Pink and Say

Every time that I have entered an elementary school library over the last few months and asked what picture book I should read, I have been referred to some book by Patricia Polacco. Pink and Say is one of my two favorites.

Pink and Say is the story of a Union Civil War soldier, rescued by the 1st black person that he had ever seen, Pinkus. Pinkus takes the soldier, Sheldon Curtis, to the home where his mother, Moe Moe Bay, is now living. Their friendship grows when they spend time healing from their wounds and learning about each other. Pinkus, a former slave, even offers to teach Sheldon to read.

This story gives explanation of where slave names came from and other important cultural explanations like "jumping the broom."

The use of words, complimented by the use of white in the drawings adds as much as the expert use of color. Pinkus calls slavery "the sickness" and he is called "polised mahogany" by Sheldon. I found both of these uses of figurative language to be touching.

This story was passed to Polacco in an oral tradition, from her great-grandfather to her grandmother. It ends with the statement 'When you read this, before you put this book down, say his name out loud and vow to remember him always.' This statement made me believe in the power of text and the beauty of Polacco's drawings, because I sure did what she told me to. Overall, this was one of the most touching stories that I have ever read, not only because of the content, but because of the words played against the drawings.

Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say. Putnam & Grosset Group, 1994. ISBN 0-399-22671-0.

Princess in the Spotlight

I enjoyed reading the first Princess Diaries book so much that I quickly picked up the second book. Like I've said previously, I was very entertained by this book and even though I know the story, I enjoyed looking for differences and making comparisons to the movie.

Mia is again a unique and interesting character. Now that I have spend so much time reading her diary though, I wonder what young readers might learn from Mia's secret keeping, forgetfulness, and infrequent lies. For example, the major conflict in Princess in the Spotlight arrives when Mia discovers that her Grandmere is planning a royal wedding for Mia's mother, an eccentric artist.

Mia keeps the secret of the wedding from her mother because her grandmother basically bribes her with a pretty dress. Also, Mia doesn't tell anyone about the secret admirer letters and instant messages that she keeps receiving.

Though I see flaws in Mia's character that I really wouldn't want my child to learn from, I plan to keep reading the stories because I laugh at Mia's unique observations and quirkiness. Knowing the story does not make the series less entertaining for me of for the readers in the library that have been returning the books. The series and the movies are so different that we merely just know the characters.

Cabot, Meg. Princess in the Spotlight. Harper Teen, New York, 2001. ISBN 978-0-06-147994-6.

The Princess Diaries

Before starting my library practicum at middle school, I had no idea that one of my favorite contemporary teen movies was a book series first. I am usually in tune with these sorts of things but, with very few differences- like being set in New York City instead of San Francisco and the fact that Mia's father is still living- I found the Princess Diaries: Volume I to be very entertaining, engaging, and exciting.

Like the very popular movies, what makes the book series (at least 10 books and a series of novellas) is Mia's voice and sense-of- self. Teenage girls are undoubtedly very unsure of themselves and so is Mia in her won way. Watching her grow, as an adult reader, makes me reflect on my own growth as a teenager.

Young readers will enjoy making comparisons to the movies that they have probably already seen. This kind of thinking skill is very valuable, especially when it comes from asking students to read for pleasure. Also, the moral lessons that the books open up for discussions abound. Mia is a vegetarian, when she goes on a date and he orders her a steak: What should she have said? What is appropriate for her to do? Mia's friends, specifically Lilly, seem to want to belong to a cause; what makes a cause good or worthy of joining?

Currently, I am reading the second book, Princess in the Spotlight. I just book talked the book as "realistic fiction." The corrector in the class reminded be that there was "no such country as Genovia." True. However, everything else could probably happen. Then I tapped the child on the head with my wand and said "I'm always right."

The Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots

Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris have created a unique novel in The Queen's Own Fool. They selected a real person in Nicola but have fictionalized a few events and her charming voice to tell the story of Mary Queen of Scots.

Mary and Nicola find that they have more in common than what one would think. At the beginning of the story Nicola, a member of a traveling acrobatic troop, promises to always tell the queen the truth. Though she breaks this promise a few times, Nicola's loyalty and sense of duty to the queen drive the plot when every reader would think that the end is impending for Mary.

I think this book is a great choice for an addition to a middle school or high school library because reading it gives young people an opportunity to learn more about an actual person in history and actual events in history. I am sure the the emotional parts of the story between Queen Mary and Nicola are very fictionalized. However, the historical content of the deaths of Mary's husbands and her final end are very true. Students will also learn a string of moral lessons about trust and truth telling. Also, the intelligence in Nicola's wit might be lost on some young readers. Her jokes are clever, often exercising the use of puns, and as an adult I found this book deeply funny.

Yolen, Jane. & Robert J. Harris. The Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots. Philomel Boks: New York, NY. ISBN 9-780399-233807.

Coraline the Graphic Novel

I've never seen the movie or read the book so when I saw this adaptation at my local library, I thought it was worth the read. The "adapter" P. Craig Russell is the winner of the Harvey & Eisner Awards.

The story in the graphic novel undoubtedly follows that of the book and the movie. Coraline and her mother and father move into a large house that has been divided into several flats. Miss. Spink and Miss Forcible, retired actresses, live downstairs. An old man who claims to be training mice to perform in a circus lives upstairs. Coraline is bored in her new home and her trouble starts when she asks her mother where the door in the formal room leads. The real answer is a brick wall. However, in her explorations Coraline discovers her "other" mother.

I enjoyed this story told in this format because it was scary and a bit suspenseful; the pictures encouraged these feelings. What was left unsaid by the characters or word bubbles was almost as entertaining as what was said. The "other" mother with her button eyes and spidery fingers terrified me.

Children can learn many lessons from this adaptation of Coraline.

• Be thankful for what you have
• Going in search of entertainment can get you into trouble.

However, I worry about the fact that Coraline plays in a well in order to dupe her "other" mother's hand that crossed over from the other side. Growing up in rural Arkansas, my momma taught me to stay away from those things, even if they were boarded up.

I can see why Tim Burton turned this into a movie; the story is a little strange, just like him! I'd use this particular adaptation or parts of it with ESL students or students who have difficulty following a traditional narrative for reading skill level reasons.

In the long run, the graphic novel has a place in the development of modern literacy skills. Today's students need to train their eyes to take in the whole picture on a computer monitor- not just the words on a page.

American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese is a tale of trying to fit in. Initally, we are presented with three different stories, a 'folktale' about the magical monkey king of flower-fruit mountain, the story of Wei-Chen Sun and Jing Wang trying to fit in in an American middle school, and Danny's visits from his cousin Chin-kee. At first these stories appear to have nothing to do with each other, besides a link to being Asian. However, when the stories braid together, Jing Wang/Danny learns a dramatically important lesson about being who you are and remembering where you came from. This theme is universal, and not one that should just be learned by Asian Americans.

Graphically speaking, American Born Chinese has some beautiful moments. My favorite moments are the moments when there are not though bubbles on the page, when the story goes silent. These moments don't need to belong to a specific culture. Isn't any middle school boy on his first date extremely awkward?

Each main character in each individual tale experiences dynamic changes as the plot develops, Jing Wang, Danny and the Monkey King. All learn the theme or moral lesson of the tale, be true to yourself and true affections and friendships will develop.

This book belongs in the hands of students who have trouble fitting in, probably all of them, not just those who are Chinese. This is a great book to book talk, particularly if you have a document camera. Most middle school students would do almost anything to fit in. Thus, as far as the development of the characters goes, it isn't surprising that Jing Want would completely lose his identity and become Danny.

Yang manages to tell a beautifully written and illustrated story with a complicated braided plot line and make a comment on the nature of the Chinese-American immigrant culture. Why is it socially acceptable for every Chinese immigrant to change their names when they move to America?

One thing worth commenting on when assessing the value of a graphic novel are the drawings. In this case they are very vibrant and colorful. An Amazon.com review of the paperback edition of American Born Chinese says that "The artwork, rendered in a chromatically cool palette, is crisp and clear, with clean white space around center panels that sharply focuses the reader's attention in on Yang's achingly familiar characters."

Publisher's Weekley says that "Even when Yang slips in an occasional Chinese ideogram or myth, the sentiments he's depicting need no translation. " To be perfectly honest, these ideograms and myths about Chinese culutre occasionally made me uncomfortable. I think that I could have done without the episode when Chin-kee used the bathroom in one of Danny's friend's Coke. Also, within the first few pages of American Born Chinese , I was a little put-off because one of the characters compliments another character's peaches, which look dramatically like breasts in the drawing. I feel like some of this is inevetable with graphic novels, but also dramataically unessarry.

Inevetiablly, this story is well-written with characters that young people, regradless of race, can identify with. The setting adds a dramatic touch as well with the inclusion of a "folktale" set in ancient China. I feel like there are lessons to be learned here, both on the literal level and on a slightly more personal level.

Using this book in the school setting could be difficult. However, if studying folktales, it would be easy to show and read one section of the book using a document camera to a class of students. Kids might enjoy participating in a reader's theater. However, as the adult in the room it would be important to discuss sterotypes and racism. If students are interested in investigating other cultures, I would reccomend that they read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. That story is set in Iran and would require a slightly more advanced reading level than American Born Chinese's 5th Grade level. Another great book would be An Absolutley True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexi.

American Born Chinese was on the list for School Library Journal Best Books of the Year and Publisher's Weekly Best Books of the Year. It also won the Printz Award.

Reference:

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. Roaring Book Press, New York: 2006. ISBN 978-1-4299-6936-9

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is one of the most powerful and touching books that I have read in a long time. First of all, it is not often, as readers or viewers, that we get to learn what it was like to live in and grow up in Nazi Germany. I, like many others out there, operate under the assumption that most, if not all, Germans from that time period are strictly bad people. The Book Thief has modified my point of view there.

Zusak's main character Liesel, is given to foster parents in the town of Molching outside Munich. Her stay on Himmel Street (Himmel= German for Heaven) is the meat and bones of the story and is narrated by none other than death. This narration provides readers with a unique prospective on the war and allows us to see what is happening across the world and outside of the Hubberman's house hold. While there, Liesel develops a beautiful relationship with her Papa, a cigarette smoking, house painting according player. She also learns the ways of the world through her miserable and book thieving experiences with her best friend Rudy. And, the most dynamic part of the story revolves around the Jew the Hubbermans hide in the basement, Max Vandenberg.

According to a starred review from School Library Journal, "Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesel's story all the nuances of change, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative."

The plot of this book focus on the the struggles of the poor people of Nazi Germany. It is gripping and sorrowful at the same time. Papa may not have been sent to a concentration camp because he offered bread to a Jew who was marching down Munich street. However, he was essentially drafted into military service and assigned to a crew of men who stayed above ground during the air raids. The plot, of course, is driven by the setting- Nazi Germany.

That setting provides Zusak with an opportunity to address a unique theme, much like a more adult book set in the same time and place, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. (I had no idea that illiteracy was such a problem in Germany). Words are extremely powerful. When Liesel arrives at the Hubbermans, she can not read. She is taught how to read words by her father and then later how to use words by Max.

Utilizing this book in a classroom setting could be difficult. Students would need extensive background knowledge to understand the context of the story. Also, it would be an incredibly long whole class read.

However, I would utilize passages of this book if I were a social studies teacher. The Diary of Anne Frank covers the point of view of the Jewish people very well. This book covers the point of view of the poor German. Obviously, I would ask students about how they would react or hope to behave in each context. We can imagine that we would do more to protect the Jewish population than the Hubbermans did. However, if we sit and actually think about it, there was nothing more that Liesel could have done and ensured her own survival. Asking students to write from Liesel, Rudy, Hans or Max's point of view could cause some very serious reflective thinking too. After selecting and reading a scene with the students, reader's theater would generate more learning through experiences. Great scenes to reenact would be one of Liesel's thefts, a night by the fire with the Hubbermans and Max, or when Liesel tries to demonstrate that she can read to the teacher.

The Book Thief has won several awards. Some of those awards include School Library Journal's Best Book of the Year, Publisher's Weekly's Best Book of the Year. The Book Thief was also nominated for the Printz award.

Of all the books that I have read for my Children's Literature course, this book was the most thought provoking.

References:

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Knopf Books for Young Readers, New York, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-375-84220-7