The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Erdrich, L. (2005). The game of Silence. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780786232123

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In 1850 on Madeline Island on Lake Superior lived a young Native American Omakayas or Little Frog because her first step was a hop. She belonged to the Ojibwe tribe who were going to be forced off their native lands by the United States government so white settlers could live there. Omakayas shares her feelings for her mother, brother, relatives and friends showing respect and loyalty to the ways of her tribe. The Game of Silence is the title of the book but it is really the way the tribe allows the younger children to be part of the elders’ group when they are discussing serious issues that the tribe faces. It also teaches them to be silent when they must travel through dangerous settings. Omakayas and other young children have chores they must do according to their gender. Omakayas is also considered a healer in training. She learns from her elders which plants are used to cure common ailments. Girls are supposed to help with the meals, tanning of hides, making clothes, and keeping the hut and communal clean. Boys are encouraged to perfect their hunting and warrior skills and make weapons. When a couple of men from the scouting group return with word that the tribe has to leave their tribal grounds, Omakayas helps ready for their new life. The book is rich in history and is a compelling read.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This historical fiction book continues the story of Omakayas that begun in The Birchbark House which was nominated for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The Game of Silence received the most prestigious award the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction 2006 and many other awards and recognition. A glossary of native words, pronunciation and their meanings were given at the end of the book. Maps and sketches are interspersed throughout the book giving the reader a glimpse of what the people and places looked like. The interest level and reading level are recommended for grades 6-8 however, orally reading this book to younger students will give them a rich background of one Native American tribe’s life.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 9)) Eager readers beguiled by her sturdy and engaging person will scarcely notice that they have absorbed great draughts of Ojibwe culture, habits and language. It's hard not to weep when white settlers drive the Ojibwe west, and hard not to hope for what comes next for this radiant nine-year-old.

Joe Sutliff Sanders (VOYA, August 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 3)) The themes are not only more profound, but the episodic structure of the previous novel is also much exceeded by the interweaving plot threads of young love, sibling rivalry, and frustration with gender roles. The threat that the federal government poses to the community is more than just a framing device; it penetrates all the other concerns of the novel, drawing them tightly together.
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Great Lakes Great Books Award, 2006 Finalist United States
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2006 Winner United

5. CONNECTIONS
• Role playing the different characters and retelling the story will give students insight into the community of Native Americans.
• Have students create a list and reasons for taking specific items in a single canoe that would help them live and sustain a life living in the wilderness. Compare it to homeless people living on the streets. What items would a homeless person need to survive on the streets?
• Use the glossary at the back of the book to create meaningful sentences for conversing with people from the Ojibwe tribe.
• Research tobacco and find out where it grew in the US and what significance it has throughout the novel. How did the Native Americans get it and why did they use it for giving thanks?
• While reading the novel make a list of foods the Ojibwe tribe ate. Then have a feast using only those foods.
•

Catherine called Birdy by Karen Cushman

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, K. (1994). Catherine called Birdy. New York: Clarion. ISBN 9780786232123
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In 1290 medieval England, you get drawn into the drama that surrounds 13-year old Catherine’s plight not to be married off like a piece of property. Written in the style of a diary, Catherine carefully plots everyday how she can avoid marriage. Many of her suitors leave her father’s home in a state of shock by the antics she plays on them. She starts each entry with a description of a saint and why that person became a saint and her life resembles part of the past. Catherine does everything possible to get away from the “womanly” duties like sewing and hemming imposed on wealthy girls during that period in England. The reader comes away with a sense of the time in England and many good laughs. Catherine’s father does everything possible to get his daughter to understand why she must marry a wealthy older man who Catherine calls Shaggy Beard. She dreads the day she is to be married and actually runs away when his escorts come calling. Needless to say she does marry later on but not Shaggy Beard. Find out who she marries by reading this humorous award winning novel.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Karen Cushman writes a wonderful witty historical fiction novel that depicts the life a young daughter trying to be married off by her English knight of a father. The novel has many authentic historical facts blended in with the text to help the reader become familiar with things that happened in the past. Catherine longs for adventure and to be anything but a wife. Tween and teenage readers can easily identify with the restrictions placed on Catherine by her parents for her misbehavior. The emotional journey Catherine travels is often funny and you can actually see her overdramatic tantrums being played out with similar situations with todays young. The author’s notes at the end give examples of actual occurrences that occurred during this period. While reading this novel you find many facts of history that are not mentioned in most books. The floors of the dining halls lined with reeds, the body lice and fleas that attack people and crowded unsanitary conditions are just a few of the details that are interwoven in the book. Cushman does a great job researching historical facts for her novels and weaving them in a fictional story. She makes history come alive for all who read her novels.
Interest level 6-8
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Jacqueline C. Rose (KLIATT Review, September 1995 (Vol. 29, No. 5))
Readers will learn much about the historical time period. Realistic, interesting, and sometimes utterly disgusting details of dress, eating habits, sanitation (or lack thereof), social justice, religious beliefs, celebrations, treatment of disease, etc., are plentiful throughout.
Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
Cushman brings the Middle Ages alive with a revealing, humorous and riveting story of a young girl who devises clever schemes to escape marrying all the repulsive men her father would give her to.
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
John Newbery Medal, 1995 Honor Book United States
Reading Magic Awards, 1994 Winner United States
Golden Kite Award, 1995 Award Book Fiction United States
Lone Star Reading List, 1996-1997 ; Texas
ALA Best Book for YAs

5. CONNECTIONS
• Have students write a letter from the perspective of an English Knight to a possible suitor to marry his daughter (what traits could he list? What traits would Catherine’s father be able to list)
• Create a recipe or potion to discourage a suitor. What ingredients are needed and what would it do?
• Create a list of talents that a wealthy daughter needs to posses in order to be married back in the medieval England. Compare the list to now.
• Create a list of the skills a man would need to posses in order to win the heart of a lady or gain the father’s wealth.
• What medical advances do we have now that weren’t available back then?
• After reading the story adlib and role play each of the character retelling their side of the story.
• Read other books by Karen Cushman and compare and contrast them to Catherine Called Birdy –
Matilda Bone (2001) ISBN 9780786232123
Alchemy and Meggy Swann (2010) ISBN 9780547231846
Rodzina (2003) ISBN 9780807215760
The Ballad Of Lucy Whipple (1996) ISBN 9780395728062
The midwife's apprentice (1991) ISBN 9780395692295
The loud silence of Francine Green (2006) ISBN 9780618504558.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Narrated by Blair Brown

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lowry, L. (Author). Brown, B. (Narrator). (2004). Number the Stars [Three CDs]. Listening Library, Unabridged CD - Library Edition. ISBN 9781400085552

2. PLOT SUMMARY
A Danish family risks their lives to save a Jewish family during the Holocaust. Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her family help her best friend Ellen Rosen and family escape from German occupied Denmark. They take the families to her Uncle Henrik’s house north of Copenhagen in the North Sea. After a daring night escape from the Nazis, Henrik takes the Rosen family and others on a boat ride to freedom in Sweden.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Newbery Award winning Number the Stars is a historical fiction book based on many real events during the Holocaust. Lois Lowry blends in history in such a moving way that you often think the characters are real. In her author’s notes she describes how she walked the streets in Copenhagen and imagined how a ten year old would view events of World War II. She researched how Danish King Christian X helped the people of his German occupied country resist the Nazis. Lowry mentions how the Swedish scientists worked on fooling the German police dogs from sniffing out Jewish people by creating a powerful powder composed of dried rabbit’s blood and cocaine. The blood attracted the dogs and when they sniffed it the cocaine numbed their noses and destroyed, temporarily, their sense of smell. With well placed history packed scenarios throughout the book you get a feel for how the Danish Resistance helped save Jewish people. The details Lowry describes have you focused on the attitudes, values, and morals of the Danish people. Blair Brown brilliantly narrates this story often changing her voice to depict the little girls, grown women, men and the German Nazis. Hearing the intonation of her voice compels the listener to feel the suspense of the danger and excitement of the powerful story unfolding. This unabridged audio book is giftedly orchestrated.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Nola Theiss (KLIATT Review, May 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 3)) This Newbery Award-winning children's book can be listened to by the whole family. While the main characters are only ten years old, their story is a universal one of man's inhumanity to man and also of the goodness and courage of others, willing to risk their own safety for their fellow human beings.
Jeni Menenedez (Audiofile, April/May 2004) With vocal versatility, Blair Brown portrays the soft-spoken Johannesens, as well as the loud, brutal Nazis. When important conversations take place, she lowers her voice to cue listeners to pay closer attention. The combination of Brown's steady voice and Lowry's dramatic story creates a mesmerizing production.
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Charlotte Award, 1992 Winner Grades 3-5 United States
Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 1990 Honor Book United States
John Newbery Medal, 1990 Winner United States
National Jewish Book Awards, 1990 Winner United States
Sydney Taylor Book Awards, 1989 Winner Older Readers United States


5. CONNECTIONS
• Recommended for grades 4-8
• Another book that students can read that depicts the struggles a family faces during the Holocaust is The Diary of Anne Frank
• For younger students: A picture book of Anne Frank by David A. Adler
• Students can visit this website and put names, photographs and biographies of children who survived the Holocaust http://graceproducts.com/fmnc/main.htm
• Students can act out the daring escape by night moving around silently
• Guest speakers can be invited to discuss the Holocaust
• Other subjects can be researched about Denmark during World War II 1939-1945

Quest for the Tree Kangaroo An Expedition To the Cloud Forest of New Guinea by Sy Montgomery Photographs by Nic Bishop

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Montgomery, S. (2006). Quest for the tree kangaroo: an expedition to the cloud forest of New Guinea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Photographs by Nic Bishop ISBN 9780618496419


2. PLOT SUMMARY
Author Sy Montgomery goes on an expedition to the cloud forest of Papua New Guinea with scientific research team leader Lisa Dabek photographer Nic Bishop and many other well known scientists. This book discusses the grueling and adventurous trip to find the mysterious Matschie (“MATCH-eez”) tree kangaroo. Well documented are the trials and tribulations associated with the capture, testing, tracking and releasing of the tree kangaroo. Flora and fauna are beautifully photographed as well as unusual and often unidentified species. Background information is intertwined in the telling of the story so you get an inner feeling for the people of the land. This is a must read for people curious about wildlife and glimpses of undiscovered territory.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Sy Montgomery uses her background knowledge as a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator, to explain an accurate story of the expedition to find the elusive tree kangaroo. She follows scientists from around the world to document their journey up into the cloud forest. Montgomery tells the story with vivid details about the scenery and life of natives of Papau.

The saying “pictures tell a thousand words” is so true in this book. Nic Bishops’ ability to capture the eye of even the minutest subjects conveys more meaning than words can say. His photos are truly amazing and offer such insight into the physical surroundings that you are able to identify with the emotions of the people trudging through the clouds and see the animals as they are viewing them for the first time.
This photo essay has text interspersed with a design pleasing to the eye, inviting and easy to read. The level and complexity of the text is at a higher level and could easily be considered to be appropriate for a younger reader due to the size and amount of text. Some pages appear to be written on vellum so you can view the background of the cloud forest. Bishop’s creative style of framed photographs pops out at you and invites you to turn the pages. Montgomery adds a page of advice from Lisa Dabek to encourage students to get involved in rainforest and animal conservation efforts. She also includes pages about zoos where you can view tree kangaroos and websites to visit. An acknowledgment page to the native people that helped make their expedition a success and simple verses spoken are included. This is a highly recommended book that can be used as a springboard into all curriculum areas.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS and Awards
Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature) Informative and interesting, and kids who love animals or are thinking about becoming veterinarians will keep this book moving off the library shelves.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 19)) …Bishop's photographs, shots of the expedition members, striking close-ups of flora and fauna including the sought-for kangaroo and lush, green cloud forest scenes, are beautifully reproduced.

Eileen Wright (Library Media Connection, April 2007) The reader becomes quickly drawn into the quest, and one feels as though the narrator is sitting beside her sharing the details of the expedition.

AWARDS: Green Earth Book Award, 2007 Honor Book United States
Henry Bergh Children's Book Award, 2006 Winner Non-Fiction Environment and Ecology United States
John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers, 2006 Winner United States
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2007 Winner United States
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2007 Honor Book United States


5. CONNECTIONS
• Do an author study on Sy Montgomery and read other books written by her.
• Use other books written by or photos included by Nic Bishop and compare his style of photography and text in each of his books.
• Students can compare and contrast tree kangaroos and other marsupials.
• Art: create an actual rainforest out of paper. Leaves can be studied and made to look like the canopy. Flowers and animals can be drawn and then cut out to tape onto the different layers of the rainforest.
• Science: The layers of the rainforest can be studied. Sizes and weights of the kangaroos can be converted from metric to standard units of measurements.
• Music: Students can study the different sounds of the rainforest like birds, rain, insects, and animals. They can make rain sticks with toilet paper tubes, toothpicks and rice or beans.
• P.E.: Students can crawl like a bear, slither like a snake, hop like a kangaroo and investigate movements of different animals.
• Social Studies: Study the people and history of Papua New Guinea. Compare and contrast their customs and living conditions to ours in the U.S.
• I Wonder Why I Wonder Why Kangaroos Have Pouches by Jenny Wood ISBN: 978-0-7534-6559-2
• Kangaroos by Melissa Gish ISBN: 978-1-58341-970-0
• Pocket babies and other amazing marsupials by Sneed B. Collard III ISBN: 978-1-58196-046-4
• Marsupials by Nic Bishop ISBN: 978-0-439-87758-9

The Boy Who Invented TV The Story of Pholo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Krull, K. (2009). The boy who invented TV: the story of Philo Farnsworth. New York: A.A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375945618


2. PLOT SUMMARY
Philo Farnsworth was an inquisitive child by nature. He was born in 1906 in the American West at a time where electricity, indoor toilets and phones were rare and TV was non-existent. Kathleen Krull writes about his life, his vision and tenacity of sticking to an idea he had to create an Image Dissector - television. Philo was a thinker and doer, someone who would change the world with his invention.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This picture book biography allows people to see the inside story of an inventor who won the race to invent TV but lost getting credit for doing it. Kathleen Krull has written a well organized, well designed, and well-written story that makes you want to find out the inside “scoop” of Philo Farnsworth as well as other inventors. An added author’s note at the back of the book explains Farnsworth’s patent battle with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), the largest electronics company in the 1930s. The illustrations created by using an acrylic wash with a colored pencil and dry brush allow you to envision the period of time before high definition color and more technical images were created. The front and back inside covers were cleverly styled to include pictures of some of the first invented televisions to modern day TVs. The style of writing and vocabulary allow young readers to be able to pick up the book and read with ease. The large print and few words fit well for young readers but the book and information given is sure to grab the attention of all ages. The narrative demonstrates the real heroes of Farnsworth’s life the people who believed in him, his parents, teacher, and wife. Krull gives a very personal insight into Farnsworth’s struggles in his life and continuance to believe in his dreams.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS and AWARDS
Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Jun. 1, 2009 (Vol. 105, No. 19)). In an attention-holding narrative, Krull explains how Farnsworth held on to his dream to develop television and in smart, concise fashion ably explains scientific concepts behind it.


Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2009 (Vol. 77, No. 16)) A detailed author’s note further explains how the Radio Corporation of America challenged and subsequently disregarded Philo’s patent, thrusting him into obscurity.

AWARDS School Library Journal Best Books, 2009; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, September 2009; Cahners; United States


5. CONNECTIONS
Check out the sources of books, web sites and television documentaries at the end of the book to give more in depth studies on the history of television.
Inventions: study biographies of famous inventors who made a difference in the world.
• Microwave- Percy L. Spencer
• Phonographs – Thomas Edison
• Radio- German physicist, Heinrich Rudolph Hertz
• Telephones Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray
• Air conditioners- Willis Haviland Carrier
• iPods- Tony Fadell
• Disposable diapers Marion Donovan in 1950
• Light bulbs- Thomas Edison
• Refrigerators- William Cullen An improved refrigerator design was patented by African American inventor John Standard
• Sticky note Arthur Fry a 3M chemist invented the post it note and Spencer Silver invented the glue
• Internet Tim Berners-Lee
• Computers- Konrad Zuse
• Asphalt- Belgian immigrant Edward de Smedt. Belgian chemist, Ernest Solvay
• Ovens British inventor, James Sharp patented a gas oven in 1826, Thomas Ahearn with inventing the first electric oven in 1882
• Internal combustion engine- 1886 - On January 29, Karl Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car
• Photocopier- Chester Carlson was the inventor of the photocopier
• Penicillin
• Chlorine
• Indoor Plumbing

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Murphy, J. (2003). An American plague : the true and terrifying story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 9780395776087

2. PLOT SUMMARY
History at its worst and storytelling at its best, Jim Murphy takes readers on a well-researched synopsis of what happened during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Spine tingling traumatic events of mercury ingestion, blood letting, whole households dying, bodies left in the streets, mass burials, animal and human waste strewn all around encourages you to keep turning the pages to find out how the disaster ends.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Jim Murphy writes an accurate account of what happened during the yellow fever epidemic using books, newspapers, magazines, personal journals, and letters he researched to enlighten the story. Murphy writes concise details to the sequence of events, from August to November 1793, with such powerful words they cause heart wrenching emotions for the people involved. George Washington, the wealthy and many people in government flee the city to escape the dying. The Free African Society banned together to help care for all the people too ill to care for themselves. They often put other white people ahead of their own health or families. Murphy includes a great list of sources so others can continue reading to learn more about various topics from firsthand accounts of medical and nonmedical resources, yellow fever, doctoring in the old days, George Washington, African Americans in Philadelphia, mosquitoes, and other plagues. The reproductions of eighteenth-century newspaper articles help to authenticate the illustrations with the text. The illustrations match the topics or people within the chapters. Murphy’s style of writing encourages critical thinking and piques your interest to continue learning about other epidemics. Middle grades 6-9 will enjoy learning about the horrific epidemic that brought our nation’s government to a standstill.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature) This book is a well-researched endeavor with innumerable sources that manages to captivate its readers.
Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 2003 (Vol. 56, No. 10)) Readers view the panic from several vantage points: the mayor, who overreaches his elective mandate to impose order on his city; Dr. Benjamin Rush and his medical colleagues, who squabble over cause and cure; the Free African Society, whose brave members nurse in stricken households, only to be accused of profiteering; and the doctor-merchant-barrel maker team that runs the Bush Hill hospital with compassion and common sense, achieving impressive results.
CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2004) Wonderful reproductions of old maps and drawings of the key figures of the time, as well as of primary sources such as newspaper articles, obituaries, letters, and church records, add additional interest to this drama-filled volume.

Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 2004 Winner Nonfiction United States
James Madison Book Award, 2004 Winner United States
John Newbery Medal, 2004 Honor Book United States
National Book Awards , 2003 Finalist Young People's Literature United States
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2004 Winner United States
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2004 Winner United States


5. CONNECTIONS Do In depth studies of different topics pertaining to this book
• Early life medicine and the advancements we now have
• Free African Society leaders in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1793 like Richard Allen and Absalom Jones
• Study mosquitoes and other insects that carry diseases
• Bloodletting
• George Washington and his problems
Books that might interest you:
• Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson ISBN: 978-0-689-84891-9
• Malaria, West Nile, and other mosquito-borne diseases by Nancy Day ISBN: 978-0-7660-1597-5
• The secret of the yellow death : a true story of medical sleuthing by Suzanne Jurmain ISBN: 978-0-618-96581-6
• Yellow fever by Holly Cefrey ISBN: 978-0-8239-3489-8

Doodle Dandies Poems That Take Shape by J. Patrick Lewis images by Lisa Desimini

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lewis, J P. 1998. Doodle Dandies Poems That Take Shape. Ill. by Lisa Desimini. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689810756

2. PLOT SUMMARY
J. Patrick Lewis publishes a compilation of his poems about different themes or objects. His humor and cleverness shines throughout each poem Lisa Desimini does an outstanding job of illustrating the poetry in different shapes. Both the poems and illustrations capture the essence of the objects and with concise language.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
It’s exciting to see poetry that will pique your imagination. Lewis’ powerful but few words give such concise pictures to the reader. Each poem has its own unique rhythm that creates a visual and often humorous image. The play on words lets you imagine and create your own images that remind you of more in-depth thoughts and emotions. When you first read this book you think of young readers but surprisingly adults will like it too for the imagery, rich language, and emotions each poem possesses.
Lisa Desimini does such great work relating the illustrations to the topic, it is as though the poems were written for the illustrations. Her use of mixed media makes each poem pop out at you. The poem Giraffe is shaped like a giraffe and written in yellow and orange. The upper background is full of rich hues of greens shaped like leaves and allows you to think of the giraffe eating the leaves off the tops of trees. The floor is like the grassland found in Africa with hay-like blades sticking up. The giraffe’s legs are shadowed in the grass looking like the last words “on wooden Stilts, Stilts, Stilts, Stilts.” Each poem is magnificently illustrated. This is a must have book for all willing to share the beauty of poetry. It easily lends itself to teaching the elements of poetry.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Cherie (BookHive (www.bookhive.org)) The poems will spark your imagination, as you watch the words bend and twist on the page.
Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
In this collection of poems, the placement of the words and associated pictures form a whole--neither would be that effective without the other.
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1998) Desimini's mixed-media images contain a measure of sophisticated giddiness to give the poems an added fillip.

5. CONNECTIONS
• Challenge students to write poems about their favorite object and then illustrate them in that shape.
• Discover other poems to illustrate into shapes that would represent the poem.
• Provide many poetry books and have students compare and contrast what they like and dislike about each book. Hint: it gets kids to read more poetry books!
• Have students use a poetry website to find birthdays of different poets born on their birthdays. Then students can read about the poet and study more poems written by the poet that celebrates their date of birth.
• Read the poem first, then have students guess what the picture will look like.
• Pick out poems to introduce a unit of study using the book Doodle Dandies. For a unit on seasons you can read: Winter, First Burst of Spring, Synchronized Swim Team, and Umbrella. For a unit on animals you could read: Dachshund, Giraffe, The Butterfly is…, Big Cat, The Oyster Family, Creep and Slither, The Turtle and How Many Humps?

J.Patrick Lewis’s work has been compared to Shel Silverstein and John Ciardi. Pick up some of their books and compare and contrast their works.

Written by Shel Silverstein: A light in the Attic,Where the sidewalk ends, Falling up, A giraffe and a half, Who wants a cheap rhinoceros? Lafcadio: the lion who shot back.

Written by John Ciardi: You know who, I met a man, Doodle Soup: poems Echoes: poems left behind, The inferno, How does a poem mean? Fast and slow: poems for advanced children and beginning parents, The reason for the pelican.

Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Singer, Marilyn. 2010. Mirror Mirror. Ill by Josee Masse. New York: --Dutton Children's Books. ISBN 9780525479017

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Marilyn Singer’s unique book of fourteen different fairy-tale poems is cleverly written in reverseo. On one side of the page the poem is written down and then the exact words are written backward going up. Except for the capitalization, punctuation and line breaks the poems read the same forward and backward. Many of the well known fairy tales like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood are retold with surprise variations. This is a must read for those who are enchanted by fairy tales and poetry.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Marilyn Singer’s Mirror Mirror poetry book is written in a unique way to retell a story packed with emotion and visual imagery through few words. This powerful style of writing adds a new dimension to retelling of favorite fairy tales. The arrangement of lines and verses is deliberate to create a distinctive language full of metaphors and significance. The color scheme on the written page is split in half with yellow on one side and white on the other. Josee Masse’s illustrations use colors rich in reds, yellows, greens and blues. The side by side pictures depict the polar opposites of time and the reversal meanings. The only poem that deviates from the side by side pictures is The Doubtful Duckling. Its picture is split into fourths with the ugly duckling’s head on top and the beautiful swan’s elegant neck and head mirror imaged on the bottom. The Swan’s backend is on top with the ugly duckling’s tail end on the bottom. The colors and hues of yellow, green and blue flow from frame to frame like the water and sky. It gives the four intertwined pictures a common theme.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Patricia Austin (Booklist, Jan. 1, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 9))
Starred Review* This ingenious book of reversos, or poems which have one meaning when read down the page and perhaps an altogether different meaning when read up the page, toys with and reinvents oh-so-familiar stories and characters, from Cinderella to the Ugly Duckling.
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2010 (Vol. 78, No. 4))
A collection of masterful fairy-tale–inspired reversos—a poetic form invented by the author, in which each poem is presented forward and backward. Starred Review

5. CONNECTIONS:
a. Do an author study on Marilyn Singer see her website http://www.marilynsinger.net/index.htm
b. Use her Fairy Tales and compare them to her poetry books
c. Compare and contrast her books to other books from Jack Prelutsky, Bruce Lanksy, Laura Numeroff, and Shel Silverstein
d. Use a document camera to capture the presentation of this book for everyone to see
e. Create poetry in reverse
f. Read some of Marilyn Singer’s other books

Poetry books by Marilyn Singer
FIRST FOOD FIGHT THIS FALL (Sterling, 2008)Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa. SHOE BOP! (Dutton, 2008) Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata.
MONDAY ON THE MISSISSIPPI (Holt, 2005) Illustrated by Frane Lessac.
CENTRAL HEATING: Poems about Fire and Warmth (Knopf, 2005) Illustrated by Meilo So.
CREATURE CARNIVAL (Hyperion, 2004) Illustrated by Gris Grimly.HOW TO CROSS A POND: Poems About Water (Knopf, 2003) Illustrated by Meilo So.
FIREFLIES AT MIDNIGHT (Atheneum, 2003) Illustrated by Ken Robbins.
THE COMPANY OF CROWS (Clarion, 2002) Illustrated by Linda Saport.
FOOTPRINTS ON THE ROOF: Poems About the Earth (Knopf, 2002) Illustrated by Meilo So.
MONSTER MUSEUM (Hyperion, 2001) Illustrated by Gris Grimly.
ALL WE NEEDED TO SAY (Atheneum, 1996) Photographs by Lorna Clark.
THE MORGANS DREAM (Holt, 1995) Illustrated by Gary Drake.
PLEASE DON'T SQUEEZE YOUR BOA, NOAH! (Holt, 1995) Illustrated by Clement Oubrerie.
FAMILY REUNION (Macmillan, 1994) Illustrated by R.W. Alley.
SKY WORDS (Macmillan, 1994) Illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray.
IT'S HARD TO READ A MAP WITH A BEAGLE ON YOUR LAP (Holt, 1993) Illustrated by Clement Oubrerie.
IN MY TENT (Macmillan, 1992) Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully.
TURTLE IN JULY (Macmillan, 1989) Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

One of those hideous books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sones, Sonya. 2004 One of those hideous books where the mother dies. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689858208

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Ruby Milliken, a fifteen year old, from Boston is forced to leave behind her whole world to go live with her biological father in Hollywood when her mother dies of cancer. The anger of her move, betrayal from friends left behind in Boston and the new relationship with her unknown father entices you to keep reading. The book takes a close look at emotions pent up in a normal life of a fifteen year old and throws in some unusual curves. Ruby is unable to shed any tears until a fellow classmate is killed in a car accident and then her tears stream out. Her father is there to comfort her. There is a surprise ending that seems to make everything fall into place for Ruby. This book gives a new look at poetry written in verse and will even keep a reluctant reader entranced.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones is a compelling read. It is a novel written mostly in verse with a few letters and email messages intertwined. It pulls at your emotional strings right from the start with the death of Ruby’s mother. Ruby is forced to go live with her father in Hollywood who she thought never loved her or her mother. The only connection she had with her father was her aunt used to take her to movies that her father starred in. Sones’ provides great insight into the life of a child dealing with the death of parent. It is written in the first person from the perspective of Ruby the main character. The emails Ruby writes to her dead mother are humorous and are full of sarcasm, although you can feel the warmth and love within each line. Lines to her deceased mother like “How are things in heaven? LOL. How are things in the casket? Not too damp, I hope.  I mean, you can’t see every move I make down her in Hollyweird can you? If so, quit snooping and get a life. JK.” Ruby has a playful type of personality that shines with ever word written. Sones’ use of character development keeps the book hopping from one scene to another. Ruby has emotional storms and high drama that will appeal to all teenagers. The style of writing is easy and makes you want to read more novels written in verse. Sones’ work is filled with tongue-in-cheek humor and puns.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Gillian Engberg (Booklist, May 1, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 17)) Sones' novel is an unusual combination of over-the-top Hollywood fairy tale and sharp, honest story about overcoming grief. Starred Review
Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, May 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 3)) Sones is a gifted writer of novels in poetry. Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students.
Monica Irwin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 17, No. 1)) Ruby is a totally sympathetic character who will appeal to teen girls. She is realistically portrayed, and this novel, like Sones’s others, will be a popular addition to the genre.

5. CONNECTIONS
• Students dealing with grief can identify with the loss of a loved one by sharing their feelings through poetry. Writing about death or letters to their departed ones can relieve emotional stress.
• Form a group of students who have lost a loved one and offer to meet with them weekly in the library. Suggest books that deal with death and the feelings of anger and abandonment. This could also include students dealing with divorced parents.
• Students can create a story in verse using this book as a guideline on how to keep the story moving.
• Read other novels-in-verse
YA books about death:
What is goodbye? By Nikki Grimes. ISBN 9780786807789
Cures for heartbreak by Margo Rabb. ISBN 9780385734028
I found a dead bird : the kid's guide to the cycle of life & death by Jan Thornhill. ISBN 9781897066706
Walk softly, Rachel by Kate Banks. ISBN 9780374382308

• Read other novels-in-verse
A LIST of NOVELS-IN-VERSE taken from Sonya Sones’ website http://www.sonyasones.com/greatbooks.htm
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields
A Place Like This by Steven Herrick
Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse
Almost Forever by Maria Testa
Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Becoming Joe DiMaggio by Maria Testa
BeenTo Yesterdays: Poems of a Life by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
By The River by Steven Herrick
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
CrashBoomLove by Felipe Herrera
Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes
Escaping Tornado Season by Julie Williams
Foreign Exchange: A mystery in poems by Mel Glenn
Frenchtown Summer by Robert Cormier
Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland
God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant
Hard Hit by Ann Turner
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Heartbeat by Sharon Creech
Hold Me Tight by Lorie Ann Grover
Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown
Jinx by Margaret Wild
Judy Scuppernong by Brenda Seabrooke
Jump Ball: A Season in Poems by Mel Glenn
Keesha's House by Helen Frost
Learning to Swim: A memoir by Ann Warren Turner
A Lion's Hunger: Poems of First Love by Ann Warren Turner
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Loose Threads by Lorie Ann Grover
Love Ghosts and Facial Hair by Steven Herrick
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
North Of Everything by Craig Crist-Evans
One Night by Margaret Wild
On Pointe by Lorie Ann Grover
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Running Back to Luddie by Angela Johnson
Scout by Christine Ford
Seventeen by Liz Rosenberg
Shakespeare Bats Clean Up by Ron Koertge
Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Roadtrip by Linda Oatman High
Soda Jerk by Cynthia Rylant
Soul Moon Soup by Lindsay Lee Johnson
Stardust otel by Paul B. Janeczko
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones
Taking of Room 114: A hostage drama in poems by Mel Glenn
Talking In The Dark by Billy Merrell
The Brimstone Journals by Ron Koertge
The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith
The Realm Of Possibility by David Levithan
The Secret of Me by Meg Kearney
The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick
The Way a Door Closes by Hope Anita Smith
The Voyage of the Arctic Tern by Hugh Montgomery
This Full House by Virginia Euwer Wolff
True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Under the Pear Tree by Brenda Seabrooke
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Whitechurch by Chris Lynch
Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? A mystery in poems by Mel Glenn
Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell
Witness by Karen Hesse
World’s Afire: The Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 by Paul Janezcko
You Remind Me of You: a Poetry Memoir by Eireann Corrigan