ROLLER GIRL- A Book Review For Children's Literature Class

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jamieson, Victoria.  2015.  ROLLER GIRL. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780525429678

PLOT SUMMARY

Astrid is excited to spend her summer at roller derby camp with her best friend Nicole.  Only, Nicole decides to go to ballet camp instead.  With Rachel, Astrid’s nemesis.  And to top it all off, Astrid can barely stand up on roller skates.  Astrid spends her summer learning how to roller derby.  But she also makes a new friend, lies to her mom, throws soda in Nicole’s face, and dyes her hair blue in the process.  It is a busy, life-altering summer, and it culminates with Astrid participating in a big roller derby competition that she hopes to win.

     

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In ROLLER GIRL, a graphic novel, Jamieson tells the poignant coming of age story about Astrid, a girl who must learn the often terrible lesson that our best friends from childhood don’t always stay our best friends as we begin to grow up.  

Astrid is a multi-dimensional character that is a little bit self-centered, but loves her friends and family.  She is easily offended, but knows what she likes and doesn’t like.  Astrid is as real as a soon-to-be-junior-high-student can be, and it is impossible not to remember feeling this way as a preteen.  As Astrid takes off on her journey of discovering who she is, she must leave behind her best friend, and that theme of moving on and being confused by all the jumbled up feelings is so raw, so human, and so real, the reader aches with her as she tries to name it.  

The novel not only tackles this major coming of age theme in such a head on way, but it also addresses gender roles and the way society looks at girls who dye their hair, don’t wear pink, think kissing boys is gross, and want to smash and crash other girls on roller skates.  Jamieson shows these issues beautifully because they are part of our protagonist, and the reader accepts this as a normal way for a girl to want to be.  

The illustrations are vibrant and show both the ideas in Astrid’s mind as well as the actual events happening.  The dialogue is shown in little dialogue bubbles, as well as Astrid’s often comical narration told in little rectangular boxes.  Jamieson creates great expressions and body language in her characters that show much more than the words alone.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

• Newbery Honor Book
• Texas Blue Bonnet Award
• A New York Times bestseller
• ALA Notable Book
• Kirkus starred review: “Jamieson captures this snapshot of preteen angst with a keenly decisive eye, brilliantly juxtaposing the nuances of roller derby with the twists and turns of adolescent girls’ friendships…Full of charm and moxie—don’t let this one roll past.”
• School Library Journal starred review:  “The story will engage readers… Offer this comic to fans of Telgemeier’s Smile and Laura Lee Gulledge’s Page by Paige.”
• Publishers Weekly starred review: * “Readers will stand up and cheer.”
• Horn Book starred review: * “Jamieson’s dialogue captures coming-of-age…so authentically”
• BCCB starred review:  ”[A] sharp and engaging graphic novel”

CONNECTIONS

• Read ALL’S FAIRE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL or other books also by Victoria Jamieson.
• Read SMILE by Telgemeier or PAGE BY PAGE by Gulledge.
• Students can write about a time when they had to choose a different path that separated them from someone they love (or a time they had to make a hard decision).
• Students can go roller skating or (if there is one around) try a roller derby team or roller skating club.
• Students can discuss activities they would like to try and research to see what it would take to do them.

Image retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/roller-girl.

RULES by Cynthia Lord- A Book Review for Children's Literature Class

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lord, Cynthia.  RULES. 2006. New York, NY:  Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439443822

PLOT SUMMARY

In RULES, Catherine must deal with her autistic brother, David.  David seems to get all of her parents’ attention, and much against her wishes, much of hers.  In order to try to make her life better, she keeps a list of “rules for David” so that he will learn how to behave more normally.  This summer, Catherine makes friends with the pretty girl who just moved in next door in her “regular life” and a disabled boy from her brother’s OT office in her “disabled brother life”.  When these two separate worlds threaten to collide, Catherine is caught between them and has to decide who she is and what is really important to her.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

  In this contemporary realistic fiction novel, Lord creates a very human, very fallible protagonist in Catherine.  She is kind and loving, and because she has an autistic brother, “sees” disabled people that someone without her background would not.  However, she is also a teenager and is constantly embarrassed by her brother’s outbursts and inappropriate behavior.  As Catherine learns who she is and what is really important, the reader learns that disabled people are just people, and that their friendship and their feelings are just as important as anyone else’s.  

The supporting characters are also wonderful.  The character of Jason, the disabled boy she meets at OT is also believable and endearing.  He shows how frustrating it is to live with a disability and calls Catherine (and the reader) out on her beliefs.  The character of the neighbor Kristi shows how society is blind to disabled people, and the character of Ryan shows us how society bullies and teases disabled people.

This story teaches us to “see” people as people and not to look away.  Not to shush our children.  Not to pretend.  We learn to see.  We learn to love.  And in a world where teenagers and children can be so cruel, this confused and ashamed and loving protagonist is just who we need to teach us this.  I believe that any child can see themselves in Catherine, recognize their behaviors and beliefs, and change with her.  How awesome is that?

Lord does not keep the whole story serious and lesson-laden.  The list of rules that Catherine keeps for herself and her brother David add a level of hilarity to each chapter.  One chapter is called “Pantless brothers are not my problem” and several times through the story David runs in and says, “No toys in the fish tank,” which always leads to an adventure to fish something inappropriate out of the fish bowl.  Catherine and David have short, funny adventures as the story progresses and her love for him is always apparent.

This novel is beautiful, touching, and perfect for a time in our society where autism is on the rise.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

• Newbery Honor Medal
• Schneider Family Book Award
• Mitten Award (Michigan Library Association)
• Kentucky Bluegrass Award
• Publisher’s Weekly: "The appealing, credible narrator at the heart of Lord's debut novel will draw in readers, as she struggles to find order and balance in her life.... A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view."
• Booklist:  "A heartwarming first novel."
• School Library Journal: "Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. . . this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter."

CONNECTIONS

• Read another book by Cynthia Lord such as TOUCH BLUE or A HANDFUL OF STARS.
• Read other books on autism or disabilities for children.
• Discuss with students how to treat people who look different or act different (this may be a great place to work with the counselors).
• Discuss the universal themes of this novel and have students write a personal narrative about a time when they had to make a choice like Catherine did.
• Students can study the rise of autism or the controversy surrounding the causes of it (Cross-curricular with Science).

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK- A Book Review For Children's Literature

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children’s Books. ISBN 9780060530938

PLOT SUMMARY

As his family is murdered by the man Jack, a young child slips out of the house and wanders up the hill to the old cemetery.  As the cemetery’s inhabitants wonder at his arrival, the ghost of his mother screams through the graveyard, “Save my baby!” and with that, little Nobody Owens becomes the charge of Mr. and Mrs. Owens.  

As he grows up the only living human in a place inhabited by ghosts and vampires and werewolves, Bod learns history and compassion, reading and bravery.  Bod makes and loses a friend, goes to school, travels through the goblin world, and fights for justice and fairness without even understanding what they are.  Bod grows from a toddling infant to a young man, and ultimately, all of his strange and ordinary experiences culminate in a climactic episode in which he must avenge the past, save the present, and prepare his future.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, Neil Gaiman creates an extraordinary tale of fantasy and wonder.  The story starts out with murder and fear, so the reader is thrown off balance from the first pages and drawn into the mystery of why it happened.  

The protagonist, a growing boy named “Bod” (which stands for “Nobody”), grows up in a place he doesn’t belong,  mostly invisible, and longing to know someone else like him.  He is loveable from the first moment, and the reader feels his loneliness, his vulnerability, and his hope. His naive and innocent point of view open the reader’s mind to take this fearful journey into the world of the dead.

Gaiman creates a startlingly unique and original storyline that is impossible to predict, yet makes perfect sense as the plot unfolds.  His great characters and interesting details are intriguing- with Bod learning how to haunt and fade and dreamwalk.  In one brilliant scene, the ghosts leave the cemetery to “Danse Macabre” with the living, and only the ghosts and Bod remember that it happens.  The setting in this border world between the living and the dead has its own set of rules, and Gaiman does an exquisite job of abiding by them while at the same time leaving the reader to fill in the details (that Silas is a vampire, for example).  

This novel leaves the reader feeling unsettled and curious for the duration of the novel, and even when Bod leaves the cemetery to find his place with “his eyes and his heart wide open,” the reader is still left with an overwhelming sense of loss and longing- and the hope that Bod will find the happiness and belonging he has always sought.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

• Newbery Medal
• ALA Notable Children's Book
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• American Bookseller Association's "Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book"
• "Thriller/Suspense" and "Children's Titles for Ages 8-12" categories
• IndieBound Award
• Horn Book Honor
• Locus Award (Young Adult)
• Hugo Award - "Best Novel"
• Plus many more…
• STARRED Review in Booklist:  “This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming….this is a rich story with broad appeal. ”
• STARRED Review Horn Book: “Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.”
• New York Times Book Review: “The Graveyard Book, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form. In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable enchantment.”
• Washington Post: “Like a bite of dark Halloween chocolate, this novel proves rich, bittersweet and very satisfying.”
• STARRED Review Kirkus:  “Wistful, witty, wise—and creepy. This needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.”

CONNECTIONS

• Students can read the graphic novel of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, NEVERWHERE, CORALINE, STARDUST or one of the other books by Neil Gaiman.
• Students can visit a local cemetery and make grave-rubbings.  Students can examine what type of data is put on tombstones and compare it to what Gaiman used in the novel.
• Students can pick a topic in the novel to research (Danse Macabre, one of the time periods, the drowning and burning of “witches”, orphaned children, etc.).  This could be a good cross-curricular assignment with Social Studies.
• Students could write an epitaph for themselves hang them out on display.  Possibly a cross-curricular assignment with Art.

Image one retrieved from https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1303859949l/2213661.jpg. 

Image two retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/etcadambrown/graveyard-book/?autologin=true 

LUNCH LADY and the Cyborg Substitute- A book review for Children's Literature Class

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Krosoczka, Jarrett J.  2009.  LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375946837

PLOT SUMMARY

In this graphic novel, three nerdy students wonder what the lunch lady does outside of school.  Does she have a thousand cats?  A family?  As they decide to follow her around, a favorite teacher from school goes missing and a suspicious-looking substitute takes his place.  The lunch lady and her trusty sidekick, the other lunch lady, disappear into their secret lair under the school to figure it out.  The lunch lady puts on her super, powerful yellow apron and yellow rubber gloves and springs into action.  When she discovers clues indicating that the substitute teacher may not be human, she follows him to a warehouse- with the Breakfast Bunch right behind her.  She uncovers the mad science teacher’s evil plans, defeats the robot army he has created, and protects the students using her spatula-copter, fish stick nunchucks, and chicken nugget bombs.    By the end of the novel, the students have been inspired by the lunch lady’s awesomeness and stand up to the bully.  Of course, they win, and the lunch lady continues making lunch and secret weapons.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this fast-paced graphic novel, Kroscoczka creates a new breed of superhero- the school lunch lady.  His believable characters- three nerdy kids who are picked on by the school bully- follow the extra-curricular activities of the school lunch lady- who is sweet and kind, until she slips down below the school…

Kroscoczka creates a new version of the superhero.  The lunch lady meets all the criteria of a typical superhero: she has cool gadgets, a sidekick, a secret identity complete with her superhero outfit of yellow apron and yellow rubber gloves, a hidden, high-tech lab, and an uncanny ability to perform karate.  

This low fantasy graphic novel is perfect for students because the graphics and simple text make the text accessible to all reading levels.  The story is grounded in reality because they all know lunch ladies, but has the element of fantasy because they can now imagine their lunch ladies performing secret karate down beneath the school (maybe this could lead to wider respect for lunch ladies?).  This novel is also fabulous because it has a simple but powerful message, and students can connect to the fears and concerns of other students their same age.  

This is the first graphic  novel I have ever read, and I loved it.  I loved the lunch lady’s apron swinging out like a cape and I loved the story told through illustrations and dialogue that children will get a kick out of.  

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

• Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices Winner
• IRA Children’s Choices Winner
• Kid’s Indie Next List “Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers” Winner
• New York State Charlotte Award Nominee
• From Booklist:  This tongue-in-cheek superheroine graphic novel will hit the spot for chapter-book readers. ... Yellow-highlighted pen-and-ink cartoons are as energetic and smile-provoking … Little details invite and reward repeat readings with visual as well as verbal punning.
• From Kirkus Review: This graphic novel alternates between boxy, regular panels and full-page spreads, keeping readers’ visual interest piqued. Filled with goofy puns and grayscale art with cheery yellow accents, this is a delightfully fun escapist read.

CONNECTIONS

• Read the following books in this- LUNCH LADY series.
• Have students interview the lunch ladies and gentlemen on their campus to see what they really do in their time off.
• Have students tour the cafeteria to see what goes on in there and what gadgets they actually use.
• Write a story about one of the other school employees on campus and what “super” things they might be doing on their own time.

Image One Retrieved from:  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jarrett-j-krosoczka/lunch-lady-and-the-cyborg-substitute/

Image Two Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE- A Book Review For Children's Literature Class

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kelly, Jacqueline. 2009.  THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE. New York, NY:  Henry Holt & Company.  ISBN 0805088415

PLOT SUMMARY

In the heat of a Texas summer, well before the time of air conditioning, Calpurnia tries to spend as much time floating in the water away from her SIX brothers as possible.  When her older brother gives her a journal to record her observations of nature in, she sets to work.  In the process, her reclusive grandfather notices Calpurnia is a budding scientist and takes her under his wing to tutor her in the art of observation and inquiry. Calpurnia throws herself, body and soul, into this endeavor and is by her grandfather’s side every step of the way as they discover a new species of plant.  Throughout this process, Calpurnia is constantly forced into domestic servitude by her mother to manage such tasks as cooking meals, baking pies, and sewing socks.  Calpurnia undergoes an evolution as the novel progresses.  While she is trapped in the times- 1899 to be exact- her mind is evolving to see that she is odd, and she is able to see the different possibilities for herself- a possibility of a future that is beyond her times.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this unique novel about a young girl growing up in middle Texas at the turn of the century, Kelly creates a believable setting (especially for those of us familiar with the stagnant, heavy weight of a Texas summer), and an endearing character.  Kelly is able to weave history throughout both the daily activities and the special events of the novel.  The entire town is exhilarated when Mr. Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone comes to town, and Kelly explains how the phone worked in the early days.  She also shows the novelty of the automobile and what a breakthrough it was through grandfather’s reaction to it.  Kelly faces the evolution versus creation controversy when Calpurnia tries to check out the book (and she is censored by the librarian- eek!), and deals with the race issues of the time through the character of the family’s quadroon cook, Viola. The entire novel is full of history without ever seeming to try.  Every page teaches something about our history.

The reader is swept up in the discovery Calpurnia makes that she is a scientist- and then horrified with her when she realizes that instead of following her dreams to study at the university, she must get married and raise a family and keep a house.  The modern reader is absolutely horrified by these strict gender roles.   

Kelly tells a beautiful story with such an intriguing plot that you don’t even realize that you are learning history as you read.  It is a beautiful story of hope and growing up in a time that, although not so long ago, is hard to imagine in today’s world.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

·        Newbery Honor Book

·        Bank Street-Josette Frank Award

CONNECTIONS

·        Science cross-curricular activities about adaptation and other evolutionary traits in animals and insects.

·        Censorship lesson

·        Social studies connection to the teaching of Evolution versus Creation in the schools

·        Read further books about Calpurnia Tate in the sequels:  THE CURIOUS WORLD OF CALPURNIA TATE and SKUNKED! CALPURNIA TATE, GIRL VET.

Images taken from www.amazon.com

DEAD END IN NORVELT- A book review for Children's Literature Class

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gantos, Jack. 2011.  DEAD END IN NORVELT. Harrisonburg, VA: RR Donnelley & Sons Company. ISBN 0374379933

PLOT SUMMARY

Jack is excited for a summer of baseball and hanging out with his best friend Bunny.  But when his dad comes home and forces him to mow down his mother’s corn field, Jack is grounded for the summer- or maybe the rest of his life.  The only things he is allowed to do are to help his old neighbor, Mrs. Volker, write obituaries and to read in his room.  This leads to an interesting summer of boredom, sneaking out, learning through books that history is full of bizarre and terrible facts, and that dressing up as the grim reaper is not all it is cracked up to be.  Meanwhile, the old ladies of Norvelt are dropping dead at an alarming rate.  Is someone helping them along?  Jack will be right there in the midst of the action when we find out.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Set in Cold War America, DEAD END IN NORVELT tells the grotesquely hilarious story of Jackie Gantos, named after the author, and shows the reader what life was like to be a poor American during this time period.   Gantos creates a believable setting in his old, dying town of Norvelt, a coal mining town.

Between murder and mayhem, Gantos shares with the reader the reality of the times.  He shows the horrors of a coal mining town and the “black lung” disease the men died from through the eyes of their families.  He also shows how people simply went without when there was no money.  Jackie suffers with chronic nosebleeds because there is no medical help available to the poor. However, the action of the story is not quite so believable.  

The story is gory and morbid.  This is shown in Jackie’s constant bloody noses, the horrific episode where he watches Mrs. Volker “cook” her hands, several trips to the morgue, and the nose cauterizing episodes.  The story becomes even more macabre when the townspeople realize that someone is killing all the old ladies, and the story morphs into a murder mystery.  Jackie is waist deep in the entire adventure, and the story entertains those of us who don’t mind the gruesome humor.  

I also listened to the audiobook of this novel, read by the author and published by Audible (2011).  It was enjoyable to listen to the author read the novel himself, and he made the characters come to life with his unique voice and style.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

·        Newbery Award

·        Scott O’Dell Award

·        BOOKLIST:  “Gantos, as always, delivers bushels of food for thought and plentry of outright guffaws.”

·        THE HORN BOOK REVIEW: “There’s more than laugh-out-loud gothic comedy here.  This is a richly layered semi-autobiographical tale, an ode to a time and place, to history and the power of reading.”

CONNECTIONS

·        Cross-curricular history lesson

·        Writing assignment- have students write about a time they had to make an impossible choice (coincide this with the time that Jackie had to mow down the corn on his father’s orders in direct opposition to his mother’s wishes).

·        Read more by Jack Gantos:  the JOEY PIGZA series or ROTTEN RALPH series.

·        Students can read the obituaries and analyze what is typically in them.

Images taken from www.amazon.com