Module 15 - The Things They Carried

Module 15 - The Things They Carried

Book Summary -
This book is basically a collection of vignettes.  They are about a platoon of American soldiers during the Vietnam War.  The title refers to the items that each of the men carried throughout the war and the importance of them to the soldiers.  From the soldier who goes crazy and shoots his foot, to the one who dies from being shot in the head, each of the soldiers carries guilt along with actual items.  For those who do not die, no one returns the same.  This book is violent and bloody, but very realistic. 

APA Reference -
O'Brien, T. (1990).  The things they carried.  New York: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt.

My Impressions -
One of my teacher friends always used a chapter of this book to teach, and I was always interested in it, but never read it.  Since I've never read a book about soldiers during the Vietnam War, I was very interested in reading this.  This book was, at time, hard to read.  It is quite graphic.  It was a great read, though, even when it was a hard read.  This book is certainly not for younger readers, and only for older high school students.

Professional Review -
Winner of a National Book Award in 1979 for  After Cacciato {LJ 12/15/77), O'Brien again shows his literary stuff with this brilliant collection of short stories, many of which have won literary recognition (several appeared in O. Henry Awards' collections and Best American Short Stories). Each of the 22 tales relates the exploits and personalities of a fictional platoon of American soldiers in Vietnam. An acutely painful reading experience, this collection should be read as a book and not a mere selection of stories reprinted from magazines. Not since Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five (LJ 3/1/69) has the American soldier been portrayed with such poignance and sincerity.
Annichiarico, M. M. (1990). The Things They Carried (Book). Library Journal, 115(3), 212.

Library Uses -
This would be great as a focus during a banned books week.  The students could read it and then decide why some chose to ban this book

Module 14 - All the Broken Pieces

Module 14 - All the Broken Pieces

Book Summary -
Matt Pin is now a world away from where he was just a couple of years ago.  He was airlifted out of Vietnam and is now living is a great adoptive home in the United States.  He's broken and haunted by his past.  He continually faces prejudice from those in his town, and he finally forces the secret that he's been keeping from those he loves.  He remembers everything from before he came to the U.S.  He remembers what happened right before he was taken from Vietnam.  He feels responsible for his brother losing both his legs and fingers as he was supposed to be watching his little brother and let him wander away.  His adoptive family assures him that they will always want and love him.  Matt hopes to find his mother and little brother.  He remembers his name.

APA Reference -
Burg, A.E. (2009). All the broken pieces.  New York: Scholastic Press.

My Impressions -
I had never read a novel in verse before.  When I started, I was worried that it wouldn't be easy to follow, or it would be really long-winded.  It isn't.  It is a great read.  This book will definitely stick with me for some time.  I'm not sure if that's a result of the content or the form, but it certainly touched on a subject that very few books do at this level.  I was extremely impressed.

Professional Review -
Gr 6-8--Sensitively read by Tobias Christian Wong, Ann E. Burg's historical fiction in verse (Scholastic, 2009) illuminates a variety of notorious issues of the Vietnam War. Matt, a Vietnamese boy abandoned by his American soldier father, is relinquished by his desperate mother, hoping that he might have a chance for a healthy, happy life in the United States. Matt has experienced the horrors of war and has witnessed the land mine maiming of his three-year-old brother. He is adopted by a compassionate and well-intentioned American physician and his wife. The novel focuses on Matt's experience in seventh grade where he is bullied, ridiculed, and blamed for the death of American soldiers. He becomes the ultimate scapegoat for classmates echoing the feelings of their elders. The boy feels unwanted by everyone, including his loving adoptive parents. Even his talent for baseball pitching can't improve his self-esteem. Jeff, a Vietnam medic veteran who works with Matt's father, becomes a catalyst to help avert a crisis. With the cooperation of the school baseball coach and a disabled veteran, Matt and those scared by the war reach a healing point at the story's satisfying resolution. Wong's voice was well-chosen for Burg's passionate free verse, echoing the pain and caring of the characters. Educators will find this audiobook useful for sparking class discussions.
Ward, J. (2011). All the broken pieces. School Library Journal, 57(2), 59.

Library Uses -
This book would be great to kick off a poetry unit and competition at the library.  It would be a great highlight for non-traditional verse.  I would have this be one of the books that is focused on as a poetry competition is announced.

Module 13 - Meet Kirsten

Module 13 - Meet Kirsten

Book Summary -
Kirsten Larson is a 9-year-old girl who is moving from Sweden with her father, mother, and two brothers, to join her relatives in Minnesota.  The journey is not easy, and she even loses her best friend on the way, Marta.  Kirsten is almost inconsolable.  It takes a long time in the boat, riding, and walking, before they finally reach her aunt, uncle, and two cousins.  She quickly bonds with the two girls and settles in to enjoy her new life in America.

APA Reference -
Shaw, J. (1986). Meet Kirsten: An American girl. Middleton, WI: Pleasant Company.

My Impressions -
This is a great historical fiction book for young female readers.  The reader quickly identifies with Kirsten, and is very eager to see the family make it to Minnesota and settle down.  The many different harsh conditions that the family faces lead up to the death of Kirsten's friend.  This is a very real, but sad event.  It brings home the danger of the journey.  I can easily see how the American Girl books have captured the imaginations of little girls everywhere.  This is a great read.

Professional Review -
I read this book aloud to my daughters.
This is the first book in the American Girls Kirsten Series. This is also our first book in any American Girl series and our first book by this author.
We love reading books that take place during the 1800s time period. In this book, Kirsten's family immigrates from Sweden to America in 1854. They are travelling to Minnesota to join family members already settled there. Along the way, they experience some difficulties. The series continues with five more books.
We really enjoyed the book! When I told my daughters that there is an American Girl website and that there is an historical Kirsten doll, they were so excited! They went from not knowing who American Girl was to now having American Girl dolls, catalogs, and playing games on their website! Smart marketing! We are hooked on the American Girl historical books and dolls.
Darlene's Book Nook.  (2011).  Meet Kirsten.  http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.com

Library Uses -
This would be a great introduction to historical fiction for older elementary.  They would be able to read more books in the series, or find a similar series.  They could find out what the United States was like in the 1850s and create a posterboard with pictures.

Module 12 - Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein

Module 12 - Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein

Book Summary -
This book tells the story of Einstein's childhood and how he never seemed to quite fit in with everyone.  He didn't fit in with his family, his friends, his school, or anyone, really.  This book highlights his brilliance and focuses on the fact that, even though people are really smart, they may not fit in with the rest of the world, and that is fine.  The book uses quotes from Einstein's writing to support the story.

APA Reference -
Brown, D. (2004).  Odd boy out: Young Albert Einstin. New York: Houghton.

My Impressions -
This is a great introduction to the man behind the myth.  Most students know about Einstein, but they really don't know about his life at all.  This book for young readers is great at emphasizing that not everyone fits in with society, and those people can turn out to be great people.  I liked this book, but didn't love it, but it was very good at pointing out aspects of Einstein's life that few know anything about.

Professional Review -

Gr 2-5-- This well-crafted picture-book biography focuses on Einstein's hard-to-classify brilliance, which led to awesome scientific discoveries, but all too often left him a misunderstood outsider. Brown describes his subject's loving, cultured parents who were frequently nonplussed by their son's behavior and temper. He found himself the "odd boy" at school, and as the only Jewish student, was sometimes taunted by other children. He puzzled his instructors as well; though clearly gifted in science, math, and music, he was an indifferent student in most subjects. Brown's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, rendered in a palette of dusky mauve and earthy brown, portray a doubtful, somewhat unhappy-looking child, except for a picture in which he gazes fondly at a compass, a gift that astonishes him as he ponders its mysteries. In many scenes he is marginalized on the sidelines, set apart by color and shading. One dramatic spread features an adult Einstein pushing his child in a carriage, looking small against a backdrop that highlights some of the scientific puzzles that so engaged him. Through eloquent narrative and illustration, Brown offers a thoughtful introduction to an enigmatic man. This book will pique the interest of readers with little or no knowledge of Einstein.

Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., Larkins, J., & Taniguchi, M. (2004). Odd boy out: Young Albert Einstein (Book). School Library Journal, 50(10), 138-139.

Library Uses -

This would be a great introduction into biographies.  The older students could then look up information about some figures that interest them and write a very short biography and draw pictures to illustrate it.

Module 11 - Birds

Module 11 - Birds

Book Summary -

This is a young children's book that tells of birds of all kinds. It explains different options, different colors, and different shapes. It explains that they go away in the winter, but come back in the spring. The book ends with a focus on how birds and people are similar: the can both sing.

APA Reference -

Henkes, K. (2009). Birds. New York: Greenwillow Books.

My Impressions -

This is a great book for very young readers. It is not as simplistic as a counting book, but the illustrations do help with the reading. It would be a good book to help readers learn to read. I loved the illustrations. They are colorful and fun. It is simply a beautiful book that teaches young children the basics of birds.

Professional Review -

PreS-K-- This brief introduction to birds focuses on such basic features as their different colors and sizes. Soft acrylic paintings that appear as spreads, vignettes, and framed scenes match a text that perfectly conveys the young narrator's fascination with the birds in her environment. "Once I saw seven birds on the telephone wire. They didn't move and they didn't move and they didn't move. I looked away for just a second…." Three lines of identically positioned birds on wires appear with the text across the spread. Then a page turn reveals a thick, black, empty wire stretched across a stark white spread along with the words "and they were gone." The youngster imagines what the sky would look like if the birds could make marks with their tails and how bird-clouds would look during the day and at night. She can't really fly like the birds, but the final page demonstrates one way in which she can imitate them. The child voice in this charming story is just right and will resonate with the very youngest children. And the little girl's musings can encourage more "what if" conversations that will spark their imaginations.

Saccardi, M. (2009). Birds. School Library Journal, 55(2), 76.

Library Uses -

This would be a good read aloud book for Pre-K or Kindergartners. The children can then draw their favorite birds.

Module 10 - The Book Thief

Module 10 - The Book Thief

Book Summary -
Narrated by Death, the book follows a young girl who goes to live with foster parents during World War II in Germany.  On the way there, Liesel's brother dies.  As he's being buried, Liesel steals her first book from the gravedigger as a remembrance of her brother.  She helps deliver laundry for her foster mother and learns how to read from her foster father.  She steals books from the mayor's house, and spends time with the Jew who is hiding in the basement.  She writes her own stories and titles them The Book Thief.  Max, the Jew who was hiding in the house, is sent off for his own protection, but is later found by the Nazis.  Liesel's friend Rudy always wants a kiss from her, but only gets it after the whole block is destroyed and Liesel is the only remaining survivor because she hid in the basement.  she later reunites with Max.  As Death was working overtime in this period, he only comes for Liesel later in her life as she is living in Sydney.  He found her thought to be lost book, has read it, and admits that humans haunt him. 

APA Reference -
Zusak, M. (2006).  The book thief.  New York: Knopf.

My Impressions -
I had been wanting to read this book for some time after I saw some of my students reading it.  It certainly was worth it.  It really is a haunting look at a girl and those around her who are trying to survive in a world where few do.  By having Death be the main narrator, there is a unique look at humans and what makes them human.  By Death admitting that he is haunted by humans, Zusak makes the point that humans are capable of ultimate cruelty and evil.  This is a very haunting book.  It is not necessarily unique in the subject matter, a person trying to live despite war, but it is unique in the literary devices that he uses.  It is a must read in my opinion.

Professional Review -
This hefty volume is an achievement--a challenging book in both length and subject, and best suited to sophisticated older readers. The narrator is Death himself, a companionable if sarcastic fellow, who travels the globe "handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity." Death keeps plenty busy during the course of this WWII tale, even though Zusak (I Am the Messenger) works in miniature, focusing on the lives of ordinary Germans in a small town outside Munich. Liesel Meminger, the book thief, is nine when she pockets The Gravedigger's Handbook, found in a snowy cemetery after her little brother's funeral. Liesel's father--a "Kommunist"--is already missing when her mother hands her into the care of the Hubermanns. Rosa Hubermann has a sharp tongue, but Hans has eyes "made of kindness." He helps Liesel overcome her nightmares by teaching her to read late at night. Hans is haunted himself, by the Jewish soldier who saved his life during WWI.

The Book Thief. (2006). Publishers Weekly, 253(5), 70-71.

Library Uses -

This book would be a great spotlighted historical ficiton book.  Because its narrator is Death, many students would probably be drawn to it.  It would be a great lesson to have the students explain how the book might have been different had the narrator not been Death.

Module 9 - Cam Jansen and the Barking Treasure Mystery

Module 9 - Cam Jansen and the Barking Treasure Mystery

Book Summary -
Cam Jansen and her friends are going on a boat ride around the city.  They are going to see a pirate ship at the end of the tour as well.  When Lila Wood's dog Little Treasure is missing, Cam and her friends are to the rescue.  Little Treasure is found is the men's bathroom, but his collar is missing!  Cam and her friends continue to look.  While looking they actually miss the pirate ship.  It turns out that Little Treasure was initially taken for his collar.  It had diamonds and emeralds on it, and, of course, Cam points out just the man and he is arrested.

APA Reference -
Adler, D. (1999).  Cam Jansen and the barking treasure mystery.  New York: Scholastic.

My Impressions -
This is such a cute, short mystery.  The problem is easily identified and the mystery is solved in a very efficient manner  Cam Jansen and her friends are very likeable and it is easy to see why so many young readers love these mysteries.

Professional Review -
Gr 2-4 --Readers are swept into the plot immediately as Cam, her friend Eric, his mother, and her annoying, but well-meaning friend embark on a boat ride. When a wealthy passenger's dog is stolen, Eric, Cam, and her photographic memory spring into action. The mystery is solved through the kids' perseverance and the thief's verbal mistakes. As with the others in the series, this title is written in short chapters with large print and numerous black-and-white full and half-page illustrations. A game at the conclusion encourages readers to test their own powers of memory. This is a natural addition to early chapter-book collections.

Dorr, C., & Jones, T. E. (1999). Preschool to Grade 4: Fiction. School Library Journal, 45(12), 87.

Library Uses -

This book would be fun to kick off a mystery writing competition.  The students would stretch their minds and imaginations to write a fun mystery that other students can try to solve.