Module 10: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

· Book cover image:

                                           

    

· Book Summary:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is the story of Arnold Spirit also known as Junior. He is a fourteen year old Native American living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Life on the rez is quite mind numbing and poor as Junior depicts it. The story of Junior on the reservation is cruel and real. Going hungry and missing a meal or two Junior writes is good sometimes because “being hungry makes food taste better.” Through his narrative Junior manages to make life on the rez hilarious and sad at the same time. At the time of Junior’s birth, he was born with water in the brain as he says to make it easy on the reader (he often talks to the reader) and has a large head, big feet, and lopsided eyes. One would think he is a gargoyle. Even with all its problems, life on the reservation is fine with Junior. He is even looking forward to his freshman year when he can learn Geometry because he likes corners. As he gets his geometry book, Junior notices that his mother used the same exact book when she was a freshman. This was at least 30 years before. This enrages Junior because the injustices of the treatment of Native Americans on reservations is plain to him. He then throws the textbook at the teacher, breaks the teacher’s nose, and gets expelled. During his expulsion, Mr. P his geometry teacher visits him at home and convinces Junior to strive for better than the reservation offers. Junior decides to go to the white school 20 miles away in Reardan. Well life now gets harder for Junior, but he is smarter than most in the school, makes friends with a genius, becomes a basketball star, and falls in love with a beautiful bulimic. Life is good, except that his grandmother is killed by a drunk Spokane Indian, his sister gets married and dies in her home in a fire, and his dad’s best friend Eugene is shot by a coworker. Even with all the heartbreak in his life, Junior’s spirit is not deterred. At the end of his first year at Reardan, Junior know realized that he belonged not just to his Spokane Indian tribe, but to many tribes as Junior writes in the book. He belongs to the tribe of basketball players, American immigrants, cartoonists, tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers, and many more tribes too. The story of Junior the freshman ends on a hopeful note even if he live on the rez.

· APA Reference of Book:

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

· Impressions:

This was not what I expected. I do not really know what I expected. Sherman Alexie made me laugh, made me cry, made me mad, and made me sad. All sometimes on the same page.

I feel only a person who has lived that culture can write and talk so candidly about their culture. On the opening pages he discusses being hungry, being poor, losing your dreams, and shooting his dog, Oscar, because they could not afford a veterinarian. All of this and I was only on page eleven. Yet because of Alexie’s witticisms and just plain hilarious words, I was enthralled with the book. I could not put it down. At first I was wondering why it was on the censored list. I wondered if people thought maybe Alexie was exaggerating and that was why it was censored. The conditions of the Native American reservations is not an exaggeration. The conditions are sometimes deplorable and as a nation we should be ashamed that we have destined a whole culture and race of human beings to live apart from the rest of society. Why do we let it continue I wonder to myself? I have no answers but I do know that Alexie is not making these things up unfortunately. Let me get off my soapbox and continue with my impressions. I loved the honesty of Junior and the way he is portrayed with sincerity. Even though he says bad words and thinks mean things (he is fourteen after all), he is always a polite and respectful young man to everyone around him even Rowdy for the most part. Arnold goes through so much on the reservation and at Reardan and yet he always seems to bounce back. When Penelope pretends to not know him and looks at Arnold and “sniffs” him like he was a dog or smelled bad because he was different (I know she never sniffed a white person), Arnold just shrugs it off and doubts his grandmother’s wise words. Not me I was furious! I could have punched Penelope, but I just needed to read on and move on like Junior. That is what this book did to me. I was angry for Arnold with all the injustices in his life. I was sad for Arnold with all the tragedies in his life (his grandmother was killed by a drunk Indian, his sister dies while passed out in a fire, and so much more tragedy). And yet Arnold kept putting one foot in front of the other and overcame his often times unfortunate life situation of having almost nothing and yet knowing that he had so much from his life situation. That is Arnold Spirit Jr. He is a spirit of so much goodness and righteousness that one gets just drawn up in his sense of decency. The issues of the Native Americans brought up in this novel are so regrettable and lamentable, but Arnold’s spirit is just too good to bring down. I cannot say enough about all the impressions this book has left on me. The humor is hilarious, the cartoons are laugh out loud funny, and the narrative is unforgettable. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is heartbreaking, heartwarming, and uplifting all rolled into one. This book should be read by all and then maybe things would change for the better for all.

· Professional Review:

The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally -- and hilariously and triumphantly -- bent in this novel about coming of age on the rez. Urged on by a math teacher whose nose he has just broken, Junior, fourteen, decides to make the iffy commute from his Spokane Indian reservation to attend high school in Reardan, a small town twenty miles away. He's tired of his impoverished circumstances ("Adam and Eve covered their privates with fig leaves; the first Indians covered their privates with their tiny hands"), but while he hopes his new school will offer him a better education, he knows the odds aren't exactly with him: "What was I doing at Reardan, whose mascot was an Indian, thereby making me the only other Indian in town?" But he makes friends (most notably the class dork Gordy), gets a girlfriend, and even (though short, nearsighted, and slightly disabled from birth defects) lands a spot on the varsity basketball team, which inevitably leads to a showdown with his own home team, led by his former best friend Rowdy. Junior's narration is intensely alive and rat-a-tat-tat with short paragraphs and one-liners ("If God hadn't wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn't have given us thumbs"). The dominant mode of the novel is comic, even though there's plenty of sadness, as when Junior's sister manages to shake off depression long enough to elope -- only to die, passed out from drinking, in a fire. Junior's spirit, though, is unquenchable, and his style inimitable, not least in the take-no-prisoners cartoons he draws (as expertly depicted by comics artist Forney) from his bicultural experience.

R., S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Horn Book Magazine, 83(5), 563-564.

· Library Uses:

In the library there will be two stations where students could pick and choose which art and writing activity they want to work on.

1. Create a character biography of Junior. This will include a visual and written character map that shows and explains the components of Junior’s life, including the influences working on the inside and the influences that effect Junior on the outside.

2. On page 11, Junior writes that his parents could have been somebody different because they had dreams when they were young. “But they never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams.” Junior also draws his parents on page 12 as they would be if their dreams had come true.

Think of someone you know who might have been someone different if they had followed their dream.

It does not have to be sad. Explain how President George W. Bush wanted to be a rancher, but instead followed in his father’s footsteps and became President of the United States.

Questions to be answered along with a drawing modeled after page 12:

            1. Why did this person give up on their dream?

            2. What stopped this person from following their dream?

For either assignment, the students need to include a drawing and a short paper no longer than one page. Tomorrow the students will post their finished products around the library and the students will have gallery walk to view each other’s work.

Module 9: This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness

· Book cover image:

                                                       

    

· Book Summary:

This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman is a book of poems by the sixth graders in Mrs. Merz’s class. The assignment started as poems of apology modeled after the William Carlos Williams’s poem “This Is Just to Say” where the poet apologies for eating plums in the icebox, but the apology does not sound so heartfelt. The book is in two sections, part one is apologies and part two is responses. The students in this sixth grade class liked their poems so much they decided to put the poems all together in a book. When the book was completed, the students now thought it would be a good idea to send the poems to the person or people they apologized to and have that person write a poem in return. The sixth grade students did get most response poems back but a few had to be improvised by the students themselves. Some of  the original apology poems just like William Carlos Williams’s are not very sincere, and the recipients of the apology poems too at times are not very forgiving. Throughout the book of poems, it is evident that the apologizer and the recipient of the apology have a relationship, whether good, bad, or indifferent. This book is a wonderful book of poetry that is straightforward,  uncomplicated, and so real.

· APA Reference of Book:

Sidman, J. (2007). This is just to say: Poems of apology and forgiveness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

· Impressions:

I read the front sleeve of the book to decipher what the title, This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, meant. The introduction was also very helpful and so I decided to read the poems together, the apology first followed by the response. I next read William Carlos Williams’s poem “This Is Just to Say” and found out he is apologizing for eating all the plums in the refrigerator but is not very sincere in his apology. It was funny with his added comments after his apology saying the plums were delicious, sweet, and so cold. Not exactly an act of contrition. The first student apology is to the office lady, Mrs. Garcia (I think we all have a Mrs. Garcia in our offices) from Thomas for eating the jelly doughnuts in the teacher’s lounge. Like William Carlos William, Thomas is just as apologetic (not) for the delicious, so sweet,  and so gloppy confections. Mrs. Garcia, in her response poem, knows it is he who is taking the doughnuts and forgives Thomas his transgressions, but will have to call his mother. Just too funny! The poems continue this way with truly heartfelt apologies from Carmen to Mrs. Merz for her choice of wardrobe, and Mrs. Merz’s response in a haiku. Reuben and Kyle both apologize to each other for their ruthlessness during dodge ball and they respond together to each other in a poem in two voices. The poems and responses bond the two, the apologizers and the responders, together in such a way that it gives the reader a glimpse into life like nothing else it seems. Alyssa is so pained by how she hurt her sister Carrie, the pain in her poem is evident. Yet Carrie writes a “Roses are Red” poem back to Alyssa and Carrie definitely does not forgive Alyssa. Some poems are just hilarious while others are painful to finish reading. Jewel writes to her father for forgiveness and in her apology poem it is clear she has nothing to apologize for. In the response poem, Jewel writes again saying her father did write back but she sums his letter up for the reader. If Jewel’s first poem was not hard on the reader’s heart, the second poem will just tear it to shreds. Overall the poems, both the apology and response, are very true to life and uplifting. I was not able to read this book in one sitting. It was too hard at times to see how our children view the world they live in. I realize this is a book of fiction and is from Joyce Sidman’s imagination, yet the situations presented in the poems are very realistic.

· Professional Review:

Every school should purchase a copy of this book of poetic apologies and responses. The title poem by William Carlos Williams sets the tone. Sidman sought help in writing a poem to her mother from a group of fourth graders in one of her writing workshops, which became the impetus for this book. Zagarenski uses typical schoolchildren materials as a background for her colorful, whimsical drawings that brighten the pages of this book. She captures the essence of childhood on each page. The poems reflect different stages of resolution; some apologies are sincere, others not. Some of the responses are more forgiving than others. Some of the poems are humorous, some sad, and some of the responses are unexpected. The poems that touched my heart the most were "It Was Quiet" by Tenzin, who described the death of her beloved dog Einstein, and "Next Time," Jewel's poem to her dad who had abandoned her several times. Lessons about accepting responsibility, seeking forgiveness, and righting wrongs are all part of the fabric of this book. Each school library could benefit from adding this wonderful book of poems to its collection. Recommended. Susie Nightingale, Library Media Specialist, Santa Fe Trail Junior High School, Olathe, Kansas

Nightingale, S. (2007). This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Library Media Connection, 26(3), 88-89.

· Library Uses:

Apology Poems:

Have students think about what they could apologize for. Maybe something they really are not so sorry about. Discuss the William Carlos Williams poem and what they think about his apology.

Discuss with the students what you may want to apologize for and have the student help you write your apology poem just like Mrs. Metz wrote a poem to her mother. Remind student to include the five senses in the poem.

Now have students think about their apology poem. Make sure the poet makes the reader understand what the write did, how they feel, and five senses details also. If the students want they may take the position of another like the hamster on page 37.

Response Poems:

If the students can have them give their apology poems to the person wronged and ask if they will write back.

If that person does not write back the writer can them write either a poem from that person’s viewpoint or what that person said to the poet.

Make a class book of the collection of apology and response poems.

Module 8: Ace Lacewing: Bad Bugs Are My Business

· Book cover image:

                                           

    

· Book Summary:

Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective: Bad Bugs Are My Business by David Biedrzycki is another case for Ace to solve. This time Scratch Murphy has been robbed! As he, Scratch, was getting all his dough ready to pay his bank loan back to Mr. Hiss, the roach, someone conked him on the head and gave him a huge lump between his antennas. Now Scratch seeks help from Ace Lacewing, Xerces - his girl, and Zito - the Police Sergeant. After hearing Scratch Murphy’s events of his tragic misfortune, the trio ventures into Motham City to question likely suspects that might have pulled off this caper. First on the list is Mr. Hiss, the bank manager who suddenly came into some money by accident. Next to question was the head of the carpenter ants about the toolbox that hit Scratch on the head. Bo Weevil was visited next at his home as he raised his little boll weevils. With no luck finding the dough, the three all travel to Scratch’s Six Legs Park for clues about the missing money. The amusement park proves to be a wealth of clues and finally the culprit is there and (almost) caught stuffed handed.  

· APA Reference of Book:

Biedrzycki, D. (2009). Ace Lacewing, bug detective: Bad bugs are my business. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

· Impressions:

Not being a bug person, I was not attracted or enticed with the cutesy looking bugs in the book. I opened the book and then saw a map of a Motham the city. Now I was really in trouble. Most of the bugs I recognized, but some were new. Hmm, this could be interesting I thought. I closed the book. I returned to the book and studied the map more without going any further. I was curious to see where Six Legs Park was after I read the front book sleeve. How did this park fit into Motham City? Well I turned the page and was instantly captivated by the cutesy looking bugs going to the amusement park. The caterpillar buses lined up in front of the park were so true to life, literally. The bug families holding hands and pushing baby buggies. Too Cute! I read on. They had me at posters to read on the building’s walls and neon signs all leading to the “Fly Thru” service at Ace’s. I could not solve the mystery (but I am normally bad at solving any mystery). First I thought the girlfriend was certainly fooling around and with Scratch’s own twin! Then I felt sorry for her, because I did guess the fur coat was for Scratch. But for the life of me I could not figure out who did it. The illustrations were just delightful and the narrative drew the reader back into an old time caper just like Philip Marlowe, Dick Tracy,  or the detectives of Dragnet. Just using the word “caper” brings vivid memories of days gone by, simply like this book does.

· Professional Review:

Gr 2-4 -Ace Lacewing is back to solve another mystery. Scratch Murphy, the owner of Six Legs Park, is knocked unconscious by a falling toolbox-presumably the property of a disgruntled carpenter ant-and wakes to find his flea bag empty and his money gone. Ace discovers that his client has a lot of enemies, including a fly-by-night roach in the banking business; Scratch's twin brother, Scritch; and a weevil with over-the-top parenting skills. Ace's blue-eyed gal Xerces and Police Sergeant Zito "The Mosquito" are with him every step of the way. When the solution hits Ace "like a flyswatter," a run for the money ensues through the Termite Tower of Terror, Anteater Falls, and House of Mirrors. Ace's first-person narration and snappy dialogue are true to the hard-boiled detective genre, as is the cast of characters. The illustrations, done in pencil and digitally colored, fairly glow. The many insect references ("Flypaper Awareness Week" and "Keep Your Antennae and Legs Inside Ride") in the colorful spreads are a true delight. Mystery fans and insect enthusiasts will enjoy a one-on-one reading with plenty of time to savor the clever wordplay and insect-related details. They will also want to find Ace's first adventure, Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective (Charlesbridge, 2005).

Smith, M. J. (2009). Ace Lacewing, bug detective: Bad bugs are my business. School Library Journal, 55(7), 61.

· Library Uses:

In the library, the students will each pick a bug from the map of Motham City. There will be overlap of students per bug. The students will find websites and books about their bugs. They will create a bug museum with a pictorial of their bug and facts on the diagram. This display will be the presentation of the month for the library.

Module 7: Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down

· Book cover image:                                                                                  

                                             

  

· Book Summary:

Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney is the story of how four young African American men stood up to injustices by sitting down. This story is a true story of these four men; David, Joseph, Franklin, and Ezell, who sat at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 and asked for a doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side. Many public places in the United States at this time were still segregated and did not allow people of color to enter or purchase goods from these segregated establishments. The four young men were upset and frustrated by segregation and decided to protest peacefully. This era was an era where many protested and fought against the injustices and indignities of the separation of the races. It was also during this time that Martin Luther King, Jr. was preaching for peaceful protest and fighting with love not hate. This time was known as the Civil Rights Movement. It took many sit ins and many years to have laws passed to desegregate and integrate the whites only establishments, but laws were signed into the legislation. And the Greensboro Four did get served their doughnuts and coffee with cream on the side at the Woolworth’s lunch counter eventually. Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro was desegregated in July of 1960. This book was published for the 50^th anniversary in remembrance of that moment in history.

· APA Reference of Book:

Pinkney, A. D. (2010). Sit-in: How four friends stood up by sitting down. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

· Impressions:

The book was hard to read because of the injustices done to these four young men and to a whole nation of people of color. The pictures of the workers not even looking at the men at the counter were heart breaking and so sad. Some of the workers serving the meals to the white people were people of color. How could they be servers but not be served? At the time of the Civil Rights Movement, I was young but not too young to forget, especially being a person of color. Not African American, but Mexican American. The Greensboro Four took a very dangerous step in opposing the “Whites Only” sign. The story hits home in many ways and yet it seems like we are not done in accepting people of all colors. At first glance the illustrations were weird to view in my opinion. How was I supposed to look at swirls and squiggly lines? As one reads the narrative, the images appear to come into focus in one’s heart. The look of quiet resistance on the Greensboro Four is priceless. You can feel their fear and resolve. That is what these illustrations make the reader feel. The open arms of Ella Baker, the anger in the manager at Woolworth’s, the police officer’s look of confusion, and the smiles at last on the four young men at the Woolworth’s lunch counter.

The carefully chosen words leave no room for misinterpretation. These were times of injustices and evils in America. Yet the words are also of hope and tomorrows. That was my impression as the students sat at the lunch counter and “studied for tomorrow’s test” because they did not “need to read the menu.” Such a sad time for America, yet a time of awakening and righteousness.

· Professional Review:

Gr 3-6-- Through effectively chosen words, Andrea Pinkney brings understanding and meaning to what four black college students accomplished on February 1, 1960, by sitting down at a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. Her repeated phrase, "Their order was simple. A doughnut and coffee with cream on the side," along with other food metaphors, effectively emphasizes the men's determination to undo the injustices of segregation in a peaceful protest, which eventually led up to the 1966 Supreme Court ruling against racial discrimination. With swirling swabs of color that masterfully intertwine with sometimes thin, sometimes thick lines, Brian Pinkney cleverly centers the action and brings immediacy to the pages. Both the words and the art offer many opportunities for discussion. The book concludes with a civil rights time line and an update on the aftermath of the lunch-counter struggle.

Elleman, B. (2010). Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down. School Library Journal, 56(4), 148.

The latest collaboration by this husband-and-wife team (the Caldecott Honor book Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra) recreates the renowned 1960 sit-in staged by four black college students at a Greensboro "whites only" lunch counter. The narrative incorporates a steady stream of food metaphors, noting that the students ignored the law's "recipe" for segregation ("a bitter mix") replacing it the "new brew" of integration. Unfortunately, this device is more trite than moving ("Their order was simple: A double dose of peace, with nonviolence on the side") and, at times, can come across as glib. Brief quotations by Martin Luther King Jr. appear in large, blocky text, emphasizing his influence on the actions of this quartet as well as those who followed their lead, staging sit-ins across the South. Brian Pinkney's sinuous watercolor and ink art conveys the solidity and determination of the activists as well as a building energy that grew out of their act of civil disobedience. A succinct civil rights time line and additional facts and suggested reading about the topic round out this account. Ages 6-up.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down. (2010). Publishers Weekly, 257(6), 50.

· Library Uses:

After reading the book Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down read and display the Civil Rights timeline in the back of the book. Using this timeline pair students in groups of two to research the events on the timeline.

Have the students use the 5Ws and 1H to research their date in the Civil Rights Movement.

Who, what, where, when, why, and how. They should organize their notes using the six topics and Cornell notes.

When all have researched their event, the students will create a PowToon, Animoto, or Prezi presentation. The librarian will decide which one presentation software all students will utilized to produce a digital timeline to present to parents on parent night or classes as they come to the library.

Module 6: The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark

· Book cover image:

                                             

  

· Book Summary:

The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark by Carmen Agra Deedy is the story of the king of Denmark during the Nazi occupation of World War II. The people of  Denmark were all known as Danes. Their king, King Christian X, rode through streets of the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, everyday. He rode on a horse without bodyguards. The people of Denmark loved and admired their king. As the Nazis inhabited Denmark, the citizens looked at King Christian X for guidance during this time of fear and concern. The story says that the Nazis raised their flag at the Danish palace and King Christian X had a soldier take it down. When a Nazi officer asked the king what had happened to the flag, he replied with the truth and said he had asked a soldier to take it down. The Nazi officer tried to scare the king and said another Nazi flag would be put up the next day. The king said fine, he would ask a soldier to take it down again. The officer informed the king that the soldier would be shot dead if he tried to remove the flag again. The king then declared to the officer to be ready to shoot the king because he would be the soldier to take the Nazi flag down. Another Nazi flag was not put up. When the Jews were forced to wear the yellow Star of David, King Christian X knew exactly what this meant for the Danish Jews. He asked his tailor to sew a yellow flag on his uniform for the next day’s morning ride in Copenhagen. The king knew the Danish people would follow his lead and all Danes would now wear the yellow flag in support of their fellow Jewish Danes. The king’s heroism and bravery saved many Jewish lives during this dark time in Denmark and the world. 

· APA Reference of Book:

Deedy, C. A. (2000). The yellow star: The legend of King Christian X of Denmark. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

· Impressions:

I had already read very briefly about King Christian X in books about the Holocaust. In my sixth grade class, we study World War II and the German invasion. I do not remember which novel we read in class that mentioned the king of Denmark and how he saved many Jewish lives. I certainly do not remember it being mentioned that it was a legend. The reason I picked this book was solely because it did say “legend” in the title and the “yellow star.” As I read the book, the story was new to me. The first page only had one sentence on the page with a big empty white space below it. I had to thumb through the book to see if something was wrong. No, it was obviously done intentionally. Simply, the opening just states, “Early in the year 1940, in the country of Denmark, there were only Danes.” The illustration on this first page is a beautiful painting like view of children with books, a butcher selling his wares, men in blue serving and protecting, and Danish citizens walking through an open market or town center of a bustling city. The story continues to describe the Danes, even comically (I had to laugh)- some Great Danes, with a picture of the dog, as being different yet alike with respect and esteem for their King Christian X. The illustrations are bright with blue skies and smiles. The feelings I had as I continued to read the book were of dread as if the story was setting me up for something. In this day and age, we seem to be on alert. On the page where King Christian X is riding his horse and it says “a curious visitor” asked about the man riding the horse, I wondered before I saw the pictures how the illustrator was going to depict someone different from a Dane. As I turned to see the picture, I was surprised by what I saw. Why I was surprised I am not sure. The visitor was indeed very different and was dressed in white with what looked like a long coat and a turban. I had to see the copyright date again to see if this was pre or post September 11^th. It was before. I am still wondering what other type of visitor could have been painted to instantly let the reader know they were a visitor and not a Dane. The words are clearly and  precisely chosen to create dramatic effect and the words were working on me. The illustrations also changed from this page forward. The skies were no longer blue now there was a haze, all the smiles were gone, and some pages even had illustrations only done in brown and white. Even though this is a picture book, the story it tells is enormous. I could feel the Danish people instantly knowing what they had to do when they saw King Christian X riding on his horse, in his uniform, with a yellow star. I so did not want this story to be a legend. At the story’s end, the author writes two pages of notes to document the facts about the involvement of King Christian X and the Danish citizens during the Nazi occupation of European countries. These facts help the reader understand the importance of standing up against injustices done to humans. The ending of the legend is a circular one that simply states, “And, once again, in the country of Denmark, there were only Danes.” The illustration now depicts all Danes, even two nuns, with yellow stars of solidarity.

· Professional Review:

Although it is billed as "legend," Deedy's (The Library Dragon) WWII story raises disturbing questions regarding the importance of historical accuracy. Here Denmark's courageous King Christian responds to the Nazi edict that all Jews must wear a yellow star by wearing a yellow star himself, and his act inspires his subjects to do likewise. Deedy's writing is vivid and lyrical--but in an afterword, she acknowledges that her story is "unauthenticated" and that no Danish Jews were "forced" to wear the yellow star. As Ellen Levine points out in her recent Darkness Over Denmark (Children's Forecasts, June 26), the order about the star was never issued in Denmark. Where Levine cited the false story of the king's yellow star to explore the facts about Danish resistance to the Nazis, this book, in perpetuating a myth, clouds history; it also deflects from the country's most famous act of resistance in rescuing the overwhelming majority of its Jews (the afterword reports that Danes smuggled over 7,000 Jews to Sweden in fishing boats). Ultimately, despite the graceful prose, the insight offered into a dark era and Danish artist Sorensen's magnificent oil paintings, the book's fundamental flaw is difficult to overlook. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Forecasts: Children's Books. (2000). Publishers Weekly, 247(29), 194-196.

· Library Uses:

The library would hold a  World War II  and Holocaust study with this book as one of the books included in a read aloud. This book is very cautious in its message and depiction of the war and its atrocities so it would be appropriate for the lower grade levels also.

The story’s message is a positive, inspiring lesson of standing for what is right and acting on your beliefs. After discussing the author’s message and King Christian X, a writing and art lesson would be introduced to learn about heroes in the lives of the students at the school.

The writing prompts:

1. Heroes come in many forms and do many different things. Discuss what is hero is in a group discussion. Is King Christian X a hero in this story? Even if the story is a legend, what did wearing a yellow star mean? How does wearing it make him a hero or does it?

2. Do you have any heroes in you life? Who do you think is a hero and why?

3. Interview a person who was alive during World War II and ask what they experienced during that time and who was their hero if they had one.

After the students have written a brief paper on their findings, they will make a diorama of their hero, interviewee, or King Christian X in a situation that illustrates the person being a hero or living during World War II.  

Share the dioramas, stories and interviews with the class, either by having oral presentations or by compiling a class book of the heroes their stories and interviews.

Module 5: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

· Book cover image

                                                                                                        

· Book Summary:

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo tells a tale from the eyes of a rabbit. Edward Tulane is a china rabbit dressed in fine silks and leathers. His little girl is Abilene Tulane a ten year old who loves Edward dearly. Life is grand in the Tulane household except for Abilene’s grandmother Pellegrina. While Abilene treats Edward as a real being and speaks to him as such, so does Pellegrina speak to Edward as an equal. The fine rabbit Edward was a gift from Pellegrina to Abilene. The grandmother is the person who had Edward custom made with bendable parts and rabbit fur ears and tail. She is also responsible for his fine outfits and pocket watch. All this finery goes to Edward’s head and he does admire his good looks and exceptional wardrobe. Meanwhile Abilene loves Edward to pieces and tells him as much. Edward has no response because he cannot speak. Every once in a while, he does feel annoyance at things that happen to him like the dog slobber on his beautiful suit and being dragged around, but he does not feel love. All Edward can do is watch and listen. He does listen well when Pellegrina tells Abilene and him a story about a beautiful princess that loves no one. Pellegrina ends the story abruptly and leaves Abilene wondering if there can be happily ever after without love and to Edward she whispers in his ear that he has disappointed her. Edward is annoyed yet again. The story continues as the family travel to England by ship. While onboard Edward is thrown overboard and slowly sinks into the depths of the ocean. This starts his story of many years and many new owners. Edward lives with Lawrence and Nellie, Bull and Lucy, as a scarecrow for an elderly woman, Sarah Ruth and Bryce, and finally with the doll maker. He live many more years as someone other than Edward until, there is love and happily ever after.

· APA Reference of Book:

DiCamillo, K. (2006). The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

· Impressions:
 

As I first picked up the book at the library and read the back about a rabbit who did not move or speak I put the book back down. How could that story possibly be interesting or fun to read? Good thing I went to the computers and checked out reviews on the books I had gotten off the shelves to see what interested me. This book stood out strangely enough so I thought okay I’ll give it a try. Am I so glad I did. The words depicting the feelings or lack of them are almost piercing and the illustrations bring the whole picture full circle. I could feel the fur on Edward’s ears picking up. At one point Pellegrina made the hair on my arms stand up too, her wickedness came through the pages. Sometimes I wondered how a story could be told without dialogue. Well it was told wonderfully and you sensed the loneliness and despair of Edward’s predicament. When the dialogue did come around you just felt what Edward felt humanity at last. A breath of fresh air (even if it was smelly at times). I caught myself smiling, laughing, and cheering often when Edward was out of his last dismal situation and maybe had found a forever home. When Edward was flying through the air in the jaws of Lucy, I was cheering Lucy on and yelling, “Go Lucy! Go Lucy!” I really got caught up in a story about a rabbit who cannot move or speak. The humanity of life comes across so overwhelmingly that I could not put the book down for fear of losing Edward forever. I was reading faster and faster so that he would learn what love was and find Abilene again. I was literally keeping a running total at first of the days Edward was lost; then when seven years had gone by in the company of Bull and Lucy, well I almost gave up hope. Then I remembered Pellegrina and her message of happily ever after without love. So I kept reading to make sure Edward would be loved again. The doll shop was depressing but had lessons to be learned. And finally Edward learned how to accept and give love. The encounter with the antique baby doll opened Edward’s eyes to seeing the journey and not having it mean nothing, but letting love in and loving out lest he be pushed off the shelf. That confrontation was priceless. Exactly the word for this book!

· Professional Review:

I have read hundreds of books and only a few have brought tears to my eyes. Edward, a quite handsome and rather self-centered china rabbit, is transformed through a journey across time and space that takes him far away from the lap of luxury and the arms of the girl who loves him to the bottom of the sea, to a lowly fisherman's hut, to a garbage dump, to a tramp's shoulder, to a dying girl's bed-side, to a broken heap on the sidewalk, to a doll doctor's shop, to-the miraculous conclusion. He doesn't become real in the literal sense like the Velveteen Rabbit, but Edward learns to love and by learning to love he becomes real in a spiritual sense that is eternal. Bagram Ibatoulline illustrates the book with exquisite color art plates that enhance the text and add depth and texture to the words. A DVD interview with Kate DiCamillo accompanies the book. If one can buy only one new children's book, this is the one. Highly Recommended.

Williams, S. (2006). The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Library Media Connection, 24(7), 66.

Although Edward Tulane resents being referred to as a toy, much less a doll, most of us would regard him as such. He is, in fact, a rabbit made mostly of china, jointed with wire at the elbows and knees, so that he has quite a range of motion. His ears are bendable wire, covered with rabbit fur, so that they can be arranged to suit his mood-"jaunty, tired, full of ennui." He has a lovely, fluffy rabbit fur tail, as well. He prefers not to think about his whiskers, as he darkly suspects their origin in some inferior animal. Edward, thanks to his owner's grandmother, has more clothes, and certainly more elegant clothes, than most children. He even has a little gold pocket watch that really tells time. But the most important thing that Edward has in his pampered life is the love of a 10-year-old girl named Abilene Tulane. Surely, Edward Tulane is a rabbit who has everything-everything that is, but what he most needs. There will be inevitable comparisons of Edward Tulane to The Velveteen Rabbit, and Margery Williams's classic story can still charm after 83 years. But as delightful as it is, it can't match the exquisite language, inventive plot twists and memorable characters of DiCamillo's tale. Edward, unlike Rabbit, has never thought of himself as less than real, he just hasn't caught on to what it means to love anything or anyone beyond his own reflected image. Until, that is, he is rudely set off on the miraculous journey of the title-a journey that begins when Abilene's grandmother tells her and Edward a strange fairy tale of a princess who does not know how to love, and whispers in Edward's ear, "You disappoint me." And the journey ends, as any true fairy tale should, with a happily ever after. But it is the journey from pride through humiliation, heartbreak and near destruction that brings Edward to that joyful ending. Even in the galley stage, this is a beautiful book. Ibatoulline's illustrations are simply wonderful, and the high quality of the design incorporates luxurious paper and spaciously arranged blocks of text. But a story for today about a toy rabbit? Okay, I thought, Kate DiCamillo can make me cry for a motherless child and a mongrel stray. She can wring my heart following the trials of two lonely children and a caged tiger, and bring tears to my eyes for a brave little lovesick mouse, but why should I care what happens to an arrogant, over-dressed china rabbit? But I did care, desperately, and I think I can safely predict you will, too. Ages 7-up. (Feb.)

Paterson, K. (2005). The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Publishers Weekly, 252(49), 67.

· Library Uses:

Stations would be set up in the library with a Tic-Tac-Toe board with writing prompts. Some sample prompts could be as follows:

1. In all his journeys, Edward Tulane wants to go back home to what he considers home on Egypt Street. He spends meets many people on his journeys that make him happy, give him a new home, and treat him well. Make a list of things that mean home to you and why they do.

2. Write from Abilene’s point of view about the loss of Edward Tulane. How do you think her life changed when he was lost at sea?

3. Edward had lost all hope and said so at the doll shop. On page 184 he “prided himself on not hoping, on not allowing his heart to lift inside of him… I am done with hope” he thinks to himself. Why has Edward given up? Knowing what you know about the world, what would you tell Edward to help him know that he will be all right again.

4. Edward meets people who are caring to him, love him, could not care less about him, and some that are just mean to him. Create a visual of these characters Edward meets on his journey and compare and contrast their similarities and differences. How do you think each character is necessary to what Edward discovers about himself?

5. Make a list of normal everyday emotions people feel through out their lives. Write them down and examine which emotions Edward appears to be missing at the beginning of the story and which he experiences at the conclusion of his journeys.

The Tic-Tac-Toe board would have nine prompts and the students would have to pick three in a row for Tic-Tac-Toe and there would be materials for the students to display their writing in an artistic and written form.