Ricki – Page 100 – Unleashing Readers

Threatened by Eliot Schrefer

July 27, 2015March 27, 2014 by Ricki

Threatened
Author: Eliot Schrefer
Published: February 25th, 2014 by Scholastic Press

GoodReads Summary: Into the jungle. Into the wild. Into harm’s way. When he was a boy, Luc’s mother would warn him about the “mock men” living in the trees by their home — chimpanzees whose cries would fill the night. Luc is older now, his mother gone. He lives in a house of mistreated orphans, barely getting by. Then a man calling himself Prof comes to town with a mysterious mission. When Luc tries to rob him, the man isn’t mad. Instead, he offers Luc a job. Together, Luc and Prof head into the rough, dangerous jungle in order to study the elusive chimpanzees. There, Luc finally finds a new family — and must act when that family comes under attack.

As he did in his acclaimed novel Endangered, a finalist for the National Book Award, Eliot Schrefer takes us somewhere fiction rarely goes, introducing us to characters we rarely get to meet. The unforgettable result is the story of a boy fleeing his present, a man fleeing his past, and a trio of chimpanzees who are struggling not to flee at all.

Review: If you follow this blog, you know that Kellee and I are advocates for Eliot Schrefer’s writing. He is an incredibly talented writer; his settings feel authentic in that he makes far away places seem very close to home. I develop a strong kinship with his characters—animal or human. Kellee has been raving about Threatened since the ALAN conference, and I knew I wanted to read it as soon as I got a hang of being a new mom. It didn’t disappoint. The writing is stunning.

I expected Threatened to be very similar to Endangered, but I was wrong. Endangered is about an American girl visiting her mother in a Congolese bonobo sanctuary when a civil war breaks out. Threatened, on the other hand, is about an orphan boy from Gabon who goes into the wild with a professor in order to learn more about chimpanzees. But these books are more than their settings and the animals. They teach us about what it means to be human. Threatened, in particular, made me think about humanity’s evolution and the difficulties that come from living in the wild. I couldn’t help but think about how far humanity has strayed from nature. Even when Luc feels that he wants for nothing, he is ashamed that he still holds material desires. This book makes readers think critically, and it would be a great book to use in the classroom.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: After reading this book, I wanted to learn more about chimpanzees and how they are different from humans. Schrefer’s book has a call to action. He gives suggestions of how we might help these endangered animals. In particular, he discusses the sad state of animal testing and provides readers with ways to take action. This book will help students become critical thinkers, and hopefully, teachers will help students enact social justice for these animals which are so genetically close to us.

Discussion Questions: Are humans too far removed from nature?; How does Luc become more animalistic after he lives for extensive time in the wild? Are his changes mental? Physical?; What do the chimpanzees teach us about humanity? How are they similar and different from us?; What can we do to help these endangered species?

We Flagged: “We can try so hard, but in some basic way we’re bound by how we’re raised. There’s no escaping it. We can love someone and want to be open to the feeling but fail because our hearts got wired one way long before we knew it was happening. We can break our own hearts because of what our souls believe” (Chapter 10).

**Please note: This quote is taken from the NetGalley. It may be different in the published version of the book.**

Read This If You Loved: Endangered by Eliot Schrefer, Into That Forest by Louis Nowra, Dog Boy by Eva Hornung, Second Nature by Alice Hoffman, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Recommended For:

Balance, Where Are You?

April 22, 2023March 20, 2014 by Ricki

I wonder if every new mom comes to a point where she asks herself, how do I balance all of this? I only have one child (bless anyone who has more than one), but I often feel as if my eyes are just barely peeking above the surface of the murky swamp. As a new parent, I can’t help but try to balance all of the advice I get—don’t wake a sleeping baby, don’t let him sleep too long, don’t let him get overtired, keep him awake during the day, don’t overstimulate him, schedule naps, nap on demand, and don’t you dare rock him to sleep. I search for balance in my life (as I bounce my four-month-old up and down with my knees—his favorite motion), and I begin to ponder how the elusive qualities of balance might extend beyond parenting.

In my independent study, I am reading some of the greatest contributors to the field of education—Dewey, Bobbit, Apple, and Freire (to name a few). And I get riled up. (If you know me, this shouldn’t be surprising.) Too many philosophers promote one style/theory of teaching, and we, as educators, are forced to juggle all of these philosophies and formulate our own. We read Kozol or Hirsch or Addams, and we try to mish-mosh their theories into one. Too often, philosophers push their theories as absolute, and while I often respect each theory, I crinkle my forehead when each is professed as the only theory. God forbid, when there are disparities between two of those theories, we feel like bad teachers because we see the merit in both. We want to feel firm in our beliefs. I read about Hirsch’s Cultural Literacy, for example, and I nodded in response when I read that our students must be prepared to emerge as literate adults who understand the language of American culture. And then I read his list of 5,000 words/phrases that EVERY literate person must know, and I shook my head. Perhaps, Hirsch is just one lens, and we, as teachers, are able to see our students through thousands of lenses. It seems that each philosophy we learn about adds a lens and makes our classrooms that much clearer.

I look to these philosophers, and I seek balance in my own philosophies, and I wonder why we find comfort in seeing qualities of life in black and white. I am, admittedly, guilty of this. When a friend posts a viewpoint that is so very different from my own, why am I compelled to post an argumentative reply? Can our polarized views—be them teaching, parenting, or politics—be balanced? What is it about this gray area that makes us so nervous?

And amidst this overwhelming stress of being a good mom, a good wife, a good keeper of the house, a good student, a good friend, and a good blogger, my son looks at me as I bounce him and lets out a belly laugh. Across the cyberspace, someone else’s son is laughing right now. That someone else might hold parenting views that are quite different from my own. And in another town, a teacher is grading assignments that are very different from my own. And what she is doing is working. So maybe this mom and I—and this teacher and I—maybe we are all right.

We’d Love to Hear Your Interests!

March 13, 2014 by Ricki

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A Response (Ahem…Rant) Regarding E. D. Hirsch Jr.’s Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know

April 22, 2023March 6, 2014 by Ricki

GoodReads Summary:

In this forceful manifesto, Hirsch argues that children in the U.S. are being deprived of the basic knowledge that would enable them to function in contemporary society. Includes 5,000 essential facts to know.

My Review:

This text left me nodding vigorously at some sections and wanting to rip out the pages of other portions. Hirsch gives an impressively extensive background of the establishment of the English language. When my students ask, “Who made these grammar rules and spelling decisions?” I can now give them quite a long answer. I love a book that makes me think, and as an educator, this text truly made me ponder my beliefs about education. Hirsch contends that literate adults know things that illiterate adults do not. They have cultural literacy, and there are common ideas, phrases, and words that literate share that allow them to hold intelligent discussions and read newspapers. I agree with this notion, and Hirsch proves it well.

He then continues by arguing that teaching skills is not enough, and we need our children to learn these extensive facts in order for them to become functioning, literate adults. My biggest problem with this idea is his list. The appendix contains 5,000 words and phrases (about half of the book). If we spent time teaching from this list, our students would suffer. School wouldn’t be about inquiry—but about facts and cold information. I am more aligned with Dewey’s approach. Our students must be given exploratory opportunities to enact inquisition. If we teach our students to be curious, they will want to read and learn, and then they will slowly learn these words and phrases. I imagine educators agreeing with this text and wanting to create multiple choice tests.

My other issue with this text is the fact that Hirsch is narcissistic enough to think that he can create the list of the words and phrases cultured, literate Americans should know. He tries to validate this by arguing that he worked with a few others and they received feedback from over a hundred people. I was not impressed and found this to be quite pompous.

Hirsch ends with practical ways we might approach the integration of these words and phrases into curricula. I was extremely unhappy with his suggestion to provide a test for students at different levels to ensure that they are learning the facts. More tests? We would kill the love of learning with his approach to education.

While there are elements of Hirsch’s argument that are sound, I was disappointed by many of the ideas he put forth. I agree that students need to become culturally literate, and I found this concept to be quite interesting and important, but I don’t think that all educators will agree about which facts are most important. Hirsch does seem to understand this and explains how the process of picking these words and phrases is messy, and for me, the creation of this list is where many of the details of his argument are flawed.

He begins his book by explaining how saddened he is that a literary reference (“The tide falls”) is lost on many people. I understand this allusion, and I disagree with Hirsch. If I used this phrase in a conversation and another person didn’t understand it, I would explain it. That is the power of education and teaching each other. We are always learning, and we can always grow as cultured, literate adults. Knowing these specific 5,000 terms (or the many more his more extensive version) do not make us culturally literate.

Are you culturally literate? I included a few random words/phrases you should know from the “5,000 Essential Names, Phrases, Dates, and Concepts” section:

Luxembourg

metaphysics

microfiche

The Little Red Hen (title)

Interstate Commerce Commission

hubris

L’état c’est moi

Dolley Madison

Planck’s constant

philistinism

wildcat strike

Benedict Arnold

MX missile

juvenilia

intransitive verb

How did you do? Did you get a few?

Blog Tour and Review!: Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliot

July 27, 2015March 5, 2014 by Ricki

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Weeds Find a Way
Author: Cindy Jenson-Elliot
Illustrator: Carolyn Fisher
Published: February 4, 2014 by Beach Lane Books

Goodreads Summary: Weeds are wonderful! Persistent, exuberant…these plants have personalities, and this nonfiction picture book puts them on colorful display!

From bright yellow dandelions popping through cracks in sidewalks to purple loosestrife growing rampant along roadways, weeds offer unexpected splashes of color and life to the least likely of places. With lovely language and a sly sense of humor, this beautiful picture book celebrates the tenacious temperaments of these pesky plants and is sure to have little ones chanting, “Way to go, weeds!”

Ricki’s Review: The illustrations! The illustrations! I was mesmerized by the gorgeous artwork in this text. As I read it aloud to my son and husband, I was oohing and aahing at the bright, luscious colors. It made me want to go outdoors and lay among the weeds. If it wasn’t the dead of the winter, I would pull my son outside and read the book to him in our garden. There are beautiful passages of figurative language–alliteration that reads like a song, and readers will be sucked into the sprawling passages that evoke lovely images. The book turns readers’ assumptions on their heads. The words and images show that we can find beauty in, of all things, weeds. While I learned much about weeds and found the informational passages at the end (about different types of weeds) to be quite informative, I found the idea of weeds to be symbolic, too.

Kellee’s Review: I was blown away with how fascinating the author made something that we walk by every day and ignore. The text itself is quite lyrical and has the amazing illustrations with it; however, I found the goodies in the research in the afterword. It was very interesting for me to learn that these plants, which we treat like pests, are actually so very useful. I second much of what Ricki says about the figurative language. I love seeing these elements being used in a nonfiction book! Overall, this is a nonfiction book that should be shared with kids and will definitely start some major discussions.

Teachers’ Tool for Navigation: Teachers will find multiple opportunities with this text. They can use it to teach different types of figurative language, or they might ask students to explore weeds in a more symbolic way. We love the idea of using nonfiction at such a young age, and we wonder if teachers might try literature circles with this text. While it is marketed for ages 4-8, it could be used for different purposes with a variety of age groups. The informational passages at the end might allow teachers to help students research about different types of plants. We also love the illustrations so much that we would love to have kids take the pictures and write their own stories to match the images. It would show that nonfiction can be accessible and fun.

Discussion Questions: Why do weeds get a bad reputation? What else might we compare weeds to? Are there other things in the world that are unfairly loathed?; How does the author use figurative language to draw the reader in?; What makes a plant a weed?; Some of the plants shared at the end of the book are useful (for foods, medication, etc.); however, we still treat them as weeds. Why do we have this perspective of these plants?

We Flagged: “Weeds find way to stay, reaching deep with a grip so strong, the stem always breaks first, leaving the living roots behind to sprout again; or pinching into pieces the minute you try to tug them out, spreading into a spray of plant parts that find new spots to take root” (p. 21-22).

Read This If You Loved: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins

About the Author: Cindy Jenson-Elliott is the author of fourteen books of nonfiction and hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines and educational publishers. She is a teacher and environmental educator with an MA in education and a passion for connecting children with nature. In her free time, she enjoys swimming in the ocean and spending time outdoors in San Diego, where she lives and gardens with her family of four humans and three Buff Orpington chickens. Visit her at CindyJensonElliott.com.

Recommended For:

Check out all the stops on the WEEDS FIND A WAY blog tour!

Mon, Feb 24	Growing with Science	http://blog.growingwithscience.com/
Tues, Feb 25	As They Grow Up	http://www.astheygrowup.com/
Wed, Feb 26	Kid Lit Frenzy	http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/
Thurs, Feb 27	Sharpread	http://sharpread.wordpress.com/
Fri, Feb 28	Children’s Book Review	http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/
Mon, Mar 3	Let’s Go Chipper!	http://letsgochipper.com/
Tues, Mar 4	Just a Little Creativity	http://www.justalittlecreativity.com/
Wed, Mar 5	Unleashing Readers	http://www.unleashingreaders.com/
Thurs, Mar 6	5 Minutes for Books	http://www.5minutesformom.com/category/feature-columns/5-minutes-for-books/
Fri, Mar 7	Archimedes Notebook	http://archimedesnotebook.blogspot.com/

and

**Thank you to Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media for providing us with copies for review**

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

July 27, 2015February 27, 2014 by Ricki

The Impossible Knife of Memory
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: January 7th, 2014 by Viking Juvenile

GoodReads Summary: For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.

Review: This book reminded me of something incredibly important to remember as a reader—even when I read a book’s summary and feel as if I have read dozens of books with a similar plot, an amazing author like Laurie Halse Anderson will make me feel as if I have never read a book quite like it before. Hayley’s father’s pain ripped right through me. I felt his anguish and wanted to sit beside him to try to comfort him. This book sheds light on an issue that is often kept in the dark. With the war veterans coming home, it is all the more important that we talk about PTSD and try to come together as a country to help these soldiers find peace. This book made me want to stand up and help our veterans, and I think teenagers will feel a similar sense of need for social justice.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Teachers would be wise to have students research further about PTSD and learn more about other soldiers who struggle with this issue. It is also important for students to learn about what our country is doing for these men and women who served our nation.

Discussion Questions: Can Andy be helped? Does Hayley deal with her father’s condition in a beneficial way?; Why does Hayley hate Trish? Is she justified in her feelings?; How does Finn’s family situation add to the story?

We Flagged: “I needed to hear the world but didn’t want the world to know I was listening.”

“Leaning against my father, the sadness finally broke open inside me, hollowing out my heart and leaving me bleeding. My feet felt rooted in the dirt. There were more than two bodies buried here. Pieces of me that I didn’t even know were under the ground. Pieces of dad, too.”

Read This If You Loved: Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie, The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt, If I Lie by Corrine Jackson, Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick, Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers

Recommended For:

litcirclesbuttonsmall

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

July 27, 2015February 20, 2014 by Ricki

Green
Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Published March 27th, 2012 by Roaring Brook Press

Goodreads Summary: Die cut pages bring surprise after surprise in this magical new book from the “Queen of the concept book”—an intricate and satisfying homage to green, the color of all creation.
How many kinds of green are there? There’s the lush green of a forest on a late spring day, the fresh, juicy green of a just-cut lime, the incandescent green of a firefly, and the vivid aquamarine of a tropical sea. In her newest book, Caldecott and Geisel Honor Book author Laura Vaccaro Seeger fashions an homage to a single color and, in doing so, creates a book that will delight and, quite possibly astonish you.

Green is a Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book of 2012.

Review: The limited words on each page allow the reader to get lost in the beauty of the illustrations of this gorgeous children’s book. I was expecting the typical greens but was pleasantly surprised to see the clever takes on wacky green, slow green, and no green at all. I glided from page to page, appreciating the clever cutouts and visual appeal of this incredible children’s book.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This text could be used at a variety of levels. In my reading, I felt it is really asking readers: “How many different ways can you look at the color green?” We see objects, colors, and basic things in our world one way, but how can we interpret them differently? I would love to see this used in a creative writing classroom.

Discussion Questions: Where do we see the color green in our world? Go beyond the expected interpretations.; How does the author creatively present this book? What makes a book with so few worlds so very powerful?

Read This If You Loved: A Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

Recommended For: