Module 15 My Earth, My But, and other Big Round Things

Summary: Virginia is the youngest sibling of three in a very smart, attractive, perfect family.  She feels like because of her size, she doesn't fit in and sometimes wonders if she was switched at birth.  She even resorts to hurting herself because of the anger she has towards herself and develops a life guide that she titles "The Fat Girls Code of Conduct."

Mackler, C. (2003). The earth, my butt, and other big round things. Cambridge: Candlewick Press.

My Impressions: When I first started reading this book, I honestly thought it was very stereotypical of how the "chubby" girl is so unhappy with herself and she has to transform herself in order to be happy.  After I finished the book and gave it more thought, I realized that the reason it felt so stereotypical is because some of today's teenage girls are having to deal with these issues of self esteem and self image, thus making this book very relatable to teens. I liked that the author let Virginia's character transform her attitude instead of her weight and finally find some happiness.

Professional Review:

"You can tell that Ani is angry, but at the same time she's also funny and strong and sassy." Though she's talking about punk folksinger Ani DiFranco, fifteen-year-old Virginia could easily be describing herself. Unfortunately, Virginia buries her anger (toward her picture-perfect but dysfunctional family) and is unable to see herself as anything but a fat girl who's kind of smart. When her brother Byron, whom she worships, is found guilty of date rape, Virginia finally begins to acknowledge what her older sister Anais has tried to tell her: that Byron and their parents are far from perfect. Virginia's transition from an insecure girl desperate for her family's approval to a confident young woman might be a little messagey, but it's believable, and she doesn't do it on her own. Support comes from her best friend, from a teacher with eating-disorder experience, from a doctor who stresses health not weight and recommends channeling anger through kick-boxing, and even from the college student her brother assaulted. Readers will cheer Virginia on when she tells her father not to comment on her weight loss ("my body [is] just not yours to discuss"); tells her brother he's "an asshole for date-raping someone"; ignores clothing advice from her appearance-obsessed mother (who recommends "strategic layers and camouflaging colors") and buys a sexy purple dress instead; and realizes that the guy she's been making out with behind closed doors actually wants to kiss her in public. Mackler does a fine job introducing girls to a very cool chick with a little meat on her bones.

[Review of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things]. (2003, September/October).
Horn Book. Retrieved from http://www.hbook.com/magazine/reviews/single/sep03

Library Use: This book could be used as a book talk for teenage girls dealing with
today's pressures and issues to try to fit the mold that society has set for them.

Module 14 Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba

Summary: Simple verses tell the story of a young boy named Daniel who was in one of the boats full of Jews seeking refugee in Cuba because they were turned away from the  U.S. and Canada.

 Engle, M. (2009). Tropical secrets: Holocaust refugees in Cuba. New York, NY: Henry Holt.

My Impressions: I thought this was a really interesting part of history that I had no knowledge of.  It's so sad that Nazis were able to persuade Cubans to hate Jews and so many of them were turned away from not only from the U.S. and Canada, but also from Cuba. I thought it was interesting that some of these events were based on the author's family.

 Prefessional Review
Readers familiar with the author's prior works (The Poet Slave of Cuba, 2006, etc.) will recognize both style and themes in this verse novel set in World War II-era Cuba. The story, like its companion volumes, unfolds through alternating first-person narrative poems. Daniel, a 13-year-old Holocaust refugee, arrives in Cuba without his parents and is taken under wing of the elderly David, who immigrated to Cuba from Russia in the 1920s. He meets 13-year-old Paloma, who works to assist the refugees in defiance of her disagreeable but powerful father, El Gordo. A bureaucrat, he inflates the price of visas for Jews seeking refuge in Cuba, although he is not above making a few dark contributions of his own while the young characters attempt to do the right thing. Engle's tireless drive to give voice to the silenced in Cuban history provides fresh options for young readers. An author's note reveals her close relationship with this particular part of Cuban history. Stylistically, however, the manipulation of characters and their fictional conflicts seem, in this latest addition, formulaic. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)

[Review of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba]. (2009, February1). Kirkus Review. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=27e175a9a3e9720c27db6f3cb892c457

Library Use: This would be a great book for a book talk and discuss a different perspective on WWII, Holocaust, and Jewish history. 

Module 13 The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

Summary: This a graphic novel based on the actual 9/11 Commision Report that was released in 2005 describing the events that happened before, during, and after the September 11, 2001 tragedy.  

Jacobson, S. & Colón, E. (2006). The 9/11 Report: A graphic adaptation. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

My Impressions: I was very impressed with the concept of using a graphic novel to depict the 9/11 events.  I thought the timelines and maps added to the understanding of what exactly happened that day.  There were times I found the illustrations too busy and the writing felt a little scattered, but overall an excellent book that made me more knowledgeable about this tragic day in American history.

Professional Review:

"Jacobson and Colón intend this adaptation to bring to the commission's report readers who would not or could not digest its nearly 800 pages, and they have the blessing, acknowledged in this book's foreword, of the commission's chair and vice-chair to do so. Neither lurid nor simplistic, it presents the essence of the commission's work in a manner that, especially in the opening section, is able to surpass aspects of any text-only publication: the four stories of the doomed flights are given on the same foldout pages so that readers can truly grasp the significance of how simultaneous events can and did overwhelm our national information and defense systems. The analysis that follows in the subsequent 11 chapters cuts cleanly to the kernels of important history, politics, economics, and procedural issues that both created and exacerbated the effects of the day's events. Colón's full-color artwork provides personality for the named players-U.S. presidents and Al-Qaeda operatives alike-as well as the airline passengers, office workers, fire fighters, and bureaucrats essential to the report. This graphic novel has the power and accessibility to become a high school text; in the meantime, no library should be without it." — Francisca Goldsmith

[Review of The 9/11 Commission Report: A Graphic Adaptation by F. Goldsmith]. (2006, December 1). School Library Journal.  Retrieved from www.titlewave.com

Library Use: This book would be perfect to use when students are conducting research for 9/11.

Module 12 The Boy on Fairfield Street

Summary: This is the first picture book biography of  Ted Geisel aka Dr.Seuss. It is about his childhood and how he was inspired to become the famous author and illustrator that he came to be.  It also informs us as to why he went by his pen name of Dr. Seuss instead of his German name, Ted Geisel. 

Krull, K. (2004). The boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss. New York: Random House.

My Impressions: I learned more about Dr. Seuss in this short picture book than I did when I read some of his other biographies.  He was just young boy that did not fit it, was picked on because he was German, and decided to do what made him happy. I thought it was really interesting that his unique and exaggerated animal illustrations came to him because of his dad working at a zoo.

Professional Review:

“Once upon a time, there lived a boy who feasted on books and was wild about animals.” So begins this young biography of Dr. Seuss. Taunted at school because he was German, his escapes were drawing, the comics he loved, and the zoo, where his father was the parks superintendent in Springfield, Mass. His high-school art teacher warned him he’d never be successful at art; in Dartmouth he was voted “Class Artist and Class Wit,” and he left Oxford to draw and write verse. Truly only about his youth, the narrative ends at age 22, when Seuss goes to New York City to launch his career. Four following pages provide a synopsis of his life and a timeline up to his death in 1991. Bordered, full-page oil-on-gessoed-paper illustrations evoke pertinent scenes, while spot art of Seuss drawings dot the opposite pages. Some of these original images are absolutely haunting; the magic of his name will make this a huge hit, but it’s the lively writing that puts the hat on the cat. (bibliography, citations, Web sites) (Picture book/biography. 7-11)

[Review of The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss]. (2003, December 15).Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/childrens-books/kathleen-krull/the-boy-on-fairfield-street/?spdy=2004

Library Use: This would make for a great storytime during Dr. Seuss week.  Most kids  nowadays are familiar with Dr. Seuss and his books, but hardly anybody knows his real name or his real story.

Module 11 Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow

Summary: During WWII, children in Germany joined the Hitler Youth, not knowing the extent of evil that the Nazi Party and Hitler were guilty of. This book follows 12 of these children and their involvement with this organization from 1933 to the end of the war in 1945. 

Bartoletti, S.C. (2005).  Hitler youth: growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York, NY. Scholastic Inc.

My Impressions: I thought this book was very well written and it is very evident that the author definitely did her research when she wrote this book. I was both moved and horrified by the words and the images depicted in this story.   


Professional Review: 
Gr 5-8-Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. The book is structured around 12 young individuals and their experiences, which clearly demonstrate how they were victims of leaders who took advantage of their innocence and enthusiasm for evil means. Their stories evolve from patriotic devotion to Hitler and zeal to join, to doubt, confusion, and disillusion. (An epilogue adds a powerful what-became-of-them relevance.) The large period photographs are a primary component and they include Nazi propaganda showing happy and healthy teens as well as the reality of concentration camps and young people with large guns. The final chapter superbly summarizes the weighty significance of this part of the 20th century and challenges young readers to prevent history from repeating itself. Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Medlar, A. (2005, June 1).

[Review of Hitler's Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow]. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=4b32f2cb7e1e87368fe5b0b1612cbe42

Library Use: This book can be used when students are conducting research on WWII, Hitler, Germany, The Nazi Party, etc...

Module 10 The Devil's Arithmetic

Summary: This story is about a young girl named Hannah who is not thrilled to take part in her family's Seder dinner.  All of a sudden, she finds herself traveling back in time to Poland during the 1940's.  She takes on her Hebrew name, Chaya, and is experiencing the horrific events of the Holocaust that she had heard about  from her relatives. Once she is transported back to present day, Hannah has a new found respect for her Holocaust surviving relatives.

Yolen, J. (1988). The Devil's arithmetic. New York, NY: Puffin Books.

My Impressions: I have always been fascinated by stories that depict the hardships of anything having to do with the Holocaust and the unjust treatment of the Jews.  I cannot for the life of me wrap by mind around the fact that this went on for so long and how others stood by an let it happen.  I think ever since reading Anne Frank's Diary at a young age, I have been drawn to this terrible history.  I really enjoyed the perspective that the author used in this book. She does an amazing job of letting the readers see the Holocaust through a young child's point of view.  There is just enough historical fiction and science fiction that kept me thoroughly engagedthrough out the entire book. Overall, it is a beautifully sad story.


Professional Reviews:

"The Holocaust was so monstrous a crime that the mind resists belief and the story must be made new for each individual. Yolen's book is about remembering. During a Passover Seder, 12-year-old Hannah finds herself transported from America in 1988 to Poland in 1942, where she assumes the life of young Chaya. Within days the Nazis take Chaya and her neighbors off to a concentration camp, mere components in the death factory. As days pass, Hannah's own memory of her past, and the prisoners' future, fades until she is Chaya completely. Chaya/Hannah's final sacrifice, and the return of memory, is her victory over the horror. The book's simplicity is its strength; no comment is needed because the facts speak for themselves. This brave and powerful book has much it can teach a young audience. (Ages 10-14)."

[Review of The Devil's Arithmetic]. (1988, October 14). Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=4b32f2cb7e1e87368fe5b0b1612cbe42

Library Use: This book would be an excellent book to read when discussing the events that occurred during the Holocaust.  It would be perfect to do a compare and contrast between this book and Anne's Frank Diary.

Module 9 The Face on the Milk Carton

Summary:  Janie is just a normal teenage girl living a fairly normal life, that is until she makes a shocking discovery.  She sees her face from twelve years ago on the back of a milk carton saying that she had been kidnapped. How could this be?  This leads Janie to start questioning her life, her parents, and her past.

Cooney, C. B. (1990). The face on the milk carton. New York: Detacorte Press.

My Impressions: I thought this book was hard to relate to for me and for its targeted audience since I don't even think people buy milk in cartons anymore and they definitely don't feature pictures of missing kids this way anymore. I didn't dislike the book, but didn't love it.  I enjoyed reading about Janie falling in love with Reeve, but was disappointed with the lack of suspense. And I'm  still neutral on how the author concluded the story with her actually been kidnapped and the people who raised her never searched for Janie's real family.

Professional Review:

One brief glance at a face on a milk carton turns 15-year-old Janie's life upside-down. For there, looking out from the picture of a missing child, is the face of Janie as she was 12 years ago. Was she kidnapped by her own parents? But who are her real parents and who is she? Follow Janie as she struggles to learn the truth of her identity and regain control of her life without destroying the lives of those she loves.

 [Review of The Face on the Milk Carton]. (n.d.) Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Retrieved from http://www.plcmc.lib.nc.us/readers_club/reviews/tresults.asp?id=1054

Library Use: I think it would be interesting to have student discuss in groups on how a teenager in present day would go about finding out if he or she had been kidnapped.  Students could then write a short mystery about it.