Review of LYLE AT THE OFFICE
Waber, Bernard. Lyle at the Office. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
Rather than the better known IRA SLEEPS OVER or the first book in the Lyle series, LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE I decided to read LYLE AT THE OFFICE.
No human child or adult is as happy or popular as Lyle, the bright green alligator with the goofy smile. He and his mother, Felicity live in a multi-storied brownstone with Mr. and Mrs. Primm and their children Joshua and Miranda. Lyle is an integral part of the family and one of baby Miranda’s first words is Lyle. One day when Lyle accompanies Mr. Primm to work life as they know it is changed! Lyle often accompanied the family to the park, to the grocery store, but never before to work. Mr. Primm is an ad man and having trouble coming up with a slogan and campaign for a new cereal modeled after Rice Krispie’s Snap Crackle Pop. The client decides that the only thing that will do is to have a photo of Lyle’s giant smile as he crunches cereal on the box cover. The Primm’s have already declined to have Lyle’s photo on a toothpaste ad and they are adamant that he is happy with his life just as it is and they want no part of him working. Lyle wants to work, after all his mom, Felicity is a nurse. Lyle’s feelings are ignored by the Primms and Mr. Bigg, Mr. Primm’s boss fires him. In the end Lyle and the family happen upon Mr. Bigg hanging from a chandelier in an old house he is restoring. Mr. Bigg implores Primm to return to work and agrees not to use Lyle in an ad campaign. Lyle is happy to be able to visit and make himself useful around the office now and again by sharpening pencils But the real winners are the children in the company day care center that had missed Lyle very much. Bright colors of city life are portrayed in a stylized and almost childish simplicity. The silly smile on Lyle’s face, the goofy expressions of the day care children and the scribbly drawings will attract attention to the artwork that goes hand and hand with the text to tell the story and to give it deeper meaning. City life is portrayed sometimes more realistic and other times more comical. The high rises on the cover are mocha and yellow. Inside the book the brownstones of East 88th Street are often pink, orange, and lime green. Just like OLD MACDONALD HAD AN APARTMENT this is a positive portrayal of city life. The theme of the art of the deal and the art of compromise are well portrayed but more than anything else this is a warm and funny book and a good addition to the Lyle, Lyle Crocodile series.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Advanced Literature for Children
Review of LIBRARY LIL
Williams, Suzanne. Library Lil. Steven Kellogg, illustrator. New York: Dial, 1997.
Just as much as LIBRARY LION portrayed a typical librarian, LIBRARY LIL portrays a super, duper, tall tale of a figure in LIBRARY LIL. She has super human strength and she wears contemporary clothing. The brightly colored detailed art work is Steven Kellogg at his best. Our story begins, “I bet you think all librarians are mousy little old ladies. Hair rolled up in a bun. Beady eyes peering out at you over the tops of those funny half-glasses. An index finger permanently attached to lips mouthing “Shhh.” Bet you never heard about Library Lil. Lil develops her super human strength as a child for after reading all the children’s books in the library she starts in on the encyclopedia’s carrying an entire set in one hand. When our Lil grows up to be a librarian no one is surprised. Lil undergoes a personality change however when no one shows up for her storytimes. Lil is concerned that the people of the neighborhood prefer to watch television than read. She crowns the TV the “Devil’s Invention,” because it kept her customers away from good books. During a severe storm power is lost in the town and Library Lil and her old bookmobile visit each neighborhood bringing each home candles and books. One day a motorcycle gang descends on the town and settles in. They and their leader, “Bust-‘em up Bill” spend their time hustling at the neighborhood pool hall. The problem comes when Tuesday night rolls around and Bill can’t locate a TV to watch his favorite program, professional wrestling on. Our super human Lil wins a strength challenge and Bill agrees to read a book. Soon he and the entire gang are reading up a storm. They have a fight over who gets to check out THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE first! By the end of the book the library has gotten so busy that LiL hires an Assistant who soon becomes known as “ Bookworm Bill.”
A wholly satisfying story whose artwork uses intense but still natural looking color that seems to seep off the page. Movement seems to be effortlessly portrayed by the illustrator as the storm passes through town breaking trees and knocking down power lines and motorcycles speed. People of all sizes, shapes, dress and colors appear in the story. Lil and Bill becomes a pair and she even learns to watch wrestling with him on Tuesday nights. The back cover of the book has one of the most vivid and beautiful illustrations of a 3 tiered wedding cake. On top, surrounded by a gazebo arch of flowers stand Bill and Lil holding up a book equal to half their size entitled LIL hearts B.B. The back cover of the book is painted with the words “and they lived happily ever after.” The book will appeal to boys and girls equally and would make an exciting read aloud. Highly recommended!
Williams, Suzanne. Library Lil. Steven Kellogg, illustrator. New York: Dial, 1997.
Just as much as LIBRARY LION portrayed a typical librarian, LIBRARY LIL portrays a super, duper, tall tale of a figure in LIBRARY LIL. She has super human strength and she wears contemporary clothing. The brightly colored detailed art work is Steven Kellogg at his best. Our story begins, “I bet you think all librarians are mousy little old ladies. Hair rolled up in a bun. Beady eyes peering out at you over the tops of those funny half-glasses. An index finger permanently attached to lips mouthing “Shhh.” Bet you never heard about Library Lil. Lil develops her super human strength as a child for after reading all the children’s books in the library she starts in on the encyclopedia’s carrying an entire set in one hand. When our Lil grows up to be a librarian no one is surprised. Lil undergoes a personality change however when no one shows up for her storytimes. Lil is concerned that the people of the neighborhood prefer to watch television than read. She crowns the TV the “Devil’s Invention,” because it kept her customers away from good books. During a severe storm power is lost in the town and Library Lil and her old bookmobile visit each neighborhood bringing each home candles and books. One day a motorcycle gang descends on the town and settles in. They and their leader, “Bust-‘em up Bill” spend their time hustling at the neighborhood pool hall. The problem comes when Tuesday night rolls around and Bill can’t locate a TV to watch his favorite program, professional wrestling on. Our super human Lil wins a strength challenge and Bill agrees to read a book. Soon he and the entire gang are reading up a storm. They have a fight over who gets to check out THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE first! By the end of the book the library has gotten so busy that LiL hires an Assistant who soon becomes known as “ Bookworm Bill.”
A wholly satisfying story whose artwork uses intense but still natural looking color that seems to seep off the page. Movement seems to be effortlessly portrayed by the illustrator as the storm passes through town breaking trees and knocking down power lines and motorcycles speed. People of all sizes, shapes, dress and colors appear in the story. Lil and Bill becomes a pair and she even learns to watch wrestling with him on Tuesday nights. The back cover of the book has one of the most vivid and beautiful illustrations of a 3 tiered wedding cake. On top, surrounded by a gazebo arch of flowers stand Bill and Lil holding up a book equal to half their size entitled LIL hearts B.B. The back cover of the book is painted with the words “and they lived happily ever after.” The book will appeal to boys and girls equally and would make an exciting read aloud. Highly recommended!
Advanced Literature for Children
Review of THE LIBRARY DRAGON:
Deedy, Carmen Agra. The Library Dragon. Michael P. White, illustrator. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 1994.
Even for a picture book “Library Dragon” is oversized. I would be hard pressed to find another picture book with superior illustrations. The new librarian in town is a horribly old fashioned librarian who is so set in her ways she becomes a dragon, Miss Lotta Scales. She believes books are to be looked at but never touched, that a good child is a silent one. Teachers and principals are afraid of her rather than the opposite but a plucky red head student named Molly Brickmeyer with the help of Miss Lemon finally get through to “the library dragon” that is transformed by listening to Molly read aloud to her classmates during a library visit. The library dragon takes Molly into her lap and begins to read to the children and her large scales of green, yellow, and purple begin to fall one after the other and she transforms into Miss Lotty, a most pleasant and trendy librarian. An overt message about the transforming power of reading aloud it will be loved by adults, teachers, librarians, kids, and media specialists alike. The illustrations of lime green, bold yellow, bright orange, aqua and fuchsia dominate the pages. Not to be missed is the center picture of the Library Dragon in deep lime green skin and a combination of fuchsia and red eyes behind her aqua cat eyes and jeweled glasses on a chain. Library Dragons paws and talons reach over the book shelf to make sure that her wall sign of “Do not touch the books! For display only” is obeyed. The front and end papers feature hand print sized library scales in shades a touch more subdued than on the inside pages.
In an unusual twist the author and illustrator know each other well and have collaborated on other books. They are both from Atlanta. Deedy is also known for her adult books such as GROWING UP CUBAN IN DECATUR GEORGIA and her presentations on National Public Radio. Illustrator Michael White gives drawing lessons to students on visits and leaves an original work of art with each teacher. He is very reasonably priced as a speaker, or at least he was in the past.
Deedy, Carmen Agra. The Library Dragon. Michael P. White, illustrator. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 1994.
Even for a picture book “Library Dragon” is oversized. I would be hard pressed to find another picture book with superior illustrations. The new librarian in town is a horribly old fashioned librarian who is so set in her ways she becomes a dragon, Miss Lotta Scales. She believes books are to be looked at but never touched, that a good child is a silent one. Teachers and principals are afraid of her rather than the opposite but a plucky red head student named Molly Brickmeyer with the help of Miss Lemon finally get through to “the library dragon” that is transformed by listening to Molly read aloud to her classmates during a library visit. The library dragon takes Molly into her lap and begins to read to the children and her large scales of green, yellow, and purple begin to fall one after the other and she transforms into Miss Lotty, a most pleasant and trendy librarian. An overt message about the transforming power of reading aloud it will be loved by adults, teachers, librarians, kids, and media specialists alike. The illustrations of lime green, bold yellow, bright orange, aqua and fuchsia dominate the pages. Not to be missed is the center picture of the Library Dragon in deep lime green skin and a combination of fuchsia and red eyes behind her aqua cat eyes and jeweled glasses on a chain. Library Dragons paws and talons reach over the book shelf to make sure that her wall sign of “Do not touch the books! For display only” is obeyed. The front and end papers feature hand print sized library scales in shades a touch more subdued than on the inside pages.
In an unusual twist the author and illustrator know each other well and have collaborated on other books. They are both from Atlanta. Deedy is also known for her adult books such as GROWING UP CUBAN IN DECATUR GEORGIA and her presentations on National Public Radio. Illustrator Michael White gives drawing lessons to students on visits and leaves an original work of art with each teacher. He is very reasonably priced as a speaker, or at least he was in the past.
Advanced Literature for Children
Review of OLD MACDONALD HAD AN APARTMENT HOUSE
Barrett, Judi. Old MacDonald had an Apartment House. Ron Barrett, illustrator. New York: Atheneum, 1969,
Rather than reread and review one of my favorite picture books and a favorite of my students I decided to read another title by the famous team that brought us CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS.
It takes a very special book to carry it’s own against a childhood classic but “Old MacDonald” is a fine book. The cover shows Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald in the pose of American Gothic but instead of a pitchfork, Mr. MacDonald is holding a broom and Mrs. MacDonald’s hair is in a modern updo that resembles a beanie cap. In the background is no pastoral landscape but a large brownstone apartment building. Mr. MacDonald is the Super of the complex and our story begins when the Mrs. has a sad, droopy tomato plant that can’t grow in a healthy manner because of the shrubbery outside their window that keeps the sun out. Mr. MacDonald destroys the shrubs and the focus of our story is begins as the tomato plant becomes healthy and is transplanted to grow outside the window. Mr. MacDonald continues to remove shrubbery and plant vegetables in their wake. A Romanesque statue holding a Grecian urn becomes a self watering pea patch. One family becomes empty nesters and moves out of their 4 room apartment and Old MacDonald moves in soil and proceeds to redecorate in “Late Vegetarian style.” Carrots grow through a tenant’s roof and sweet potato vines grow through the bathroom sink. Tenants get upset and leave but Mr. MacDonald soon begins to see that they are much less trouble than human tenants. Finally a field of clover is planted in one floor and a cow is added. Next comes a chicken. “Fat Mr. Wrental” becomes upset because he is receiving no rent money but he comes up with a compromise business, “Wrental and MacDonald’s Fruits and Vegetables: Fresh Milk and Eggs Hourly.” Even in the winter “when the earth outside was frozen and covered with snow, things were still growing on the steam-heated farm.”
It is hard to say which is more important, the text or the illustrations. They present a unified front and a striking marriage. The graphite line drawings are black and white throughout except for the vegetables that are shaded in with bright colors: peach colored cantaloupes, maroon radishes, green cabbages, orange carrots and tomatoes and red apples, Ron Barrett seems to effortlessly create movement in his drawings and portrays the city in a realistic fashion, full of eclectically dressed people of different nationalities. There is great attention to detail and realism in the artwork with an oval covered walkway and a doorman in uniform, the landlord puffing on a large cigar, people with all types of hats. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS is a hard act to follow but Old MacDonald is a well done and enjoyable undertaking.
Barrett, Judi. Old MacDonald had an Apartment House. Ron Barrett, illustrator. New York: Atheneum, 1969,
Rather than reread and review one of my favorite picture books and a favorite of my students I decided to read another title by the famous team that brought us CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS.
It takes a very special book to carry it’s own against a childhood classic but “Old MacDonald” is a fine book. The cover shows Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald in the pose of American Gothic but instead of a pitchfork, Mr. MacDonald is holding a broom and Mrs. MacDonald’s hair is in a modern updo that resembles a beanie cap. In the background is no pastoral landscape but a large brownstone apartment building. Mr. MacDonald is the Super of the complex and our story begins when the Mrs. has a sad, droopy tomato plant that can’t grow in a healthy manner because of the shrubbery outside their window that keeps the sun out. Mr. MacDonald destroys the shrubs and the focus of our story is begins as the tomato plant becomes healthy and is transplanted to grow outside the window. Mr. MacDonald continues to remove shrubbery and plant vegetables in their wake. A Romanesque statue holding a Grecian urn becomes a self watering pea patch. One family becomes empty nesters and moves out of their 4 room apartment and Old MacDonald moves in soil and proceeds to redecorate in “Late Vegetarian style.” Carrots grow through a tenant’s roof and sweet potato vines grow through the bathroom sink. Tenants get upset and leave but Mr. MacDonald soon begins to see that they are much less trouble than human tenants. Finally a field of clover is planted in one floor and a cow is added. Next comes a chicken. “Fat Mr. Wrental” becomes upset because he is receiving no rent money but he comes up with a compromise business, “Wrental and MacDonald’s Fruits and Vegetables: Fresh Milk and Eggs Hourly.” Even in the winter “when the earth outside was frozen and covered with snow, things were still growing on the steam-heated farm.”
It is hard to say which is more important, the text or the illustrations. They present a unified front and a striking marriage. The graphite line drawings are black and white throughout except for the vegetables that are shaded in with bright colors: peach colored cantaloupes, maroon radishes, green cabbages, orange carrots and tomatoes and red apples, Ron Barrett seems to effortlessly create movement in his drawings and portrays the city in a realistic fashion, full of eclectically dressed people of different nationalities. There is great attention to detail and realism in the artwork with an oval covered walkway and a doorman in uniform, the landlord puffing on a large cigar, people with all types of hats. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS is a hard act to follow but Old MacDonald is a well done and enjoyable undertaking.
Advanced Literature for Children
Review of LIBRARY LION:
Knudsen, Michelle. Library Lion. Kevin Hawkes, illustrator. New York: Candlewick Press, 2006.
How can a nostalgic, sepia toned book full of sexual stereotypes, a card catalog rather than a computer, librarians who shush and yell things like, "no running" be one of my favorite books of 2006? You just have to read it yourself to believe it. With a Library Director that is male, a female head librarian that wears glasses, SAS shoes, and a bun, and a "story lady" how can we as librarians applaud this book? Because the story and pictures work together seamlessly to show that there is nothing so important in the life of a child as listening to a story, that creatures of all ages should be allowed to enjoy books being read aloud and that everyone is welcome if they obey one simple rule of being relatively quiet.
Miss Merriweather, the Head Librarian makes and follows the rules and when a lovely large lion wonders in for storytime and continues to roar he must leave but he is welcome to come back tomorrow because there is no rule against lions attending storytime. The lion proves that no place else pleases him so much as the neibhborhood library because he always arrives hours before for storytime. Miss Merriweather who looks like a librarian of 1950s Americana realizes the lion isn't going to leave so she puts him to work licking envelopes and dusting books. The library lion gets banned from the library again as he runs to find Mr. McBee at Miss Merriweather's urging as she has fallen and is hurt after reaching a little too far to get a book off the top shelf. The Library Lion's behavior is reminiscent of the television dog Lassie. Mr. McBee is happy to make the lion leave. After all he is making noise. McBee runs to find Miss Merriweather happily mumbling that the lion has broken the rules, broken the rules! After looking high and low around town Mr. McBee finds our lion and brings him back to the library because Miss Merriweather and the children are pining for him. Mr. McBee learns that even in libraries, sometimes rules have to be broken. The faces and hair in the illustration contain all colors. Some men have goatees and longer hair, some look more traditional. We see an Asian mother and her daughter and an African American child. The picture of the lion asleep with his proud handsome head lying in the middle of a denim beanbag chair in the library is pretty enough to frame. The plot and storyline are strong. There is a conflict and it is resolved in a positive way, the lion is found and returns to the library he loves full of humans that love him.
Knudsen, Michelle. Library Lion. Kevin Hawkes, illustrator. New York: Candlewick Press, 2006.
How can a nostalgic, sepia toned book full of sexual stereotypes, a card catalog rather than a computer, librarians who shush and yell things like, "no running" be one of my favorite books of 2006? You just have to read it yourself to believe it. With a Library Director that is male, a female head librarian that wears glasses, SAS shoes, and a bun, and a "story lady" how can we as librarians applaud this book? Because the story and pictures work together seamlessly to show that there is nothing so important in the life of a child as listening to a story, that creatures of all ages should be allowed to enjoy books being read aloud and that everyone is welcome if they obey one simple rule of being relatively quiet.
Miss Merriweather, the Head Librarian makes and follows the rules and when a lovely large lion wonders in for storytime and continues to roar he must leave but he is welcome to come back tomorrow because there is no rule against lions attending storytime. The lion proves that no place else pleases him so much as the neibhborhood library because he always arrives hours before for storytime. Miss Merriweather who looks like a librarian of 1950s Americana realizes the lion isn't going to leave so she puts him to work licking envelopes and dusting books. The library lion gets banned from the library again as he runs to find Mr. McBee at Miss Merriweather's urging as she has fallen and is hurt after reaching a little too far to get a book off the top shelf. The Library Lion's behavior is reminiscent of the television dog Lassie. Mr. McBee is happy to make the lion leave. After all he is making noise. McBee runs to find Miss Merriweather happily mumbling that the lion has broken the rules, broken the rules! After looking high and low around town Mr. McBee finds our lion and brings him back to the library because Miss Merriweather and the children are pining for him. Mr. McBee learns that even in libraries, sometimes rules have to be broken. The faces and hair in the illustration contain all colors. Some men have goatees and longer hair, some look more traditional. We see an Asian mother and her daughter and an African American child. The picture of the lion asleep with his proud handsome head lying in the middle of a denim beanbag chair in the library is pretty enough to frame. The plot and storyline are strong. There is a conflict and it is resolved in a positive way, the lion is found and returns to the library he loves full of humans that love him.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Review of MONSTER
A. Myers, Walter Dean. MONSTER. New York: HarperCollins, 1999
B. PLOT SUMMARY: 16 year old Steve Harmon is studious and his favorite class is media and film making at his Harlem high school. He is articulate and bright and it seems also that he is at exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. There is a robbery at a convenience store. Two young men are designated to rob and or shoot. Someone is to go in and case the joint first and another young man is delegated to keep people outside from coming in to apprehend the suspects. Whether Steve cased the joint ahead of time we are not quite sure. His time in jail is unbearable to him. As he tries to go to bed at night he hears other inmates being beaten, being sexually abused and crying. During the incarceration and the trial Steve keeps a journal. He decides the best way for him to deal with the stress of a possible death sentence or 25 to life is to write a screenplay of his life in jail and his time in the court room. His journal entries are more than poignant and they may well serve the current generation like the documentary “Scared Straight” served my generation.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
I have been a Walter Dean Myers fan for a very long time. I loved MOTOWN AND DEE DEE years ago and have never found a Myers book that I didn’t think was a substantial contribution to YA literature. MONSTER is a particularly moving novel of good and bad and how they too often overlap and become confused especially for young adults living in unsafe urban areas. Myers wrote urban fiction before that was a catch phrase. MONSTER is almost impossible not to read in one sitting.
I can’t imagine MONSTER not appealing to young adults. It is young adult realistic fiction at its finest! MONSTER looks to be printed in Steve’s handwriting and the movie script and commentary appear to be typed which is a very novel looking script for today’s young people. From movie script to journal entries and back again the dialog and narrative flow like a bestseller but there is more depth here than many adult novels currently on the New York Times bestseller list! Steve has never been known to be a violent or tempestuous young man. Neither has he been considered a coward.
I am not usually a bleeding heart regarding crime but I cannot understand how a young man who doesn’t shoot, rob, or kill a man during a burglary could possibly get the death penalty. His attorney is concerned as the trial goes on that Steve begins to look more and more like the young African American witnesses who have done jail time for numerous offenses and are testifying in the trial. Criminals are turning state’s evidence to help their own case which is a common occurrence and problem in our criminal justice system.
I realize that MONSTER is an eight year old but it seems to me just the book that our young African American males need to read today. Males we are loosing to the criminal justice system day after day. This is a book that famous African American men from different parts of the spectrum would applaud in my estimation. Yes, there may be things that Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Bill Cosby could agree upon.
Myers deftly builds up and fleshes out his characters. Steve and his attorney, a white female named O’Brien are written about with an eye for detail and nuance. Steve becomes very real after a few short pages. We root for him. We are scared for him. We want to cry for him and I believe many young people can relate to him. His age will appeal to young readers and the mugshot cover will as well.
Following are some of my favorite excerpts from the novel. All of these come from Steve’s diary. “They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can’t kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment.” (Myers, page 18)
“Miss O’Brien—I didn’t see her looking at me but I knew she was. She wanted to know who I was. Who was Steve Harmon? I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who I really was, who the real Steve Harmon was.” (Myers, page 92.)
“That’s what I was thinking about, what was in and what that made me. I’m just not a bad person. I know that in my heart I am NOT a bad person.” (Myers, page 93.)
Steve is having stomach problems quite often. He just can’t get use to using the bathroom in from of everyone.
“I’ve never seen my father cry before. He wasn’t crying like I thought a man would cry. Everything was just pouring out of him and I hated to see his face. What did I do? WHAT DID I DO? Anybody can walk into a drug store and look around. Is that what I’m on trial for? I didn’t do nothing but everybody’s just messed up with the pain. I didn’t fight with Mr. Nesbitt. I didn’t take any money from him.”
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Horn Book praises MONSTER: “Taylor-made for readers' theater, this book is a natural to get teens reading—and talking.
School Library Journal says, “
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost
REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780439272001&itm=2
and
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0064407314/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196930323&sr=1-2
CONNECTIONS:
If students have not read other Walter Dean Myers books I would certainly encourage them to do that. I have a feeling SCORPIONS would be a good mix as Myers’ next book for YAs to read. Victoria Hamilton has many noteworthy books and characters who happen to be African American. I would like to see a field trip to a jail for any child that is grade 4 or above
A. Myers, Walter Dean. MONSTER. New York: HarperCollins, 1999
B. PLOT SUMMARY: 16 year old Steve Harmon is studious and his favorite class is media and film making at his Harlem high school. He is articulate and bright and it seems also that he is at exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. There is a robbery at a convenience store. Two young men are designated to rob and or shoot. Someone is to go in and case the joint first and another young man is delegated to keep people outside from coming in to apprehend the suspects. Whether Steve cased the joint ahead of time we are not quite sure. His time in jail is unbearable to him. As he tries to go to bed at night he hears other inmates being beaten, being sexually abused and crying. During the incarceration and the trial Steve keeps a journal. He decides the best way for him to deal with the stress of a possible death sentence or 25 to life is to write a screenplay of his life in jail and his time in the court room. His journal entries are more than poignant and they may well serve the current generation like the documentary “Scared Straight” served my generation.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
I have been a Walter Dean Myers fan for a very long time. I loved MOTOWN AND DEE DEE years ago and have never found a Myers book that I didn’t think was a substantial contribution to YA literature. MONSTER is a particularly moving novel of good and bad and how they too often overlap and become confused especially for young adults living in unsafe urban areas. Myers wrote urban fiction before that was a catch phrase. MONSTER is almost impossible not to read in one sitting.
I can’t imagine MONSTER not appealing to young adults. It is young adult realistic fiction at its finest! MONSTER looks to be printed in Steve’s handwriting and the movie script and commentary appear to be typed which is a very novel looking script for today’s young people. From movie script to journal entries and back again the dialog and narrative flow like a bestseller but there is more depth here than many adult novels currently on the New York Times bestseller list! Steve has never been known to be a violent or tempestuous young man. Neither has he been considered a coward.
I am not usually a bleeding heart regarding crime but I cannot understand how a young man who doesn’t shoot, rob, or kill a man during a burglary could possibly get the death penalty. His attorney is concerned as the trial goes on that Steve begins to look more and more like the young African American witnesses who have done jail time for numerous offenses and are testifying in the trial. Criminals are turning state’s evidence to help their own case which is a common occurrence and problem in our criminal justice system.
I realize that MONSTER is an eight year old but it seems to me just the book that our young African American males need to read today. Males we are loosing to the criminal justice system day after day. This is a book that famous African American men from different parts of the spectrum would applaud in my estimation. Yes, there may be things that Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Bill Cosby could agree upon.
Myers deftly builds up and fleshes out his characters. Steve and his attorney, a white female named O’Brien are written about with an eye for detail and nuance. Steve becomes very real after a few short pages. We root for him. We are scared for him. We want to cry for him and I believe many young people can relate to him. His age will appeal to young readers and the mugshot cover will as well.
Following are some of my favorite excerpts from the novel. All of these come from Steve’s diary. “They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can’t kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment.” (Myers, page 18)
“Miss O’Brien—I didn’t see her looking at me but I knew she was. She wanted to know who I was. Who was Steve Harmon? I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who I really was, who the real Steve Harmon was.” (Myers, page 92.)
“That’s what I was thinking about, what was in and what that made me. I’m just not a bad person. I know that in my heart I am NOT a bad person.” (Myers, page 93.)
Steve is having stomach problems quite often. He just can’t get use to using the bathroom in from of everyone.
“I’ve never seen my father cry before. He wasn’t crying like I thought a man would cry. Everything was just pouring out of him and I hated to see his face. What did I do? WHAT DID I DO? Anybody can walk into a drug store and look around. Is that what I’m on trial for? I didn’t do nothing but everybody’s just messed up with the pain. I didn’t fight with Mr. Nesbitt. I didn’t take any money from him.”
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Horn Book praises MONSTER: “Taylor-made for readers' theater, this book is a natural to get teens reading—and talking.
School Library Journal says, “
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost
REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780439272001&itm=2
and
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0064407314/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196930323&sr=1-2
CONNECTIONS:
If students have not read other Walter Dean Myers books I would certainly encourage them to do that. I have a feeling SCORPIONS would be a good mix as Myers’ next book for YAs to read. Victoria Hamilton has many noteworthy books and characters who happen to be African American. I would like to see a field trip to a jail for any child that is grade 4 or above
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Review of THE GIVER
A. Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
B. Plot: The main character, Jonas, grows up in a quasi utopia where no one can think for themselves and “the rules” must always be followed. There is no crime, no love or sex between spouses, no variations in weather, no hills, no mountains. But there are good manners because everyone in the community is subservient to “The Elders” While no disease, no wars, no hurricanes may sound good what the citizens of this new world order give up are emotions, trust among family members, friends, and neighbors. Everyone wears identical clothing and has identical bikes to travel the community in. “The Receiver” is the most important member of the community. The only person who retains any memories of the former world, a world like you and I inhabit now. Jonas during the “Ceremony of 12s” learns he has been chosen to be the new “Receiver” which made the current “Receiver” become the giver. In the end Jonas and a young child escape and have a chance, at least, to find their way back into the real world.
C. Critical analysis:
THE GIVER is a very readable, approachable tale of science fiction. Lowry always tells a good tale and this title is no exception. She takes us into this “safe” and unchallenging life to make us think about what life would be like if everything were grey or white in color and you never even knew that colors existed. Lowry portrays a life where euthanasia for the old and the unhealthy or troublesome young is an everyday occurrence and members of the community think being “released” is a most wonderful thing. The characters are very well developed, especially those of Jonas and The Giver. Their relationship grows in a realistic way at a realistic pace. The two of them are the only citizens allowed privacy (the intercom can be turned off in the Giver’s compound.) permission to lie, and permission to be rude. They also have total access of all community and personal information about each citizen. Most important events like group ceremonies or releases are videotaped.
The book has a very nice flow about it. We are so pleased that Jonas and the Giver have a warm and mutually rewarding relationship that is first centered around their place in society but in the end is centered around creativity over neatness, love that is deep enough to be tough and realistic and at the same time sentimental. Jonas and the giver come to master that most human of all emotions, trust, reasoned, logical trust, based on experience and emotions.
There are many reasons that children will like the adventure of THE GIVER. Jonas, the protagonist is of middle school age and futuristic fiction is often popular among young people. In my experience girls don’t care much if the main character is male or female, but after Junie B. Jones in the kindergarten and 1st grade classroom, boys want to read about boys in the leading role. This would be an excellent volume to discuss with students as you read aloud. I can see the suspense building to a tremendous level if one or two chapters were read aloud after lunch each day. I expect many would try to check it out of the library media center so they wouldn’t have to wait until the next day to see what would happen.
One of the most wonderful parts of the book is when the Receiver tells of his love for his daughter who was to be the replacement Receiver, the post that Jonas holds now. Because of her father’s love for her he could not release all the painful memories to her as soon as he should have. But even the memories and experiences he shares with her make her beg for her “release.” She gives herself the injection of death and her name, Rosemary is never to spoken in this idyllicd world ever again. The dual systems of reality in the book that most people live and know as to the “truth” the Receivers, new, and old know and understand add depth. THE GIVER is a quick and provocative read. I would recommend to 3rd-4th graders through mature adults.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Amazon espouses, “In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy…Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
Publisher’s Weekly pronounces, “
In the "ideal" world into which Jonas was born, everybody has sensibly agreed that well-matched married couples will raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. These children's adolescent sexual impulses will be stifled with specially prescribed drugs; at age 12 they will receive an appropriate career assignment, sensibly chosen by the community's Elders. This is a world in which the old live in group homes and are "released"--to great celebration--at the proper time; the few infants who do not develop according to schedule are also "released," but with no fanfare. Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers.
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Lois-Lowry/dp/0440237688/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196833437&sr=1-1
F. CONNECTIONS: BRAVE NEW WORLD and ANIMAL FARM come instantly to mind. For younger children and looking from a different vantage point I am thinking about the relationship with Jonas and his little sister, The age and characteristics of the family make it similar in age with the hero of ZUCCINIHI by Barbara Delaney and her shy brother. Crescent Dragonwagon also has a great book about a brother and sister entitled, I HATE MY BROTHER HARRY.
A. Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
B. Plot: The main character, Jonas, grows up in a quasi utopia where no one can think for themselves and “the rules” must always be followed. There is no crime, no love or sex between spouses, no variations in weather, no hills, no mountains. But there are good manners because everyone in the community is subservient to “The Elders” While no disease, no wars, no hurricanes may sound good what the citizens of this new world order give up are emotions, trust among family members, friends, and neighbors. Everyone wears identical clothing and has identical bikes to travel the community in. “The Receiver” is the most important member of the community. The only person who retains any memories of the former world, a world like you and I inhabit now. Jonas during the “Ceremony of 12s” learns he has been chosen to be the new “Receiver” which made the current “Receiver” become the giver. In the end Jonas and a young child escape and have a chance, at least, to find their way back into the real world.
C. Critical analysis:
THE GIVER is a very readable, approachable tale of science fiction. Lowry always tells a good tale and this title is no exception. She takes us into this “safe” and unchallenging life to make us think about what life would be like if everything were grey or white in color and you never even knew that colors existed. Lowry portrays a life where euthanasia for the old and the unhealthy or troublesome young is an everyday occurrence and members of the community think being “released” is a most wonderful thing. The characters are very well developed, especially those of Jonas and The Giver. Their relationship grows in a realistic way at a realistic pace. The two of them are the only citizens allowed privacy (the intercom can be turned off in the Giver’s compound.) permission to lie, and permission to be rude. They also have total access of all community and personal information about each citizen. Most important events like group ceremonies or releases are videotaped.
The book has a very nice flow about it. We are so pleased that Jonas and the Giver have a warm and mutually rewarding relationship that is first centered around their place in society but in the end is centered around creativity over neatness, love that is deep enough to be tough and realistic and at the same time sentimental. Jonas and the giver come to master that most human of all emotions, trust, reasoned, logical trust, based on experience and emotions.
There are many reasons that children will like the adventure of THE GIVER. Jonas, the protagonist is of middle school age and futuristic fiction is often popular among young people. In my experience girls don’t care much if the main character is male or female, but after Junie B. Jones in the kindergarten and 1st grade classroom, boys want to read about boys in the leading role. This would be an excellent volume to discuss with students as you read aloud. I can see the suspense building to a tremendous level if one or two chapters were read aloud after lunch each day. I expect many would try to check it out of the library media center so they wouldn’t have to wait until the next day to see what would happen.
One of the most wonderful parts of the book is when the Receiver tells of his love for his daughter who was to be the replacement Receiver, the post that Jonas holds now. Because of her father’s love for her he could not release all the painful memories to her as soon as he should have. But even the memories and experiences he shares with her make her beg for her “release.” She gives herself the injection of death and her name, Rosemary is never to spoken in this idyllicd world ever again. The dual systems of reality in the book that most people live and know as to the “truth” the Receivers, new, and old know and understand add depth. THE GIVER is a quick and provocative read. I would recommend to 3rd-4th graders through mature adults.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Amazon espouses, “In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy…Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
Publisher’s Weekly pronounces, “
In the "ideal" world into which Jonas was born, everybody has sensibly agreed that well-matched married couples will raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. These children's adolescent sexual impulses will be stifled with specially prescribed drugs; at age 12 they will receive an appropriate career assignment, sensibly chosen by the community's Elders. This is a world in which the old live in group homes and are "released"--to great celebration--at the proper time; the few infants who do not develop according to schedule are also "released," but with no fanfare. Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers.
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Lois-Lowry/dp/0440237688/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196833437&sr=1-1
F. CONNECTIONS: BRAVE NEW WORLD and ANIMAL FARM come instantly to mind. For younger children and looking from a different vantage point I am thinking about the relationship with Jonas and his little sister, The age and characteristics of the family make it similar in age with the hero of ZUCCINIHI by Barbara Delaney and her shy brother. Crescent Dragonwagon also has a great book about a brother and sister entitled, I HATE MY BROTHER HARRY.
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