Module 15 - The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Summary:

This is the story of an overweight and self conscious teenager.  The main character Virginia, Ginny for short, feels that the people in her life do not understand her.  She especially feels like her parents are unsupportive of the issues that she is dealing with.  She is locked in a world of being told she is not thin enough or she doesn’t dress the way that she is supposed to.  Her mom is actually a psychologist and is constantly comparing Ginny to other girls and body types.  This is particularly hurtful to her.  The most painful thing that Ginny deals with is growing up with what she calls perfect siblings.  Her older sister is working with the peace corps and then going to attend medical school.  And then her brother Byron is idolized by so many that no one could ever think ill of him.  However, Ginny begins to see her friends and family in a much different light after she learns things about her brother and a possible date rape incident.  She begins to realize that she is her own person and that there is so much more than just being known as the fat girl.  She does become a bit wild and leaves town to go see her friend that moved away and changes her physical appearance dramatically.  The important thing is that Ginny grows up and finds out that you don’t have to be perfect to be happy and that it is okay to change yourself if it is for the right reasons.


APA Reference: 


Mackler, C. (2003). The earth, my butt, and other big round things. Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press.

My Impressions:

I couldn’t have thought of a better title to go with this book.  I thought that this book had a very interesting and happy twist to a sad story.  I know that many people can identify with Ginny.  So many young girls feel terribly insecure about their looks.  There are no shortage of advertisements and people to remind you that you aren’t skinny, aren’t flawless and aren’t beautiful.  I know that I could have identified with Ginny immediately.  I appreciate how Ginny eventually uses these negative things to lift her up instead of knock her down.  It was much easier when she began to see those around her for what they truly were.  It is important to remember that no one is perfect and you should never feel less than anyone.    

Professional Reviews:

Horn Book Magazine Review

(Middle School, High School)

"You can tell that Ani is angry, but at the same time she's also funny and strong and sassy." Though she's talking about punk folksinger Ani DiFranco, fifteen-year-old Virginia could easily be describing herself. Unfortunately, Virginia buries her anger (toward her picture-perfect but dysfunctional family) and is unable to see herself as anything but a fat girl who's kind of smart.  When her brother Byron, whom she worships, is found guilty of date rape, Virginia finally begins to acknowledge what her older sister Anais has tried to tell her:  that Byron and their parents are far from perfect. Virginia's transition from an insecure girl desperate for her family's approval to a confident young woman might be a little messagey, but it's believable, and she doesn't do it on her own. Support comes from her best friend, from a teacher with eating-disorder experience, from a doctor who stresses health not weight and recommends channeling anger through kick-boxing, and even from the college student her brother assaulted. Readers will cheer Virginia on when she tells her father not to comment on her weight loss ("my body [is] just not yours to discuss"); tells her brother he's "an asshole for date-raping someone"' ignores clothing advice from her appearance-obsessed mother (who recommends "strategic layers and camouflaging colors") and buys a sexy purple dress instead; and realizes that the guy she's been making out with behind closed doors actually wants to kiss her in public. Mackler does a fine job introducing girls to a very coll chick with a little meat on her bones.

Brabander, J. M. (2003). The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. Horn Book Magazine, 79(5), 614-615.

Library Uses:

        a.  This might be an interesting book to use for a health lesson.  Not only physical health but emotional health as well. 

          b.  It would also be a good idea to incorporate social issues such as stereotyping and bias advertising using this story. 

Module 14 - Comets, Stars, the Moon & Mars

Summary:

There are very beautiful illustrations in this book.  There are many different types of poems in this book.  There are poems about each of the planets in our solar system and one about the solar system! The sun also has a poem to describe it.  Some of the poems are about the universe or a galaxy.  Constellations and comets were also highlighted with a poem.  Some of the poems had text that swirled.  The great thing was there was factual information embedded into the poems.  They were fun but proved to be very useful.  There was even a glossary with the definitions of the terms used.  


APA Reference:


Florian, D. (2007). Comets, stars, the moon, and mars. Orlando, FL:  Harcourt, Inc.

My Impressions:

I love this book!  I have used this book since my second year of teaching.  I love the poems and colors.  I would use this in my classroom for my special education students that cannot read well.  When we cover the universe I always make a note of that book to each class.  I really like using it with my ESL students also.  The rhyming is not as clear to them yet but the illustrations always grab their attention and allow for some initial vocabulary building. 

Professional Reviews:

Booklist Review

This large-format book looks at astronomy through the magnifying, clarifying lens of poetry. Each broad double-page spread features a short, accessible poem about a subject such as the sun, each of its planets, a comet, a constellation, or the universe, set within an impressive painting. A concrete poem entitled “a galaxy” is a curling spiral of words set against the midnight-blue sky and surrounded by other galaxies. Stamped type, cutout pages, collage elements with printed papers, and sweeping brushstrokes all figure prominently in the expressive collage artwork, which ably illustrates the verse. The last pages carry “A Galactic Glossary” with a paragraph on the topic of each poem, followed by a list of books and Web sites. Florian’s ode to Pluto matter-of-factly notes its demoted status, but even better is his pithy poem on Jupiter: “Jupiter’s jumbo, / Gigantic, / Immense, / So wide / Side to side, / But gaseous, not dense. / With some sixteen moons / It’s plainly prolific— / So super-dupiter / Jupiterrific!” Read this aloud.

Phelan, C. (2007, April 1). [Review of the book Comets, stars, the moon, and mars]. Available from Booklist Website:  http://www.booklistonline.com/Comets-Stars-the-Moon-and-Mars-Douglas-Florian/pid=1933475

Library Uses:

a.       This could be a fun little research project for students at the elementary level.  They could use the book as a guide to things in the universe as a starter.  It also has some very useful information.

b.      This is a great book to also teach poetry.  There are different types of poetry and this would be a great book to teach the basics.

Module 13 - Amulet Book – 1: Stone Keeper

Summary:

Emily is a young girl that loses her father.  She and her family end up moving.  They move into their grandfathers old house.  The interesting thing is how their grandfather has been missing for a very long time.  No one knows where he is.  Strange things begin to happen in the house and when they finally decide to go and investigate, Emily’s mother is taken by a terrifying creature through a strange door.  Unsure of what to do, they follow their mother down some strange stairs. Her and her brother Nevin want to save her.  It just so happens that their grandfather knew things that they did not.  In one of the rooms of the old house, Emily had found an amulet.  It had been hidden and looked like a necklace.  She uses the power of the Amulet to guide her in this strange new world and to fight off danger.  It was full of very bizarre and fanciful creatures.  Some were animals that could talk and others were robots.  Some were even stranger.  Emily pairs up with one of the creatures, a rabbit that is a robot.  In the search for their mother, Emily discovers more and more about her family and a secret past. Her destiny is to become the stonekeeper but she just wants to save her family and go home.  It ends with them still searching for their mom. 


APA Reference: 


Kibuishi, K. (2008). The stonekeeper:  Amulet book 1. New York, NY:  Scholastic Inc.

My Impressions:

I love these types of stories.  Anything sci-fi or fantasy always catches my attention.  However, I am not the greatest fan of comic style books.  I am not fond of books that create the images of the story for me.  I also don’t care for the type of illustrations used.  The car wreck and the death of the father might also be a little hard for some to read about.  I did like the storyline, however.  I am usually the type of reader that locks themselves into only a few genres of reading material.  That being the case I always make comparisons.  This story reminded me of The Labyrinth.  I love new and creative ways to portray wild and unknown creatures.  My daughter enjoyed it.  Now of course we have to go get the others! 

 

Professional Reviews:

Library Media Connection Review

Grades 4-9 – After seeing their father die in a car accident sister and brother, Emily and Navin, move with their mother to an old family home to get a fresh start.  Little do they know that the house has some interesting secrets and surprises in store for them.  When their mother is lured through a door into a world populated by fantastical creatures, the children follow to save her.  This fantasy graphic novel will appeal to those reluctant readers with its interesting monsters and adventures.  The dark pictures aid in portraying the dark shadow of the story and help set the mood.  The prologue of the story relays the car accident and tragic loss of the children’s father and may be traumatic for some readers.  Kaylia Thomas, Librarian, Colt Elementary School, Marble Falls, Texas.

Thomas, K. (2008). Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper. Library Media Connection, 26(5), 67.

Library Uses:

a.       This story would be great for book talks.  There are more than one and that could make for an exciting and suspenseful semester.

b.      I think there is room for creativity with this tale.  I would use it to demonstrate adaptations in the environment.  This would be  a great science lesson.  They could use the creatures from the story and discuss what the environment might be like based on their physical characteristics and powers. 

Module 12 - The Burn Journals

Summary:

Brent Runyon is a troubled teen.  He has attempted suicide many times and still feels like a failure.  He is a typical teenager going through normal ups and downs.  However, in his mind, the things he has done and seen are just too much for him.  He feels that he is causing others pain and that he should not live because of it.  Even the girl he likes is one that his friend already likes.  He hates himself for this too.  He just can’t seem to find a suitable place in life for himself and does not see why he should.  With his many attempts to commit suicide he finally decides on a sure fire way to get the job done.  He goes home and pours gasoline on his robe, puts it on and lights the match.  Even as his family is telling him it is going to be alright after they find him, he is mentally drained and still thinking about the things around him.  This journal is actually written by Brent Runyon himself. They are his accounts of the feelings he had that led up to the ultimate suicide attempt and how he tries to reexamine his life in an attempt to piece his life back together. 


APA Reference:


Runyon, B. (2004). The burn journals. New York, NY:  Random House, Inc.

My Impressions:

Yikes.  It just breaks my heart to know that there are people out there that feel so horrible about themselves that they feel they need to die or want to die.  It is also very tragic that many of them have people around them that don’t know what is happening or just don’t care.  It just makes me ill to think that people can be that ignorant.  I feel that anyone that has attempted suicide more than once should be heavily treated with therapy and other such methods.  No one should feel as if they are alone.  That is what Brent felt like.  He makes that statement that thousands of kids make every day and that is that no one understands them.  Some people found this book controversial and I just say they are ridiculous.  How on earth are some of these kids supposed to wake up every day and know they are not alone? Many of them can’t because they may not know anyone that is dealing with what they are.  This is a very sad and real occurrence.  Books like this teach reality and pain.  However, they also teach hope and forgiveness.  That is important because so many children do not get that at home and even if they do, a child’s life is not always easy.

Professional Reviews:

Booklist Review

On the sixteenth page of this incisive memoir, eighth-grader Brent Runyon drenches his bathrobe with gasoline and (“Should I do it? Yes.”) sets himself on fire. The burns cover 85 percent of his body and require six months of painful skin grafts and equally invasive mental-health rehabilitation. From the beginning, readers are immersed in the mind of 14-year-old Brent as he struggles to heal body and mind, his experiences given devastating immediacy in a first-person, present-tense voice that judders from uncensored teenage attitude and poignant anxiety (he worries about getting hard-ons during physical therapy) to little-boy sweetness. And throughout is anguish over his suicide attempt and its impact on his family: “I have this guilt feeling all over me, like oil on one of those birds in Alaska.” Runyon has, perhaps, written the defining book of a new genre, one that gazes as unflinchingly at boys on the emotional edge as Zibby O’Neal’s The Language of Goldfish (1980) and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak (1999) do at girls. Some excruciatingly painful moments notwithstanding, this can and should be read by young adults, as much for its literary merit as for its authentic perspective on what it means to attempt suicide, and, despite the resulting scars, be unable to remember why. 0

O. (2004, June 1). [Review from the book The burn journals]. Available from Booklist Website:  http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Burn-Journals-Brent-Runyon/pid=228385

Library Uses:

a.       This account would be a great example used during lessons on entering adolescence and the everyday troubles that children face.  Many things are normal and it is important for people to realize they are NOT alone.

b.      This would be another book that could be used to share information about social services in their local community and to discuss options for those in trouble. 

Module 11 - Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow

Summary:

Susan Bartoletti writes this book about twelve people that were part of the Hitler Youth during the time of World War II.  She uses the research and personal interviews to tell the story.  The book is not about Hitler, the Holocaust or the politics surrounding the war.  This book was intended to be told from the perspective of those that were recruited by the Nazis as children.  There are twelve different stories that are told and followed.  Each individual had their own personal accounts to relive and share.  Each experience was unique as to how and why they were recruited.  The Hitler Youth were among the most powerful groups in the world.  When people talk about the Nazis they do not always realize that the majority of them were teenagers and young children.  Bartoletti compiles the information beginning in about the 1930’s from the time many of the people interviewed were recruited.  She tells their story.  


APA Reference: 


Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Hitler Youth:  Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. 

My Impressions:

This was one of my favorite books.  When I read this several years ago I was astounded.  We had gone to the Holocaust museum every year in Dallas.  Our 8^th graders learn about the war and the Holocaust during nine weeks of lessons, movies and books.  I had read about this time period and felt I was well versed in it until I came across this book.  When you try to understand why Hitler did what he did, it is clear to see why he chose children to be the backbone of his efforts.  Children are impressionable and easily swayed.  It is hard to imagine waking up every day, attending school and seeing the face of your leader on the classroom walls.  His face was in every classroom and inside every church.  Teachers were teaching what they were told to.  Children were basically being brainwashed every single day of their existence.  These young people did not have the proper defenses to ward off this dictator.  However, like many of those Bartoletti interviewed, there were some that chose to put their efforts in on the other side of the war once they realized what was happening to them.  It is a very inspirational book and will be one of the last books that offer quoted material from people that were actually there.

Professional Reviews:

Booklist Review

What was it like to be a teenager in Germany under Hitler? Bartoletti draws on oral histories, diaries, letters, and her own extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, Hitler Youth, resisters, and bystanders to tell the history from the viewpoints of people who were there. Most of the accounts and photos bring close the experiences of those who followed Hitler and fought for the Nazis, revealing why they joined, how Hitler used them, what it was like. Henry Mentelmann, for example, talks about Kristallnacht, when Hitler Youth and Storm Troopers wrecked Jewish homes and stores, and remembers thinking that the victims deserved what they got. The stirring photos tell more of the story. One particularly moving picture shows young Germans undergoing de-Nazification by watching images of people in the camps. The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative. — Hazel Rochman

Rochman, H. (2005, April 15). [Review of the book Hitler Youth:  Growing up in Hitler’s shadow]. Available from Booklist Website:  http://www.booklistonline.com/Hitler-Youth-Growing-Up-in-Hitler-s-Shadow-Susan-Campbell-Bartoletti/pid=1180952

 Library Uses:

a.       Use this book in the teaching of the Holocaust but also of the conditions of Germany during this time period. 

b.      This book would be a great use for an activity involving young children and allowing them to see how easy it is to be manipulated and how so many were put under this spell.

Module 10 - The Devil’s Arithmetic

Summary:

This book is about a young girl is learning about the Holocaust.  Her grandfather was a part of it and has to hear about it often.  She is actually very embarrassed by all of it.  However, during a special Jewish ceremony, Passover Seder, Hannah gets to greet Elijah the prophet.  She is immediately thrown back into time in Poland during World War II.  She has a new identity and a new home.  It just so happens that she is then taken by the Nazis and placed in a concentration camp.  Rivka befriends Hannah, now Chaya, and tries to make her time at the camp as comfortable as possible.  Eventually Chaya is among those that will be put into the gas chamber.  As soon as the door closes on her she is transported back to her own family again.  She learned a very hard lesson and finally understood what her grandfather truly endured.


APA Reference:


Yolen, J. (1988). The devil’s arithmetic. New York, NY:  Viking Penguin Inc.

My Impressions:

This is an excellent story.  I can really appreciate this as a parent and as a teacher.  There is nothing harder than trying to explain something to a child that has no particular relevance in their life or they were not there so they don’t care.  I can remember when our middle school pulled out all the stops one year and even had us piled into “cattle cars” in the hallway marked by tape.  Some of us had paint on our face and could not speak the rest of the day.  These were the people that had been gassed, tortured to death or had died from some other unspeakable thing.  Even then it was hard to understand what these people had gone through.  It was not until I was an adult that I could truly appreciate what these people had faced.  This book allows the reader to identify with Hannah in that the Holocaust was just some time period that did not pertain to her and did not care to know about it.  Then you are thrown into this frightening and very real experience with her.  It makes you truly appreciate not only the people that suffered but your own existence.  It is a very powerful story.

Professional Reviews:

School Library Journal Review

Gr-4-8 – In this novel, Yolen attempts to answer those who question why the Holocaust should be remembered. Hannah, 12, is tired of remembering and is embarrassed by her grandfather, who rants and raves at the mention of the Nazis.  Her mother’s explanations of how her grandparents and great-aunt lost all family and friends during that time have little effect.  Then, during a Passover Seder, Hannah is chosen to open the door to welcome the prophet Elijah.  As she does so, she is transported to a village in Poland in the 1940’s, where everyone things that she is Chaya, who just recovered from a serious illness.  She is captured by the Nazis and taken to a death camp, where she is befriended by a young girl named Rivka, who teaches her how to fight the dehumanizing processes of the camp and hold onto her identity.  When at last their luck runs out and Rivka is chosen, Hannah/Chaya, in an almost impulsive act of self-sacrifice, goes in her stead. As the door to the gas chamber closes behind her, she is returned to the door of her grandparents’ apartment, waiting for Elijah. Through Hannah, with her memories of the present and the past, Yolen does a fine job of illustrating the importance of remembering. She adds much to the children’s understanding of the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate throughout history, today and tomorrow. – Susan M. Harding, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.

Harding, S. M. (1988). The devil’s arithmetic (Book). School Library Journal, 35(3), 114.

Library Uses:

a.        This is a great book to use while discussing the Holocaust.  We use this one.

b.      It can also be used to highlight the time period with discussions and activities pertaining to both sides of the war, the different countries involved and the culture surrounding the people involved.

Module 9 - The Dollhouse Murders

Summary:

This is an interesting mystery that occurs in an old house.  The people that once lived in the house were murdered.  Years later, a young girl named Amy goes to stay with her aunt in that house.  The people that were murdered were her great grandparents.  She finds a very lifelike dollhouse in the attic.  She is excited about it and plays with it. Her aunt is not near as happy as Amy about the discovery of the dollhouse.  Clare is very angry with Amy in fact.  Not only did Amy find the dollhouse but when she showed her aunt, the dolls were arranged in a strategic manner that depicted the original murder scene of her great grandparents.  However, Amy does not know this and also tries to convince her aunt that she was not the one that did it.  She is always hearing and seeing strange things involving the dollhouse and is not sure what to do about it.  Her handicapped sister ends up having to come and stay with her and her aunt as well.  This annoys Amy because she was actually glad to be away from her.  However, the two girls set out to try and solve the mystery of the murders together.  They end up finding that it was the gardener.  


APA Reference:


Wright, B. R. (1983). Dollhouse murders. New York, NY:  Holiday House, Inc.

My Impressions:

This was a cute mystery.  It reminded me of books like “The Indian in the Cupboard”.  The idea that this dollhouse was sending clues about the murder was fun and classic.  I was also brought back to a fascinating Twilight Zone episode where this one man was the only one that could see the woman inside the dollhouse come alive.  It was an easy read and I felt like the story could appeal to the kid in all of us.  It was also interesting to see what the dollhouse would do next.  As Amy realizes that the dollhouse is trying to tell her something, she began paying attention.  Clare was in too much denial.  I never could understand why the aunt could not just tell Amy about the murders.  I guess that would have ruined the whole story! 

Professional Reviews:

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-Amy arranges to spend a few days alone with her Aunt Clare in the home once owned by her great grandparents.  She is particularly relieved to have some time for herself, free of having to care for her retarded sister, Louann. When she discovers an exquisite dollhouse in the attic, an exact replica of the family home, her aunt is unenthusiastic about her find and furious when she sees the placement of the dolls; years ago her grandparents had been murdered and the figures are now where the police found them the night of the crime.  She accuses her niece of insensitivity in reproducing the scene, but the girl denies responsibility for moving the dolls. An emergency at home means Louann must also stay at Clare’s and at first Amy is angry at having her plans to be alone shattered, but then the two girls discover the solution to the terrible crime.  The combination of a beautiful, fascinating dollhouse, dark family secrets, ghostly events, danger and suspense are sufficient to make this a likely choice for escape reading. – Karen Harris, Department of Library Science, university of New Orleans. 

Harris, K. N. (1983). The dollhouse murders (Book Review). School Library Journal, 30(3), 84.

Library Uses:

a.       Personally, I could use this book to teach a lesson on forensic science, investigations and police work. 

b.      Since this is a more harmless version of a murder mystery, young students could put on a skit to reenact the events of the dollhouse and the great detective work Amy and her sister Louann get into.

Module 8 - The Hunger Games

Summary:

This is a very interesting book about a very strange place.  Prim is where Katniss lives with her family.  Her dad is dead and Katniss takes care of the family by hunting and keeping food on the table.  However, something interesting occurs in the capitol where she lives and it is known as the hunger games.  There are twelve districts and Katniss lives in the twelfth one.  Two members are selected from all of the districts to come compete in these games which are really fights to the death.  A boy and a girl are both selected and sent to the games.  There can only be one winner and Katniss realizes that her sister is one that will be chosen for that year’s event.  She chooses to go in her place.  The games were created for a good show.  However, they were also a way for the ruler to make sure that his people knew their place.  It was control.  Katniss and another boy from her district, Peeta, end up being the last two survivors of the games.  The rules end up changing back and forth to where there is more than one winner and back to only one that can win.  They did this because the supposed romantic feeling shared between Katniss and Peeta were being publicized and that just made the event more appealing.  They ended up being able to walk away as winners together. In the end they survive but only until the next adventure.


APA Reference:


Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York, NY:  Scholastic Inc.

My Impressions:

Exciting, creepy and very creative!  This book reminded me of the first story I had ever read that involved young children and a bizarre one-way ticket to death.  Stephen King wrote a story called “The Long Walk” that shared many similarities as far as the controversy involving these mandatory events that only some or one would survive.  I love stories like this.  Many people found it controversial but I found it just as fascinating as “Lord of the Flies”.  These types of books make you think, in my opinion.  They show a different sort of life than we are used to.  In our society, children are taken care of and nurtured.  In these stories, children are living adult lives while trying to deal with adult feelings that are not familiar to them yet.  They are survivors and show just as much courage and bravery as their adult counterparts. 

Professional Reviews:

Kirkus Review

Katniss Everdeen is a survivor.  She has to be; she's representing her District, number 12, in the 74th Hunger Games in the Capitol, the heart of Panem, a new land that rose from the ruins of a post-apocalyptic North America. To punish citizens for an early rebellion, the rulers require each district to provide one girl and one boy, 24 in all, to fight like gladiators in a futuristic arena. The event is broadcast like reality TV, and the winner returns with wealth for his or her district. With clear inspiration from Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and the Greek tale of Theseus, Collins has created a brilliantly imagined dystopia, where the Capitol is rich and the rest of the country is kept in abject poverty, where the poor battle to the death for the amusement of the rich. Impressive world-build, breathtaking action and clear philosophical concerns make this volume, the beginning of a planned trilogy, as good as The Giver and more exciting. However, poor copyediting in the first print will distract careful readers--a crying shame. (Science fiction. 11& up)

Kirkus Reviews. (2008, September 1). The hunger games (Book Review). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/suzanne-collins/the-hunger-games/#review

Library Uses:

a.       This book could be used with lessons that discuss class and status in society.  There are many different countries that still have a very serious class system in place.

b.      Social differences and motivation can also be taught here. Not only are Katniss and Peeta fighting for their life, they are fighting for very different reasons.  

Module 7 - Dope Sick

Summary:

Lil J is a very sad and distraught young man.  Not only does his mother have a drinking problem, Lil J is having a difficult time in all aspects of his life.  He can’t seem to find a descent job or find his way in life.  He also has his own addictions.  He is hooked on heroin does not see any light at the end of the tunnel. Then if that was not bad enough, he finds himself involved in a botched drug deal and is on the run.  He leaves his mother and his son alone while he tries to hide out.  He eventually finds himself in an abandoned crack house where someone begins showing him scenes from his own life and begins asking all of these crazy questions.  Kelly tries to show him what he wants to see and as Lil J tries to answer his questions he realizes that there is not just one.  Lil J has been trying to find that one moment in his past that changed him or sent him down the wrong path.  He soon realizes that there were many events and bad choices that caused him to be where he is.  It turns out that he might be given a second chance to reexamine his life and to change it before it is too late.  

APA Reference:


Myers, W. D. (2009). Dope sick. New York, NY:  HarperCollins Children’s Books.

My Impressions:

This is one of those stories that allow the reader to be right there with the character during the intensity of real life.  There is drug dealing, drug doing and a mess of other immoral things taking place in this story.  Lil J is classic.  There are thousands of kids that find themselves in a mess before they even realize what has happened to them.  Many of them are misguided and do not have the means to survive the real world without having to suffer many consequences. I really like how Myers tells the story and also allows Lil J a chance to rectify his situation.  Most people are not given that proverbial second chance and I think that it is important for the reader to see where he was headed before he was allowed to change it.  It is not always about the end but how it all started and the events that led up to him being on the run.  Many people can identify with what Lil J struggles with and that is a very important connection this book can make with its reader.    

Professional Reviews:

Booklist Review

Grades 9-12. Pursued by police after a drug deal goes disastrously wrong, 17-year-old Lil J hides out in an abandoned building where he encounters a strange, solitary man named Kelly, who is watching television. Stranger still is what Kelly is watching: scenes from Lil J’s past and his prospective future! How can this be? And how to answer the question that Kelly then asks: “If you could do it all over again and change something, what would it be?” As Lil J ponders his answer, Kelly screens more scenes from the teen’s unfortunate life, including his growing heroin habit. Is this a drug-induced hallucination? A ghostly visitation à la Dickens’ Scrooge? A metaphysical fantasy? A cautionary tale? All of the above? Wisely, Myers provides no easy answers to these difficult questions, trusting his readers to find their own truths and lessons in Lil J’s life. Yes, “lessons,” for there is definitely a didactic element here. But, happily, Myers’ narrative strategy is so inherently dramatic that it captures his readers’ attentions and imaginations, inviting not only empathy but also thoughtful discussion. - Michael Cart

Cart, M. (2008, November 15). [Review of the book Dope sick]. Available from Booklist Website: http://www.booklistonline.com/Dope-Sick-Walter-Dean-Myers/pid=2903806

Library Uses:

a.       This book could be used for discussion topics over African-American youth and poverty.  The author grew up in Harlem and writes many books about young teens and the struggles they endure.

b.      In the words of a science teacher, “Action. . . Reaction”.  There are consequences for your actions and this book offers the perfect example that kids can relate to.

Module 7 - Ninth Ward

Summary:

Lanesha is a young girl that is living with her grandmother, Mama Ya-Ya.  Her mother died leaving her to be raised by Ya-Ya.  Lanesha was born a little different than other children and also has a gift in which she can see ghosts, mainly her own mother.  She is taunted by children at school and yet the relationship between her and Ya-Ya is so strong that she is able to carry through. With her grandmother’s gift of foresight, she is able to predict a terrible storm that will hit New Orleans.  They live in the Ninth Ward.  Hurricane Katrina is the storm that she predicts.  Both she and Lanesha prepare for the worst.  This is the story of a young girl on the brink of a disaster and how the love and strength of those around her help them pull through together.


APA Reference:


Rhodes, J. P. (2010). Ninth ward. New York, NY:  Hachette Book Group.

My Impressions:

I liked this book.  I think that Hurricane Katrina was so highly publicized and there were so many issues surrounding the mishandling of the situation that I tired of the story quickly.  However, this book brings back the realization of the tragedy itself and how it affected so many people. I also like how this book shows the struggles and triumphs of this terrible ordeal through the eyes of a child.  This was particularly eye opening because it shielded the reader from the negativity that surrounded the event during the aftermath. It was her experience.

Professional Reviews:

Booklist Review

Grades 5-8. New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina is the setting for this tense novel that blends the drama of the catastrophic storm with magic realism. Twelve-year-old Lanesha’s teenage mother died while giving birth to her, and, because her mother’s wealthy uptown family won’t have anything to do with her, she is raised in the Ninth Ward by loving Mama Ya-Ya, 82, who feels like her “mother and grandmother both.” Born with a caul over her eyes, Lanesha is teased at school, but she is strengthened by her fierce caretaker’s devotion and by a teacher who inspires Lanesha to become an engineer and build bridges. Lanesha also has “second sight,” which includes an ability to see her mother’s ghost. As the storm nears and the call comes for mandatory evacuation, Mama Ya-Ya envisions that she will not survive, but Lanesha escapes the rising water in a small rowboat and even rescues others along the way. The dynamics of the diverse community enrich the survival story, and the contemporary struggle of one brave child humanizes the historic tragedy. - Hazel Rochman

Rochman, H. (2010, May 1). [Review of the book Ninth Ward].  Available from Booklist Website:  http://www.booklistonline.com/Ninth-Ward-Jewell-Parker-Rhodes/pid=4109026

Library Uses:

a.       This book could be used to teach the events that surrounded Hurricane Katrina.

b.      There could also be a great lesson in servicing your community using Lanesha’s story.  There were many issues that surrounded that event and students could be recruited to learn about their local emergency services.

Module 6 - Very Hungry Caterpillar

Summary:

This children’s book is about the caterpillar life cycle.  The story begins with an egg on a leaf.  Then the caterpillar comes out.  The caterpillar begins his “adventure” of finding and eating a lot of food in the time before he is to cocoon himself and transform into a butterfly.  The food that he does eat is counted up to five.  The first day is one apple.  The second day is two pears and so on.  Then he eats some junk food and does not feel very well.  When he eats a leaf he feels better and then begins his transformation.


APA Reference:


Carle, E. (1969). The very hungry caterpillar. New York, NY:  Philomel Books.

My Impressions:

Well we own this book.  My daughter and I are butterfly fanatics!  This was one of the first books that she and I read together.  This book offers a few things to young children.  First the illustrations are very colorful and fun.  There is an opportunity to count, learn about different types of food and to watch the life cycle of a butterfly.  Then there is the underlying message about healthy or smart eating habits after the caterpillar gets a tummy ache from eating junk food.  We have always enjoyed this book and it was one of those that we just did not throw away.

Professional Reviews:

Publishers Weekly Review

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar comes the first-ever pop-up edition of this book. When the familiar, tiny caterpillar pops out of his egg, a dial lets readers help him chug across Carle's earthy color palette. Next, the caterpillar eats his way through a week's worth of pop-up fruit, as well as a full-page display of sweet and savory treats, (resulting in a stomach-ache), before his eventual transition into a butterfly. The pop-ups, particularly a half-cylinder tree trunk that sprouts from the center of the spread and a large accordion-like cocoon, are well executed and engaging. While the prominent use of white space lends a sparser feel than in the picture book, the shimmering wings of the pop-up butterfly dazzle on the final spread. Ages 3-up. (Mar.)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book. (2009). Publishers Weekly, 256(9), 63.

(Note: It was very difficult to find a review.  The book hit 40 years and that was all I could find were the pop up book reviews and audio book reviews. The review shares about the book but in a pop up format that enhances the original story.)

Library Uses:

a.       This is the perfect book to teach elementary children the life cycle of a butterfly.

b.      This could also be used for a lesson on healthy eating habits. 

Module 5 - Bud, Not Buddy

Summary:

Bud Caldwell is a young boy that is placed in an orphanage after his mother dies.  He’s was only six years old at the time.  He does not like living there but has no choice. Poor Bud is sent to live with all of these foster families.  They are not good experiences for him. The Collins family home does not prove to be any better than anywhere else he has lived. He is abused in the home and treated so differently.  Todd Collins proves to be particularly ugly to Bud by teasing him about bed wetting and just being plain mean to him.  In this home, he is forced to stay in the shed outside with hornets and other creepy things.  He eventually runs away.  But not before he gets Todd Collins back by dumping a glass of water on him in an attempt to make him think that he has wet his own bed.  Bud is in search of his real father.  His travels take him to Michigan where he believes a man named Herman E. Calloway is his father.  This man is in a band and it turns out in the end that this man is not his father but the father of his own mother.  This man turns out to be his grandfather instead.   


APA Reference:


Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, not buddy. New York, NY:  Random House, Inc.

My Impressions:

Oh books like this make me sad.  However, there was an element of humor in some parts which lightened up the terrors that Bud had to endure.  Bud was easy to identify with even if you were not an orphan.  Many people feel misplaced or lost.  Also it is not hard to find people that are willing to make you feel bad for no reason, which Bud seemed to run into often.  The best part about the book is when Bud decides to actually leave in pursuit of a blood relative instead of being swept completely away into the system.  Most kids just fall through the cracks along the way and he took it upon himself to break free from that.  He still went through some pretty tough times but it was nice to see some sort of resolution for a child that had gone through so much and at such a young age.

Professional Reviews:

Publishers Weekly Review

As in his Newbery Honor-winning debut, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, Curtis draws on a remarkable and disarming mix of comedy and pathos, this time to describe the travails and adventures of a 10-year-old African-American orphan in Depression-era Michigan. Bud is fed up with the cruel treatment he has received at various foster homes, and after being locked up for the night in a shed with a swarm of angry hornets, he decides to run away. His goal: to reach the man he--on the flimsiest of evidence--believes to be his father, jazz musician Herman E. Calloway. Relying on his own ingenuity and good luck, Bud makes it to Grand Rapids, where his ""father"" owns a club. Calloway, who is much older and grouchier than Bud imagined, is none too thrilled to meet a boy claiming to be his long-lost son. It is the other members of his band--Steady Eddie, Mr. Jimmy, Doug the Thug, Doo-Doo Bug Cross, Dirty Deed Breed and motherly Miss Thomas--who make Bud feel like he has finally arrived home. While the grim conditions of the times and the harshness of Bud's circumstances are authentically depicted, Curtis shines on them an aura of hope and optimism. And even when he sets up a daunting scenario, he makes readers laugh--for example, mopping floors for the rejecting Calloway, Bud pretends the mop is ""that underwater boat in the book Momma read to me, Twenty Thousand Leaks Under the Sea."" Bud's journey, punctuated by Dickensian twists in plot and enlivened by a host of memorable personalities, will keep readers engrossed from first page to last. Ages 9-12. (Sept.) 

Publishers Weekly. (1999, September 6). Bud, not buddy (Book Review). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-32306-2

Library Uses:

a.       First this book would be great to use for story mapping.  Students could analyze the story and identify the characters, plot and setting.  Then they could identify the conflict and resolutions within the story.

b.      This would be an excellent example to use for discussing the current system in place for children with no home or family including shelters, orphanages and foster homes.