Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf

Holm, Jennifer L. Middle school is worse than meatloaf: a year told through stuff. Illustrated by Elicia Castaldi. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. ISBN: 978-0689852817.

Author Website: http://www.jenniferholm.com/

Illustrator Website: http://www.eliciacastaldi.com/

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books, A Junior Library Guild Selection, Charlotte Award Ballot (New York), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List (Vermont), South Carolina Book Award Nominee.

Media: Digitally Rendered Collage using Photographs and Photoshop

Use of Repetition: “too expensive! Wait for Christmas!” Ginny’s Mom writes several times throughout the book in response to Ginny’s wish list for various items.

Special Notations: Personal Top Ten, 2009 Students’ List

Annotation: Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf chronicles the very bumpy seventh grade experience of Ginny Davis as she navigates dressing cool, adjusting to a stepdad, troublesome brothers, babysitting, friendships, homework and her first dance.

Personal Reaction: Twelve year old Ginny Davis’ seventh grade school experience is told though to do lists, poems, bank statements, receipts, notes, report cards, homework assignments, calendars and horoscopes and the result is a heartwarmingly realistic story that pulled me right back to my own seventh grade experience. Ginny has a juvenile delinquent brother named Henry (her favorite brother) and a little brother named Timmy who wears a cape everywhere (not her favorite brother). A drunk driver killed Ginny’s father, readers learn through one of Ginny’s essays for English class. It comes as a bit of a surprise to Ginny that gaining a stepdad takes some adjustment; Ginny was the one who set her mother up with Bob the insurance salesman, after all, and she really liked Bob. That was before Ginny and all of her friends saw Bob’s orange boxer shorts with polka dots during Ginny’s birthday slumber party. Ginny’s older brother is funny and impulsive and prone to stealing things like garden gnomes and cars. Ginny just wants to have the right sweater, be friends with Mary Catherine Kelly, take a flattering school photo, and convince her older brother to “chill out,” (p. 7). Instead Ginny gets a sweater with lipstick stains, loses the part of the sugar plum fairy in the local ballet production to Mary Catherine Kelly, a school photo with chopped off pink hair and an older brother who lands himself in military reform school. Readers can see how Ginny is faring by reviewing her report card. Ginny’s grades start out in the A-B range, except for a C in art, and plummet steadily as the school year goes on. I empathized with Ginny as she negotiated her way through meatloaf day in the school cafeteria, teen girl magazine advice columns, toilet seats left up by the male members of her household and a broken arm sustained trying to get her little brother Timmy out of a tree. I laughed out loud at notes from Ginny’s Mom, signed “the management,” Ginny’s regularly updated to do list, dwindling bank balance and Ginny’s decision to never babysit the nose-biting Tiffany Kurtz ever again, no matter how much she needed spending money. Ginny’s year takes a turn for the better eventually, thanks to the support of her Grandpa Joe, “a.k.a. the old guy in Florida,” as he signs his letters (p. 15), supportive teachers, a loving mother and an invitation to the Spring Fling from a boy in her class. Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf is a perfect read for six graders and shows the range of the gifted Jennifer L. Holm. Holm has won the Newberry for Our Only May Amelia, a Newbery honor for Penny from Heaven and delighted countless readers with her graphic novel series BabyMouse, co-authored with her brother Matthew. Elicia Castaldi’s digitally produced artwork is a visual treat and demonstrates that there’s more than one way to tell a good story.

Previously

Ahlberg, Allan. Previously. Illustrated by Bruce Ingman. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0763653040.

Author Website: None.

Illustrator Website: http://www.bruceingman.com/

Awards: North Carolina Children's Book Award

Media: Acrylic Paint on Paper.

Use of Repetition: (throughout the book) “Previously he / she / they had . . .,” “running like mad,”

Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List

Annotation: A reverse recitation of well-known fairytales begins with Goldilocks “running like mad” (p. 4) through the woods and ends with the book’s catchword, “previously.” Jack and Jill, the Frog Prince, Cinderella and others make appearances in this endings first story.

Personal Reaction: This clever compilation of familiar stories encourages readers to think in reverse and consider events from a fresh perspective. Ahlberg ties together a litany tales about Goldilocks, Jack, Jill, a frog, a prince, Cinderella and the Gingerbread Boy in delightful, reverse storytelling narrative. Readers are left with a group of babies, cubs, tadpoles, trees, and a sense of the power of looking at things from a fresh angle. Ahlberg doesn’t deviate from the original story content, but freshens up some of the stories with comments such as this one about Jack, “Previously, he has been playing soccer with his little pals. Previously, he had come tumbling down the high hill with his argumentative little sister . . . “ (p. 11). Ahlberg does a wonderful job pulling the stories together with seamless transitions. Ingman’s painterly illustrations are bright and contribute a cheerful continuity to the different stories. I enjoyed re-visiting these stories in reverse and would use this book for a creative writing assignment for upper grade elementary school students. Ahlberg demonstrates a flair for highlighting a storyline, as well as suggests how fun it can be to re-write a classic with your own twist.

Weslandia

Fleischman, Paul. Weslandia. Kevin Hawkes. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1999. ISBN: 978-0756965662.

Author Website: http://www.paulfleischman.net/

Illustrator Website: http://www.kevinhawkes.com/home.htm

Awards: Arizona Young Readers’ Award Winner, Intermediate, 2001.

California Young Reader Medal, Picture Book for Older Readers, 2002.

Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award Winner, 2002. Rhode Island Children’s Book Award Winner, 2001.

Media: Acrylic Paint

Detailed Artwork Discussion: Hawkes’ rich acrylic paintings fill every borderless page of Weslandia and in some cases, tell all of the action, as some pages are text-free. At the beginning of the story, Wesley is excited about his plan to start a civilization and “his eyes blazed,” (p. 9). Hawkes covers the lenses of Wesley’s glasses with vibrant yellow, orange and red spirals to convey Wesley’s enthusiasm for his plan. As Wesley’s garden blooms, readers are treated to pages of lush grasses, flowers and vegetables. When Wesley fashions his own clothing, Hawkes’ paintings show the fibers of the cloth. Hawkes pays careful attention to the natural light in Wesley’s world, showing shadows cast through the windows of Wesley’s home. When Wesley invents a sundial, Hawkes opts for an aerial view that is captivating for readers and Wesley’s neighbor, who is shown peeking into Wesley’s yard over his fence. Hawkes has illustrated dozens of books and won many awards for his rich, colorful work.

Use of Simile: (p.4) “He sticks out. Like a nose.”

Use of Onomatopoeia: (p. 9) “his eyes blazed,” (p. 10) “set his curtains snapping.”

Curricular Connection: California Standards for Grade Six: World History and Geography: Ancient Civilizations: Students develop higher levels of critical thinking by considering why civilizations developed where and when they did, why they became dominant, and why they declined.

Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List, Detailed Artwork Discussion, Personal Top Ten

Annotation: Misfit Wesley hatches an ambitious plan to occupy himself during summer vacation: he grows his own crops and starts his own civilization. Wesley fits in somewhere for the first time and finds making friends in his new civilization a lot easier.

Personal Reaction: Wesley “was an outcast from the civilization around him,” and had “refused to shave half his head, the hairstyle worn by all of the other boys, despite his father’s bribe of five dollars,” (p. 5). I found Wesley, the main character in Weslandia, endearing from the beginning of this story by award winning author Paul Fleischman. Wesley is a little different than the other kids at school; even Wesley’s parents comment on the misfit tendencies of their son. After a lesson about seeds at the end of the school year, Wesley has a brilliant idea to grow his own crops and found his own civilization. Wesley’s crops are bountiful, and unique. When a curious neighbor asks if the plants are tomatoes, beans or Brussels sprouts, Wesley’s reply is humorously reminiscent of a multiple choice quiz, “None of the above,” (p. 15). Wesley invents his own alphabet, counting system and sports. The new civilization catches the attention of more than a few other kids and soon Wesley has made several friends. It turns out that Wesley isn’t a misfit in his new civilization or in his old one. Weslandia is a picture books that students of varied ages would enjoy. I would pair this book with a lesson for 6^th graders on the elements of civilization and read the story as an introduction to the lesson. This mini lesson would be a nice precursor to the sixth grade social studies unit on ancient civilizations.

Laika

Abadzis, Nick. Laika. Colored by Hilary Sycamore. New York: First Second, 2007. ISBN: 978-1-59643-101-0

Author / Illustrator Website: http://www.nickabadzis.com/

Colorist Website: None

Awards: YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens, Top Ten Graphic Novel; Kirkus Best Book of the Year; Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books of the Year

Media: Pen, Ink and Colored Markers.

Use of Repetition: (p. 6, 15, etc.) “I am a man of destiny.”

Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List, Personal Top Ten, Graphic Novel

Annotation: in the 1950’s, Premier Kruschev charges a Russian space engineer to trump the Sputnik launch. This historical graphic novel offers insight into Russian politics, the race for space and tells the story of Laika, the first dog in space.

Personal Reaction: Laika would be my number one recommendation for readers who consider themselves above comic books. With Laika, writer and artist Nick Abadzis proves that graphic novels can compete with quality historical fiction. I have always sided with Gordon Korman when it comes to stories about dead dogs, but Laika pulled me in with Russian politics, realistic drawings and a history lesson on the race for space. “I am a man of destiny,” (p. 6) is Korolev’s mantra when he is escaping from a gulag (Russian prison) and when he is the head engineer on the Sputnik launch nearly two decades later. Unfortunately for Korolev, this is 1957 and Russia is determined to outpace the United States in the space race and Premier Kruschev’s satisfaction with Sputnik is fleeting. Kruschev demands that Korolev launch something spectacular within a month’s time. Hence, Laika is identified as the first “cosmodog.” The story is historically based and Abadzis provides a factual afterword, as well as a bibliography and list of websites for learning more about the Russian space program and animals.

Coraline

Russell, P. Craig and Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. Colored by Lovern Kindzierski, lettered by Todd KleinNew York: HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-06-082543-0.

Author / Illustrator Website: http://www.artofpcraigrussell.com/ (Russell)

Author Website: http://www.neilgaiman.com/ (Gaiman).

Awards: School Library Journal Best Book. ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice.

Media: Ink and watercolor.

Use of Onomatopoeia: (P. 12) “KREEE. . . . . . .EEAAAK.”

Use of Simile: (p. 23) “The mist hung like blindness around the house.” (p. 71) “a tiny doubt inside her, like a maggot in an apple core,”

Use of Repetition, Rhythm and Rhyme : (p. 14) “We are small, but we are many, we are many, we are small. We were here, before you rose, we will be here, when you fall.”

Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List, Graphic Novel (Fiction)

Annotation: Coraline is bored after moving to a new home and her parents never seem to have time for her. Everything changes when Coraline discovers a mysterious door and a creepy parallel world in the empty flat next door.

Personal Reaction: “Because when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave,” (p.67) Coralline tells herself as she pushes herself to search for her missing parents. Coraline’s parents never seemed to have time to play and they were fond of rules and dinners made from recipes. Coraline longs for adventure and she certainly gets it when she discovers an empty flat (apartment) next to her own family’s flat. Coraline meets her “other mother and father,” creepy versions of her real parents who have black buttons for eyes. These other parents have all the time in the world for Coraline if only Coraline will let them sew black buttons on her eyes. Graphic novel adapter Craig uses one of these same buttons to “dot” the “i” in the title Coraline on the cover. The other parents also steal away Coraline’s real parents. Coraline meets a host of unusual characters in her new home and these same characters’ not quite right mirror images in the strange and frightening mirror world on the other side of the door. In the end, Coraline comes to realize that she is strong enough to overcome her fears and she learns to appreciate the boundaries set by her parents. This graphic novel adaptation stands on it own based on the strength of Craig’s drawings and character development. Craig judiciously uses bright colors to highlight toys, books, videos and a theater marquee in the book while the majority of the illustrations feature a gloomy, ominous color palette. On page 173, Coraline pulls out her old dolls and tells her mother that “they’re protective coloration,” as she plots to defeat her “other mother.” I am a Gaiman fan and missed some of the details in the original Coraline, but Craig succeeds in conveying the frightening mood of Gaiman’s original and maximizes certain aspects of the story, such as Coraline’s curiosity and penchant for following her dreams, which are often nightmarish.

The Composer is Dead

Snicket, Lemony and Stookey, Nathaniel. The composer is dead. Illustrated by Carson Ellis. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-06-123627-3.

Author Website: http://www.lemonysnicket.com/ (Snicket)

http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&composerId_2872=3094 (Stookey).

Illustrator Website: http://www.carsonellis.com/

Media: Ink and watercolor.

Use of Simile: (p. 14) “making you act like birds.”

Use of Alliteration: (p. 22) “battered the band, agitated the audience, rattled the roof.”

Use of Repetition: (p. 6) “I will find them if they are lurking,” is repeated four times. (pages 11, 13, 16, 21) “AHA! The Inspector cried.” (p. 26) “Beethoven—dead! Bach—dead! Mozart—dead! Haydn—dead!”

Use of Personification: (p. 9) “second violins, who are more fun at parties.” (p. 11) “Don’t be ridiculous! The violins said.” (p. 12) “Everyone forgets about us,” said the violas bitterly.”

Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List, Personal Top Ten

Annotation: An amusing and theatrical police inspector attempts to solve the mystery of a deceased composer. Snicket introduces readers to instruments in an orchestra and includes a CD of an original composition by Snookey played by the San Francisco Orchestra.

Personal Reaction: The Composer is Dead is a special book from cover to cover; the front cover is illustrated as a theater marquee and the back cover is the stage door. Once I opened the book and stepped into the theater, I found a CD of music composed by Stookey and performed by the San Francisco symphony. Lemony Snicket added to the entertainment with a humorous mystery, reminiscent of the Pink Panther. Snicket’s trademark humor and writing style will be welcomed by The Series of Unfortunate Events fans; Snicket even offers a definition of the term, “composer.” The narrator is a police inspector with a murder to solve. Snicket injects plenty of humor into the inspector’s dialogue: “very handsome and intelligent, not unlike myself,” comments the inspector (p.8). Readers are treated to an introduction to the different parts of an orchestra as the inspector accuses each of killing the composer. The inspector repeatedly shouts, “AHA!” and whirls around in anticipation only to find that the violins, brass, violas, strings, and others have valid alibis. Ellis’ artwork plays well with Snicket’s text as she uses ink lines to convey swirling motion around her watercolor drawings of the inspector and his accusatory finger (p.13). This book would make a fantastic read aloud for a music teacher of first time orchestra members.

Encounter

Yolen, Jane. Encounter. Illustrated by David Shannon. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2008. ISBN: 01-15-225962-7.

Author Website: http://janeyolen.com/

Illustrator website: None.

Media: acrylic

Use of Simile: (p. 6) “voices like thunder.” (p. 11) “hair growing like bushes on their chins.” (p. 12) “like the barking of a yellow dog,” (boy narrator’s perception of how Columbus’ men sound when they converse).

Use of Onomatopoeia: (p. 6) “clap of thunder.” (p. 10) “spat out many strange creatures.”

Use of Metaphor: (p. 8) “each great canoe gave birth to many little ones.” (p. 12) “the skin was moon to my sun.”

Use of Alliteration: (p. 18) “pepper pot,” “fresh fish,” “feasting fire.”

Curricular Connection: California Social Studies Standards, Grade Five, Standard 5.2: Students trace the routes of early explorers and describe the early explorations of the Americas and 5.3 Students describe the cooperation and conflict that existed among the American Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers.

Special Notations: 2009 Students' List

Annotation: A Taino boy dreams of scary sharp-toothed birds arriving on ships. The next day, the first Europeans arrive on American shores. The boy warns his people not to trust the pale visitors, but no one listens.

Personal Reaction: David Shannon’s dark, painterly illustrations set an ominous tone for Yolen’s tale of Columbus’ arrival in San Salvador. A young Taino boy is the first to see Columbus’ three boats coming to shore and realizes that his dream from the previous night was a premonition. This story of exploration and discovery is told from the Taino perspective, as imagined by the author. There are no Taino descendents alive today. Shannon’s paintings are drawn from the boy narrator’s perspective, too, allowing the reader to understand how frightening it was to be invaded and, later, to be taken away to become a slave. This is a good story for helping students in fifth grade understand that every story has at least two sides and that history is worth examining from different angles. Shannon is known for his humorous writing and drawing and it is nice to see his restraint in Encounter in order to convey the fears of the Taino boy. I would use this book along with another book told from the explorers’ perspective for a compare and contrast lesson. Students can be encouraged to empathize with the Taino and the explorers, in turn, to understand the differing perspectives of these two groups.

Boxes for Katje

Fleming, Candace. Boxes for Katje. Illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. ISBN: 0-374-30922-1

Author Website: http://www.candacefleming.com/

Illustrator Website: None

Media: Colored Pencil, Oil Pastel and Acrylic Paint.

Use of Rhyme: (p. 15) “sweet beat.”

Use of Metaphor: (p. 16) “They have five children who are skin and bone.”

Use of Alliteration: (p. 24) “tulip bulbs buried beneath the snow.”

Use of Repetition: (multiple pages) “There is plenty to share,” Katje says after every package delivery.

Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List.

Detailed Artwork Discussion: Stacey Dressen-McQueen used a combination of colored pencils and oil pastel and acrylic paints to illustrate Boxes for Katje. Every page of the story features multiple patterns reminiscent of fabrics and wallpapers popular during the 1930’s and 9140’s in Holland. The illustrations contain a great deal of movement and drawings of people are frequently superimposed on backgrounds of gardens, snow, cobblestone and grass. The drawings are rich in details; heads of lettuce growing in a garden are painted with depth and dimension, emphasizing the layers of leaves (p. 13). People “move” with exaggerated motions, adding even more movement to the drawings. When the postman delivers a box, his leg is drawn lifting way up in the air, giving him a jaunty gait, obvious from just one drawing (p. 18). Katje’s family and friends’ joy upon opening the boxes from America is made obvious by the scattered placement of the objects in the illustrations. By looking at Dressen-McQueen’s haphazard location of teddy bears, chocolate bars, socks and coats, the reader senses that Katje might have joyfully flung each object out of the box as she opened it. Vibrant coloring paints a picture of the village of Olst that is endearing and optimistic. Dressen-McQueen’s style of folk art using mixed media is lively and more than competently conveys the emotions of Fleming’s characters in this story.

Curricular Connection: English-Language Arts/Writing, History/Social Science, Grade 5, Students connect social studies through literature analysis.

Annotation: An aid organization in the United States connects a girl from Indiana with a young girl in Holland after World War II. Care packages from Rosie to Katje provide nourishment, clothing and joy for Katje and her friends and family.

Personal Reaction: Boxes for Katje is a deceptively simple picture book loaded with meaning and lessons about caring and helping. The story is based on the similar real life experience of author Fleming’s mother just after World War II. Fleming’s spin on the story features a young Indiana girl named Rosie who makes a connection with a young girl named Katje in Holland via an American aid organization. Katje’s village is suffering from food and supply shortages after the war and Rosie sends Katje a care package. Katje generously shares the contents of the package with the postal carrier and her family. The girls strike up a correspondence and Rosie sends more care packages. While the text is brief, it suggests much about the devastation of war, the impact on resources, the necessary rebuilding after war and human kindness. This story would be a nice introduction for students studying the impact of World War II on the home front in the U.S. or for students working on compare and contract writing skills. The lives of Rosie and Katje are well suited for a comparison assignment. Social studies students might also examine the role of aid organizations during and after wars.

Grandfather's Journey

Say, Allen, and Egolf, Robert L. Grandfather's journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. ISBN: 0-395-57035-2

Author Website: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/allensay/

Media: Watercolor on paper

Award: Bulletin Blue Ribbon,
Caldecott Medal Book,
ALA Notable Book,
Booklist Editors' Choice,
Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, Horn Book Fanfare, Selection School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year.

Use of Simile: (p. 8) “Deserts with rocks like enormous sculptures.” (p. 11) “towering mountain and rivers as clear as the sky.” (p. 26) “Bombs fell from the sky and scattered our lives like leaves in a storm.”

Use of Personification: (p. 14) “the lonely seacoast.”

Detailed Artwork Discussion: Say is a gifted artist who uses watercolor in a way that is often evocative of the richness of oils. The illustrations in Grandfather’s Journey have a depth that is particularly impactful in Say’s drawings of the landscapes of his native Japan and his travels in the United States. Say paints the California coastline where the Sierra Mountains meet the sea using a dark brown color for the foremost land and utilizing a faint, gray with purple undertones for the most distant mountains (p. 14). Details show the mountains varying from rocky soil to sheer facing (p. 14). When Say’s grandfather visits an industrial city, the artwork tells the story: this city is polluted and gray with smoke and dirt (p. 10). The following page’s illustrations are a stark contrast; the sky above a mountain range is a watery, clean blue (p. 11). Another illustration shows a group of children in the aftermath of a bombing. The expressions on the children’s faces convey devastation and grief in a way that precludes the need for text (p. 27). Say’s art tells much of the story in Grandfather’s Journey as Say uses color ranging from light sepia watercolors to rich, earthy colors and painterly qualities ranging from barely there to painstakingly detailed.

Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List, Detailed Artwork Discussion

Annotation: Author Illustrator Allen Say writes about his grandfather’s travels from Japan to the United States. Say’s grandfather eventually yearns for his homeland and returns, but then finds that he misses aspects of his life in California.

Personal Reaction: I was struck by the spare text in contrast to the depth of Say’s story. With very few words, Say shares a circular story of a fictional version of his grandfather and himself and their yearning for their homeland and adopted countries two generations apart. Say tackles the loneliness of immigration, the awe of travel and the strong pulls of family and culture, as well as the devastation of war in this short picture book. Say’s illustrations are vital to the storyline. Say draws himself as a young boy holding a rifle during the outbreak of war (p. 26) and that is all the reader needs to infer the events of this time period. At another point in the story, Say uses brief and accessible language to share life-changing events. “The he brought his bride to the new country,” (p. 15) lets the reader know that grandfather has married and made the decision to live in the United States. Grandfather’s Journey is a wonderful example of how a picture book with meaningful illustrations and carefully chosen text can tell a big story with a limited number of pages.