Coming out of the stupor that was Election day, I keep trying to tell myself that I am not alone. I can get on with it, I will move on.
In the furtive glances and muttered afterthoughts, Republicans that are not on the radical fringe or hiding some deep seated racist sickness, are attempting to make contact. If you are not looking, you will not see us.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Friday, November 6, 2009
Woolvs in the Sitee by Margaret Wild and Anne Soudvilas, Front Street, 2006.
post by Liz
I still can't decide what I think this book is saying. Well, no, I know it is dark and frightening, and it is dealing with the loss of civilization in some way, but beyond that, I can only pick up on clues that just lead nowhere. I like that it confounds me, but I also hope that it wants to confound me, not that it is just a hodgepodge of dark scenes with no overarching story.
On the second full page spread the narrator asks us to listen to him (I think it is a him although there is no clue to this), and I wonder why we need to. Is this the world around us if we could only see the truth - such as a reality that, because we live such comfortable lives, we are unaware that it exists parallel to our safe one? Do we need to listen because, as was brought up in our class discussion on Tuesday, this is an environmental Armageddon, and if we don't stop our polluting ways, we will be in his world? Or is he already speaking to Mrs. Radinski? Ah, but that would not explain how the book ends. See, there are so many questions that need puzzling over.
I intend on sharing this with my classes when we have a spare half class between the Odyssey and writing projects. It actually falls in line with the quest theme, and I do like how the narrator does a good deed in response to Mrs. Radinski's kindness. I like that there is generosity and civility in an alien and uncivil world. That is probably why I do like the book, in addition to my fascination with end of world settings. This would actually be a good companion piece to Green Angel.
A word about the color scheme and artwork in the book: it is a combination of dulled watercolor paintings and brownish charcoal etchings, both of which are very relevant to the text. Pictures are from unusual perspectives, never straight on . Sometimes it is just a splotchy disquieting washout with the narrator's profile. Sometimes the scene is a wide angle shot, sometimes looking down, sometimes looking up at the subjects. This adds to the off kilter feeling of the ambiguous text. I like that I find almost as many clues from the pictures as I do from the phonetically spelled story. I also really liked the way both the boy and the woman have piercing, haunted eyes.
Overall, I think this is a good example of an illustrated story - like many illustrated novels that deal with difficult or unpleasant themes.
Liz
post by Liz
I still can't decide what I think this book is saying. Well, no, I know it is dark and frightening, and it is dealing with the loss of civilization in some way, but beyond that, I can only pick up on clues that just lead nowhere. I like that it confounds me, but I also hope that it wants to confound me, not that it is just a hodgepodge of dark scenes with no overarching story.
On the second full page spread the narrator asks us to listen to him (I think it is a him although there is no clue to this), and I wonder why we need to. Is this the world around us if we could only see the truth - such as a reality that, because we live such comfortable lives, we are unaware that it exists parallel to our safe one? Do we need to listen because, as was brought up in our class discussion on Tuesday, this is an environmental Armageddon, and if we don't stop our polluting ways, we will be in his world? Or is he already speaking to Mrs. Radinski? Ah, but that would not explain how the book ends. See, there are so many questions that need puzzling over.
I intend on sharing this with my classes when we have a spare half class between the Odyssey and writing projects. It actually falls in line with the quest theme, and I do like how the narrator does a good deed in response to Mrs. Radinski's kindness. I like that there is generosity and civility in an alien and uncivil world. That is probably why I do like the book, in addition to my fascination with end of world settings. This would actually be a good companion piece to Green Angel.
A word about the color scheme and artwork in the book: it is a combination of dulled watercolor paintings and brownish charcoal etchings, both of which are very relevant to the text. Pictures are from unusual perspectives, never straight on . Sometimes it is just a splotchy disquieting washout with the narrator's profile. Sometimes the scene is a wide angle shot, sometimes looking down, sometimes looking up at the subjects. This adds to the off kilter feeling of the ambiguous text. I like that I find almost as many clues from the pictures as I do from the phonetically spelled story. I also really liked the way both the boy and the woman have piercing, haunted eyes.
Overall, I think this is a good example of an illustrated story - like many illustrated novels that deal with difficult or unpleasant themes.
Liz
For Now & Ben, the modern inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta, Square Fish, 2008.
A thoroughly enjoyable informational book! Even I learned some new things. I thought that the cartoonish drawings made the information more accessible to the target audience, and it also reinforces the fact that this is a fun informational book, not one to cite for a research paper! I think this book can be categorized as a concept book, as it looks at one topic - how Ben Franklin's original experimental designs and inventions have been adapted and modernized and are widely used today. I see this as instructional when a teacher needs to show how to connect historical information to modern day. I imagine this is a concept that is taught in the elementary level.
As interesting as it was, with its light shaded pages of active scenes, I did find the second double page spread after the title page, and the last futuristic city scene to be rather busy. I realize that I have little experience with elementary education, but it seemed as though there were some cute adaptations for the inventions covered in the book, but mostly it was just a lot of unnecessary movement. The other drawback were the pages dealing with the glass harmonica as this wasn't part of the main focus of the book.
I did appreciate the picture-biography of event in his life on both the front and back pages.
Overall, a book that I would add to my collection if I taught elementary ed.
Liz
A thoroughly enjoyable informational book! Even I learned some new things. I thought that the cartoonish drawings made the information more accessible to the target audience, and it also reinforces the fact that this is a fun informational book, not one to cite for a research paper! I think this book can be categorized as a concept book, as it looks at one topic - how Ben Franklin's original experimental designs and inventions have been adapted and modernized and are widely used today. I see this as instructional when a teacher needs to show how to connect historical information to modern day. I imagine this is a concept that is taught in the elementary level.
As interesting as it was, with its light shaded pages of active scenes, I did find the second double page spread after the title page, and the last futuristic city scene to be rather busy. I realize that I have little experience with elementary education, but it seemed as though there were some cute adaptations for the inventions covered in the book, but mostly it was just a lot of unnecessary movement. The other drawback were the pages dealing with the glass harmonica as this wasn't part of the main focus of the book.
I did appreciate the picture-biography of event in his life on both the front and back pages.
Overall, a book that I would add to my collection if I taught elementary ed.
Liz
Monday, November 2, 2009
Blog for Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson, Scholastic Press, 2004.
Again, I will read your original blog later, after I have put in my initial reactions to this historical fiction picture book.
I think this is fictional - but only in so far as the author seemed to have added dialogue and simplified things to such a point that it can not really be called biographical. Can it? Yes, I just read the back page, and while it says Biography in bigger letters, later down the page it says"fictionalized account.
Be that as it may - what wit and illustration! The wit can be found in such lines as "Henry nodded but he didn't say thank you. That would have been a lie." after his first master admonishes him to never tell a lie to his new masters. Another line: "I am mail, thought Henry, but not the kind they imagine!"as he hides in a box being mailed to Philadelphia.
But the most riveting scene, I think is the one where all you see is Henry's face, close up with the cross-hatching finely drawn to show care and worry lines, and it only says "Henry worked hard all morning, he tried to forget what Nancy said" I can definitely picture a class discussion on what is said here as well as what can be inferred, and how it is human nature to try to hide from fears that you can not control.
I also thought the illustrations of Henry in the box, especially the first one were extremely effective.
As far as the book's quality: I would say that while it does not give much beyond the basic story of Henry's life up to the point of freedom, and it leaves so much open as far as background history, it still vividly portrays the inhuman ways that these men and women were treated. I think this book would have to be used in conjunction with other picture books that deal with this period. I would imagine that young children just getting an introduction in the history of slavery in this country would need to have more information.
Liz
Again, I will read your original blog later, after I have put in my initial reactions to this historical fiction picture book.
I think this is fictional - but only in so far as the author seemed to have added dialogue and simplified things to such a point that it can not really be called biographical. Can it? Yes, I just read the back page, and while it says Biography in bigger letters, later down the page it says"fictionalized account.
Be that as it may - what wit and illustration! The wit can be found in such lines as "Henry nodded but he didn't say thank you. That would have been a lie." after his first master admonishes him to never tell a lie to his new masters. Another line: "I am mail, thought Henry, but not the kind they imagine!"as he hides in a box being mailed to Philadelphia.
But the most riveting scene, I think is the one where all you see is Henry's face, close up with the cross-hatching finely drawn to show care and worry lines, and it only says "Henry worked hard all morning, he tried to forget what Nancy said" I can definitely picture a class discussion on what is said here as well as what can be inferred, and how it is human nature to try to hide from fears that you can not control.
I also thought the illustrations of Henry in the box, especially the first one were extremely effective.
As far as the book's quality: I would say that while it does not give much beyond the basic story of Henry's life up to the point of freedom, and it leaves so much open as far as background history, it still vividly portrays the inhuman ways that these men and women were treated. I think this book would have to be used in conjunction with other picture books that deal with this period. I would imagine that young children just getting an introduction in the history of slavery in this country would need to have more information.
Liz
Blog for Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun, Scholastic Press, 2004.
Marilyn, I have not read your earlier blog yet, I want to get my thoughts down first, and then I will take a look at what you have said.
I found this collection of biographical stories to be extremely sad and yet uplifting. They are simply told, with sensitivity and yet not sugar coated. I was reminded of the curriculum for 10th grade, when students read Night by Elli Weiss. I think this would be a perfect lead in for that memoir, especially for reluctant readers that may not have a strong background of the Holocaust.
I thought it effective that the girl in the opening story and the man in the closing story met at the end of the war and were later married. I liked the follow up information of what happened to the children in later life. I think this would be of interest to students, and it also helped to reinforce the main point of these stories: surviving against impossible circumstances. I felt that they picked specific stories for the time period and the country as well as the situations these children found themselves in. I was moved to tears many times because they were characterized as such innocent victims that did not just dodge one or two scary times, but time upon time upon time, and the evil that was leveled against them, while so well documented, seemed all the more horrific because they were so young.
Now from the stand point of our textbook, biographies should be authentic, show the blemishes as well as the strong points, be engaging and not let personal objectives get in the way. I would have to say that the only weakness was that these stories, based on the subject matter, did not look at the "blemishes", but in all other aspects, it should be considered a quality biography, or collection of biographies. As far as the blemishes, that was the only thing I kept wondering: the stories seemed to brush over so many questions: how did some get special recognition while others were just shot. It seems incomprehensible to me that one child out of hundreds of thousands of people coming into a slave-labor camp, would be recognized and singled out... I had some doubt that the sotry was somehow manuvered to fit what the authors wanted to show. But for the average young reader, I don't think this would even enter their minds.
Okay, now I'll read your blog and see what you said.
Liz
Marilyn, I have not read your earlier blog yet, I want to get my thoughts down first, and then I will take a look at what you have said.
I found this collection of biographical stories to be extremely sad and yet uplifting. They are simply told, with sensitivity and yet not sugar coated. I was reminded of the curriculum for 10th grade, when students read Night by Elli Weiss. I think this would be a perfect lead in for that memoir, especially for reluctant readers that may not have a strong background of the Holocaust.
I thought it effective that the girl in the opening story and the man in the closing story met at the end of the war and were later married. I liked the follow up information of what happened to the children in later life. I think this would be of interest to students, and it also helped to reinforce the main point of these stories: surviving against impossible circumstances. I felt that they picked specific stories for the time period and the country as well as the situations these children found themselves in. I was moved to tears many times because they were characterized as such innocent victims that did not just dodge one or two scary times, but time upon time upon time, and the evil that was leveled against them, while so well documented, seemed all the more horrific because they were so young.
Now from the stand point of our textbook, biographies should be authentic, show the blemishes as well as the strong points, be engaging and not let personal objectives get in the way. I would have to say that the only weakness was that these stories, based on the subject matter, did not look at the "blemishes", but in all other aspects, it should be considered a quality biography, or collection of biographies. As far as the blemishes, that was the only thing I kept wondering: the stories seemed to brush over so many questions: how did some get special recognition while others were just shot. It seems incomprehensible to me that one child out of hundreds of thousands of people coming into a slave-labor camp, would be recognized and singled out... I had some doubt that the sotry was somehow manuvered to fit what the authors wanted to show. But for the average young reader, I don't think this would even enter their minds.
Okay, now I'll read your blog and see what you said.
Liz
Sunday, November 1, 2009
A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson, Houghton, 2004(?)
Our poetry selection is very somber indeed. Sonnets, Petrachan or Shakespearean are a difficult concept for middle and early high schoolers. The pairing of a sonnet wreath and the subject of Emmett Till's murder/lynching elevates this piece to either accelerated Freshman, or Junior/Senior English. One aspect that could make this more accessible would be to look at the author's purpose, and show how sonnets can say so much more than the surface images. This is where the author notes both before and after could come in handy. I have not taught this but I am sure that if I were to add it as a unit, I would need to do a lot more background information on meter, lyrical structure, and allusions.
As far as how she incorporates illustrations, I felt that this is where my inderstanding broke down alittle. The obvious images, like the boot, the tree or the shadowy figures, I got, but some of the full page spreads picked up on images that I did not think important. I kept going back to the sonnet from that page trying to figure out how it meshed. In a few instances, I just chaulked it up to my lack of knowledge of the allusions. Now that I have learned that artists and author do not always collaborate I wonder if the illustrations are just not representative.
The use of figurative language, and allusions, I think, could be used in an honors or accelrated classroom to show how a modern day topic can be addressed with a poetic straucture. This would be a very rigorous unit, but because many of the allusions and images are known, or covered in high school history. I think students could relate to it somewhat.
I myself enjoyed the way she addressed different aspects of this dispicable crime, how she tied in other monstrousities from not only our history, but other countries as well. I thought her use of symbols to express the extreme pain and anger was effective. Sometimes the symbol can be stronger than a profuse description. The horror of this lynching and the horror of the mother's pain is more precisely expressed through a few strong images, at least, this is my opinion.
Liz
Our poetry selection is very somber indeed. Sonnets, Petrachan or Shakespearean are a difficult concept for middle and early high schoolers. The pairing of a sonnet wreath and the subject of Emmett Till's murder/lynching elevates this piece to either accelerated Freshman, or Junior/Senior English. One aspect that could make this more accessible would be to look at the author's purpose, and show how sonnets can say so much more than the surface images. This is where the author notes both before and after could come in handy. I have not taught this but I am sure that if I were to add it as a unit, I would need to do a lot more background information on meter, lyrical structure, and allusions.
As far as how she incorporates illustrations, I felt that this is where my inderstanding broke down alittle. The obvious images, like the boot, the tree or the shadowy figures, I got, but some of the full page spreads picked up on images that I did not think important. I kept going back to the sonnet from that page trying to figure out how it meshed. In a few instances, I just chaulked it up to my lack of knowledge of the allusions. Now that I have learned that artists and author do not always collaborate I wonder if the illustrations are just not representative.
The use of figurative language, and allusions, I think, could be used in an honors or accelrated classroom to show how a modern day topic can be addressed with a poetic straucture. This would be a very rigorous unit, but because many of the allusions and images are known, or covered in high school history. I think students could relate to it somewhat.
I myself enjoyed the way she addressed different aspects of this dispicable crime, how she tied in other monstrousities from not only our history, but other countries as well. I thought her use of symbols to express the extreme pain and anger was effective. Sometimes the symbol can be stronger than a profuse description. The horror of this lynching and the horror of the mother's pain is more precisely expressed through a few strong images, at least, this is my opinion.
Liz
Autobiography of my dead brother by Walter Dean Myers, art by Christopher Myers. HarperCollins Publisher, 2005.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book because its list of characters, setting and mix of illustrations seemed to me to be well balanced and accessible to the reluctant reader. I have recommended this to a number of students, and I could tell from their reading journal entries, they were connecting to Jesse, his family, and to the loss of a friend to the streets. Bristol is far from Harlem, but I feel that the kids trusted Myers' depictions. Could the drive-bys and Diablos be stereotypical? I don't know as this is so far out of my league but I am trusting Myers to give me a raw but realistic setting.
I feel cynical in examining the makeup of each family and the key characteristics of each character, but one can run down the list of typical characters. The difference I think is that at heart this is a story about loyalty to friends and growing up / growing apart. Rise dies, but his philosophy, before he turned to pushing drugs, is, well, as his cartoon alter ego symbolizes: wise. I think this is an important theme for students to understand. If this is not their reality, then perhaps they will see that the theme is a common thread found in all cultures. The fact that the roles of the stock characters are not new, is perhaps less important. Jesse and Rise are well developed and dynamic.
I also really liked the illustrations. They support some scenes, such as the retaliation drive-by, and yet others take a concept or conflict from the plot, and elevate it, so that the underlying purpose from the printed word now has an added dimension. I am reminded of the trains going by Rise, and in the end, the fact that the trains never seem to be coming for him, foreshadows his ultimate death.
The fact that this book was a National Book Award finalist, shows the quality of this piece.
Liz
I thoroughly enjoyed this book because its list of characters, setting and mix of illustrations seemed to me to be well balanced and accessible to the reluctant reader. I have recommended this to a number of students, and I could tell from their reading journal entries, they were connecting to Jesse, his family, and to the loss of a friend to the streets. Bristol is far from Harlem, but I feel that the kids trusted Myers' depictions. Could the drive-bys and Diablos be stereotypical? I don't know as this is so far out of my league but I am trusting Myers to give me a raw but realistic setting.
I feel cynical in examining the makeup of each family and the key characteristics of each character, but one can run down the list of typical characters. The difference I think is that at heart this is a story about loyalty to friends and growing up / growing apart. Rise dies, but his philosophy, before he turned to pushing drugs, is, well, as his cartoon alter ego symbolizes: wise. I think this is an important theme for students to understand. If this is not their reality, then perhaps they will see that the theme is a common thread found in all cultures. The fact that the roles of the stock characters are not new, is perhaps less important. Jesse and Rise are well developed and dynamic.
I also really liked the illustrations. They support some scenes, such as the retaliation drive-by, and yet others take a concept or conflict from the plot, and elevate it, so that the underlying purpose from the printed word now has an added dimension. I am reminded of the trains going by Rise, and in the end, the fact that the trains never seem to be coming for him, foreshadows his ultimate death.
The fact that this book was a National Book Award finalist, shows the quality of this piece.
Liz
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