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.