Module 8 - Nonfiction

Bibliographic Citation

Scieszka, J. (Ed.) (2005). Guys write for guys read. New York, NY: Viking. ISBN 9780670060078.

             272 p.

Summary

In this compilation of short stories, eighty-some male authors and illustrators write or display drawings about just being a guy. The entries are in alphabetical order by author/illustrator last name and range from silly memories and funny lists to drawings, cartoons, and fictional stories. The stories and drawings include topics such as super heroes, sports, bullying, bodily functions, gross-outs, girls, motivational words, and other “guys only” topics. There is something for everyone in this collection!

Analysis

Each story in this collection of short stories is only about three pages long or less, allowing the reader to read at his (or her) own pace. As Jon Scieszka mentions in the forward, it doesn’t have to be read in any particular order or all at once and is to be read purely for enjoyment. The brevity of the stories will probably appeal to struggling and reluctant readers, but I sometimes found myself wanting a little more. Some of the favorite authors and illustrators included in this compilation are Tedd Arnold (of Fly Guy fame), Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants), Gary Paulsen (Hatchet), David Shannon (No David!), and countless others. Each entry includes a small biography including a silly random fact about each writer and a selected bibliography. I almost wished these facts were presented at the beginning of the entry rather than the end because I found myself flipping to the end of each story to read more about the author. I really enjoyed the inclusion of the artwork and cartoons done when the illustrators were children. Most times the illustrator included his drawings done as an adult as well. It was fun to see the progression of writing and drawing from child to adult. I sometimes felt the stories were a little repetitive in the fact that many of them mentioned something along the lines of “back in the 60s when I was a kid…”  I do understand prefacing the stories with this to help the readers understand the setting, but sometimes it felt like I was reading the same story over and over. There are several laugh out loud stories including Bruce Hale’s Boys, Beer, Barf, and Bonding and Andy Griffiths’s My Dad is Better Than Your Dad. Overall, this is a fun collection of stories and artwork that will appeal to guys (not boys) in middle school or high school.        

Book Trailer

Click the link below to check out my book trailer for Divergent by Veronica Roth.


http://animoto.com/play/Rt4BFLso3jPJsICf5B6NNQ

Module 7 - History

Bibliographic Citation

Hesse, K. (1997). Out of the dust. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780590360807. 227 p.

Summary

Thirteen-year-old Billie Jo Kelby lives with her mother and father in 1930s Oklahoma in the midst of the Dust Bowl. Although they have little money and must live with dust covering every inch of everything including their food, the family remains strong. Billie Jo is a piano prodigy who loves to play and travel with a band until a tragic accident occurs. Her hands are burned beyond recognition and her pregnant mother is devastatingly injured when a bucket of kerosene is mistaken for water. Billie Jo must live with the guilt of her role in the accident and the anger she feels toward her father for his role. Can Billie Jo and her father weather the storms of dust and resentment?

Analysis

Written in free verse, this novel’s strength is the beauty of the poetry. It tells such a sad and devastating story, but the poetry itself is beautifully and hauntingly written. My favorite poem was the staccato “On Stage” in which Billie Jo narrates the joy she feels while playing the piano. In a book filled with sadness, this poem expresses a small moment of happiness. While I did appreciate learning more about the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, I was just so sad for Billie Jo throughout the book. The end does offer a glimmer of hope, but overall, this book was just too depressing for me to enjoy. It is easy to read and I read it very quickly, so it could be read by middle school or high school students. The fact that the book is written in free verse may appeal to struggling or reluctant readers. I would recommend that some of the poems be shared with history classes to give students an emotional connection to the Dust Bowl.    

Module 6 - Adventure, Sports, Mysteries, and the Supernatural

Bibliographic Citation

Miranda, M. (2012). Fracture. New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 9780802723093. 262 p.

Summary

Eleven minutes under a frozen pond. She should be dead. But 17 year-old Delaney Maxwell survived and is living a normal life again. Until she starts feeling strange pulling feelings inside her body and realizes she is drawn toward death. She can’t tell her best friend and next door neighbor Decker, who was at the pond with her, about her strange sensations, but she quickly realizes she isn’t alone. A stranger named Troy comes to town and claims he can sense death too. Who is Troy, where did he come from, and what is his agenda? Is Delaney sensing death or causing it? She must make it through her senior year while struggling to understand all that is happening around her.

Analysis

The supernatural elements of Fracture really drew me into the story and made me not want to put the book down. The appearance of Troy also intrigued and scared me as much as he intrigued and scared Delaney in the book. I enjoyed the friendship aspect of the relationship between Delaney and Decker. I believed Delaney’s jealousy of Decker and Tara, but I didn’t really buy her coldness to Decker afterwards. If their friendship was strong enough, she wouldn’t have treated him that way. Other than that, I thought this book was mysterious and entertaining. I enjoyed the fact that the book is grounded in reality with a supernatural aspect. It makes the story seem very believable. Fracture is Megan Miranda’s first novel and I am anxious to see what she writes next. I would recommend this book for any middle school or high school library.

Module 5 - Science Fiction and Fantasy

Bibliographic Citation

Roth, V. (2011). Divergent. New York, NY: Katherine Tegen Books. ISBN 9780062024039. 487 p.

Summary

Set in post-apocalyptic Chicago, Divergent tells the story of 16-year-old Beatrice Prior, who, like all other 16-year-olds, must decide her future by choosing which faction to join as an adult. Before choosing, the teens must participate in an aptitude test which is a simulation of reality that determines which faction is the best fit. There is Abnegation, Beatrice’s born faction, the selfless, Candor the honest, Amity the peacemakers, Erudite the wise, and Dauntless the brave. These factions have been created to help keep society peaceful and reduce the destruction of the human race. The results of Beatrice’s aptitude test determine she is Divergent, meaning she doesn’t fit into just one faction. She learns this is a very dangerous label and she must not tell anyone. She decides to choose Dauntless, as she believes she isn’t selfless enough to remain in Abnegation. Having renamed herself “Tris,” she must survive Dauntless initiation or risk being factionless, a fate worse than death. Just as it looks like Tris will be a successful Dauntless member, the unimaginable happens and Tris, along with her boyfriend, Four, must fight for their lives and the lives of many others.

Analysis

At first, it took me a while to really buy into the world of the separate factions and the fact that Dauntless compound itself was so strange and its initiation so brutal. However, as I continued to read, I fully bought into the storyline and couldn’t put it down. The fact that the book is written in the present tense helps move the story along quickly. I found myself cringing at the intense, bloody training scenes and the attacks made on fellow initiates. Tris is a character I cared about and rooted for throughout. She is tough and strong willed, but vulnerable at the same time, though she doesn’t like to show it. I also like the romance between Tris and her trainer, Four, whom she discovers some secrets about later in the book. The book ends with a cliffhanger, forcing the reader to buy the second book in the series, Insurgent. It is now next on my list of books to read. I have to know what happens to Tris and if we ever find out what is really beyond the fence around the city. I think that although this is a novel in itself, Roth has set the stage for much more to come in Tris’s story. This book is long, but written at a level so that even a middle school student could easily read and understand it. Overall, Roth writes a captivating thriller of a novel if the reader can buy into the strange future city that was once Chicago.