First Set of Blogs

A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever

By: Frazee, Marla

ALA Notable Book for Children

Exposition:  James and Eamon go to visit their grandparents at the beach for a week long activity known as Nature Camp.

Rising Action: The boys arrive at their grandparents’ house and immediately begin having a great time with them.  Bill and Pam, their grandparents, take them to nature camp during the day and, afterwards, the boys have lots of fun playing together back at the house.  They become so close they start to be called “Jamon” by their grandfather Bill, since they seem to do everything together.

Climax: The boys wander outside for some rest and relaxation on their last night, and they think of an idea that is “the best part of the best week ever.”  They create their own conception of Antarcitca (which is Bill’s obsession) out of rocks, sticks, and mussels (penguins). 

Falling Action: Bill and Pam love what they have created and the boys are excited to show them.

Resolution: The boys exchange hugs with their grandparents and give each other the “secret Jamon handshake” before leaving their grandparents’ house waddling out like penguins.

Illustration: I do like the small captions, the asides, written in comic book form throughout several scenes of the book.  They add a great deal to the humor such as when they are driving to nature camp and the author notes that the boys learned new vocabulary words.  In a caption coming from the car they’re driving, one can only assume Grandpa Bill is speaking when he utters a censored swear word.  This is definitely a funny moment and the type of moment that comes throughout the book.  Asides like this one greatly add to the humor and quality of the book.  In addition, the action drawn provides a differing viewpoint at times in that some of the actions are different from what the dects says, but they add a great deal as well to the humor in the story.

Old Bear

By: Kevin Henkes

ALA Notable Book for Children

Old Bear has fallen asleep to hibernate for the winter.  It is snowing outside.  Inside his home, he falls into dreams of being a young cub again.  He wakes up in a giant pink crocus and looks around at what he thinks is spring.  He dreams of going through summer, autumn, and winter too.  He finally wakes up, back in his home, and finds that the winter had passed and it is spring outside.  It is so beautiful outside, he is unsure for a minute whether or not he is still dreaming. 

Illustration:  While there is very little text in this book, even for picture book standards, I have to say that I was really blown away by the artistry.  The colors and images displaying the appropriate seasons of spring, summer, autumn (especially here, as we had a "monochromatic" illustration using red hues here) and winter were magnificent and gave us a visual sense of what was happening in the text.  In addition, the artwork helps to define and develop the character, old bear, through his expressions of happiness at what he is seeing in the setting around him.

Beware of the Frog

By: William Bee

ALA Notable Book for Children

Mrs. Collywobbles lives in a house at the edge of a “big, dark, scary wood.”  However, she feels secure because she is protected by her little pet frog.  The frog protects Mrs. Collywobbles in three specific instances in this book.  Greedy Goblin, Smelly Troll, and Giant Hungry Ogre each try to wreak havoc on Mrs. Collywobbles in one form or another.  Greedy Goblin wishes to steal from her, Smelly Troll wishes to drive her away by moving in and stinking up her house, and Giant Hungry Ogre wishes to eat her.  However, the frog stops each of these creatures by eating them.  At the end of the story, the frog asks for a kiss from Mrs. Collywobbles as a reward.  However, the kiss turns her into a frog.  He is in love (as indicated by a heart drawn above his head), but Mrs. Collywobbles is upset by this transformation so she eats the frog. 

Illustration:  The illustrations in this book were perfect in adding to the humor within the book.  The outfits of the characters were what struck me the most.  The characters Greedy Goblin, Smelly Troll, and Giant Hungry Ogre were all perfect in their seemingly gross attire and looks, which contrasted perfectly with little old Mrs. Collywobbles and her pink outfit.  What definitely made this book memorable in my mind was when the frog ate each of the villains.  The word “Gobble” was prominently displayed on the left page while a picture of frog with one of the villain’s legs sticking out of his mouth was on the page to the right.  These contrasted well with the transformed Mrs. Collywobbles having eaten frog with the word “Burp” on the left page instead of the word “gobble.”

How to Heal a Broken Wing

By: Bob Graham

ALA Notable Book for Children

The story opens with a pigeon who becomes injured and falls in flight in a crowded city.  No one notices the bird for some time and many walk right past it.  However, Will notices the bird and he and his mom pick up the bird and take it home.  Will takes a feather that has fallen off the bird and wishes to put it back, but learns that “a loose feather can’t be put back but a broken wing can sometimes heal.”  Will, his mom, and his dad do their best to care for the bird by feeding it, giving it water, and making it comfortable in a box with holes and later a store bought cage.  After some time passes, and the bird grows visibly stronger, the family takes the bird to the city square where they found it and release it into the air.  Will lifts the bird and opens its hands, allowing the bird to fly away into the sky, “and with a beat of its wings, the bird was gone.”

Illustration:  The illustrations were really what told the story in this book (establish setting/develop or extend the plot).  There was very little text.  The images were perfect, reminding me of comic strip type images.  It did well in telling the story of Will and his family being able to rescue the bird, care for it by feeding it, keeping it safe in their house in a cage, and ultimately releasing it back into the wild.  The images weren’t too elaborate, but told the story in a heartwarming, warm way.  The image that probably resonated with me the most were the opening images with the bird falling from the sky, landing on the ground, and being ignored by everyone except Will, wearing his red jacket and standing apart from the crowd of people who ignored the bird.  It lay the foundation of where the story would be taking place (the city) and of what was to follow (Will and his family caring for the bird in their home).  Again, as there was little illustration, the reader relied on the illustrations to establish the setting and to develop the plot.

Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp

By: Denise Fleming

ALA Notable Book for Children

Buster is sad because his owner, “Brown Shoes,” will be spending a weekend away.  His cat friend “Betty” will be staying with their neighbor “Pink Shoes” while he will have to go stay at cowboy camp (Sagebrush Kennels).  Buster was welcomed there by “Red Shoes,” who operates the camp.  Buster is shown around the camp and is shown to his bed for the night.  He has trouble sleeping there and feels very uncomfortable while being homesick.  Buster wakes up to have a wonderful day, due to all the fun he has sharing breakfast with Snarkle and the other friendly pets, painting a wanted poster in arts and crafts, playing buckaroo ball with “Red Boots,” and eating a dinner of beans and bacon with everyone while singing along to cowboy songs.  Buster becomes excited at the prospect of the next day’s activities which include: digging for gold, practicing rope tricks, and making shiny sheriff’s badges.  He falls fast asleep on this night, unlike the first.

Illustration:  The illustration for this book was highlighted well by the use of color throughout to keep my eyes dazzled by what was going on in the story.  The images of Buster in his blue bandanna (him as a red colored dog) trying to get over his homesickness while making friends with a variety of dogs were definitely fun and pleasing to look at.  In addition, the images helped to establish the mood, as I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at pages with Buster’s new friend Snarkle smiling at him over breakfast, Buster painting his wanted poster with delight, and getting very excited about playing buckaroo ball.  The changes in Buster's, as well as the other dogs' mannerisms, contributed greatly to the brighter and happier mood in the latter half of the story.  The story ended in an especially heartwarming way as Buster fell asleep in his bed and seemed truly comfortable and happy. 

Rapunzel

From the Brothers Grim

Illustrated by: Carol Heyer

Caldecott Award Winner

Exposition: A couple is living next to an old witch who owns a beautiful garden with vegetables.  They had always wanted a child but hadn’t had one yet.  One day, the woman looks at a patch of rampion in the witch’s garden and wants to eat it.  However, no one has ever dared to go into the garden as the witch is very powerful.  She longs for it more and more until finally she convinces her husband to go in there and get it for her.  He is caught and the couple must promise to give away their child to the witch Gothel.

Rising Action:  Rapunzel grows up to be a beautiful girl living in the tower that Gothel has placed her into in the middle of the forest.  She goes up to see Rapunzel during the day by climbing up her hair.  However, a prince from a nearby kingdom introduces himself to Rapunzel, they fall in love, and they make a plan to escape.

Climax:  The witch finds out about their plan after Rapunzel accidentally gives it away.  Gothel cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and sends her away to a wasteland to live out the rest of her life in misery.  The prince climbs up the tower on Rapuzel’s hair but discovers the witch there.  He leaps off the tower and goes blind after landing in thorn bushes.

Falling Action:  Rapunzel is living by herself in a wasteland while the prince wanders the earth, lamenting the loss of Rapunzel and weeping for some time.

Resolution:  The prince wanders over to the wasteland and the two are reunited.  Once they embrace, Rapunzel’s tears touch the prince’s eyes and he can see once again.  The two are married and move to the prince’s kingdom where they live happily ever after.

Illustration:  The illustrations have interesting detail that make them very real looking.  The use of lines, shape and texture contribute in making the characters, as well as the setting, interestingly realistic and, thus, more real than other childrens' books I have seen. The shading and colors, as well as wrinkles, also contributed to this effect.  The colors used give the story a more grim and dark mood. 

Golem

Story and Pictures by David Wisnewski

Caldecott Award Winner

Exposition:  The Jewish people living in Prague centuries ago are being persecuted by the other residents.  They are being framed for evil acts and are hated for an act called the Blood Libel where the blood of Christians is baked into bread used during Passover. 

Rising Action: The persecution of the Jews is continual and so Rabbi Loew, wanting to protect the people, decides to great Golem from clay in the ground to protect the Jewish citizens of Prague.  Golem serves the synagogue and works during the day but is under constant watch of the city and on the look out for those wishing to continue to frame the Jewish citizens for evil acts.  He is told that he is only to be alive as long as the Jewish citizens are in danger.  He shows an appreciation for life and simple things, like watching the sunset.  He apprehends several and the lies being spread are continuing to be discovered to be false.

Climax:  After many of the enemies to the Jews have been imprisoned, these people decide to incite a mob against the Jewish citizens and they march toward the Jewish sector of Prague.  Golem goes to defend the Jewish citizens against the attack, but, in the process, causes great destruction and kills many of the rioters while injuring many others. 

Falling Action:  The emperor questions Rabbi Loew and wants to know if the empire is to be conquered by the Jewish citizens and their giant.  However, the rabbi tells the emperor that Golem will only stay alive as long as the Jewish citizens are in danger.  The emperor promises the safety of the Jews and, in return, wants Golem destroyed.  Rabbi Leow agrees to this.

Resolution:  Rabbi Leow beings the exercise of killing Golem.  Golem begs for his life, but the Rabbi refuses.  The clay of Golem’s body is hidden away in an attic and covered with old papers and prayer books.  He is to remain there until the day he will be needed to protect the Jews.

Illustration:  The lines and shapes for the characters and setting were interesting in that they seemed to have the effect of almost jutting off the page.  The colors and the texture and lines used, gave the story a darker and sadder mood.  An especially striking scene came at the end where Golem was pleading for his life as he was being destroyed by the Rabbi Leow. 

My Friend Rabbit

Eric Rohmann

Caldecott Award Winner

Exposition:  The narrator, a mouse, talks about his friend Rabbit who, though he may get into trouble on a consistent basis, is a good creature and he will always stay loyal to him. 

Rising Action:  In one instance, which unfolds throughout the book, Rabbit and mouse have their toy airplane stuck in a tree.  Rabbit takes the other animals, such as an elephant, hippopotamus, squirrel, ducks, and other animals, and piles them up to reach up into the tree to take the airplane.

Climax:  When this fails and all the animals come crashing down on one another, he must get away. 

Falling Action:  At this point, the mouse, who has retrieved the airplane, rescues Rabbit and the two fly away together on the airplane. 

Resolution:  However, the two of them get trapped in a tree.  The story ends with Rabbit trying to get ideas on how to bring the plane down.

Illustration:  While there is very little text in this story, the drawings develop and extend the plot nicely.  Rabbit, through the use of vivid and bright colors, curvy shapes, and clear lines, was drawn to highlight his mischievous and hyperactive character.  The drawings thus develop and define his character in this story.  The other animals are drawn with the same cartoony feel.  

Kitten’s First Full Moon

Kevin Henkes

Caldecott Award Winner

This book, illustrated in all black and white, surrounds Kitten, who, during a full moon, looks into the sky and thinks that it is actually a big bowl of milk.  Kitten tries very hard to reach the moon, first by reaching very far on the steps of the porch, then by running towards it as fast as possible.  After climbing up a tree, Kitten realizes that there is no way to get the milk and that it is a good way down from where she’s at.  However, she looks down and sees in the lake by the tree the moon’s reflection, which she thinks is a bowl of milk.  She jumps in, but realizes it’s just water.  Dissapointed and soaking wet, she returns home, only to discover a nice, big bowl of milk waiting for her there.  She drinks to her hearts content.

Illustration:  The colors used to tell this story really define what we are seeing.  This book is shaded and drawn beautifully all in an achromatic black and white.  This not only establishes our setting by giving us a beautiful moonlight, but it also aids us in establishing a dreamy mood through the shading and brightness of the white contrasted with the darker colors. The kitten is defined well and made into a focal point as a character through his white color, which is an interesting juxtaposition to the white of the moon.

The Polar Express

Written and Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Caldecott Award Winner

Exposition:  The narrator, a young boy, is listening for Santa’s sleigh.  Instead of the sound of the sleigh, he hears the sound of a train and discovers the Polar Express on his front lawn. 

Rising Action:  He climbs aboard the train and begins a ride on the train toward the North Pole.  He discovered that there were many other children there on board who were a part of the journey toward this destination.  They arrive at the North Pole after traveling through a wide array of locations, over mountains and through valleys, to finally reach their destination. 

Climax:  They reach a center of the town where a ceremony with the elves and Santa Claus is taking place.  The first gift of the Christmas season is to be given away to one of the lucky children.  The narrator is chosen and he goes to meet Santa at the sleigh.  Santa asks what he would like for Christmas and the narrator wants one of the bells off of Santa’s sleigh.  Santa complies and leaves while the boy and the other children go back aboard the train. 

Falling Action:  While aboard the train, the other kids ask to see the gift and he realizes that he lost it because he had a hole in his pocket.  He goes home sad. 

Resolution:  The next morning, he discovers that, along with the other gifts he has received, he received the bell inside a box under the Christmas tree.  He and his sister hear the bell but his parents cannot hear it.  Over the years, more and more of his friends can no longer hear the sound of the bell, and even his sister can’t hear it after a while.  He still hears it, despite having become an old man.

Illustration:  The images in this book are given unique illustrations in that the images drawn give us a dreamy mood that lends itself well to the fantastical storyline.  The narrator wakes up to find the train in his front yard, and, because of not only the colors, but also the blurred/faded lines, all contribute to this effect.  In addition, the illustrations do a wonderful job in reinforcing the text.  I love the effect of leaving only the bell as the main drawing on the last page as it does this, while also giving the reader space to imagine the characters having grown older.

The House in the Night
By Susan Marie Swanson

ILL: Beth Krommes

Caldecott Award Winner

This book covers the light found inside a house.  The story follows a set of images going from the key to a house.  This is the home of a family.  The boy has a book and, while looking at it, he sees a bird that gives him a glimpse into the light that is in the night.  The light comes from the sun that is reflected off the moon and comes onto the world, even in the night.  There is light in the world and light in the house, even in the night.

Illustration: This story uses a unique blend of black and white drawings with some of the images being given a yellow, golden color.  Things like the sun, moon, keys, books, and other things are given this color.  It highlights the objects themselves and gives the book a unique brilliance and life despite using only black and white images.  In addition, as the plot isn't clearly defined, it reinforces the text in the story, as we see the images based off of what is said in the text.  The images also extend this, as we are given more than what we could hope for in the short lines of text on these pages.

The Higher Power of Lucky

Susan Patron

Newberry Award Winner

Exposition:  The book opens with Lucky, a young girl living in the town of Hard Pan, California which is located in the desert.  She has two friends:  Lincoln, a boy her age who is obsessed with tying knots and Miles, who is five years old, loves cookies, and enjoys listening to Lucky tell stories.  Lucky is living with Brigitte, her father’s ex wife before he married Lucky’s mother.  Lucky’s mother passed away after being electrocuted during a rain storm and Brigitte came to take care of Lucky.

Rising Action:  Lucky is afraid that Brigitte is tired of being her guardian and of their life in Hard Pan.  She is paranoid of this as she sees Brigitte getting sad after being called by her mother and missing home.  Later in the story, she notices Brigitte's suitcase and passport lying out and she becomes certain that Brigitte will return to France soon.  Because of this, Lucky desires help from a higher power, which she had overheard being discussed at the 12 step AA meetings which she consistently listens to without permission.

Climax:  After discovering three signs to leave, she runs away with her dog, HMS Beagle, during a sandstorm. After leaving the town she finds Miles who she discovers has been injured in the storm and is lost.  They take shelter in the dugouts near an abandoned mine in the hopes of waiting as the storm passes. Lincoln arrives after a while and informs them that the town is looking for them.

Falling Action:  The townsfolk arrive at the dugouts in search of Lucky and Miles.  Before Lucky leaves the dugouts, she casts her mother's ashes out in the wind in a makeshift memorial service with the townsfolk on hand.  Short Sammy and the others begin to sing “Amazing Grace.”

Resolution:   Brigitte takes Lucky home and reveals to Lucky that the papers that she had discovered earlier weren’t for her to leave but, rather, were for her to legally adopt Lucky and for her “green card” to stay in California.  In addition, she had plans to open a Cafe in Hard Pan.

Two Strong Qualities:  The first quality that I found exceptional was the precise use of vocabulary.  The word choices for Lucky's thoughts were spot on, especially on p. 128, when she was wondering what would happen to her once the townsfolk reached the dugouts where she had been hiding with Miles.  She imagined that she would be pinned as kidnapping Miles, then become a Ward of the State and "become" a bad kid.  The scene is so descriptive and precise that it even goes into the beds she would see beside her before turning to face the wall under a grey sheet.  The image is spot on and told in the form of thoughts only an imaginative child could have.  I thought it suited Lucky's thoughts and perspective quite well while getting across what it needed to: how worried she was about the results of her foiled runaway plan. 

The second quality that I admired about this book was it's perfect use of dialogue.  One instance that really caught my eye was right before the townsfolk reached the dugouts where Miles and Lucky had been hiding.  The dialogue was entirely appropriate for how Miles (at his age) would respond to Lucky's answers to his questions about his mother's current location (jail).  He asks with the blunt curiousity of a child, and this line of questioning goes back to him wondering: "but if I tell her about running away, will she be mad?"  This doesn't turn into a scene where Miles is beating his hands on the ground and screaming while tears stream down his face.  This is him asking questions, and trying to make sense of his mother's situation and of his own.  I though the dialogue for the story was like this: it was true to the characters who spoke and reflected their insights, experiences, and emotions quite well.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

By: Avi

Newberry Medal Winner

Exposition:  In England during the year 1377, a 13-year-old boy, known only as Asta's Son, lives as a peasant in a small village. His village is part of the territory of the feudal Lord Furnival.  Lord Furnival is off fighting in the Hundred years War and, during this time, the village is being run by John Aycliffe.  After His mother dies, Asta’s son is left with no relatives. 

Rising Action:  Not long after, he is accused of being a thief and John Aycliffe labels him a “Wolf’s Head,” which makes him able to be killed on sight.  The village priest, who is at this point his only friend, gives him a lead cross that once belonged to his mother.  This cross reveals that Asta’s son’s actual name is Crispin.  Before the priest can reveal to Crispin the truth about his father, he is murdered by Aycliffe’s men.  Crispin escapes and is being pursued by these people. Crispin is aided by a jester named Bear.   They discover that Lord Furnival has recently died.  Bear is revealed to be a comrade of John Ball and has hopes of inciting a revolution.  During Bear’s meeting with other revolutionaries, Crispin sneaks out of their room and accidentally runs into John Aycliffe.  He runs away but Bear is captured and is to be used as bait to trap Crispin.

Climax:  After getting back to the inn, the Widow Daventry reveals to Crispin the truth about his beginnings.  He is actually the illegitimate child of Lord Furnival.  He was supposed to be killed at Lord Furnival’s death because Lord Furnival’s widow feared he would try to take control of the estate.  John Aycliffe was supposed to kill him. 

Falling Action:  Crispin tries to see John Ball and his group so that he can get help with this situation.  However, the group only decide to help him by showing him where Bear is being held.  Crispin infiltrates the building, runs into Aycliffe again, and while holding him at knife point, forces him to lead both he and Bear out of the city in exchange for the cross of lead. 

Resolution:  As they near the outskirts of the city, John Aycliffe breaks his disagreement and tries to have them killed. Bear kills Aycliffe by grabbing  him, squeezing him until Aycliffe collapses on the ground, and then throwing him at the soldiers who accidentally impale him.  As Bear and Crispin begin to leave the city, in keeping with the agreement he made, Crispin leaves the cross of lead with Aycliffe’s corpse.  The two of them leave the scene together.

Two Strong Qualities:  Firstly, I liked the use of precise vocabulary.  Avi tries to use words in the narration by Crispin and the speech of other characters to make the story sound like they were living in this time.  For instance, in one scene where Crispin and Bear are entering the city, Crispin begins to describe what he sees and uses words like "host," "clamor," and "strode."  This is not the only instance, but this is the type of word choice we see, which is really qutie effective in giving the reader the idea he is reading a story about someone living in that time.  I also liked the use of unexpected insight in this story.  Crispin, finding out that he is the heir to Lord Furnival as Furnival's illegitimate son, could have been a moment of great joy and peace in many stories.  However, in this one, it proves to be a moment of sadness and misery as this fact is the reason he is being hunted and proclaimed the "wolf's head" (person to be killed on sight).  It is an unexpected turn for such a revalation, that gives us a different perspective on finding out where you come from and who your parents are.  It forces question to learn to be independent, to know that he is only who he makes himself to be, and not simply Lord Furnival's son (Lord Furnival being an evil man in his own right).

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins

Exposition: Katniss wakes up on reaping day, she gets dressed, and gets ready to go hunting, and she just makes her way through the town, which starts to develop the setting, and waits for Gale to start their hunting day.  This is where we start seeing that flashback is used extensively to tell us missing parts of the story.  We start to find out more about District 12, her father, and how she met Gale.  This is also where we find out what Reaping Day is all about:  it is the collection of the children for the Hunger Games.

Rising action: This covers everything that happens between Reaping Day, their ride on the train, and the preparations at the training center. There are several conflicts driving this story.  The first is the societal conflict of an oppressive nation, which comes from the capital city and how they force each one of the districts to donate children to throw into the arena to be slaughtered.  In addition, the central government starves all the districts to death and the peacekeeprs/police force are the central government’s military oppressses anyone who speaks out.  We have several additional conflicts that surround the main character Katniss and which drive the story.  Firstly, we have Katniss and her dealings with Haymitch, who is trying to prepare the pair for the games; she has a strong dislike for him that fades over time as she realizes how much help he is to them.We also have Katniss struggling with herself due to struggles with her own self image as she thinks that she’s not very pretty and just a normal girl who’s not very special.  She also questions whether or not she is in love with Gale or Peeta?  She wonders if Peeta love her only for the Hunger Games?  As this is their greatest ploy in trying to gainf favor with the audience and survive the games, it also serves to be a great source of inner conflict for both Peeta and Katniss.  In addtion, there is also a great struggle with Cato, who emerges as the greatest threat to the pair, while Cato realizes that they are his biggest threat as well.  Even from the very beginning of the games, basic survival is an issue as well since Katniss has trouble finding water since she had no water to start the games and the lake is being protected by the career tributes.  These children are "career tributes" because they’ve been trained all their lives to go to the game (name given to kids in districts 1,2,4).  These districts are lapdogs to the capital…district 2 gives the government soldiers, 1 gives luxury goods, and 4 something else.  Because of this, each of these districts are given better treatment.  They are hated by all the other districts.  Other things that occur include the games themselves, with the other kids getting killed, up until the point where it’s only Peeta, Katniss, and Cato. 

Climax: Cato is killed when he is pushed off the Cornucopia and mangled by the Wolf Muttations.  These creatures devour him slowly, as they have difficulty getting around his body armor, and he is only finally killed when Katniss shoots him, though he suffered a great deal in this death.  This leads to Katniss and Peeta thinking that they have won the Hunger Games.  However, they have to end up holding themselves hostage with the threat of suicide by eating poison berries since they refuse to kill one another.  The Gamemakers tried to go back on the rule change they had made earlier, which would have forced Katniss and Peeta to kill one another.  However, the Gamemakers decide to let them both win rather than have them both commit suicide.

Falling Action: The train ride home, where they are trying to sort out the situation that they are being faced with now that the games are over.

Resolution:  When Katniss and Haymitch returns home on the train, Haymitch tells them their situation is still perilous.  While they won they game, the real war is only starting now as those that they have angered will want to come after them.

Two strong qualities:  I liked the use of literary devices in this book.  The most important device in my mind was the use of flashbacking.  The flashbacks are huge in making the story very successful and provide unexpected insights for the reader as we go through the story.  Using these flashbacks help to reveal more and more about the characters as we go through the story.  I also felt that the dialogue is very powerful in this story.  It seemed that every time I read a section where someone spoke or I saw quotation marks, I knew it was going to be interesting.  For instance, in the scene with like the scene with Katniss's mother who is suffering from depression.  It is such a cruel and heartwrenching scene, but it definitely grabs the reader.

39 clues

Rick Riordan

Exposition:  The story revolves around two kids, which are Amy and Dan Cahill.  They are at their grandmother’s mansion (Grace Cahill, the family’s matriarch).  The family is rich, but the kids are not.  The kids parents have died and they’ve been fostered over to another aunt who seemingly mistreats them and doesn’ t give them any money. 

Rising Action:  The Grace Cahill, the children's grandmother, is heading to the end of her life and knows she needs to make a decision (unclear what this decision is).  She passes away and she tells her executor to go ahead with her plan.  At her will reading, he tells them that 40 people are involved.  At the will reading a video is played.  The Cahills are revealed to be the most powerful and influential family in the world.  They are directly involved in shaping of mankind.  They are offered a choice.  Under each of the chairs is money.  They can take the money, or play the game.  The game will give you ultimate power in all the world.  They have 5 minutes to choose  Inside the envelope is a million dollars.  The kids can turn in the check or play the game.  The kids decide to play the game.  They find that there are 39 clues in all and are given the first, which has a meaning that they must uncover.  They all get a peak at it and they take off.  All the other groups despise the kids because they were so close to Grace but they also despise them because they’re dirt poor.  The kids have a lot of knowledge because Grace has been training them for this hunt.  She was trying to train them to become the heads of the family.  Everyone figures out the kids know a great deal of things.  They are waiting in the shadows to kill the kids.  Every time they get a new clue, the clue is stolen from them.

Climax: This occurs at the top of a church steeple in Paris, while they are dealing with the second clue, which turns out to not really a clue.  The vial that they had, which they were hoping was the second clue, gets stolen from them.  However, the kids actually have the real clue in their pocket but they just don’t fully realize it yet.

Falling Action: This is where they actually find out that they have what will lead them to the second clue in the form of the paper, despite having lost the vial.

Resolution: They’re trying to fit how the first and second clue go together and see how the game actually works.  They realize that the second clue, after solving the puzzle from the first clue and doing some reasearch on the paper that they kept from the vial, may be found in Vienna.

Two strong qualities:  We get unexpected insights throughout the story as the mystery of the 39 clues continues to unfold.  It is this mystery that both drives the story and gives the reader several unexpected twists along the way. There are clues for the reader as well in the book.  It’s not just a book, there’s a game to play with it.  This gives the reader real involvement in the unexpected twists and insights that are found in the book.  What I also like is the precise vocabulary used with the inclusion of several historical ties.  Many famous people in history were Cahills; this gives the author room to make several historical references, which are always a point of interest.  Electricity, lightning rods, Benjamin Franklin…etc are all part of the story that is unfolding in this book.  Part of the first clue, Richard S, was that is was one of Franklin's penames for “Poor Richard’s Almanac. 

Before We Were Free

By: Julia Alvarez

Pura Belpre Award

Exposition:  Anita Torres is a young girl of 11 growing up in the Dominican Republic during the reign of one of the most ruthless dictators the country has ever known: “El Jefe.”  However, doesn’t know this just yet.  She is still worried about school, boys, and becoming a “senorita.”

Rising Action:  A few changes take place as the months roll by.  The Garcias, her cousins, move away to the United States.  Mr. Washburn, the American consulate, move into the family compound where Anita lives and bring with them their young son Sam who Anita instantly falls in love with.  Anita learns more and more about the troubled state of the Dominican Republic from the words exchanged between her parents, a raid by the SIM (the Dominican Secret Police), discussions with her friends, and her eavesdropping on secret meetings held by her father, and several other men—Wimpy the grocer, Mr. Washburn the consulate, Tio Toni the rebel, and others who are trying to overthrow the government.

Climax:  Her father and several other men and women are working tirelessly to find a way to successfully get rid of “El Jefe” President Trujillo.  After a months of meetings, a near discovery of the secret contents of a car trunk, and the United States pulling support for the assassination, the event took place.  However, after some early celebration, the family was upset when the General of the army failed to announce the liberation of the country.  As a result, Trujillo’s son came to power and arrested many, including Anita’s father and Tio Toni. 

Falling Action:  Anita and her mother went into hiding with the Mancini family, the Italian ambassadors.  While there, Anita discovered growing feelings for Oscar, the Mancini’s son.  Anita helped ease her worries by writing in a journal.  After some time spent hiding in the Mancini walk in closet, Anita and her mom were evacuated to the United States and were re-united with their extended family.  However, their father and Tio Toni were still unaccounted for.

Resolution:  Anita does her best to adjust to life in the United States, but she is still longing to go back to the Dominican Republic and to be re-united with her father and uncle.  However, she learns from Mr. Wasburn that the two were killed before Trujillo Jr. and his family, along with the remaining SIM, left the country.  The family mourns, but Anita is grateful to her father and uncle for giving her freedom.

Two strong qualities:  Firstly, I liked the way the author used, and didn't use, dialogue from Anita.  As she progressed in the story and in her knowledge of the war her family was waging agains the oppressive dictatorship of El Jefe, she began to speak less and less to others.  Before, she was her parents' "cotorrita" (little parrot) who was always asking question after question.  As the story goes on, and she has to hide more and more knowledge, she becomes more silent, barely able to speak a few words to others because of all the secrecy.  It shows the tremendous impact of all the events is having on her.    I also appreciated the precise vocabulary used by the author in her descriptions.  It is most evident at the end of the story, when Anita is trying to deal with the death of her father and uncle, while acknowledging her new home in the United States.  Her memories of them are interspersed with what she sees around her, and what reminds her of them is four butterflies (just like the butterflies killed earlier in the story - women who were fighting for freedom and killed by the oppressive government).  The "butterflies" term is used over and over again in the story and we see it again here, right at the end, since, by now, the term is synonymous with freedom fighter.  The author's precise use of words in this ending scene is only a microcosm of her exceptional usage throughout the book.  Rather than tell the readers what each character is feeling, she is able to use her descriptive powrs to show us these feelings.  She does this well with Anita in this last scene. 

 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

By: Jeff Kinney

New York Times Bestseller

Exposition:  Greg Heffley is a young middle school student who is having trouble adjusting to a world where everyone seems bigger than him and where he has trouble fitting in and making a name for himself at school.

Rising Action:  Greg goes through his school years basically trying to survive in any way he can.  He goes from one aspiration to another without any real focus: weightlifting/wrestling, building a haunted house, finding a way to torment Patty Farrell for preventing him from cheating, being a safety patrol student, becoming a star comic strip artist everyone will love, earning the title “class clown” to be immortalized forever.  However, no matter what he seems to do, he seems to find a way to fail or get in trouble for his actions.

Climax:  Greg gets into a fight with Rowley over ownership of the “Zoo-wee-mama” comic strip.  However, after losing his friendship with Rowley because he basically framed him for tormenting small children, he wins Rowley’s approval again when he covers for him after Rowley is forced to eat “the cheese” which has been stuck to the blacktop for over a year by the bullies who had chased them during Halloween. 

Falling Action:  Greg sees his life return to normal again after the cheese incident; only he is picked on at school and basically becomes an outcast because of it.

Resolution:  Rowley is named the class clown, much to the chagrin of Greg, who will always remember that Rowley is the one who ate the cheese.

Two Strong Qualities:  I'm having trouble identifying this as a picture book or as a written chapter book, as it has elements of broth.  In terms of being a picture book, the illlustrations offer us nice reinforcements to the text since we get to see exactly what Greg is talking about in the story.  In addition, we are able to see a development in the characters.  Greg's dad, while not abusive, is comically painted to be goofy and funny, while at the same time strict; in one instance, through his illustration, Greg notes that a good time to have his father mad at him would be when he's holding a newspaper rather than when he's laying bricks, as he generally throws whatever is in front of him at you.  Though this is obviously ridiculous, it does highlight his strict nature and tough qualities when he needs to utilize them.

As a written book, I liked the unexpected insight found at the end of the story, when Greg takes the blame for getting rid of the cheese on the basketball court.  Greg had long shown how he generally was inconsiderate of others and disloyal, while being quite hypocritical.  However, in this instance, he takes the fall for Rowley, as news of Rowley eating the cheese would have likely haunted him for the rest of his academic career (or so Greg believed).  In addition, I found that understatement was used quite well in conjunction with the sketches drawn.  Instead of going into a large amount of unecessary detail, the book gives enough detail to give space for the sketches to show the remainder of what the author is trying to express.  It is quite effective, and gives the reader sense enough of what is going on in the story.

 

The Whipping Boy

By: Sid Fleischman

Newberry Medal Winner

Exposition:  Jeremy and Horace live together in a castle.  However, they are not the best of friends.  Horace is the prince and Jeremy “Jemmy” is the whipping boy (son of a rat catcher/vendor who once existed mostly in the sewers).  Whenever Horace acts up, Jeremy is whipped as punishment.  This causes Horace to become lazy, underachieving, manipulative, mean, and illiterate while Jeremy seems to build a great deal of character and education during this time.

Rising Action:  Horace decides to run away and take the whipping boy Jeremy with him.  The two leave the castle, but on their way through the forest, they meet a set of highwaymen that take them prisoner.  However, during the following exchange, the men are tricked by Jeremy into believing that he is the prince and that Horace is the whipping boy.  The two escape and later run into a little girl searching for a bear and a man whose potato wagon is stuck in the mud.  However, the highway men catch up with the boys and beat Horace (believing that they cannot beat the prince, which they think is Jeremy).  The two escape again, with special help from the intimidating powers of Petunia, the dancing bear, and, along with the other characters, make it to the fair.

Climax:  Jeremy and the prince run into the highwaymen in the sewers and are able to trick them again by leading them into a section of the sewers with the most dangerous rats.  They are thus once again able to get away from the highwaymen.

Falling Action:  The two of them meet up with the potato man once again and Horace decides, after making up his mind to return to the castle, that the potato man should have the reward for turning in the whipping boy.

Resolution:  Jeremy and Horace return to the castle.  The Potato Man was given the reward by the king and the Dancing Bear, for helping the prince, was given the title “Official Dancing Bear to Your Royal Majesty.”  Horace convinces the king not to punish Jeremy and the two of them live happily ever after.

Two Strong Qualities:  Firstly, i liked the use of unexpected insight in this story.  This is especially evident in the scene where Jemmy and the prince had just escaped from the highwaymen and Jemmy was bout to leave the prince behind on the potato man's cart.  Just when Jemmy would be free of the prince - who had done nothing but be rude, mean, vindictive, uncooperative, and condescending to him since they first met - he asks the potato man to wait for him and calls him his "friend."  Jemmy is surprised he used this word too, but the reader is likely even more surprised; put in this same situation, most people would leave the prince behind.  We learn from this scene the power of human compassion and that friendship can emerge even in the unlikeliest and most unpleasant of circumstances with almost anyone.  Sometimes, all it takes is that measure of compassion.  Another instance of this unexpected insight came in the same sort of vein; the prince was being whipped by the highwaymen in the next scene and, rather than celebrate, Jemmy was yelling at the prince to cry out so they would stop.  He couldn't stand the sight of the prince being beaten the way he had been many times before.  Again, just when vengance can be wrought and enjoyed (or rather a sort of justice in this case), Jemmy reacts in the opposite way and we get a sense of his utter anguish at the sight he is beholding.  It shows the reader that the justice we seek isn't often the satisfying event we thought it would be.  I also liked the use of dialogue in this story.  The characters are made distinct through the dialogue used.  The prince uses a generally more elevated and proper dialogue while Jemmy speaks more like a commoner with various mistakes in grammer and usage, in addition to shortenings of woreds (though he does a good job of mimicking the prince's proper usage).  We also see this same sort of common tongue from the highwaymen, the potato man, and Betsy (the girl with the Bear).  I like these distinctions, as it makes us understand the place and position of the commonor without having to get into minute details about their lack of education or common upbringing.  The dialogue suits the characters as well as makes them believeable and well described.

 

A Visit to William Blake’s Inn:  Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers

By: Nancy Willard

Ill:  Alice and Martin Provensen

Newberry Medal Winner

This story didn’t have much in the way of a traditional story structure.  It was mainly a picture book, but the text was filled with wonderful poetry that showed a strong admiration for William Blake.  What was most striking to me was the beautiful imagery within the book.  The narrator goes to stay at William Blake’s Inn and finds a Tiger, rabbit, rat, the King of Cats, and the Man in the Marmalade hat as housemates along with William Blake.  The characters enjoy their own special scenes within the book where they are involved usually in some fantastical adventure, such as the wise cow enjoying a cloud up in the sky or William Blake leading the narrator, the tiger, the cat, the rabbit, and the rat on the Milky Way and among the stars.  The adventure ends with the narrator leaving the inn and asking the reader, if he reaches the inn described in the book, to “give my love to William Blake.”

Illustration: Firstly, the images reinforce text by depicting what is happening in the poems visually.  The cow in his fantastical flying machine, the king of cats having breakfast atop the inn, or even the narrator, along with several of the other characters like william blake, walking across the milky way in different colored shoes.  In addition, the artwork helps to define and develop the characters well, by giving us depictions of what each of the characters looks like.  A dreamy mood is also established, which is needed since this is a fantasy story, through the use of the colors and lines drawn throughout the work.

The Graveyard Book

By:  Neil Gaiman

Ill: Dave McKean

Newberry Award Winner

Exposition:  Nobody Owens (as he would be later named by the residents of the graveyard) arrives at the graveyard under the strangest of circumstances.  He arrives, as a mere toddler, in the graveyard after wandering out of his family’s home during the evening where they were all murdered by “the man Jack.”  The ghosts of the graveyard decide to protect and care for him, in addition to being watched over by a selected guardian named Silas, as well as the sweet Owens couple.

Rising Action:  There are several great moments throughout the book and could likely be spun into their own individual stories.  Some include Bod’s (Nobody Owens, for short) acquaintance with Scarlett (when he was young, as well as when he was much older at 14 years of age), his attempt to buy a headstone for the witch Liza Hempstock by pawning the snakestone brooch found in the Sleer’s cave, his fright after being taken down through the ghoul gate, the night he and the rest of the living danced the “Macabray” with the ghosts and the woman on the horse, or even his adventures at school and his struggle with Nick and Mo.  However, the story arc that runs through everything is the struggle with “Jacks of All Trades.”  This is the reason that Bod isn’t allowed outside of the graveyard; his life is in danger from this person so long as he is out there.  As the story nears its climax, Scarlet comes back into Bod’s life after her and her mother leave Glasgow, where they had moved when she was younger.  She helps him track down the house where he was murdered through the help of Mr. Frost, a local historian.

Climax:  Mr. Frost actually turns out to be Jack Frost, the same “man Jack” who had murdered his family and tried to murder him.  Meanwhile, Silas and Miss Lepescu are off fighting other people in the order of the Jacks of All Trades.  After escaping with Scarlett from his house and into the graveyard, he succeeds in kicking three “man Jacks” into the ghoul gate, trapping a fourth inside a grave, and tricking the man Jack (Jack Frost) into accepting the Sleer’s offer to become its master, effectively trapping him inside the hill.

Falling Action:  After defeating Jack Frost, Scarlett is horrified that Bod partly used her as bait to lure Jack into the hill (which is only partly true, but she is not listening to reason at this point).  She is also horrified at what Bod did to Jack, despite the fact that only a minute earlier he was trying to murder them.  Silas arrives and takes her home, while also erasing the memories of her and her mother and convincing them to return to Glasgow.  Silas informs Bod that Miss Lepescu died while in battle for his sake.  Silas informs Bod now that there is no reason to fear going into the world now, as those who wanted him dead are now gone.  Silas tells him that he is not ready to leave the graveyard and leave his guardian just yet.

Resolution:  Bod starts to notice that his powers are fading.  He sees less and less of the residents of the graveyard.  Liza Hempstock hasn’t spoken to him since the night of the struggle with the Jacks.  He can’t move through objects like he used to.  One night, he finds that it is his time to leave.  The Owens couple, his mother and father, bid him goodbye.  Silas gives him a wallet with a passport and money inside, and has prepared a travel bag with all his possessions inside and the two of them bid goodbye to one another.  Right before leaving the gates of the graveyard, his mother bids him one final goodbye and sings him a lullaby with the final line of it being: “leave no path untaken.”  Bod leaves the graveyard and embraces the life that he has ahead of him.

Two Strong Qualities:  I appreciated the unexpected insights that this book had to offer.  One that really stuck with me was at the end of the story, when Silas was speaking with Bod about the man Jack; he told Bod that while Jack was bad, he was no worse than himself in his earlier years of life.  This struck a chord with Bod, as it did with me, since we had just gone through the whole book in this great battle with good vs. evil.  Right at the end, we realize that evil comes in many forms from many people; it can even come from those who, though good now, were once quite evil.  I also appreciated the use of understatement, as it applied to the ending of the story.  Bod wasn't weeping bitterly, nor were other characters.  We could get the sense that Bod was heartbroken at losing his home, despite the great and wonderous life ahead of him.  However, he wasn't weeping bitterly or screaming at the air; he bid farewell to those closest to him and walked out of the gate, leaving the reader to piece together his emotional state through the author's description of what was occuring.

 

The Road to Paris

By:  Nikki Grimes

Coretta Scott King Award

Exposition:  The book begins with an interesting prologue.  It is a section of the book that will be found later, towards the end of the book where Paris’s mother Viola calls her and wants her and her brother to move back with her, saying that they can be a family again.  Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, who are her foster parents, help her up as she tries to recover from the shock of the call.  Paris and Malcolm run away from their foster home with the Boone family where they are mistreated, most notably for being locked in a closet.  They are split up, with Paris going to live in Ossing with the Lincoln family and with Malcolm going to live in a boys home.  The Lincolns also have their two sons, David and Jordan, as well as another foster child, Earletta, living with them.

Rising Action:  The big story arc running through this story is Paris’s recovery from the abuse, neglect, and abandonment she experienced with the Boones and with her mother.  The Lincolns treat her well, she makes a new friend named Ashley, she joins a youth choir, and she gets very close to her brothers.  However, she experiences racism when her friend Ashley and her mom do not stand up for her when their father calls Paris a nigger.  She also makes a new friend named Sienna who is also white.  Paris must recover from the shock of racism to accept this new white friend.  During this time, she is able to visit with Malcolm on occasion and with her mother Viola, who seems to be recovering and trying to get her life in order.

Climax:  Paris receives a call from her mother Viola saying that she wants her and her brother Malcolm to move back in with her and her new husband Marcus.  This throws her world into chaos as she now must choose whether or not to stay with the Lincolns, the family that took her in and made her one of their own, or her mother, who seems to be doing better in her own life.

Falling Action:  Paris struggles with what to do for several days, as she has grown very close with the Lincolns and with her new home in Ossing.  Ultimately, she decides to go back with her mother after looking at photos of her and the Lincolns, who she says do not look like her, and at photos of her and her mother and brother, who she does look like.  She feels also that she should give Macus a chance and remember to, as Mrs. Lincoln had told her, “judge each person by his own actions.” 

Resolution:  The story ends with Paris on board a train waving goodbye to the Lincolns as she cries.  Paris is excited about being reunited with her brother Malcolm and feels unafraid because of love the Lincolns had given her and the lessons she learned from them.  She also remembered, as Mrs. Lincoln had told her when she first moved in, that she had to “keep God in her pocket.”

Two Strong Qualities:  I really think that unexpected insights were abundant in this story.  Firstly, in the racism story arc with Ashley, Paris finds that racism exists when Ashley's father makes derogatory remarks about her and Ashley does nothing about it.  Then, in an unexpected twist, Paris has to learn that, while she was mistreated because of the color of her skin, she has to extend herself to make friends with another race because she must "judge each person by his own actions."  This also occured with Viola, who had essentially neglected and abandoned her children.  In an unexpected twist to this story, she cleaned up her life, showing that a person can fix things and turn themselves around - which doesn't often happen.  I also appreciated the use of figurative language, as we had with the second sentence of the last paragraph: "she'd miss them more than sunshine, but she was rapped up in their love, and she was taking it with her."  I liked the imagery involving the sun, as well as the use of metaphor here.  Instead of a prolonged explanation of how much she cried and how hurt she was, we get a nice use of metaphor that showed us how she felt rather than giving us a detail by detail account of how sad she was.  This well timed use of figurative language occurs throughout the story.

 

Annie and the Old One

By: Miska Miles

Ill:  Peter Parnall

Newberry Honor Book

The story begins with Annie, a young Navajo girl (around 9 or 10 years old) who lives with her parents and grandmother out in the desert.  Annie attends school but her life is strongly family oriented and she is especially close with her grandmother.  Her grandmother tells her that it is time for her to start learning how to weave, though Annie really only wants to spend time with her grandmother instead.

Rising Action:  What drives the story is the grandmother’s announcement that she would be going to “Mother Earth” (her death) after her mother finished weaving the new rug.  Annie was given her grandmother’s weaving stick while her mother chose the rug and her father chose her silver belt.  After this, Annie tried to figure out ways to slow down progress of the rug’s construction, including finding ways to distract her mother – like letting loose the sheep in the field or getting in trouble at school by hiding her teacher’s shoe – or by dismantling the rug on the loom during the night.

Climax:  Annie’s grandmother hides in the room with the loom and catches Annie in the act of trying to sabatoge the rug’s completion. 

Falling Action:  Annie’s grandmother explained to her the next day that she must not try to “hold back time.”  She explained that things have to come and go in this world, just like the sun rising and setting, and the earth providing for the living creatures and being the place where they would all have to return.  Annie understood.

Resolution:  Annie took the weaving stick given to her by her grandmother, and decided that she was ready to weave.  Thus, she showed she was ready to begin her training in weaving, and ready to accept the loss of her grandmother as she would be assisting in completion of the rug.

Illustration: Firstly, the artwork in this book helps to “establish setting” through its use of the gold, brown, black, white, and grey colors used throughout the story.  In addition, the illustrations “reinforce text” by showing what is happening visually.  This makes the illustrations in the story effective and strong in quality.

Jumanji

By: Chris Van Allsburg

Caldecott Medal Winner

Exposition:  Peter and Judy are bored one day after their parents leave them for the afternoon.  Their p parents instruct them not to make a mess as there will be a dinner party with guests that evening.  While playing outside, they discover a board game called “Jumanji” underneath a tree.  They decide to take it home and play with it.

Rising Action:  When they begin the game, they notice that things that occur in the game actually happen in real life.  After landing on certain squares, the children encounter real life lions, monkeys, snakes, a safari guide, volcanoes, monsoons, and snakes. 

Climax:  Judy comes in position to win the game if she rolls a double six with her dice.  She does, yells “Jumanji,” and everything that had appeared since the game started disappears. 

Falling Action:  The children return the game to where they find it.  Once they get home, they put away all their toys and begin playing with a puzzle.  Then, exhausted from all the excitement, they fall asleep.

Resolution:  Her mother and father get home and the dinner party begins soon afterwards.  The children continue playing with their puzzle after changing into their pajamas and having dinner.  Mrs. Budwing speaks to them and tells them that her sons start puzzles and games but never finish them.  Just then, Peter and Judy see two boys, the Budwing children, run down the street with a board game being carried by one of them (indicating that they will start the game, but be entangled indefinitely since they won’t want to finish it).

Illustration:  I liked the use of lines and texture to create the three dimensional drawings here.  The use of color was also interesting, as the story was an entirely an achromatic black and white with shades of grey.  The illustrations did well in reinforcing what was occurring in the text and helped as well in defining the characters.  We got to see, very clearly, what Peter and Judy looked like, as well as the various creatures that crossed their paths during the game.

The Patchwork Quilt

By: Valerie Flournoy

Ill: Jerry Pinkney

Exposition:  Tanya is sick and has to stay inside for a prolonged period of time.  She goes to where her grandmother is sewing and sees that she is putting together a patchwork quilt. 

Rising Action:  Tanya decides to help her grandmother make the quilt, despite how long it was going to take (1 year according to her grandmother).  As time went on, Grandma found more and more pieces to add, such as a piece from Jim’s corduroy pants, a piece of Tanya’s African princess Halloween costume, and various others.  Grandma explains the importance of the quilt to Tanya’s mom, who decides to help her as well in its construction.  However, Grandma got very sick and it was up to Tanya to finish the quilt, as Grandma was too weak to work on it.  Tanya dedicated herself to it completely and, together with help from her family, especially her mama, was able to make a great deal of progress.

Climax:  Grandma got much better as the months passed, and was able to see her granddaughter Tanya work to near completion on the quilt.  Grandma decided to put the finishing touches on the quilt and had it nearly done one day when Tanya got home from school.

Falling Action:  The next night, the quilt was finished and it turned out to be bigger than was expected.

Resolution:  The whole family was pleased with the quilt, as they saw patches taken from themselves, including the boys, in the quilt.  Because of Tanya’s hard work, Mama and Grandma had the words “for Tanya from your Mama and Grandma” stitched in the corner of the quilt.

Illustration:  This book was definitely well illustrated.  The colors that were used to fill in the drawings seem to be watercolor, and they add a nice effect insofar as ushering in a somewhat wistful and even nostalgic mood in the story.  It also has a nice effect when seeing the quilt, given its construction from pieces of cloth that constitute memories.  I also liked the way the lines were used to give detail, but not necessarily fine detail, which served to make the book again have the feel of a distant memory, rather than the more present and direct stark realism.  The fact that many objects weren’t shaded or colored in added to this effect.

A Y ear Down Yonder

By Richard Peck

Newberry Award Winner

Exposition:  Because of the recession that followed the Great Depression, Mary Alice, a young girl of 15, had to be separated from her family because there was little work and no money to go around.  She was sent to live with her Grandma.  Her Grandma is a larger than life person in this book, ever the strong and vibrant personality despite how she draws the town’s negative attention at times with her antics.  Mary Alice knows this, and knows how everyone is ill at ease around her.  She gives Mary Alice a surprise right from the time she got off the train in this little town that her Grandma lived at; she had to enroll in school immediately, that very day.

Rising Action:  There seems to be several different conflict and story arcs running throughout this story.  The first involved a Halloween party where Grandma and Mary Alice had to make pies for refreshments.  In addition, there is a growing tension with her other classmates who don’t like her since she’s an outsider from Chicago.  She makes one friend, Ina-Rae, who is constantly described as being small and skinny.  She watches her Grandma struggle with the Daughters of the American Revolution over a party being held, a tornado that whips through her town, Arnold Green and his up and down stay with the family as a tenant, and her struggle to win the heart of Royce McNabb (which includes an interesting Sunday afternoon with Maxine Patch running naked with a snake draped around her screaming as she ran out of the house).

Climax:  As I pointed out, there seemed to be several stories going throughout Mary Alice’s time at Grandma’s place.  However, the thing that was the largest and probably most quiet of the arcs was that her time with Grandma Dowdel was going to come to an end eventually.  The climactic scene occurs where Grandma Dowdel says that Mary Alice must go back to her family, who are now back on their feet and preparing for her return.

Falling Action:  Mary Alice agrees, though reluctantly, to this.  It was Mary Alice’s desire to stay, and she tries to persuade her to let her.  However, Grandma Dowdel makes the decision for her, so she really doesn’t have a choice.  She will be taking the cat April, Bootsie’s daughter, to live with her, while Bootsie will stay with Grandma, who had already got used to living as a country cat.

Resolution:  In the final chapter, we see Mary Alice getting married in Grandma’s house to Royce McNabb, her high school crush.  Since her family was living in Seattle and couldn’t travel to see her get married, she is given away by her Grandma.  She notes that “we lived happily ever after.”

Two Strong Qualities:  Firstly, I liked the dialogue used in the story.  It gave an interesting reflection on the characters.  We see this right off the bat with the gruff, short speech of Mildred Burbick who tries to intimidate Mary Alice on the first day of school.  We also see it with the quietness of Royce, who, as Mary Alice notes, doesn’t say all that much.  I also liked the unexpected insights, as we see that Mary Alice grows to accept turning into more and more like her grandmother, when, at the beginning of the story, she was embarrassed of her and rather intimidated by her.  In addition, we get this type of unexpected insight through how she handles the Arnold Green situation.  When she could have kicked him out of the house for the Maxine Patch incident, she instead worked to successfully set him up with Miss Butler, Mary Alice’s teacher.  This showed that she could look past such an incident and work toward the betterment of those around her, though she sometimes gave indications that she was actually selfish. 

Bibliography

Allsburg, C. V. (1981). Jumanji. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Allsburg, C. V. (1985). The Polar Express. New York: Houghton Mifflin Press.

Alvarez, J. (2002). Before We were Free. New York: Laurel Leaf Books (A division of Random House).

Avi. (2004). Crispin: The Cross of Lead. New York: Hyperion Books.

Bee, W. (2008). Beware of the Frog. New York: Candlewick Press.

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.

Fleischman, S., & Sis, P. (1986). The Whipping Boy. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Fleming, D. (2008). Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp. New York: Henry Holt and Co.

Flournoy, V., & Pinkney, J. (1985). The Patchwork Quilt. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers (A Division of Penguin Books USA Inc.).

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