Tag: Middle grade

A Historical Novel (Audiobook)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Vawter, Vince. Paperboy. Read by Lincoln Hoppe. Portland, ME: Listening Library, 2013. Unabridged, 6 hr., 11 min.

PLOT SUMMARY

When he accidentally “busts” his friend, Rat, playing baseball, Vince agrees to take his friend’s paper route for the summer. There’s just one problem: Vince can hardly get a word out without stuttering up a storm, and he’s terrified of trying to talk to people he that don’t know about his condition. With lots of encouragement from Mam—his best friend and colored caretaker—and from his parents, Vince sets out on his month-long stint as paperboy. Vince’s route takes him to Mrs. Worthington, an attractive woman with sad eyes; Mr. Shapiro, an educated seaman and patient friend; TV Boy, a name that Vince makes up for a boy who always seems to be sitting in front of the television; and Ara T, an unkind junkman that Mam forbids Vince from talking to. Although Vince struggles to accept himself and to navigate the complex questions of life as he makes the transition from childhood to adolescence, his paper route provides Vince with life experiences that make Vince a better human being. By summer’s end, Vince has seen and experienced the effects of hate, sadness, and injustice, but he’s also learned where to go to give and receive kindness, love, and acceptance. The author’s note at the end of the story reveals the autobiographical nature of Paperboy and provides readers with deeper insights about stuttering.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Vince, or “Little Man” as Mam calls him, is a believable 11-year-old boy: He’s big into sports—baseball specifically—like many other boys his age; he has his first crush on his neighbor Mrs. Worthington; and he begins to see past the innocent lens of childhood into the harsh realities of his world. Why, for example, does Mam have to sit in the back of the bus? Why is Mrs. Worthington always drunk? Are Vince’s parents who he thinks they are? Why does Mam distrust the junkman Ara T? And why does Vince have a stutter? Readers will journey with Vince through one eventful summer and into young adulthood as Vince learns more about the world and his place within it.

Listening to the book in audio format was especially powerful. The narrator did an exceptional job of recreating the pausing, hissing stutters of Vince’s speech, giving readers a better understanding of Vince’s frustrations as he tries to get out the words he so desperately wants to say. The other characters—Mam, Mr. Spiro, Mrs. Worthington—were easily distinguishable due to the narrator’s skillful navigation of each character’s unique inflection, accent, and tone. The narration was engaging and easy to listen to, making it a great audiobook for long family car trips. And the final author’s note spoken by the protagonist himself is a special treat for invested listeners.

The story’s plot, however, may not catch many young readers’ attention. Although the story does include a man intent on committing a murder, most of the story is introspective and a little bit humdrum. Vince spends much of the text explaining the limitations he feels due to his stutter, the philosophical discussions he has with an educated neighbor, and the mundane daily happenings of the customers along his paper route. Adults may find this book a hard sell due to the book’s less than exciting plot, and young readers may not find it especially easy to connect with this slice-of-life memoir of the late 1950s.

Still, the themes of the story are timeless. While Vince begins the story trying to “fix” himself, he unashamedly accepts his limitations—stutter and all—by the book’s end. At the beginning of Paperboy, Vince tries to stay in the background, avoiding interaction rather than risk embarrassing himself and others. His experiences bringing paper—and his voice—to the doors of many houses helps him to stand tall and dare to be different. So while this book might require more coaxing than the standard middle-grade fare, its powerful message is one that many kids will take to heart.

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award, 2014

John Newbery Medal Honor Book, 2014

Washington Post Best Children’s Books, 2013

From AudioFile: “Lincoln Hoppe’s narration is pure perfection in this story about ‘Little Man,’ an 11-year-old boy with a stutter so severe that he can’t even say his own name. . . . Hoppe brings out Little Man’s endearing vulnerability and portrays the stutter with a tender ease and grace that will make listeners feel empathy and hope for the boy. . . . The afterword is read by author, and stutterer, Vince Vawter, making this an extraordinary listening and learning experience.”

From Kirkus: “Carefully crafted language, authenticity of setting and quirky characters that ring fully true all combine to make this a worthwhile read. Although Little Man’s stutter holds up dialogue, that annoyance also powerfully reflects its stultifying impact on his life. An engaging and heartfelt presentation that never whitewashes the difficult time and situation as Little Man comes of age.”

CONNECTIONS

  • Discuss the significance of “TV Boy” in Vince’s story. How does Vince’s perception of the boy change over time? Invite students to get to know someone they may not know very well like Vince did, and teach middle schoolers the basics of American Sign Language.
  • Read Paperboy and I Talk Like a River together. Discuss how the stutter affects each boy and how each one learns how to overcome his challenges.
    • Scott, Jordan, and Sydney Smith (illustrator). I Talk Like a River. ISBN 9780823445592
  • Vince is a skilled baseball player. Set out a sports display of other middle grade sports books such as the following:
    • Rallison, Janette. Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws. ISBN 9780802788986
    • Alexander, Lori, and Allan Drummond (illustrator). A Sporting Chance: How Paralympics Founder Ludwig Guttmann Saved Lives with Sports.ISBN 9781328580795
    • Alexander, Kwame. Booked. ISBN 9780544570986
  • Put out a display of all the 2014 Newbery Award finalists including Paperboy. Then allow middle-graders to vote on their favorite title and hold an awards ceremony for the favorite pick.
    • DiCamillo, Kate, and K. G. Campbell (illustrator). Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures. ISBN 9780763660406
    • Black, Holly. Doll Bones. ISBN 9781416963981
    • Henkes, Kevin. The Year of Billy Miller. ISBN 9780062268150
    • Timberlake, Amy. One Came Home. ISBN 9780375869259

*Note—This book review was created as an assignment for a course at Texas Woman’s University.

Historical Novel by Kirby Larson

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky. New York: Delacorte Press, 2006. ISBN 9780385733737

PLOT SUMMARY

Hattie has been moving from house to house for almost as long as she can remember. This time, she’s been taken in by her distantly related aunt and uncle, although Aunt Ivy hopes to get rid of the orphan by employing her at the local boardinghouse. But Aunt Ivy’s plans are dashed unexpectedly when Hattie’s late uncle leaves her a homesteading claim in rural Montana. At just sixteen years old, Hattie takes an Iowa train west, hoping for a place to finally call home. But first she’ll have to appease an angry cow, brave the cruel winter weather, learn how to cook, make friends with strangers, cultivate forty acres of land, and set 480 rods of fence, all by herself. Things don’t always go smoothly in Hattie’s neck of the woods. Local prejudice against German immigrants—like her friendly neighbor, Karl—are high due to nationwide anti-German sentiment; the weather makes Hattie wonder if she’ll ever get a crop; and she worries for her childhood friend and pen pal, Charlie, who is off fighting World War I across the sea. Yet, Hattie never loses her grit and positive outlook. Daily conversations with God ease Hattie’s lonely existence along with blossoming friendships with homesteading neighbors, even when tragedy strikes. Although Hattie’s story may not be a perfectly painless one, it is surely one of determination and of hope.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Hattie’s story—the story of a sixteen-year-old orphan turned homesteader—isn’t a sugar-coated one. When Hattie first arrives at her new abode in the middle of nowhere, snowdrifts and mouse droppings greet her from inside the tiny shanty house. Hattie’s first few months are spent freezing, scaring off a hungry wolf, and trying to learn how to bake bread instead of the grain bricks that keep coming out of the oven. Putting down fenceposts in the muddy spring isn’t much easier, nor is the planting stage that comes a little while later. On every step of Hattie’s homesteading journey, she must confront an obstacle, each one seemingly more unsurmountable than the last. But Hattie’s no slouch. Her gumption and can-do attitude made Hattie easy to like and her ability to laugh at herself will have readers guffawing along with her.

While the story of one pioneering orphan girl in 1917 may seem completely different from the world of today, Hattie’s story is also a timeless one. Hattie refers to herself as “Hattie Here-and-There,” never feeling like she has a place in the world where she is truly at home. And while Hattie writes to Charlie, a childhood friend who fights the Germans across the ocean, she also befriends a German immigrant, Karl Mueller, and his wife and children. In an America embroiled in World War I, German immigrants are treated with suspicion and, in some cases, with outright cruelty. Through Hattie, the author addresses prejudice, friendship, belonging, and courage, themes that continue to resonate with tween and teenage readers today.

What makes this book truly special is that it is both resonant with its readers and true to its historical period. The story is thorough in its research and authentic in its voice. Kirby Larson’s end notes shed light on her extensive research process as the book’s author, including reading dozens of homesteaders’ journals and books about the “honyockers” of Montana. Recipes for Perilee’s Wartime Spice Cake recipe and Hattie’s Lighter-than-Lead Biscuits found in the back matter are another fun (and delicious-looking) addition that interested readers will be excited to try. And Larson’s revelation that Hattie’s story is based loosely on the life of the author’s own great grandmother will delight readers and may spark a newfound love of history. Although Hattie Big Sky doesn’t end with a traditional happily ever after, this story is sure to be a popular favorite on any bookshelf.

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

John Newbery Medal Honor Book, 2007

School Library Journal Best Books List for Grade 6–8, 2006

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults List, 2007

From Kirkus: “This fine offering may well inspire readers to find out more about their own family histories.”

From Booklist: “The authentic first-person narrative, full of hope and anxiety, effectively portrays Hattie’s struggles as a young woman with limited options, a homesteader facing terrible odds, and a loyal citizen confused about the war and the local anti-German bias that endangers her new friends. . . . Writing in figurative language that draws on nature and domestic detail to infuse [Larson’s] story with the sounds, smells, and sights of the prairie, she creates a richly textured novel full of memorable characters.”

CONNECTIONS

  • Share Kirby Larson’s revelation that Hattie’s story is based loosely on the life of the author’s own great grandmother. Ask teens to learn more about their own family histories. Then have a special family history event where teens can share their favorite family stories orally, through pictures and art, or through written storytelling.
  • As part of a library youth book club, read Hattie Big Sky together. Then have a Hattie Big Sky party, complete with a “barn dance” and the recipes found in the back of the book.
  • Set out a teen book display featuring books set during World War I, such as the following:
    • Berry, Julie. Lovely War. ISBN 9780451469939
    • Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan.ISBN 9781416971733
    • Murphy, Jim. Truce. ISBN 9780545130493
  • Put out a display of all the 2007 Newbery Award finalists including Hattie Big Sky. Then allow middle-graders and teens to vote on their favorite title and hold an awards ceremony for the favorite pick.
    • Patron, Susan, and Matt Phelan (illustrator). The Higher Power of Lucky. ISBN 9781416901945
    • Holm, Jennifer L. Penny from Heaven. ISBN 9780375836879
    • Lord, Cynthia. Rules. ISBN 9780439443821

*Note—This book review was created as an assignment for a course at Texas Woman’s University.

Scott O’Dell Award Winning Book

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Amistad, 2010. ISBN 9780060760885

PLOT SUMMARY

Delphine knows that her mother is nothing but crazy. So when her Pa decides it’s time to fly Delphine and her two younger sisters to California to meet the mom that abandoned them seven years ago, Delphine isn’t all that excited. At least Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern will be able to go to Disneyland. But when the girls touch down in Oakland, they learn that their summer will be no amusement park. Cecile, their mother, is about as motherly as a cactus and she definitely did not ask to have her three girls shipped over. While Cecile busily prints off posters and poems for the radical Black Panthers in her kitchen, she sends her daughters off to a Black Panthers-sponsored summer camp each morning to get free breakfast and to get out of her hair. In the crazy summer of 1968, the girls learn more about Black power, revolution, and—slowly but surely—more about their outwardly prickly mother.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this short but powerful novel, eleven-year-old Delphine take center stage. Delphine, the narrator of One Crazy Summer, has a voice that rivets readers from the very beginning. She muses that she’s a “plain” kind of person, steady and straightforward, but Delphine is anything but plain. Her sisterly devotion makes her both extraordinary and lovable. When Cecile only gets Chinese takeout every night, leaving Fern with nasty stomachaches, Delphine determines to shop for ingredients and cook dinner herself. When Cecile takes Delphine’s money, leaving the children without the California trip they’d hoped for, Delphine makes their own vacation, taking her sisters to explore San Francisco through her own eleven-year-old ingenuity. When summer camp classmates tease seven-year-old Fern for carrying around a doll, Delphine is quick to defend her sister. Readers can’t help but root for this no-nonsense main character.

The setting of the story is vivid and alive, firmly entrenched in Oakland, California during the summer of 1968. Delphine begins the story with a nod to Muhammad Ali as the plane’s turbulence is compared to a “Cassius Clay-left-and-a-right-jab.” The book is also peppered with other historical references: Delphine’s sisters talk about then-popular TV shows like Captain Kangaroo and Mighty Mouse, singers like The Monkeesand Brenda and the Tabulations, and the Vietnam War. Most integral to the novel is the Black Panthers, a radical group that recruits the girls’ mother for help making prints and poetry for their cause. While Cecile is printing and writing, she sends her daughters off to a Black Panthers-sponsored summer camp for kids where they’re taught about words like “revolution” and “Black power” and participate in a rally to remember the murdered Black Panther, Bobby Hutton.

Thanks to William-Garcia’s talent, the revolution and its members are written with incredible nuance. Sister Mukumbu, a Black Panther summer camp teacher, is compassionate and kind, while another Black Panther, “Crazy Kelvin,” is—well—crazy.. Delphine notices both the foreboding rifle-bearing leader, Huey Newton, and the hospitable, kind summer camp workers working together with locals, both Black and white. While Cecile never turns into the mom the girls have hoped she would be and Delphine never receives the motherly praise she craves, this bittersweet mother-daughter relationship is offset by Delphine’s loving and unbreakable sisterly bond with Vonetta and Fern. A memorable main character, a vivid setting, and a nuanced perspective of a radical historical group make this book a standout. Libraries need this book on their shelves.

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2011

John Newbery Medal Honor Book, 2011

National Book Award Finalist, 2010

Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2011

From Kirkus: “The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page.”

From Booklist: “Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion. Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent’s love.”

CONNECTIONS

  • Create a small book display with middle-grade and young adult novels about the Black Panthers. Along with One Crazy Summer, include books such as the following:
    • Magoon, Kekla. The Rock and the River. ISBN 9781416975823
    • Spotswood, Jessica (editor). A Tyranny of Petticoats. ISBN 9780763678487
    • Shih, Bryan, and Yohuru Williams (editors). The Black Panthers: Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution. ISBN 9781568585567
  • In One Crazy Summer, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern recite poetry in front of a crowd. Host your own poetry recitation/slam night and invite middle-graders and young adults to recite poetry they’ve written or that they enjoy.
  • Read a short bio about Rita Williams-Garcia, the author of One Crazy Summer. Then set out a display of other middle-grade and young adult books by Williams-Garcia.
    • Williams-Garcia, Rita. P.S. Be Eleven. ISBN 9780061938627
    • Zoboi, Ibi (editor). Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America.ISBN 9780062698742
    • Williams-Garcia, Rita. Like Sisters on the Homefront. ISBN 9780140385618
  • Put out a display of all the 2011 Newbery Award finalists including One Crazy Summer. Then allow middle-graders to vote on their favorite title and hold an awards ceremony for the favorite pick.
    • Vanderpool, Clare. Moon Over Manifest. ISBN 9780385907507
    • Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise. ISBN 9780375836886
    • Preus, Margi. Heart of a Samurai. ISBN 9780810989818
    • Sidman, Joyce, and Rick Allen (illustrator). Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. ISBN 9780547152288

*Note—This book review was created as an assignment for a course at Texas Woman’s University.

Nonfiction Book by Catherine Thimmesh

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thimmesh, Catherine, and Melissa Sweet (illustrator). Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. ISBN 9781328772534

PLOT SUMMARY

Girls Think of Everything is an informational book dedicated to girls and inventions from around the world. The book begins with end pages that introduce famous women inventors from the pre-1800s to 2018. Next comes the table of contents and an introduction to women inventors of yesteryear, of modern times, and of the future, followed by in-depth studies of 15 famous women inventors that have changed the world. Among them are Azza Abdelhamid Faiad, a teenager living in Egypt with ideas for eliminating plastic waste; Ann Moore, a former Peace Corps pediatric nurse who designed an ingenious baby carrier; and Grace Murray Hopper, a mathematician who helped to create the first universal computer language. Thimmesh finishes the book with a section titled “Your Turn,” with resources for kids and teens interested in creating inventions of their own. The book also includes bibliographic sources, a glossary of terms, and an index.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Girls Think of Everything is a well-crafted informational book and in its show of diversity, the book shines especially brightly. From chocolate chip cookies to waterproof solar lanterns; from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to Albuquerque, New Mexico; and from well-established professionals to high-schoolers and college students, this book is a fantastic showcase of women inventors and inventions of all kinds. Middle-grade and teenage readers will appreciate the diversity of inventions, races, and age groups of the inventors, especially the four high school inventors included in this updated second edition. Readers will also be inspired by the “Your Turn” section in the back of the book, which provides resources to learn more about the patent process and the programs and contests available to young inventors on an international level.

The book’s organization is good, for the most part. Girls Think of Everything includes a top notch timeline, table of contents, introduction, select bibliography, glossary, and index—each a valuable research tool for its middle-grade audience, especially the inventors-in-training among them. However, the lack of order for Thimmesh’s 15 invention stories (chronological, alphabetical, or otherwise) is puzzling, especially since the book begins with end pages displaying a chronological timeline of women inventors. The pink side blurbs that accompany each invention are also problematic. While the extra information is fun to read, it always pops up mid-story when readers are still trying to engage with the main text, thus distracting from rather than enhancing the main text.

But despite some design flaws, Thimmesh’s stories create interest and enthusiasm about each unique invention and inventor, inspiring readers to create inventions of their own. Especially exceptional entries included those of Grace Murray Hopper, a woman with a can-do attitude and a love for mathematical code; Trisha Prabhu, a teen who heard about the harmful effects of cyberbullying and felt compelled to take a stand; and the inventing duo Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta, two college students who wanted to help those effected by the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010. Girls Think of Everything offers a fascinating look at woman inventors and, despite its imperfections, deserves a space on the middle-grade STEAM shelf.

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

From School Library Journal: “This updated edition of the 2000 collective biography showcases greater diversity in its representation of women inventors. . . . Expanded resources for aspiring scientists and a time line that emphasizes more recent inventions are welcome changes. . . . In a growing marketplace of works about women transforming the world, this title holds its own.”

From Horn Book: “Today’s readers will find a laudable increase in the subjects’ diversity as well as a more contemporary focus. . . . A resource as informative as it is empowering.”

CONNECTIONS

  • Using Girls Think of Everything, share the four stories of high-schoolers and their inventions. Then ask middle-graders to think of a problem they’d like to solve and invite them to come up with a prototype for an invention to solve it.
  • Divide middle-schoolers into groups and invite them to pick one inventor from Girls Think of Everything to study and research together. Then ask each group to present to the other groups about the inventor they researched.
  • Read about Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie. Then present children with the ingredients for cookies and allow them to choose an unconventional (but safe) ingredient to add to the cookies. Create a name for the cookies and, if possible, allow children to taste the cookies they’ve invented.
  • Read a few stories from Girls Think of Everything. Then read a bio of Catherine Thimmesh and set out some of her other books for children to browse such as the following:
    • Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon. ISBN 9780618507573
    • Thimmesh, Catherine. Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From. ISBN 9780547051994
    • Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild. ISBN 9780544818910

*Note—This book review was created as an assignment for a course at Texas Woman’s University.