Review #1: Posted by April 5

OK, so Review #1 is actually our third review and second-to-last for the course, but it worked out best this way. Post your review, complete with scene ("movie man" preview voice), summary, and commentary by April 5th. It should translate into 2 double-spaced pages in Word.

March 1- March 15: Virtual Booktalks

Between now and March 15, post a virtual booktalk on one of the YA books on your list that you've read but haven't had a chance to discuss with your peers in class. It should only be a paragraph and should begin with bibliographic information. I'll post an example below, and you can see page 287 of the Nilsen and Donelson for more help.

Eisner, Will. (2005). The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue. New York: Norton.

This book collects three graphic novels from the man who actually coined the term. What many deem the first great American graphic novel, A Contract with God (1978), is reprinted along with the autobiographical A Life Force (1983), Dropsie Avenue: The Neighborhood (1995), and Eisner's last sketches before his recent death. All are tales of Americana and of the American spirit, both in its most depraved and most humbly celebratory. Set in New York City across various centuries and decades, the stories reveal harsh realities and touching moments. Eisner is a master at reavealing to his audience that the mundane stuffs of life are worthy of deep inspection, that the humanity of life is rich, even if it is not always sweet.

Feb15-22: Post your Rationale

As we decided together in class, please post your rationale to the blog. The idea here is that once all are posted, you can do a simple copy and past of the entire posting and save it somewhere (in a Word document, in a manilla folder, or in a notebook, or in a baggie), so you'll have a nice beginner's rationale collection.

Optional Blog topic: "Trashy???"

I am really dumfounded to see so many people use the same word to describe The Chocolate War. A good number of you said you thought it was "trash," or "trashy." I just don't understand it. So, I'd like to throw it out to the class for discussion. What makes it trash? I mean, that's a strong word. Those of you who didn't use this word, do you agree with the assessment? I'll stay out of this one as far as replying goes, but I'd be eager to hear anyone's comments. This assessment in your reviews really struck me as an odd but fascinating reoccurance.

Censorship in YA literature, LA/English classes, etc.

I'd like you to extend our discussion on censorship by posting some reflective comments. Of the four books we've read so far, do you think censorship issues are inherent in all of them, or just the two we focused on in class? Do you buy the "rationale writing" argument? Honestly, are you one of those people who is still thinking, "This will never happen to me," or are you of the "Lazy teachers! They get what they deserve" sort? Somewhere in the middle? Somewhere else entirely?

What did you think about the argument that teachers still have to "politico" things, treading cautiously even when they're dealing with parents, organizations, or even other teachers who are obviously ignorant about a text they are challenging?

These are just some of the topics you can explore, or you may diverge. Do not only post your own unique message, but post a reply/reflection to at least one other person's comments as well.

Reflections from Your Feb 1st Literature Circle

Now that you've engaged in a genuine literature circle, take a moment to reflect on the activity and to consider some of the items of interest that came up as you discussed your novels. What points or ideas were shared via the LC format that might not have been explored otherwise?