Bibliography
Gantos, Jack. 2002. Joey Pigza Loses Control. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN 9780312661014
Plot Summary
Joey Pigza is young boy with ADHD who lives with his single and neurotic mother and his beloved Chihuahua pet Pablo. Everything is fine until Joey goes to spend time with the father he has never met.
Critical Analysis
As the story begins we are quickly introduced to Joey’s neurotic mother who is driving Joey to Pittsburg so he can spend some time with Carter, his father whom he has never met. Throughout the entire ride she keeps reminding him to take his meds since the last time he forgot, he threw a dart that landed on Pablo’s ear, his Chihuahua. Soon we are introduced to his non-stop talking father who as Joey puts it “is wired.” As soon as his mother leaves his father takes him to “Storybook Land” a miniature golf place filled with fairy tale characters like Humpty Dumpty whom according to his father, inspired him to stop drinking. Soon Joey is left with his chain smoking grandmother who blackmails him to use his emergency cash his mother left, to buy her cigarettes, in exchange for Pablo who grandma has hidden. Things gradually get worse as Joey’s father continually tells him that he does not need his patches for ADHD and flushes them all down the toilet. Joey’s willingness to please his father, his need to feel loved and wanted win over as he does not tell his mother about the meds. As his father slowly begins drinking again, things get more interesting as Joey pitches in his first baseball game on the team his father is coaching. At first things are going well, until his medicine completely wears off and baseballs are flying all over the place, his father is screaming and cursing and Joey runs off from the baseball field to call his mother to come get him. In a time when many young people are being identified with ADHD, many of them will identify with Joey Pigza, his need for medication and his upside down family. The fourteen chapters are brief and easy to read. Jack Gantos has created true to life story of an ADHD boy whose life without meds is upside down.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “This high-voltage, honest novel mixes humor, pain, fear, and
courage with deceptive ease…Joey’s hear of gold never loses its shine.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review- “Hilarious, harrowing, and ultimately heartening.”
Booklist, Starred Review- “A truly memorable read.”
Connections
*Newberry Honor Book
*Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
*Father and son relationships
*Baseball
*Alcoholism and the effects on family
Thursday, December 8, 2011
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Bibliography
Yang, Gene Luen. 2008. American Born Chinese. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN: 9780312384487
Plot Summary
Jin Wang is the only Chinese-American student at his school and longs to “American” like the other students. Soon a boy from Taiwan joins his school and Jin Wang hesitantly becomes his friend. Meanwhile the King Monkey wants to be an immortal god in heaven and somehow he is entangled with Danny, an all-American boy whose obnoxious Chinese Cousin ruins his reputation at school.
Critical Analysis
After the King Monkey establishes his kingdom and masters the twelve major disciplines of Kung-Fu he wants to be known as the Great Sage Equal of Heaven, and is convinced that he is no longer a monkey. Tze-Yo-Tzuh creator of all existence tells him it was he who made him but the monkey still refuses to believe so he is under a mountain of rock for five hundred years to prevent him from exercising Kung-Fu.
Jin Wang is an American born student of Chinese parents whose parents move to an all-American town where Jin Wang is the only American-Chinese student. From the beginning he is made fun of and bullied because of the way he looks or what he eats and so he has no friends until another Asian boy named Wei-Chen Sun arrives from Taiwan. As much as Jin Wang tries to not avoid Wei-Chen Sun because he is FOB (Fresh of the Boat) they end up becoming best friends.
Then there’s Danny an all-American boy who is great at basketball and is popular with the girls until his obnoxious Chinese cousin Chin-Kee comes to spend some time with Danny at this school. While Chin- Kee is brilliant at every subject he is a comical Chinese stereotype with buck teeth, crude manners, a braided pony tail, a thick accent, “Harro Amellica!”and Danny detests him for being so Chinese.
Readers will be captured with the colorful and expression filled graphics of each page, and the action filled pages with Kung-Fu fights and likewise, be entertained with innocent teenage mishaps as Jing Wang tries to put his arm around the girl he likes only to realize his armpits smell.
Readers will be fascinated with how these three stories told separately yet interwoven throughout the entire novel come in the end to create conclusion about finding and accepting ourselves for who we are and where we come from as we try to fit in.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist- “With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes.”
Library Media Connection- “In this graphic novel, three humorous and seemingly unrelated stories keep the reader's attention until they come together at the end.”
Connections
*Identity
*Cartoons & Comics
*Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
*National Book Award Finalist
Yang, Gene Luen. 2008. American Born Chinese. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN: 9780312384487
Plot Summary
Jin Wang is the only Chinese-American student at his school and longs to “American” like the other students. Soon a boy from Taiwan joins his school and Jin Wang hesitantly becomes his friend. Meanwhile the King Monkey wants to be an immortal god in heaven and somehow he is entangled with Danny, an all-American boy whose obnoxious Chinese Cousin ruins his reputation at school.
Critical Analysis
After the King Monkey establishes his kingdom and masters the twelve major disciplines of Kung-Fu he wants to be known as the Great Sage Equal of Heaven, and is convinced that he is no longer a monkey. Tze-Yo-Tzuh creator of all existence tells him it was he who made him but the monkey still refuses to believe so he is under a mountain of rock for five hundred years to prevent him from exercising Kung-Fu.
Jin Wang is an American born student of Chinese parents whose parents move to an all-American town where Jin Wang is the only American-Chinese student. From the beginning he is made fun of and bullied because of the way he looks or what he eats and so he has no friends until another Asian boy named Wei-Chen Sun arrives from Taiwan. As much as Jin Wang tries to not avoid Wei-Chen Sun because he is FOB (Fresh of the Boat) they end up becoming best friends.
Then there’s Danny an all-American boy who is great at basketball and is popular with the girls until his obnoxious Chinese cousin Chin-Kee comes to spend some time with Danny at this school. While Chin- Kee is brilliant at every subject he is a comical Chinese stereotype with buck teeth, crude manners, a braided pony tail, a thick accent, “Harro Amellica!”and Danny detests him for being so Chinese.
Readers will be captured with the colorful and expression filled graphics of each page, and the action filled pages with Kung-Fu fights and likewise, be entertained with innocent teenage mishaps as Jing Wang tries to put his arm around the girl he likes only to realize his armpits smell.
Readers will be fascinated with how these three stories told separately yet interwoven throughout the entire novel come in the end to create conclusion about finding and accepting ourselves for who we are and where we come from as we try to fit in.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist- “With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes.”
Library Media Connection- “In this graphic novel, three humorous and seemingly unrelated stories keep the reader's attention until they come together at the end.”
Connections
*Identity
*Cartoons & Comics
*Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
*National Book Award Finalist
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Bibliography
Zusak, Markus. 2005. The Book Thief. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 9780375842207
Plot Summary
The Book Thief is a narrative told through from the point of view of death whose focus is on Leisel Hubermann, a girl who cannot read but enjoys collecting books.
Critical Analysis
From Death’s point of view we are introduced to the many unforgettable characters found in the Book Thief, but in particular Liesel, a young girl whose book stealing begins with a book entitled, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook”; even though she does not know how to read. Set in Natzi Germany, the life about Liesel unfolds with her mother taken to prison because she is a communist, her younger brother dying along the way and Leisel taken to live with people who eventually become her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Rosa is a spirited woman who runs the house with an iron fist and Hans is a kind man who loves to smoke, plays the accordion and is a painter. As Liesel settles in with the Hubermann’s she eventually makes friends with the neighborhood children like Rudy whom is always trying to steal a kiss from her. As the war progresses and Jews are being taken prisoners the Hubermann’s themselves hide a Jew by the name of Max in their basement and eventually becomes very good friends with Leisel, especially after they find out they both have nightmares that haunt them at night. Liesel’s book thieving continues throughout her life as her father patiently teaches how to read until his death. Readers will thoroughly enjoy the personification of death and the rich and philosophical language found throughout, “Five hundred souls. I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I’d throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms.” (p336) The book is divided into ten parts that are divided into various chapters that include small interruptions identified in bold and that are often poetic in nature, “A book floated down the Amper River. A boy jumped in, caught up to it, and held it in his right hand. He grinned. He stood waist-deep in the icy, Decemberish water…” (p528) and concludes with an epilogue.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “An achievement.”
The Horn Book Starred Review- “Exquisitely written… A tour de force to be not just read but inhabited.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review- “An extraordinary narrative.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Beautiful and important.”
Connections
*Compare with Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Bartoletti
*History of Germany
*Jews and Germany
*Death
*World War II
Zusak, Markus. 2005. The Book Thief. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 9780375842207
Plot Summary
The Book Thief is a narrative told through from the point of view of death whose focus is on Leisel Hubermann, a girl who cannot read but enjoys collecting books.
Critical Analysis
From Death’s point of view we are introduced to the many unforgettable characters found in the Book Thief, but in particular Liesel, a young girl whose book stealing begins with a book entitled, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook”; even though she does not know how to read. Set in Natzi Germany, the life about Liesel unfolds with her mother taken to prison because she is a communist, her younger brother dying along the way and Leisel taken to live with people who eventually become her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Rosa is a spirited woman who runs the house with an iron fist and Hans is a kind man who loves to smoke, plays the accordion and is a painter. As Liesel settles in with the Hubermann’s she eventually makes friends with the neighborhood children like Rudy whom is always trying to steal a kiss from her. As the war progresses and Jews are being taken prisoners the Hubermann’s themselves hide a Jew by the name of Max in their basement and eventually becomes very good friends with Leisel, especially after they find out they both have nightmares that haunt them at night. Liesel’s book thieving continues throughout her life as her father patiently teaches how to read until his death. Readers will thoroughly enjoy the personification of death and the rich and philosophical language found throughout, “Five hundred souls. I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I’d throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms.” (p336) The book is divided into ten parts that are divided into various chapters that include small interruptions identified in bold and that are often poetic in nature, “A book floated down the Amper River. A boy jumped in, caught up to it, and held it in his right hand. He grinned. He stood waist-deep in the icy, Decemberish water…” (p528) and concludes with an epilogue.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “An achievement.”
The Horn Book Starred Review- “Exquisitely written… A tour de force to be not just read but inhabited.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review- “An extraordinary narrative.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Beautiful and important.”
Connections
*Compare with Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Bartoletti
*History of Germany
*Jews and Germany
*Death
*World War II
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
Bibliography
Schmidt, Gary D. 2004. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. New York: Yearling Books. ISBN 9780553494952
Plot Summary
Turner Buckminster is a minister’s son new to the town of Phippsburg in Maine. There he meets a girl named Lizzie Bright from Malaga Island, a poor community founded by former slaves, and become friends.
Critical Analysis
From the first day Turner Buckminster had arrived to his new home with his mother and father, the new minister of Phippsburg’s First Congregational Church, he felt out of place. He did not have any friends and couldn’t even play baseball the way the people of his new home town played it, not only that, in his father’s eyes and to the townspeople he continued to be a disgrace because he is a minister’s son and minister’s son are not allowed to be imperfect, like the time he punched Willis, Deacon Hurd’s son, on the nose. Feeling lonely and a failure he wanders off to the sea to get away from it all, there he meets Lizzie Bright, a lively girl about his age. Lizzie shows Turner her home, Malaga Island, and the people who have lived there since she can remember. Set in 1912, the story focuses on Turner, and the uproar the town is in because of his close friendship with Lizzie, a colored girl. Many readers will connect with Turner and Lizzie as everyone at some time in their lives have been the new kid who doesn’t fit in while other’s will feel Lizzie’s pain and sorrow as everything she loves is stripped away including her life. The non-fictional setting of the town of Phippsburn Main and Malaga Island will fascinate and surprise historical fiction readers, as they read about how the homes of the people of Malaga Island were burnt to the ground, and the people literally forced out of the island and some put in homes for the feeble-minded.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist, Starred Review- “A powerful tale of friendship and coming-of-age, adding a lyrical sense of the coastal landscape.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Schmidt’s writing is infused with feeling and rich in imagery. With fully developed, memorable characters…this novel will leave a powerful impression on readers.”
The Horn Book Magazine- Multiple conflicts, between all manner of the powerful and the powerless, create a drama that examines the best and worst of humanity.”
Kirkus, Starred Review-“The telling is both beautiful and emotionally honest, both funny and piercingly sad.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Honor Book & Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature from the American Library Association.
*Racism
*Poverty
*Prejudice
Schmidt, Gary D. 2004. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. New York: Yearling Books. ISBN 9780553494952
Plot Summary
Turner Buckminster is a minister’s son new to the town of Phippsburg in Maine. There he meets a girl named Lizzie Bright from Malaga Island, a poor community founded by former slaves, and become friends.
Critical Analysis
From the first day Turner Buckminster had arrived to his new home with his mother and father, the new minister of Phippsburg’s First Congregational Church, he felt out of place. He did not have any friends and couldn’t even play baseball the way the people of his new home town played it, not only that, in his father’s eyes and to the townspeople he continued to be a disgrace because he is a minister’s son and minister’s son are not allowed to be imperfect, like the time he punched Willis, Deacon Hurd’s son, on the nose. Feeling lonely and a failure he wanders off to the sea to get away from it all, there he meets Lizzie Bright, a lively girl about his age. Lizzie shows Turner her home, Malaga Island, and the people who have lived there since she can remember. Set in 1912, the story focuses on Turner, and the uproar the town is in because of his close friendship with Lizzie, a colored girl. Many readers will connect with Turner and Lizzie as everyone at some time in their lives have been the new kid who doesn’t fit in while other’s will feel Lizzie’s pain and sorrow as everything she loves is stripped away including her life. The non-fictional setting of the town of Phippsburn Main and Malaga Island will fascinate and surprise historical fiction readers, as they read about how the homes of the people of Malaga Island were burnt to the ground, and the people literally forced out of the island and some put in homes for the feeble-minded.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist, Starred Review- “A powerful tale of friendship and coming-of-age, adding a lyrical sense of the coastal landscape.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Schmidt’s writing is infused with feeling and rich in imagery. With fully developed, memorable characters…this novel will leave a powerful impression on readers.”
The Horn Book Magazine- Multiple conflicts, between all manner of the powerful and the powerless, create a drama that examines the best and worst of humanity.”
Kirkus, Starred Review-“The telling is both beautiful and emotionally honest, both funny and piercingly sad.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Honor Book & Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature from the American Library Association.
*Racism
*Poverty
*Prejudice
Catherine, Called Birdy
Bibliography
Cushman, Karen. 1994. Catherine, Called Birdy. New York: NY. Harper Trophy. ISBN 9780064405843
Plot Summary
Catherine, Called Birdy is the diary of a young teenage girl who is high spirited and determined to chase away the men her father chooses for her to marry.
Critical Analysis
Catherine is a spitfire young maiden who detest spinning yarn, writing in a journal, and does not wish to get marry any time soon. She in turn would rather be spending time outdoors with the goat boy, be a rich lady so someone else could do the work for her or spent time with the birds that she keeps in her chamber. However, Catherine’s father is quick to remind her of her place as a daughter by striking her each time she chooses to do things according to her will. All the while she continues to anger her father by driving away rich man he wants her to marry, until a year later she actually considers marriage and is making a list of her future children’s names. Set in the Medieval Ages during 1290’s readers are taken on a journey filled with Catherine’s longing for adventures beginning the 12th of September to the 23rd day of September of the following year. The diary entries that make references to the feast of the Saint being celebrated that day aid to establish the setting and beliefs of the time such as on the 16th day of February, Feast of Saint Juliana, who argued with the Devil. Young readers will identify with the fourteen year old Birdy who like many teens despise house chores, is sharp-tongued and dislikes her life or as Catherine would say, “Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life!”
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable…Superb historical fiction.”
*The Horn Book, Starred Review-“Her diary of the year 1290 is a revealing, amusing, and sometimes horrifying vie of both Catherine’s thoughts and life in the Middle Ages…The vivid picture of medieval life presents a seemingly eye-witness view of a culture remote from contemporary beliefs. Fascinating and thought-provoking.”
*The Kirkus Reviews-“The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy’s yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient naivete are extraordinary.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Medal Honor Winner
* Compare and Contrast Catherine the main character from Catherine, Called Birdy with Beetle from The Midwife’s Apprentice another Newbery Medal Honor book by Karen Cushman
*Medieval Literature
*Women’s rights throughout the ages
Cushman, Karen. 1994. Catherine, Called Birdy. New York: NY. Harper Trophy. ISBN 9780064405843
Plot Summary
Catherine, Called Birdy is the diary of a young teenage girl who is high spirited and determined to chase away the men her father chooses for her to marry.
Critical Analysis
Catherine is a spitfire young maiden who detest spinning yarn, writing in a journal, and does not wish to get marry any time soon. She in turn would rather be spending time outdoors with the goat boy, be a rich lady so someone else could do the work for her or spent time with the birds that she keeps in her chamber. However, Catherine’s father is quick to remind her of her place as a daughter by striking her each time she chooses to do things according to her will. All the while she continues to anger her father by driving away rich man he wants her to marry, until a year later she actually considers marriage and is making a list of her future children’s names. Set in the Medieval Ages during 1290’s readers are taken on a journey filled with Catherine’s longing for adventures beginning the 12th of September to the 23rd day of September of the following year. The diary entries that make references to the feast of the Saint being celebrated that day aid to establish the setting and beliefs of the time such as on the 16th day of February, Feast of Saint Juliana, who argued with the Devil. Young readers will identify with the fourteen year old Birdy who like many teens despise house chores, is sharp-tongued and dislikes her life or as Catherine would say, “Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life!”
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable…Superb historical fiction.”
*The Horn Book, Starred Review-“Her diary of the year 1290 is a revealing, amusing, and sometimes horrifying vie of both Catherine’s thoughts and life in the Middle Ages…The vivid picture of medieval life presents a seemingly eye-witness view of a culture remote from contemporary beliefs. Fascinating and thought-provoking.”
*The Kirkus Reviews-“The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy’s yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient naivete are extraordinary.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Medal Honor Winner
* Compare and Contrast Catherine the main character from Catherine, Called Birdy with Beetle from The Midwife’s Apprentice another Newbery Medal Honor book by Karen Cushman
*Medieval Literature
*Women’s rights throughout the ages
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bibliography
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2008. Chains. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781416905868
Plot Summary
After being sold to a very cruel couple from New York, a young slave girl named Isabel spies for the Rebels during the Revolutionary war.
Critical Analysis
Isabel knew that the day would come when she would be free. When Miss Mary Finch, Isabel and Ruth’s kind owner who taught them how to read, died; she expected to be released. Before their faith could be decided, the lawyer, who has Mrs. Finch’s will, is gone and Mrs. Finch’s nephew, the ungrateful Mr. Robert decides to sell both girls. The girls are then sold to Mr. and Mrs. Lockton. As the girls make their voyage from Rhode Island to New York City Isabel crosses paths with a boy named Curzon who informs her that her new owner Mr. Lockton is a dirty Loyalist who believes in slavery. Curzon asks Isabel to spy on her masters and inform him about plans and conspiracies against General Washington. Isabel chooses not to have anything to do with politics and refuses to help, but Isabel changes her mind after she realizes what Curzon had said earlier was a hard truth, that her master will say anything in front of her because slaves don’t count. After Isabel’s sister is sold and shipped to the West Indies, she becomes even more determined to help so that maybe the Rebels will help find Ruth and help them gain their freedom. Set in 1776 during the American Revolution, each chapter begins with a newspaper article, advertisement, handbill, or letter from the time period. For example, the following ad is a newspaper advertisement from the Royal Gazette in New York: Run-away from the subscriber, living at No. 110, Water-street, near the new slip. A Negro girl named POLL, about 13 years of age, very black, marked with the Small Pox, and had on when she went away a red cloth petticoat, and a light blue short gown, homemade. Whoever will take up and secure the said girl so that the owner may get her shall be handsomely rewarded. These components provide a sense of the time and place as we see these historical events through Isabel’s eyes. Readers may not understand the harsh realities that thirteen year old Isabel had endured from beaten nearly to death because she tried to run away to being branded in her face with the letter I for being insolent, but will sympathize with her for being courageous in fighting for something many take for granted, freedom.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist, Starred Review-“Anderson explores elemental themes of power, freedom, and the sources of human strength in this searing, fascinating story.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Readers will care deeply about Isabel…”
Connections
*Received the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
*National Book Award Finalist
*Slavery
*Revolutionary War
*Children and Slavery
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2008. Chains. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781416905868
Plot Summary
After being sold to a very cruel couple from New York, a young slave girl named Isabel spies for the Rebels during the Revolutionary war.
Critical Analysis
Isabel knew that the day would come when she would be free. When Miss Mary Finch, Isabel and Ruth’s kind owner who taught them how to read, died; she expected to be released. Before their faith could be decided, the lawyer, who has Mrs. Finch’s will, is gone and Mrs. Finch’s nephew, the ungrateful Mr. Robert decides to sell both girls. The girls are then sold to Mr. and Mrs. Lockton. As the girls make their voyage from Rhode Island to New York City Isabel crosses paths with a boy named Curzon who informs her that her new owner Mr. Lockton is a dirty Loyalist who believes in slavery. Curzon asks Isabel to spy on her masters and inform him about plans and conspiracies against General Washington. Isabel chooses not to have anything to do with politics and refuses to help, but Isabel changes her mind after she realizes what Curzon had said earlier was a hard truth, that her master will say anything in front of her because slaves don’t count. After Isabel’s sister is sold and shipped to the West Indies, she becomes even more determined to help so that maybe the Rebels will help find Ruth and help them gain their freedom. Set in 1776 during the American Revolution, each chapter begins with a newspaper article, advertisement, handbill, or letter from the time period. For example, the following ad is a newspaper advertisement from the Royal Gazette in New York: Run-away from the subscriber, living at No. 110, Water-street, near the new slip. A Negro girl named POLL, about 13 years of age, very black, marked with the Small Pox, and had on when she went away a red cloth petticoat, and a light blue short gown, homemade. Whoever will take up and secure the said girl so that the owner may get her shall be handsomely rewarded. These components provide a sense of the time and place as we see these historical events through Isabel’s eyes. Readers may not understand the harsh realities that thirteen year old Isabel had endured from beaten nearly to death because she tried to run away to being branded in her face with the letter I for being insolent, but will sympathize with her for being courageous in fighting for something many take for granted, freedom.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist, Starred Review-“Anderson explores elemental themes of power, freedom, and the sources of human strength in this searing, fascinating story.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Readers will care deeply about Isabel…”
Connections
*Received the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
*National Book Award Finalist
*Slavery
*Revolutionary War
*Children and Slavery
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Our Eleanor by Candace Fleming
Bibliography
Fleming, Candace. 2005. Our Eleanor. New York: New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689865442
Summary
Our Eleanor is a biography of the life of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s life from infancy to her death in 1962. This biography contains very private details from Eleanor’s low self-esteem as a child because of her looks to the details of her not so perfect marriage to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Critical Analysis
All throughout the book the author includes documentable dialogue that came from Eleanor, her children and her friends. At the end of the book source notes, picture credits, and other resources about Eleanor are included. The book begins with a table of contents that includes titles, page numbers and a quote by Eleanor that introduces parallels with what the chapter is about. It continues with a time line of Eleanor’s life and a Roosevelt Family Tree. Then it continues from her birth, youth, marriage, and finally her death in 1962. The book is organized as a scrapbook with each vignette including borders, portraits, letters, newspaper clippings, sketches, or photographs. Headings with bold fonts are included as well as subheadings with a different font style are also used. Captions under well cropped photographs or other images are included to aid the reader. The book jacket is inviting with a colorful portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt. Her warm smile and her soft blue eyes give the photograph an inviting motherly appearance that draws the reader in. The black and white photographs, newspaper clippings, and letters support the text throughout and are placed appropriately with each vignette and are either gay, or serious. Middle school children or older could easily open this book and begin reading from any point in the book. The ivory pages give the book an older feel while giving the background a crisp look. The various font sizes and varieties help move the text along as the journey through Eleanor’s life continues. The writing is clear and to the point and shows the author’s interest in Mrs. Roosevelt’s life without being biased. The author encourages curiosity throughout the book by the way she chooses to title certain vignettes. One of the titles in the book is “The Other First Lady” and then we see a large photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt sitting in a carriage with another woman sitting between the two of them, and then there’s another vignette titled “Father’s Weakness” that peaks the reader’s curiosity.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Society of School Librarians International Book Awards, 2006.
*Jefferson Cup Award, 2006. Honor Book Grades 6-12
* Kirkus Reviews-“Had Eleanor Roosevelt kept a scrapbook-an incredibly well-organized and thorough scrapbook-this is how it might feel to look through it. Arranged chronologically, the volume works like a jigsaw puzzle. Open it up, pick individual pieces at random and when placed all together, a full picture of the subject emerges...”
*Booklist- “As in Fleming's Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life (2003), which was a 2004 Booklist Top 10 Biography, this takes a pastiche approach to humanizing a legendary life. Through anecdotes and archival photos drawn from an assortment of sources, Fleming invites readers into a camaraderie with the timid, neglected little girl who grew up to become the woman many nicknamed "co-president," and whose flouting of accepted gender roles earned her admiration and ridicule in equal measure…”
*Library Media Connection- “This scrapbook biography employs oral history transcripts, books, and photographs. Eleanor's vital role in American history is chronicled in this biography that captures her vulnerability and her humanity. With chapters in loose chronological order, chapter titles indicate phases of Eleanor's life...”
Connections
*Use as a cross curricular resource in Social Studies and English Language Arts to study biographies.
Fleming, Candace. 2005. Our Eleanor. New York: New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689865442
Summary
Our Eleanor is a biography of the life of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s life from infancy to her death in 1962. This biography contains very private details from Eleanor’s low self-esteem as a child because of her looks to the details of her not so perfect marriage to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Critical Analysis
All throughout the book the author includes documentable dialogue that came from Eleanor, her children and her friends. At the end of the book source notes, picture credits, and other resources about Eleanor are included. The book begins with a table of contents that includes titles, page numbers and a quote by Eleanor that introduces parallels with what the chapter is about. It continues with a time line of Eleanor’s life and a Roosevelt Family Tree. Then it continues from her birth, youth, marriage, and finally her death in 1962. The book is organized as a scrapbook with each vignette including borders, portraits, letters, newspaper clippings, sketches, or photographs. Headings with bold fonts are included as well as subheadings with a different font style are also used. Captions under well cropped photographs or other images are included to aid the reader. The book jacket is inviting with a colorful portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt. Her warm smile and her soft blue eyes give the photograph an inviting motherly appearance that draws the reader in. The black and white photographs, newspaper clippings, and letters support the text throughout and are placed appropriately with each vignette and are either gay, or serious. Middle school children or older could easily open this book and begin reading from any point in the book. The ivory pages give the book an older feel while giving the background a crisp look. The various font sizes and varieties help move the text along as the journey through Eleanor’s life continues. The writing is clear and to the point and shows the author’s interest in Mrs. Roosevelt’s life without being biased. The author encourages curiosity throughout the book by the way she chooses to title certain vignettes. One of the titles in the book is “The Other First Lady” and then we see a large photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt sitting in a carriage with another woman sitting between the two of them, and then there’s another vignette titled “Father’s Weakness” that peaks the reader’s curiosity.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Society of School Librarians International Book Awards, 2006.
*Jefferson Cup Award, 2006. Honor Book Grades 6-12
* Kirkus Reviews-“Had Eleanor Roosevelt kept a scrapbook-an incredibly well-organized and thorough scrapbook-this is how it might feel to look through it. Arranged chronologically, the volume works like a jigsaw puzzle. Open it up, pick individual pieces at random and when placed all together, a full picture of the subject emerges...”
*Booklist- “As in Fleming's Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life (2003), which was a 2004 Booklist Top 10 Biography, this takes a pastiche approach to humanizing a legendary life. Through anecdotes and archival photos drawn from an assortment of sources, Fleming invites readers into a camaraderie with the timid, neglected little girl who grew up to become the woman many nicknamed "co-president," and whose flouting of accepted gender roles earned her admiration and ridicule in equal measure…”
*Library Media Connection- “This scrapbook biography employs oral history transcripts, books, and photographs. Eleanor's vital role in American history is chronicled in this biography that captures her vulnerability and her humanity. With chapters in loose chronological order, chapter titles indicate phases of Eleanor's life...”
Connections
*Use as a cross curricular resource in Social Studies and English Language Arts to study biographies.
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