Rules

Courtesy of Scholastic

Bibliography

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Print. ISBN 9780439443821

Plot Summary

Catherine teaches her brother David to fit in as much as he can with his Autistic behaviors. She makes rules to help him understand how to act in situations. She wants to be friends with the new girl, Kristi, but sometimes her brother gets in the way. Coincidentally, she becomes friends with a boy in a wheelchair who uses communication cards to speak. Initially, she thinks this friendship will only be at the clinic where they see each other, but she’ll have to make up her mind if she’s willing to be his friend in public in front of Kristi.

Critical Analysis

This story reminds me a little of an After School Special in that the it’s built around a moral the audience can see coming from a mile away. However, I liked those stories when I was a young adult because the issues were things I had to face. Rules is a good book for young readers learning who they are and coming to terms with their public image. Siblings of those with disabilities will especially identify with the characters, and others will develop sensitivity to disabilities. A greater knowledge of Catherine’s character may have provided more depth to the story.

Events of the story are realistic, as is the setting. However, the town and neighborhood seems a bit too perfect or dated as they have a nice little pond nearby to swim in and the town is a tourist town on the shore. Dialogue is simple and clear. The plot, while not incredibly suspenseful, urges on to a satisfying resolution as Catherine’s decision is made at a community dance. Lord writes the book simply and clearly around the rules which govern David’s and Catherine’s life as the events of their summer unfold. At the end she includes an activity about rules and a how to draw a guinea pig guide from Catherine’s sketch book. Overall, this is a sweet read that will encourage children to be proud of their decisions.

Awards and Review Excerpts

2007 Newberry Honor Book

2007 Schneider Family Book Award

2009 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award

From Kirkus Reviews: “Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences.”

From Publishers Weekly: “A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view.”

From School Library Journal: “When Cynthia Lord wrote the Newbery Honor winning book Rules she made her narrator not an autistic boy, but rather his put upon older sister. This was remarkably clever of her.”

Connections

Allow students to research a disability or illness and present what they’ve learned.

Create a multi-media book trailer.

Give students time to learn drawing skills since Catherine loved to sketch.

Students may want to write a story of friendship with illustrations.

Students may enjoy creating a new and improved word list for Jason or others.

Create a book review to include in the school library webpage.

Students may be inspired to start friendships or partnerships with disabled students within the school.

I Am the Messenger

Courtesy of Alfred A. Knopf

Bibliography

Zusak, Markus. I Am the Messenger. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.

 ISBN 9780375836671

Plot Summary

Feeling like he’s not much of anything worthwhile, Ed wonders what he can make his life out to be. At 19, he spends his time driving a cab and hanging out with a few friends until the Ace of diamonds mysteriously shows up in his mailbox. Before long Ed is doing strange jobs and doesn’t know who he’s working for, but he thinks he may have been chosen because he was in the news having luckily caught a bank robber. Weirdly, whoever he’s working for knows him more than he’s comfortable with.

Critical Analysis

Suspenseful, edgy, and lulling. Readers will find themselves wondering how far Ed would go; would he kill someone? Zusak writes a thrilling novel from Ed’s point of view, drifting through life as Ed’s melancholy existence seeks meaning. This is an interesting read that will lead readers to not only find out what happens next, but perhaps take a little introspective look at their own life. Readers get to know the main characters intimately and witness them emerging into new phases of their lives as Ed challenges them each to get past something unique.

Zusak’s poetic flare strikes again in this coming-into-adulthood novel. As the story plays out Ed’s thoughts trail almost poetically, with short thoughts interspersed with longer thoughts and dialogue. The story all happens around a British city which may be very interesting for teens who would like to travel or experience city life. The dialogue is enjoyable, as Ed and his friends’ vernacular is street lingo with cursing in a British dialect. It really brings the characters to life, and they surely do need a life. There is just enough balance between paying it forward and getting what’s deserved for himself to keep a reader’s interest. All the story events could happen in real life. Ed finds himself dealing abuse, apathy, dementia, sex, love, and teen pregnancy. Issues and language make this book fitted to older readers.

Awards and Review Excerpts

2006 ALA Best Books for Young Adults

2006 Kentucky Bluegrass Master List

The Children’s Book Council of Australia, Book of the Year Older Readers 2003

2005 Printz Honor Book

ALA 2008 Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults

From Kirkus Reviews: “The openly sentimental elements are balanced by swearing, some drinking and violence, and edgy friendships.”

From Publishers Weekly: “The author artfully pulls readers through the many plot twists, building to a startling revelation.”

Connections

Students may wish to brainstorm ideas for helping people in need. Classes could do service projects together or in small groups.

Combine with a study in life planning including career planning, home economics, and budgeting.

Create multimedia book trailers.

Calamity Jack

Image courtesy of Bloomsbury

Bibliography

Hale, Shannon, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale. Calamity Jack. New York: Bloomsbury, 2010. Print. ISBN 9781599903736

Plot Summary

Jack grows up stealing and scamming people. His mother runs a bakery and barely manages to make ends meet since Jack’s father died. His mother learns he has been scamming people only when he is arrested trying to rob a bank. Jack makes up his mind to never scheme again, except the lines between good and evil aren’t so easy to see. Witnessing his mother taken advantage of by the giant Blunderboar, he decides one last scheme could set things straight. Jack’s plan backfires as his magic bean stalk tears up his mother’s home and bakery while Blunderboar kidnaps his mother.

Critical Analysis

In this steampunk style graphic novel, Rapunzel and Jack take on the mission of rescuing Jack’s mother from the giants who are dominating the city. Jack realizes he must save the city of Shyport from Blunderboar also in the process since he is not the low-life schemer that he once thought we was. Readers identify with Jack as his reputation in folktales is the same in this graphic novel – one of an extremely poor kid just trying to help out his family. Adding dimension to his character, he also schemes for other poor people who seem to be taken advantage of.

Rapunzel, Jack’s partner in the mission becomes his love interest as a juicy subplot of love trickles into the story. In steampunk style the real heroics are often females as Rapunzel is the true strong arm here, almost always saving the day. Splendid action scenes show Rapunzel’s amazing ability to strangle, swing, and catch people with her long links of hair. Prudence is a fairy and summons her fairy community to save the day as well. Ultimately, Jack hopes to give his mother golden eggs from the stolen magic goose so she can rebuild her house and bakery. Small touches of magic provide interesting appeal without venturing too far from this alternative reality.

Amazingly detailed graphics spotlight inventive machinery made by the bad guys and by Freddie, who fights on Jack’s side throughout the tale. Returning from out west, Jack and Rapunzel’s mission is in the city of Shyport. Graphics of the setting from Blunderboar’s suspended penthouse to cityscapes and underground sewage tunnels are superb. Characters of varying backgrounds are uniquely portrayed through their speech and clothing. Overall, Calamity Jack is a gripping story of a boy making the decision to set things right in order to become the good man he wants to be.

Awards and Review Excerpts

YALSA Great Graphic Novel

Junior Library Guild Selection

School Library Journal Best Comic for Kids

Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year

From Kirkus Reviews: “Populated with ant people, giants, pixies and even a Jabberwock, this fantastic yarn has something for everyone.”

From Publishers Weekly: “The dynamic artwork fits well with Jack and Rapunzel's quick tongues, as they flirt their way through numerous hair-raising situations.”

From School Library Journal: “The decision to make Jack a little more vulnerable and Rapunzel a little stronger allows young readers to identify with either character, without being constrained by the character’s gender.”

Connections

Pair with reading of Rapunzel’s Revenge. ISBN 9780747587439

Respond to the author, Shannon Hale on her blog page at oinks.squeetus.com.

Utilize the teaching guide materials on the author’s webpage, squeetus.com.

Shake up another favorite fairy tale with steampunk style or another. Kids will love to create their own graphic novels. What a great opportunity for kids to work in cooperative groups. After all, Shannon Hale worked with her husband and illustrator to make these books come to fruition.

Students may want to invent a machine like Freddy in makerspaces.

Connect the story to learning about steam engines. Furthermore, launch a research into energy efficiency and environmental responsibility amongst various energy resources.

The Green Glass Sea

 

Bibliography

Klages, Ellen. The Green Glass Sea. New York: Viking, 2006. Print. ISBN 9780142411490

Plot Summary

Abandoned by her mother as a baby, Dewey lives with her grandmother through most of her childhood until Nana’s stroke sends her to a retirement home. She travels by train to New Mexico to live with her father who has taken a job in the Manhattan Project, building the first atomic bomb. Dewey is ecstatic having her dad in her life again. Compared to Nana’s restrictions, she loves the freedom she has at the top secret military camp named Los Alamos. When her father has out of town business, she must stay with another family. They have a daughter who has not been very nice to Dewey, but they learn they may really need each other. Dewey learns her father died in an accident. She is beyond grief and worried about where she will end up next.

Critical Analysis

Several real people are woven smoothly into the story with fictional characters. The riveting drama surrounding Dewey and the main characters is fictional, but realistic in the context of the overarching military mission. In the story, everyone on the project calls it the gadget, and at the end they are all watching the testing of the first bomb which are accurate events in the historical accounts. Dialogue is realistic and true to the characters without overuse of dialect. Thorough description of New Mexico’s mountainous desert and military structures gives authenticity to this inviting story of new relationships amidst the exciting Manhattan Project. Klages researches this historical time period and supplies source notes for readers.

Dewey is a character everyone can empathize with. Her intelligence is amazing, but everyone has felt the sting of loneliness at some point which Dewey receives her fair share of. The kids on the complex are also characters readers will identify with from bullies to stuck-up girls to adventuresome boys. Suze is the misunderstood bully who does a lot of growing up of her own. Klagues keen storytelling style weaves history and drama together in a natural flow. Readers will want to see that Dewey survives her emotional upheaval in these intense times. In a timeless theme, both girls learn the value of friendship through their ordeals. Suze’s parents argue about the bomb afterwards, leading to themes involving the ethics of how to use this new technology.

Awards and Review Excerpts

2007 Scott O'Dell Award

2007 Judy Lopez Memorial Award

2007 New Mexico State Book Award

From Booklist: “The novel occasionally gets mired down in detail, but the characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes.”

From Publishers Weekly: “Writing from the points of view of two displaced children, she successfully recreates life at Los Alamos Camp, where scientists and mathematicians converge with their families to construct and test the first nuclear bomb.”

From School Library Journal: “Many readers will know as little about the true nature of the project as the girls do, so the gradual revelation of facts is especially effective, while those who already know about Los Alamos' historical significance will experience the story in a different, but equally powerful, way.”

Connections

Pair with a nonfiction title, Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal -- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon ISBN 9781596434875 for a chance to learn more about the creation of the first atomic bomb and some of the real characters that were in the book.

Read this to students before events such as science fairs to inspire creation and invention.

Students may create collage art from the story setting or from another scene such as the testing of the bomb or a friendship scene. 

The War that Saved My Life

Image courtesy of Dial for Young Readers

Bibliography

Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. The War That Saved My Life. New York: Dial for Young Readers, 2015. Print. ISBN 9780147510488

Plot Summary

There’s a whole world beyond Ada’s apartment, but with her clubfoot she’s not allowed to leave. In her mother’s words, “You’re nobbut a disgrace! A monster, with that ugly foot!” School, friends, and even going down the hall to the restroom are out of the question. Her little brother brings word that London will be bombed and he’s to evacuate. Against her mother’s wishes, Ada escapes the apartment with her brother to the countryside. A whole new life of horse riding and learning manners in a home where she’s loved brings her the normal life she’s been longing for, but she lives with the fear that her mother will come back for them.

Critical Analysis

I instantly felt connected with Ada and her brother with the realistic characterization of each. Ada is cautious, yet extremely brave. When she becomes the hero of her new village, readers feel true joy for her. The balance of rising action, suspense, despair, and resolution in this story is about the best I’ve ever experienced. Just when I thought I had predicted where the story was going, Bradley throws a curve ball. This book left me on edge to the very end.

Bradley has a reputation for researching that feeds her historical fiction novels with authenticity. The War that Saved My Life serves up real events of WWII and realistic happenings around the fictional characters in London and a country village near the English shore. Complete details of the settings fill the reader’s imagination as Ada takes them all in for the first time in life. Bradley weaves the details of the story together for an effortless read. Told from Ada’s point of view, readers will find themselves rooting for her through the thick of the war. Use of dialect is minimal, but some vocabulary surrounding care of horses and British words create interest in the time and place.  

Themes such as community coming together to help each other accomplish their mission reflect the political war culture of the time. Ada learning to love and help Susan while Susan begins to love again and help Ada leads to themes that withstand the passage of time. The War that Saved My Life is a refreshing WWII tale from a unique perspective.

Awards and Review Excerpts

2016 Newbery Honor Book

2016 Schneider Family Book Award

Wall Street Journal’s Best Children’s Books

Publishers Weekly Best Books

The Horn Book Fanfare Book

From Kirkus Reviews: “Set against a backdrop of war and sacrifice, Ada’s personal fight for freedom and ultimate triumph are cause for celebration.”

From Publishers Weekly: “Proving that her courage and compassion carry far more power than her disability, Ada earns self-respect, emerges a hero, and learns the meaning of home.”

From School Library Journal: “Ms. Bradley does a stellar job of bringing to life this struggle in Ada and in inflaming a similar struggle in the hearts of her young readers.”

Connections

Compare ways that communities and countries support war efforts in wars of the past to current wars.

Compare ways that birth defects are handled in different situations. Start a fundraiser to help raise funds for a charity that helps correct birth defects in poor communities.

Pair with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ISBN 978-0385751537 for a different perspective on WWII.

Write or Skype with someone who lived through WWII to understand different perspectives first hand. Look at primary source documents to see evidence of the happenings and feelings of the time.

Under the Blood-Red Sun

Image courtesy of Delacorte

Bibliography

Salisbury, Graham. Under the Blood-red Sun. New York: Delacorte, 1994. Print. ISBN 9780385386555

Plot Summary

On the island of Oahu and not far from Pearl Harbor, a young Japanese American boy, Tomi Nakaji lives a simple life playing with friends, going to school, and respecting his family. His mother is a housekeeper, and his family is allowed to live on the same property as the big house. His father is a fisherman. Sometimes a bully in the neighborhood challenges Tomi’s resolve to not shame his family name by fighting. That alone is a big enough challenge, but when the tensions of World War II increase and Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese, everyone is engaged in searching out the Japanese traitors. Readers go with Tomi through dodging bullets, baseball games, fishing adventures, sneaking onto army grounds to see his father as a falsely imprisoned prisoner of war, and through trying to learn how to grow up and take care of his family in this turbulent time.

Critical Analysis

Salisbury brings to life heart-wrenching drama through a dynamic characterization of Tomi, his family, his friends, and his worst enemies. Rich and realistic dialect and cultural descriptions of the characters make it is easy to imagine yourself in Tomi’s group of friends amidst the jungle of the island and the urban areas of Oahu. The rich setting of this historical novel provides great background into the fishing boat experience at sea, the contrast of living in a small servant’s quarter with no plumbing, the contrast of different economic areas nearby, and the feeling of martial law suppressing the island. Readers will discover themes of dignity as Tomi comes to terms with valuing his culture, taking on the important tasks of protecting the family pride and heirloom, as well as realizing responsibilities in becoming the man of the house.

Salisbury carefully researched events and experiences of people in the area at the time. He also draws from his own experiences, having known similar characters in life. Events, dialects, and setting of the time are accurately portrayed. The story is put together in a natural way reflecting the cultures and events of the time. There is plenty of suspense built into the plot as Tomi and others act in ways that represent reactions of real people in America during World War II. However, I personally felt the story ended unfinished. I suspect Salisbury did this on purpose, as the sequel picks up a year later in The House of the Red Fish.

Awards and Review Excerpts

1994 Scott O’Dell Award

1998 Nene Award (Hawaii’s Young Readers Choice Award)

2014 Phoenix Award Honor Book

1999 California Young Reader Award

1995 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, ALA

From Kirkus Reviews: “Salisbury evokes historical time and place effortlessly so that the true message of the story--the value of friendship--shines through.”

From Booklist: “Under the Blood-Red Sun frankly explores themes with universal appeal; Tomi’s search for identity, the tug-of-war he feels between his Japanese family and his American friends, his fear of a seemingly distant war that quickly becomes a part of his everyday existence, and his struggles to deal with bullying children and adults are all ones that listeners today will be just as invested in as they were when the book first came out, 20 years ago.”

From Publisher’s Weekly: “Salisbury skillfully describes Tomi's emotional highs and lows, and has a particular knack for realistically portraying the camaraderie and dialogue between boyhood chums.”

Connections

Read as an opening background experience to start a unit of study for World War II.

Compare and contrast experiences of different cultures within the U.S. during WWII.

Compare and contrast experiences of people in different countries during WWII. Pair with The Boy with the Striped Pajamas. ISBN 978-0385751537

Research military strategies and weapons as part of a scientific investigation.

Research military or political careers for those with an interest.

Students may write opinion pieces for a newspaper editorial from the point of view of one of the book’s characters.

Play board game Risk.

Create diary entries from a character in the book.