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.
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.
posted by Bucky C. at 9:24 PM
8 Comments:
Fleischman, Paul. (2001). Seek. New York: Simon Pulse.
Seek is another of Fleischman’s explorations in perspective. The play is the manuscript of high school senior Rob Radkovitz’ autobiographical project. Rob narrates and coordinates the myriad of voices that affect his life. He uses audio clips to tell his story, since radio has such an impact on his life. His musician and DJ father left his family before he was born, and young Rob tries to find his father’s voice with his AM radio, exploring the radio waves from all over the country. While he never finds it, the voices that he does hear while on his search shape his personality. Living with his mother, a foreign language teacher, and his grandparents, avid readers who read to Rob constantly, the power of voice is apparent to Rob from a young age. His interests and influence make audio the only medium through which to tell his story. Fleischman’s style is riveting, using many voices to compose the symphony that is Rob’s adolescence. The author plays with perspective in his other novels like Mind’s Eye which is told entirely through dialogue or Joyful Noise which uses two voices of poetry. Anyone looking for dramatic presentations must give Fleischman’s work consideration, and Seek is a fine example of his unique style.
Rowling, J.K. (2001). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic.
This book is the first in Rowling's ongoing series about Harry, a young boy living with his aunt, uncle, and spoiled cousin in England. He struggles to gain acceptance from his guardians; his parents were killed shortly after he was born. But the day he discovers he is a wizard and is invited to be a student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry changes his outlook on life forever. Harry is finally among his "own kind" and learns what it is like to be accepted and appreciated for who he is. However, challenges arise when Harry discovers he must defeat the evil one who killed his parents. Harry Potter is a fun, lighthearted read offering a glimpse into the challenges of pre-teen everyday life, making it easy to see how it captured young and old audiences across the world.
Paulsen, Gary. (1998). My Life in Dog Years. New York. Random House
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen is an autobiography of his life through the dogs that he has had over the years. He takes a creative approach to writing his autobiography by naming each chapter after a dog he has had in his life. The chapter depicts his life through what he remembers about his dog. This is a lighthearted, true story about a man whose life has been nothing but easy. I loved the layout of the book, and being a dog lover myself, it was a great read. I could read about dogs all day long. Mr. Paulsen has had an interesting life. He has had a dog save his life, be his companion on hunting trips, protect him from a gang, and most notably, the dog he lives with now is “human” in so many ways. I was constantly excited to turn the page and find out more about how these dogs created the man that was writing this book. He seemed to be a loner, a child with no true social skills, and who from an early age had to fend for himself. He has never spent a moment in his life without a dog by his side helping him through the best and the worst. I was intrigued by his stories and sometimes sat and wondered if what he was telling about his childhood was true. Did he really live in the basement of his parents house? Did he really live in the woods alone while he was a child? Were his parents such drunks that he truly only lived on what he could steal from the bowling alley? Obviously, as it is an autobiography of his life, these things did happen and what an amazing success story. From rags to riches as an author and as a dog sled racer, Gary Paulsen is a man of much integrity and drive. I think this book would be a great book for my male students to read as it gives them a chance to see a male role model doing extraordinary things with ordinary situations and WITH DOGS TOO!
Lamedman, Debbie. (2005). 20 10-Minute Plays for Teens: Volume Two. Hanover: Smith and Kraus, Inc.
Debbie Lamedman has made every teacher who is looking for interesting and appropriate material for teens exhale a sigh of relief. She has taken the work upon herself and has given us a wonderful compelation of dramatic material that can be used in the classroom. The topics of her plays range from cultural issues to racism. The plays include both sexes and are very much on level with the targeted audience. These plays can be performed in 10 short minutes, which gives a lot of class time for discussing and exploration. With a foreward by Earl D. Weaver, Assistant Professor of Theater at the University of Central Florida, you won't have any trouble being convinced that this is a book that should be read and used.
L'Engle, Madeline. A Wrinkle in Time. (1962). New York: Random House.
A Wrinkle in Time is told from the point of view of an adolescent girl who doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Both of her parents are brilliant scientists, her younger brother Charles Wallace is clearly headed in the same direction, and her twin brothers are popular and funny at school. Meg is none of these things, until she goes on a journey to help her father in outerspace when she realizes that she has her own unique qualities. This science fiction novel takes us through a series of unfamiliar settings, throughout which Meg must cope with frustration, doubt, and physical and mental fatigue. The book deals primarily with moral lessons and learning to make good decisions and fight off evil. It's strong Christian undertones could be problematic in some public school settings as it has the potential to alienate some readers, especially where passages from the bible are directly quoted within the text.
Sebold, Alice. (2002). The Lovely Bones. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
The Lovely Bones is a heartbreaking look at the world through the eyes of Susie Salmon, a fourteen year old girl who is raped, murdered, and dismembered by her neighbor. Suzie narrates the story from heaven, where she begins the novel by introducing herself and taking the reader back to the day of her tragic death in 1973, “when people believed things like that didn’t happen.” Her heaven takes the form of the high school that she never got the chance to attend. From this heaven, Susie watches as her loved ones struggle to come to terms with her death. Each member of her family is profoundly affected by the tragedy and she observes the different ways they deal with their grief. Suzie sees her murderer commit similar crimes and get away with them. On a brighter note, through her observation of her younger sister Lindsey and her former classmates, Suzie vicariously experiences the happy moments of teenage life that she was never able to live first-hand. She watches Ray, the boy who was almost her first love, and Ruth, a misunderstood classmate who Suzie’s spirit touched on its way to heaven. Eventually, her family is able to accept her death. More importantly, Suzie does too and thus is enabled to pass through to the ultimate heaven. She still checks up on her family and although she is missed, the characters finally find peace. This novel is touching and extremely enthralling… I was drawn in from the very first sentence and could not put it down. Although Sebold discusses very tragic events, her writing is filled with beauty and humor. I would highly recommend this book to mature high school students, as Suzie’s narrative is not only a captivating account of loss and letting go but also a very unique growing up story.
Lawrence, Jerome and Robert E. Lee (1955). Inherit The Wind. New York: Random House.
No lie--the co-author's name really is Robert E. Lee. This is a play based on the Scopes Monkey Trial, but, as noted by the authors, is "not a history." Set in a small Bible-toting town called Hillsoro (i.e. not Dayton, TN), the play centers around the trial of Bertram Cates, a teacher who read to his students about Darwin's theory of "evil-lution" (as the prosecutor calls it. The dialogue is packed with emotional ideological conflicts, and could well serve as a gateway to teaching about the Scopes Monkey Trial as well as facilitating discussions about contemporary issues over the teaching of intelligent design. It's a quick, fun read, and would be easy to read aloud in class, but it is realtaively low on speaking parts, so students would probably need to share roles.
Sandra Cisneros (1994). The House on Mango Street. New York:Knopf.
The House on Mango street is a great book composed of vignettes which all eventually tie together in a great coming-of-age story with references to such typical subjects such as gender roles/collisions but also the impact of Esperanza's life in a working-class neighborhood. I thought this story was fabulous and would definately recommend it for use in a middle school or high school especially since it is not terribly long.
Post a Comment
<< Home