Time of Wonder

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Mrs.N

Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey

Even if the name Robert McCloskey doesn’t ring any bells, you’ve probably heard of some of his books, maybe Make Way for Ducklings or Blueberries for Sal .  This goes double if you have any type of New England connection, because some of McCloskey’s most famous books are set there.

Time of Wonder spans a summer on the Maine coast, from the easy lazy days to the first hurricane.  The descriptions of nature are incredible, McCloskey does an excellent job of capturing the feeling of the water, the wildlife, the whole environment.

Time of Wonder may be a picture book, but its poetic style may make it better suited to elementary age listeners than to little ones.  The descriptions in it create marvelous sensory images (amazing in a book that has won award for the illustrations, the text gives you just as much to work with).  This would be an excellent choice for teaching description during writing as well as having students focus on what feelings a certain piece of writing elicits.  It’s also written in second person (meaning it uses you during narration rather than I or she or he).  I often find second person difficult to read (and certainly explain to students as well, in a way that makes sense), so having a picture book example available is terrific.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – Children are illustrated wearing bathing suits.
Profanity – None.
Death, Violence and Gore – None.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – There is a bad storm which we later learn is a hurricane.

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The Wanderer

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Mrs.N

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

Sophie is off on an adventure.  She’s sailing across the Atlantic with assorted uncles and cousins to see Bompie, her grandfather.  It is her voice that brings us into the story and carries us through the first five chapters.  But in Chapter Six, we switch narrators, to Cody, a cousin who is also on the journey.  And through Cody we learn that perhaps there’s more to Sophie’s story than we may have originally thought.

As much as I love this book, it’s true that parts of it are very slow.  There’s not necessarily a lot of action when they are first out at sea.  Creech’s writing is beautiful, but that may not be enough to sustain young readers.  But the mystery of Sophie is enough to keep you turning the pages even if the sailing talk doesn’t provide much excitement.  And if you’re hooked on that, you’ll be around for when the action on the sailing trip gets dramatic.

This would be an amazing book to teach.  Between the unreliable narrator (oh yes, I do believe Sophie would count as one), the different points of view and the amount of inferring you do in the early chapters to try to make sense of the story, it would be an excellent way to guide students through some more difficult thinking processes related to reading.

Additionally, there’s an interesting amount of thinking about gender roles in the book.  Sophie is often interested in or doing tasks that are considered typically male.  Cody is ribbed for performing and enjoying tasks that are perceived as female.  Sophie admires how Cody handles this.

Age Recommendation: Although an advanced third grader might be able to read this, I think students in fourth grade and up would better be able to really understand the book.  There is so much in The Wanderer that goes on in the background, that a reader who is only able to parse it at a literal level will miss much of the real meaning.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – Uncle Mo likes going shirtless. Cody and Brian spot some girls who they refer to as “babes” and “wildlife.”  Sophie tells a story where a boy keeps his date out too late sometimes. Uncle Dock tells a story of a girl he once knew called Rosalie who ended up marrying someone else.  Bompie’s letters tell of a girl he kissed and the day he met his wife.  One of the uncles proposes to a woman.
Profanity – “heck,” “knuckleheaded doofus,” “stupid,” “ticked off,” “dumb,” “idjit,” “darn,” “shoot,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Fish must be caught, clubbed and gutted so that they can be eaten.  There’s a fairly graphic description of killing fish, including slitting the throat and breaking the spine. A boy gets a whipping after he nearly drowns. We’re told that sea fleas would eat all the flesh off your skeleton if you fell in the water and weren’t rescued.  A boy named Moses used to get beat up for his name.  A woman they meet in their travels tells them about ghosts.  One ghost is an old man and other is a woman and her baby.  Cody’s father once removed his belt to whip Cody for crying.  His mother intervened and got hit by the belt instead.  Two of the uncles have a shoving match.  A woman’s husband died.  During the storm, Sophie is hurt.  Cody ends up bleeding.  Sophie tells a story of a little kid whose parents went to heaven.  Other people tell stories of family members and boats lost at sea.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – Sophie tells stories about Bompie, most of which involve near drowning experiences.  Sophie also talks about a “little kid she knows” who had to live with many different people who didn’t really want the little kid.  The boat is caught in a dangerous storm while crossing.  It’s bad enough that the adults make statements about how they can’t die like this.

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Titanic #3: S.O.S

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Mrs.N

Titanic #3: S.O.S. by Gordon Korman

As the Titanic is taking on water, the story of its passengers is broken up by occasional reports from nearby ships.  The entirety of the book is devoted to the sinking of the Titanic, the reaction of her passengers, their attempts at survival and the eventual rescue of the few lucky souls that made it.

Although Korman does maintain a feeling of drama throughout, I found the recounting much less thorough than what I’ve read in many other Titanic books.  Once the ship capsizes, Korman’s descriptions turn to what is happening in the water, which clearly, isn’t good.  He offers a fairly detailed description of the floating dead bodies and the desperate scramble to stay alive by any means necessary.  This is the most compelling of the three books, a page turner, but that doesn’t stop the murderer storyline from recurring.

Possibly in an effort to avoid unsettling his readers too much, only one of the main characters is killed off.  Few others that we personally meet suffer the fate that takes the majority of Titanic passengers and crew.  It’s a way to keep the death and dying at an emotional distance from the reader.  I’m not sure how I feel about it.  On the one hand, the descriptions of the dead and dying are plenty graphic, on the other, readers are shielded from the emotional toll of this.  It seems to allow readers the thrill of horror without the painful reality of it all.

Like the other two in the series, I recommend this for students in Grades 4 and up who can handle the content.  At this point I must also offer that while I believe this series might be an entrance point in interesting children in the Titanic, it won’t satisfy the curiosity of those who are already fascinated by the tragedy since its focus is more on the passengers we meet than on the ship in general.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – None.
Profanity – “for God’s sake,”
Death, Violence and Gore – An officer uses a pistol to keep some people from boarding life boats.  Some people choose to go down with the ship.  A boy is hit in the face with a length of wood and is bleeding as a result.  A boy contemplates murdering a murder but decides to let him drown instead. Paddy still believes Daniel was murdered. Because the ship is going down, there’s a sort of near constant discussion of who will survive and who will go down with the ship.  An officer shoots at a stowaway.  The ship’s sinking is described in detail, as is the drowning of many people.  The screams of the dying are recounting.  The way that some people had to push others off in order to survive themselves is also explained.  One man swims amid the dead, floating bodies.   Someone engages in a fight in the water with a murderer who is trying to share his float.  A man tries to strangle a girl. He is hit over the head with a glass jar.  Dead bodies are propped among the living.  Dead bodies are described.  One of the main characters dies.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – A baker has survived several hours in the freezing cold water and reeks of whiskey.
Frightening or Intense Things – The ship is sinking.

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Titanic #2: Collision Course

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Mrs.N

Titanic #2: Collision Course by Gordon Korman

Picking up where Unsinkable left off, Collision Course continues the story of Paddy, Alfie, Sophie and Juliana.  Paddy has been discovered as a stowaway and must spend most of his time evading capture.  Alfie is hot on the heels of a passenger he is certain is Jack the Ripper.  The two girls feature far less in this book than in the one previous, appearing infrequently for the first half.

Again, with the excitement and true tragedy of the Titanic, I can’t say that I understand the point of the Jack the Ripper storyline.  It seems unnecessarily sensationalist.  Also, while I sort of understand Korman wanting to make the point that people are equal despite class, I think it doesn’t give a historically accurate picture of the time period.

As the book closes, the Titanic is taking on water at a great rate and the epilogue states that she is doomed.  But of course, we are leave off in the middle of the story, with the third book providing us with the final fates of our characters.

Again, I would recommend this to fourth through sixth graders who could handle the content.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – A father informs his daughter she will be married off to one of the three sons of a business associate.
Profanity – “Lord save us,” “dunderheaded,” “stupid,” “god-awful,” “hell,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Paddy believes his friend Daniel is dead.  Two passengers are imprisoned for murder.  Paddy and Alfie believe Jack the Ripper (a murderer) is on board the Titanic.  Alfie finds a man he believes is Jack the Ripper.  That man has a necklace that Alfie decides is carved from human bone. A man was injured badly in a carriage accident that killed two other people.  Officers on the boat have pistols. A man raises his hand to slap his daughter.  A man grasps a girl by the throat and covers her mouth; he pulls a knife on the girl. A man aims a revolver at two people.  A boy is hit in the head.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – The Earl of  Glamford gets drunk.
Frightening or Intense Things – A flaming cherries jubilee accidentally sets a table on fire.  The ship begins to fill with water.  Many people are trapped.

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Titanic #1: Unsinkable

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Mrs.N

Titanic #1: Unsinkable by Gordon Korman

Unsinkable begins on the deck of the RMS Carpathia, where the few survivors of the Titanic watch the sea where the great ship once sailed.  Beginning in this manner allows Korman to inform readers that the Titanic has, in fact, sunk.  While this is common knowledge for most adults, it’s a smart way to let young readers know the fate of the ship from the outset.

The chapters alternate between characters.  This allows readers to learn about the different kinds of people who sailed on the Titanic.  It’s also a little confusing at first.  Forty-five pages in, you’re still meeting new people whose story you will now follow.  There are two female main characters and two male main characters, I suppose for equity, but the story seems to end up focusing on a poor thief named Paddy who stows away on the ship.  The others are all caught up in his drama as they learn he isn’t supposed to be on the ship and that he is also in imminent danger from a gangster on board.

This is the first book in a trilogy and does not even attempt to wrap up at the end.  It just sort of stops and waits for the reader to go get the next book.  Which is fine.  As one book, it would have seemed overly long and insurmountable to many readers, but broken up it is more accessible to readers.

While I’m generally a fan of historical fiction, especially historical fiction that can draw in modern readers, I wasn’t thrilled with the way this book did it.  The story of the Titanic can be fraught with danger and most certainly ends in tragedy.  It’s a story that will grab you and draw you in, if written properly.  But Korman doesn’t rely on the natural interest of the event.  Instead he manufactures two secondary plot lines both of which focus on violence. In one, Paddy, the thief, has accidentally robbed the brother of a major gangster.  A man who won’t accept the stolen goods as retribution, and will only rest when Paddy has been beaten bloody.  In another, Paddy and Alfie (a steward on the ship) discover a scrapbook of violent crimes along with some gruesome artifacts, leading Alfie to believe that Jack the Ripper (the notorious murderer) is on board.

The vocabulary is much harder than I expected given the length and interest level of the book, meaning it would take a strong third grade reader or older child to tackle it.  It’s also going to require a reader who won’t be upset by the numerous sad/violent/tragic aspects of the book.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – A 17 year old refuses comfort saying she’s just watched her husband drown. Thugs rip a towel off a man in the Turkish bath.
Profanity – “thank the Lord,” “Lord Almighty,” a man “began to curse,” “damned,”
Death, Violence and Gore –Well, it’s the Titanic.  1,502 people died, mostly by freezing to death, rather than drowning.  The process (how it would feel) of freezing to death is described.  A boy takes a punch to the jaw, he punches his assailant in the stomach.  A boy was beaten by his stepfather.  A woman is hit on the head by a constable.  Blood runs down her face.  A boy is threatened by a man who puts on brass knuckles.  A boy is beaten with a shillelagh (a cudgel).  His friend is also injured or possibly killed.  There is blood in the area where they are attacked.  A boy finds a scrapbook filled with articles about murders. One has a  headline about a ghastly murder.  It tells of how a woman was stabbed.  Another tells about a crime committed by Jack the Ripper.  With it the boy finds a jar of souvenirs, including human teeth.  He suspects the murderer is aboard ship.  A boy finds a gun in the luggage. A boy is hit repeatedly in the face.  He bites his attacker.  Someone is trying to throw him overboard.  A man is threatened with hanging.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – A boy’s stepfather used to beat him after drinking whiskey.  A girl comments that her mother is probably in the smoking lounge, smoking a cigar.  One girl’s father is a drunkard.
Frightening or Intense Things – A boy’s mother abandoned him.

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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Mrs.N

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Oh how shamefully I admit to you that even selecting this book made me cringe with memories of enforced high school summer reading lists. I never did have to read it in school, but it just smacks of dusty copies dragged out of storage rooms and forced into the hands of unwilling teenagers.

Nathaniel’s father was a sea captain, but when his ship went aground, he lost his way in the world. Nat has grown up poor, and not all the intelligence in the world can keep him from being cold and hungry, nor will it keep his father from indenturing him off to a ship chandlery. The nine years he must spend as an apprentice loom large as he fears he will lack schooling, but enterprising as he is, he manages to teach himself. When the indenture is over he heads to sea.

With the amazing knowledge he has gathered during his studies and his talent for mathematics, Bowditch becomes a master navigator. His believe that all sailors have the potential to learn navigation leads him to educate the crew of each ship he boards. The books recounts the story of his life, including his authorship of a definitive navigation guide.

Look, this is based on the life of a real person. And it spans his life from the time he is six until he’s in his 30s. And it contains an awful lot of nautical talk and even more science-y math-y stuff. Then there’s the fact that in the book at least, Bowditch has this amazing ability to turn even the most belligerent uncooperative crew members into upstanding educated ship’s mates just because of his belief in education. I don’t know about you, but for me, this is not a formula that will capture the attention of all readers. I would save this for those that enjoy historical fiction to begin with and in particular, kids that are very successful academically. They are the ones who will best relate to Bowditch and won’t find him to be an annoying prig.

It’s a challenging book, both in terms of content (not racy mind you, just lots to process) and vocabulary. I would have no objection to a middle grades student reading it, I just can’t imagine many would want to. I’ve marked it Middle Grades, Tween and Teen.

Signs of the Times Granny won’t let sister Lizza go get fire, calling it “man’s work”. Nat won’t tell his sister his worries because his father has taught him that you shouldn’t worry girls or women. When Nat goes to school in Salem the master mocks his earlier school remarking “a dame school! Women!” Hab says only sissies need winter coats. He also teaches Nat that boys don’t blubber. The people of Manila are referred to as brown or dark-skinned. The people of Sumatra are referred to as “brown devils”.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Nat’s sister gets married. A girl kisses Nat, she is 16 and he is more than 21. A woman tells a story about star-crossed lovers. Nat blushes at the thought of a girl. Nat kisses a girl and tells her he loves her. He gets married more than once.
Profanity – “what in blazes,” “daggone,” one man uses profanity,
Death, Violence and Gore – The book begins during the American Revolution. There is some talk of guns and taking ships and taking men prisoner. The teacher shakes Nat when he doesn’t like how he answers a question. A man is shot in the chest. There’s a mention of how many widows and orphans are left by sailors. Some sailors are shot in cold blood. Over time Nat’s mother, grandmother, brother and sister pass away. A troublemaking sailor had been whipped many times. Another sailor who is part of Nat’s family dies of fever. A ship is lost in action against the French. Sailors go missing. Nat’s wife dies. A man offers to teach another man how to throw a knife. Many men are lost at sea, including friends and family of Nat’s. The ships’ guns are mentioned frequently. There’s talk about a sealing ship, which is a ship that goes out and kills seals. Lem keeps wanted to talk about how the Malays fight and kill people. A boy is hit over the head and made to fall unconscious.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Taverns are mentioned, as is “drinking to success.” It is implied that Nat’s father has a drinking problem. The French buy wine.
Frightening or Intense Things – The English navy takes sailors claiming that they deserted from the English navy. The ships have some close calls, sailing in hurricanes and monsoons.

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Come On, Rain

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Mrs.N

Come On, Rain by Karen Hesse

This is the quintessential book about summer rain, especially if you’ve lived in an urban area.  The writing is so beautiful and evocative that you could read this in the frosty middle of winter and feel the heat radiate off the sidewalk and the dead air hang heavily around you.  In fact, despite this not actually being a poem, I marked the book as poetry based on the language.

As the book opens, a small girl stares at the sky and issues a request, “Come on, rain!” Her mamma is wilting in the heat, but she too knows that rain is near. The girl goes and collects her friends, puts on a bathing suit and runs to meet the coming storm.  By the time the rain comes, even the mamas are out in the street.

The heroine is African-American, but her friends are from many different backgrounds, making this a this an actual multicultural offering.

The book and its message are simple enough for little ones, but complex enough for upper elementary students to analyze the vocabulary and word choice used by the author. I love it as a read aloud, whether for little kids or bigger ones.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – None.
Profanity – None.
Death, Violence and Gore – None.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – None.

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I Survived: The Shark Attacks of 1916

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Mrs.N

I Survived: The Shark Attacks of 1916 by Lauren Tarshis

This is one in a series of books that focus on slightly horrifying historical events.  It’s like historical fiction, tabloid style.  But at least it gets some kids to read historical fiction who otherwise would run the other way?  This particular story is based on shark attacks that took place in New Jersey in 1916.  Don’t believe me?  Ask the Smithsonian.

Chet is living with his uncle in New Jersey and desperately trying to make friends with the local boys.  In the summer heat, they spend plenty of time swimming in the local creek.  When the papers are full of news about shark attacks down the shore, most people in town believe the stories are made up purely to sell papers.  Even if they weren’t, no one would expect a shark in the creek!  So Chet and his friends engage in a series of pranks, pretending at first to be chased by a shark, then the Jersey devil.  It’s no wonder that when a shark appears for real, no one takes it seriously!

The I Survived series is not exactly my cup of tea, but I can definitely see the appeal.  The reading level is appropriate for beginning of third grade. The font is on the larger side and there are still a few pictures interspersed.  These also might do well with fourth or fifth grade boys who aren’t quite reading on grade level, as the content is plenty mature.  I would say keep these away from kids prone to nightmares, but if your reader is going to be thrill-seeking anyway, why not learn something in the process!

Sex, Nudity, Dating – A girl is sweet on a boy.  The boys swim in their “drawers”.
Profanity – “heck,”
Death, Violence and Gore – A shark bites off a man’s leg.  The man dies.  There is blood everywhere.  A man tells how a shark’s skin scraped his leg until it was bloody.   A man stabs a shark in the eye with a harpoon.  Another man bleeds to death from shark bites before he even makes it to shore.  Before he died, he managed to relate that it snipped his leg off and shook him like a terrier shakes a rat.  A boy is scraped by a shark fin.  A boy is bitten by a shark.  A man shoots a gun at the shark.  Two additional people are killed by a shark.  Evidently when the shark was cut open, they found human bones inside.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – Shall we start with the Jaws-like image on the front cover?  The whole book is meant to be a little scary.  There are also tales told of a creek devil (perhaps meant to be the Jersey devil?)  The boys work at a factory.

 

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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Mrs.N

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Right from the start the book has an air of intrigue and foreboding. Charlotte states in a foreword that she has been accused of murder and found guilty.  When we begin the book, well before the time of her statement, we can see her journey is ill-fated from the start.  The families she had planned to travel with are not on the ship.  But far worse is the reaction everyone seems to have when they learn she is planning to sail on the Seahawk with Captain Jaggery.

Caught in the middle between the Captain, who in his dress and affect seems a gentleman, and a crew who loathes him, Charlotte’s innocence and naiveté put her in an untenable position.  No matter who she tries to please, she is in the wrong.  No matter what she does, she will never fully have the trust of the others.  In this voyage, her life will change forever and the world she knew will become as unnatural to her as this life at sea once was.

I don’t want to say too much for fear of giving everything away, but this was a pretty terrific book, but very much with a hard edge. Don’t expect things to be tied up neatly and resolve with a happily ever after, at least not in the typical predictable way. It’s absolute the kind of book you keep thinking about even after you’ve finished.

Great for: Although not nearly so lighthearted as the Jacky Faber series, this will appeal to those who liked the idea of a girl working hard on the high seas.  This is also a book that despite its female main character, should have reasonable appeal to boys.  Due to the content and vocabulary, I would recommend this for Grades 4 and up.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – There are pictures of a scandalous nature in the sailor’s quarters.
Profanity – “Hell,” a sailor “swore”, “damned,” “damn,”
Death, Violence and Gore –The book begins with Charlotte stating that she has been accused of murder and found guilty.  Charlotte is offered a knife for her own protection.  A man has cut off another man’s arm.  The ship has muskets aboard. For disobeying or not acting swiftly enough men are pushed, slapped, keelhauled (dragged alongside the ship under water), whipped or hit with large wooden dowels.  There are pistols, swords, knives and cutlasses.  There’s a mention of letting men rot and the crows pecking out their eyes. A man is shot and blood gushes from his body and mouth.  Pink bubbles form at his mouth.  His dead body is dragged across the deck leaving a trail of blood.  A man is whipped to death.  A man is found dead, stabbed in the back. Charlotte is sentenced to hanging. A man falls overboard and is not rescued.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Sailors are given rum.
Frightening or Intense Things – The ship’s cook is the subject of some abuse from the crew because he is black.  Charlotte slips and is dragged in the water.  The ship goes through a hurricane.  Charlotte sees a man who is supposed to be dead.

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The Tail of Emily Windsnap

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Mrs.N

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

Despite the fact that Emily Windsnap has lived her life on a boat, she’s never actually gone into the water.  Nothing could be more of a shock than what happens the very first time she tries to swim.  But with her newly discovered talents, Emily finds a best friend at last, and hopefully will be able to solve the mystery of what happened to her father.

This book was a huge hit with my third grade girls.  The first of a short series it has just the right mix of fantasy and usual friendship/family themes.  I can’t say I was as captivated as my students were, but the book did get more interesting as it headed towards the adventure part.  This is most likely to appeal to third and fourth grade readers.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – Emily’s mother wears a t-shirt with “BABE” in sparkly letters on the front.  She’s bought Emily the same shirt.  Sometimes sirens run away with the people they are supposed to be luring.  Illegal marriages between merfolk and humans are mentioned.  Neptune has lots of wives and hundreds of children.  A man uses a series of euphemisms to mean that a man got a woman pregnant and left her.
Profanity – “dingbat,” “heck,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Mermaids cause shipwrecks.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Someone is drugging someone else so that they lose their memory.
Frightening or Intense Things – There’s a very creepy man who is friendly with her mother.  Emily feels very uncomfortable when he is around.  Emily visits a prison.  She and her mother are put on trial.

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