Shipping Out: Review of Namesake

 

Namesake by Adrienne Young

Gratitude

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Goodreads Giveaways for the Fable trilogy, of which Namesake is the second. I am enjoying reading my way through!

Description

In Namesake, Adrienne Young starts us off where Fable left off, following up on the cliffhanger ending. We soon learn that Fable has a grandmother and her grandmother, Holland, is the cornerstone of the gem trade in the Unnamed Sea, where she holds court in the most affluent city. Fable’s grandmother wants to pull Fable off of her ship, the Marigold, and use her for her own purposes.

Fable lives in a world governed by sea trade and poverty. Many are cutthroat, sometimes literally, because that is what they need to do to survive. After being abandoned by her father on the most dangerous island of all, Fable has finally found a family in the crew of the Marigold, including West, with whom she had built a passionate relationship. She will do whatever she can to keep her place on the Marigold.

Will Fable’s father come through and help her? Is West the man she thinks he is or is he the man that everyone else says he is? Will Fable be able to scheme her way from treacherous Holland?

If you enjoyed Fable, you will likely enjoy the Namesake.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? Sequels are not easy to teach without the books that come before. While reading Fable is not a requirement for reading Namesake it certainly helps. It might work for a class on the YA genre or YA fantasy. To teach it in middle school might be difficult because of some mild spicy content—certainly it would depend on the school.

Overall, I would be more likely to teach Fable than Namesake. The series relies, in part, on our love for Fable and our rooting for her to come from the bottom up. Somehow, now that Fable has worked herself up a bit from the bottom, she is not quite as compelling. She does not seem terribly bothered by her problematic power moves—certainly, she cares about what her crew will think, but less about how her choices will impact other people. I am all for girl bosses, but with the questions that are brought up against her father and West, what moral questions does she have for herself?

To be fair, the business deals that Fable sets up are not so violent as West’s or her father’s—but I am wondering about the lack of any moral culpability, beyond the concerns that Fable has for the Marigold’s crew.

The plot also relies on a few moments when Fable is wrong about other characters’ intentions. The turnaround feels cheap, and Fable’s reactions do not seem to equal what the emotional fallout felt like it should be.


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Come on Baby, Don't Light That Fire: Book Review of Firestarter

 

Firestarter by Stephen King

Gratitude

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making Firestarter by Stephen King readily available to the public absolutely free. 

Description

In the Stephen King classic Firestarter, Andy is on the run with his young daughter, trying to escape the clutches of the Shop, a government agency created to investigate psychic abilities. Both Andy and his daughter Charlie are able to do things with their minds that sound impossible—Andy can manipulate people’s thoughts and Charlie can start fires. While Andy’s abilities are small, Charlie’s are tremendous, so great that the Shop will stop at nothing to capture her.

And Andy will stop at nothing to save her.

Firestarter focuses mostly on Andy’s point of view and goes into an extended flashback to explain the government tests that forever altered Andy and Vicky, the woman he would later marry and who would also become Charlie’s mother. The experience is wild and somehow more difficult to accept than Charlie’s abilities to start fires--perhaps because the government is a known entity and that kind of cover up would be difficult to imagine.

A Product of Its Time

The plot relies heavily on the existence of the Shop, an organization within the government which seems to be simultaneously above the law and beholden to government budgets and restrictions. The belief that the government would experiment unethically on its citizens is one that has at least some support in history. It is interesting how we, as a country, trust and distrust the machinations of our government. We pride ourselves on our liberty and also assume the government is up to no good, often acting contrary to the interests of the people. Firestarter was first published in 1980, long before Q-Anon and all the fears of how the Covid pandemic was handled, but not that distant from the Vietnam War and the unsettling reticence to accept the changes demanded during the Civil Rights Movement. How would Firestarter be received during the current political climate, I wonder?

As the only character noted for his ethnicity, it is disturbing that John Rainbird is the villain of the book. Rainbird is a Native American who was scarred during the Vietnam War, including having lost an eye. He's also a hired assassin who is especially interested in helping with Charlie’s capture. No other character’s ethnicity is noted in the entirety of the book, and the edition I read is close to 500 pages. This is not the first time, nor the last time, that King has used ethnic or racial identity in a questionable way.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? I could make a case for teaching Firestarter in a class on science fiction or a themed class on super powers or the Stephen King course I am building in my brain, waiting for the opportunity to teach it. Firestarter is entertaining and has some adrenaline to it, so it is certainly a good choice for a leisure read. And again, I am also curious about the commentary on the secret and ominous workings of the government, which can only be imagined by the common folk who will never know the truth. 

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Were You Team Jordan or Team Joey? Book Review of Pretending to Dance

 

Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

Description

Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain brings us the story of Molly, a thirty-eight year old lawyer who has not been able to have a child. While Molly thinks of her marriage as loving and honest, she has some big secrets from her childhood that she hasn’t shared with her husband, including that her mother murdered her father. As the couple begins the process to adopt a baby, memories rush back to Molly, especially the summer she was fourteen, the summer when her father died. Her cousin’s emails pop up in her inbox, adding to the weight of the memories and the pain of the betrayal that made her leave her family behind.

Molly’s story unfolds in both the past and the present with chapter titles that signal where they take place, San Diego for the present and Morrison Ridge for the past. The transitions are clear and Chamberlain does a good job of making the voice feel authentic for both the Molly of the past and the Molly of the present.

Pretending to Dance focuses on Molly’s emotional journey, and not just facing her past, but facing her present, as well. She and her husband are seeking an open adoption, an arrangement that makes Molly anxious. When she and her husband adopt a baby, will the baby love the birth mother more than her? Will jealousy haunt her relationship with her child? When Molly communicates her fears with her husband, it seems that they are not in perfect harmony about how they want the adoption to go. Her concerns about the adoption feel realistic, as does her anxiety over the past.

Would I teach this book? 

Would I teach this book? Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain was a recent pick for the book club I just joined. More of the conversation focused on past Molly and her experiences as a teenager than adult Molly. It is easy to feel sympathy for little Molly and all the things she was helpless over or didn’t understand. Adult Molly seems a bit less mature for her age and her story is not quite as compelling. I wonder whether another structure may have served the story better, even though the telling is already clean and consistent.

It was a decent choice for a book club, but I don’t think that I would use it in my classroom. The story feels a bit bloated, like at least fifty pages could be pruned back in order to give it its full emotional blooming.

The nostalgia, though, was strong, and being brought back to the days of New Kids on the Block and the intense crushing on Joey McIntyre and listening to the album Step by Step ad nauseum. I was never a Johnny Depp kind of girl like Molly, but it was understandable, at the time.     

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My Body, My Choice: Book Review of Looking for Jane

 

Looking for Jane: A Novel by Heather Marshall

Description

In Looking for Jane, Heather Marshall takes on the history of reproductive rights in Canada. The book alternates between the stories of three women:

Evelyn did not choose to be in a home for pregnant, unwed women. When her fiancé died before they were married, neither of them knew that Evelyn was already pregnant. Without any discussion with her, Evelyn's parents abandon her at the maternity home, where she has no rights and no way to protect herself. Or her baby.

Angela wants a baby. She has been undergoing fertility treatments and recently miscarried, a devastating loss from which she is trying to come back from so that she can try again. With each cycle, she tells herself that this will be the one.

Nancy goes with her cousin to support her as she has a back alley abortion, an experience that will change the course of her life.

As their stories unfold, the complexities of women being prevented from making choices about their own bodies is illuminated. Marshall has clearly spent time researching the subject in order to discover the various ways in which people protested the previous ban on abortion in Canada.

 

A Relevant Story 

Of course, the subject in the United States feels especially relevant, as women in several states currently lack reproductive rights. How surreal it is to think about how many years backward we have traveled with the repealing of Roe V. Wade. Looking for Jane is the October read for my book club, and I look forward to discussing it. The issues involved set up the possibility of good conversation, as most women will identify with at least some part of the story.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Looking for Jane? It would be a good pick for a contemporary fiction class, reading politics in literature, or a gender or queer studies literature course. It would fit right in with a Women’s Lit course I took in college that included books like The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler and Wit by Margaret Edson. I remember that course fondly, and the rousing discussions we had. One of the great values of a literature course or a book club is that to the readers, one book becomes a conversation with another. And you know what? Readers love that kind of talk.

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First Slowly, Then All at Once: Book Review of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

 

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Description

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer is William’s story of how he not only built a windmill, but was able to bring power, in more ways than one, to his home country of Malawi.

William loved to go to school. School was a great privilege, as it was costly. His parents did everything they could to pay for his education—until they couldn’t. When a famine hit his home, there was no money, not even for food. As William describes it, the famine was as terrifying and deadly as a tornado or other natural disaster, but the famine took longer to kill people. Eventually, the famine ended, but the consequences lingered, including the economic impact. With no monetary reserves left, and the family only beginning to have enough food, there is not enough money for William to go to school.

He tries to sneak in, but it is eventually detected. He tries to learn from a friend who is still in school, but it is not enough. Eventually, with the hope that he will not fall too far behind his peers, William goes to the library. It is a small library, with only a few shelves, but William finds books that he can read. As he is reading, he gets the idea to build a windmill.

Most of the book focuses on William’s journey to build the windmill. There are many steps in building it, beginning with a dynamo, which allows William to create electricity from another form of energy. At first, it is through pedaling a bicycle. Over time, William gathers parts as he can find them--mostly discarded pieces, but there are times when he must scratch up the money for something that can only be bought. Through imagination, experimentation, and perseverance, he is able to create a working windmill.

Eventually, word of William’s windmill gets out. Journalists come to interview him and to take pictures of his windmill. A blogger hears about it, and writes an article, which spreads word of him further. William becomes a TED fellow. From there, people and groups help him so that he is able to gain more education and knowledge.

It is an incredible story, but also frustrating. Why can’t help come from within? Why does the money have to come from outside of Malawi, even outside of Africa? The disparity in wealth and resources is unconscionable.

Would I Teach This Book?

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a choice book for a non-fiction unit I teach. Students chose it, but it was not nearly as popular as the sports choices.

Those who did choose the book did not seem nearly as inspired as the book is meant to be. To think that someone would work so hard to achieve such a goal is something I find amazing--but an American middle school student might find this further outside the bounds of their imagination. With such blessings as running water, electricity, and education, it is hard to fathom what life might be without these things. However, even if a book cannot bring the understanding entirely home when they are an adolescent, it may plant an idea that they will return to later and it might inspire them to do good things.


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Fir

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz--Will You Be My Honey?: Book Review of Bee Fearless

 

Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid by Mikaila Ulmer

Description

Bee Fearless by Mikaila Ulmer is the true story of how Ulmer founded a lemonade company at the age of four and over the years grew it from a lemonade stand in her front yard to bottling and distributing the drink across the country. She appeared on Shark Tank and gained an investor. She has also spoken to many groups and at many conferences, inspiring other kids to become entrepreneurs and to take care of the bees.

For Ulmer, her interest in bees began after she was stung twice within a short period of time. Her parents wisely encouraged her to learn more about bees in order to allay her fear. Ulmer’s research revealed to her that the bee population is not as healthy as it once was--which is scary, as bees pollinate many of the foods we eat, in addition to supplying honey. Their pollination helps with larger scale biodiversity, too. Along with selling her lemonade, Ulmer’s company runs a foundation to support education and research about bees and which also donates bee hives.

Business Tips for Kids

Bee Fearless combines tips to help a kid build a business with the story of how Ulmer built her own business. It ends with ten years of her company, presumably when she is in high school, but a quick visit to her website shows that she has since gone on to Emory University.

It is quite incredible that a kid could do all of the things that Ulmer did--marketing, researching, building a budget, giving presentations, and educating others. The assistance of her parents made everything possible, and her parents both had some prior knowledge of business and finances. It is still incredible that Ulmer was able to create such an impactful and successful business.

Her journey involved meeting many famous people, including President Obama. There are pictures included throughout the book, as well as subtitles and flowers to show section breaks. As the book tells Ulmer’s stories, there are lessons and tips pulled out from the stories, which are aimed to help the prospective entrepreneurs in her audience. The tips are printed on the side margins of the pages and are labeled “Buzziness Ideas.” It is clear that effort was put into the designing of the book to make it easily digestible and to be read in multiple sittings. It is attractive and interesting to flip through.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? Bee Fearless by Mikaila Ulmer and Brin Stevens (I appreciate that the ghost writer is given credit on the title page of the book) is one of the choices in a nonfiction unit I teach. More students opted for choices that included athletes’ stories than Bee Fearless and I wonder if it would have as much appeal to kids who are not looking to be entrepreneurs, but it does a good job of not just showing that creating a company is possible, it also describes many of the steps that Ulmer and her parents went through as they made her lemonade stand into a profitable business. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the book for kids is that it shows both that the business took time and effort and that it was possible.

Bee Fearless is a bit dry at times, and does not include the same level of drama and excitement as the rest of the choices in my nonfiction unit, but for youth who are looking to learn more about being an entrepreneur, it is a good choice.

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Let's Go Swimming, Let's Go Swimming--on the Bottom of the Ocean: Book Review of Fable

 

Fable by Adrienne Young

Gratitude

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy of Fable by Adrienne Young, which I received along with The Namesake and The Last Legacy, the second and third books in the series.

Description

I can understand why Fable would be a choice for Reese’s YA Book Club: the female main character is strong, brave, and resilient; there is lots of action, and the world building is clear and interesting--it reminds me a bit of The Seam from The Hunger Games, except set on the water.

Fable grew up with a beautiful and talented mother--Isolde, who could feel the vibration of gems--and a father, Saint, who owned a nautical empire. When Fable’s mother dies on Saint’s ship, he abandons Fable on an island, scarring her and telling her that when she makes her way back to him, he will give her what is hers.

After spending years on Jeval, an island notoriously filled with thieves and scammers, trying to earn enough for passage to her father, Fable must make a daring escape if she ever wishes to leave the island--alive.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Adrienne Young’s Fable? I can see Fable fitting into a dystopian fiction unit or a YA class. Fable is a character we want to root for, and there is a strong plot. There are some moments at the beginning when the backstory is being revealed that feel a little inconsistent. Overall, though, the book is a suspenseful read.

Fable is also low spice, which might make it more appealing for high school classrooms and many middle schools would find it acceptable, as well. Certainly it would not be a problem for college courses. Instead of romance, Fable focuses more on Fable’s desire to find a place for herself. Having lost her mother and having a father who's not exactly the nurturing type, she is searching for people she can trust in a world in which her father taught her to trust no one.

It ends on a cliff-hanger, if that matters to you, but since book two is already out, no need to worry. The cliff-hanger would be good for teaching, as it would encourage students to pick up the next volume.

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Another Player on the DL: Book Review of Blockade Billy

 

Blockade Billy by Stephen King

Gratitude

Thank you to Bucks County Free Public Library, where I checked out Blockade Billy by Stephen King.

Description

In Blockade Billy, the novella is framed as Stephen King going to visit a retired baseball manager, who tells him the incredible story of Blockade Billy, a player who had a brief yet impressive career, but has been forgotten by the history books.

In general, I find books and stories that need the frame of one character conversing with another or writing in a letter or journal in order to explain the impetus for telling them to be a bit irritating. As with any rule, there are always exceptions. Blockade Billy uses the format of a retired baseball manager, now elderly, telling Stephen King the story of the mysterious baseball player, Blockade Billy, who has since been stricken from the records.

In the story, the retired manager describes how Blockade Billy came to play with the team as a result of several players being injured and leaving them without a catcher. They called up Billy from a farm league and it turned out that he played much better than expected—but he also seemed to bring bad luck, too.

 Commentary

Blockade Billy is a thin little novella that relies a good deal on the voice of the character telling the story. In that way, it is akin to The Colorado Kid, in which two hard boiled newspaper journalists tell a young journalist about a story that happened in their town many years prior. Without the characters telling the story, there wouldn’t be much of a story.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Blockade Billy? Likely not. It’s a bit too precious. Stephen King has some great short works—like the novella If It Bleeds—which are much, much better. Who knew I would become such a connoisseur of King books? I am not sure my sixth grade self would approve.

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Designing Women, 1800s Style: Book Review of What Happens in the Ballroon

 

What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Kensington Books for the review copy of What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries.

Description

What Happens in the Ballroom is a period romance set in England in the time of the Napoleonic Wars. The premise of the book is that, with her sisters Diana and Verity, Eliza runs an event planning business, and one thing they do is arrange debuts for young women. It is for this reason that Nathaniel Stanton, Earl of Foxstead, approaches them to plan a debut for Jocelyn, a young war widow with a young son. But as Nathaniel and Eliza (a war widow herself) become closer, their attraction to each other and, much riskier, their feelings for each other, transcend a passing flirtation.

To complicate matters, Eliza’s late husband ruined her for marriage—between his drinking, gambling, and making all of his shenanigans into her fault, she lost her sense of self. It is only through her business that she has begun to gain it back, and she’s not ready to give it up to another playboy—like Nathaniel.

Nathaniel, also Eliza’s late husband’s good friend, spent his youth partying and has enjoyed the company of many women. Fighting in the war shook him to the core and burned away the need to spend his life seeking only amusement. He knows that he’s a different man now, but that doesn’t mean anyone else knows it yet.

Nathaniel also holds secrets that if they got out Eliza may never trust him again. And Jocelyn and her son’s lives could be damaged, too.

 

Low Misogyny, Some Spice

What Happens in the Ballroom includes characters with enlightened views, including the beliefs that women can have sexual desires and should have a say in things. Also, as the business shared by the sisters, Elegant Occasions, plays a major role in the plot, the book implies that women can and should earn money for themselves, including owning businesses—which would have been unusual for the time.

The book has some spicy scenes, but is not overly graphic—a little graphic, but not as graphic as many other romance novels. The dress and manners play a part in the plot but are more light decoration.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? I would probably not teach What Happens in the Ballroom, as I prefer a bit more surprise to the plot. That does not mean that a romance reader would not enjoy it, as most of the characters are reasonably likable, and it does include some romance. However, in my mythical romance literature or creative writing course, there would be better candidates.

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A Murderous Car? Unbelievable! Book Review of Christine

 

Christine by Stephen King

Shout-Out

Thank you to the Bucks County Free Library for making Christine by Stephen King available at no cost. Yay, libraries!

Description

Arnie is the guy who seems to have a kick me sign on his back. His face is covered in acne, a case so bad that he seems prevented from ever dating in high school--at least according to the narrator, his best friend, Dennis. Then comes Christine, a custom, vintage 1958 Plymouth Fury. When Arnie sees the barely drivable car in the yard of a cantankerous ex-military man, he has to have it. And when he does get Christine, his world and the car magically begin to change. But, Dennis wonders, are these changes for the better?

Dennis feels dread and fear around the car, for which everyone uses the pronoun “she” and adopts the name Christine, as it was called by its original owner. Dennis is not the only one uncomfortable around the car--virtually everyone except Arnie gets bad vibes. Suddenly, though, Arnie’s skin clears up and he’s able to stand up to his tormentors. He even gets a girlfriend. But, as much as Arnie deserves more than his lot, Dennis worries about Christine's influence on his best friend.

The book is split into three sections, the first and third of which are written as the first person point of view of Dennis. The middle section is in third person and follows Arnie closely and seems to be chosen as a device for Dennis to try to imagine what Arnie was going through. The point of telling is close to the events, as Dennis is fresh out of college. Christine is one of King’s earlier books, first published in 1983. It has a youthful and less polished feel than books like Billy Summers and Holly.

Of all the King books I’ve read and accepted the premises, I had a difficult time jumping into this one, as I did not buy into the evil behind Christine, which is not set up in a clear or logical way. Usually King has clear book-logic to his supernatural elements, but this evil car is just not believable.

Digression

As I was reading this book, my father asked me why I liked Stephen King’s books so much. It is difficult to answer this question, as sometimes the writing in his books is quite good and sometimes it is meh. The plots are often predictable and the characters tend to be a type. The older books reflect some of the negative attitudes of the times in which they were written--there is some pretty blatant misogyny in Christine.

So, why then do I read so many of his books? There is some comfort in knowing that there will be a good side, the good side will win, that there will probably be some supernatural elements, and that the story will have some predictable moments--as well as some surprises. There is enough creativity and variation in the plot that it does not matter so much that many of King’s main characters could be layered on top of each other and basically be the same guy (there are rarely female main characters, yet when he does write a female main character, they are typically better written--such as Lisey Landon and Holly Gibney). Some plots are more surprising and satisfying than others. His books are always creative, even those which fall solidly within a genre or follow a predictable path. Read Stephen King and you know you are going to get a story.

The un-overthought answer is: I read Stephen King books because they are fun.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? Christine does not illustrate the author’s genius. The idea of an evil car, at least in the way Christine is written, is silly. In a creative writing class, I would not hold it up as a model. In a literature class, such as my dream Stephen King reader class that I am often building in my head, I would pass on it, as Christine is not among my top ten (or maybe even top twenty) King reads.

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New Year, New Energy: My Goals for the 2024-2025 School Year

Thank you to Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy and Dr. Shira Loewenstein for sending me to Responsive Classroom training. I learned so much about creating an engaging classroom! 

I am so excited to implement what I learned! I chose four specific areas of focus for the beginning of the school year.

1. Get to know my students and build relationships.

Getting to know my students and their families is always a priority, but now I have some more ideas to use to get to know them while building a community. For example, I am excited to try I Am, We Are, an activity where students think about their identities and discover what they have in common. 

2. Establish and discuss classroom expectations

Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy Middle School has established expectations that I will use in my classroom: 

• Respect each other
• Respect the learning environment
• Respect the materials
• Work hard and do your best

As we discuss these expectations, we will also take time to think about what each looks like in practice.

3. Help students set SMART goals

Setting SMART goals, or Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely goals will allow students to think about and articulate what they would like to get out of the school year. Once they have set their goals, we can discuss how the expectations will help them to achieve their goals.

4. Establish and practice classroom procedures.

As we learn about each other, the expectations, and set goals for the year, we will also learn and practice brain breaks, submitting work, class and small group discussion, and how our class time will be structured.

What are your goals for the school year, or for my non-education people, what are your current goals? 

My group's table tent--we had a lot of fun!

Silly Monster, Ghouls Are for Kids: Book Review of The Beast You Are

 

The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and William Morrow for the review copy of The Beast You Are by Paul Tremblay.

Book Description

The Beast You Are is a book of short stories ending with a novella in verse by the same title. The stories in the volume tend to have dark content, but in many different forms.

The short stories in The Beast You Are are playful, experimenting with plot and structure. For example, one is written as a series of blog posts and comments, another as letters to a magazine with editorial responses, and another as a series of diary-like entries with numbered days. The topics are firmly planted in the horror genre, such as a review of an exorcism, monsters, and pandemics.

Many of the endings leave room for ambiguity and the reader’s imagination. They also deal in the fantastic, not just imagining monsters, but also animal characters.

Would I teach this book? 

I can see teaching this book, under certain conditions. In a fantasy or horror writing class, perhaps, though most of the stories did not seem to fall in the horror genre so much.

I would be more likely to teach a few of the stories than the whole book. At the very end of the book, there are notes about each story with some discussion of the inspiration for them, which could be helpful to writers.

More than anything, this book felt like the writer was writing for enjoyment. Most stories are polished, but the purpose seems less to explore characters or social themes or even create a suspenseful plot and more to push and poke at what a short story can be. From that angle, The Beast You Are could be a good jumping off point for discussion and practice.

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Why Don't You Give the Kid a Break? Book Review of Fish in a Tree

 

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt


Thank you to Bucks County Free Library for making Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt free and readily accessible to the public.

The last thing Ally Nickerson wants anyone to know is that she’s not lazy--she’s actually doing her best job on her school work.

Ally would rather fall through the floor than admit that she can’t read. She already feels stupid and her classmates laugh at her and act as though she’s stupid. She gets sent to the principal’s office so often she’s no longer a guest but part of the office cast. She doesn’t want to add anything else to her mother’s already full plate--or tray, as it were, since her mother waits tables while her father is on active duty in the military.

Ally is ready to give up on anything good happening in sixth grade until Mr. Daniels becomes the class’s teacher and she begins to think maybe school does not have to be absolute misery.

Fish in a Tree feels heartbreakingly familiar. Ally’s compensations, the frustration of her teacher, and the helplessness of her mother are common responses to undiagnosed learning differences. Reading the story from Ally’s point of view highlights the assumptions we make about children’s behavior as well as the challenges of a classroom teacher to recognize when a child is struggling and know how to help.

I am interested in how Hunt creates Ally as a believable character. She describes what Ally sees when she reads and describes it clearly enough that it feels authentic. While many books touch on the problem of adults being unaware of much of what a child thinks and feels, Fish in a Tree shows this disparity while not making Ally into a victim of adult obliviousness. It does not feel melodramatic, like Ally is a tragic character who needs to be saved, because Ally has attitude and humor, is exceptionally bright, and has found ways to cope with her situation, like the hilarious Book of Impossible Things in which she draws different pictures that her mind has created. The adults in the book are not villains, either, they are simply limited by their own perceptions, and in the case of Ally’s first teacher, their need to create an orderly environment in which students can be taught and kept safe.

I enjoyed reading Fish in a Tree and it had a big impact on my attitude towards teaching. A mentor once told me, “When a child acts out, there is some need they have that is not being fulfilled.” Hunt reinforces this message and reminds adults that patience, understanding, and willingness to be creative is just as important as content knowledge in teaching. While Fish in a Tree is a middle-grade book, I recommend it for adults as well as children.

Would I teach this book? I would absolutely teach Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. One of the most important aspects of reading fiction is growing empathy, and Fish in a Tree provides the experience of a kid who on the outside is a troublemaker, but on the inside is kind and witty. She is talented in ways that traditional schooling does not always recognize and it is fun to live inside her brain as she tells her story. I can see it being a good read for an education class, as well.

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For Those Who Grew Up Loving Little Women, Marmee Brings Out the Adult in You

 

Marmee by Sarah Miller

Thank you to GoodReads Giveaways and William Morrow for the review copy of Marmee.

Like so many other kids, I read and enjoyed Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, having an especially good cry in the pages of the novel. Later, I watched the movie version with Wynona Ryder, which I also enjoyed. Jo is a character that people cannot help but love, as she is strong and ahead of her time. She is not accepting of the restrictions on her as a result of being a woman. She is ambitious, works hard, and comes at the world with such a fervor that the world had better be on notice. All of her sisters are amazing in their own ways, but Jo is the one who we see as especially powerful. She is the one who will rise above.

Jo gets her courage and her power, in part, from her dear mother, Marmee. Sarah Miller’s Marmee tells the story of Little Women through the eyes of the elder Margaret March. Written as a series of diary entries from the same time period as the events of Little Women, Marmee gives insight into many of the things that Jo, Beth, Amy, and Meg intuit but don’t know for sure. We better understand the financial situation of the March’s, the relationship between Margaret and her husband, Amos, and her work in the relief rooms. We also see the flair of temper that pushed Marmee to act and the fervid belief in social justice that motivates many of her choices.

Marmee is a woman ahead of her time.

As Alcott based a good deal of the book on her own experiences, she modeled Margaret March after her mother, Abigail Alcott. Miller researched Alcott’s mother and learned more about who she was and how she was remembered by others. She sounds as though she was also a force to be reckoned with and probably lit the fire for many of Louisa May Alcott’s ambitions.

It has been quite some time since I read Little Women or watched the movie adaptation, but as I read Marmee, it made me nostalgic for the book. I also watered the pages of Marmee, in case you were wondering.

Would I teach this book? If I had the opportunity to teach a class on fan fiction (or fanfic) I would absolutely include Marmee.

I have not read a good deal of the kind of fanfic that comes to mind when the term is used, the stories published online that exist in the universes of Harry Potter, Twilight, and Star Wars. What little I know, I learned from a student who wrote on the topic for an infographic and a listicle for my composition class. She did a fabulous job, and as I assisted her with her research, I learned a bit myself. I do not put Marmee into the category of fanfic in order to denigrate it, but as a way to put it into the context of a larger body of literature. Miller does an impressive job of imagining the elder Margarette March as her own person with a larger history independent of her character in Little Women. Highlighting a character who has less of a voice is one of the opportunities of fanfic. Marmee and other works, such as the plethora of novels written from Mr. Darcy’s point of view, show us that good books get our imaginations going.

In my imaginary class on fan fiction, I would include a wide-range of fanfic, not just published novels, but also fanfic published on the internet. Students would read examples and write their own. We would also discuss the issues of intellectual property rights and the legality of publishing fanfic.

I have talked myself into it. Someone please pay me to teach this class.

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Memoir in Verse Challenges Middle-Grade Readers: Book Review of Brown Girl Dreaming

 

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir in verse by Jaqueline Woodson. Woodson writes about her childhood in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York. Her parents split when she was very young and her mom moved with Jackie and her older brother and sister to Greenville, South Carolina, where life was completely different. There they lived with their grandparents and became acquainted with life in the South, including racism and segregation. Their grandmother practiced Seventh Day Adventism and while their mother no longer did, she expected her children to attend services. They are not allowed to play with many of the neighbor children, and so they were lonely.

Eventually her mother moved them to New York, where life was again completely different. There Jackie falls under her sister’s shadow as Odella has great academic gifts and catches on to new concepts quickly. However, one of the book’s strongest threads is Jackie’s love of stories, and the book takes pains to show how telling stories was both a passion and at times an obsession for young Jackie.

There is clear movement for Jackie from the beginning to the end of Brown Girl Dreaming, although the plot does not feel as strong as most memoirs. This is in large part because the book is broken into poems instead of chapters. At times it does not even feel episodic, as many memoirs do, but as though it is trying to capture an event in a moment, and the event is instead strangled by the lines, too trapped to express the whole of it. The lyrics do, however, add weight and beauty.

Would I teach this book? This past school year I did teach Brown Girl Dreaming. It was a choice book for the sixth graders, which a few chose and a few for whom I thought it would be good to push them in the direction of this book. Few students picked it as a first choice, and those who did read it were a bit frustrated with the poetry structure. We read a few of the book reviews that were published when the book first came out, such from The New York Times, Washington Post, and Kirkus Reviews. Students were asked to read the reviews and determine what they agreed and disagreed with. It was a challenge in some of the reviews for them to identify what was summary and was opinion. We practiced using evidence to support whether we agreed or disagreed with the writer. We also discussed windows and mirrors in the story, and students were instructed to include a specific example of both a window (something that felt different from their own experiences) and a mirror (something that felt similar to their own experience) in their own reviews.

It was not a favorite among the students I think, in part, because it was so different from what they have read before. The lines and stanzas asked to be read differently from sentences and paragraphs and resist being read through quickly, as many adolescent readers believe that it is the ability to read quickly which makes someone a good reader. The dramas of moving and wishing for a deep, forever friendship resonated the most for them.

 
If you wish to share materials or see the formative and summative assessments I used in teaching Brown Girl Dreaming, please DM me.

 

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The Perils of Communism Taught by Pigs: Book Review of Animal Farm

 

Animal Farm by George Orwell


Animal Farm by George Orwell is a well-known critique of communism, told as an allegory of an animal uprising on a farm.

The animals on Manor Farm are full of discontent--they work for Mr. Jones, who owns the farm, but they get no benefit from their own work, even their food is barely subsistence living. Then, Old Major, the boar who has been there longer than any of them, tells them that he had a dream that some day the animals would run the farm. He teaches them a catchy pro-animal song, and shortly after, he dies. In the animal's consciousness, the idea of rebellion stagnates in the dank basement of their discontent.

The time for rebellion comes without discussion, and in the period of joy from being freed, the animals must organize themselves. The trouble starts at the very beginning, when the pigs, deemed to be the smartest animals, are put in charge of all the animals. Two leaders arise from the group, Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball believes in their ability to self-govern and has ideas to improve all their lives. Napoleon has other thoughts in mind.

The story is allegorical--it is not merely a story of animals running a farm, as how could that be? How could they work without hands or opposable thumbs or the ability to speak human language? This is an example of a story in which it helps to have at least some historical background, lest it be a story about being more literate than the rest of the beasts.

Would I teach this book? I did teach Animal Farm this year, to my seventh grade class. I found that the book needs quite a bit of front-loading in order to help them understand what is being critiqued in the novel. Politics in general are not in the forefront of their minds, as they are far from being able to vote and they do not pay taxes. It does not occur to them how much of their lives is impacted by the choices made by elected officials. To them, life is governed by parents, coaches, teachers, and principals. To them, the problems and realities of Communism are ancient history and could not possibly happen again.

However, the students as a whole were intrigued to learn more. How could anyone think this form of government could work? What happened in real life that was similar? How could people let this happen in their country? They wanted to know more about what all this meant. Topics that pique their interest are good--they are more likely to be engaged and absorb the information. Many found Animal Farm was quite interesting and were upset at the end.

Some students did have a difficult time accepting that the layering of plot and allegory saved the book from being just a silly story about talking animals. Other student critiques included dialogue summarized instead of spoken and the repetitiveness of the plot—never mind that is part of the point, it just made it boring for them. A bonus from the book: a surprise choral performance of “Beasts of England” by my students in the classroom.

We read The Wave earlier in the year, and some of my students made the connections between the students in The Wave who got swept up in a movement out of everyone's control and how the majority of the animals quickly lost control of what happened to Animal Farm. Another book that seems like it would pair well with Animal Farm is Maus, in part because of the animal characters, but also because it is also a nightmare story of politics gone horribly wrong. The differences between the two books would also make for good conversation. For example, how the characters in Maus become round, full characters, versus the archetypes in Animal Farm. Also, how focusing on one character instead of the whole group allows for a more complicated plotline. 

Books like Animal Farm are a good way to help students become more aware of the larger forces working upon them and to think about things such as how a strong horse like Boxer could find himself in such a predicament. Thinking, on the whole, is good. Let them wonder. Even if at the end, they still don’t understand or don’t believe it could happen now, especially not to them, let them begin to wonder how the situations arise.

 

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