Module 3: Monster

Bibliography:  Myers, W.D. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Summary:  This novel tells the story of a young African-American boy named Steve Harmon who is on trial for participating in a robbery that resulted in the death of a popular shop owner. Steve, who is terrified of the prison he stays in during the trial, pretends his tale is a movie. There is frequent use of movie terminology as the book alternates between the courtroom, jail, and scenes from Steve’s life prior to his imprisonment. Steve is eventually declared innocent, unlike his companion King, but the experience leaves a lasting impression on him.

Impressions:   Though some might disagree with me, I think the mature and sometimes sexual situations in this book make it unsuitable for young children.  Young children are also likely to miss the subtle examples of racism that pervade the story.  The conversation between Detectives Karyl and Williams in which Karyl reveals his disgust that Harmon is unlikely to receive the death penalty is a good example. Definitely not an 'Everybody’ book in my opinion.  Of course librarians considering this book for their collections should keep in mind that what children read is up to them and their parents.

The candid and realistic portrayal of a young African American boy who makes some poor choices, makes this book worthy of its Printz award. I believe it will stand the test of time because it takes an unflinching look at racism - an attitude that unfortunately is not likely to ever disappear completely.

Reviews: 

“Myers combines an innovative format, complex moral issues, and an intriguingly sympathetic but flawed protagonist in this cautionary tale of a 16-year-old on trial for felony murder. Steve Harmon is accused of acting as lookout for a robbery that left a victim dead; if convicted, Steve could serve 25 years to life. Although it is clear that Steve did participate in the robbery, his level of involvement is questionable, leaving protagonist and reader to grapple with the question of his guilt. An amateur filmmaker, Steve tells his story in a combination of film script and journal. The “handwritten” font of the journal entries effectively uses boldface and different sizes of type to emphasize particular passages. The film script contains minimal jargon, explaining camera angles (CU, POV, etc.) when each term first appears. Myers’ son Christopher provides the black-and-white photos, often cropped and digitally altered, that complement the text. Script and journal together create a fascinating portrait of a terrified young man wrestling with his conscience. The tense drama of the courtroom scenes will enthrall readers, but it is the thorny moral questions raised in Steve’s journal that will endure in readers’ memories. Although descriptions of the robbery and prison life are realistic and not overly graphic, the subject matter is more appropriate for high-school-age than younger readers.” – Debbie Carton

-          Carton, D. (1999). Monster Review. Booklist Online. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/Monster-Walter-Dean-Myers/pid=1707796

“Grade 7 Up-Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost. Christopher Myers's superfluous black-and-white drawings are less successful. Their grainy, unfocused look complements the cinematic quality of the text, but they do little to enhance the story. Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers. In some respects, the novel is reminiscent of Virginia Walter's Making Up Megaboy (DK Ink, 1998), another book enriched by its ambiguity. Like it, Monster lends itself well to classroom or group discussion. It's an emotionally charged story that readers will find compelling and disturbing.”
Edward Sullivan, New York Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

-           Sullivan, E. (1999). Monster Review. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0064407314/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308779886&sr=1-1

Suggestions for Use in a Library:

This is a tricky one.  I think this book is best suited to a group discussion.  A librarian can use this book to broach sensitive topics like self-esteem, racism, and criminal activity to a group of young adults.  Members of the group can even talk about events in their life or the life of someone they know that are similar to those in the book.

Module 3: King of the Wind

Bibliography: Henry, M. (1948). King of the Wind. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Summary: King of the Wind is the tale of the horseboy Agba and his companion, a bay horse he names Sham. Set during the age of kings and sultans, the story describes the journey of Agba and Sham as they travel from Morocco to France and then England while facing all manner of challenges and hardship along the way. Sham is constantly ridiculed and abused due to his small size which coupled with his proud spirit causes him untold suffering. He is never truly alone however since Agba, and later a cat named Grimalkin, are always there to support him.  Sham eventually gains the recognition and status he deserves with the help of his trustworthy companions.

Impressions: The tale of a boy and his horse struggling to achieve their dreams while plagued by continual misfortune is inspirational stuff indeed. Though some of the language is a bit outdated I think children today can still appreciate the unbreakable spirit of the two companions (and Grimalkin who joins them late in the story) when they are confronted with obstacles to self-betterment.  Henry does an excellent job of developing Sham’s personality making the horse, which in most books is simply treated as a dumb beast of burden, seem like he is almost human.  The illustrations scattered throughout the book are used to good effect – reinforcing important scenes like Sham’s battle with the Louis XV’s chief cook and his triumphant return to Gog Magog.

Review:

“For young readers who love horses, King of the Wind has long been a classic alongside Marguerite Henry's many other beloved horse stories such as Misty of Chincoteague. This one is the tale based on fact, of a swift and spirited Arabian horse sent by the Sultan of Morocco as a gift to Louis XV of France. Unfortunately, Sham (named for the sun), and his young groom Agba are undervalued by the French and end up in England, where they endure some grueling adventures before the Arabian's true value is understood. Readers will find it fascinating that this horse was an ancestor of many famous thoroughbreds, including Man o'War. Children today may find the style a bit ornate and the story rather too heart-rending, but it's still an absorbing tale with a triumphant finish. First published in 1948 and winner of the 1949 Newbery Medal, King of the Wind has been reissued as part of a "Marguerite Henry Library" in a deluxe edition that is essentially the same as the one in print for so long, but with a few useful additions. The original expressive monochrome watercolors by Wesley Dennis are included, and Henry's publisher at Rand McNally has contributed his personal recollections. These features and a "King of the Wind Scrapbook" with photographs and manuscript notes make it a useful addition to a library and an attractive gift for a thoughtful young horse-lover.” Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft

-          Talcroft, B. (2001). King of the Wind Review. Children’s Literature. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2378/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~yRG2ph:1

Suggestions for Use in a Library:

A librarian can show several photos of Arabian horses to show to a group of children after they read the book.  Ask the children to describe the photos using the terminology they learned from the book.  Ex. His coat is ____.

Module 2: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Bibliography: Taback, S. (1999). Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. New York, NY: Viking.

Summary: Readers follow the actions of Joseph as he comes up with new ways to salvage his old clothing. He starts off with an overcoat which he turns into a jacket.  The jacket becomes a vest, then a scarf, a tie, a handkerchief and a button until one day he ends up with nothing at all.  Even then Joseph manages to make something out of nothing by writing a book.  Each stage is accompanied by a die-cut hole in the shape of each item of clothing.

Impressions: This upbeat story, based on an old Yiddish folk song, introduces the concept of ‘recycling’ in an entertaining fashion.  The colorful and cartoony illustrations perfectly complement the story.  I was especially taken with the author’s use of die-cut holes to demonstrate each stage of Joseph’s clothing as it slowly transforms from overcoat to button.  Taback’s addition of the original Yiddish folk song at the end of the book was a nice touch.  Overall a good book – children get exposed to a piece of another culture and learn an important lesson at the same time.  With a little effort its possible to make something out of nothing!

Reviews:

“A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit. When Joseph's overcoat becomes "old and worn," he snips off the patches and turns it into a jacket. When his jacket is beyond repair, he makes a vest. Joseph recycles his garments until he has nothing left. But by trading in his scissors for a pen and paintbrush he creates a story, showing "you can always make something out of nothing." Clever die-cut holes provide clues as to what Joseph will make next: windowpanes in one scene become a scarf upon turning the page. Striking gouache, watercolor, and collage illustrations are chock-full of witty details-letters to read, proverbs on the walls, even a fiddler on the roof. Taback adapted this tale from a Yiddish folk song and the music and English lyrics are appended. The rhythm and repetition make it a perfect storytime read-aloud.
Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

-          Ludke, L. (2000). Joseph Had a Little Overcoat Review. School Library Journal.  Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Little-Overcoat-Caldecott-Medal/dp/product-description/0670878553/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

“This newly illustrated version of a book Taback first published in 1977 is a true example of accomplished bookmaking--from the typography and the endpapers to the bar code, set in what appears to be a patch of fabric. Taback’s mixed-media and collage illustrations are alive with warmth, humor, and humanity. Their colors are festive yet controlled, and they are filled with homey clutter, interesting characters, and a million details to bring children back again and again. The simple text, which was adapted from the Yiddish song “I Had a Little Overcoat,” begins as Joseph makes a jacket from his old, worn coat. When the jacket wears out, Joseph makes a vest, and so on, until he has only enough to cover a button. Cut outs emphasize the use and reuse of the material and add to the general sense of fun. When Joseph loses, he writes a story about it all, bringing children to the moral “You can always make something out of nothing.” (Reviewed January 1 & 15, 2000)— Tim Arnold

-          Arnold, T. (2000). Joseph Had a Little Overcoat Review. Booklist Online. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/Joseph-Had-a-Little-Overcoat-Simms-Taback/pid=1063941

Suggestions for Use in a Library: This book is tailor made for a little show and tell. A librarian can use the story to introduce children to the idea of recycling. In the book, Joseph recycles his old overcoat by turning it into a jacket, his old jacket by turning it into a vest and so forth. The librarian can provide a number of empty plastic bottles to children and show them how to turn them into miniature flowerpots, canteens, or numerous other products instead of throwing them away.

Module 2: Hey, Al

Bibliography: Yorinks, A. (1986). Hey, Al. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 

Summary:  Al and his loyal dog Eddie live in a small one room apartment.  They are visited by a large bird that invites them to an island in the sky.  Eddie, who is dissatisfied with their living conditions, convinces Al to go to the island.  The two companions enjoy a life in paradise until one day they start to turn into birds.  They manage to escape but Eddie becomes exhausted and falls into the sea before he reaches home.  Al is heartbroken until Eddie shows back up at the apartment safe and sound.

Impressions:  Great book!  The illustrations, a cross between a realistic and cartoonish style, manage to faithfully bring to life important scenes such as the frantic escape from the island and Al’s reaction to Eddie’s apparent demise.  Children can learn an important lesson from this book – no matter how tough life gets as long as they have someone who cares about them they can handle any challenge they encounter.  The story also drives home the fact that paradise usually comes with a price.  I only had one issue with this book. Eddie appears to die in one scene which may be a bit difficult for very young children to understand.

Reviews:

“Like Maurice Sendak's ''Where the Wild Things Are,'' this picture book explores the pleasures and the costs of leaving home. The team of Richard Egielski and Arthur Yorinks - who have brought us the highly praised ''Sid & Sol,'' ''Louis the Fish'' and ''It Happened in Pinsk'' - have worked their magic again. Playfully written in the sharpie cadences of New-York-City-ese, and illustrated with rich and loving attention to every detail, ''Hey, Al'' is a perfect melding of words and pictures, fantasy and reality, tenderness and humor. There's a heavy-hitting moral here - about the charms of even the humblest home. But the message is benevolent, delivered with warmth and wit and imagination. And so, as the author would put it, ''What could be bad?''   (Excerpt from Judith Viorst’s review or ‘Hey, Al’)

Viorst, J. (1987). Children’s Books. New York Times Book Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/11/books/children-s-books-64188.html?ref=bookreviews

“This Caldecott Medal winner tells of a journey to paradise and the discovery that home is best. Ages 3-up.”  - Publisher’s Weekly

Publisher’s Weekly. (1989). Hey, Al Review. Publisher’s Weekly Online. Retrieved from http://search2.publishersweekly.com/search?site=all&client=universal&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=universal&filter=p&tlen=128&q=Hey%2C+Al

Suggestions for Use in a Library: Ask children what person (or pet) they feel closest to in their life.  Have each child talk about what makes that individual so special. 

Module 1: Miss Rumphius

Bibliography: Cooney, B. (1982). Miss Rumphius. New York, NY: The Viking Press.

Summary: This story chronicles the life of a woman named Alice as she grows from a little girl into an old woman.  Alice decides to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather by visiting faraway places, creating a home by the sea, and doing something to make the world more beautiful.  She accomplishes the first task by visiting a tropical island, climbing tall mountains, and riding a camel to the Land of the Lotus-Eaters.  Alice, or Miss Rumphius as she is now called, eventually stops traveling and lives in a house by the sea.  She decides to accomplish her third task by sowing lupine seeds all over town so that everyone can enjoy the beautiful blue and purple and rose-colored flowers.  This earns her the title of Lupine Lady.  The Lupine Lady, now a very old woman, passes on her knowledge to her great-niece and the niece’s friends.  She tells them that they can visit faraway places and live by the sea but must also “do something to make the world more beautiful”.

Impressions:  I really enjoyed this book.  Not only did the author do a superb job with the artwork but also managed to use her pictures to bring the most important scenes in the story to life.  I was particularly taken with the pictures showing the town Miss Rumphius lived in before she sowed her lupine seeds and afterwards.  The flowers Miss Rumphius planted did indeed make the world a beautiful place.  Young children should enjoy this book for its pictures and sweet story but also for the lessons it teaches.  As Miss Rumphius says “The world already is pretty nice” but there is always something you can do to make it more beautiful.

Reviews:

“The narrator is a child, elderly Miss Rumphius’s great-niece, telling the story — partly as her great-aunt has told it to her, partly in her own droll way — to other children. The text is pithy, exquisitely paced, and consistently interesting. In composition and execution, the pictures are a leap and a bound beyond their counterparts in Ox-Cart Man. We are not looking at a scene, we are on the scene; Cooney has raised the sightline and let the forms bleed off the page.” - Horn Book Guide, Barbara Bader

Bader, B. (2000). Barbara Cooney. Horn Book Magazine (Fall 2000 ed.). Retrieved from http://www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2000/sep00_bader.asp

“When Miss Rumphius was a small girl, her grandfather told her she could travel and live by the sea as she wanted, but she must also do one more thing—in some way make the world more beautiful. She grows up, works, and travels, but how she can accomplish the charge given her is still a puzzle. After an injury lays her low and gives her time to think, she hits upon an idea. She will plant lupines—blue, purple, and rose-colored flowers—all over the fields and lanes near her house. Now an old lady, she passes this legacy of duty on to her great-niece, the narrator of the story. Cooney is in a tranquil mood here, and both the quiet text and serenity of full-color acrylic paintings portray this feeling. The artwork, almost primitive in style, is masterful, but the story itself has an adult feel and, without adult guidance, not all young children will respond.” — Booklist Online, Ilene Cooper

Cooper, I. (1982) Miss Rumphius Review. Booklist Online. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/Miss-Rumphius-Barbara-Cooney/pid=2653208

Suggestions for Use in a Library:

Make the world more beautiful!  With permission from your library director, plant a small flower garden outside the library.  Let the children each plant a flower in the garden and tell them that they have done something to make the world a more beautiful place.

Module 1: Millions of Cats

Bibliography:  Gag, W. (1928). Millions of Cats. New York, NY: Coward-McCann.

Summary:  A lonely old man and woman wish for cute little cat.  The old man leaves on a journey to find this cat and eventually come across a hill covered with millions of cats.  He wants the prettiest one but decides they are all pretty and ends up taking all of them home with him.  His wife tells him they can only keep one so he asks the cats to decide which one is the prettiest.  The cats argue for a long time and when the old couple looks outside they have vanished.  One kitten, the most humble cat, is left so the couple decides to keep it.  This kitten grows into a beautiful cat under the couple’s loving care.

Impressions:  The artwork in this picture book is great!  Gag does an excellent job of bringing to life the reality of millions of cats (even though it is impossible to really draw that many).  For the most part I see this story as a way to impress upon young children the consequences that can come with their decisions.  The old man’s suggestions, for example, lead to the cats draining a pond and completely removing all the grass from a hill.  There was one scene that seemed out of place – when the old couple looked outside after the cat fight the old woman stated “I think they must have eaten each other all up.”  The comment seemed a little gruesome to me. 

Reviews:

"Because when I read it as an adult, I was transported directly back to Miss Rita Lewandowski’s kindergarten class and anything that can do that must be powerful." – School Library Journal, Jim Averbeck

-          Averbeck, J. (2009) Millions of Cats [Review of the book Millions of Cats]. School Library Journal.  Retrieved from http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2009/05/05/top-100-picture-books-poll-results-9/

Suggestions for Use in a Library: 

Make your own cat!  Provide some art supplies such as construction paper, glue, scissors etc.  The children can make a cat that looks like one they already own or the kind of cat they would like to own.  Discuss with the children how cats and other pets should be treated.