American Born Chinese

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Bibliographic data:  

Yang, Gene Luen (2006).  American Born Chinese.  New York: Square Fish.

Summary: 

Three stories are told, each focusing on a character searching to be accepted.  An ancient Monkey King wishes to be accepted as a God, but heaven doesn’t have a place for monkeys.  A young first-generation Chinese American boy doesn’t want to have anything to do with his new straight-off-the-boat Taiwanese classmate.  All-American Danny is embarrassed by his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee…again.  Will any of them find their place in the world?

Analysis: 

The three unique stories in American Born Chinese take turns being told, keeping the reader questioning how they are related and wondering what will happen to each of the characters.  At first, it is unsettling and awkward to change between the different story lines, however the graphics tie the stories together and provide a sense of continuality.  

The individual stories are interesting in their variety.  The story of Jin is very realistic.  Danny’s story is realistic, except that his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee exaggerates every Chinese stereotype, from foot binding to mispronunciation of the L and R sounds in words.  The Monkey King is a mythological story, with immortal gods and talking animals.  These different story types provide something to interest any reader.

Young readers who are from multiple backgrounds will easily relate to the stories in American Born Chinese, however most young readers would appreciate the struggles of the characters to fit in.  The ultra-stereotypical portrayal of Chin-Kee will likely be uncomfortable for many readers, however is beneficial for examining stereotypes and helping to show the reader the importance of kindness and acceptance. 

Activity:

The focus of American Born Chinese is accepting and appreciating one’s cultural heritage.  In this case, the book speaks to those with Chinese heritage.  To add to this understanding, readers could research famous Chinese people or Chinese-Americans.  This list from biography.com could be used as a starting point for research. 

Biography. (2016) Famous Chinese Americans. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/groups/chinese-americans (accessed July 31, 2016)

Related Resources:

Many teachers are reluctant to utilize graphic novels in the classroom, despite the high interest that many student show.  After reading a graphic novel and addressing curriculum topics, such as reading pictures, making inferences and dialog, students can then use these skills and strategies to create their own graphic novel.  The following teacher’s guide would assist in preparing lessons for older students to create unique novels.

Slate, Barbra. (2010)  YOU Can Do a Graphic Novel.  Retrieved from http://www.penguin.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/you_can_do_a_graphic_novel_TG.pdf (accessed July 31, 2016)

For younger readers or students who need more structure when preparing their writing, Scholastic has a comic builder based off some of their graphic novel series.  If students are at a loss for what to create, they can utilize the pre-drawn scenery and characters to create their own story.

Scholastic Inc. (2012)  Graphix: Comic Builder.  Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/graphix/createcomic.htm (accessed July 31, 2016)

Published Review:

“With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book ) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes. Each of the characters is flawed but familiar, and, in a clever postmodern twist, all share a deep, unforeseen connection. Yang helps the humor shine by using his art to exaggerate or contradict the words, creating a synthesis that marks an accomplished graphic storyteller. The stories have a simple, engaging sweep to them, but their weighty subjects--shame, racism, and friendship--receive thoughtful, powerful examination.”

Karp, Jesse. (2006).  American Born Chinese. n.p.: Booklist, 2006. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed July 31, 2016).

We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March

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Bibliographic data:

Levinson, Cynthia (2012).  We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March.  Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers.

Summary: 

The Civil Rights Movement was well underway by May of 1963.  Adults across the nation had participated in marches and sit-ins at lunch counters.  Laws in many places were beginning to change.  Things in Birmingham, Alabama were a different story.  While thousands of African-Americans attended weekly rallies at local churches, not enough were participating in the marches and sit-ins to send a message to local businesses and government.  In May, the children of Birmingham took matters into their hands.  Walking out of school, they took to the streets in peaceful protest of segregation.  Their story is told through the eyes of four children who participated, explaining their personal motives for joining and their individual experiences.

Analysis:

While many young adults are likely to know of the lunch counter sit-ins, speeches and marches of the Civil Rights Movement, We’ve got a Job tells an untold story from the front lines.  Focusing on Birmingham, Alabama in May of 1963, Levinson gives a detailed and in-depth explanation of the political environment, motivations and actions of all those involved with the Civil Rights movement, but focuses on the unique roll the children of Birmingham played.  The book focuses in specifically on four very different children of the time.  Levinson narrates the story, telling about the general atmosphere and filling in facts that would be unknown to children, with quotes directly from the four, now grown, children about their experiences.  The children appear to have been carefully selected, representing a range of experiences; the son of wealthy doctors, the poor ‘bad boy,’ a girl who was actively involved throughout the entire movement and the youngest child to have been arrested.

Because the story focuses on the children’s experiences, it will have an extra appeal to young adult readers.  This isn’t the history adults created, it’s the history of people their own age.  Young adults, both male and female, will be able to see themselves in at least one of the children Levinson highlights, making this historical time period come to life in unusual and captivating ways.

Unfortunately, while the book is written for young adult readers the format has a juvenile feel.  The book is has been printed in a large, square format.  While this allows for detailed, full-page photographs it also makes the book feel like a children’s story, despite the subject matter and upper level reading. 

Activity:

The children of Birmingham became engaged in what was thought of as an adult matter because they saw how important it was to have equal rights.  They chose nonviolent protests as the way to convey their opinions because they knew it had the greatest chance of success.  They knew this was the best way for them to be heard.

Have readers brainstorm problems they see in the world today, and then focus in on the one they believe is most important.  After deciding on a campaign, work together to find the best method to battle the problem.  Readers should then carry through in attempting to enact the change they desire.

Example campaigns: Global warming, endangered animals, Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, presidential candidates

Example projects:  fund raising, writing letters to politicians/organizations, organizing or participating in protests, joining a volunteer organization

 Related Resources:

The Children’s March was a triumph and moment of change during the Civil Rights Movement, but it was only a single event in a crusade that lasted centuries and is continuing today.  Tolerance.org has prepared a list of resources and lessons about various events and aspects of the Civil Rights Movement.  Using these resources readers could learn about other events and people influential to the movement.  Teachers and librarians could create entire units about the era.

Tolerance.org.  The Civil Rights Movement.  Retrieved from http://www.tolerance.org/category/classroom-resources/civil-rights-movement (accessed July 23, 2016)

An award winning video created for the National History Day competition, No More: The Children of Birmingham 1963 and the Turning Point of the Civil Rights Movement provides a video form of the information presented in We’ve Got a Job.  The video could be used to introduce the topic and get readers engaged and excited, or after reading as an extension and summary. 

Additionally, as part of the National History Day competition, the video highlights interesting and unusual opportunities available to students who enjoy history and could inspire students to undertake similar learning experiences.

Jessop, Miranda and McKay.  No More: The Children of Birmingham 1963 and the Turning Point of the Civil Rights Movement.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCxE6i_SzoQ (accessed July 23, 2016)

Published Review:

“This chronicle of a pivotal chapter of the civil rights movement weaves together the stories of four black children in Birmingham, Ala., who were among some 4,000 who boycotted school to participate in a march to protest segregation. Before recounting that event, during which almost 2,500 young people were arrested and jailed, first-time author Levinson opens with intimate profiles of the four spotlighted children (drawn from interviews she conducted with each of them), along with descriptions of Birmingham’s racist laws, corrupt politicians, antiblack sentiment—and activists’ efforts to fight all of the above. Readers also get an up-close view of such leaders as Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, who founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights; Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated a nonviolent response; and James Bevel, a preacher who rallied the city’s children and teens. Yet the most compelling component is Levinson’s dramatic re-creation of the courageous children’s crusade and the change it helped bring about in the face of widespread prejudice and brutality. Powerful period photos and topical sidebars heighten the story’s impact.”

Murphy, Erin. (2012).  We’ve Got a Job: the 1963 Birmingham Children’s March. n.p.: Booklist, 2012. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed July 23, 2016).

How I Live Now

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Bibliographic data:  

Rosoff, Meg (2004).  How I Live Now.  New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

 Summary:   

Immediately upon arrival, fifteen year old Daisy feels more at home with her cousins in their English country cottage than she ever did living with her father and stepmother in New York City.  This sense of home is disrupted when, only days after arriving, a bomb goes off in London and launches the whole country into war.  At first, Daisy and her cousins see the war as an exciting event that frees them from parental supervision, however soon enough the effects are disrupting their lives and upturning their world.

Analysis:

Rosoff has written How I Life Now in an interesting style that subtly allows the reader to get deep inside Daisy’s head.  The occasional untraditional capitalization, emphasis and sentence structure make the narration feel like the mind of a teenager, helping the reader to have a greater empathy and understanding of Daisy’s world.  This style would appeal to teenage readers while pulling them into the story.

Daisy is a multidimensional character, making a few very questionable choices while overall being a very caring, thoughtful girl.  Daisy is anorexic.  While this is not a major theme in the novel, it comes up multiple times throughout the book.  She makes it very clear that not eating is a decision that she has made because that she enjoys the control it gives her and her thinness.  After moving to England, she becomes romantically and sexually involved with her first cousin Edward.  She knows that what she is doing is wrong, but explains that it feels right and good, and states that with the war it seems like their family connection isn’t important.  When the war tears her family apart, she become a mother figure to her nine-year-old cousin Piper, with Daisy making a conscience effort to keep Piper safe and shielded while separated from her brothers.  At the beginning of the novel, Daisy is very willing to be taken care of but by the end she works very hard to make sure she can take care of others.

All these decisions and actions make Daisy a very believable character.  Because of her flaws and strengths, young readers would be able to easily relate and connect with her.  Daisy has a variety of struggles throughout the novel that she is able to work through, such as her eating disorder and losing a loved one, which some teens would be able to sympathize with and learn from Daisy’s experiences.

While being over a decade old, the novel is very relevant to today.  Daisy’s struggles are fairly timeless (a disliked stepmother, feeling replaced by a younger sibling, feeling out of control of her own life) but the war that is occurring in the book is startling similar to the world of today, being described as

Snipers and small groups of rebels everywhere, disorganized bands of covert fighters and half the time you couldn’t tell the Good Guys from the Bad Guys and neither could they.  Buses blew up, and occasionally an office building or a post office or a school…You could ask a thousand people on seven continents what it was all about and you wouldn’t get the same answer twice; nobody really knew for sure but you could bet one or more of the following words would crop up: oil, money, land, sanctions, democracy. (176)

If police violence and ISIS were added to the causes of the war, it could easily be a description of the events of this summer.  While these parts of the war are barely described in the novel, knowing that the context of the war is so similar to our current world gives a great meaning to Daisy’s experiences. 

Activity:  

Many popular novels of today take place in a postapocalyptic future, showing the aftermath of a great war that ravaged the world.  How I Live Now tells the story of what life was like while the world became ravaged.  While Daisy’s story is nicely wrapped up, little is said about how the world around her was affected by the war.  Readers could write their own postapocalypic story explaining the effect of the war.  Alternatively, How I Live Now could be paired with a postapocalyptic book such as the Hunger Games.  Readers could write the story between the war Daisy experienced and the world Katniss lives in, developing the story to explain how the war caused the postapocalyptic world to develop. 

 Related Resources:

During the war, Daisy and her cousin Piper are taken far from their home.  When the war takes a turn for the worst, the girls attempt to return home on foot.  They spend over a week traveling on footpaths and riverbeds, eating berries, nuts and mushrooms that they find and sleeping under a plastic tarp.  Their ability to survive is due in part to a survival kit that was given to them. The following websites give instructions and supply lists for making survival kits.

American Red Cross.  Be Prepared for an Emergency.  Retrieved from http://www.redcross.org/get-help/prepare-for-emergencies/be-red-cross-ready/get-a-kit (accessed July 18, 2016)

Department of Homeland Security.  Basic Disaster Supplies Kit. Retrieved from https://www.ready.gov/kit (accessed July 18, 2016)

Blair, Patrick.  How to Make Your Own Pill Bottle Survival Kit. Retrieved from http://survivalathome.com/pill-bottle-survival-kit/ (accessed July 18, 2016)

Daisy naturally overcomes her eating disorder in the novel by realizing it is absurd for her to refuse food when people are dying of starvation.  Beyond an explanation that she doesn’t eat and she enjoys the control, little else is said about Daisy’s condition.  This website gives information about anorexia and shares information on treating the disease. 

National Eating Disorder Association.  Anorexia Nevosa.  Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/anorexia-nervosa (accessed July 18, 2016)

National Eating Disorder Association.  Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/treatment (accessed July 18, 2016)

Published Review:

“A 15-year-old, contemporary urbanite named Daisy, sent to England to summer with relatives, falls in love with her aunt's "oldy worldy" farm and her soulful cousins--especially Edmond, with whom she forms "the world's most inappropriate case of sexual obsession." Matters veer in a startling direction when terrorists strike while Daisy's aunt is out of the country, war erupts, and soldiers divide the cousins by gender between two guardians. Determined to rejoin Edmond, Daisy and her youngest cousin embark upon a dangerous journey that brings them face to face with horrific violence and undreamt-of deprivation. Just prior to the hopeful conclusion, Rosoff introduces a jolting leap forward in time accompanied by an evocative graphic device that will undoubtedly spark lively discussions. As for the incestuous romance, Daisy and Edmond's separation for most of the novel and the obvious emotional sustenance Daisy draws from their bond sensitively shift the focus away from the relationship's implicit (and potentially discomfiting) physical dimension. More central to the potency of Rosoff's debut, though, is the ominous prognostication of what a third world war might look like, and the opportunity it provides for teens to imagine themselves, like Daisy, exhibiting courage and resilience in roles traditionally occupied by earlier generations.”

Mattson, Jennifer. (2004).  How I Live Now. n.p.: Booklist, 20o4. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed July 17, 2016).

Midwinterblood

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Bibliographic data: 

Sedgwick, Marcus (2014).  Midwinterblood.  Read by Julian Rhind-Tutt.  New York: Listening Library.

Summary:  

Midwinterblood is comprised of seven short stories, each its own story but all connected by an island and two names, Merle and Erik.  Spanning thousands of years, each story is its own, telling of a journalist, archeologist, painter, farmer, fighter pilot, king and nanny.  Each story, however, has elements that are relate to the others: a hare, a phrase, a flower.  Could these stories, despite their differences and the years between them, be intertwined?

Analysis:  

Midwinterblood is an engaging, well-written and thought-out book.  Sedgwick managed to create seven stories that could easily stand on their own but instead group together to make a stronger, more compelling book.  With each new story, the reader becomes more certain that the Eriks and Merles from each story are somehow connected.  Each story provides the reader with the smallest hint of how the stories connect, hints that are often not obvious until a number of stories later.  This interconnectedness draws the reader in, making Midwinterblood an easy page-turner.

Because it is comprised of a number of short stories, there is a story line for nearly everyone.  The short story genres range from ghost stories to historical fiction, realistic fiction to mystery.  This variety makes Midwinterblood an ideal read for book groups or classroom assignments.  The variety is complimented by foreshadowing and reoccurring ideas, making it easy to make predictions about what is to come in the novel and discuss theories of how, or if, the stories are related.

Midwinterblood does not have the feel of a young adult novel.  The characters are not anxious teens attempting to discover themselves, but rather a mix of young and old, males and females.  This is likely to catch some young adults off guard.  The uniqueness of the story line will engage some young readers, while others might be unable to connect to the book without seeing more of themselves in the characters.

The audio reading is well done overall.  Julian Rhind-Tutt creates a variety of voices, allowing the multitude of characters to come to life.  The musical selection that plays between the stories matches the feel of the novel, mysterious and ancient.  Towards the end of the book however, Rhind-Tutt’s voice trails off awkwardly at the end of sentences, leaving the listener in a constant state of discomfort as he or she wonders if the chapter is ending or if there are errors with the playback.

Activity:  

A class could use the unique combined short story style of Midwinterblood as a starting point for a collaborative writing project.  To begin, all students could be given two names.  Each individual or small group could then compose a short story with two characters that have the assigned names. There should be no restraints on how the names are connected or used.  After this writing is complete, the individual writers would share their writing with the class.  Then, as a whole group, the class would brainstorm and write an overarching story that connects all of the short stories.

Related Resources: 

The connection between the stories in Midwinterblood is an ancient human sacrifice.   In an attempt to appease the gods and his people for years of bad crops, King Erik offers himself.  As he dies, he promises his wife, Merle, that they will live seven times and that he will find her.  European human sacrifice is likely an unknown topic for young adult readers, this site from the BBC will provide them with background knowledge on the subject.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/human_sacrifice_01.shtml

Parker-Pearson, Mike (2011).  The Practice of Human Sacrifice.  Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/human_sacrifice_01.shtml  (accessed June 20, 2016).

One of the stories in Midwinterblood tells of a famous painter who creates a giant painting depicting a scene of a primitive human sacrifice.  This sacrifice is central to the story and is titled “Midwinterblood”.  The painting however was not an idea original to Sedgwick.  He based the story off a painting created in 1915 by Carl Larsson titled “Midvinterblot,” which is housed at the Swedish National Museum.  Larsson’s painting does not match Sedgwick’s description exactly, however the similarities are obvious.  The following links tell more about Larsson, show examples of his work and tell about “Midvinerblot.”  This background knowledge could help the reader to better understand Sedgwick’s writing process as well as to visualize the painting and sacrifice scene from the book. 

Hernan, Oriol. Carl Larsson Paintings.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnrTJvpmynk (accessed June 20, 2016)

Oakley, Howard.  Carl Larsson: how a loved and popular painter became lost in controversy.  Retrieved from https://eclecticlight.co/2015/11/22/carl-larsson-how-a-loved-and-popular-painter-became-lost-in-controversy/  (accessed June 20, 2016).

National Museum.  Midvinterblot: Sweden’s Most Controversial Painting.  Retrieved from: http://www.nationalmuseum.se/ (https://goo.gl/qeEM81 ) (accessed June 20, 2016).  Translated using https://translate.google.com/.   

Published Review:

“Ominous drumbeats and solemn music introduce each intertwined story in the audio of Sedgwick’s Printz Award–winning fantastical and bleak tale. Each story works its way backward in time, exploring the lives of reincarnated lovers Eirikr and Melle, a Dark Ages king sacrificed for his people and the wife he asked to follow him through centuries of rebirth. All set on the island of Blessed, these tales are spooky and strange and bordering on the horrific. A Viking spurned by his lover—his brother’s wife—tries to reclaim his children, even after death, stalking the island seeking blood. A wraith masquerading as a nanny tells her ghostly tale to two unsuspecting children visiting the island. Rhind-Tutt’s voice is supple and full of gravitas, able to command as well as purr. Like a bard of yore, he grips the listener, though because some of the main narrators and characters are women, and young as well as old, it can be difficult to sort out relationships at times. This is an excellent choice for those seeking chills—just don’t listen alone at night, during a thunderstorm.”

Cruse, Karen. 2014. Miswinterblood. n.p.: Booklist, 2014. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed June 20, 2016).

Midwinterblood is comprised of seven vignettes, with settings ranging from the future to Viking times and a variety of characters, including vampires, ghosts, and humans. Common to all the stories is the Scandinavian island, Blessed; a mysterious dragon orchid; and Eric and Merle, who play different roles in each story. This unusual book for teens (many of the stories feature adult characters only) goes backwards in time, beginning with a story that takes place in 2073. While each narrative could stand alone, combining them into one volume with the barest threads of connections (similar to Olive Kitteridge or Let the Great World Spin) makes the book noteworthy. The audiobook is expertly narrated by British actor Julian Rhind-Tutt, whose hushed English voice is perfect for the recording. Sedgwick's sparse prose is beautifully read with a haunting, dreamlike quality that lets listeners experience the horror, mystery, romance, and tragedy that abounds in the book. Melancholy yet lovely music briefly separates the vignettes.

Paladino, Julie. 2014. Miswinterblood. n.p.: School Library Journal, 2014. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed June 20, 2016).