Module 5 - Kit's Wilderness

Cover art retrieved from its record in worldcat

 Bibliography

Almond, D. (2000). Kit's Wilderness.  New York : Delacorte Press

Summary

After his grandmother died, Kit and his parents move to Stoneygate, an old coal-mining town to take care of his grandfather.  Kit meets a group of kids from the old families of Stoneygate and take part in their game called Death.  The game and his growing bond with John Askew, one of the other kids, and with his grandfather leads Kit down a path of discovery.

My Impressions

This is one of my favorite books.  The mixture of realism and magical realism made for an interesting story.  This will be a book that I will reread. 

Reviews/Awards

Michael L. Printz Award Winner 2001
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2001
ALA Notable Children's Book 2001

Almond has set an enormous task for himself. But he succeeds beautifully, knitting dark and light together and suffusing the multilayered plot with an otherworldly glow.--Booklist

Almond offers another tantalizing blend of human drama, surrealism; and allegory...he takes readers on a thrilling and spine-tingling ride.--Publishers Weekly

Suggested Activities

This would be a great book to introduce a history unit that focuses on coal miners. After reading the book, teachers could instruct students to conduct research at the library about coal mines and the areas where coal mines are located.  Since the story also shows Kit's gift at storytelling, this book could possibly be used as an example of stories told within stories.  Students could be instructed to write their own short stories.

Module 4 - The Graveyard Book

 

Cover Art retrieved from its record in Worldcat

Bibliography

 Gaiman, N., & McKean, D. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins Pub. 

Summary

Nobody Owens, Bod for short, once had another name but no one knows it.  Not even Bod.  As a toddler, he lost everything when a man entered his home and killed his parents and older sister.  Climbing out of his crib and exploring the opened  door saved him from being killed.  Finding refuge in the graveyard among its inhabitants saved his life, gave him an unusual family, and he received an education no other children have.  Being under the protection of the graveyard required he stay in the graveyard, which posed problems for a growing and inquisitive child who has a thirst for knowledge and information about the world  especially after meeting a girl who visits the graveyard. . 

My Impressions

 I loved this book so much that I read it in one sitting. I can see why it won the Newbery Award. The characters and the plot is interesting.  I was able to see the parallels between Bod, the ghosts, and his supernatural guardian and the characters in Kipling's Jungle Book. 

Reviews/Awards

 

The Carnegie Medal 2010

The Newbery Medal 2009

The Hugo Award 2009

"A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising," said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Treviño.

 

"Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished."— Horn Book (starred review)

"THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form. In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable enchantment." ---New York Times Book Review 

Suggested Activities

This would be a great book to display at a public library during October for Halloween.  In a school library it would be a great introduction to ghost stories and other legends.

Module 4 - Bridge to Terabithia

Cover art retrieved from book listing on Amazon.com

Bibliography

Paterson, K. (2006).  Bridge to Terabithia.  New York: Harper Festival.

Summary

Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke meet on the first day of fifth-grade.  Even though he loses the race on the first day of school, the two become fast friends.  Together they build an imaginary kingdom that they name Terabithia.  Terabithia was there place where they had no worries.  After spending an afternoon with his teacher at the art museum in the city, Jesse returns home to find his world in ruin.

My Opinion

This is the type of story where the reader can feel the emotions flowing from the page. Bridge to Terabithia is a wonderful book that will draw the reader into the story.  I would recommend it to anyone over the age of twelve.

Reviews/Awards

This Newbery Medal winner moves the heart and spirit with its beautiful writing, wrenching honesty, and hopeful ending.  (Valerie Patterson from Children’s Litearture)

Virginia Young Readers Program, 1983

Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 1986

Suggested Activities

Bridge to Terabithia would be a great title for a book talk about the topics covered  such as friendships, bullying, and death.

Module 3 - The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Cover art retrieved from the listing on WorldCat.org

 

 

Bibliography

Selznick, B. (2007).  The invention of Hugo Cabret: A novel in words and pictures.  New York: Scholastic Press.

Summary

Thirteen-year-old Hugo leads a secret life within the walls of a Paris railway station.  He spends his days secretly taking care of the railway clocks and stealing from people to survive. After being caught stealing from a mysterious toy seller and meeting the toy seller’s goddaughter Isabelle, Hugo’s life and the secret that he’s been hiding becomes threatened. Together, Hugo and Isabelle solve mysteries before coming to a surprise conclusion.

My Opinion

In my opinion, this book isn’t solely for children because even adults will enjoy this very interesting tale. The pictures are superb and help drive the story.

Reviews/Awards

• The author-illustrator creates a novel that is an interplay of fast moving text studded with cliff-hangers, relieved by pages of illustration that show rather than tell the action. (Susie Wilde from Children’s Literature.)

• Throughout the creative process, Brian Selznick has clearly been thinking well outside the box and, for so doing, he is to be congratulated. The Invention of Hugo Cabret perhaps provides a glimpse into the future of children's literature. (Gregory Bryan from CM Magazine, March 30, 2007 (Vol. XIII, No. 16))

• The book, an homage to early filmmakers as dreammakers, is elegantly designed to resemble the flickering experience of silent film melodramas. Fade to black and cue the applause! Kirkus from Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 2))

• Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2008-2009

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award, 2008

• Quill Awards, 2007

Activity Suggestions

Since the setting of this book is a Paris train station, students could be led on a scavenger hunt at the library to find nonfiction books about Paris, trains, or train stations.

Module 3 - The Three Pigs

Cover Art Retrieved From the book's entry at Amazon.com

 

Bibliography

Wiesner, D. (2001). The Three Pigs.  New York: Clarion Books.

Summary

Three little pigs set out to build their houses.  One pig builds a house of straw; the second pig builds a house made out of wood; and the third pig builds a house made out of brick.  Just like in the traditional fairy tale, this story has a mean wolf that goes from house to house then huffs and puffs to blow the houses down.  The wolf doesn’t eat any of the pigs though because they escape from the story, taking pages with them.  Together they go on an adventure within the pages of other fairytales where they meet the cat with the fiddle, the cow that jumped over the moon, and a dragon before returning to the brick house.

My Impressions

This story takes the fractured fairytale genre to a new level.  In my opinion, I feel that it may be too disjointed for preschoolers to follow but would be a great read for older children, especially if they know the traditional story.  I also feel that Weisner’s multiple styles of illustration is what makes this story so great.

Reviews/Awards

• With this inventive retelling, Caldecott Medalist Wiesner ("Tuesday", 1991) plays with literary conventions in a manner not seen since Scieszka's "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales "(1993). Kirkus from Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 7)

• Wiesner has created a funny, wildly imagined tale that encourages kids to leap beyond the familiar, to think critically about conventional stories and illustration, and perhaps to flex their imaginations and create wonderfully subversive versions of their own stories.

• ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award, 2002

• Irma S. and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 2001

Suggested Activities

This book would make a wonderful introduction to other fractured fairy tales.  After reading this book to children within either a public or a school library setting, the librarian, or teacher could prompt students to find other nontraditional versions of the three little pigs.