This text could be used in a lesson on the importance of word choice. Students could be given the chance to search and find excellent word choice within the text in order to discuss how powerful it can be to a story as whole. 

Module 7: Ivy + Bean: Bound to Be Bad

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Book Summary:

This is the story of a young girl who is seemingly determined to do things that annoy or disrupt others around her. Bean seems to desire to do things the right way...kind of, but seems to always find herself doing what she shouldn't. This story tells the tales of Bean and her pal Ivy and their attempts at doing the right things, despite their natural inclinations to do the exact opposite. When they find some motivation: the love of animals, their endeavors become more intentional. The story outlines how their attempts rarely pay off in the way they intend them to. 

APA Reference of Book:

Barrows, A. (2008). Ivy + Bean: Bound to be bad. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Impressions:

My major impression of this book was that it seemed quite flat. It was probably my least favorite read of the semester in that the characters seemed very one-dimensional and never changing. The events within the book seemed too similar and the author never truly seemed to give the reader a full picture of who the characters are (more than nuisances) and who they could be. I left with very little hope for the series as a whole. I also found the language to be strange. The majority of the language used was simplistic and elementary in nature with strange bursts of higher level verbiage. At times this felt disjointed and unnecessary as it was typically for words which were simply not age appropriate (i.e. it discusses getting her stomach pumped at one point). All in all, this is not a resource I see as necessary for a library. If the students found them interesting, I suppose they would be worth considering, but they seem to hold very little value for the library patrons in content or style.

Professional Review:

Best friends Ivy and Bean decide to be really, really good -- like the guy Ivy once saw in a picture "with birds flying all around him and a wolf licking his foot," the guy who "was so good that wild beasts talked to him and birds swarmed after him." They start by thinking good and loving thoughts, arms stretched out for birds to land on; both, however, would prefer a wolf. Barrows's very funny story tells how the girls go from trying to win over animalkind by changing neighborhood bully Crummy Matt into a nice guy (doesn't work), to having Bean do bad things so that Ivy can reform her (resulting in all the kids on the street trying to outdo Bean), to singing, "Join us in the paths of goodness, and the birds and beasts will love you," while Crummy Matt ties the girls to a tree. Blackall's illustrations keep up with the text; it's hard to say which is funnier -- reading about or looking at the picture of, for instance, Ivy giggling but trying to look horrified when Bean whispers a bad word in her ear. In this fifth book in the series, Ivy and Bean are bound to satisfy fans and garner new ones.

Reference: 

Book review of Ivy + Bean: Bound to Be Bad, by A. Barrows. (2009). Horn Book. Retrieved from www.titlewave.com 

Library Uses:

This text could be used as a display during a series month/unit. It could also be used in a lesson about development of characters as a non-example.

Module 7: Wintergirls

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Book Summary:

This is the story of a young girl who is dealing with severe anorexia. The story displays for the reader her broken family relationships along with her struggles in friendship. The reader is able to see in harsh severity how anorexia (as well as other eating disorders) affect one's life, mind, family, etc. 

Lia, the main character, is stunned by her best friend's death at the beginning of the book. She spends the rest of the book attempting to cope with her lack of support in her friend's time of need as well as manuevering her own issues with eating. Her family pushes her throughout the book to simply "eat", but Lia shows the reader through her thoughts and actions that her mind will not let her. The book takes the reader through what a struggle like anorexia looks like day-to-day and how it is not simple in any regard. Despite her family's attempts to help her, Lia shows that she must find it within herself to get the help she needs. 

APA Reference of Book:

Anderson, L. H. (2009). Wintergirls. New York, NY: Viking.

Impressions:

My major impression of this book is that it was a difficult read. It was difficult not because it was not interesting or captivating in its style. It was difficult because of the content offered. It was difficult in the best way in that it provided incredible insight into a struggle that many young people fight. It provided such a deep perspective shift on those with eating disorders because it shared their deepest thoughts, cries, and motivations. 

Anderson is an extraordinary writer. Her style is unlike anyone else in that she is able to describe things and situations in ways that most would never think of doing. This is incredibly powerful in this text because it makes the main character so relatable, even to those who have never experienced eating struggles. 

The book, while slow at times, keeps the reader wondering what the outcome will be. Even I considered often that the main character might not make it to the end of the book alive. The struggle with eating is depicted in such a real and harsh light that the reader cannot help but consider how they treat, think about, and feel towards those around them who may be warring something similar. While this book is most certainly hard to read, it is an excellent resource for more mature readers (middle school and up) in that it allows them to see through another's eyes and come out with greater perspective and respect for those they encounter in real life. 

Professional Review:

Grades 9-12. Problem-novel fodder becomes a devastating portrait of the extremes of self-deception in this brutal and poetic deconstruction of how one girl stealthily vanishes into the depths of anorexia. Lia has been down this road before: her competitive relationship with her best friend, Cassie, once landed them both in the hospital, but now not even Cassie’s death can eradicate Lia’s disgust of the “fat cows” who scrutinize her body all day long. Her father (no, “Professor Overbrook”) and her mother (no, “Dr. Marrigan”) are frighteningly easy to dupe—tinkering and sabotage inflate her scale readings as her weight secretly plunges: 101.30, 97.00, 89.00. Anderson illuminates a dark but utterly realistic world where every piece of food is just a caloric number, inner voices scream “NO!” with each swallow, and self-worth is too easily gauged: “I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.” Struck-through sentences, incessant repetition, and even blank pages make Lia’s inner turmoil tactile, and gruesome details of her decomposition will test sensitive readers. But this is necessary reading for anyone caught in a feedback loop of weight loss as well as any parent unfamiliar with the scripts teens recite so easily to escape from such deadly situations.

Reference: 

Review of book Wintergirls, by L. H. Anderson. (2008). Booklist, 105(8). Retrieved from www.titlewave.com 

Library Uses:

This text could be used during a realistic fiction/anti-bullying program held within the library. Students would be challenged to read a realistic fiction text in order to crawl in somebody else's skin. The student could then come up with an action plan to prevent the bullying of any student in their school. 

Module 5: Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth

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Book Summary:

This is the story of a young girl who is determined to escape the typical life of an African-American in the early 20th century. It tells of her experience as a child through the eyes of her brothers, sisters, and comrades. It also tells of her sheer will and determination to find what she should do with her life. After moving several times, she finds her passion: flying. The book tells of how she becomes famous for her flying skills and how she passes that on to others like her. 

APA Reference of Book:

Grimes, N. (2002). Talkin' about Bessie: The story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

Impressions:

My major impression of this book is that it is rich in both historical context as well as language. The author uses a strange format to tell the story of Bessie in that she allows people closely tied to Bessie to tell her story for her. She provides small excerpts from a wide range of outside perspectives. This allows the reader to feel as though they truly see the main character for who she was. They are able to see her growing up, making hard decisions, being stubborn and persistent, and fighting for what she loved. They are also able to see her struggle and failures. This is huge for the story in that it provides reality to it. Readers are able to see that she was a real person and that life what not easy for her.

The author does an incredibly job of developing her as the main character and teaching the reader lessons about life without directly saying them in the text. 

She also does an extraordinary job of using language and dialect within the text. There are many portions where interesting and deeper language is used to both challenge the reader as well as provide them with context of the times. This resource could easily be used with older students to demonstrate how the formats of stories can range and be effective. 

Professional Review:

"Brave Bessie Coleman," the first black woman in the world to earn a pilot's license, has been the subject of several recent picture book biographies: (Fly, Bessie, Fly, by Lynn Joseph, 1998; Fly High!, by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, 2001; Nobody Owns the Sky, by Reeve Lindbergh, 1996). Grimes takes an unusual, fictionalized approach to portraying this determined, undaunted woman who made aviation history. She recreates the voices of 20 people who supposedly knew Bessie, expressing their point of view in a free-verse format. Each double spread has the person's monologue with his or her name or role running down the edge of the page with a cameo drawing like a photo at the top; opposite is a full-page illustration in Lewis's typical style that strikingly adds dimension and context to the times and the woman. From her father, who left the large family in Texas, to sisters to flight instructor to news reporter to young fan, the monologue device succeeds somewhat in piecing together a portrait of this woman who braved hardships of both poverty and prejudice. Her dream was to open an aviation school for African-Americans, but a plane crash in 1926 ended her life at age 34. The handsome design, large format, and beautiful artwork make this very attractive, but the lack of source notes or clarification of what's fictionalized-especially quotes-and the strange opening scene set at Bessie's wake as she speaks to her mother from her photo on the mantel, will leave many readers confused. (Picture book. 8-10)

Reference: 

Review of Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman, by N. Grimes. (2002). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from www.titlewave.com 

Library Uses:

This text could be used during Black History month to expose library patrons to how difficult it has been for African-American citizens to make a life for themselves at times such as the one in the story. This text could be displayed in a Black History month display and offered as a part of a research opportunity to further patrons' knowledge of major contributions of African-Americans in America.

Module 6: Thunder-Boomer

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Book Summary:

This is the story of a farming family who notices a storm approaching. The story walks through the preparations needed for such a storm. It reveals how the whole family pitches in to prepare the equipment, animals, and barn. It then shows the force of the storm and the fear the family feels at the uncertainty of how this will affect their livelihood. In the end, the farm and animals are fine as the storm ends and the family finds a fun surprise thanks to their favorite chicken.

APA Reference of Book:

Crum, S. (2009). Thunder-Boomer! New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Impressions:

My major impression of this book is that the sound plays such a huge role in this text. The author highlights the sounds of the farm throughout the text and invites the readers to hear and experience a day-in-the-life alongside the family. There is also this incredibly sense of suspense about what is to come with the storm. At first there are only clues that something like a storm is coming, which is rich in teaching possibilities. Further into the story the storm is known, but the reader is left wondering what will come of the farm as the characters are obviously rushing to prepare and show signs of anxiety. This is the type of writing that sucks a reader, especially a young one, into the story and holds them captive until the end. 
Suspense is used again at the close of the story when the family is attempting to figure out what is going on with their beloved chicken. The author uses the suspense and notes of onomatopoeia and imagery throughout the text beautifully to develop a seemingly simple story into something quite captivating. This text would be an excellent resource in a library for young readers as it is useful for both developing love for reading as well as tools to become a good reader.

Professional Review:

Preschool-Grade 2. One hot day, a farmer plows while his wife, children, and dog sit beside the pond. When a thunderstorm threatens, they hurry home, gather the laundry in off the line, bring a pet chicken into the house, and settle in to watch the lightning flash and feel the thunder shake the house. Hail threatens the corn and the metal roofs, but soon the storm ends. Going out to assess the damage, they find a wet kitten shivering near the shed and decide to give him a home. The evocative text and expressive illustrations work well together here, creating a strong sense of the storm sweeping across the land and an even stronger sense of how this good-natured family handles challenges and surprises. Opening the story in eight wordless pictures before the text begins, Thompson uses watercolor, gouache, pastel, crayon, and collage to create scenes charged with energy and human interest. This fine-tuned, occasionally funny picture book re-creates the satisfying drama of a summer storm.

Reference: 

Review of Thunder-Boomer!, by S. Crum. (2009). Booklist, 105(21). Retrieved from www.titlewave.com 

Library Uses:

This text could be used in the library as an interactive read-along for young students. They could participate in the many sounds that occur throughout the story. The librarian could discuss how important it is that we are able to hear the sounds of the storm and the farm.

Assignment A: Book Trailers

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pies:



Tangerine:



Hunger Games: