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
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