SONYA HARTNETT

I have listed below a link to a web page that gives a short biography on Sonya Hartnett and lists her published novels and award information. I have read the Silver Donkey, which is wonderful but is geared more for middle-school readers. I just started reading Thusday's Child. So far, I love it too.

http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03C18M044312635225

What the Birds See by Sonya Hartnett

WHAT THE BIRDS SEE
by Sonya Hartnett



PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
Hartnet, S. (2003). What the birds see. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.



AWARDS:
While this particular novel has not been honored with awards, Hartnett has received many awards in both Australia and the U.S. for several of her other novels. Most notably Thursday's Child, which I just started and will read over the weekend.



SYNOPSIS
Hartnet employs a sliding omniscient narrator, present tense narration, and a highly poetic sensibility in this novel. Adrian, a nine-year-old boy, is the novel’s main character. Through back-story, readers come to understand that Adrian has been removed from his mother’s custody by authorities because of her instability and failure to provide. Once he is removed from his mother's custody, he no longer has opportunities to see his mother; and, in fact, does not even know where she lives. After he was taken from his mother, Adrian lived with his father, who later decides he would rather not be tied down with the responsibilities of raising a child. When the novel begins, Adrian is currently residing with his grandmother and 25-year-old uncle, Rory. Based on an overheard conversation between his father and grandmother, Aidan views himself as worthless and dull. He has only one friend at school who abandons him for someone more popular. The emotional climax occurs when Adrian overhears a conversation between his grandmother, uncle, and aunt, in which the state that they do not really want to raise Adrian. The novel ends tragically, and students will most likely need some emotional support from teachers when reading this very tough yet beautiful book.



EVALUATION:
Wow, this book's language is magical. I really admire her desriptions and her very spare and emotionally restrained prose. She is a poet working in fiction medium. She is wonderful at capturing the significance of small moments. I do, however, have a few reservations about some aspects of this novel. For one, I think Adrian, the main character, seems much older than 9--Based on the emotional, cognitive, and developmental traits depicted in the novel, he seems to be an emerging adolescent. So I would argue that he seems to be about 11 or 12 years old. There are also a few times when I felt the omniscent narrator broke down or did not quite work. Also, the ending is quite harsh and maybe a little over the top. It definetly requires some debriefing time.



CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS:
I think this book could be usful in a writing workshop classroom. Teachers could use it for both poetry or fiction/creative nonfiction. I think it could be used for lessons on decription, point of view (for upper-level students), mood, and tone. Teachers could also use snippets from this text as a means of demonstrating the art of showing verses telling. I would love to read portions of this book aloud. I don't think I would use it as a whole-class read, but it could work well in small groups. I think it would be wise to have some adult read this novel along with a students who selected this book as an individual-choice read. The book presents some really tough content.



AGE LEVEL:
Although the story focuses on a nine-year-old boy, the reading level and content are for advanced readers. This book might work okay as a read-aloud for younger students. However, the severity of the ending may require the teacher to offer some emotional support for students.

A Northern Light

A Northern Light

By Jennifer Donnelly

AWARDS:

* Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book
* ALA Best Book for Young Adults

* Carnegie Medal
* School Library Journal Best Book of the Year


SYNOPSIS:
The novel is set in 1906 and depicts the hard life of Mattie Gokey who lives with her pa and three sisters on a dairy farm in the Adirondack Mountains. After the death of her mother and subsequent desertion of her older brother, Mattie becomes responsible for much of the household and farm duties. However, Mattie is academically rather than agriculturally inclined. In fact, she is a word collector and wants to write stories that tell the truth about life and about her home in the North Woods. She and her best friend Weaver--the only child of the only black family in the area--dream of going to college. Their teacher Miss Wilcox (who also turns out to be a mystery herself) both inspires them and works hard to help them follow their dreams. With Miss Wilcox's help, both Mattie and Weaver receive scholarships to attend college; however, they find themselves facing family responsibilities as well as barriers such as expectations in regard to gender roles and complications due to racism. These barriers make their dream seem out of reach. Additionly, Mattie must choose between love/marriage/family or a literary life. Ironically, the murder of a young girl serves to spark Mattie's bravery to follow her dreams and help others do the same.


EVALUATION:
Donnelly chooses to tell Mattie Gokey's story using two narratives. The first narrative takes place in the present tense and focuses on the murder of Grace Brown as well as Mattie's life working at a resort in the area. The second narrative takes place in the past and focuses on Mattie's life on the farm before she goes to work at the resort. Donnelly moves back and forth between these two narratives, creating tension and mystery. The characters are complex and developmentally appropriate. The author also uses wordplay as innovative organizational devices as well as tools for character development.


CLASSROOM APPLICATION:
I would most likely use this book within small-group discussions or as an individual choice book. I think it might be a good book to use as a bridge to some of Kate Chopin's work or with Emily Dickenson's poetry. The book is also connected to Dreiser's An American Tragedy because Grace Brown's murder (an historical event) also inspired Dreiser to write his novel.


AGE RANGE:
10th-12th grades


PERSONAL REACTION:
I really enjoyed this book because of its strong female characters and complex situations. I also appreciated its innovative use of words and its marriage of historical fact with historical fiction. I learned a lot about farming and the time period by reading this book. I also found the exploration of gender roles appropriate for the time period but also appropritate for modern situations. There were moments where I felt that the author could have been more concise, but these moments were few. Overall, this is a beautiful book. I highly recommend it.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village

by Laura Amy Schlitz

Illustrated by Robert Byrd

AWARDS:

2008 Newberry Award Winner

ALA Notable Children's Books

NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts

Chicago Public Library Best Books for Children and Teens

SYNOPSIS:

This book consists of a series of monologues from the youthful inhabitants of an English Medieval Village. Each character serves to illustrate different roles and life perspectives of the people who live in the village--all of whom range in class and profession. Gender roles and belief systems of the time are also explored. The author includes helpful footnotes and discussions on important medieval words and/or concepts. For example, she gives some background and significance on the Medieval pilgrimage, on The Crusades, and on the three-field agricultural system that was most common at that time. The book is beautifully illustrated in an illuminated manuscript style and is complete with helpful maps. This book succeeds in bringing the town, the time, and the people to life for readers.

EVALUATION:

This book is genius. It is not only beautiful to look at but it is also fun to read. Although it can be read individually, it was written to provide students with dramatic materials to role play and/or perform and, therefore, bring the town to life for an audience. All of the characters in the book are adolescents and express not only feelings appropriate for their Medival time period but also feelings that are developlemtally appropriate for adolescents in general.

CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS:

I think this book would be interesting to use with Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. It would provide some background for Chaucer's writing and would be a great tool for engaging students. The book also includes a good bibliography that might encourage students to do some research on Medieval life on their own.

AGE RANGE:

6th-12th

PERSONAL REACTIONS:

At first I thought this book would be primarily for a younger audience; however, I enjoyed reading it so much that I think it is applicable for a wide range of ages. I learned a lot about Medieval life that I had often wondered about but knew very little. I think students of all ages could have fun with this book.

Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography

Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography

by Andrew Helfer

Art by Randy DuBurke

AWARDS:

YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, Nonfiction

Helfer, A. & DuBurke, R. (2006). Malcolm X: A graphic biography. New York: Hill and Wang.

SYSNOPSIS:

This graphic novel traces the life of Malcolm X (i.e., Malcolm Little). The novel begins with a very brief historical introduction to slavery and racial inequality within the U.S. This is followed by some information about his parents--their backgrounds and interests. The book then traces Malcolm's life in chronological order. It depicts Malcolm's turbulent and broken childhood, his troubled and crime-oriented adolescense, his young adult experiences and education within the prision system, his conversion to NOI, his devotion to Elijah Muhammad, his work in building black pride, masculinity, and his role in the civil rights movement, his relationship with figures such as Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, his marriage and his children, his falling out with Elijah Muhammad, his experiences in Mecca, and his death at the hands of an assassin at the age of 40.

EVALUATION:

The book is informative and serves as a good introduction to the life of Malcolm X. It explores issues such as racial inequality, religion, prejudice, masulinity, violence, poverty, crime, drugs, the civil rights movement, etc.

CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS:

I would suggest this book as an individual choice.

AGE RANGE:

9th-12th grades

PERSONAL REACTIONS:

Although I enjoyed this book, I was also disappointed in it. The book followed the film adaptation of Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X almost too closely, and I was hoping for more insight and background. I was also somewhat disappointed in the illustrations; they were not as innovative or as enriching as I would have liked them to be. I do believe the book would help encourage and prepare a reluctant reader to read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. It certainly has made me want to find time to fit this book into my already overly packed schedule. I think this graphic biography would also work well as a supplementary book when reading Crutcher's Deadline.

Bad Boy

Bad Boy: A Memoir

By Walter Dean Myers

AWARDS:
* National Book Award Finalist
* Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)
* Parents' Choice Gold Award

Myers, W. D. (2001). Bad boy: A memoir. New York: HaperTempest.

SYNOPSIS:
In Bad Boy, Walter Dean Myers presents his journey to manhood and his difficult path to becoming a writer. His story depicts the story of a black youth coming of age in Harlem during the 1950's. Myers offers up chapters which serve as snippets of his life. These chapters follow his life in more or less linear order, beginning with his earliest memories. Myers explores the issues of family, education, race, masculinity, and soci-economic status and the ways in which all of these aspects of his life intersect. Through a unique and very personal retelling of his young life and the important relationships within that life, Myers underscores the difficulties of adolscence. He explores the importance of reading and writing in his life and shows his quest to overcome barriers and presribed identity roles in order to be true to himself; for example, Myers states that "Being Afro-American, or black, was being imposed on me by people who had their own ideas of what those terms meant" (p. 177). This quotation demonstrates Myers resolve to create choices and opportunities with his life and to avoid being placed into confining categories. Finally, with this memoir, Myers also offers a living, breathing picture of Harlem in the 40s and 50s.


EVALUATION:
This book has so much to offer that it is difficult to know where to begin. Many of the chapters could stand alone and be used in a classroom to discuss a variety of things: Memoir writing, poverty, education, Harlem, narrative writing, racism, descriptive writing, gender issues, social constructivism, stereotypes, the value or purpose of writing and reading, etc.


CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS:
I would love to do this book as a read-aloud. It would be an interesting book to pause while reading and talk about predictions and possible meanings. I thought it might be interesting to pair Bad Boy with some of Michel de Montaigne's essays. I think these two would be very interesting together, both have a unique way of using personal experience or autobiographical writings to talk about highly intellectual ideas. It would also be interesting to make comparrisons between the genre and/or form devices of these two writers.


APPROPRIATE AGE RANGE:
9th grade and up.


PERSONAL REACTIONS:
I read this book while also reading Kozol's The Shame of the Nation, and it made me sad to think about how little has changed in regard to equaility within our education system. In some ways, this book also reminds me of Hope in the Unseen which I read last fall. It seems the more I read Walter Dean Myers the more I fall in love with him as a writer. He takes on challenging subjects and succeeds in addressing such subjects eloquently, entertainingly, authentically, and succinctly. He also manages to strike a balance between both adolescent and adult view points which makes his books appropriate for different developmental levels. I am a true fan of his work.

A Step from Heaven

A Step From Heaven

By An Na

AWARDS:

* 2002 MICHAEL L. PRINTZ AWARD
* 2001 National Book Award Finalist
* 2002 Children's Book Award in YA Fiction – International Reading

Na, A. (2001). A step from heaven. New York: Speak.


SYNOPSIS:
This book is organized as a series of vignettes, each one portraying an event or memory in the life of Park Young Ju, a young girl who moves from Korea to America with her parents. The novel spans Young Ju’s life from age four till age eighteen, when she leaves home for college. Essentially, the novel depicts the strain that moving to America has on her family. The Park family has many dreams when they first come to America, but slowly, they discover that life in America (or Mi Gook as it is called in Korea) is much harder than they imagined. Within the book, Young Ju experiences going to school and not being able to speak English or understand the culture. She becomes aware of the very different values and gender roles within each culture. Both her parents have to work many jobs in order to provide for their family. Her father takes life in America the hardest. He feels degraded by the jobs he is forced to do, such as mowing lawns and cleaning offices. He becomes an abusive husband and father, who puts his family through much misery. Although he is abusive, Young Ju’s father has some tender moments—especially early in the novel. Eventually, he leaves his family to return to Korea. Young Ju’s mother is forced to make the difficult choice to stay in American with her two children. Once they are a family of three rather than four, their life seems to brighten; however, this new happiness is bittersweet since they all lost a family member.

The book follows the members of the Park family as they struggle to join a new culture and style of living. All of the members of the family have to redefine themselves according to their new environment. The novel focuses on Young Ju’s journey from childhood to adulthood and features her efforts to fashion an identity out of two cultures. It gives the reader an authentic look into the hardships of assimilation.

EVALUATION:
Liguistically, this book is beautiful and innovative. Na also plays with form and genre ideas in intruguing ways. The characters are highly developed and complicated. The book realistically and thoughtfully portrays the physical, social, cognitive, and emotional development of Park Young Ju. It also portrays issues of poverty and cultural clashes and the ways in which such issues can be further complicated by gender roles. I think this book would be beneficial to ELL learners and for those who live in communities with a high ELL population.

AGE RANGE:
9th - 12th grades

PERSONAL REACTIONS:
Wow, this book is moving! It is also emotionally difficult. Unlike many of the books I read, I found that I could only take this book in small doses. It was just that emotinally draining. This is not to say that the book is too difficult. I think it is well worth the challenge. You may find that younger readers will need more support while reading this book because of the innovative form and language and because of the powerful emotional content. However, I believe this book has a great ability to validate ELL students from many different cultural backgrounds as well as offer perspective to students who do not face the same problems as the Park family. I know it opened my eyes to the hidden struggles that students such as Park Young Ju face every day. Great book!