RE 5140 Yadkin / 1
Woodsong
Gary Paulsen
Aladdin Paperbacks (New York, 1990)
Summary:Woodsong is an action packed novel about Paulsen’s life running sled dogs. His adventures in the wilderness include trapping and running lines while learning the intricacies of nature. Paulsen shares his personal stories about individual dogs, other yard animals, life in the brutally cold wind of Minnesota, and running the Iditarod. This novel is fast-paced and full of sled and wildlife action. The reader can feel the wind and ice, see the frightened doe, hear the stillness of the run, and smell the moose as Paulsen shares his adventure in the wild.
Personal Response: I could not put this book down! The vivid descriptions of Paulsen’s adventures running dogs kept me glued to the page. I thought the stories about learning how his dogs and the wild animals communicate with him were fascinating. I even cried when his dog Storm died with a stick in his mouth while Paulsen was out running pups.
Paulsen does a fantastic job of pulling the reader into the story through his dramatic descriptions. I felt like I was riding in the sled with him. I could see the dog, Wilson, sucking the Coke out of his bootie. I could smell the fear on the doe being chased by the wolves. Paulsen’s writing is so descriptive and inviting, it makes you feel like you are part of the story. You can actually feel and see every scene.
Evaluative Comments: Because Paulsen uses so much imagery and description in his memoir, I decided to use this book to help my students write their own memoir. I am reading it aloud to my homeroom, and my LA classes get bits and pieces. I decided this was a good book to use because it is so detailed and descriptive. The students are in the process of writing their own memories, using Woodsong examples as a guide. I believe using this book and discussing sensory details while students are writing about their own experiences will be a good lead into a unit of poetry. I’m excited, and my students are as well!
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Katherine Paterson
Harper Trophy (New York, 1978)
Summary: Galadriel Hopkins is a tough girl, on the outside. She moves from foster home to foster home but really wishes her mother, Courtney Rutherford Hopkins would come for her. Galadriel, Gilly for short, is known for her hard-hitting, direct nature and is quite proud of unmanageable ways. She likes to cause trouble and will fight anyone in her way. After she is moved to Ms. Trotter’s house, however, things change for Gilly. For the first time in her life, she is not the one in charge. She is unknowingly being taught how to love, accept, and understand how the world works around her. She is also being taught how to love and accept herself. This book has many interesting characters – Gilly, Mrs. Trotter, William Earnest, Agnes, and Mr. Randolph. Throughout the book Gilly gradually changes from rough and tumble, to thoughtful and selfless.
Personal Response:I enjoyed reading The Great Gilly Hopkins. I actually saw a little bit of myself in Gilly. I tried my hardest as a young girl to be the tough ruler, only to be melted by a few select people –my father, a math teacher, and a neighbor. I enjoyed watching Gilly soften over the course of the book. I knew from the beginning that she would change, it is a predictable, realistic fiction book.
Evaluative Comments: I liked meeting the characters and watching how they interact and mold the new Gilly. Trotter was described as a huge hippopotamus of a woman, I knew she was going to be the strong guiding hand that Gilly would need. William Ernest was a small boy with glasses, somebody Gilly could push around, but in the long run would see his worth and become his protector. Then there is Mr. Randolph, a blind man. This is the man that helps Gilly open her eyes to the world. She thinks because he can’t see with his eyes, she can take advantage of him. But what she learns is that he sees with his heart. There are other characters in the story that help shape Gilly as well – Agnes, her teacher Miss Harris, Ms. Ellis, her mother and grandmother. All of these characters help guide and mold Gilly without her knowing it. But in the end, her strength of character to stay with her grandmother shines through.
Hatchet
Gary Paulsen
Aladdin Paperbacks (New York, 1987)
Summary: Brian’s parents are recently divorced, and he is going to visit his father for the summer. His mother puts him in a single-engine plane for the trip to Canada to stay with his father. As he’s sorting out the anger and confusion in his mind about his parents’ divorce, he realizes there is something wrong with the pilot. Brian suddenly finds himself alone in the forest, the only survivor of the plane crash. Will he ever see his family again? How will he survive? He has no time for pity; he must learn how to live off the land and signal for help. Armed with the hatchet his mother gave him and a few supplies from the plane, Brian learns lessons in survival, courage, and determination.
Personal Response: I thought Hatchet was a fantastic book. It can teach students so much about perseverance, determination, strength, and survival. I have several students who have read Hatchet already, and as we have discussed Gary Paulsen in class, many more want to read it. I think Paulsen has a way of writing that appeals to students. He uses such vivid descriptions. For example when Brian is trying to build a fire it is describes as, “The red glow moved from the sparks themselves into the bark, moved and grew and became worms, glowing red worms that crawled up the bark hairs and caught other threads of bark and grew until there was a pocket of read as big as a quarter, a glowing red coal of heat.” Who would think to connect a beginning fire to crawling worms? I certainly wouldn’t. The chapter when Brian finally gets the survival kit is also very descriptive. I can see him pulling out each item, examining it, and relishing in its glory. I can see him drinking the drink mix, savoring the flavor.
Evaluative Comments: Paulsen also does a good job with Brian’s character change and development. He moves from an angry boy into a young man that is able to deal with the adversity he has been dealt. Perhaps being stranded in the woods, having to fend for himself and survive until his rescue was a good thing. He was now thoughtful and observant of his surroundings. I wonder who Brian would be if he had made it to his father’s house that summer. How would the anger and resentment he felt toward his father affect their relationship? And did Brian choose not to mention the secret because he was afraid of the response, or simply because it did not matter?
Jazmin’s Notebook
Nikki Grimes
Puffin Books (New York, 1998)
Summary: Jazmin looks at life from her stoop, writing in her notebook, reflecting on her friends, foes, and family. She lives with her older sister, CeCe because her mother is sick and her father died. Since she moves so much and does not have many possessions, she decides to recount her story in a notebook. Jazmin is an interesting girl, and because of her experiences is wise beyond her years. She has great insight, hopes, and dreams for her future. Jazmin has a good group of friends that keep her grounded, and she doesn’t let her lack of money hold her back.
Personal Response: I enjoyed reading Jazmin’s Notebook. I thought Jazmin’s character was other characters and how they all interact with each other, but I understand that this is Jazmin’s story as she sees it. I could visualize her sitting on the stoop watching folks coming and going. I could see her thinking and figuring out the world through her writing.
Evaluative Comments: Jazmin’s Notebook had writing that touched all of my senses. By using sensory writing, I think the reader can feel part of the story. Pages 66 through 69 demonstrate how Grimes touches the senses. CeCe, Jazmin’s sister, has asked her to run down to the bar to get her some cigarettes. I felt like I was walking with Jazmin on the trip. “The avenue, silent as a Sunday morning, felt downright creepy at 10:30pm.” I can hear that silence. I can see the man that “oozed from a dark doorway, all oily skin, and slick hair, and snakeskin shoes.” I can smell the man’s “40-proof breath.” Figurative language that reaches all parts of a reader’s being really bring the story to life. I think that is what makes good writing great.
Locomotion
Jacqueline Woodson
Penguin Group (New York, 2003)
Summary: Lonnie is learning to cope and convey his life through poetry, thanks to his teacher, Ms. Marcus. Lonnie’s parents were killed in a house fire, and he was sent to live with Miss Edna and his sister sent to live with a different family. Locomotion has had a tough life. He is learning to adjust to his new home and new friends. His poetry is both private and public. Some things he just doesn’t want to share, but other things he writes about. He writes about his sick friend, visiting his sister, his big brother, and all of the minute things inbetween. This is a story of survival, grief, hope, and beginnings.
Personal Response: I think for a young boy, Locomotion is very insightful, smart, and perceptive. Because of his tragic experiences as a youth, he sees the world around him through more grown up glasses than his peers. I enjoyed reading about his thoughts and experiences through his poetry. I think if the same book was written as a narrative, it would have a different meaning. I think we would feel sorry for Lonnie if it were a narrative, but while reading his poetry I find myself rooting for Lonnie. Yes, it is terrible that he has had such a rough life, but he is surviving. His poetry shows us he is surviving. He is learning to adjust to a new family, learning how to have a different relationship with his sister, learning about himself, God, his friends, girls, and his teacher. Lonnie is learning about life.
Evaluative Comments: All three characters – Gilly, Jazmin, and Lonnie are survivors that have been dealt a mean hand of cards. All three are strong, insightful, and resilient. I like Lonnie the best. Maybe I like him more because he is more mysterious and I don’t know so much. Maybe I like him more because I know him the least. I’m not sure, but I like Lonnie the best. Gilly is very brash and “in your face”. She deals with her life situation through anger and revenge. However, I remember more about Gilly because her story is so visual and humorous. Jazmin accepts her life and moves along steadily, I don’t see her change much from book beginning to end. In Locomotion, I saw Lonnie change. I saw him learn to accept his situation, change, and survive.
Before We Were Free
Julia Alvarez
Dell Laurel Leaf (New York, 2002)
Summary: Anita is having to grow up too quickly. Before We Were Free is a touching novel about Anita, her family, and life in the Dominican Republic in 1960. Anita has just turned 12, but every night from her bedroom she overhears her father and his associates discussing the political state of their country using some sort of code language. Her housekeeper, Chucha speaks in strange phrases that she can’t understand. Anita’s family shushes her when she asks a question, and she simply cannot figure out what is happening to her family. She does know, however, that things are not the way they used to be and there is trouble on the horizon. Her extended family keeps leaving for New York, there are strange secret police visiting, her school is closed. What is all this talk about freedom?
Anita soon learns from her family and friends that her parents, uncles, and friends parents are involved in a secret plot to overthrow the government. When their plan goes awry, she winds up living in their friend’s bedroom closet with her mother, and her daily diary writing keeps her calm. Her only connection with the outside world is a small radio, and her friend Oscar. What will become of Anita and her mother? Will they find the freedom her family has been fighting for?
Personal Response: I did not particularly enjoy reading Before We Were Free. I had a hard time getting through the first 30 pages, and it was difficult to keep my attention focused on the story. My first problem with the story is that I had no background knowledge on the happenings of the Dominican Republic in the early 1960’s. When I finished reading the book, I searched the internet to find some information. I think if I had known what was happening politically first, then I might have enjoyed the book more. I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight, where and how the people fit together, especially at the end when Mami and Anita were in New York. I basically had a hard time getting involved in the story and staying focused. But that’s okay because I don’t have to like everything I read.
Evaluative Comments: I did like how the book changed from Anita’s first person point of view to a diary format while they were in hiding. The diary she kept made me feel like I was hiding with her. I also think switching to that format emphasized the fact that they were hiding. Switching back to narrative text, emphasized they were free.
Immigrant Kids
Russell Freedman
Puffin Books (New York, 1995)
Summary: Immigrant Kids is an interesting account of the lives of immigrant children when they arrived in the United States. The book begins with their journey from their native country to Ellis Island. It describes the many tests children and families had to go through before being admitted into the country. Once the children are settled in a neighborhood, the book continues to describe everyday life. Most children went to school, but had to quit in order to work. The book also describes the sense of community these children develop with each other, they are Americans, and choose to speak English. They form gangs, play in the streets, and grow up together.
Personal Response: Immigrant Kids is also filled with many breathtaking black and white photos which show the reality of these kids’ lives. The photos demonstrate their hardships at work and joys at play. They greatly enhance the writing to make this a completely interesting and educational book for children and adults.
As I was reading this book, I kept thinking about Lyddie, written by Katherine Patterson. Lyddie was a girl abandoned by her father and grew up working in a factory in Massachusetts. Immigrant Kids speaks to this type of hard work that children had to do. They had to quit school and help out their families at young ages. I think those two books would pair well together when studying immigration and the Industrial Revolution.
Evaluative Comments: I think I could use the photographs in this text to evoke some critical thinking out of my students. If I show the photos, I think I can get the kids having a discussion about immigration. Then show more modern photos so we can compare and contrast the vast differences in the times.
The Great Fire
Jim Murphy
Scholastic Books (New York, 1995)
Summary: The Great Fire is a detailed account of the great Chicago fire in 1871. The book begins with the start of the fire at the O’Leary’s barn and chronicles its spread through the streets of Chicago. We learn much about the architecture of the time at the beginning of the book as well. Most structures were made entirely out of wood, and the city was built on a wooden platform because of the wet ground. All of the wood was a recipe for disaster. The book also details the many mistakes in fire prevention. There were miscommunications between fire officials, fire departments sent to the wrong areas, and a lack of urgency among many because small fires were so commonplace during the time. After the fire is extinguished by rain we learn about the complete devastation in Chicago. We learn of the confusion, hunger, death caused by this disaster. The Great Fire is a mixture of factual, detail oriented events interspersed with the personal story of many other people. The combination of fact and personal accounts, along with pictures and maps of the spreading fire make this an interesting non-fiction book for all ages.