Characterization – Page 57 – Unleashing Readers

The Living by Matt de la Peña

July 27, 2015January 30, 2014 by Ricki

The Living
Author: Matt de la Peña
Published: November 12th, 2013 by Delacorte

GoodReads Summary: Shy took the summer job to make some money. In a few months on a luxury cruise liner, he’ll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with the bills. And how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two—every cruise has different passengers, after all.

But everything changes when the Big One hits. Shy’s only weeks out at sea when an earthquake more massive than ever before recorded hits California, and his life is forever changed.

The earthquake is only the first disaster. Suddenly it’s a fight to survive for those left living.

Review: It is difficult to review this book without giving any spoilers! It is a thrilling, action-packed text that is sure to keep readers on their toes. I loved how it kept me guessing, and I found it to be utterly unpredictable. By the end, I was surprised when I realized there would be a sequel! I fell in love with Shy’s honest voice, and he reminded me of many teens I know. Matt de la Peña proves, once again, that he can write books that are incredibly different from each other. His character development truly shines in this title.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This would make a great literature circle text. I loved all of the directions that the plot took, and it would be interesting to have students map the plot in a diagram. This book proves that all books don’t fit a perfect mold, and I think students could have a lot of fun trying to capture the different turns the plot took. I would also use this text to have students make predictions.

Discussion Questions: How does the author develop Shy’s voice? What defines Shy, as a character?; Which genres can this book fit into? If a librarian assigns this book to one of these genres, how might it be limiting?; How does Shy’s family influence his decisions?

Read This If You Loved: We Were Here by Matt de la Peña, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Maze Runner by James Dashner

Recommended For:

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Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

January 16, 2014 by Ricki

Heartbeat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Published: January 28th, 2013 by Harlequin Teen

GoodReads Summary: Life. Death. And…Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

My Review: I should start by mentioning that I will read anything by Elizabeth Scott. She does a great job developing characters in unique situations, and I always get lost in the plots of her stories. This book was different from the other titles I have read by Scott because it is quite a sad story. Emma’s situation is heart-wrenching, and I felt the pain of her grief. What I liked most about this story was Emma’s growth as an individual. She shows an incredible amount of strength and isn’t afraid to examine her beliefs as she tries to determine what is right and true.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Teachers might use this book to help readers learn about the stages of grief. It would be interesting to hold a debate about who is more justified in his or her position: Emma or her stepfather. Students might research the laws and practices of life support to help them think more deeply about the novel.

Discussion Questions: Is Emma’s position justified? Do you think she is being fair?; How does Emma’s relationship with Caleb help her grow as an individual?; Where is the turning point of the story? Why?; Do you think Emma’s mother should be kept on life support?

We Flagged: “When someone you love…when they die, you want it undone. You’d do anything to have them back, and it’s easy to believe that if only this had happened or that had happened, everything would be fine. And that’s what makes you angry. What makes you hate. You don’t want to believe that sometimes bad things happen just because they do.”

Read This If You Loved: If I Stay by Gayle Forman, The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork, Boy21 by Matthew Quick, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Hold Still by Nina LaCour, Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Recommended For:

**Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

A Big Guy Took My Ball! & I’m a Frog! by Mo Willems

January 10, 2014 by Kellee

A Big Guy Took My Ball!
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Published May 21st, 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

I’m a Frog!
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Published October 15th, 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

A Big Guy Took My Ball! Goodreads Summary: Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.

Gerald and Piggie are best friends.

In A Big Guy Took My Ball! Piggie is devastated when a big guy takes her ball! Gerald is big, too…but is he big enough to help his best friend?

I’m a Frog! Goodreads Summary: In I’m a Frog! Piggie has some ribbiting news! Can Gerald make the leap required to accept Piggie’s new identity?

Review: I love Elephant and Piggie. They are such amazing friends through all sorts of scenarios. Elephant keeps Piggie grounded and Piggie helps Elephant think/move outside of his box. Just a wonderful combination of character traits and they make for such funny books. And you know that they are good, they both won 2013 Early Reader Nerdy Awards!!!

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: Elephant and Piggie books are, of course, amazing for read alouds and will be loved by everyone who reads them. However, the books also have very few words and it is up to the reader to use inference (using the illustrations) to read even deeper into the story.

Discussion Questions: In A Big Guy Took My Ball! what did Elephant assume about the guy Piggie was talking about?; In I’m a Frog! how does Piggie help Elephant?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Any of the Elephant and Piggie books, Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel

Recommended For:

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

December 27, 2013 by Kellee

Let it Snow
Authors: John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
Published October 2nd, 2008 by Speak

Goodreads Summary: Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

My Review: You cannot go wrong with those authors! What I found was not only a romantic, funny book, but a perfect holiday read! Let it Snow is like those movies where you follow three very different stories and then eventually they intertwine and everything seems to follow into place. I loved reading each story, wanting to learn more about a certain character and then realizing the next story was about them! The authors also did a fantastic job throwing in aspects of Christmas and pushing the holiday cheer without shoving it down your throat. Let is Snow is one of those books that I want to curl up and read by the fire while it snows outside.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: I would love to read this book in its entirety with students and then try to make a timeline of the three stories and how they overlap. It would be a great discussion of connections and sequence. Also, you could look at the voice of characters and how each author made theirs distinct (and how the others authors kept them distinct in their sections). This could also lead to a great discussion about style.

This book is also loved by students and should definitely be in teen libraries.

Discussion Questions: Think of a time when you were stuck somewhere that you didn’t want to be and couldn’t really do anything about it, how did you feel? What did you do to keep yourself busy? Did something happen that you would not have expected or that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t stuck or stranded?

We Flagged:
From “The Jubilee Express” by Maureen Johnson

“‘Oh my god!’ said one of the Ambers. ‘Is this not the worst trip ever? Did you see the snow?’
She was a sharp one, this Amber. What would she notice next? The train? The moon? The hilarious vagaries of human existence? Her own head?
I didn’t say any of that, because death by cheerleader is not really the way I want to go.” p. 22

From “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” by John Green

“I dashed upstairs, my socks sliding on the hardwood floor in the kitchen, and stumbled into my bedroom. I tore open the closet door and began feverishly sorting through the shirts piled on the floor in the vain hope that inside that pile there might be some wondrously perfect shirt down there, a nice striped button-down with no wrinkles that said, ‘I’m strong and tough but I’m also a surprisingly good listener with a true and abiding passion for cheers and those who lead them.’ Unfortunately, there was no such shirt to be found. I quickly settled on a dirty but cool yellow Threadless T-shirt under a black v-neck sweater. I kicked off my watching-James-Bond-movies-with-the-Duke-and-JP jeans and hurriedly wiggled into my pair of nice, dark jeans.” p. 131-132

From “The Patron Saint of Pigs” by Lauren Myracle

“Being me sucked. Being me on this supposedly gorgeous night, with the supposedly gorgeous snow looming in five-foot drifts outside my bedroom window, double-sucked. Add the fact that today was Christmas, and my score was up to triple-suck. And add in the sad, aching, devastating lack of Jeb, and ding-ding-ding! The bell at the top of the Suckage Meter couldn’t ring any louder. Instead of jingle bells, I had suckage bells. Lovely.” p. 215

Read This If You Loved:

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Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

December 22, 2013 by Kellee

Battle Bunny
Authors: Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett
Illustrator: Matthew Myers
Published October 22nd, 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Summary: Alex has been given a saccharine, sappy, silly-sweet picture book about Birthday Bunny that his grandma found at a garage sale. Alex isn’t interested; until he decides to make the book something he’d actually like to read. So he takes out his pencil, sharpens his creativity, and totally transforms the story!

Birthday Bunny becomes Battle Bunny, and the rabbit’s innocent journey through the forest morphs into a supersecret mission to unleash an evil plan; a plan that only Alex can stop.

Featuring layered, original artwork that emphasizes Alex’s additions, this dynamic exploration of creative storytelling is sure to engage and inspire.

My Review: This book made me laugh out loud! What a perfect insight into the mind of a young boy (reminds me of so many doodles I’ve seen on papers over the year!). Also, I was blown away by the creativity of Sceiszka and Barnett. I wish I was teaching in a classroom because it would have been a book that I would have brought into the classroom to share with kids (yes, even my middle schoolers. Actually, definitely my middle schoolers.) because it is just so awesome!

Teachers Tools for Navigation: This picture book would be so much fun as a read aloud (original story than the modified one). Also, I can also picture bringing in picture books (maybe older ones or bought at a used book store) and letting the students modify their own! And so much creativity, vocabulary, cleverness, imagination, etc. are needed to transform a text the way Alex did–it’d be such a fun yet tough activity.

There is even a Battle Bunny website (http://mybirthdaybunny.com) where you can make your own story. They give you the original Birthday Bunny text and let you make your own. They actually provide PDFs of the entire text! Also on the website are educators information that includes a curriculum guide.

Discussion Questions: What other stories could you build around Birthday Bunny?; (Writing activity) Using the picture book you were given, create a new story by changing words and adding photos.

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Scaredy Squirrel books by Melanie Watts, Bananas in my Ears by Michael Rosen, The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka, You Will Be My Friend by Peter Brown

Recommended For:

The Dumbest Idea Ever! by Jimmy Gownley

December 20, 2013 by Kellee

The Dumbest Idea Ever!
Author and Illustrator: Jimmy Gownley
Expected Publication February 25th, 2014 by GRAPHIX

Goodreads Summary: Jimmy Gownley’s graphic novel memoir about the “dumb” idea that changed his life forever!

What if the dumbest idea ever turned your life upside down?

At thirteen, Jimmy was popular, at the top of his class, and the leading scorer on his basketball team. But all that changed when chicken pox forced him to miss the championship game. Things went from bad to worse when he got pneumonia and missed even more school. Before Jimmy knew it, his grades were sinking and nothing seemed to be going right.

How did Jimmy turn things around, get back on top at school, and land a date with the cutest girl in class?

Renowned comics creator Jimmy Gownley shares his adventures as he grows from an eager-to-please boy into a teenage comic book artist. This is the real-life story of how the DUMBEST idea ever became the BEST thing that ever happened to him.

My Review: I own many of the Amelia Rules series, but I had not read them before; however, when I got Jimmy Gownley’s memoir graphic novel, I knew I had to read it. I am always looking for ways to get my students to read more nonfiction and a graphic novel autobiography (like Smile) is definitely one of the ways to get them more interested in nonfiction. And, like Smile, Jimmy’s story is one that students will definitely connect with and, hopefully, enjoy. It deals with not only Jimmy’s journey of writing his graphic novel but also many the transition to high school and first love.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This book will be a definite motivator for students and really shares that a teen can do anything. And on top of the message, it is a well-written, funny story that students will enjoy.

I can also see it being used as a mentor text to have students write their own memoir graphic novel. You could use Jarrett Krosoczka’s writing mountain video (http://www.studiojjk.com/booktalks.html) to help write an in-depth story, work on deciding on life moments to write about, and then maybe use http://www.storyboardthat.com/ to story board the story.

Discussion Questions: What circumstances helped make Jimmy write his comic?

We Flagged: “Look at this! There must be dozens of new books here! Hundreds! War comics and humor comics…Horror, crime, sci-fi, romance… and not one of them look appropriate for a kid my age. AWESOME.” (p. 60)

Read This If You Loved: Smile by Raina Telgemeier, Amelia Rules! series by Jimmy Gownley, Zebrafish by Peter H. Reynolds

Recommended For:

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde by Frank Cammuso

December 14, 2013 by Kellee

Spelling Trouble
Author and Illustrator: Frank Cammuso
Published October 1st, 2013 by Harry N. Abrams

Big Birthday Bash
Author and Illustrator: Frank Cammuso
Published May 20th, 2014 by Amulet Books

Spelling Troubles Goodreads Summary: Salem Hyde just isn’t like other kids. For one thing, she’s stubborn, independent, and impulsive. For another, she’s a witch. Salem acts first and thinks later—which means most of her thinking involves coming up with excuses!

Good thing she’s been assigned an animal companion, Lord Percival J. Whamsford III. This over-anxious cat doesn’t like Salem calling him “Whammy,” and Salem doesn’t like listening to his long-winded explanations as to why she shouldn’t do something . . . like enter the class spelling bee.

Salem knows she can beat all her classmates at spells, no problem. Too late, she realizes the competition is about spelling words, not magic. And there’s nothing like a misspelled spell to cause all kinds of havoc!

Big Birthday Bash Goodreads Summary: Young witch Salem Hyde is stubborn, impulsive, and loves flying. Her cat companion, Whammy, is nervous, careful, and loves staying on the ground. Somehow, though, they’re best friends. In this second book in the series, Salem is invited to a birthday party, and she wants to make sure everything goes perfectly. But from the invitations to the presents, party games, and spells gone awry, nothing happens exactly the way it should, and she’ll need Whammy’s help to sort it all out.

My Review: I made sure to pick this up at NCTE from Abrams because Frank Cammuso is a big hit in my classroom. His series, Knights of the Lunch Table (great allusion to King Arthur!) is loved by many a reader (so much so that I think my copy of the first in the series just bit the dust and I’ll need to replace it). Although they did tell me that readers of TKotLT are older than the intended audience for Salem Hyde I wanted to make sure to read it because I was sure I was going to enjoy it—and I did! I’m also so pleased with the embracing of graphic novels that have been happening over the last 5 years and even graphic novels for young readers. The amount of graphic novels for young readers is really starting to accumulate and I have been impressed with most of the ones I’ve read, Salem Hyde included. I feel that many of the juvenile graphic novels are well done, multi-layered, and truly respectable just like the YA graphic novels.

Salem Hyde reminds me of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but a bit more of a trouble maker. Salem made me laugh and made me shake my head. She is one headstrong, independent little lady who, mixed with trying to figure out all of her match powers as she grows up as a witch, is a great main character.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: These books will find most of its success in children’s hands; however, it could definitely be used as a read aloud. Also, in both of these books Whammy, at one point, tells Salem a story to help teacher her a lesson and they are both based off of classics. In Spelling Trouble it is Moby Dick and in Big Birthday Bash it is Gift of the Magi. Salem Hyde would be a perfect introduction to these two stories for young readers. Another aspect of Salem Hyde that I, as a teacher, may use in the classroom are the character introductions that were included. Each new character got a “Getting to know ____” with their likes, dislikes, and other fun facts (magic powers, etc.). This would be a fun activity to do when writing a narrative and trying to develop characters.

Discussion Questions: How does Whammy use stories to help Salem understand?; How is Salem a better friend to Edgar than Shelly?; Why was Whammy exactly what Salem needed?

We Flagged:

Or “Look Inside” Spelling Troubles on Amazon

Read This If You Loved: Babymouse and Squish series by Jennifer and Matthew Holm, Gabby and Gator by James Burk, Luz Makes a Splash by Claudia Davila, Sadie and Ratz by Sonya Hartnett, Lulu series by Judith Viorst, Bink and Gollie series by Kate DiCamillo, Franny K. Stein series by Jim Benton, Marty McGuire series by Kate Messner, Giants Beware by Jorge Aguirre

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