And Tango Makes Three

Summary
Roy and Silo are two male penguins who live in the Central Park Zoo. They fall in love and follow many mating rituals. They watch other couples have babies and they try so hard to have one of their own- by practicing with rocks. However, nothing comes out of the rocks they try to hatch. One day a zoo keeper gives them an egg and it hatches! Tango becomes their baby and they raise her as a family.
Suggested Activities
This would be a good book to include in a section about families and to read to elementary school classes. Several stories about different kinds of families could be read, traditional families, single parent families, mixed families and this would work on several counts. It would be about animal families and families with a same sex couple.
Reviews

Justin Richardson's and Peter Parnell's And Tango Makes Three tops the list of the American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 201 0. The list was released April 1 1 as part of the ALA's State of America's Libraries Report.

And Tango Makes Three is an award-winning children's book about the true story of two male Emperor Penguins hatching and parenting a baby chick at New York's Central Park Zoo. The book has appeared on the ALA's Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books for the past five years and returns to the number one slot after a brief stay at the number two position in 2009. There have been dozens of attempts to remove And Tango Makes Three from school and public library shelves. Those seeking to remove the book have described it as "unsuited for age group," and cited "religious viewpoint" and "homosexuality" as reasons for challenging the book.And tango makes three heads ALA's 2010 "most challenged" list. (2011). Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, 60(4), 127-127,129. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/909622003?accountid=711

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My Thoughts
The first time I read through this book I did not like it. I thought it was such a silly way to show same sex couples through zoo animals, especially when not many animals in nature are found to participate in same sex relationships. However, after I read the end, that this was a true story about these penguins, I changed my mind. Since it is a true story, it's a great non-fiction book and tells a good story that many people don't know. It also can help explain same sex couples to many younger kids and help them see it is very natural.
I also have a hard time understanding why it's so challenged, especially because its a true story! This is mostly a work of non-fiction and kids should hear that story! The fact that same sex couples exist in the animal world is interesting and should be explained to people.
Bibliography
Richardson, J., & Parnell, P. (2007). And tango makes three. New York: Simon & Schuster Children.

American Born Chinese

Summary
This graphic novel has three different stories that intertwine at the end of the story. First is a monkey king, who is frustrated with the gods who don't take him seriously. So he begins to train to outsmart and out win the gods. He then gets punished by the gods and must eventually become a disciple to one main god to survive. The next is a boy, Jin Wang, who moves to a school with no other Asian Americans, and he is bullied and picked on. He eventually ruins his one friendship with a student from Taiwan, by kissing his girlfriend. Finally, is the story of Danny. Danny is an American, whose cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit from China every year. Chin-Kee ruins Danny's reputation and Danny always has to switch schools because of it. This year Danny crosses a line, and finds out that Chin-Kee is no who really thought he was and he is not really Danny. At this point all three stories intersect in a really neat way.
Suggested Activities
  A section of the library could be dedicated to stories that embrace other cultures- and one could focus on Chinese cultures. Also, you could do a big display of Chinese books and information during the Chinese New Year! With stories about Chinese Myths and Legends to go with the Monkey King story and other stories would be a great way to focus on a minority that doesn't get as much focus. Books like  The Joy Luck Club  could be included for all students to read and enjoy.
Reviews
Is it so bad to grow up Asian in America? One might be forgiven for asking upon encountering “American Born Chinese,” a graphic novel that, with its dark exploration of Asian-American adolescence, won last year’s Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature and was also a finalist in its genre for a National Book Award.

After all, Asians are widely perceived to have it easier than other minorities in the United States, especially African-Americans, whose coming-of-age struggles have been chronicled for decades by writers like Walter Dean Myers, Jacqueline Woodson and Sharon G. Flake. But in “American Born Chinese,” Gene Luen Yang makes growing up Chinese in California seem positively terrifying.

The narrative is divided into three parts: the coming-of-age tale of the Asian-American Jin Wang, which centers on his relationship with his best friend, Wei-Chen Sun; the fantastical tale of a Monkey King who does not want to be a monkey; and the deeply disturbing story of Chin-Kee, a grotesque who takes every Chinese stereotype and wraps it into a leering, drooling package.

Yang seems to use Chin-Kee to express his deepest fears of how others perceive Asian-Americans. In the book’s more realistic sections, Wang’s friend Wei-Chen is embarrassingly “fresh off the boat”; Chin-Kee is less embarrassing than monstrous. He comes to the United States for an extended visit with Danny, his blond, blue-eyed cousin, and enters with a shout of “Harro Amellica!” (The author uses Chin-Kee’s L/R switch to great effect — at one point he says he’s having a “lorricking good time” in his new school.) He wants to bind the feet of Danny’s attractive study partner. His eyes are pupil-less slits. And he dominates Danny’s classes, reminding us that the image of a Chinese student filling out all the SAT bubbles correctly can be as damaging as one eating “flied cat gizzards.”

More disquieting than Chin-Kee himself is the reaction of his American peers. They accept him with blank, idealized political correctness. Only when he begins to engage in truly disgusting behavior do they turn on him. It is as if Chin-Kee is trying to make others despise him.

While Chin-Kee’s coolie outfit harks back to the 19th century, Yang — who teaches high school computer science in San Francisco — also takes from modern sources. In one scene, Chin-Kee dances on a table singing “She Bangs” in the style of William Hung, the Berkeley student who turned a ridiculed “American Idol” audition into a brief singing career in 2004. Hung’s hooks were his geeky appearance and accent; his music video soaked him in bling and surrounded him with backup dancers to drive home the point that he would never have bling or backup dancers.

“American Born Chinese” blends Chinese and American cultures in inventive, unexpected ways. Structurally, its interwoven stories form a trilogy — a familiar Western construction — but the tale of the Monkey King is dominated by groups of four: four Major Heavenly Disciplines of kung fu; four emissaries of Tze-Yo-Tzuh, creator of all existence (an invention of Yang’s). Thus four, a cursed number in Chinese numerology, dogs the Monkey King until he comes to terms with his identity. At the end of his story, in the book’s most clever ethnic synthesis, he turns four to his favor, becoming one of four emissaries to the West who replace the wise men in their pilgrimage to see Jesus.

This image of the blending of Asian-American and white cultures will be tested in the coming years. As the white population in America falls below 50 percent, around 2060 (according to census projections), the definition of “white” is once again set to expand as it did for Italian- and Irish-Americans. Who will get to join the club? Or will the club finally fall to pieces?

Caught up in these complex questions, it is easy to forget that “American Born Chinese” also functions well as a comic book. (Many graphic novelists are taking back this once-disparaging term.) The art blends the clean lines of anime with a bold American palette. Yang is equally adept at depicting a high school cafeteria and the Monkey King’s fantastical realm.

“American Born Chinese” is sometimes needlessly crass — it opens with a joke about breasts and peaches — and it is hampered by a confusing ending that stretches to resolve the three tales. But with Chin-Kee’s striking embodiment of ethnic confusion and self-betrayal, Gene Luen Yang has created that rare article: a youthful tale with something new to say about American youth.

Vizinni, N. (2007, May 13). High anxiety. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/books/review/Vizzini-t.html?_r=0

My Thoughts
I had such a hard time getting into this book. I really did not understand why the story about the monkey king was involved and why Danny had a Chinese cousin. But the more I read, the more I suspended my beliefs and just went along with it. I began to enjoy the stories of these three characters and their trials more. I could not picture how the stories would link up in the end- but they did! I think that Yang did a pretty decent job throwing the stories together at the end, although it was a little confusing and a little bit fast. But overall, I enjoyed this book and the message it sent. I think a lot of Asian Americans would relate, but also any one who has tried to deny a part of their culture, past or personaltiy can relate too.
Bibliography
Yang, G. L. (2006). American born chinese. New York: First Second Books.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Summary
Charlie is a boy who has just started high school, and is somewhat of an outcast. His only friend committed suicide the year before and now he is friendless. His story is told all through letters that he writes to someone- who remains anonymous throughout the whole story.
Charlie finds two friends in seniors, Patrick and Sam. He instantly falls in love with Sam but appreaciates the friendship in both people who show him a whole new world. Throughout the book Charlie talks about being very sad, his connection to his Aunt Helen who has died, and how he got very sick with what seems like depression when his Aunt Helen passed away. At the end of the book, it becomes obvious why Charlie has been so sad and been such a different kid in the story.
Suggested Activities
   This book was just recently turned into a movie and would be great featured in a section about books to movies. The students who have read the book and seen the movie would complete a voting for to see which was better- the book or the movie. There could be a big contest about which book was better than the movie or which movie was better than the book which could be featured in the library displays.

  Another important part of the novel is the music. Charlies is forever talking about great songs that were playing at moments and the mix tapes he makes for Patrick and Sam. It would be great to have the students make their own soundtrack to the novel and have it displayed for other students to stop and look at- and maybe even check out to listen to with the book while they read!

Reviews

Charlie is an outsider, a typical wallflower. He gets bullied at school and prefers taking the forty minute walk home instead of the school bus. Charlie is sixteen years old and when he starts high school, his life is going to change forever.

Isn't this a familiar set-up, don't we already know these stories where the loser turns out to be the really cool, popular guy? Well all this is true too for The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, but just wait and you will find so much more. This book is going to catch and surprise you every time you turn a page.

In a series of letters written by Charlie and sent to an anonymous person we learn about his life, his new friends, his family and especially Charlie himself. He writes about school and his English teacher, Bill, who gives Charlie extra books to read. Charlie then writes essays about them. He would like to become a writer some day.

Charlie himself is a mystery. He has mental problems, gets angry, sees things and then passes out. Right before he started high school his best friend shot himself, but there is also another, worse reason for his problems. At school Charlie meets Patrick and Sam, both of whom are outsiders too, just cooler ones. Patrick is gay and before his stepsister Sam introduced him to "good" music, he was a popular kid. They introduce Charlie to all kinds of new things. Parties, drugs and rock music become new parts of Charlie's life and for the first time he knows what it really means to have good friends.

What makes this book so special and authentic is its reality. As an adult it takes you back to when you were a teenager, as a child it shows you what lies ahead and as a teenager it inspires you. And as we all know there is no other time when finding out who you are and where you belong to is more immediate than when you are a teenager.

(2013). The perks of being a wallflower. The Guardian, Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/jan/20/review-perks-being-wallflower-stephen-chbosky

My Thoughts 
 I had read this book several years ago, but forgotten the ending (which happens to me a lot!). I knew it was somethng big so I wanted to re-read it. I re-read it and just did not like it as much as the first time I had read it. I liked the letter format of the story, but I wanted desperatly to know who he was sending letters to and what their response was- if they had any. I also just had such a hard time figuring Charlie out- which I guess is part of the plot. But it was frustrating to read about someone that I just didn't understand at all.What I did like about Charlie and his friends though, was that they were very relatable. I think a lot of adults can look back and think "I had those feelings in high school" or  "I had a friend like that in high school." I think that made the book more enjoyable for me. But I wonder how high school students would relate or younger students. I did like that the book was an honest representation of high school. Nothing unbelievable happened. Charlie did not become popular all of a sudden, he didn't get the best girl and he didn't join the football team. He stayed true to character the whole the time, which is something I enjoyed.
Bibliography
Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower. New York City: MTV Books.

Who Am I Without Him? (Module 8)

Summary
In this collection of short stories, African- American girls relationships with the men in their life is explained in different stories. One girl is in love with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, one has a horrible skin condition and is in love with a pop singer, another is in love with a cheater and knows it but refuses to leave. There are two stories from male point of views, one boy who is assigned a class marriage with someone he hates and another written from a father to his daughter. Each story examines a different relationship a female has with a male, and how it affects them.

Suggested Activities
This would be a great book to use in all girls book club! (I suggest that a lot- I need to read more boy centered books I guess!) But I also think the story about the boy who is assigned to a marriage with a classmate he hates but must suffer through- would be a great story to show boys and girls, and start to have a good conversation about high school romance and relationships. This book would be great to use in a high school class or to recommend to girls and boys in relationships.

Reviews
Who am I without him? Sharon Flake. Hyperion, 2004. $15.99. 0-7868-0693-1. Grades 7-11. Ten short stories with authentic teen voices explore a variety of relationships between girls and the boys they like, ranging from humorous to sad.
Odean, K. (2005). YA FICTION: TEENAGE GIRLS AND THE BOYS THEY LIKE. Teacher Librarian, 32(3), 18. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224876854?accountid=7113

Who Am I Without Him? Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives by Sharon G. Flake (New York: Hyperion, 2004). Nine stories and a letter from a father to his daughter, all aimed at teaching girls (particularly African American girls) to respect themselves and not let boys take advantage of them.

Gallo, D. (2006). Why not short? English Journal, 95(3), 109-113. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/237293940?accountid=7113

My Thoughts
I really did not like this book, at all. I found it to be stereotypical of African Americans and their lifestyle and also of girls in relationships. I felt like all girls portrayed just fit a mold of what African American females from the rough side of town are supposed to be. None of the characters were surprising or different- they all seemed very similar. However, this may mean more to me if I had grown up in a neighbor hood similar to what was described or I was an African American girl.
One thing that bothered me was how these high school girls were shown in relationships. The depiction of teenage girls in relationships throughout novels is one of those "don't even get me started" topics. I feel I could go on for hours about how young readers really learn a lot about relationships from the books they read at this age, and showing girls to be weak and obsessive in these books is really doing a disservice to our culture. (Again.. don't get me started!) This collection of stories started with a girl whose man was always skipping school, and cheating on her. At the end of the story, she sees him cheat on her and decides to never bring it up and instead make him a home cooked meal that night. She feels she will never get a guy that great and cute unless she puts up with his bad behavior. What a horrible tone to start this book off on, I thought.
As an adult reading a book, an adult who has learned from experience about boys bad behavior and putting up with it, it was obvious how bad of an idea this is for the girl to ignore his cheating. But what about for girls who don't know? Who haven't been in relationships? Who haven't put up with bad behavior in relationships? Girls who really do feel that they will never get a great guy so they better settle for what comes along. What about those girls? What are they learning from these stories?
I just wish the overall feeling I had gotten at the end of this book was, "Without him you are everything and you will never need him to complete you." Instead the feeling I got at the end of this book was, "Who are you without him? Nothing." What a horrible message.
Biliography
Flake, S. (2007). Who am i without him?. Hyperion Books:

Flesh and Blood So Cheap (Module 7)

Summary
This non-fiction book tells the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. It starts by explaining the change in immigration in the early 1900s into America, who was immigrating and what changes that meant. Then details how sweatshops turned into factory work, with very unsafe conditions, and then finally how the Triangle Factory Fire brought about change to the workforce.

Suggested Activities
This would be a great book to use with students to help them understand how change comes about. It would be great to use with a Government or History class- have each kid read a chapter- to help them understand the history of our country and working conditions and how we reach progress. The ending is also a great way to understand current factory conditions in third world countries and would be great for a debate club for students to debate how to solve these problems in other countries.
Reviews
Published to coincide with the centennial anniversary of the 1911 fire that erupted in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, this powerful chronicle examines the circumstances surrounding the disaster, which resulted in the deaths of 146 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish women. Though America represented opportunity for immigrants escaping religious persecution, disease, and natural disaster, New York City was sharply divided between the elite and those who, Marrin modestly writes, "lived more simply." B&w photographs and illustrations reveal immigrant families' impoverished living environments, while testimonials describe the "humiliating" work rules and unsafe conditions of factories like Triangle ("Slavery holds nothing worse," expressed one worker). Despite workers' efforts to organize, it took a preventable disaster to enact real change. Marrin (Years of Dust) mines eyewitness accounts of flaming bodies, and also imagines a victim's horrific internal monologue: "If I jump, my family will have a body to identify and bury, but if I stay in this room, there will be nothing left." A concluding description of a Bangladeshi garment factory fire in 2010 offers contemporary parallels. Marrin's message that protecting human dignity is our shared responsibility is vitally resonant. 
(2011).Flesh and blood so cheap: The triangle fire and its legacy. Publisher's Weekly, Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-375-86889-4
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed is book and learning the history of the factory conditions and how things changed.There were a few times I lost some interest in the book, but Martin does a good job of pulling the reader back in with personal stories about what was happening at the time. However, I found the most intersting part to be the end of the book that discussed the factory and work conditions in third world countries. Their factory conditions are similar to what America's were in the 1900s, however, now when those problems try to be fixed the factory just moves and all the workers are homeless and struggling. This really got me thinking about how to solve that problem. I wish I had better ideas, but I'll keep thinkng.
Bibliography
Marrin, A. (2011). Flesh & blood so cheap the triangle fire and its legacy. New York: Alfred A. Knoff.

Gilda Joyce and the Dead Drop (Module 8)

Summary
Gilda Joyce is a 14 year old (and eleven months) girl psychic detective. She has an internship at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC during the summer and while there she finds a mole in the CIA. This all begins when she has psychic dreams about Abraham Lincoln, and a spy begins haunting her dreams and the Spy Museum. Through her work at the spy museum and her dreams, Gilda solves the mystery and meets her idol, another psychic detective.

Suggested Activities
This would be a great read for an all girl book club at school, since Gilda is such a strong and unique character. You could really delve into her differences- the way she dresses and acts, her strengths- independence, bravery, and her weaknesses- her impulsiveness. This would be a great way to show girls how a strong heroine can be many things and can be different all at the same time!
Review
Gilda Joyce, psychic investigator Jennifer Allison. Dutton, 2005. $10.99. 0-525-47375-0. Grades 5-8 Restless during the summer before ninth grade, Gilda Joyce contrives to get an invitation to visit a distant  cousin in San Francisco and his teenage daughter, Juliot Her plans to become a detective or a psychic inspire her to solve the mystery behind the death of Juliet's aunt years.
Odean, K. (2006). YA FICTION: KATHLEEN ODEAN. Teacher Librarian, 33(3), 21-21,66. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224878023?accountid=7113

Thirteen-year-old Gilda Joyce finds herself caught up in her first real psychic investigation after she invites herself to visit a distant cousin, Lester Splinter, and his thirteen-year-old daughter, Juliet, in their Victorian home in San Francisco. Narrated in third person, primarily from Gilda's point of view, the story follows the ebullient teenager as she sweeps Juliet into her investigative plan and uncovers the truth behind a mysterious family tragedy involving a suicidal leap from the backyard tower. Gilda's typed letters, inserted throughout the story, add humor, while the more somber tone of the subject matter keeps the action darkly gothic—especially as Juliet begins to exhibit a suicidal morbidity. However, Gilda's relentlessly cheerful investigation carries the day, and she returns to boring Michigan knowing she's done some good in the world. Neither a true gothic mystery nor solely a chick-lit misadventure, this is nonetheless an attractively lively story about believable characters in outlandish situations.


Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Volume 59, Number 1, September 2005, p. 5 (Article)
Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: 10.1353/bcc.2005.0198

My Thoughts
Overall I really liked this book, which surprised me. I sort of dreaded reading it because I don't like mysteries and I thought the "psychic" character was a little cheesy. But overall, I liked Gilda and her spunky fashion sense, along with all the history I learned. There was a lot of information about Abraham Lincoln and the 1960s Cold War spies and the KGB in the Soviet Union. I did think that some of the story could of tied together a little better. At one point, Gilda's kept awake every night by a grouchy neighbor who flicks their lights on and off all night. Gilda thinks this is in connection to the crime and mystery she's trying to solve. It turns out it has nothing to do with the mystery and is described at the end of the book as the neighbor  just has OCD and isn't so bad. It seemed odd to even include this in the story if it ended up meaning nothing and then having such a simple, short explanation. It's a good story and I will be interested in reading the rest of the series.
Bibliography
Allison, J. (2010). Gilda joyce and the dead drop. Speak:

Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein (Module 7)

Summary
 This is a biography of Albert Einstein, from childhood on. It starts by explaining how Albert was born, and how different he seemed from other children and the rest of his family. Albert was not a very friendly child and was very focused on math throughout childhood. It then touches on his life as an adult, for a few pages, and how he became known for his genius ideas.

Suggested Activities
This would work well in a biography or autobiography section for children. It would also be great for science teachers to use when introducing Albert Einstein or famous scientist.
However, when I was reading this I thought it would work well with the gifted and talented kids. A lot of gifted and talented kids feel different from other kids or like their social skills aren't their strong suit. It would be great for the gifted and talented kids to do a research project on other famous gifted and talented people. This would be a great start for the kids to use as a starting place.

Reviews
Don Brown chronicles Albert Einstein’s life from birth to adulthood in a creative way that describes the scientist’s personality to the reader, explaining how he was not a great student and even disliked school. The author reveals that Einstein was supported by his par- ents even though he was considered, as the title sug- gests, an “odd boy.
Royce, C. A. (2009). Discover reading. Science and Children, 47(3), 14-16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/236962241?accountid=711
My Thoughts
  I really enjoyed this book and reading about his childhood. I think it was great to read how different he was and how he didn't fit in at school and didn't do well in school. That was really encouraging and I think would mean a lot to kids who struggled in some aspect of school. However, I think that it could of explained more about his life once he grew up. It only had two pages on his adult life and didn't explain much about it. It mentioned he got married and had a baby, but earlier it had mentioned how isolated he felt as a child. I couldn't understand then how he got married, when he struggled with people earlier. I wish that had been explained more, along with more about his discoveries.

Bibliography

One Crazy Summer (Module 6)

Summary
 During the middle of the Civil Rights movement and the height of the Black Panthers, Delphine and her three younger sisters go visit their mother in Oakland, California. The three sisters live with their father and grandmother, Big Ma, in Brooklyn and have never known their mother- she left when the girls were very young. Their mother seems to have no interest in them or their visit- in fact she encourages them to leave everyday. Eventually she starts sending the girls to a Black Panther summer camp, where the three of them make friends a learn a lot about what it means to be a black girl and how to stand up for themselves.

Suggested Activities
This would be a wonderful book to help children with the a deeper understanding of the Civil Rights movement. If the school was doing a decade study, or even certain classes could use it to supplement history lessons. There are so many references to pop-culture at the time and things that could lead to a bigger research project about the movement and The Black Panthers. It would be great to have kids look into the music of the time, books of the time and poetry of the time. They could use One Crazy Summer as a starting point and then explore the pop-culture of the times and present that to fellow classmates. For example the poem "We Real Cool" by Gwen Collins is mentioned in the book. Students could read this and then go find other popular poems from this time period.

Reviews
The titular summer is that of 1968, when Delphine and her little sisters, Vonetta 
and Fern, travel from Brooklyn, where they live with their father and grandmother, 
to Oakland, California, the home of their estranged mother. Once there, they find 
that their mother, Cecile, has renamed herself “Nzila,” that she’s a poet, printing 
on her own kitchen press, and that she has no interest in her visiting kids (“I 
didn’t send for you. Didn’t want you in the first place”). She kicks the kids out 
during the day, sending them off to get breakfast from the Black Panthers at the 
People’s Center, where they decide to stay for the summer camp program. Delphine 
finds some friends there, and she also makes some inroads into connecting with 
her prickly, irascible mother and the cause that she’s supporting. There are occasional contrived moments in the tale, but the characters are compelling enough 
to overcome the flaws. Eleven-year-old Delphine, plain-faced and plain-spoken 
and big-sister capable, is a compelling narrator, and her perspective on the cultural contrasts and shifts is enlightening and credible. She’s coming from a home 
dominated by an Alabama-grown grandmother, who’s determined that the girls 
not make a “grand Negro spectacle” in public, but her stubborn independence and 
inquiring mind echo her mother’s defiant ways and bring her to consider the new 
ideas she’s encountering. This is for younger readers than Magoon’s The Rock and 
the River (BCCB 3/09), also a story of black activism in 1968, and while it’s got 
some details about the Panther movement, it’s even more effective as a portrait of 
a girl whose understanding of both her family and her racial identity is enriched 
by the challenges she faces.
Stevenson, D. (2010). One crazy summer. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 63(6), 266. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223698160?accountid=7113

My Thoughts
 I was surprised by this book in many ways, and how it moved me so much. The story is so heartbreaking, even at the beginning, the story of these three girls who are forced to spend the summer with their mother who doesn't seem to want them in anyway. I just felt like Delphine got the short end of the stick throughout the whole book. She has to protect her sisters from everything- each other, the world and their own mother. And while Delphine and her mother eventually cleared some of their past up- her mother, Cecile, never fully explains her reasons for leaving or shows her full love towards the girls. I wanted it to have a wrapped up, nice, happy ending- and that just didn't happen. Which is more truthful to life, I know, but harder to handle.

I was also surprised by how much I learned from the book. I really thought I knew a lot about the Civil Rights movement as it is something that interests me so much. But I was clueless about the Black Panthers and Huey Newton. I was so happy to see Delphine find herself and learn to stand up for herself in ways. At one point in the novel, Cecile tells Delphine that it would do her good to be MORE selfish. And I feel in some ways, Delphine did learn to do this. She really stood up for herself, and stood her ground in so many ways at the end. Just by going to business to ask them to put up Black Panther flyers in their windows, especially when so many sad no. Delphine will always look after her sisters and be their caregiver, but I felt she learned to balance that with her own needs as the book went on.

Bibliography
Williams-Garcia, R. (2011). One crazy summer. New York, NY: Amistad.

What I Saw and How I Lied (Module 6)

Summary
Evie lives in Queens with her beautiful mother, her stepfather and her step-grandmother (Grandma Glad). Evie's stepfather, Joe, has just returned from World War II and is welcoming new success. He decided to take the family to Palm Beach, Florida for a vacation at the beginning of fall. Fall is Palm Beach's dead season and there aren't many things to do or people to meet. Evie's family soon meets Peter, a gorgeous 23 year old who knew Joe in the war. Evie quickly falls in love Peter but he's hiding a secret about her stepfather and her mother, that even Evie doesn't catch onto until it's too late. During a hurricane, everyone but Evie goes on a boat ride, and Peter turns up dead. Now Evie must decide whose side she's really on and what's more important- true love or family love.

Suggested Activities
This could be a great book used to highlight certain times of history. It would be great to have this, along with other books, displayed when middle school classes are covering World War II. Blundell's book would be a great choice for girls who are less interested in the War but more interested in the culture of the time. With lots of talk of "Commie Spies" it would also be a great lead way into the Cold War.
One fun activity with this book, and other historical fiction, is to have the kids who read it research the historical facts in the book. They could try to see how accurate the book actually was and try to find any false information about the time period.

Reviews

 

World War II is over; fifteen-year-old Evie’s stepfather, Joe Spooner, is home; and

with several of his newly opened appliance stores busily supplying returning GIs

with a post-rationing glut of consumer goods, Joe has announced a spontaneous

trip to Palm Beach, Florida for Evie and her mother. Palm Beach isn’t quite what

Evie expected. It’s a ghost town in autumn, and their hotel—one of the very few

even open before the winter season—has few residents. Fellow guests the Graysons

seem like a friendly enough couple, decent dinner companions who propose an

entrepreneurial venture with Joe; another visitor, Peter Coleridge, a young veteran

who knew Joe before they returned from Austria, quickly becomes the object of

Evie’s infatuation. Evie is so thoroughly smitten that she fails to interpret the halfheard

conversations of the adults around her or to question carefully the increasingly

odd behavior of her parents. Eventually, though, even a lovestruck teen can’t

ignore the explosion of tensions in their tiny, closed community—the Graysons are

Jewish and unable to transact any business at all in restricted Palm Beach; Peter is

blackmailing Joe for his share of illegally obtained treasure confiscated by the Nazis

from their Jewish victims; Mom has been slipping out with Peter on the sly. When

Peter is found dead after a boating excursion with Joe and his wife, suspicion falls

squarely on Evie’s parents, and it’s the testimony of the betrayed teen at the inquest

that will determine their futures. Blundell crafts a richly atmospheric period piece,

reminiscent of the films that intrigue adolescent Evie, movies about worldly wise

dames played by Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck. The girl’s heartbreaking

coming-of-age tale rings true as she brazenly joins the world of adult deception

and lies yet manages ultimately to pull off her own small but significant stand for

social justice.

 

Bush, E. (2008). What i saw and how i lied (review). Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 62(4), 150. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2153/journals/bulletin_of_the_center_for_childrens_books/v062/62.4.bush10.pdf

My Thoughts

I felt like this book less focused on the history part of "historical fiction" and leaned more into the fiction side of things. While the fact that her father had returned from war, that was how Peter knew him and together they had taken some things that helped them earn money from Austria helped move the plot along it wasn't the biggest factor. This book could have been set at almost any time and could still have the same plot line- just instead of World War II, Joe could owe Peter money some other way.
However, I still thought this book was great- especially the end. I felt the overall themes of this book were strong and very mature, yet any teen could relate. I loved how Evie was so in love and blind to all around here. As a reader there was so many times when I put the pieces together faster than Evie, which was frustrating, but also realistic to show how blind love can be. Also, the end of the book was just a shock - in a good way and a bad way. Evie betrayed someone she loved to save someone else she loved. I think that really showed the reader that sometimes things aren't black and white and sometimes there's no right choice, just two bad choices that you have to make the best of. The book was very moving and I would recommend it to anyone.

Bibliography
Blundell, J. (2008). What I saw and how I lied. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale (Module 5)

Summary
Skilley, is an ally cat, who gets "hired" to become a mouser at the Cheshire Cheese Inn. But Skilley has a deep, dark secret. He doesn't like the taste of mouse, instead he loves cheese. Skilley befriends a mouse, Pip, and the rest of the mouse gang only to find out Pip has a secret! Pip is hiding a raven from the Tower of London, who has been wounded and can't make it back to the Tower. The two friends decide to help the raven get back, all while fighting off the cooks, and another evil cat. This book has cameo's by Charles Dickens, and Queen Victoria.

Suggested Activities
This book would be great to use along with a history lesson. It covers a lot of history of England in the 1800s all while being very entertaining. Using excerpts of the book, you could teach about the Tower of London or even Queen Victoria. I also thought this would be a great book to use in a high school English class to help introduce Charles Dickens and his work. You could use the scenes that include Charles Dickens as a way to get kids interested in his writing.

Reviews

Part historical fiction, part fantasy, THE CHESHIRE CHEESE CAT is an action-packed story with a little something for everyone. The book takes the reader back to the streets and alleys of 19th century London where a street cat named Skilley longs to live comfortably at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. When a cat is needed to handle the mouse infestation, Skilley becomes their mouser. Unfortunately for Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese he has a secret; he is a cheese-loving cat that has no taste for mice. An unlikely alliance forms between Skilley and the mice that reside there. Author Charles Dickens is a frequent customer to the establishment. He has a case of writer’s block, so instead of writing he has been observing the interactions between the cat and mice jotting down notes and theories in his journal. Another mouser is brought in to help alleviate the mouse problem. This tom, Pinch, is a vicious cat with a taste for blood. The mice are no longer safe and Skilley’s secret could possibly be revealed as well as what the mice are hiding in the attic.

Moser’s drawings are scattered throughout the book and add personality to the characters. Pages from Dickens’ journal are also included which show his suspicions and his humor.

Jergensen, J. (2012, February 26). The cheshire cheese cat: A dicken's of a tale. Retrieved from http://librarianschoices.blogspot.com/2012/02/cheshire-cheese-cat-dickens-of-tale.html

My Thoughts
My aunt had told me several times how much she loved this book, but I wasn't interested. I've never read Charles Dickens and I hate cats so I just didn't feel like this book was for me. Seeing it on the list, I thought I might as well read it since she had suggested it and she usually doesn't steer me wrong. I'm glad I did decide to read it, I found this book so charming and engaging. I loved the story of a cat and mouse becoming friends and I loved all the history it taught at the same time. I had no idea there were ravens at the Tower of London (and I've been there!) and I didn't know much about Queen Victoria. I felt like this book was a great way to get readers interested in other topics and would be a challenging, but fun read for kids.

Bibliography
Deedy, C. A., & Wright, R. (2011). The chesire cheese cat: A dickens of a tale. Atlanta: Peachtree.

The Grimm Legacy (Module 5)

Summary
Elizabeth goes to a fancy private school in New York City- but has no friends. She lives with her dad and her evil stepmother since her mother has died, very similar to a fairy tale we've all heard. Elizabeth also loves fairy tales, especially the real Grimm Brothers fairy tales. Her history teacher recommends her for a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository. It's like a library where users check things out, but instead of books they check out objects- historical, modern or just plain odd. But down in the dungeon is the special collections and the most interesting is the Grimm Collection. The Grimm Collection holds magical objects from fairy tales but something is wrong. Many of the objects are being stolen or losing their magic. Elizabeth and her new friends at work must figure out how to save the Grimm Collection.

Suggested Activities
This book would be great focus in a collection of fairy tales- modern or classic. While I was reading it, I kept thinking of A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. Gidwitz takes the Grimm fairy tales and adds his own twist on them. Also, this year is the 100 year anniversary of the Grimm Fairy tales. At the school library, you could create a collection of all different kinds of fairy tales-classic, retold, modern. This could be in the collection as something to read when you have finished most of the fairy tales. It does help to be familiar with the fairy tales to read The Grimm Legacy.  I know a lot of teachers also do fairy tales in the classroom and this could be used to support their classroom lessons.

Reviews
Elizabeth Rew's Social Studies teacher has just helped her land the perfect parttime high-school job—as a page at the New-York Circulating Material Repository, a quirky cross between a library and a museum, specializing in realia of all sorts and catering to both the business needs and personal whims of researchers, artists, [End Page 43] and curiosity seekers. Perks include a generally friendly and supportive staff; the proximity of Marc Merritt, a school basketball star well above Elizabeth's social set; and some deliciously creepy rumors of a huge bird that haunts the stacks. Best of all is the bonus promised to all pages who work their way up—access to and borrowing privileges from the Grimm Collection, a locked room filled with magical items pertaining to fairy tales collected by the folklorists themselves. Elizabeth and her fellow pages earn their way in and do a bit of forbidden but harmless larking about, borrowing the seven-league boots and a mermaid's hair-enhancing comb. The threatening bird, however, turns out to be quite real, and there are dastardly persons who have been pilfering charmed items for their own permanent collections; it's up to Elizabeth and her new friends to solve the crime and keep the world safe from abused magic. Conversations can be pretty leaden, and character development nearly nonexistent, but the premise of a repository for fairy-tale material culture is bewitching enough to carry an otherwise tepid mystery. Readers who enjoy the tales of Gail Carson Levine (but are still a long way from reveling in Bill Willingham's Fables) can muse on the malignant and benign possibilities of DIY magic.

Bush, E. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Volume 64, Number 1, September 2010, p. 44 (Article)

Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: 10.1353/bcc.2010.007

My Thoughts
I was dreading reading this book- the cover made it look just so dark. It looked like a high fantasy book to me book and I hate reading high fantasy books. But I was wrong to judge this book by it's cover. I loved everything about it. I enjoyed the library feeling of where she worked, the mystery, the magic and the romance as well. I really liked Elizabeth as a character and her good intentions- that don't always turn out so good. What I really loved most about this book is you never knew who you could trust. I was always guessing at who was responsible for the missing Grimm items and I was usually wrong. I spent about half of the book thinking the basketball stud, Marc, was to blame and then towards the end I started to blame Aaron.( I really didn't want to blame Aaron- he liked Elizabeth! So he couldn't be bad!) But luckily in the end I was wrong about both of them.
I loved this book so much it had me wishing there was a sequel.  But I just found out there is a sequel! I can't wait to read it!

Bibliography
Shulman, P. (2010). The grimm legacy. (1st ed. ed., Vol. 1). New York City: Putnam Pub Group.

Anna and the French Kiss (Module 4)

Summary
Anna has been forced to go to a Parisian boarding school for her senior of high school. Her father (who sounds VERY similar to Nicholas Sparks) wants her to receive an education and a cultural background. Anna must leave her best friend and a boy she has an almost relationship with and start all over again. In Paris, Anna begins to enjoy school, make friends, and finds it is a city filled with classic films. This happens to be very lucky as Anna wants to be a film editor when she graduates. While at school, Anna also finds Étienne St. Clair- a gorgeous, British senior with a very serious girlfriend. There seem to be sparks between Anna and St. Clair, but what can she do when he is taken?

Suggested Activities
This novel could be fun to use in a Study Abroad section of the library, which could have books around focusing on students traveling around the world. This could encourage students to do a foreign exchange program in high school or even college.
Since the book is so lovey-dovey it could also be fun to use it for Valentine's Day programming. The librarian could have students recommend their favorite romantic novels and post them around the library to get everyone in the spirit!

Reviews

This is the first novel from American author Stephanie Perkins. It is written in the first person from the point of view of Anna, 17 year old high school student from Atlanta. Her father has a new lucrative career as a romance author, and has decided that Anna should spend her final year of high school at the School of America in Paris. Anna is very much opposed to the idea, but she soon makes friends.

She very quickly develops a major crush on one of her new friends, Etienne St Clair. It is obvious to the reader that Etienne feels the same way as Anna, but it is not obvious to her. The novel follows the developing relationship between Anna and Etienne, and Anna's growing confidence as she learns to navigate a new city, culture and language.

This is an easy, pleasant read, if a touch predictable. Adolescent girls should be able to relate to Anna, who is an authentic character with an authentic voice. There are also some interesting facts about France, Paris, literature and history scattered in the text, which gives it some extra depth. There are some brief references to sex and alcohol. On the whole it should be a well used addition to an upper secondary school library.

Kemble, R. (2011). Anna and the french kiss. Reading Time,55(2), 36. doi: GALE|A258438950

My Thoughts
Stephanie Perkins: you are no Sarah Dessen. Ok, I may be a little biased, I started reading Sarah Dessen books when I was 14 and honestly I just haven't stopped since then. I basically think Dessen hung the moon when it comes to high school romance novels and I found this one, Anna and the French Kiss, fell short of all my Dessen-like expectations.

There were some qualities I liked. St. Clair seemed dreamy, yet realistic, he was short! I loved that he came off as popular, sweet, funny, charming- but was still short and had a weird home life. That seemed more real then these perfect high school boys most authors create. Anna also had some interests that kept her interesting- she loved classic films, her little brother and was very involved in school. Another plus in my mind, a main character who accepts school and family life and isn't trying to rebel- I think is needed for many readers,  someone they can relate to. I also loved the setting of this novel-Paris, what's not to love? It was charming to read about an American high schooler struggling with French and enjoying the good food.

Now onto the things I didn't love... Anna seemed a little bit like a one trick pony throughout the novel. She loved classic films and she wasn't passionate about much else, except St. Clair. I dislike the depiction of a girl who loves only one thing, and obsesses on that and the boy she likes. Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but in high school my friends were multi-dimensional, my best friend loved ice skating, horses, she had a job at a pizza shop and struggled with low self esteem. And yes, she also obsessed over her crush but she had more character than Anna did while she obsessed. I just hate that readers get this idea that they should be so intensely focused on one thing and not be a well rounded individual.

In general, I also felt this book gave an unrealistic idea of relationships and how they should start to high school girls. I hated that St. Clair was in a relationship, made out with Anna publicly and then left his girlfriend to be with Anna in the end. I just don't agree with what that teaches girls- especially at the age they are reading it, high school age or even younger than that. I think what we should be teaching these girls is that most guys, who have serious girlfriends, and make out with you- won't expect much more from you. They may not make you their girlfriend and instead you are left alone, while he goes back to his girlfriend. Then you have to deal with feelings of rejection and guilt on your own. I would love to see a book that shows high school girls how healthy relationships should start and how they should continue. Unfortunately, I don't think that would be the page turner that Anna and the French Kiss is.

Bibliography
Perkins, S. (2011). Anna and the French kiss. Speak.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Module 4)

Summary
 Joey is a boy who many would describe as ADD or ADHD. He is always moving, can't pay attention and seems to bother every adult around him. His mother left him when he was little, along with his father, and he was raised by his grandmother. Eventually Joey's mom comes back to raise him and creates a ton of rules for Joey to follow, and tries to help him with medication. Joey wants to be a good kid, but even with medication, he just can't seem to follow the rules.

Suggested Activities
This book would be great in a "Just for Boys" section of the library or even in an all boys reading club. Joey's behavior really comes through in Gantos' writing and would be great for any boy, especially one who has trouble paying attention. So many times there are books focused on girls, or even books with boy characters can come across as "girly". This would be a great book for boys to read and to encourage more boy students to read.

Reviews
Joey knows that he's "wired" and that his medication only intermittently enables him to calm down and focus on school tasks and reasonable behavior. More often he's swallowing his house key on a bet, sharpening everything he can find (including his finger) in the pencil sharpener, and sneaking the special scissors out of the teacher's desk-which results in another student's trip to the emergency room. This drastic event results in Joey's being moved from the special education class in his own school to "intensive counseling at the special-ed center downtown," but it also results in a more comprehensive and ultimately more helpful approach to his problems. The plot has some similarities to familiar learning-disability problem novels, but the treatment is quite different indeed. For one thing this starts after most of them leave off-the problem isn't that Joey's undiagnosed, and mere recognition of the problem isn't enough to solve it. Gantos has a heartbreaking honesty about the lot of a kid treated poorly by fate that makes you realize how much other children's authors tend to pull their punches. Joey's mother really does love him; she also left him for years with his creepy grandmother while she threw her lot in with his alcoholic father (whereabouts of Grandma and her son both currently uncertain), and she has missed several opportunities to improve Joey's situation for reasons we never quite know. Joey's narration is a particular achievement: it offers a vivid insight into his world, making his insistent internal pressure to bounce and fiddle tangible and contagious while also making it completely understandable that adults who deal with him don't really know what to do and are often at their wits' end. Jane Cutler's Spaceman (BCCB 5/97) decorously broke some new ground on this topic; Gantos roars past genre boundaries and takes readers to a place they've probably never been before. DS

Stevenson, D. (1998). Joey pigza swallowed the key. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 52(3), 95. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223712945?accountid=7113

Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key by Jack Gantos

You'll love ft because: Joey Pigza's behavior gets him into loads of trouble. Will he ever get himself under control? You won't stop reading until you find out.

Book nook: Secrets and surprises from the world of books. (2002, Nov). Storyworks, 10, 4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213415175?accountid=7113

My Thoughts
 This book broke my heart. I felt so sad reading this book. I have such a hard time relating to ADD or ADHD students in the classroom. I can be overly focused on one thing for too long of time- I just can't imagine my mind being all over the place. Reading Joey's thoughts helped me understand how some of my students must feel. They can't pay attention, they can't sit still- but they want to so badly.  What really made this book hard for me to swallow was the fact that there was no solution. In the end Joey did get some medicine that helped, through a process I found quite extraordinary and in no way believable. I don't know how the public school system could get Joey to all those doctors and appointments. I have seen several students, in Joey's shoes, and when the parents work a lot and aren't able to be as involve,d  there is just no way for a teacher or school to get them to a doctor and brain scans. But besides the unbelievable moments of him finding medicine, I was just hoping it would be give me an answer of how to help these ADD or ADHD kids- and it just didn't.
I did love the message though- that even the most difficult kids can be lovable, likable and special. So many kids don't get that message and just think they are "bad" but Joey can change that idea in kids. And that is something I really liked.

Bibliography
Gantos, J. (2001). Joey pigza swallowed the key. New York: HarperCollins.

From The Mixed up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler (Module 3)

Summary
Claudia lives in Connecticut with her family and decides it's time to run away. She feels stuck in her life and needs to be different, to make a change. She invites along her brother Jamie (because he has money, and she doesn't) and together they hide out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for over a week. While there they discover a statue, The Angel, which is rumored to be created by Michelangelo. Claudia will stop at nothing to find out if that's true, and she drags Jamie along with her.

Suggested Activities
This book could be used in a literature circle setting about Utopian societies (or Dystopian societies) for students who dislike the futuristic, fantasy genre and prefer more realistic fiction. Claudia believes moving into the museum will make her different and make her life different. But she realizes in her idea of Utopia, things are just the same for her. This would be challenging for students to make that connection but would also help with the genre issues and could be good for lower level readers in middle school.

Another activity for this book would be grammar exercises! There are so many  moments in the book where Claudia badgers Jamie for his bad grammar habits. Mostly they relate to ending a sentence in a preposition, but there are several to choose from. It would be great to take these paragraphs where she is pestering him about his grammar, because she never comes out and says the problem, and have students find a pattern of what he's doing wrong. It would make grammar more interesting and hopefully make students want to read this book.

Reviews
What's your favorite kids book?

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsberg

-Courtney CoxArquette, star of Friends

What's your favorite kids' book? (2003, Apr). Storyworks, 10, 4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213407570?accountid=7113

Two years later, in 1968, the Medal went to E. L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Unlike Treviño's work, this novel remains a favorite title, not only because it is well written and amusing but also because, like Treviño's work, it offers a seductive fantasy of private mastery of public culture, set in more familiar territory: New York City, specifically the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In Konigsburg's story, Claudia and Jamie Kincaid run away from home and hide out in the Met. The novel includes a map of the Met so that readers can follow along. Claudia burns with intellectual curiosity, while Jamie is obsessed with money; Claudia calls him "Mr. Pinchpenny" (96). Capital and the desire for cultural capital inform their every move. They show "cultural goodwill" toward art, sensing "the magic of the name of Michelangelo" (65), and set off to determine the authenticity of a statue named Angel. Is Angel an original work of art, everyone wonders, or is it merely a copy?

Kidd, K. (2007). Prizing children's literature: The case of newbery gold. Children's Literature, 35, 166-190,271. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195588802?accountid=7113

My Thoughts
 I loved this book. I loved the mystery, the improbability of it all, the idea of running away someplace as fancy as the MET, I just loved everything about it. I really enjoyed the depiction of each of the characters and their strong personalities. Claudia is the uptight planner who follows the rules, Jamie is the mischievous penny pincher, and Mrs. Frankweiler comes across as a grumpy old woman-until the very end. I felt like everyone could relate to someone in this story, and I must related to Claudia. I can be a big planner who allows does everything just so and sometimes I try to escape that persona. But as Claudia learned, it's hard to change your personality.
I also found the book to be full of wise wisdom that young kids could appreciate. One of my favorite lines is from Jamie, when he's talking to Claudia about being home sick, he says, "Yeah, I guess homesickness is like sucking your thumb. It happens when you're not very sure of yourself" (Konigsburg, 1998).I feel like that line really rings true, but it's something I've never thought about. I hope kids stop to understand and appreciate that line while reading. It meant a lot to me.

Bibliography
Konigsburg, E. L. (1998). From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Atheneum.

Esperanza Rising (Module 3)

Summary
Esperanza is the only child of two very wealthy parents in Mexcio, who run a grape farm. Esperanza is about to turn 13 and is looking forward to the huge fiesta for her birthday and the end of the harvest season. A terrible family tragedy occurs, her father dies and her uncles torment her and her mother to get off their property in a multitude of ways. Esperanza, her mother, and their former servant family travel to the United States to work on migrant farms picking fruits and vegetables for very little money. This is a huge struggle for Esperanza, as she is used to having people wait on her hand and foot. When her mother falls ill, Esperanza must work even more than before and adjust to their new hard lifestyle. The story shows Esperanza come out of the struggle and learn what really matters in life.

Suggested Activities
I think this book would be great for a cultural presentation in the library or for classrooms. This story so strongly shows the Mexican culture and families, yet also shows how many Mexican Americans have had to adapt to life in the United States. It would be to have a month, or a section of the library dedicated to different cultures and this book could be there to represent Mexican Americans.

Reviews
Esperanza is born to a life of privilege-she could never have anticipated the life-changing circumstances that follow her father's sudden death. She immigrates to America with her mother, and pursues a lif, apart from the oppressive uncles they leave behind in Mexico. Raised as the daughter of a wealthy rancher, she has always had servants who waited on her. The sudden transition to being a farm laborer and living in the labor camps is a life for which she is ill prepared. Through all of the seemingly unbearable tests that Esperanza faces, she manages to keep her integrity. 
Yokota, J., & Cai, M. (2002). Esperanza rising. Language Arts, 79(3), 270. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196896499?accountid=7113

Esperanza's life as the cherished only daughter of a rich Mexican rancher changes abruptly when her father is killed and her land-hungry uncles begin to pressure her widowed mother. They flee to the U.S., accompanied by their loyal housekeeper, Hortensia, and her son, Miguel. California in 1930 has little to offer penniless Mexican immigrants but hard agricultural labor, and the four settle in a work camp. Esperanza's pragmatic mother turns to field work while Esperanza struggles with an unpleasant learning curve, realizing that she at thirteen lacks the most basic practical skills that her eight-year-old campmate Isabel takes for granted. Things get worse: strikes loom, pressing the workers to take sides; Esperanza's mother falls ill, forcing Esperanza to become la patrons of the family; and Esperanza's dear friend Miguel disappears with the money she's saved. Based on Ryan's grandmother's experiences, this is an unusual story that steers clear of some romantic pitfalls. Though the piquant riches-to-rags element will draw readers, there's no authorial condescension towards Esperanza's campesino fellow workers, and Esperanza's gradual shedding of her own prejudices towards them is perceptively delineated. The discussion of the strike isn't one-sided, though the book does support Esperanza's decision to keep working, and there's some edifying information about the heterogeneousness of the Latino population in the workforce and their forced repatriation and even migration (some U.S. citizens were sent to Mexico as well). Wide-eyed but thoughtful Esperanza makes an attractive agent for these discussions, and her inevitable pairing with Miguel (who took her saved money in order to bring her beloved grandmother from Mexico to join the family) provides both a touch of romance and an illustration of what Esperanza has gained by coming north.
Stevenson, D. (2000). Esperanza rising. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 54(4), 160. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223694599?accountid=7113


My Thoughts
 I knew this was going to be a good book when I brought it in to a restaurant and the waitress told me it was a great book before saying anything else to me! She was right- it was a page turner!
I really fell in love with Esperanza and her family as the story was told. She started out a little spoiled (OK, a lot spoiled) and turned into such a strong, smart young woman. Once her mother got sick at the migrant camps, she really pulled it together and became the strength, the backbone to keep it all going. I love that the author Pam Munoz Ryan showed the reality of the situation and showed how someone can keep their spirits high through it all. It was great to show that the mother faced depression in the face of all the struggles her family went through, and also showed that Esperanza could help find a way to solve the problem by going to work herself.

I also loved that the novel didn't have a typical ending where Esperanza and her mother went back to being wealthy and living the good life in Mexico. Instead, they changed. They learned what was really important, family and friends, instead of money. What a wonderful lesson to learn at such a young age.

Bibliography
Ryan, P. M. (2000). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic Inc.