Rules

Bibliography

Lord, Cynthia. 2006. RULES. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439443822

Plot Summary

Rules is a story of a twelve-year-old girl’s struggle to have a normal life while trying to accept her younger brother, David, who is autistic. “Remember the rules” Catherine reminds David. Often left in charge of watching David while her parents are working, Catherine has to remind David of simple rules like “If someone says ‘hi,’ you say ‘hi’ back” and “If you want to get away from someone, check your watch and say, ‘Sorry, gotta go’!” When Catherine’s best friend visits her father in California and a new girl moves in next door, Catherine is sure that they will have the best summer ever…If David doesn’t scare her off.

During her bother’s OT visits, Catherine befriends a paraplegic boy who uses pictures to communicate. Catherine enjoys drawing and begins making word cards for Jason which evolves into a new and unexpected friendship.

Catherine enjoys spending time with her new friend Kristi, but often finds that it hard to make it work. She tries to imagine all of the wonderful things they will do together, but they are always interrupted by her brother David. When Kristi suggests that Catherine invite Jason to the community center dance, Catherine quickly comes up with a list of excuses.

During Jason’s birthday party, he finds out about the community dance and offers to go with her, but she responds with one of her rules “No dancing unless I’m alone in my room or it’s pitch-black dark.” Jason sees through her rules and replies, “Are? YOU. Embarrassed. About. Me.” She quickly responds back no, but he tells her “RULE. Stupid. Excuse.” In the end, Catherine chooses to accept the things as they are and invites her friend Jason to the dance.

Critical Analysis

In Cynthia Lord’s debut novel, she shares the story of a little girl trying to balance her life within her family and the life with her friends and school. Catherine finds it difficult to fit in because of her younger brother, David who has autism. As she tries to cope with her reality, she creates a set of rules for her brother to know, but in the end she realizes that these are just excuse she has created for herself. Lord’s characters are believable and readers will relate to the feelings of not fitting in.

Several themes transcend throughout the novel. Because so much attention is devoted to David and his needs, Catherine constantly tries to gain the attention of her parents. As Catherine tries to accept the reality of having an autistic brother, she also struggles with her own acceptance of other people that have disabilities. With a new found relationship with Jason, a paraplegic boy that Catherine has befriended at David’s OT sessions, Catherine learns to look past the physical appearances and find the inner beauty. She realizes that she must accept David and love him for who he is.

This emotional story, told through Catherine’s point of view, is full of dialogue that is relevant to today’s teens. It is a heartwarming story that will leave readers laughing, crying, and cheering at the end. “Jason joins them, palms open. Standing there, in the middle of the floor, in front of everyone, I lift my hands and reach for the ceiling, the sky, the stars. And I dance.”

Review Excerpts

Newberry Honor Medal

Kirkus review: “Catherine is an appealing and believable character, acutely self-conscious and torn between her love for her brother and her resentment of his special needs. Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences.”

Publisher’s Weekly review: "The appealing, credible narrator at the heart of Lord's debut novel will draw in readers, as she struggles to find order and balance in her life.... A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view."

Library Media Connection review: "The first-person narrative is very engaging, and readers will identify with Catherine's struggles and cheer for her at the end. This is a great book to help students gain some understanding about autism, while also providing a good read. The author is the mother of an autistic child. Recommended."

Connections

Other novels that deal with disabilities include:

Graff, Lisa. THE THING ABOUT GEORGIA. ISBN 0060875895

Weeks, Sarah. SO B IT. ISBN 0066236223

Codell, Esme Raji. SAHARA SPECIAL. ISBN 0786807938

Gantos, Jack. JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWED THE KEY. ISBN 0374336644

Monster

Bibliography

Myers, Dean Walter. 1999. MONSTER. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0060280778

Plot Summary

“The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won’t hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they’ll start talking about it and soon it’ll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out.”

Steve Harmon, a sixteen year old aspiring filmmaker, is on trial for a felony murder. He has been accused of being the “lookout” for a drugstore robbery and murder. If he is found guilty, he could serve 25 years to life in prison. Steve is having a hard time believing that this is real and so he decides to create a movie of his experiences. “I’ll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER” Throughout the novel, Steve writes a scene-by-scene narrative of the trial and records his thoughts in a diary.

Critical Analysis

Walter Dean Myers has created a suspenseful story of a young African American boy’s struggle to find his own identity when he finds himself on trial for helping his Harlem “acquaintances” rob a drugstore. To separate himself from the realities of the trial and being in a detention center, Steve Harmon has chosen to write a screenplay of the trial. The majority of the story is told in dialogue. The characters’ names are typed in bold and the dialogue directly follows. He even shares voice-overs and camera angles. At the end of each day, Steve “handwrites” in his journal his thoughts and feelings of the trial and life in prison. A few black and white photos are later revealed in the novel; however they do not add to the story.

During his incarceration and trial, Steve describes the harsh realities of life in the small cells of the detention center. “They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can’t kill yourself no matter how bad it is.” We see the struggle that Steve deals with as he searches to prove to others and himself that he isn’t the “Monster” that he has been labeled. “Steve Harmon made a moral decision.” He replays this sentence and the choices that he made over and over and wonders who he is. This struggle is relevant to both Steve and the reader as both have to make moral decisions that may cost them. As the verdict is read and Steve is found innocent, readers will have to grapple with their own decision’s they have made about Steve’s innocence.

Meyers’ unusual format is innovative and engaging. This novel will challenge readers to think about the consequences that they may encounter if they do not make positive moral decisions.

Review Excerpts

National Book Award-Finalist-1999

Coretta Scott King Award-Honor

Michael L. Printz Award for Young Adult Literature-ALA 1999

Booklist review: “Myers combines an innovative format, complex moral issues, and an intriguingly sympathetic but flawed protagonist in this cautionary tale of a 16-year-old on trial for felony murder.”

School Library Journal review: “Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him…Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers.”

Connections

Other titles by Walter Dean Myers include:

Myers, Walter Dean. IT AIN’T ALL FOR NOTHIN’. ISBN 0064473112

Myers, Walter Dean. SCORPIONS. ISBN 0064406237

Myers, Walter Dean. THE BEAST. ISBN 0439368421

The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide

Bibliography

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. 2003. THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES: THE FIELD GUIDE. New York: Simon & Schuster Books. ISBN 0689859368

Plot Summary

The Field Guide is the first of five short fantasy novels in The Spiderwick Chronicles series. When Jared, Simon, Mallory, and their mother move from New York into Aunt Lucinda’s old Victorian house, strange and unusual things begin to occur. Jared begins to hear movement in the walls and makes himself believe that it is just a squirrel. Mallory hears the noises too and the three decide to make a hole in the wall to find the mystery animal. When they open the kitchen wall, they find all sorts of trinkets that the animal has made for a nest. They decide to send Jared up in a dumbwaiter to try and catch the mystery animal when Jared discovers a hidden room that contains a handwritten poem containing a secret message. When Jared decodes the message he finds a field guide written by his great-great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick that includes details about the faeries that live on the Spiderwick estates. Things begin to occur that are quite unusual. For example, Mallory awakes with her hair tied in knots to her bed and bruises on her body and the kitchen is completely destroyed. Jared is blamed for the occurrences, but he believes that an angry boggart is the guilty party. To keep things for happening again, the three decide to make a new home with all of the trinkets found to make the boggart happy. The Field Guide ends when the three children discover a little man “the size of a pencil” named Thimbletack who tells the three children to throw away the field guide or they will be in harms way.

Critical Analysis

The Field Guide opens with a letter from author Holly Black explaining how she and Tony DiTerlizzi came upon the idea of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Through the help of the Grace children, Holly tells how she and Tony “now see that faeries are far more than childhood stories” and they hope that the reader “will open your eyes to it.”

DiTerlizzi and Black’s vivid descriptions along with the black and white sketches bring life to the Spiderwick manor. Jared describes the manor as “a dozen shacks had been piled on top of one another” and later adds “the leaks in the roof had made all but three of the upstairs bedroom floors dangerously rotted.”

The author uses believable characters that are dealing with issues many children face today. Jared seems to be having the most difficult time with his parents divorce and he just hasn’t found his place in the family. He describes his twin brother as one day being a “veterinarian or a lion tamer” and his sister Mallory “would either be an Olympic fencer or in jail for stabbing someone with a sword.” Jared’s timid character begins to develop and the plot thickens when he finds a mysterious poem. He begins a quest that leads him to the attic where he discovers The Field Guide. Jared becomes fascinated with the idea of faeries and soon learns that an upset boggart has been the culprit in the occurrences in the house. Jared becomes a brave adventurer who discovers a world of faeries.

When the three discover the mannikin in the hidden study at the end of the story, he warns the children of the trouble they may find unless the book is tossed into the fire. This discovery is only the beginning of the adventures that Jared and his siblings will encounter. The story is both dark and mysterious and the existence of faeries brings this story to a fantasy world that will capture the reader’s interest.

Review Excerpts

Booklinks: “In this first book in the Spiderwick Chronicles series, Mallory, Simon, and Jared Grace arrive with their newly divorced mother at their great-aunt Lucinda’s Victorian house and there discover a boggart named Thimbletack and a hidden library filled with esoteric books, including great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World around You. As Jared struggles to control the anger that sometimes sweeps over him since his parents’ divorce, the Grace children are drawn deeper and deeper into the world described by their great-great uncle. Although quite short in comparison to many fantasies, this book and the four that follow it are very satisfying.”

Connections

Students will enjoy reading the rest of the books in The Spiderwick Chronicles series. These books include:

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. THE SEEING STONE. ISBN 0689859376

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. LUCIND’S SECRET. ISBN 0689859384

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. THE IRONWOOD TREE. ISBN 0689859392

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. THE WRATH OF MULGARATH. ISBN 0689859406

Readers can also try the audiobook set:

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. The Spiderwick Chronicles Box Set: Book 1: The Field Guide; Book 2: The Seeing Stone; Book 3: Lucinda's Secret; Book 4: The Ironwood Tree; Book 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath [AUDIOBOOK] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD). ISBN 0739356151

Number the Stars

Lowry, Lois. 1989. NUMBER THE STARS. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Co. ISBN 0395510600.

Summary

In a time of 1943 during the Nazi occupation, two ten year old best friends try to live normal lives as best they can in Copenhagen, Denmark. As the Nazi regime tightens up and they begin “relocating the Jews”, Annemarie Johansen’s family secretly hides her friend Ellen Rosen from the soldiers and pretends that she is Annemarie’s older sister. Through the help of the Resistance, Ellen’s parents escape the soldiers and eventually meet up with Ellen, Annemarie, and her family at her Uncle Hendrik’s house on the coast. Before Uncle Hendrik secretly transports the Rosens and other Jews by fishing boat across the sea to Sweden where they will be safe, Annemarie discovers a package that contains a handkerchief that must accompany them on the boat. Annemarie must risk her life and deliver the package to her Uncle in order to save her friend Ellen and her family.

Critical Analysis

Beautifully written through the eyes of a ten year old child, Lowry brings life to a part of history that most have only heard about. Set back in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1943, the Nazi soldiers were found on every street corner with their helmets, cold eyes, shiny boots, and rifles. They had been there for three years and life for the Danish had been drastically different. There were food and electricity shortages, bombings, Jewish shops were being closed, and strict rules were enforced about keeping the entire city darkened at night.

Although circumstances are different, the reader can connect with Annemarie’s character. She is the little girl who is scared about the unknown, secrets her parents are keeping from her, and the uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring. Annemarie enjoys playing with paper-made dolls and telling bed-time stories to her sister and even longs of the day when she can eat pink-frosted cupcakes again. Even though she is a fictional character, Lowry makes her seems so real.

The theme of bravery is transparent throughout the book. Annemarie remembers her father had told her that the king of Denmark would protect the Danes and now her family and all of the other Danes would need to protect Ellen and the other Denmark Jews. She was frightened with the thought of dying to protect them and would she have the courage, but throughout the story Annemarie shows that when the time arises she does has courage. When Annemarie is faced with the opportunity to help her friend Ellen, she does not hesitate.

While this is a fictional story, Lowry reveals historical facts like the Jews being relocated and businesses being closed, the Danish bombing their own ships to keep the Germans from capturing them, the permeated handkerchiefs used to numb the noses of the dogs, and the nearly seven thousand Jews that were smuggled across sea to Sweden. Lowry also adds an “Afterword” chapter providing accounts of what is real and what is made up. Lowry’s story is engaging and memorable giving the reader a glimpse of what was going on without adding any violence.

Review Excerpts

Publishers Weekly review: “Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, this 1990 Newbery winner tells of a 10-year-old girl who undertakes a dangerous mission to save her best friend.”

School Library Journal review: “The gripping story of a ten-year-old Danish girl and her family's courageous efforts to smuggle Jews out of their Nazi-occupied homeland to safety in Sweden. Readers are taken to the very heart of Annemarie's experience, and, through her eyes, come to understand the true meaning of bravery.”

Connections

Other titles by Lois Lowry include:

Lowry, Lois. GATHERING BLUE. ISBN 0385732562

Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. ISBN 0440237688

Lowry, Lois. MESSANGER. ISBN 0440239125

The Midwife's Apprentice

Bibliography

Cushman, Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. New York: Clarion. ISBN 0395692296

Plot Summary

The Midwife’s Apprentice is a historical novel that takes place in medieval England. Awakened in a dung heap, a nameless and homeless young girl is found by the village midwife, Jane Sharp. Willing to work for food and shelter, Jane quickly names the young girl Beetle and takes her in as her apprentice. Gradually, Beetle becomes knowledgeable in the trade while secretly watching Jane deliver the babies. Beetle befriends a cat and a village boy and soon gains confidence in her skills. When she is complimented by a merchant and mistaken for a girl that could read, she decides that she needs a proper name and renames herself Ayce. But when Alyce fails a challenging solo, she believes that she is ignorant and runs from the village. After working at a country inn for a period of time, Alyce realizes that her return to Jane Sharp will give her what she has always wanted, “a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.”

Critical Analysis

In this short novel, Cushman takes us on a journey of a homeless girl searching to find her place in the world. The setting takes us to a stable in a small village during medieval times in England, where Beetle rests her “unwashed, unnourished, unlived, and unlovely body” among the rotting dung heap for she “knew no home and no mother and no name but Brat.” The reader instantly becomes aware of the hardship Beetle has had to endure, and understands that Beetle “dreamed of nothing, for she hoped for nothing and expected nothing.” Her character soon begins to change with the help of Jane Sharp as Beetle begins to learn the trade of midwifery. Although Jane Sharp is harsh and greedy, Beetle becomes more confident in her abilities and begins to think that she is worthy of being noticed and loved. She grew from a young girl without a name who had nothing and dreamed of nothing to Alyce who knows “about babies and birthing, singing songs and cooking chickens, and laughing and reading.” A girl that knows “how to try and risk and fail and try again and not give up.” Although set in a time period so long ago, readers will be able to connect with Beetle’s struggle to find her place in society.

Medieval daily life of eating “two meals a day of onions, turnips, dried apples, cheese, bread, and occasional bits of bacon” and sweeping of the cottage’s dirt floor and dusting the shelves “packed with jugs and flasks and leather bottles of dragon dung and mouse ears, frog liver and ashes of toad” allows readers to understand what life might have been like during times in the middle ages. This was a time when midwifery was prevalent and herbal remedies, magic and superstitions were used. An author’s note follows the conclusion to the story detailing the importance and acceptance of midwifery during this time period.

Review Excerpts

ABC Children’s Booksellers Choices Award Winner 1996 Young Adults United States
John Newbery Medal 1996 United States
Young Reader’s Choice Award Winner 1998 Senior Pacific Northwest

Starred review in School Library Journal: "A truly delightful introduction to a world seldom seen in children's literature."

Starred review in Kirkus Review: “From the rebirth in the dung heap to Brat's renaming herself Alyce after a heady visit to a medieval fair, this is not for fans of historical drama only. It's a rouser for all times.”

Starred review in Booklist: “Kids will like this short, fast-paced narrative about a hero who discovers that she's not ugly or stupid or alone.”

Connections

Other titles by Karen Cushman include:

Cushman, Karen. CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. ISBN 0064405842

Cushman, Karen. MATILDA BONE. ISBN 0395881560

Cushman, Karen. THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE. ISBN 0395728061

The River Between Us

Bibliography

Peck, Richard. 2003. THE RIVER BETWEEN US. New York: Dial Books. ISBN 0803727356.

Plot Summary

In 1916 Howard Hutchings a fifteen year old boy and his father drive in his father’s Model T Ford to Grand Tower, Illinois to visit his grandparents, great uncle and great aunt. Howard’s dad describes the place of Grand Tower as nothing more than a ghost town. A place with just a “saddle factory, a cigar plant, a gunsmith shop or two, and a brick works.” As Howard looks around the house his father grew up in he wonders “how many layers you’d have to scrape away until you came to the time when these old people were young.”

Grandma Tilly takes over the story in the next chapter as she describes what life was like in 1861. A time when Lincoln was in office and the Civil War was just beginning. Tilly lived at home with her mother, sister Cass, and her twin brother Noah. When a steamboat arrives from New Oleans, two mysterious young women, Delphine Duval who is dressed in ballooning crinlines and Calinda who must be her servant, exit the boat and announce they need a place to stay. Mama Pruitt invites them to stay with their family and thus begins a new and exciting life for the Pruitts.

Life for the Pruitt family seemed all too wonderful, until Noah sneaks off and leaves for the war. When mama Pruitt senses that her son is sick, she demands to Tilly, “My boy’s sick. Go to him. Nurse him till he can travel. Then bring him back to me.” When Tilly and Delphine travel to Cairo, the true realities of war and the mystery behind Delphine and Calinda are revealed.

Howard takes over the final chapter and reveals one last twist to the story; secrets that the Pruitt family has kept for many years.

Critical Analysis

Richard Pecks has crafted an authentic story that captures both fictional and historical events that took place during the Civil War. The story is set in Grand Tower, Illinois in 1916. During this time period, people and states were divided. Times were tough and young men were eager to run off and fight in the war. Pecks shares how his research of the Civil War led him to the places and events that were true during that time period and cites them at the end of his novel. As the reader follows the story, both elements of fiction and fact are successfully achieved.

Pecks choice of characters evolve throughout the story, and the reader is able to connect with their struggles and emotions. His choice of first person narrative is believable and reflects the language that is true to the time period. Tilly describes the family as being poor, eating “white beans, gristle, and cornmeal mush through the winter, and how they kindled the fires with flint and steel” and “cooked over an open flame in the kitchen.” When Delphine and Calinda arrives, Mrs. Pruitt opens her home to the mysterious strangers. Mrs. Pruitt was unable to trust them at first, but a beautiful friendship soon evolved with Delphine’s southern belle charm and Calinda’s New Orleans cooking.

When Tilly and Delphine make their way to Cairo to go and find Noah, they come to realize the true realities of the war. Tilly describes her first sight of real war. “Tied hand and foot to that wheel, spread-eagle, was a soldier boy-no older than Noah. He was burned by the sun, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Around his neck a sign hung on twine: THIEF.” Tilly goes on to tell about the sickened soldiers she and Delphine encountered and nursed back to health. Pecks detailed accounts are both descriptive and powerful.

The theme of war and race reveal the experiences and struggles of the people and offer the reader a small glimpse of what this time period was like. Richard Pecks combines all of the elements of a historical fiction into this wonderful masterpiece that will leave the reader begging for more.

Review Excerpts

School Library Journal review: “In this thoroughly researched novel, Peck masterfully describes the female Civil War experience, the subtle and not-too-subtle ways the country was changing, and the split in loyalty that separated towns and even families. Although the book deals with some weighty themes, it is not without humor.”

Booklist review: “Peck's spare writing has never been more eloquent than in this powerful mystery in which personal secrets drive the plot and reveal the history. True to Tilly's first-person narrative, each sentence is a scrappy, melancholy, wry evocation of character, time, and place, and only the character of Delphine's companion, Calinda, comes close to stereotype. A final historical note and a framing device--a grandson writing 50 years after the story takes place--make the reading even better, the revelations more astonishing. It's a riveting story that shows racism everywhere and young people facing war, not sure what side to be on or why.”

Connections

Other books by this author include:

Pecks, Richard. A YEAR DOWN YONDER. ISBN 0142300705

Pecks, Richard. FAIR WEATHER. ISBN 0142500348

Pecks, Richard. A TEACHER’S FUNERAL: A COMEDY IN THREE PARTS. ISBN 0803727364

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon

Bibliography

Thimmesh, Catherine. 2006. TEAM MOON: HOW 400,000 PEOPLE LANDED APOLLO 11 ON THE MOON. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618507574

Plot Summary

In a chronological account, Catherine Thimmesh gives credit to the 400,000 people who were involved in the Apollo 11 mission that landed Neil Armstrong and crew on the moon. “When those millions of people tuned in hoping to witness the moonwalk, one thing they wouldn’t see (or at best might just catch a glimpse of) were the nonastronauts, those beyond the glare of the limelight.” She credits “the regular folks” who made the mission possible. Such people included planners, engineers, quality control and safety inspectors, seamstresses, painters, doctors, and trainers. From the beginning of the dream to land man on the moon to day the Apollo 11 descended back down from our sky, Thimmesh beautifully documents the conversations, quotes, and people behind the scenes.

Critical Analysis

May of 1961, President John F. Kennedy declared, “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” Thimmesh has created a fascinating photo essay that documents the work that had to be done to accomplish this mission. This story tells about the contractors who built the rocket, the 500 people who worked to create the Apollo space suits, and the people who built the parachute system that would land the space capsule safely in the water. Detailed accounts along with quotes give this book a story like quality.

Thimmesh uses a black background with white text to create a space-like illusion. Photographs from NASA in both color and black and white are masterfully displayed on every page of the book. Captions are included to describe what is happening in each of the photos. Some of the photographs cover a two-page spread with a simple quote. From the cover of the book to the very last page, these photographs allow readers both young and old to feel connected to the mission.

An Author’s Note, sources, chapter notes, acknowledgments, index, glossary, and documentation for further exploration are placed at the end of the book. Children will enjoy going online to several websites Thimmesh cites to explore the Apollo 11 mission.

Review Excerpts

Robert F. Sibert Award Winner-2007

Publishers Weekly starred review: "This behind-the-scenes look at the first Apollo moon landing has the feel of a public television documentary in its breadth and detail."

School Library Journal review: "This dramatic account will mesmerize even readers already familiar with the event–and also leave them awed by the level of care and dedication it took to surmount so many daunting technological challenges." –SLJ

Horn Book review: "Thimmesh gives names and voices to the army that got Neil Armstrong and company to the moon and back. The result is a spectacular and highly original addition to the literature of space exploration."

Connections

This book would be a great addition to a space unit. Students will enjoy looking at the full page photographs of the Apollo 11 mission, while more serious space lovers will enjoy the story.

Other books by this author include:

Thimmesh, Catherine. THE SKY’S THE LIMIT: STORIES OF DISCOVERY BY WOMEN AND GIRLS. ISBN 0618494898

Thimmesh, Catherine. GIRLS THINK OF EVERYTHING: STORIES OF INGEIOUS INVENTIONS BY WOMEN. ISBN 0395937442

Thimmesh, Catherine. MADAM PRESIDENT. ISBN 0618396667

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

Bibliography

Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. 2003. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TAIL LIKE THIS? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0618256288.

Plot Summary

Did you know that a gecko uses its sticky feet to walk on the ceiling and a horned lizard squirts blood out of its eyes? These are just a few of the facts students will learn after reading this engaging book. “Animals use their noses, ears, tails, eyes, mouths, and feet in very different ways.” In this eye catching, easy to read book, children will learn just what these animals do with each of their body parts. Jenkins and Page have created an entertaining guess and tell fact book about animals most children are familiar with like the bat, giraffe, elephant, and alligator. They also include a few animals that are not as familiar like the horned lizard, bush baby, blue-footed booby, and the water strider.

Critical Analysis

In this concept book for younger readers, Jenkins shares quick little interesting facts about how animals use their body parts. He begins the book with directions on how to read the book. Each section begins with a two page spread that has five different animal’s body parts peaking around the outside edge of the pages and the question “What do you do with a nose like this?” Children will have fun trying to “guess which animal each part belongs to and how it is used.” On the next two-page spread reveals the answers to the question along with five beautiful pictures of the hidden animals. This pattern is repeated throughout the book. Children will also enjoy flipping to the back of the book to read more about each of the animals. This glossary of animals is organized by body part and gives a brief, one-paragraph description of where the animal lives, its size, and a few other fun little facts.

Jenkins has created a brightly colored cut-paper collage for his illustrations. This unique approach is both captivating and fun. The animals move across the page and the text is formed along side each of the animals. The torn paper Jenkins uses almost looks life-like on some of the animals. For example, the shading around the bush babies eyes and the bushy black and white striped tail of the skunk look like real fur.

Children will enjoy this book as a read aloud or sharing it with a friend while trying to guess the animals.

Reviews Excerpts

Caldecott Honor Book-2004

School Library Journal starred review: "Jenkins, this time in collaboration with his wife, has created yet another eye-opening book."

Booklist starred review: "This is a striking, thoughtfully created book with intriguing facts made more memorable through dynamic art."

Connections

Other books by Steve Jenkins include:

Jenkins, Steve. ANIMALS IN FLIGHT. ISBN 0618123512

Jenkins, Steve. BIGGEST, FASTEST, STRONGEST. ISBN 0395697018

Jenkins, Steve. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMETHING WANTS TO EAT YOU? ISBN 0618152431

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman

Bibliography

Krull, Kathleen. 1996. WILMA UNLIMITED. III. by David Diaz. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. ISBN 0152012672

Plot Summary

Wilma Rudolph was born a small, sickly baby who at the age of five had been stricken with polio. Wilma fought the disease, but was left with a paralyzed leg. Wilma’s determination did not hold her back. For years she went to the doctors and exercised her leg and at the age of twelve, Wilma was able to walk again. In fact, Wilma was the basketball star in high school leading her team to the state championship. It was there that a college coach from Tennessee State University saw what a fast runner she was and offered her a full scholarship. Wilma was the first in her family to go to college. At the age of twenty, Wilma traveled to Rome and was “the first African woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympics.”

Critical Analysis

In this storybook biography for young readers, Krull was able to tell the beautiful story of how Wilma Rudolph overcame the challenges in her life. Not only was she born very sick and soon paralyzed by polio, Wilma also was growing up during times of segregation. Krull describes these obstacles that she endured throughout the story. In one instance, Krull shares how Wilma and her mother had to travel to Nashville “some fifty miles away” because that hospital was the closest one around that would treat black people. “They rode together in the back, the only place blacks were allowed to sit.” The story was both engaging and easy to read, and Krull creatively captured the most pivotal points that lead up to Wilma’s Olympic victory.

Diaz chose acrylics and watercolors to create the striking illustrations used in the book. These brightly colored illustrations were then mounted onto sepia photographs. Images of a wooden fence, a basketball net, a gravel track, and a bus tire are just a few of the images used to frame the illustrations as photographic backdrops. For example, when Wilma was able to take off her brace for good, Wilma and her mother “wrapped the hated brace in a box and mailed it back to the hospital.” To frame the watercolored image of Wilma and her mother boxing up the brace Diaz used a sepia-toned photograph of a box with paper shavings and the word “fragile” written all over the box. This multi-leveled art will leave readers going back several times to view the photographs again.

Krull has inserted an Author’s Note at the end of the book that describes how her town gave her a parade and banquet to honor her medals, a bit of information about the polio disease, and what Wilma did after she retired from her running career. This along with the story of Wilma Rudolph will only leave kids begging for more on the history of her life. Krull’s story of Wilma Rudolph is both informative and inspirational.

Review Excerpt

Booklist review: “Both Krull's words and Diaz's illustrations are celebrations of an inspiring life that deserves to be remembered.”

Publishers Weekly review: “This juxtaposition yields busy, effectively textured pages, flawed only by the text's curiously embellished font-the letters look as though they have been speckled with either ink blots or dust. A triumphant story, triumphantly relayed.”

Connection

Other books written by Kathleen Krull include:

Krull, Kathleen. A WOMAN FOR PRESIDENT: THE STORY OF VICTORIA WOODHULL. ISBN 080279615X

Krull, Kathleen. POCAHONTAS: PRINCESS OF THE NEW WORLD. ISBN 0802795552

Krull, Kathleen. LIVES OF EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN: RULERS, REBELS (AND WHAT THE NEIGHBORS THOUGHT). ISBN 0152008071

Please Bury Me in the Library

Bibliography

Lewis, Patrick. 2005. PLEASE BURY ME IN A LIBRARY. Ill by Kyle M. Stone. Orlando, Fla: Gulliver Books/Harcourt. ISBN 0152163875

Plot Summary

Please Bury Me in a Library is a collection of sixteen independent poems that spotlight the joys and experiences of reading books, crafting letters into words, and surrounding yourself in a library filled with books. Creatively crafted, Lewis has put together a collection that captures the essence of the joy we get when reading.

Critical Analysis

Lewis has created a mixture of verses that include: acrostic, rhyming, free verse, and haiku. Some are very simple rhymes that must be read aloud, while others are more sophisticated making it more challenging to read. In the first poem “What If Books Had Different Names”?, Lewis does a play on words changing the names of many different titles into something very silly (What if books had different names/ Like Alice in …Underland?/ Furious George,/ Goodnight Noon). This comical poem is easy to read and will spark young children to create their very own. Others like “Are You a Book Person?” seem a bit more serious and require you to read it several times to understand the deeper meaning (She has a spine,/ A heart, a soul,/ And a goal---/ To capture, to amuse,/ To light a fire).

While these poems range in complexity, they also range in length. “A Classic” for example has only four lines but is very powerful (A children’s book is a classic/ If at six, excitedly/ You read it to another kid/ Who just turned sixty-three). Others like“Please Bury Me in the Library” and “Eating Alphabet Soup are longer rhyming poems. Lewis has even crafted his acknowledgements at the back of the book in rhyming verse.

The use of acrylic paint and mixed media give the illustrations a child-like quality. Warm tones are used throughout the book with images of children and animals that seem magical. Comical images like the small child standing on a tree stub in a bare forest reading a book captures the meaning behind “Great, Good, Bad”. These illustrations compliment each poem nicely adding excitement and depth.

Reviews

Library Media Connection: “Although this beautifully illustrated picture book of clever poems is primarily for young children, it will tickle the fancy of most book lovers.”

Booklist: “Lewis' poetry is continually clever, whether pithily summing up children's classics (a book that is excitedly read by a kid of 6 to another kid of 63) or capturing the thrill of reading in the dark.”

Connections

Other poetry books by Patrick Lewis include:

Lewis, Patrick. THE BOOKWORM’S FEAST. ISBN 0803716923

Lewis, Patrick. A WORLD OF WONDERS: GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELS IN VERSE AND RHYME. ISBN 0803725795

Toasting Marshmallows

Bibliography

George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS. Ill. By Kate Kiesier. New York: Hougton Mufflin Company. ISBN 061804597

Plot Summary

Toasting Marshmallows is a collection of thirty beautifully crafted poems that celebrate the events that occur on a family camping trip. George uses simple poems to capture the sounds, taste, sights, and events that occur through the eyes of a child. Campfires, getting dressed in a sleeping bag, toasting marshmallows, going fishing, and taking long walks alone give the reader a chance to experience what camping is all about.

Critical Analysis

George uses a combination of different poetic forms to describe the many different activities young children encounter on a camping trip. This book appeals to the young reader. Children will enjoy the use of rhyming words describing the mouth-watering taste of marshmallows in “Toasting Marshmallows” (toaster/roaster and reflection/confection/perfection). George also uses rich language like “Her chrome grille/ is a shy, wistful grin./ Her fading green paint/ peels in rusty scabs” to illustrate an old ’54 GMC flatbed found off a beaten path. Poems like Tent, Eavesdropping, and Flashlight are created forming images in the shape of the topic. These poems are playful and fun to read. Kids will also get a kick out of the play on words used in Sleeping Bag (I wriggle, scoootch,/ scrunch, and jiggle. Flop./ Front flips, back flips) and Mosquito Song (It’s meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!/ Mosqueeeeeeeeeeeeeeto!/ Is that you, Dinner?/ Greeeeeeeeeetings!).

Each poem is complemented with a vibrantly oil colored painting that captures the essence of each poem. Dark colors of blacks and blues landscape the night-life, while bright vibrant colors of yellow and green highlight the beautiful grassy fields. While Kiesler uses two pages to paint the backdrop of many poems, single pages are used for others.

Reviews

Booklist starred review: "fine collection brings the outdoors up close...direct, satisfying poems that will engage kids at school, across the curriculum, or at home."

School Library Journal starred review: “The poems are varied and inventive, replete with marvelous images and universal truths. . . .A terrific idyll for summertime sharing, even for confirmed couch potatoes.”

Horn Book Guide review: “The pleasure and surprise of going camping are conveyed in eighteen brief poems. . . .Richly colored paintings enhance the verses.”

Connections

Other books by Kristine O’Connell George include:

George, Kristine O’Connell. THE GREAT FROG RACE AND OTHER POEMS. ISBN 0395776074

George, Kristine O’Connell. OLD ELM SPEAKS: TREE POEMS. ISBN 0395876117

George, Kristine O’Connell. HUMMINGBIRD NEST: A JOURNAL OF POEMS. ISBN 0152023259

WhatMy Girlfriend Doesn't Know

Bibliography

Sones, Sonya. 2007. WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T KNOW. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689876025

Plot Summary

In this sequel to What my mother doesn’t know, Sones shares the thoughts and feelings of a fourteen year old boy named Robin Murphy who doesn’t fit in at Cambridge High School. Robin is an unpopular arty kid “whose last name people use as a diss. As in: You are a real Murphy.” But his luck changes when he dates Sophie Stien, the most beautiful popular girl in school. Sophie is soon out-casted by her two closest friends and together Robin and Sophie become the “outlaws”. Robin is thrilled that Sophie has chosen him over her best friends, but feels terribly guilty that she is being ostracized by the school.

Robin’s luck is further changed when his art teacher invites him to audit for an art class at Harvard University. He is apprehensive about starting the class, but soon finds that he is accepted by his peers. In fact, he is tempted by Tessa, a Harvard student and friend. Robin must decide who he has stronger feelings for, Tessa or Sophie and face the consequences of temptation.

Critical Analysis

This free verse novel was hard to put down. Sones’ use of everyday language is evident and real. She uses combinations of short rhymes as well as longer verses to reveal Robin’s authentic voice.

Sones has creatively used several shaped poems to portray more comical moments. For example, when Robin shows his girlfriend the sketch of a naked girl in his art class, he pretends that it is no big deal. “It felt…artistic. Like it wasn’t sexual or anything.” Of course, Robin is completely lying and Sophie doesn’t believe a word he says. The use of Pinocchio’s head creatively portrays this conversation with the ever growing nose. Other verses are more touching and honest and reveal Robin’s true feelings. In the verse When We Finally Come Up for Air, Robin says “Sophie’s eyes/ are smiling into mine./ And it’s amazing, really,/ because all she has to do is look at me/…If only everyone else could see/what Sophie sees/when she looks at me.” In this one verse the reader is able to understand how painful it is to be bullied by classmates.

Throughout this verse novel, Sones brilliantly illustrates the ups and downs of a teenage boy’s first love, and teens will be able to relate to the struggles that overwhelm them as teenagers.

Reviews

Booklist starred review: “Many teens will see themselves, and they'll cheer when Sophie and Robin thwart the bullies and reclaim their social standing. Like Sones' other titles, this is a great choice for reluctant and avid readers alike."

School library Journal: “Written as a novel in verse, this title is a fast-paced, page-turning romp that gives authentic voice to male youth even when it is painfully truthful.”

Connections

Other books by this author include:

Sones, Sonya. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. ISBN 0689855532

Sones, Sonya. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES. ISBN 0689858205

Sones, Sonya. STOP PRETENDING: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY BIG SISTER WENT CRAZY. ISBN 0060283874