Additional Annotations

Lunge-Larsen, Lise. (2004). The hidden folk. Ill: Beth Krommes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-17495-8.

Lise Lunge-Larsen’s collection of folklore is truly unique.  The Hidden Folk recounts traditional Northern European stories of the long-forgotten hidden folk including flower fairies, elves, selkies, and more.  These entertaining bedtime stories for children discuss the many tricks and tribulations of the hidden folk as they try to teach humans lessons.  Through the tales in this collection, humans learn that if they were more aware of their surroundings they could see the contributions made by our little friends.  The stories are hugely imaginative and concise, which allows readers to become engrossed in the plausibility of existence of these miniature beings.  

Holt, Kimberly Willis. (1999). When Zachary Beaver came to town. New York: Laurel-Leaf Books. ISBN 0-440-23841-2. 

Zachary Beaver is the fattest boy in America.  The day he arrives in the sleepy town of Antler, Texas changed 14-year-old Toby’s life forever.  Set during the Vietnam War, Toby begins to realize that there are a lot of things that he doesn’t know this new stranger in town and the rest of the people he sees every day.  Throughout this historical fiction novel, we see the impact war can have on the tiniest of towns and on the deepest of friendships.  With some subtle religious undertones, the novel is very simple: its plot, characters, and themes. 

Gantos, Jack. (2004). Hole in my life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-43089-6.

Jack Gantos, of Joey Pigza fame, has relived his troubled adolescence in this painfully honest memoir.  Like many young people, Gantos is confronted with many challenging decisions as a teen and, unfortunately, makes the wrong choices.  These decisions land him on a boat smuggling drugs and eventually in prison paying for his crime.  Throughout the experience Gantos is reflective about where he has gone wrong in his life and how he might fix it down the road.  He re-discovers that becoming a writer will be what can save him from himself.  Teen readers can relate to his realistic language and characters.  One can walk away with an idea that obstacles can be simply a temporary distraction from where we want our lives to go. 

Tan, Shaun. (2006). The arrival. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. ISBN 0-439-89529-4.

Shaun Tan has created not only a wordless graphic novel but also a work of art; the equally creative plot revolves around an immigrant’s experience as he moves to a new country.  Readers are haunted by the imagery in his pictures that represent both the anticipation and fear that immigrants feel when they try to navigate a new home.  Powerfully, the layered story exposes readers to the compassion of others as they share their stories with their new friend, the immigrant.  The intricate artwork tells the story in such a way that words would interfere; the detailed pictures speak for themselves.  I most admire that this book requires an entire different type of literacy, one that all readers can benefit from. 

Review of Home of the Brave

Applegate, Katherine. (2007). Home of the brave. New York: Square Fish. ISBN 0-312-53563-5.

            For anybody that has never braved a Minnesota winter, imagine that moment of walking out into our crisp, freezing cold air.  Kek, a 12-year-old Sudanese boy, experiences that exact moment in Katherine Applegate’s multicultural novel Home of the Brave.  A refugee, who has already seen more than any man should ever have to, travels to make a new home in Minnesota with his aunt and cousin.  Unsure of whether his mother is still alive, Kek is forced to make a new home for himself amongst strange gadgets, new ideas, and friends both 2-legged and 4-legged.  He feels comforted by a beautiful, long-lashed cow because somedays it seems she is the only connection he has with his former existence.  The customs and expectations of America are new to Kek, but as he applies his African understandings to his new surroundings he gradually finds a new home.

            This novel is very unique in that it is a multicultural novel told in free verse.  These poems create the perfect home for the similes and imagery Applegate uses to describe Kek’s understanding of his new world.  Comparisons are made between what we understand as part of our American lifestyle and the way that Kek’s Sudanese mind recognizes them.  “Pillows like mounds of grass” and “summers [being] like a present with a bow” are examples of similes the author uses to describe the new sensations Kek encounters.  So many modern conveniences are new to him, but the imagery used throughout the novel help to explain how these items appear to those who are unfamiliar.  Washing machines can “hum and talk” and even busses have “hungry metal mouths beside the driver” that eat your money.  The power of the figurative language threaded throughout the free verse poetry is that readers have access to a perspective that is completely different than their own. 

            The strongest character in the book is that of Kek’s new best friend Ganwar, the cow.  Ganwar is one of the few links the refugee has to his old home.  In Sudan, his people were cattle herders and understanding the animals was a vital part of your success.  Kek truly respects Ganwar and sees in her eyes feelings that no one has ever there discovered before.  She provides the first stable element in his new life in America: a job.  Through having a stable job and relationships, Kek’s confidence grows and he learns to navigate his new home independently.  Kek runs to his cow friend when it seems the world is at its darkest, and she provides comfort for him.  Even though Ganwar can’t speak she is the most important character because of all that she offers to the protagonist.   

            The theme of kindness extends from the characters into the plot.  In many novels, America and its people can become the antagonist of the story; this is not the case in Home of the Brave.  The majority of the characters show great kindness.  From Dave, the man who helps refugees settle into their homes and navigate the legal system, to Lou, Ganwar’s owner and Kek’s employer, readers are introduced to characters who want nothing more than to see the refugee succeed.  Kek also meets truly loyal friends like Hannah, who patiently explains the nuances of American living, and Mrs. Hernandez, the ESL teacher, who make it a priority to be kind to the young boy.  I most admire this book because it doesn’t take the easy way out and make America out as a bad place but rather one that can offer great kindness to those that come here to create a new home. 

Review of The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Pearson, Mary E. (2008). The adoration of Jenna Fox. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-0-312-59441-1.

            The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a work of science fiction.  Jenna Fox, a 16-year-old girl, wakes up after a year-long coma to find that she isn’t the person that she is told she should be.  Her parents encourage her to watch videos that chronicle her life because, according to them, they will help her remember.  However, Jenna quickly realizes that as she is getting reacquainted with herself, the images she sees don’t match with who she is becoming.  While she is physically awake, she has continuous memories that awaken her only to reinforce that her parents are hiding something from her and that her body and her mind aren’t what they used to be.

            The theme of restoration is seen throughout the novel.  Sometimes this theme is seen in very simple terms.  For example, Jenna’s mother Claire’s profession is to restore traditional brownstones to their former glory; she found great success this career in her hometown of Boston and she is finding it again in her California relocation.  The theme is repeated, in a slightly deeper way, with the character of Lily, Jenna’s grandmother.  Lily, a retired doctor, enjoys her hobby of gardening but her true passion lies to in creating a simpler version of plants.  In her eyes, plants have been jeopardized through the years by scientific findings; she wants to restore these simple plants to their former glory.  Jenna herself is constantly trying to restore herself to what she used to be.  She watches videos to learn how she is expected to act, and she follows directions given to her by her mother because it is what she is supposed to do.  However, Jenna constantly struggles with how she can become restored if she doesn’t believe she is the same person she used to be.  The idea of restoration exists throughout the book, sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes not, but readers are left with the idea that as we seek restoration we must also deal with the history that created something to be what it is. 

            The genre of science fiction challenges readers to imagine how the world can change in the future and the role technology will play down the road.  The time period for this piece of fiction is undetermined, yet we know that many medical advances have been made.  A substance exists, Bio Gel, that can preserve bodies and organs for years by enabling the cells of the liquid to become loaded with information about its need and learn to specialize in that need.  The American government has caught up with the alarming trends in medicine by creating the Federal Science Ethics Board that police the use of technology and allowing point values for all procedures; each person, young or old, healthy or sick, is granted one hundred points in medical work for a lifetime.  Bio Gel threatens what the government has declared as being ethical.  The questions raised in Mary Pearson’s novel make us wondering how much fiction from this novel is possible, and if it isn’t possible now – when?

            One unique quality found in this book is the use of both prose and poetry.  As one flips through the book you notice that there are gray pages interspersed throughout the book.  The text on these pages is written in free verse poetry and creates a drastic contrast to the prose used throughout the book.  Initially readers wonder why there are white pages and gray pages or text in prose or in poetry.  Then as one moves through the novel, we come to the understanding that these pages represent the deepest, most difficult thoughts Jenna has.  These thoughts are a gray area for her because they are not ones that she is safe to share with other people.  The dichotomy created by this contrast is a great example of literature that breaks rules and is worth noticing.  It is this unexpected change in the pages that create a stark difference with the rest of the novel.  Readers are allowed to get to know the protagonist in an honest, real way.

            In the beginning of the novel, Jenna appears as a brooding, slightly annoying character, but readers get over that quickly as questions continue to build in their mind.  Why is Jenna’s mother acting so strangely around her daughter and why is Lily so disengaged with her once highly valued granddaughter?  What role will the medical technologies of the time play in the novel?  The strength of this novel lies in that readers continue to ask questions throughout the novel.  In the beginning, we wonder how the story will progress but our questions morph into questioning what we believe is possible and what is ethical.  There are many science fiction novels that challenge teens to think about the medical advances we make everyday, but it is in this novel that we have to think about how far is too far.  We are left to wonder what we would do to preserve and restore our loved ones.

Response to Maus

One of my favorite students this year is also one of my trickiest.  Matt is a Special Ed student but doesn’t want people to know.  So instead of letting it show that he doesn’t understand something, he goofs off.  I have succeeded in giving him a book or two that he has enjoyed and I thought that Maus might be one of them.  I offered it to him and he refused because he “doesn’t like comics”.  I took this opportunity to explain to him that it is a graphic novel and told him about the characteristics of this type of book.  I bought in until he opened the book and saw the mice.  He decided that he wasn’t going to read a comic book about mice.  I showed him that the Nazis were cats and pointed out the importance of cats and mice being sworn enemies.  I never did convince him to read the book, but it certainly got me thinking about how important the visuals of a graphic novel can be when readers are assessing them.  Where Matt was completely put off by the book about mice, I was intrigued by all the animals.  He viewed this book as childish because his understanding of literature hasn’t developed past seeing only pictures of cartoon animal.  I viewed this book as profound and understated because I was able to not only understand the choice of animals but could appreciate them.  It creates an interesting dichotomy between reading for pleasure and reading critically.  To read the book aesthetically, you have to be able to understand the symbolism.  Older adolescents could understand the meanings on their own, but the details would be lost on middle schoolers.  However, with some guidance it would be a fun book to introduce to younger adolescents with the purpose of teaching about the Holocaust and literary symbolism. 

Something I have enjoyed recently is creating mental book bundles. A book bundle is combining a few titles together that share some similarity: theme, time period, etc.  I like to make groups of books that I would combine because it helps me to make connections between what I am reading now and what I have already read.  It also helps me to have a running list in my head so that I can easily recommend a book to a student in response to a title that they liked.  I teach about Anne Frank in my 8^th grade Language Arts class.  My students are always amazed when they hear the family was sent into hiding and the tiny apartment that they shared.  Maus shows that the Franks’ hiding place was paradise comparatively.  Maus focuses on the experiences of those in hiding; The Book Thief complements the graphic novel nicely because it also puts focus on the experience of those risking their lives to hide others.  Lastly, I enjoyed Maus because it offered experiences of the Jews living in Poland.  An adult nonfiction book I read lately, The Zookeeper’s Wife, also shared details of another brave family that was living during the Holocaust in Poland.  I enjoy challenging myself to make these groupings because it encourages to make connections with other things that I’ve read and to seek out other titles to read in the future. 

This story’s setting moved around many times.  The nature of the book required that the physical setting changed constantly as the family was moved from one place to another, but the time period also shifts much more dramatically.  The balance of the story rotates between modern time in America and the Holocaust period in Poland.  This balance is interesting because we get to know Spiegelman’s father in two ways: the way he was and the way he is.  In modern time, he is thrifty, insistent, and cold but caring.  His history shows that he is brave, giving, and resourceful.  Readers know that the two men are the same, but their personalities don’t share many similarities.  We are led to believe that his experiences during the Holocaust have changed him.  Readers are also told that these stories are the memories of the father retold by his son; can these second-hand memories be trusted?  The events have lived on in the father’s memory, as they have for decades, and they end up The images that are shared between father and son can be painful but ring of truth.  The shift between modern time and history helps the story to gain ground and appear honest, even in all its pain. 

The most impressive aspect of this book is its characterization through illustration.  We place certain characteristics upon all animals.  Speilgelman played upon these ideas very creatively by assigning certain races and groups of people to be represented by particular animals.  At first I was confused by the depiction of the Jews as mice.  But through the eyes of Spiegelman it fits – mice and quiet, crafty, and are survivors.  Mice are powerless creatures, just as the Jews were powerless throughout the Holocaust.  The first image that struck me as odd was on page 15 when pigs appeared.  Pigs?  The pigs represented the Poles.  Even the Jews wear pig masks to disguise themselves.  Was this because pigs are stubborn?  Or lazy?  I am not sure, but the majority of interactions between the pigs and mice were positive.  Pigs and mice are not enemies.  While I initially thought that mice would represent all characters I realized that different groups would be depicted as different animals.  Page 35 displays a very festive party with mice, pigs, frogs, and rabbits.  On page 33 we see our first Nazi, and, not surprisingly, he is represented as a cat hunting the mice.  The most unexpected character depiction was that of Americans on page 125.  We see an American helping Vladek in a bank and he is represented as a dog.  Again when it is put into the big picture, it makes sense.  The mice are hunted by cats, and the cats will be overpowered by the dogs.  In a graphic novel, Speigelman uses the common characteristics of familiar animals to help us to better understand the groups of people seen throughout the book. 

Response to American Born Chinese

           I went to a BER conference a few weeks ago.  The purpose of the conference was for educators to learn about Young Adult Literature that came to market in 2010.  I was excited to go to this conference because of how excited I have become about Young Adult Literature and to be surrounded by like-minded people.  I was carrying a copy of American Born Chinese with me in my purse to read during breaks and lunch.  The woman next to me struck up conversations about my graphic novel and asked my opinion.  I told her that I was really enjoying the book and that I couldn’t wait to recommend it to many of my students, especially some reluctant readers.  Then, the whole conversation changed.  She asked whether I was worried about my graphic novel being racist; I of course responded that I felt the opposite because the themes of the book test the beliefs both immigrants and non-immigrants hold about their presence in society.  Again, an even more dangerous shift occurred in our discussion.  She started in on a tirade about how she won’t put Anime books on her shelves because she thinks that the depiction of characters’ eyes in these books is racist.  As a white woman, she was offended about the Western style eyes that you see on Asian characters in Anime books.  I simply said that I disagree and that I really enjoy Anime art and am constantly impressed by my students’ Anime drawings.  While American Born Chinese isn’t Anime, this woman lumped it in that category because of the Asian characters.  But I couldn’t stop thinking about it but knew that I was ignorant about the topic.  I did a little bit of research on the Internet on some decidedly sketchy-at-best websites, but I wonder if there is more research regarding this topic.  I found some opinions about Western culture being imposed on the Japanese people, and other beliefs that blond haired and blue eyed are made to be heroes in Manga.  If there is anything that I have learned in this class, it is that there are many things about literature that I don’t know that I don’t know.  Do some consider Anime art to be racist?  I guess I have to add this question to the list but chose to include it in my response because it is something that I would like to see discussed in class. 

            I imagine that I share a common experience with many readers of American Born Chinese; I had absolutely no idea how the three stories were going to be intertwined.  A story about a power-hungry monkey, an Asian boy with typical teenage doubts, and a white boy who is embarrassed about his stereo-typical cousin has absolutely nothing in common.  As a purely aesthetic reader, I really enjoyed seeing these 3 stories come together.  It was both unexpected and enjoyable.  Stories written in this way entertain readers by causing them to constantly think about the connections between the stories.  I found that while I was very into each of the separate stories, I also kept turning the pages to find how they would all be connected.  This book would entice reluctant readers with its visual components but also encourages them with a steady, surprising plot to keep them reading. 

            This graphic novel is very visually interesting.  The cover’s bright color is eye-catching and lures readers with its half image of a teenager.  It is bound like a traditional novel and until one opens it they have no indication that it is a graphic novel.  The interesting visuals continue throughout the book.  Gene Luen Yang illustrates the Monkey King chapters with whimsical images of animals, deities, and battle scenes.  The scene featuring Jin shows a realistic world of people of different shapes, sizes, and race.  While Danny and Chin-kee’s scenes use exaggerated illustrations to rub our noses in the stereotypes our society holds of Asian immigrants.  The visuals come together to create a graphic novel that uses the illustrations to not only tell an interesting story, but also to emphasize the points each chapter strives to make: fantasy, real-world, and perception. 

While the illustrations are used as a tool to emphasize the story being told, the actual plot of the novel discusses intricate themes that can be seen in our American society.  Jin struggles throughout the book to blend in with society around him.  He perms his hair, encourages Wei-Chen Sun to speak English, and shuns traditional Chinese beliefs.  He wants to blend in with the white students and ultimately wants to date Amelia.  Ultimately we discover that Jin wants so badly to be white that, in his mind, he transforms himself into a white boy.  Annually, his stereotypical cousin who exemplifies everything he tries to avoid haunts him.  We learn that these stereotypes are not just ones that American society holds of Asian students, but also the ideals the immigrants try to shed to fit in.  This book would be a great mirror for young readers to look through.  No matter the race, all students could look at this book and realize the struggles that we all face when we try to fit in.  It is especially poignant for students that are either first- or second-generation immigrants as they see themselves trying to navigate society’s ideas and leave those opinions behind.