Gantos, Jack. JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL. New York: Farrar, Straus and Girous, 2000.
A.
PLOT SUMMARY: It has been a very long time since Joey has spent time with his father or his paternal grandmother. Finally Joey’s mom gives permission for Joey to spend a good deal of time with him one summer when Joey is middle school aged. Joey wants to please his father but knows his mother really does know best. Joey watches his father, Carter, begin to slip into his old habit of beginning breakfast with a beer. Joey’s grandmother is not quiet with her mutterings and objections to Carter’s behavior.
Still there is much humor in the book and self knowledge that Joey has learned with the help of his mom and his meds. One of the funniest moments is when Joey’s grandmother decides she wants to practice her golfing skills in the park. Putt putt golf is the only thing besides smoking that she seems to enjoy. She has a grocery store buggy and she brings a stepladder to get into the cart and Joey helps her settle in. She wears an oxygen mask at all times, unless she takes a break to smoke. Grandmother has come up with an elaborate scheme to put the oxygen tubing under her dress, through the arm holes, inside her purse and she takes the portable oxygen and holds it in her lap. Getting out of the buggy she trips over the tubing and bloodies her nose. It is funny because she laughs at herself. That makes it better for Joey who sees what’s going to happen before it does but he can’t get there in time to prevent her from falling. Next time Joey offers to take her to the park in the grocery cart Grandma decides that since she “almost lost” her nose right off her face that she better just stick to smoking and watching TV as her hobbies. She decides she is too old for golf practice.
The relationship between Joey and his father is the cornerstone of the book and the way each has learned or not learned as the case may be how to live in a complicated world when ADHD and hypomania cause physiological and behavioral symptoms every day of their lives. Through baseball pitching and bungee jumping Joey wants to be close to his father and he wants his father to be correct that he is becoming a “real man” and has no need whatsoever for the daily patch that Joey’s mom, Joey’s doctor, and Joey himself have learned improves his quality of life day in and day out.
B. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Gantos has told a compelling story that keeps the reader’s attention with uses of both humor and realism. I think it is critical that Gantos has shown that Joey has learned how to take care of his medical needs. He realizes that taking his meds helps him with family relations, school work, getting along with his peers.
The reader can not help but be engaged with the antics in the story. Middle schoolers are the target audience. All people, all children need to read about people like themselves in literature. For ADHD adults but especially for the statistically most prominent of ADHD suffers are boys in grade school.
The story works because it engages the reader. The plot line is believable and the story is realistic and true to life. Joey’s father, mother, and grandmother are portrayed honestly, all having good sides and human failings. The most poignant part is that Joey is more mature than his father in many ways and has to be the adult in many circumstances. A young person could see that divorce is not all bad, that Joey and his mom have done better in their day to day life with Joey’s father Carter.
One of the most common symptoms of ADHD is portrayed realistically, almost overplayed and that is the fact that Joey’s father talks non-stop and rarely listens. He talks over his child and even their first day of being reunited Joey is explaining to his father that to get to know each other they have to talk, think, then listen. Joey’s father at the nursery land park stops beside each display. He keeps trying to treat Joey like an adult. He tells him over and over things like Humpty Dumpty caused him to do a lot of thinking, a lot of thinking about how he needed to make amends to Joey as a parent who had had very little contact with his son because dad’s life was out of control. Carter constantly makes comments like, “Now listen to me son, listen to your old dad. Goldilocks really got me to thinking you know, really helped me get my life together for me and for you. When I need a pep talk I come to see old Goldie and put my life back into focus. You understand boy? Do you know what your old man is saying. When I come to Nursery Land park I remember who I’m suppose to be and how I want to act and cut out my bad habits and treat you right this time. Are you listening to me, son?” (All loosely paraphrased)
The story is believable and deals with topics young children often face today in America. Divorce, illness, not getting to see the custodial parent or their family very often, getting along in school, and learning to control your impulses are all shown realistically. But the plot line moves well, the characters are developed and it is just an interesting story to tell, very readable. Having a young character with ADHD makes the story more relevant to young readers. If Gantos had simply focused on Carter’s illness this would not have been a very big draw or palatable to the average middle schooler.
The most gut wrenching part was listening to Joey’s dad tell Joey that he needs to act like a real man, solve his own problem, and live his life anyway he sees fit. He tells Joey that his Rx patch is unnecessary and simply a crutch in life. He constantly tells Joey not to tell his mother about the drinking, the girlfriend (who is a positive role model), the bungee jumping, the crazy talks late at night, and the problems with temper and impatience that plague his father’s life. When Joey’s dad flushed all the patches Joey brought with him down the toilet despite Joey is very scared but he hopes his father is right about not needing the patch, but he knows better. He remembers life without the patch and Joey wants to take care of his health.
The book does so many things right on so many levels, and not the least of which is to catch the reader, hook the reader early on by having a hero the age of the intended reading audience. It is very clear why this title was chosen as a Newbery Honor book.
Another motif that will appeal to young adults is the struggle to love and accept your parents even when they do bad things. It is good to see that parents are not perfect and that helps kids learn that it is okay if they do not reach perfection. It is typical for a child of divorce to have torn loyalties and fantasize or worry that the parents will get back together. The family, especially his father’s appeared to be blue collar adults in the everyday world.
Joey doesn’t really remember his father well at all and doesn’t know what he will say or do. He is realistically anxious about the reunion with his dad and grandmother and fluctuates between happiness and fear about how they will all get along. Joey’s mom had told Joey that he reminded her of his father. Joey quickly learns why. Gantos writes, “He was wired. No doubt about it………..Now I knew what mom meant when she said he was like me, only bigger.”
C. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Most of the professional reviews I found were for the book before this one. JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWED THE KEY. It was also highly acclaimed. I am going to go back and read it over the holidays. JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL received a 4.5 out of 5 stars on amazon.com where 126 customers have penned a review. That number of reviewers is very uncommon, even among popular adult books.
Publishers Weekly comments, “
First introduced in Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, Gantos's hyperactive hero Joey Pigza has not lost any of his liveliness, but after undergoing therapy and a stint in special ed., he now can exercise a reasonable amount of self-controlDprovided he takes his meds. His mother has reluctantly agreed to let him spend the summer three hours from home with his father, an alcoholic who, so he claims, has taken steps to turn his life around. Readers will sight trouble ahead long before Joey's optimistic perception of his father grows blurry.
REVIEWS ACCESSED AT :
http://www.amazon.com/Joey-Pigza-Loses-Control/dp/0374399891/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product
D. CONNECTIONS:
Though not absolutely necessary I would suggestion children read these books in order, leaving this one for the sequel. There are also “new” Joey books: I AM NOT JOEY PIGZA and WHAT WOULD JOEY DO?
Friday, November 30, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Review of TROUBLE DON’T LAST
A. Pearsall, Shelly. TROUBLE DON’T LAST. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
B. BOOK SUMMARY: A tale of the Underground Railroad where a young slave named Samuel is forced to escape plantation life with an elderly slave named Harrison. Samuel wasn’t content in his old life, yet he was. It was all he had ever known and he is a character that would prefer the devil he knows to the devil he is unfamiliar with.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
No one seems to be able to say anything bad about Shelley Pearsall’s debut novel and there is good reason. She has an ear for dialect and the constant dialog uses vivid language which will appeal to young and old readers alike. I would recommend the volume for grades 3-9 but many high schoolers would appreciate it as well. Pearsall never talks down to her readers and gives each character an authentic voice. Throughout the story but especially in the beginning Sam tries and tries to figure what set off Old Harrison to suddenly want his freedom so desperately, after all he is 70 years old. Samuel is prone to trouble and often impulsive and lacking self control. Today he would likely be diagnosed, and probably correctly with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The hiding in the woods with little and no food, the howls of the slave hunter’s dogs, the daily risking of life and limb finally begin to make sense to Samuel as he unwillingly grows close to and fond of Old Harrison. Finally, with their escape into Canada they can begin a new chapter in their lives and learn how free men, both black and white live and the new customs that it affords them.
The historical references are not sugar coated here and the patterns of daily living are examined. The use of a young main character will draw in students. The details are authentic but not so numerous that the story is drowned out. Pearsall never talks down to her audience and strives with much success to have believable characters that children and young adults can empathize with and root for as they struggle to find a new life. It is very obvious why this story earned The Scott O’Dell award. It is just great literature, good plot line, dialog, and characterization. A fresh look at a not uncommon topic of historical fiction.
D, Kirkus Reviews praises the volume, “At fellow slave Harrison's insistence, young Samuel is catapulted into an escape attempt from a Kentucky plantation that has been his whole world. Troublesome Sam has been in the care of elderly Lilly and Harrison since the sale of his mother long ago. Life has been so circumscribed by his condition of slavery that it is hard for him to understand the stakes or even want to succeed. Samuel's naivete is realistic but almost irritatingly persistent as danger mounts. Old man Harrison, whose creative ethics and gritty determination guide them on their way, is increasingly revealed as a complex man, and Samuel gradually gains an understanding of himself and the world around him. The vile nature of slavery is not underplayed as the notion of owning a person clearly creates both horrendous hubris and evil in the owner as well as tremendous pain and suffering of the owned. One of the best underground railroad narratives in recent years, Pearsall's portrayal of both helping and helped are more rounded and complex than the more simplistic view often espoused. Greed, hypocrisy, and sanctimonious paternalism are clearly perceived by the fugitives dependent on these strangers who hold lives in their hands. This succeeds as a suspenseful historical adventure with survival at stake and makes clear that to succeed Harrison and Samuel, as well as others, must never give up even while combating manhunters, bloodhounds, mental illness, disease, hunger, cold, and their own despair.
School Library Journal glows,
“Strong characters and an inventive, suspenseful plot distinguish Pearsall's first novel, a story of the Underground Railroad in 1859. Samuel, the 11-year-old slave who narrates the story, is awakened by 70-year-old Harrison, who has decided to flee their tyrannical Kentucky master. Pearsall's extensive research is deftly woven into each scene, providing insight into plantation life, 19th-century social mores, religious and cultural norms, and the political turmoil in the years preceding the Civil War. Samuel's narrative preserves the dialect, the innocence, the hope, and even the superstitions of slaves like Harrison and himself, whose path to freedom is filled with kindness and compassion as well as humiliation and scorn. This is a compelling story that will expand young readers' understanding of the Underground Railroad and the individual acts of courage it embraced.”
D. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780440418115&tabname=custreview&itm=1
E. CONNECTIONS: My favorite author of historical fiction of slave narratives is Julius Lester. Patricia McKissack has also written and illustrated many such stories with her husband.
A. Pearsall, Shelly. TROUBLE DON’T LAST. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
B. BOOK SUMMARY: A tale of the Underground Railroad where a young slave named Samuel is forced to escape plantation life with an elderly slave named Harrison. Samuel wasn’t content in his old life, yet he was. It was all he had ever known and he is a character that would prefer the devil he knows to the devil he is unfamiliar with.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
No one seems to be able to say anything bad about Shelley Pearsall’s debut novel and there is good reason. She has an ear for dialect and the constant dialog uses vivid language which will appeal to young and old readers alike. I would recommend the volume for grades 3-9 but many high schoolers would appreciate it as well. Pearsall never talks down to her readers and gives each character an authentic voice. Throughout the story but especially in the beginning Sam tries and tries to figure what set off Old Harrison to suddenly want his freedom so desperately, after all he is 70 years old. Samuel is prone to trouble and often impulsive and lacking self control. Today he would likely be diagnosed, and probably correctly with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The hiding in the woods with little and no food, the howls of the slave hunter’s dogs, the daily risking of life and limb finally begin to make sense to Samuel as he unwillingly grows close to and fond of Old Harrison. Finally, with their escape into Canada they can begin a new chapter in their lives and learn how free men, both black and white live and the new customs that it affords them.
The historical references are not sugar coated here and the patterns of daily living are examined. The use of a young main character will draw in students. The details are authentic but not so numerous that the story is drowned out. Pearsall never talks down to her audience and strives with much success to have believable characters that children and young adults can empathize with and root for as they struggle to find a new life. It is very obvious why this story earned The Scott O’Dell award. It is just great literature, good plot line, dialog, and characterization. A fresh look at a not uncommon topic of historical fiction.
D, Kirkus Reviews praises the volume, “At fellow slave Harrison's insistence, young Samuel is catapulted into an escape attempt from a Kentucky plantation that has been his whole world. Troublesome Sam has been in the care of elderly Lilly and Harrison since the sale of his mother long ago. Life has been so circumscribed by his condition of slavery that it is hard for him to understand the stakes or even want to succeed. Samuel's naivete is realistic but almost irritatingly persistent as danger mounts. Old man Harrison, whose creative ethics and gritty determination guide them on their way, is increasingly revealed as a complex man, and Samuel gradually gains an understanding of himself and the world around him. The vile nature of slavery is not underplayed as the notion of owning a person clearly creates both horrendous hubris and evil in the owner as well as tremendous pain and suffering of the owned. One of the best underground railroad narratives in recent years, Pearsall's portrayal of both helping and helped are more rounded and complex than the more simplistic view often espoused. Greed, hypocrisy, and sanctimonious paternalism are clearly perceived by the fugitives dependent on these strangers who hold lives in their hands. This succeeds as a suspenseful historical adventure with survival at stake and makes clear that to succeed Harrison and Samuel, as well as others, must never give up even while combating manhunters, bloodhounds, mental illness, disease, hunger, cold, and their own despair.
School Library Journal glows,
“Strong characters and an inventive, suspenseful plot distinguish Pearsall's first novel, a story of the Underground Railroad in 1859. Samuel, the 11-year-old slave who narrates the story, is awakened by 70-year-old Harrison, who has decided to flee their tyrannical Kentucky master. Pearsall's extensive research is deftly woven into each scene, providing insight into plantation life, 19th-century social mores, religious and cultural norms, and the political turmoil in the years preceding the Civil War. Samuel's narrative preserves the dialect, the innocence, the hope, and even the superstitions of slaves like Harrison and himself, whose path to freedom is filled with kindness and compassion as well as humiliation and scorn. This is a compelling story that will expand young readers' understanding of the Underground Railroad and the individual acts of courage it embraced.”
D. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780440418115&tabname=custreview&itm=1
E. CONNECTIONS: My favorite author of historical fiction of slave narratives is Julius Lester. Patricia McKissack has also written and illustrated many such stories with her husband.
LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Review of MATILDA BONE
A. Cushman, Karen. MATILDA BONE. New York: Clarian, 2000.
B. BOOK SUMMARY:
Orphan Matilda Bone, raised and indulged by Father Leufredus at the priory is forced to stay with Peg (the Red) bonesetter in a scrappy neighborhood without any of the amenities that she is use to or the holy ways. Matilda sought the life of a mystic, spoke in Latin more often than English, and was exceptionally learned for a young girl during the Middle Ages. She expects Father Leufredus to return for her after completing his travels in London. He however never returns and Matilda must adjust to being a servant girl to a bonesetter in an unsavory part of town, learning a trade that she had no desire to learn serving a mistress she first learns to tolerate and later to love as she grows up into a wiser young girl with more street smarts and compassion than she had before.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The book is a pleasure, really a joy to read. There is much dialog. This would be a great volume for Reader’s Theater with its large sprinkling of humor and internal and external character monologues.
The language is rich but not overwhelming. A volume that is authentic and historically accurate, Cushman does not make the mistake of too much minutiae of the past but concentrates on characterization and dialog. The absolutely best part of the book is the detailed characterization of Matilda, Red Peg, their patients and the people of the village. Matilda springs to life from page one and readers in grades 3-9 will fall in love with her………..over and over again. She is both saucy in her outlook on life but trained for higher learning, keeping the books, studying scripture, praying, and reading about and calling on the Saints each day. This leaves her unexposed to the temporal world she has come to join as a servant girl to a bonesetting female physician with sensuous tastes, words, and habits.
Students will enjoy learning about childhood during the Middle Ages and many will be inspired by the intelligent young girl who unwillingly leaves the life of the cloisters for an earthy existence as a physician’s servant.
Cushman does a praiseworthy job of showing Matilda learning the vernacular of her new surroundings without loosing her spirit. Her lust of the spiritual life becomes lust for life in general and her troubles in the early days of her new life prepare her well to be an independent and educated young woman tolerant of the differences among people, social classes, and philosophies and life’s work. Do not expect preachiness or didacticism. Cushman is way too talented and subtle to do that to her young readers.
One of my favorite passages comes from the introduction of Matilda to Peg. Peg laments Matilda’s thinness and Matilda laments that fact that Red Peg the Bonesetter has no idea that her thinness comes from fasting and having so much to eat one can become particular about what to eat.
“Great gallstones,” Peg said, “God would never have created plump and meaty if He wanted us scrawny. Here, fatten up on some of these goose-liver sausages. Best that can be bought in the market, special for your coming.” As Peg eagerly sliced up the sausages, her hair popped from beneath the kerchief and frizzled about her face, but a bit of sausage grease served to hold it down once again. She licked her sticky fingers and handed a slice os sausage to Matilda. Hungry as she was, Matilda backed away, “I cannot eat sausages.” “Whyever not?” Peg asked. “Father Leufredus says sausages are where the butcher hides his mistakes.”
A passage that describes Matilda’s comparison of her old life with her new follows. The detailed descriptions will help students understand and empathize with Matilda and the counting of the demons may make a few howl with laughter during a read-aloud.
“She treats me like a kitchen maid, though Matilda, As if I am fit for nothing but measuring and brewing. Why, I know Latin and French and some Greek, as well as reading and writing and figuring. I can name the three wise men, the seven deadly sins, and a great many of the 133,306,668 devils of Hell: Abaddon, Abduscius, Abigor……”
“Peg continued to talk, describing Blood and Bone Alley, where ordinary people came to be bled, dosed, and bandaged, with it’s barber-surgeons down this way and leeches down that.”
D. Review Excerpts:
VOYA proclaims,” No one has a better grasp of the flavor of the Middle Ages than Cushman, author of The Midwife's Apprentice (Clarion, 1995/VOYA August 1995). The sights, sounds, and smells of her fourteenth-century town of Chipping Bagthorpe creep into pores and hone senses. The plight of thirteen-year-old Matilda will capture readers' imaginations and hearts…. Slowly, Matilda begins to see that her former sheltered life was lacking the vitality and love that she now has all around her and comes to appreciate that she truly has found a home. Students studying the Middle Ages will find this novel a delightful way to learn about fourteenth-century English town life, and those who enjoy historical fiction will treasure the independent spirit of young Matilda Bone.”
Alan Review states, “Set in a 14th century English medical community, Matilda Bone is a Cushman's latest novel about a young woman finding her way in a harsh world. Matilda is left at Peg the Bonesetter's by Father Leufredus, the priest who has raised her. She is disgusted and horrified by the unholy attitudes and actions of the unlearned practitioners with whom she now lives. Determined to seek higher things, Matilda concentrates on the lives of the saints and both neglects her work and looks down on the warm, cheerful women who have taken her in. Matilda Bone is an interesting glimpse into a world seldom seen. The reader learns as much about the 14th Century medicine as notions of piety and the Catholic church—none of which fare too positively. This book, with its delightfully gory descriptions of "prescriptions," leeches, medical treatments and beliefs, would make a wonderful choice to read aloud to a class.”
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780440418221&tabname=custreview&itm=1
F. CONNECTIONS:
Cushman is well known for her previous works, CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY and THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. By all means recommend these to your students or patrons if they have not read and enjoyed these before.
Another award winning book set in a similar place and time is CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD and its sequel, CRISPIN: AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. Crispin’s unexpected and unwanted change of life following the minstrel and huckster Bear is a bit similar to Matilda’s unexpected change to a physician’s servant girl to Peg the Bonesetter.
A. Cushman, Karen. MATILDA BONE. New York: Clarian, 2000.
B. BOOK SUMMARY:
Orphan Matilda Bone, raised and indulged by Father Leufredus at the priory is forced to stay with Peg (the Red) bonesetter in a scrappy neighborhood without any of the amenities that she is use to or the holy ways. Matilda sought the life of a mystic, spoke in Latin more often than English, and was exceptionally learned for a young girl during the Middle Ages. She expects Father Leufredus to return for her after completing his travels in London. He however never returns and Matilda must adjust to being a servant girl to a bonesetter in an unsavory part of town, learning a trade that she had no desire to learn serving a mistress she first learns to tolerate and later to love as she grows up into a wiser young girl with more street smarts and compassion than she had before.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The book is a pleasure, really a joy to read. There is much dialog. This would be a great volume for Reader’s Theater with its large sprinkling of humor and internal and external character monologues.
The language is rich but not overwhelming. A volume that is authentic and historically accurate, Cushman does not make the mistake of too much minutiae of the past but concentrates on characterization and dialog. The absolutely best part of the book is the detailed characterization of Matilda, Red Peg, their patients and the people of the village. Matilda springs to life from page one and readers in grades 3-9 will fall in love with her………..over and over again. She is both saucy in her outlook on life but trained for higher learning, keeping the books, studying scripture, praying, and reading about and calling on the Saints each day. This leaves her unexposed to the temporal world she has come to join as a servant girl to a bonesetting female physician with sensuous tastes, words, and habits.
Students will enjoy learning about childhood during the Middle Ages and many will be inspired by the intelligent young girl who unwillingly leaves the life of the cloisters for an earthy existence as a physician’s servant.
Cushman does a praiseworthy job of showing Matilda learning the vernacular of her new surroundings without loosing her spirit. Her lust of the spiritual life becomes lust for life in general and her troubles in the early days of her new life prepare her well to be an independent and educated young woman tolerant of the differences among people, social classes, and philosophies and life’s work. Do not expect preachiness or didacticism. Cushman is way too talented and subtle to do that to her young readers.
One of my favorite passages comes from the introduction of Matilda to Peg. Peg laments Matilda’s thinness and Matilda laments that fact that Red Peg the Bonesetter has no idea that her thinness comes from fasting and having so much to eat one can become particular about what to eat.
“Great gallstones,” Peg said, “God would never have created plump and meaty if He wanted us scrawny. Here, fatten up on some of these goose-liver sausages. Best that can be bought in the market, special for your coming.” As Peg eagerly sliced up the sausages, her hair popped from beneath the kerchief and frizzled about her face, but a bit of sausage grease served to hold it down once again. She licked her sticky fingers and handed a slice os sausage to Matilda. Hungry as she was, Matilda backed away, “I cannot eat sausages.” “Whyever not?” Peg asked. “Father Leufredus says sausages are where the butcher hides his mistakes.”
A passage that describes Matilda’s comparison of her old life with her new follows. The detailed descriptions will help students understand and empathize with Matilda and the counting of the demons may make a few howl with laughter during a read-aloud.
“She treats me like a kitchen maid, though Matilda, As if I am fit for nothing but measuring and brewing. Why, I know Latin and French and some Greek, as well as reading and writing and figuring. I can name the three wise men, the seven deadly sins, and a great many of the 133,306,668 devils of Hell: Abaddon, Abduscius, Abigor……”
“Peg continued to talk, describing Blood and Bone Alley, where ordinary people came to be bled, dosed, and bandaged, with it’s barber-surgeons down this way and leeches down that.”
D. Review Excerpts:
VOYA proclaims,” No one has a better grasp of the flavor of the Middle Ages than Cushman, author of The Midwife's Apprentice (Clarion, 1995/VOYA August 1995). The sights, sounds, and smells of her fourteenth-century town of Chipping Bagthorpe creep into pores and hone senses. The plight of thirteen-year-old Matilda will capture readers' imaginations and hearts…. Slowly, Matilda begins to see that her former sheltered life was lacking the vitality and love that she now has all around her and comes to appreciate that she truly has found a home. Students studying the Middle Ages will find this novel a delightful way to learn about fourteenth-century English town life, and those who enjoy historical fiction will treasure the independent spirit of young Matilda Bone.”
Alan Review states, “Set in a 14th century English medical community, Matilda Bone is a Cushman's latest novel about a young woman finding her way in a harsh world. Matilda is left at Peg the Bonesetter's by Father Leufredus, the priest who has raised her. She is disgusted and horrified by the unholy attitudes and actions of the unlearned practitioners with whom she now lives. Determined to seek higher things, Matilda concentrates on the lives of the saints and both neglects her work and looks down on the warm, cheerful women who have taken her in. Matilda Bone is an interesting glimpse into a world seldom seen. The reader learns as much about the 14th Century medicine as notions of piety and the Catholic church—none of which fare too positively. This book, with its delightfully gory descriptions of "prescriptions," leeches, medical treatments and beliefs, would make a wonderful choice to read aloud to a class.”
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780440418221&tabname=custreview&itm=1
F. CONNECTIONS:
Cushman is well known for her previous works, CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY and THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. By all means recommend these to your students or patrons if they have not read and enjoyed these before.
Another award winning book set in a similar place and time is CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD and its sequel, CRISPIN: AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. Crispin’s unexpected and unwanted change of life following the minstrel and huckster Bear is a bit similar to Matilda’s unexpected change to a physician’s servant girl to Peg the Bonesetter.
LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Review of CONFUCIUS: THE GOLDEN RULE
A. Freedman, Russell. CONFUCIOUS: THE GOLDEN RULE. Frederic Clement, Illustrator. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2002.
B. BOOK SUMMARY:
Freedman shines with some of his very best work in a complete birth to death biography for 4th through 8th grades of the iconic figure of Confucius. He writes of the early years of Confucius and aims to separate the myth from the mortal man of ancient China. There is coverage of his famous sayings, a great depth of knowledge of his students including his least and most favorite. An excellent profile of the well known but little understood Chinese hero, Freedman gives us a highly readable and engaging text containing poignant information about the scattering of his pupils after Confucius’ death and a thorough and modern compilation of his famous sayings.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The book is very readable. It has all the elements that make a literary work standout. The writing flow is fluid and thoughtful and the facts are very detailed. The book does a good job of telling the monumental things that Confucius did and said that he is remembered for. It also mentions his human frailty.
Near the beginning of the story we encounter a passage that illustrates a human foible: “He (Confucius) was no saint, however. Once, a character name Ru Bei sent a messenger to Confucius’s home, asking for a meeting. Confucius disapproved of Ru Bei and wanted him to know it. He declined the meeting on the ground that he was ill. Then, as the messenger was going out the door, the wily philosopher took up his lute and began to sing loudly, making sure that he was heard.” The author relates another incidence of Confucius being all too human. A young person was being disrespectful and Confucius “blessed him out” as we say in the Southeastern United States. The young man is believed to have ignored Confucius’ requests for him to behave. He final got the pupil’s attention by cracking the student’s shins with his walking stick.
Another unflattering quality that is well documented is Confucius’ physical characteristics. Freedman relates that he was physically very strong and a large sized gentleman. He goes on to say that Confucius has been portrayed as a “homely giant with warts on his nose, two long front teeth that protruded over his lower lip, and a wispy beard.” Clement’s illustrations are reason enough to pick up this volume. The cover indeed pictures Confucius with the long teeth just over his bottom lip. Not buck teeth, but flat straight teeth that appear longer than is normal with a considerable space between the two front teeth. Clement uses mixed media to illustrate the 14 book plates. Each illustration looks as if it is made on a golden papyrus or flattened tree bark. Many multiple lines frame each illustrated page and a bit of realia are laid across the outer edges of the work of art such as flower petals, seeds, beans, stones, red and orange peppers, small circles of jade. I am not a fan of Asian art but each panel, each page is a museum quality work of art which works seamlessly with the story. Each picture has a sentence under the work of art that is a line from the adjoining page which is ice for adults but absolutely a great thing for a young student to have an important point reiterated and drawn physically from what they have just read.
Freedman is careful to let the reader know that parts of the story can not be verified completely and he separates the conjecture from the facts. He laments the fact that like Jesus, Buddha, and Socrates, Confucius left us no verifiable written records, but “taught by means of dialogue and example.” As the great prophets and philosophers mentioned above, Confucius’ words were compiled by his disciples after his death. The writings today know as the “Analects” or “Sayings of Confucius” were written by his disciples and the disciples of the disciples. Freedman says that there is research to suggest that the writing and editing process may have been a work in progress for 2 to 3 centuries.
One story that is heard over and over again in the Orient and written in a large number of accounts is the presence of a unicorn associated with the homely philosopher. It is said that his father was a seventy year old former soldier and his mother a young peasant girl. Coming home from laboring in the fields, the legend has it that his mother saw a unicorn come from the woods and approach their home. She immediately identified the visit as a positive and powerful omen went up to the unicorn and tied a bright ribbon around its horn. Two days later it is believed she went atop a nearby mountain to ask the spirits for a son. On her way home she went into labor with Confucius and stopped in a cave to give birth to the baby boy that looked just like his father.
At the end of Confucius’ years of happiness and good health a creature was killed in his home province of Lu and no one could identify the animal. The dead creature was transported to Confucius for identification and counsel. The happy round philosopher instantly identified it as a unicorn. One thing made his identification absolute in his mind, a small bit of tattered ribbon that he believed his mother had tied on the horn of the creature. The great master was overcome with feelings of dread and a few hours later he lapsed into unconsciousness. Confucius did recover and regain much of his vigor. He taught once again and attracted more pupils than ever before.
Not long after the visit of the dead unicorn Confucius, it is told, walked around his courtyard and proclaimed, “I wish to speak no more.” Then he went into his bedroom, lay down upon the couch and stayed there until dying on the 7th day of his self imposed exile to his bedroom. His students had kept a vigil and dressed in mourning clothes and as he lay silent they had lit aromatic leaves near him in the belief that this would dispel any evil spirits that were nearby. Freedman goes on to say, “His disciples buried him on the river bank, just north of Qufu, in a grave that has since been visited by countless emperors, officials, and ordinary citizens, and is still attracting visitors today.”
The author relates several well agreed on actual sayings of Confucius. As a teenager he realized he had the makings of a scholar and says, “At fifteen, I set my heart on learning.” He is often quoted as saying “Study as if you’ll never know enough, as if you’re afraid of losing what you’ve already gained.”
The author’s zeal for the Chinese philosopher is evident throughout the book. His notes are 7 pages long and include a 3 page spread entitled, “In Search of Confusius: A Note on Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading.” Showing his intense love of accuracy and detail Freedman sources each quotation to the numerical chapter and verse of “The Analects of Confucius.”
Freedman documents his extensive research and might inspire others to travel to the places he visited for his studies. Every year on the 28th of September the birth of Confucius is celebrated in his birthplace of Qufu. Freedman and a friend that spoke Mandarin attended such a celebration on the 2,551st birthday of the great philosopher. To say the author’s notes are extremely detailed and inspiring to readers of all ages is an understatement.
This supposedly well read and studied librarian is embarrassed to recollect that in her mind Confucius and Buddha were somehow cleft together and confused. We are fortunate today to know much of Eastern cultures but this is in part a relatively new bit of knowledge to the Western world. I knew of the Golden Rule authorship but not this important fact. Confucius was appalled that during his early lifetime ministers and government officials were selected solely on their pedigree whether they were intellectually inclined or dull. Confucius spent much of his life trying to change that and he did! The ruling class became much more inclusive as the first civil service exams in written history were begun to place governing officials based on their intelligence and scholarly achievements. This is of course still practiced today centuries later from across the globe.
D. Review Excerpts:
Publishers Weekly announces, “Newbery Medal winner Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography) delves deep into Chinese history in his intelligent, comprehensive biography of the 5th-century B.C. philosopher Confucius, whose teachings have influenced the development of modern government and education in both China and the West.
School Library Journal comments, “Gr 4-8-In writing this biography, Freedman faced two obstacles: a distorted popular idea of Confucius, and a paucity of data about the real man. He directly addresses the first, and his engaging book beautifully compensates for the second. He sets his subject in the context of strife-torn China, since Confucius was a radical reformer whose ideas had political applications. Politics, education, spirituality: the philosopher has something to say in all these areas, and Freedman compellingly conveys the profundity of his thoughts.”
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780439139571&tabname=custreview&itm=1#TABS
F. CONNECTIONS:
Freedman himself recommends, CONFUCIUS LIVES NEXT DOOR: WHAT LIVING IN THE EAST TEACHES US ABOUT LIVING IN THE WEST by T.R. Reid and CONFUCIUS SPEAKS: WORDS TO LIVE BY. Adapted by the Chinese cartoonist Tsai Chili Chung and told in the form of a cartoon strip.
I feel that I would be remiss in not recommending the obvious…….Freedman’s numerous award winning biographies of great Americans. LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY should certainly be read by all Americans and perhaps by all students of Western civilization.
A. Freedman, Russell. CONFUCIOUS: THE GOLDEN RULE. Frederic Clement, Illustrator. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2002.
B. BOOK SUMMARY:
Freedman shines with some of his very best work in a complete birth to death biography for 4th through 8th grades of the iconic figure of Confucius. He writes of the early years of Confucius and aims to separate the myth from the mortal man of ancient China. There is coverage of his famous sayings, a great depth of knowledge of his students including his least and most favorite. An excellent profile of the well known but little understood Chinese hero, Freedman gives us a highly readable and engaging text containing poignant information about the scattering of his pupils after Confucius’ death and a thorough and modern compilation of his famous sayings.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The book is very readable. It has all the elements that make a literary work standout. The writing flow is fluid and thoughtful and the facts are very detailed. The book does a good job of telling the monumental things that Confucius did and said that he is remembered for. It also mentions his human frailty.
Near the beginning of the story we encounter a passage that illustrates a human foible: “He (Confucius) was no saint, however. Once, a character name Ru Bei sent a messenger to Confucius’s home, asking for a meeting. Confucius disapproved of Ru Bei and wanted him to know it. He declined the meeting on the ground that he was ill. Then, as the messenger was going out the door, the wily philosopher took up his lute and began to sing loudly, making sure that he was heard.” The author relates another incidence of Confucius being all too human. A young person was being disrespectful and Confucius “blessed him out” as we say in the Southeastern United States. The young man is believed to have ignored Confucius’ requests for him to behave. He final got the pupil’s attention by cracking the student’s shins with his walking stick.
Another unflattering quality that is well documented is Confucius’ physical characteristics. Freedman relates that he was physically very strong and a large sized gentleman. He goes on to say that Confucius has been portrayed as a “homely giant with warts on his nose, two long front teeth that protruded over his lower lip, and a wispy beard.” Clement’s illustrations are reason enough to pick up this volume. The cover indeed pictures Confucius with the long teeth just over his bottom lip. Not buck teeth, but flat straight teeth that appear longer than is normal with a considerable space between the two front teeth. Clement uses mixed media to illustrate the 14 book plates. Each illustration looks as if it is made on a golden papyrus or flattened tree bark. Many multiple lines frame each illustrated page and a bit of realia are laid across the outer edges of the work of art such as flower petals, seeds, beans, stones, red and orange peppers, small circles of jade. I am not a fan of Asian art but each panel, each page is a museum quality work of art which works seamlessly with the story. Each picture has a sentence under the work of art that is a line from the adjoining page which is ice for adults but absolutely a great thing for a young student to have an important point reiterated and drawn physically from what they have just read.
Freedman is careful to let the reader know that parts of the story can not be verified completely and he separates the conjecture from the facts. He laments the fact that like Jesus, Buddha, and Socrates, Confucius left us no verifiable written records, but “taught by means of dialogue and example.” As the great prophets and philosophers mentioned above, Confucius’ words were compiled by his disciples after his death. The writings today know as the “Analects” or “Sayings of Confucius” were written by his disciples and the disciples of the disciples. Freedman says that there is research to suggest that the writing and editing process may have been a work in progress for 2 to 3 centuries.
One story that is heard over and over again in the Orient and written in a large number of accounts is the presence of a unicorn associated with the homely philosopher. It is said that his father was a seventy year old former soldier and his mother a young peasant girl. Coming home from laboring in the fields, the legend has it that his mother saw a unicorn come from the woods and approach their home. She immediately identified the visit as a positive and powerful omen went up to the unicorn and tied a bright ribbon around its horn. Two days later it is believed she went atop a nearby mountain to ask the spirits for a son. On her way home she went into labor with Confucius and stopped in a cave to give birth to the baby boy that looked just like his father.
At the end of Confucius’ years of happiness and good health a creature was killed in his home province of Lu and no one could identify the animal. The dead creature was transported to Confucius for identification and counsel. The happy round philosopher instantly identified it as a unicorn. One thing made his identification absolute in his mind, a small bit of tattered ribbon that he believed his mother had tied on the horn of the creature. The great master was overcome with feelings of dread and a few hours later he lapsed into unconsciousness. Confucius did recover and regain much of his vigor. He taught once again and attracted more pupils than ever before.
Not long after the visit of the dead unicorn Confucius, it is told, walked around his courtyard and proclaimed, “I wish to speak no more.” Then he went into his bedroom, lay down upon the couch and stayed there until dying on the 7th day of his self imposed exile to his bedroom. His students had kept a vigil and dressed in mourning clothes and as he lay silent they had lit aromatic leaves near him in the belief that this would dispel any evil spirits that were nearby. Freedman goes on to say, “His disciples buried him on the river bank, just north of Qufu, in a grave that has since been visited by countless emperors, officials, and ordinary citizens, and is still attracting visitors today.”
The author relates several well agreed on actual sayings of Confucius. As a teenager he realized he had the makings of a scholar and says, “At fifteen, I set my heart on learning.” He is often quoted as saying “Study as if you’ll never know enough, as if you’re afraid of losing what you’ve already gained.”
The author’s zeal for the Chinese philosopher is evident throughout the book. His notes are 7 pages long and include a 3 page spread entitled, “In Search of Confusius: A Note on Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading.” Showing his intense love of accuracy and detail Freedman sources each quotation to the numerical chapter and verse of “The Analects of Confucius.”
Freedman documents his extensive research and might inspire others to travel to the places he visited for his studies. Every year on the 28th of September the birth of Confucius is celebrated in his birthplace of Qufu. Freedman and a friend that spoke Mandarin attended such a celebration on the 2,551st birthday of the great philosopher. To say the author’s notes are extremely detailed and inspiring to readers of all ages is an understatement.
This supposedly well read and studied librarian is embarrassed to recollect that in her mind Confucius and Buddha were somehow cleft together and confused. We are fortunate today to know much of Eastern cultures but this is in part a relatively new bit of knowledge to the Western world. I knew of the Golden Rule authorship but not this important fact. Confucius was appalled that during his early lifetime ministers and government officials were selected solely on their pedigree whether they were intellectually inclined or dull. Confucius spent much of his life trying to change that and he did! The ruling class became much more inclusive as the first civil service exams in written history were begun to place governing officials based on their intelligence and scholarly achievements. This is of course still practiced today centuries later from across the globe.
D. Review Excerpts:
Publishers Weekly announces, “Newbery Medal winner Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography) delves deep into Chinese history in his intelligent, comprehensive biography of the 5th-century B.C. philosopher Confucius, whose teachings have influenced the development of modern government and education in both China and the West.
School Library Journal comments, “Gr 4-8-In writing this biography, Freedman faced two obstacles: a distorted popular idea of Confucius, and a paucity of data about the real man. He directly addresses the first, and his engaging book beautifully compensates for the second. He sets his subject in the context of strife-torn China, since Confucius was a radical reformer whose ideas had political applications. Politics, education, spirituality: the philosopher has something to say in all these areas, and Freedman compellingly conveys the profundity of his thoughts.”
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780439139571&tabname=custreview&itm=1#TABS
F. CONNECTIONS:
Freedman himself recommends, CONFUCIUS LIVES NEXT DOOR: WHAT LIVING IN THE EAST TEACHES US ABOUT LIVING IN THE WEST by T.R. Reid and CONFUCIUS SPEAKS: WORDS TO LIVE BY. Adapted by the Chinese cartoonist Tsai Chili Chung and told in the form of a cartoon strip.
I feel that I would be remiss in not recommending the obvious…….Freedman’s numerous award winning biographies of great Americans. LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY should certainly be read by all Americans and perhaps by all students of Western civilization.
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