The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York City, NY:  Little Brown Company

Arnold Spirit Jr., or “Junior”, as most call him, lives with his family and other Spokane Indians on the reservation.  Born with hydrocephalic, Junior describes what life is like with an awkward appearance and stutter or lisp when he speaks.  At 14 years old, Junior knows life on the reservation has no future.  He describes all Indians as poor and alcoholics.  That’s when Junior decides he wants hope and a future.  He announces to his parents he would like to transfer schools.  He would like to attend the all white school, Reardan High, that is over 20 miles away and off of the “rez”.  Although Junior knows this news will not come well to his tribe, especially his one and only best friend Rowdy, he has the courage to follow through.  Junior has a rough transition leaving his reservation school and entering the mostly white world.  He never knows if his father will have enough gas money to pick him up, or if he will be walking the 22 miles home.  Junior discovers he is a pretty good basketball player and makes the team.  He also gains a girlfriend and learns he is actually a pretty smart guy.  His two worlds collide at a basketball game, when his school beats his reservation school and fellow Spokane Indians.  Junior knows what his reservation friends go through every day and feels guilty for winning.  As if life as an Indian isn’t depressing enough, Junior experiences his grandmothers death, his father’s best friend being shot, and his own sister dying in a trailer fire because she was too drunk to get out.  In the end, Junior’s long time best friend offers him a word of encouragement.  He reminds Junior that their people, at one time, were nomads, and now Junior is the only one who is caring that tradition on.  The material and story line in this novel is very depressing, but readers find themselves laughing out loud at the humor Alexie brings through Junior’s first person story-telling and hilarious cartoon sketches.  Many layers of discussion can bring light to several issues that Junior himself faces or what he witnesses.  It is always powerful to be reminded of different backgrounds and struggles in cultures.  A lesson reading guide can be found here:  https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/absolutely-true-diary-part-time-indian-storia-teaching-guide/  and will guide a literature circle with reading focus questions, vocabulary, and comprehension and extension activities for readers to connect with.

Annie On My Mind

Garden, N. (1992). Annie on my mind. Canada:  HarperCollins

Liza is a freshman in college now.  She is writing to Annie, whom readers are not yet sure the significance of this friend.  The story begins in flashback form of Liza reliving how it all started with Annie.  Told in first person point of view by Liza, readers are told how they met.  Liza and Annie met in a museum and feel an instant connection Liza is unable to explain.  The two girls begin a friendship and it slowly evolves to much more, with their first kiss just happening on its own, and the rush of wanting to be one skin.  Liza comes from a strict and conservative background and resists these new feelings at first.  Annie confesses she has always suspected she was gay but never knew for sure but does not want to pressure Liza into feeling a certain way.  This new lifestyle does not come easy to Liza.  She is enrolled in a private school facing financial problems, and the school is worried how the conduct of teachers and students will appear for funding.  Liza agrees to pet-sit cats for a teacher while Annie joins her.  The two of them are able to act upon their feelings for each other, being alone and away from distractions.  The girls find out two teachers from Liza’s school are actually lovers, while also being discovered themselves by the school’s secretary.  Liza must face the school board to plea her case on the matter which puts her family through shame and embarrassment she never wanted to cause.  The love story ends with Liza, now done telling her story of Annie, realizing she must speak with Annie.  The two girls connect and remember what they were told, about “truth making one free”, and feel free to love.  Nancy Garden tells Liza and Annie’s story in tasteful manner with the focus more on the girl’s connection and how they handle their relationship.  I am always burdened to read about educators making situations worse for students, painting the picture of teachers out to get students.  However, once again, we find special teachers giving words of comfort and encouragement that these two girls hold on to.  Readers will find more series and books written by Nancy Garden here:   https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/nancy-garden/214175/    

Speak

Anderson, L. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Square Fish

Melinda Sordino is a freshman in high school who will not speak up.  She will not speak about what happened to her this past summer at a back-to-school party, and why she called the cops that resulted in multiply arrests, and an entire school angry with her.  Not only is she the outcast, she is also silenced by her traumatic experience which readers find out later.  Melinda begins to ditch class, close herself off from her family, fail assignments, and even creates her own refuge in an abandoned janitor closet in school.  The only person who will speak to Melinda is Heather, a transfer student who knows nothing of the party before school.  Heather is obsessed with fitting in, and eventually dumps Melinda to join a much cooler clique.  This is rock bottom for Melinda.  She begins to cut herself and inflict pain upon herself.  The only peace Melinda may find is in art class, where she is challenged to search for her soul and begins to face what actually happened that night at the party.  Melinda had too much to drink and was raped by an upperclassman.  Melinda refers to him as “IT”.  “IT” is now dating one of Melinda’s lost friends.  Melinda begins to find her voice when she decides to warn her former friend of her attacker.  This interaction did not go as readers would have hoped.  Melinda must have said enough because her friend does eventually break up with “IT”, but then he comes looking for Melinda.  Melinda is no longer silent and fights back, resulting in the entire school cheering her on for standing up.  The reality of this novel is very shocking.  Looking through the window of a rape victim, the outcast life, and the frustrations of not being able to speak up stuns readers to the core.  I am always amazed at how teachers play an important role in young people’s lives.  Thank goodness for the art teacher who encouraged and connected with Melinda and challenged her to find her soul through creative arts.  This novel will require much discussion about serious issues and opens the door for awareness.  Speak inspired Anderson to expand in multiple formats.  It was recreated in a graphic novel format and catapulted Anderson’s desire to speak out on issues with her novel in verse Shout.  These two novels would be a great addition to a study on Speak.

Perfectly Normal

Harris, R. & Emberley, M. (1994). It’s perfectly normal. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

“It’s Perfectly Normal” is an informational book that covers a variety of topics including puberty, sexual health, child birth, and more.  The information is well researched and factual.  Selling over one million copies, this book is targeted for readers 10 years old and up.  The book begins with an introduction that addresses frequent questions about changing bodies, sex, and even sexual desire.  It proceeds to give information about sexual orientation and puberty.  The book is sectioned off into six major sections with subheadings for more detailed information found in the table of contents.  There is an index in the back with pages to take notes for users to reference to and find information quick.  The message the book is focused on is that you are perfectly normal.  Body type, life style choices, and decisions one makes is perfectly normal.  The last section of the book focuses on healthy and smart choices.  Now that the reader has the correct information regarding these issues, you must be wise and be healthy.  Emberley’s watercolor and pencil artwork are graphic and factual which may come as a surprise for readers considering these are illustrations and not photographs.  In my opinion, the pictures present the information well enough to ease curiosity, but does not seem as offensive because they are not real photographs.  I was surprised this book is for ages 10 years and older.  After more research about topics needing to be discussed and students having more and more questions the younger they get, it is smart to have a place for students to gain real information and not second hand tales.  The authors provide other factual books for young readers including “It’s Not the Stork” and “It’s So Amazing” which explains birth, babies, and how pregnancy occurs. 

  

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Ness, P. (2009). The knife of never letting go. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Todd Hewitt is the only young boy in this new world called Prentisstown, where all the men can hear each other’s (and even their pets) thoughts.  This “Noise” was caused by aliens when they released a germ while at war with mankind.  Man won the war, but many died and all the women in Prentisstown died as well.  Todd was the only baby survivor, and without women, no other children have been born.  He lives with his foster parents, Ben and Cillian, who have taken care of him since his parents died.  This suspenseful story begins with Todd and his dog Manchee, walking through the swamp.  Todd discovers a break in the Noise he is always hearing.  He returns home to discuss it with his foster parents.  This news is alarming to them and they explain Todd must leave the town immediately.  Todd and Manchee are given little supplies including a knife and a diary from Todd’s mother that he is unable to read because he was not allowed to be taught.  As Todd is fleeing the town, he stumbles across Aaron, the town’s preacher and is actually after Todd.  Todd manages to get away and continues to run away from this town, not knowing why he is even needing to flee.  Todd discovers the silence in the Noise once again, only this time he finds the source, a girl named Viola, who is silent.  The two of them begin their journey of escape from Prentisstown men, as they chase the two from settlement to settlement.  Todd learns that there are actually women outside his own town.  How did they survive the Noise Germ?  Todd learns a secret his town has kept from him.  The men of Prentisstown are outlaws and responsible for killing the aliens, who he found to not be threatening at all, and the women.  With Aaron as the lead, the Prentisstown army eventually find Todd and Viola, kidnapping her and leaving Todd to die.  Chapter 31 is difficult for readers.  Manchee sacrafices himself to help rescue Todd and Viola, ripping the nose off Aaron and causing several injuries.  Aaron makes Todd chose, and without a choice, Todd is unable to rescue both.  Todd and Viola eventually escape, near death and Viola have just killed Aaron.  The two return to a safe town only to find it empty and with a new threat.  This novel is intense and full of suspense.  I was frustrated with the ending even though I know it is book one of a trilogy.  Readers will enjoy the rest of this trilogy by reading “The Ask and the Answer” and “Monsters of Men” all by Ness. 

Lucky Broken Girl

Behar R. (2017). Lucky broken girl. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books

Ruthie Mizrahi is a 10 year old Cuban immigrant in Queens, New York.  Set in the 1960’s, her lack of English in America causes Ruthie to be placed in the remedial (“dumb kids class”) 5^th grade class and she longs to be moved to the “regular 5^th grade class”.  Ruthie proves to be an independent character with her drive to study and learn English, and her willing to stand up for others while befriending another immigrant, like herself, from India.  Ruthie has good fortune and spells a word correctly, proving she understands English well enough to be moved out of the remedial classroom.  This luck changes very quickly when she is involved in a terrible accident leaving her with a serious broken femur and others dead.  She is a very “lucky broken girl”.  While bedridden for several months, Ruthie describes what life is like stuck in a bed, losing her independence like using the restroom on her own, how lonely it can be, and prays for healing.  Ruthie does eventually get her almost body cast removed.  She must continue this theme of perseverance when she must then learn how to walk all over again.  Ruthie overcomes fear and physical pain to be “welcomed back to the world”.  The descriptions of what life is like for a long term recovery pulls the reader in so that it is difficult to detach yourself from Ruthie.  Students will have an experience of empathy towards this character and make connections to people around them who have suffered a great deal.  I am always impressed by the impact of teachers in middle grade literature.  Ruthie connected to her teacher that came to her house during her time of recovery.  Readers are astonished to learn this story about Ruthie is actually based on real life experiences from the author which is described in the “Author’s Note”.  There are other novels that describe what life is like for young people to recovery from an illness/injury.  “Small Steps:  The Year I Got Polio” by Peg Kehret would be a great connection for students.  Students could compare what life was like to recover from an illness verses an injury.  Do these characters experience the same feelings and frustrations? 

Monster

Myers, W. (1999). Monster. New York City, NY: HarperCollins Publisher

Steve Harmon is 16 years old, an African-American, and on trial for felony murder.  Set in Queens, New York, Steve is in jail awaiting trial for a crime he did not commit.  But was he an accomplice?  An aspiring film writer, Steve shares his story in a movie script format, with hand written diary entries (that are a different color than the rest of the novel), and gives readers a play by play of the courtroom scenes.  Steve feels he is innocent of these accusations.  The prosecuting attorney has a different view and describes Steve Harmon as a “monster”, accusing him of being responsible of giving the shooters the “all clear” to enter the drug store.  Steve is terrified of living the next 20 years in prison and describes how much he longs to be home, away from this place.  Readers slowly learn the details of the crime through character witness’s testimonies and Steve’s journal entries.  Just when readers believe things are not looking positive for Steve, his film teacher approaches the stand and testifies to Steve’s character.  Readers are able to make their own decisions about what actually happened that day, with the author leaving room for interpretation and imagination.  The jury concludes Steve is innocent.  He is left with wondering what people really see in him.  His own attorney would not hug him after the trial, his father moves away, creating more distance between them, and he is not sure what he sees in the mirror anymore.  I was captivated by the suspense of this novel.  The courtroom scenes draws readers in, anxious to gain more information about the details of the crime.  The author gives readers enough information to make your own conclusions and does not leave you frustrated with too many holes in the story.  I can’t help but draw attention to the prejudice this story brings to light.  Realistic mug shots and security camera screen shots add to the suspense of how real this story is.  Steve is judged from others and appears to be a “monster”.  I find myself cheering for this film teacher, which took time to notice Steve and was able to humanize him by testifying to his character.  What would students do without teachers making connections?  Readers can learn more about this novel and author at this site:  http://walterdeanmyers.net/

Readers will learn of other works and even a graphic novel of “Monster”. 

Lily and Dunkin

Gephart, D. (2016). Lily and Duncan. New York City, NY:  Delacorte Press

Lily and Dunkin are both going into 8^th grade when they first meet.  Although there seems to be a connection right off the bat, the two are dealing with very different, and difficult, issues as young adolescents.  Lily, known by the rest of the world as “Tim”, is a transgender boy who has always known he is truly a girl.  Lily experiences rejections from her father, classmates, and extreme bullying.  Lily meets Dunkin, or “Norbert”, who is a move-in and new to the area.  Dunkin is also struggling with major issues.  He is bipolar and has just experienced tragedy in his family.  Readers experience both characters perspectives through alternating first person chapters in the book, and how their paths cross.  Reading both perspectives has readers cheering for both characters.  Lily is trying to figure out her place in this world.  She is fighting for her relationship with her father, who struggles with losing his son and is against hormone blockers Lily is desperately trying to convince him she needs.  Lily shares how difficult it is to be a transgender.  She is lonely at times, having only one friend in the world, and is teased at school.  Readers learn Lily has a good heart and instincts.  Although Dunkin rejects Lily at school, she can see he is going to be a good friend one day, and truly cares about his well-being.  Dunkin shares his perspective of life on medication.  He refuses to take his medicine, and readers quickly learn why he needs it.  Dunkin wants to feel “normal”.  Dunkin speaks of a character throughout the story, Phineas, who is finally revealed as an imaginary character that controls his thoughts when he is not medicated properly.  Dunkin gets the right help, and even faces the tragedy that led his family to Florida, the suicide of his father.  Dunkin and Lily help each other become who they were meant to be.  I appreciated the perspectives of this novel.  Both characters are faced with difficult problems that many are uncomfortable with discussing.  The way each issue is presented and dealt with opens reader’s hearts and minds.  This novel would be an excellent discussion piece for young teens.  Readers may visit this website:  http://www.donnagephart.com/  to view other novels written by Gephart and learn about what inspires her to write. 

LSSL 5385 Chapter 1-5 Textbook Reflections

Introduction:

The Introduction Lecture was by far my favorite lecture so far.  “Why do we share literature with children?” is an excellent question.  This chapter was a powerful reminder of why we do all of this.  We share literature with children for many reasons.  The obvious reasons being because it is fun and engaging, and adds growth to readers with research saying 20 minutes a day will increase readers growth.  The most inspirational reasons for sharing literature with children for me was how it develops empathy among readers.  We share literature with children so they can live through characters, experience their consequences for their actions without having to make them in our own lives.  Readers have these experiences through literature and build empathy for others.  They are able to “look through a window at someone else’s live” which is extremely powerful. 

Chapter 2:  Divisions of Young People’s Literature

In this chapter, I was able to clear up misunderstands of age ranges and categories of readers.  Children’s Literature is birth to eight years old.  During this time, readers are exposed to wordless picture books, picture books, illustrated chapter books, easy readers, and some novels.  Middle Grade/Tween years are ages eight to twelve years old.  This is usually the upper elementary grades.  It is easy to get this division confused with Middle School readers.  However this is a completely different division.  Middle School readers are ages eleven to thirteen years old.  This age has material with tougher issues.  Young Adult is the division for readers thirteen to eighteen years old.  The characters in this age range reflect the target readers ages.  New Adult is ages eighteen to thirty years old.  Examples of characters are recent high school graduates, characters leaving home, or living away from home for the first time.  What stood out to me in this chapter was putting the pieces together that the characters usually reflect the targeted audience.  The perspective of the character is age appropriate for that audience.

Chapter 3:  The Anatomy of a Book

I actually really enjoyed dissecting the anatomy of a book.  This is helpful when referring to the physical description of different books.  The anatomy of a book includes endpapers, which are the two sheets of paper at the beginning and the end of a book.  The casewrap is usually laminated paper with visuals.  The book block is the main body of the book.  The gutter is the white space in the margins of the book where the book is bound together.  The headband is the decorative strip on the book block.  The backbone (spine) is the outside edge of the book.  The only one I have heard of before reading about the anatomy of a book was the backbone. 

Chapter 4: Genres and Formats

I was very surprised to learn my lack of knowledge with genres.  I was considering subjects and categories as genres.  I have also been guilty of considering some formats as genres as well.  There are two main genres; fiction and nonfiction.  Everything else is subgenres.  In the fiction genre, a reader may chose realism or fantasy.  Realism may cover realistic modern contemporary texts, or historical fiction.  Fantasy may be split up into traditional fantasy and modern fantasy.  Traditional fantasy cover texts of myths, fairy tales, folktales, ballads, fables, and legends.  Modern fantasy is split into science fiction and high and low fantasy.  I learned that high fantasy involves worlds and languages created by authors while low fantasy involves elements that are not possible but is still in our world.  Science fiction is also split into hard science fiction, which involves the main course of the story around science, and soft science fiction, which involves the characters as the main element of the story.  Nonfiction is also considered informational, and may be spilt into biographies (autobiographies and memoirs) , narrative nonfiction, and expository nonfiction.  I was surprised to learn that categories I have used in my classroom are not genres, like mysteries, sport fiction, and horror.  I also learned that formats involve poetry, drama, graphic novels, and short stories. 

Chapter 5:  What is YA Literature?

I enjoyed reading the notes on what describes YA literature.  Young Adult literature involves a youthful protagonist whose story is told from the viewpoint of that age range.  It mirrors contemporary issues and how the character grows, changes, and handles these issues.  The character has consequences for decisions and actions.  Readers usually read about a character that is independent and has a sense of how adolescents develop.