Take What You Can Carry--graphic novel

The graphic novel Take What You Can Carry by Kevin C. Pyle is another parallel plot story where the author brings together two stories that seem to be unrelated at the beginning.  The first story, told in silent sepia, begins right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor sets in motion the internment of Japanese-Americans.  This is always a poignant story, one that too few Americans are aware of.   I've written about some non-fiction curriculum links in another post on Weedflower, so I won't repeat that information.

Graphics from Macmillan Publishing website

The alternating text is set in suburban Chicago in 1978...the blue and white illustrations remind me of the '70's...not a monochromatic era, but one in which the colors seem to be bland when viewed in retrospect.  I guess I've been looking at too many photos from my childhood lately.  I realize that colors have faded in the last forty years, but I do remember those awful olive green and cream colored appliances very well!  So, the color resonates with me, but Kyle's part of the story does not.  I do like how the writer connects Kyle's story to Ken's.  I love how two people from very different cultures and generations come to some understanding of one another's position.  I particularly like one aspect of Kyle's character that comes into play in the story (I don't want to give too much away), but I don't really like Kyle.  I don't really see his motivation for acting like a jerk especially when he could have allied himself with a more sensible friend.

The story of the Japanese-Americans does not get much play in the curriculum.  Most teachers, and I think rightly so, will present the Holocaust literature instead.   However, I think that Take What You Can Carry might be able to introduce a generation to this piece of American history.  It could easily be added reading to a World War II literature unit or read in comparison/contrast to a Holocaust story.  Because it is so short (I was done in about 45 minutes, and I believe there was a catnap in there as well), it is not a book that will take a lot of reading time, but it will introduce the topic well.  One thing that I would say to potential readers, if you don't know much about the Japanese internment, it would be wise to read the historical notes on the last pages.  This information will provide the reader with the context to understand the "silent film."  I would recommend this book to students grade 7 or 8 and above.

PB David Wiesner

Caldecott Medal winner Flotsam by David Wiesner is a story told without words.  When a young boy finds an underwater camera washed up on the shore, the camera tells a fascinating story about curiosity and imagination.  Wiesner reminds me a bit of Peter Sis in that his pictures tell more than a thousand words.  I can think of all kinds of ways to use this book in the middle school classroom.  For example, teach a lesson on inferencing characterization by having the students assign traits to the boy and provide evidence for those traits.  Students could also predict the next story, since the story ends with a cycle about to begin again...

PB Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman always writes the strangest books...but I do tend to like them.  I'm not sure exactly what this one is about, except maybe imagination...What really struck me about this particular book (and maybe it was just because I am looking for word patterns) was the number of -ing words that Gaiman uses...sometimes participle phrases, sometimes, gerunds, sometimes, progressive tenses...just lots of -ings...My point obviously being that I think this book would be a great text to use with students to show them the uses of these participle phrases (particularly) in adding interest and variety to a text.

PB Peter Sis

Another favorite author of mine is Peter Sis.  I just love the way he illustrates his books with a combination of storyboards, concrete poetry, maps, diagrams, etc.  The illustrations are endlessly fascinating; I could spend forever looking at them.  A Small Tall Tale from the Far, Far North (1993) is an older Sis book, but still enjoyable.  The story is based on a Czech folk hero Jan Welzl who travelled through Siberia to the Bering Sea where he crosses to Alaska.  There, he encounters the Eskimos whose culture is in danger during the Alaskan Gold Rush.  My favorite part of this story is the embedded Alaskan folk tale whose moral is that danger is the way of life for all living things.

PB Jane Yolen

I have always loved everything by Jane Yolen, and whenever I see a book by her that I haven't read, I will definitely take the time to pick it up.  I always find something intriguing.  I read two this week:

Elsie's Bird by Yolen and David Small (2010) starts sadly when Elsie's mother passes away in 18th century Boston.  Elsie is a happy city girl, but as her father mourns her mother's death, he finds that he needs to leave the city to make a fresh start.  He decides to take Elsie to Nebraska.  Instead of the songs and noises of the city, she must get used to the quiet of the prairie.  It is only when she discovers the sounds of the quiet that she really begins to feel at home.  A sad story for very young readers but still worth reading.  This story might serve as a discussion starter about change or setting.

Yolen also examines change and setting in Where Have the Unicorns Gone?  The focus this time is on the environment and how man has impacted it through the ages, potentially marginalizing species that can't adapt.  The unicorn question is asked throughout the story, and each time, the unicorn seeks out some beautiful landscape that man hasn't yet impacted.  The illustrations are beautiful and majestic, fitting the unicorn theme well.  The language is mature as well...the average picture book does not tend to use "catacombed" or "cataphonetics," but Yolen wanted hard "c" words.  She didn't hesitate.

PB Mo Willems

Mo Willems has been a favorite since he first suggested that pigeons shouldn't drive buses.  (Who knew? ) He started publishing books for children when my daughter was 2, and she and I enjoyed many a giggle over the antics of that silly, silly pigeon!  The most recent book I have read by Willems is  Hooray for Amanda and her Alligator, six and a half stories about two surprising friends...and that's exactly what the story is about...two friends who are surprised by each other and their friendship on a regular basis.  Very cute...as usual!

PB Peanut Butter?

I spent a lot of time wondering if I should include picture books here, or if I should take notes on them some other way.  I really write in this blog space for me to keep track of what I read, so I can potentially use books in my teaching.  Since I'm currently looking for picture books that I could potentially use as I teach grammar, writing and literature, I'll record them here along with the books for middle schoolers to independently read. Of course, since I love a good picture book, I would never deny my students that pleasure, but they definitely DON'T count toward their books totals.

So, when you see an entry marked PB, it does not have anything to do with peanut butter; it stands for picture books!

Wonderstruck

Brian Selznick is a fantastic artist, and his newest graphic novel Wonderstruck doesn’t fail to please. I particularly loved how he took two very distinct stories and brought them together in a unique way. The action of the second half of the novel takes place in a museum reminiscent of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler, one of my favorite books growing up. As a matter of fact, Selznick mentions that book in his afterword and says that there are numerous references to The Mixed Up Files in his graphic novel…I wish I had had that little puzzle given to me at the beginning of the book; I would have looked for them! As it is, even in the summer, I don’t really have the time to re-read the book.  The other major theme in the novel has to do with how we treat the deaf, another interesting topic.

Fans of all ages who enjoyed Hugo Cabret will also enjoy Wonderstruck.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

An often-ignored aspect of World War II history is the story of the Eastern European countries that got swallowed by the Soviet Union and remained behind the Iron Curtain until the 1990’s. If one only looks at the casualty count, Stalin’s brutality exceeds that of Hitler. When I’ve mentioned that fact to my students, someone inevitably asks why they have never heard of him. And, I have some guesses, but no real good answer. Perhaps because the Soviet Union was our ally during the War? Perhaps because there were many communist sympathizers in the United States? Perhaps because the USSR was such a formidable adversary that it took sixty years of a Cold War to overcome it? My best guess is that Hitler’s systematic and efficient attempt to wipe the Jewish population and culture off the face of Europe through gas chambers and crematoriums defies his humanity. Even the gulag, by all accounts a horrific system of labor camps intended to work its inmates to death, seems to pale in comparison to the philosophy behind Auschwitz.

The young adult novel Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys addresses this largely forgotten era. The beginning of World War II in Lithuania saw the protagonist Lina looking forward to studying the arts, but when the NKVD invades their home one night and throws her family onto a truck, she must learn to quickly adjust. As the family is taken to a labor camp deep inside of the Soviet Union, Lena discovers that she can hold onto hope through her art. She also learns to admire her mother who seems to have a knack for finding the humanity in the most hardened of souls.

The author’s note tells the reader that the author spent a great deal of time interviewing Lithuanians who had lived under Soviet rule, and her research certainly shows in her novel. While never failing to show that survival was possible, Lina’s story convinced me of the horror of the Stalinist reign.
A fascinating and realistic book for students grade 8 and above. Shades of Gray has been nominated for the 2013 RI Teen Book Award.