Genre 4: NonFiction - Post 2

Steve Jenkins. 2009. Down, down, down: a journey to the bottom of the sea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.  ISBN 9780618966363

Brief plot summary:

Jenkins takes his reader through different levels of the Pacific Ocean, “the largest body of water on the plant with an area greater that all the earth’s dry land combined.”  At each level, Jenkins provides facts about the various sea animals.  Each animal is further explained in the endnotes at the end of the book including details about the animals’ size, food preferences, and other identifying characteristic.  Jenkins begins at the surface and takes his readers through the Sunlight Zone, the Twilight Zone, the Dark Zone, the Abyssal Plain, the Hydrothermal Vents, and finally the Marianas Trench where “in 1960 the U.S. research vessel Trieste reached the sea floor with two scientists on board.”

Critical analysis:

This book does provide a bibliography of five sources at the end of book.  The information Jenkins provides on each animal is not directly connected to a specific source, but because the information is general like the animal’s size and unique characteristics it is appropriate as is.  The book is logically organized as if we were on a vessel diving into the depths of the ocean so at each level Jenkins explains how much sunlight is in the level, the marine life, and how the water pressure would affect humans.  The design of the book contributes to the overall journey theme.  As we travel further into the ocean, the color of the pages changes from light blue to black.  Jenkins compares the animals to diagrams of an adult human’s body or hand so readers better understand the size of the animals.  And the cut and torn paper collage illustrations are realistic enough that readers get a good idea of how these unique animals look.  Throughout the text, Jenkins provides facts about the marine life and humans exploring these different levels in such a conversational tone that I felt as if I was in the capable hands of a pleasant, knowledgeable guide. 

Awards:

• ALA Notable Book 2010
• New York Times – One of the eight most Notable Children's Book of 2009
• 2010 Beehive Book Award Nominee (Utah)
• 2010 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee

Review excerpt(s):

"In this plunge into the deep, Jenkins displays his usual keen awareness of what is fascinating about biology and imparts it without sensationalism—the facts speak for themselves . . Sophisticated cut- and torn-paper collage-work fit the alien qualities of the subjects well."

--Booklist

"Jenkins takes his signature collage to the oceans, sinking readers from the surface of the Pacific Ocean down nearly 11,000 meters to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. His style works well here: with passage into each zone (from the surface to the sunlit zone to the twilight zone, etc.), the blue backgrounds shade darker and murkier, which allows the intricate cut-paper animal illustrations to pop."

--Horn Book

"Depicted in Jenkins's signature handsome collages, the denizens of each level swim against ever-darkening backgrounds ranging from sunny blue to deepest black . . . The bold views tend to emphasize the weirdness of these little-known species, but the repeated message that humans have much to explore and learn in the deeper ocean is intriguing and inviting."

--School Library Journal.

Connections:

• This fits in with a unit over marine life, oceanography, and or ecology.
• This text could serve as an example of how to present researched information other than a traditional research paper.
•  Since Jenkins has several nonfiction titles that have received favorable reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and ALA, gather a number of them to discuss the genre of nonfiction.  Extend this by having students create a nonfiction book over a topic of their choice using a similar format as Jenkins.

Genre 4: NonFiction - Post 1

Barbara, Kerley. 2010. The Extraordinary Life of Mark Twain (According to Susy). Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press.  ISBN 9780545125086

Brief plot summary: 

It is apparent that Mark Twain was completely captivated by Susy, his thirteen year old daughter and biographer.  Secretly, Susy began her journal as a way to "set the record straight" about her father;  to show how he was more than the famous Mark Twain, to show he was Papa with "fine qualities" and "not so fine qualities."  In fact, it was Twain who described Susy as "a frank biographer and an honest one; she used no sandpaper on me."  This book is enjoyable nonfiction that read likes fiction and will give reader's an insider's look into one of America's favorite authors.

Critical analysis:

Barbara Kerley uses ample excerpts from Susy's journal (housed in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections at the University of Virginia Library) incorporated throughout the book as mini inserts along with quotes Twain fully supported by cited sources and a timeline at the end of the book.  The font also changes to reflect direct quotes from Susy and Twain, a nice feature that add character to the text. Although this text can be read from cover to cover, it is organized in such a way that it can be randomly open to learn an interesting detail about Twain.  There is no index or table of contents, but the visual access features are striking!  Illustrator Edwin Fotheringham fills the page with curlicues, color and character incorporating details from the text into the illustrations. In the author's note, Kerley notes that she'd been "considering writing about Twain for years when in 2007 [she] stumbled across in interesting historical footnote: ...Susy wrote a biography on him."  And the writing clearly reflects the author's genuine interest in Susy and Twain.  She also includes tips for writing your own biography using Susy's journal as a guide.

Review excerpt(s):

Kerley and Fotheringham again craft a masterfully perceptive and largely visual biography, this time about the iconic 19th-century American writer. ... Kerley uses Susy's manuscript and snippets of wisdom and mirth from Twain's copious oeuvre as fodder for her story. ...The text flawlessly segues into Susy's carefully recorded, sometimes misspelled, details of his character, intimate life, and work routine during his most prolific years....A delightful primer on researching and writing biographies, and a joy to peruse. 

-School Library Journal, starred review

Kerley and Fotheringham (What to Do About Alice?) pair up again to offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of another famous family…. Kerley contextualizes the teenager's admiring musings with vivid familial backdrops…. Adding dynamic flair...are curlicues representing words, which emanate wildly from pen tips, pages, and mouths. Author notes about Susy and her father, a time line of Twain's life, and tips for writing an "extraordinary biography" complete this accessible and inventive vision of an American legend.

-Publishers Weekly, starred review

Several Awards including:

• 2010 CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Book Award
• Best Children’s Books 2010 -- Publishers Weekly
• Best Books 2010 -- School Library Journal
• Best Books for Children and Teens 2010 -- Kirkus Reviews
• Best of 2010: Books for Young Readers -- Washington Post
• NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book
• Best Children’s Books of the Year -- Bank Street College of Education
• Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee

Connections:

• Write a biography using Kerley's tips
• An introduction or supplement material for a unit on any of Twain's work
• Use the author's note as a means to begin research - she had an interest and investigated it, which resulted in this book.

Book Trailer

I created my book trailer using imovie.  I've posted it on my blog in case anyone had difficulty seeing it in the class discussion thread.  Enjoy!

Blue Lipstick by John Grandits

Genre 3: Poetry - Post 3

Bibliographic data

Sones, Sonya.  2004. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies.  New York: Simon & Schuster.  ISBN 0689858205

Brief plot summary

Ruby Milliken is fifteen, and her mother just died.  She is moving from a modest home in Boston to a mansion in L.A. to live with her “scumbag” father who she has never met.  Ruby only knows two things about him:  he divorced her mother before she was born and he’s a famous Oscar winning actor.  Ruby hates that she’s “moving away from Lizzie Brody, / [her] best friend in the world, / away from Ray Johnston, / [her] first real boyfriend”, but she doesn’t have a choice.  The narrative is written in free verse poetry and is Ruby’s first hand account of how she adjusts to living in “Hell A.”  It is an intimate view into her emotions and thoughts, which can be raw at times.

Critical analysis

Sones writes this novel in first person so it reads like a personal diary that just happens to be written in free verse poetry along with a few emails scattered throughout the novel.  As a result, the tone is conversational which makes the poetry approachable for readers.  The titles of the poems read as the first line of the poem so it is important to read them.  Although the poems can stand alone, they link together to read as a narrative.   

The diction will ring true for teens including the occasional cursing.  It definitely reflects Ruby’s frustration over her situation:  the loss of a parent, a forced move across the country, a new school.  For example, Ruby’s first dinner with her father who’s “going on and on about / how his macadamia nut pancakes / are renowned the world over”  reveals her passive aggressiveness as she takes “a bit / of Whip’s famous pancakes” and admits “they’re delicious. / There’s no denying it. / But [she’d] like to ram the whole perfect plate / right down his throat.”  Overall, readers will find Ruby to be funny, honest, and sarcastic.  I found the plot somewhat predictable, especially when it comes to Ruby’s relationship with her father, her best friend Lizzie, and her boyfriend Ray; nevertheless I enjoyed the read…in one sitting. 

Awards:

• Winner of the 2004 Cuffie Award from Publishers Weekly for the Best Book Title of the Year
• Named a 2005 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association

Review excerpt(s)

Booklist, Starred Review:

"Sones’...latest free-verse novel... is an unusual combination of over-the-top Hollywood fairy tale and sharp, honest story about overcoming grief. It’s Ruby’s first-person voice--acrimonious, raw, and very funny--that pulls everything together.... A satisfying, moving novel that will be a winner for both eager and reluctant readers."

VOYA:

"... Sones's sparse, carefully chosen prose is the star here, conveying Ruby's conflicts of home, friendship, and family in a sympathetic, thoroughly believable manner... Readers will cry as easily as they laugh at Ruby's frank observations of life in, as she calls it, Hellywood."

Connections:

* This text would work nicely when introducing poetry.

* This text would accommodate personal narrative writing, especially if you wanted to include mulitgenre writing.

* The writing would fit a English or writing teacher’s lesson over voice.

Genre 3: Poetry - Post 2

Bibliographic data

Grimes, Nikki. 2001. A Pocketful of Poems. Ill. by Javaka Steptoe.  New York, New York: Clarion Books.  ISBN 0395938686

Brief plot summary

This collection of free verse and haiku poetry provides a glimpse into the life of Tiana, a young African-American girl who lives in Harlem.  Tiana uses the words in her pockets to create conversational, free verse poetry.  The poetry reveals the various seasons (“Spring,” “Hot,” “Pumpkin,” and “Snow”), holidays (“Harlem,” “Angels,” and “Gift”), and everyday occurrences (“Tiana,” “Shower,” “Pigeon,” “Moon,” “Caterpillar," and “Homer”) Tiana experiences in a year’s time.  For each free verse poem, Grimes pairs a haiku that further extends the topic.  Children will enjoy locating the haikus as they seem to be part of the illustrations.

Critical analysis

Grimes combines free verse poems and haiku poems to show how two different forms of poetry can complement each other.  Most of the diction is simple, one-syllable words that reflect the city creating beautiful imagery that children will recognize and appreciate.  For example in “Moon,” Tiana tosses the word moon “into the cloudless sky” and compares the moonlight to a quilt and “slips under its silver light / and pulls it to [her] chin, like a quilt.”  The paired haiku reads “Full moon, magic in / silver, speaks to me, drowning / the sound of sirens” further extending the metaphor explaining how the moon is comforting to her despite the noisy city.  And in “Harlem,” Tiana keeps the word Harlem and slides it “into [her] hip pocket / next to AFRICA / and zip[s] it tight” because “Daddy says these / are not words to spend / but to save.”  This poem reflects Tiana's pride in her ethnicity and culture.  Grimes end the book with an author's note explaining what haiku poetry is and why she choose to use them in this text.

Steptoe uses various materials (from drinking straws to fabric) to create detailed collages that cover the entire page capturing the energy of an urban city like Harlem.  The illustrations are obviously inspired by the poetry itself.  For example, in “Snow” Grimes describes the snow as “lacy coldness” that “turns each streetlight into a star on a stick.”  Steptoe covers a cityscape in a thin white material with a circular design that mimics snowflakes.  The lamplights are sticks with stars on them thus bringing the imagery of the poem to life.

I shared this book with my now 4 year old daughter who seemed much more interested in the illustrations than the text.  As a result, she didn’t appreciate the beautiful poetry. 

Awards:

•  Various local awards; none from library associations.

Review excerpt(s)

Booklist, starred review:

“There’s so much vibrant energy and freshness in this collaboration, the book will dance into the hearts of children right away... Each page has two facing poems, both in Tiana’s voice: one is short and bracing, the other is a haiku... The first poem in a pair is set in standard type; the haiku usually floats or sways or sashays amidst the illustrations. And what illustrations they are! Steptoe is a fabulously inventive collagist. He does amazing things not only with cut and torn paper and string but also with drinking straws, aluminum plates, and stray beads."

Connections

*  This text would work nicely when studying and writing haiku poetry.

*  This text could be read a means to begin a multigenre project since Grimes uses two different types of poems.

*  This text could be read a means to study African-American poets or multicultural poets.

Genre 3: Poetry - Post 1

Bibliographic data

Grandits, John. 2008. Blue Lipstick.  New York: Clarion Books.  ISBN 978-0618568604

Brief plot summary

Met Jessie, a high school freshman.  Jessie is adventurous; in “Bad Hair Day,” Jessie lets Lisa, her best friend, do her hair in “a totally extreme way” which results in “one side of [Jessie’s] hair all limp and pale and the other side … blue.” Jessie is funny; as she and her father visit the Art Institute, she says that she would like to “make ultra-cool radical art.”  But her dad explains how artists have to “be thick-skinned” because they “struggle, ” are “often misunderstand,…don’t have any money” and are “really alone.”  Jessie response? “It sounds like high school.” And Jessie is sarcastic; she charts her emotions ranging from “ridiculously happy” to “shaving my head and running away” for one day because she “had to come up with a stupid chart for math class.”  Blue Lipstick is made up of concrete poems readers will enjoy because they cover topics familiar to teens.  And the book is fun to read because it involves turning the book in various ways to read the lines of poetry – even using a mirror to read “Go Look in the Mirror!” 

Critical analysis

Grandits using humor to develop Jessie’ character and to connect his readers to her.  Sometimes its situational humor like in “Blue Lipstick” Jessie is warned by the saleslady that she was, “ really a Fall, and Blue [lipstick] is definitely / a winter [color],” but Jessie is sure that “together [she and Blue] can change the world” until her best friend, Lisa, comments, “I don’t know, Jessie.  With your coloring, you’re really a Fall, and Blue is definitely a Winter.”  And sometimes the humor is plain goofy like when Jessie tries to teach Robert manners after he burps and the poem ends with the two repeatedly telling each other to “shut up.”

Not only will readers enjoy Jessie, they’ll find the poetry appealing with its conversational diction assuring a positive experience with poetry.  Most of the poetry is free verse, but “Zombie Jocks” followed a set meter and rhyme.  Grandits’ concrete poems are nicely combined with actual images.  In “Missing,” Grandits employs a milk cartoon as the object on which his poem is written.  And in “Pep Rally” the image is not created by the poem but by words; for example the word “pom” is repeated in a circle to form a pom-pom in the hands of the cheerleaders and the phrase “ridiculously tiny waist” forms their waists.  In “Volleyball Practice,” he uses the words of the poem to track the path of the volleyball.

The subject matter centers on relationships with family, friends, and peers –all of which are important to teens.  The poetry is creative and fun.  The diction is easy to follow.  All in all, a winning combination.

Awards: 

• An ALA Notable Book
• ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
• A VOYA Poetry Pick for 2004
• School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year

Review excerpt(s)

School Library Journal, Starred Review:

Grandits crafts his collections with the needs of poetry-phobic readers in mind. It isn't even necessary to crack the book, since the first poem, "Blue Lipstick," is cleverly placed on the front cover, surrounding a reflective mirror. ...the author uses artful arrangements of text on the page, along with 54 different typefaces, to bring his images and ideas to life...This irreverent, witty collection should resonate with a wide audience.

Connections:

* When studying poetry, especially concrete poetry, this text offers rich examples.

* Can be paired with its companion piece Technically, It's Not My Fault featuring Jessie's younger brother Robert.

Genre 2: Tradional Literature Post 3

Zelinksy, Paul, O.  Rapunzel.  1997.  New York:  Dutton Children’s Book. 

This Caldecott Medal award winning fairy tale is a variant of the traditional Rapunzel story.  The characters differ from the traditional telling a bit, but one will recognize the evil sorceress although she is presented as a mother figure to Rapunzel.  In this story, Rapunzel’s parents give Rapunzel to the sorceress - a condition for the herbs Rapunzel's mother craved during her pregnancy.  The sorceress places Rapunzel in the tower to protect her from the world.  One day it was not the sorceress who request Rapunzel to "let down her hair" – it was the king’s son.

Both the illustrations and the writing makes this book more suitable for an older child.  Zelinksy uses oil paintings to “evoke the portraits, sculpture, architecture, and light-filled landscapes of Renaissance art. The costumes are lavish, the interiors intricate.”1  The inference that Rapunzel is pregnant is achieved through repetition; Zelinsky uses the phrase the "dress growing tight around her waist" to reveal that Rapunzel's mother was pregnant with her and to infer that Rapunzel is pregnant as well.  Another example of repetition is when Rapunzel’s father searches "ten times, twenty times" for a means to access the sorceress’ garden and the prince searches for an entry to the tower a "ten times, twenty times" as well.  Rapunzel is banished to "the wild country" for her sin.  Both the prince and Rapunzel spend a year in the wilderness before they find each other and return home with their two children. The archetypical overtones suggest a purification that must occur before the two can live "a long life, happy and content."

I suggest that you read through this book before you share it with little ones who may be excited to read it due to Disney's Tangled.  Although the illustrations are stunning, Rapunzel is kicked out of the tower because the Sorceress views Rapunzel's pregnancy as a betrayal.  If you have a curious child who asks lots of questions, there may be more to explain than what you may want to.  Luckily my nearly 4 year old is too young to question, so I didn't mind reading this book to her over and over and over...

Notes:

1  Rochman, Hazel. “Rapunzel.” Booklist OnLine. (Nov. 15, 1997).  Accessed June 19, 2011. http://www.booklistonline.com/Rapunzel-Paul-O-Zelinsky/pid=156230.