I posted a few weeks ago about The Grooming of Alice and I mentioned then that I wanted to read (and re-read) the whole series. There's something about Alice that I am drawn to, something about her character that is universal, that I suspect girls relate to as well. While Alice is questioning how life works, she also stays true to herself, something I think it is important for girls to recognize.
And I believe these books are unabashedly "girl" books. This isn't to say that many of the situations Alice finds herself in won't be familiar to boys also. Many boys come from families where one parent is no longer a part of the family, or have to cope with friends changing. But not only are these books written in a girl's voice, but many of the questions Alice explores are questions that girls will identify with.
I started with the prequels to the Alice series which were written in the 2000's. I loved getting to hear the "backstory" of how Alice and her family came to Maryland. In Starting with Alice, Alice, her father and her brother Lester have moved from Chicago just in time for Alice's 3rd grade year to begin. Alice is trying to make new friends and comes up against an intimidating clique on the very first day. The primary focus of this novel is friendship, but Naylor also looks at how Alice's family is fitting together. They've always relied on Alice's aunt for support while their father works, and now the kids must shoulder more of the responsibilities - not always successfully.
Alice in Blunderland covers something that every young girl despairs about - that they will never stop making mistakes and embarrassing themselves. Alice feels like every time she tries to do something , including collapsing a snow cave with herself trapped inside, it goes wrong in a way she couldn't predict. But many of the things that Alice gets wrong come from her heart and what she wants to do to be helpful. Also in this book (which takes place during Alice's 4th grade year), her teacher announces that his wife is having a baby. He uses this information as a teachable moment, talking about how babies develop in the womb (although he does not go into how the baby got there!).
Finally, in Lovingly Alice, Alice and her friends spend a large portion of the book wondering about sex and the changes that come about with puberty. As the only girl in her family, there are things that Alice doesn't know or totally comprehend - just like many 5th graders. But Alice also has an unusually frank relationship with her brother and father, so she is the one in her group who asks the tough questions at home. And while Naylor takes her responsibility to her audience for accurate information seriously, she also allows the girls to be silly while talking about sex - something very natural for this age.
All of these books also feature grief in a recurring role. Alice's mother died when she was five, and Alice remembers very little about her mother. She does get some comfort from her family's memories, but her ongoing grief is heart-rending to me. No matter how wonderful her father is (and he is wonderful), there is always someone missing, and Naylor wisely acknowledges this. But there are other griefs in Alice's life - her cat dies, an uncle dies, a friend leaves without saying goodbye. These are the more everyday griefs that we all experience, and Alice is learning how to cope with these as we all do.
I do really love these books, and am excited to keep reading in this series. I love Alice's voice, her newly found strength, her character. She is interesting and funny and good-hearted. I am looking forward to seeing how she continues to develop.
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Starting with Alice. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Alice in Blunderland. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Lovingly Alice. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2004.
all borrowed from Lewis and Clark Public Library
I just wanted to do a quick blog post about this book, even though it is not especially new. I was also not able to do an image of this book - my usual resources didn't include this book. I read this book after seeing it recommended in Betsy Hearne's Choosing Books for Children (3rd edition). It was a truly unusual book.
Hurwitz asked nine other children's authors to write stories with a specific plot device. Each story is somehow written around a child who receives a present on their birthday - an empty box. You would think that after reading a story or two, this plot device would get tired and that you would be able to anticipate what would happen. But each author has a completely different take on that device - some take the empty box and interpret it one way, some another. Sometimes the main character is likeable, sometimes not. The stories are unpredictable and original.
This book would be excellent for reluctant readers. The authors have a combination of main characters - younger, older, male, female. This variety will keep boys and girls reading. The fact that the stories are also relatively short is a plus too - the action has to unfold relatively quickly and the stories do not take long to read. The authors Hurwitz produced are also all recognizable to children, which means that they are also more likely to try this book.
And these stories are thought-provoking as well. What each child does with their empty box will allow teachers to use this book for discussion. This book is well-written and will work for almost any student!
Birthday Surprises: 10 Great Stories to Unwrap. Edited by Joanna Hurwitz. Morrow Junior Books: 1995. Borrowed from Helena School District Library.
Hi everyone!! I did a guest post for Erika from Metro DC Mom on books to read with your preschooler/kindergarten age child (plus some activities too). If you are interested in reading it, go here http://www.metro-dc-mom-blog.com/2010/11/30/books-for-kids-about-nature/
Thanks, Erika, for letting me help out!
When we went to the public library about ten days ago, we walked over to the children's new nonfiction display. I always like to see what is available - as you can tell, I'm reading a lot of children's nonfiction. On this trip, Frances (who is 3 1/2) went over and immediately selected Pop!: The Invention of Bubble Gum. I sort of groaned inside, because I'm not that interested in bubble gum, and I believed that once we got it home Frances would never look at it again. Besides, my girls aren't even allowed to chew gum! But we checked it out, and amazingly Frances proudly carried it over to her aunt's house that night. We finally sat down to read it the next day, and boy, was I impressed!
Pop! is a simplified version of the Fleet company's invention of bubble gum. It enfolds the specific story of Walter Diemer, an accountant turned inventor at Fleet, into this history. McCarthy's skill is in distilling this story (and the history of chewing gum) into one or two compelling, interesting sentences per page. Frances and Gloria (3 1/2 and 2) listened to the entire story twice, which especially speaks to its readability.
But just because it is short and basic doesn't mean that McCarthy skimps on research. In fact she artfully includes quotes from Diemer in the easy to read text. She also includes a strong bibliography in the back matter, along with a biography of Diemer and facts about gum. So her research is solid and will allow kids to use this book as a starting point for papers and projects. To me, this book is unusual in its strength for preschool-grade 2 nonfiction.
And the illustrations are just as appealing as the story McCarthy reports. The majority of the illustrations are double-page spread acrylic paintings, rich in their color. The figures in the paintings have super-round eyes, resembling perfectly blown bubbles. The people depicted are friendly and smiling, giving a great impression of determination and goodwill. Without making the paintings busy with a lot of background detail, McCarthy still conveys the historical time period through dress, automobiles and buildings (the majority of the book takes place in the 1920's).
Pop! is a truly successful nonfiction book. It makes the history of bubble gum interesting and the scientific process exciting. McCarthy has made a believer out of me. But my girls will not be chewing bubble gum any time soon!!
Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum. Meghan McCarthy. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010. Borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library
I am appreciating the National Book Award finalists this year because in reading them, I am breaking out of my comfort zone, just a little. In my previous life as a teen librarian, Lockdown was the kind of book that I would have recommended to teens, especially boys. I would have a general idea of what it was about ("Reese is a teen in juvenile detention, trying to survive until his release date."), but I would have missed out on an extremely thought-provoking novel.
Reese committed a burglary two years ago, stealing prescription pads from a doctor's office. At the beginning of the novel, Reese has just basically been surviving in juvenile detention. There isn't a lot of evidence that he has changed through this experience so far, but he hasn't gotten any worse, either. His family, on the other hand, is not doing so well. Reese was living with his mother, who is addicted to drugs. His older brother is a drug dealer and has also already been in juvenile detention. Reese's young sister has miraculously escaped all the trouble for now, and is holding out the only hope Reese can see.
While Reese's life on the outside is full of despair, his life on the inside is no better. There are frequent lockdowns on his unit, and the staff is cruel to the inmates. Reese's harsh reality is evident from the very beginning of the book. There are the title lockdowns - every inmate in their own cells, solitary detention, physical checks whenever an inmate has visitors or leaves the building, gangs... Myers does not shy away from the grittiness of juvenile detention, almost as a warning that there is nothing cool about prison. There is no humanity, except for the social worker on the unit who gets Reese a job working in a nursing home to help rehabilitate him.
One of the most striking things about Reese is the dilemma that he finds himself in. The drug dealer that he sold the prescription pads to blames Reese for someone's drug overdose. The police confront him in detention and tell him that he has three days to decide whether he will plead guilty or stand trial for a crime he didn't commit. Reese believes that if he has to stand trial, the jurors will never believe that he is innocent, so he feels that he must plead guilty. This is the source of much of the novel's tension - that Reese has no option because he has already been found guilty of a crime. You can feel his panic and worry for him as he contemplates his adult life spent in prison.
This is what Myers is best at - communicating the utter lack of possibility in the life of these prison inmates. The social worker continually reminds Reese that most of the young adults in juvenile detention will become adult prisoners. There is very little possibility for them in the real world, and as Reese realizes, they will often be blamed for additional crimes whether they were involved or not. It takes a strong person to rise above the reality. Is Reese that man?
This is a strong book by Myers. Since the National Book Award ceremony has already taken place, I know it didn't win. But Reese is a character full of the dichotomy of dreams and reality - one who doesn't have a lot of hope and yet chips out a small piece of hope for himself. Ultimately he fins a small measure of redemption.
Lockdown. Walter Dean Myers. Amistad: HarperCollins, 2010. Borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library
A ship wrecks off the coast of Maine, carrying fifteen circus animals on their way to Boston. The greedy circus owner forces the ship's captain to save him, abandoning the animals in the water. The fifteen animals, including a snake, lion, elephant and tiger, are forced to swim to safety towards an island. There the villagers are understandably surprised and afraid of the seemingly wild animals. However, they soon learn to care for the animals, and they become part of the community. So when the villainous circus owner tries to claim the animals again, the villagers have to find a way to keep those animals safe and free.
I had reviewed A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee in 2003 for School Library Journal, and really loved it. Many of the hallmarks of that book are on display here. Van Dusen has created characters full of personality in both his illustrations and his verse. You can see every expression on the faces of the captain, worried about the circus animals, and the angry circus owner. The animals have human eyes and expressions, turning them from wild animals into friendly, kind faces.
One of the most entertaining things about the book is the way Van Dusen allows the animals to peek out from the island scenery. Readers can listen to the rhyming text and discover the hiding animals at the same time. Van Dusen's sense of humor peeks out from the pages also, with a monkey popping out of old-fashioned bloomers. There is something to laugh at on every page, and the book is total fun to read aloud.
But the real reason I was drawn to write about this book has to do with another aspect of the illustrations. Van Dusen comments on this in the author blurb on the back jacket: "I've focused on light sources and textures in the artwork for this story." And how! The color and light in these gouache paintings are luminous and stunning. Even the paintings in the middle of the storm that helps cause the wreck are moody and full of that weird stormy light. The light peering over the horizon lightens the sky, creating rich shades of blue and yellow. It truly sparkles on each page of Van Dusen's work. The book is gorgeous and unusually vibrant.
The text doesn't suffer in comparison to the art, either. The text is in verse, but it scans easily, making it easy to read. There are no words that sound jarring in the rhyme scheme, or that have to be said in an unnatural way to rhyme, which can make the book a chore to read. The verses are sprightly and short, too, moving the plot along at a nice speed. Van Dusen has included humor in the text, too. While the setting is old-fashioned, the text is not - there isn't any modern slang, but it is accessible to young readers.
Finally, Van Dusen includes an Author's Note to tell readers about the origins of the story. It was inspired by a true, tragic event - the circus ship (in the 1830's) actually sank and the animals were not saved. I appreciate both that the author made the effort to tell us about his inspiration and also his creativity in recasting the events in a more fun, upbeat way.
There is so much more to talk and write about - the Maine setting, the enraged circus owner/villain... but I'll let you pick it up and discover it for yourselves. Enjoy!!
Van Dusen, Chris. The Circus Ship. Candlewick Press, 2009. from Lewis and Clark Library (up for the Treasure State Award)
I usually don't waste time writing about books that I don't feel passionately about. I don't think as readers of this blog, you want to hear about every little thing I read, especially when it isn't something I either love or feel compelled to talk about. But this book was different - even though I didn't love it, it is one of the National Book Award finalists for Young People's Literature. And I did say here that I would be reading them all, so I felt that I needed to comment on it.
Caitlin is ten years old, and at the time of this book, it is arguable which is her defining characteristic - her diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome or the fact that her brother has just been killed in a school shooting. She is struggling to cope - Caitlin's brother really supported her and guided her in her interactions with the rest of the world. Without him, she is lost. Her father is also falling apart with the combination of the loss and dealing with Caitlin's issues at the same time. And in their small town, reminders of the shooting are everywhere, including at her school. She meets both the child of another victim and the cousin of one of the shooters in her school environment. The only thing that Caitlin really has going for her is a supportive school counselor with boundless patience and a talent for connecting with Caitlin.
The way Caitlin's brain works separates her from her classmates and father. She doesn't understand others' feelings, and often puts her own way of feeling onto others, mostly unsuccessfully. The book is told from her point of view, but perceptive readers will be able to empathize with those around her as they grapple with all of the events. Caitlin's Asperger's Syndrome also affects the way this story is written - the concepts that she feels strongly about are capitalized. For instance, Caitlin is searching for a way to get Closure - something she has been told will help her move on. Caitlin's counselor is also searching for a way for Caitlin to connect with friends since she has lost her brother. All of the dialogue in the book is italicized , which can be confusing when there is more than one person talking. Caitlin tells the story directly, without a lot of comments such as "Mrs. Brook said", leaving the reader to keep track of who says what.
Erskine states in the author's note that she wrote the book in response to the Virginia Tech shootings, thinking about how a shooting would affect a family. I really respect her reasons for writing it, but by the end of the book I felt it was a little precious. Caitlin seems to come out of her shell and to begin to connect with people. However, the way she ends up being the closest to the people also involved in the shooting, without any prompting from anyone else, seems somewhat forced. While I think her counselor, Mrs. Brook, is wonderful, she seems a little too wonderful - she even calls Caitlin while away on an unexpected family emergency to make sure Caitlin is okay. Her brother, Devon, also seems a little too perfect - one of the youngest students to work towards his Eagle Scout badge, he is trying to include Caitlin in the process of earning his badge.
The book is tied to To Kill a Mockingbird , but because of the way Caitlin's brain works, the connection again seems forced. She brings up the same things over and over again - how her brother Devon thought of her as Scout, how the mockingbird was a symbol of innocence. I know this is a function of Caitlin's brain, but it feels like the reader is being beaten over the head with it.
I do think it is an interesting look at Asperger's Syndrome and I would hope that it would lead to tolerance and understanding in classrooms with Asperger's students. I just felt that it was all too much when it was taken together with the theme of To Kill a Mockingbird and the school shooting too. I worried that it was just me who felt this way - after all, it is a NBA finalist, but I have seen at least one other review mentioning some of the same issues I brought up. I was so wowed by Ship Breaker, and I just felt that this paled in comparison.
Erskine, Kathryn. Mockingbird. Philomel, 2010. Borrowed from Helena School District.
