Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head

I was ecstatic to receive Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, my very first ARC, from Nancy Viau. I could not have asked for a more perfect book for my students' age group. I was hooked by Samantha's voice and charm from the first line.

There is so much to love about the book. First, Samantha is so excited about science, which works great with programs that I have heard of that try to encourage girls to see science as a field they can love and that could lead to a career. My local university has a program called Girls in Science.

She also has a lovable personality. Viau is a Class of 2K8 author, and a recent post mentions that "Kirkus Reviews compares Nancy's main character to someone quite special: 'Sam shares many qualities with Junie B.—the obligatory spunk, a chattily ingenuous voice—but her passion for science distinguishes her from other franchise heroines.'" I could also see the comparision to Junie B. Jones. Many of my students are still crazy about Junie B., so I am sure that they will instantly love Samantha. She also reminded me of Naomi in Becoming Naomi Leon because of her passion for writing lists and discovering who she is throughout the book.

Now the only question left is how I will introduce my students to the book. I am not sure whether I will book talk it, read aloud just a portion, or read aloud the whole book to the class. Right now our integrated unit is My Community and Me. Our big question that we are focusing on right now is: What makes me the person I am? In social studies we will be considering cultural and social aspects, while in science they will view it from a heredity angle. In language arts they will be reading about characters building a sense of self. While the main science emphasis in the book is obviously geology, it would also tie into our overall theme of self discovery, including acquired and inherited traits as she tries to discover how she is like her deceased father. I am tempted to use it as a read aloud at the start of science class, even though I will also be reading aloud Esperanza Rising in the afternoon with Language Arts. However I choose to use it, I know it is a book that my students will get lost in and will give them one more reason to love reading!

Tomando partido/Taking Sides

For SSR this week I was excited to read one of the new additions to my classroom library, Tomando partido by Gary Soto (Taking Sides in English). Students at the middle school where I worked for the last two years love Gary Soto. So far I had only read Buried Onions. Although I loved the book, I did not buy a copy for my classroom library this year because it is more appropriate for older readers. I was happy to see many of Soto's novels, including Tomando partido, are meant for my students' age range.

Because I was reading the book during SSR my mind could not be fully engaged in the book since I was always skimming and scanning the room as well. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and its theme. Lincoln (Linc) has just switched schools after moving from the barrio where he grew up to a more affluent neighborhood. He finds himself as a minority at his new school and not sure where he fits in. His best friend tells him he is becoming "white" because of all the white people he is surrounded by now. He does not want to lose his sense of self and old friends, but he also enjoys certain aspects of his new life. He also has to deal with mixed feelings about his mom's new boyfriend. The book culminates with a basketball game between his new and old school. He is torn about where his loyalty lies.

I think my students will enjoy this book for many different reasons. Some will enjoy it because of the basketball element, while others will be able to relate with being torn between two worlds.

Admitting when I am wrong

I am the first to admit when I am wrong. I recently had two posts (here and here) referencing a Babble article mentioning the Gossip Girl and other similar series. Based on some comments in defense of the book, I didn't see what the big deal was and couldn't imagine how it was any different from any other teen movie or book. I thought it was the type of book that I would have read and loved as a teen. As I mulled over the controversy, I finally decided to add Gossip Girl to my Book Mooch list. It was a perfect way to see what all the fuss was about without having to spend money on the book.

I received the book this week. As I initially started reading the back cover it reminded me a little of Clueless and I thought, "See, it's going to be just fine!" However, by reading just a bit more I was appalled.

Here is an excerpt from the second page, "If we aren't careful, S is going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldn't fit into, eat the last olive, have sex in our parents' beds, spill Campari on our rugs, steal our brothers' and our boyfriends' hearts, and basically ruin our lives and piss us all off in a major way." This caption is also printed on the back cover sans the parts that I bolded. Hmm... kind of a warning sign when they have to edit the real text in order to make it appropriate to market.

When Shukert mentioned criticism of the books saying, "It glamorizes casual sex, drinking and drug use; it all but eliminates minorities from the social fabric of New York City; it's aspirational without being inspirational," I thought maybe she was exaggerating. Unfortunately there are rampant references to underage drinking, drug use, and sex from the first pages. Considering I may be judging it too quickly, I thought I would skim the starts of the chapters. Fifteen out of the 29 chapters have a reference to sex, drinking, smoking, or drugs on the first page. Some of the chapters not included in the fifteen have profanities, and are bound to have inappropriate comments somewhere in the chapter.

Previous descriptions made me think that it would be a fun read for girls, but honestly, adult chick lit is more appropriate than these books, which is sad. I would NEVER include this book in my classroom library, not even if I had high schoolers again. If one of my students brought it in on their own, I would call their parents to make sure they were aware of the content and would probably not even allow them to read it during self selected reading. That is pretty bad because usually I am against censorship.

While I agree with Shukert about Gossip Girl (my copy will promptly go onto my Book Mooch inventory to get rid of it -- there are too many good books to waste my time on this trash), I maintain my original commentary that it was a huge stretch to mention Fancy Nancy in her article. I also agree with the reason why the article probably bothered Halse Anderson in the first place -- there is still a lot of excellent YA literature. Gossip Girl and similar novels just are not it. In answer to the question in the title "Where, Oh Where is Superfudge?" He is still around and doing great. Both last year and this year my students frequently read and love him!

(On a funny side note: I thought the copy of Gossip Girl I received was in excellent condition - just like new. Maybe the original owner didn't even read the whole thing either.)

The Black Pearl

Another book that I read in the airport while on vacation was a quick read, The Black Pearl by Scott O'Dell. The back cover description "Ramón is holding a pearl. Not just any pearl, but the most fabulous gem he or anyone else has ever seen. But neither Ramón nor his father can foresee the trouble that such a pearl can bring" instantly made me remember reading The Pearl by John Steinbeck in high school. The Amazon description of The Pearl refreshed my memory with an even stronger connection, "Elizondo relates the tragic tale of how a priceless pearl brings greed, treachery and loss to a poor Mexican pearl diver, his wife and their infant son." Reading the book confirmed that there are similarities. Both are about pearl divers in Mexico finding amazing discoveries that have an unforeseen negative impact on their lives. I am not sure of the original copyright of The Pearl to compare which was written first or if they were written around the same time with the intention to tell a similar tale for different targeted audiences.

My memory of all the details of The Pearl are rusty, but I think that younger students would enjoy The Black Pearl because of the main character being a boy around their age. When I bought the book I did not realize the original copyright was 1967. I love the front cover on my edition, and I am sure that many students would not realize how old the book is because of the cover design and story that still seems believable today. Although there are no references to up-to-date technology that would date the book, students can still view it as a present-day book because there are many areas where modern technology is not as big a part of everyday life.

It will be fun to see if my students enjoy this adventure.

Bergdorf Blondes

I first heard about Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes when my sister chose it for a fun read for her book club and posted her friends' negative reactions to it.

I would have to say I agree with my sister that the book is enjoyable. Here are some of the excerpts from her post: "This book is no War and Peace, but it's not supposed to be," "Believe me, I know that part of book clubs is that not everyone will like the book, but this was a fun book! It wasn't supposed to be relatable, unless your name is Paris or Nicky," and "Oh well, back to the rigorous schedule of books that rip your heart out and make you want to commit suicide. I bet none of them will have a central character who inspires the hostess to make fluffy, pink frosted confections that use an entire pound of butter! If we're lucky, at a future meeting we'll be eating Stone Soup and reading Mrs. Dalloway."

While reading the book and reflecting back on my sister's friends' reactions, I thought back once again to the article that I previously referenced in my Fancy Nancy post. In the Babble article Shukert said, "Gossip Girl is about privilege. Or rather, the power of privilege — the doors it opens, the pathways it smoothes. Its message: if you didn't have the sense to be born into money — and old money, at that — you'll spend the rest of your days playing catch-up while the people who did look down on you and laugh." I would be surprised if she did not have the same reaction to Bergdorf Blondes. However, one of the comments reacting to the article on Laurie Halse Anderson's post by willowgreen explains my thoughts when I read books such as Bergdorf Blondes, "[...] But isn't being rich and powerful a pretty natural fantasy for both teens and adults? I haven't read the "Gossip Girl" books, but I admit to watching the show, and IMO its purpose is to let the middle-class viewer enjoy the fantasy of wealth while still feeling slightly superior because s/he isn't nearly as messed up as the rich folks on TV." Yes, it was fun to read about "Moi" and Julie. They are not the type of people I would be able to relate to or be friends with in real life, and reading the book did not make me want to go out and do everything possible to be like them, but it was fun to get a glimpse of that lifestyle nonetheless as a fun summer read.

Keeper

Due to a delay in my flight I was able to read Keeper by Mal Peet during my traveling day. While I am not familiar with soccer and could not fully picture certain parts of the book because of my lack of prior knowledge in the area, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. On the back flap Peet explains his purpose well, "Many soccer stories seem to get stuck in the mud like a heavy ball on a wet Saturday afteroon, but there's no reason why they can't shift into a different and magical dimension. Keeper is about soccer, of course, but it's also about the supernatural, about relationships and loneliness, about believing in yourself--and about having something you would do your utmost to protect and defend."

The format of the book was interesting. El Gato, a goalkeeper whose team just won the World Cup is relaying the story of how he learned soccer in the jungle of Brazil that he has never told anyone to a reporter, Paul Faustino. Besides a few asides where El Gato and Faustino have short exchanges, the majority of the book is El Gato talking. Toward the end the book shifts from past to present adding to the plot and tension.

I loved that there were many unexpected events in the book, especially some events at the end leading to the perfect ending on different levels. The characters were well developed and likable, including some minor characters such as Uncle Feliciano. El Gato is creative as he unveils multiple layers of his story in a calm and relaxed manner without worrying about time, a classical Latino trait.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sports and/or magic realism.

Terri Clark signed early copy give-away

Terri Clark, one of the Class of 2K8 authors, is giving away two early copies of her upcoming novel Sleepless. See her blog for details on this great chance to see the book early!

The House of the Scorpion

When I first started student teaching four years ago I started buying books for my classroom library. The spring prior to student teaching my cooperating teacher suggested the best thing I could do to prepare for my semester in a middle school language arts class was to start reading young adult literature. The owner of my favorite local bookstore recommended The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, and my cooperating teacher also talked about it. I was a little wary to read it because I was not sure if I liked the idea of a book about a clone and the setting being "between the United States and what was once called Mexico". However, I decided it was time to read the book when one of my 7th grade students in my ESL class raved about the book last spring. The Book Awards Reading Challenge gave me a perfect reason to finally read the book!

I absolutely loved it and can't believe I did not want to read it at one point. It instantly reminded me of El dador (The Giver in English) by Lois Lowry. I just read it this winter, and the two would make perfect companion novels because they both grapple with the concept of intelligence in the future. Both follow the premise of: What if _______? Would the world really be a better place?

In the case of The House of the Scorpion it is what if the United States and Mexico both sold part of their land on the border to a drug lord under the condition that the drug lords would prevent undocumented workers from Mexico from entering the United States, and they would not sell any of their drugs to people living in the US or Mexico. One of the aversions when I initially read the back cover was that Mexico for some reason did not exist anymore. In actuality the portion of Mexico that remained was renamed to Aztlán which is a historical reference to the land of the Aztecs. So Mexico was not completely gone after all.

The main character Matteo Alacrán is a clone of the original Matteo Alacrán, known as El Patrón, the drug lord who controls most of Opium. Matteo lives his early life locked away in a small cabin in the middle of the poppy fields. When he one day leaves the cabin by chance he realizes that he is a clone and that almost everyone around him sees him as dirty. Unlike all the other clones, his brain was not damaged at birth so he is capable of learning and understanding. I do not want to give away anymore, but there are many twists and turns as Matt follows the difficult and dangerous path to finding out who he really is and what he is capable of doing. It also makes the reader grapple with ethics and technology.

This is one of the books that I kick myself for having on my shelf so many years without reading it, but at the same time, I know that I appreciated it now more than I would have before. At a time when the drug issues in Mexico seem to be worse than ever, or at least more closely affecting the everyday lives of my family, caught in the middle of narcotraficantes' battle for power. It made me believe the premise of two governments being so desperate to solve the problem with such drastic measures.

The back of the book states that Farmer grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border and the references to Mexican/Mexican American culture were beautifully woven in to the story. I appreciated that often she used Spanish in context allowing readers to gather meaning without having a clumsy direct translation right after every time.

I will have to read more of Farmer's books soon!

Hearts and Hands 2

As the preface and chapter 1, the next section of Heart and Hands that I read has given me a lot to think about. For this post I decided to put different quotes (literary luminary style) that stuck out to me. They either caused me to ponder his idea, agree with him, inspire me, or see consequences of legislation. I would love to see what you think of these quotes and what discussions they might prompt. Luis Rodríguez has a blog if you would like to see more of his commentaries.

"The situation needs to change. Most people--from the Chicago-based Mothers Against Gangs, to teachers who are forced to be police officers in their classrooms, to families trapped in the line of fire--are scared. They are bone-tired of the violence and are seeking ways out" (45).

"First we must recognize that our battle is with a society that fails to do all it can for young people--then unjustly lays the blame on them" (45).

"trained leaders out of troubled youth" (55).

"While there must be consequences for one's actions, the consequences should also include redemptive measures, healthy recreation, intellectual activity, skills training, art and rituals, human connections, and community initiatory practices" (56).

"Youth is a time when we all make mistakes and learn to overcome them. If we enshrine the concept that people cannot change when they reach adolescence, we are condemning the whole community to instability and dread" (56).

"Of course, change is not easy, as my own life can attest. It's often a process of one step forward and two steps back. It may include self-sabotage, as I have done many times. In the end the help I received found a lasting berth, an opening, toward my own transformation. But it took a long time. It helps if the community works on the premise that every life has value and that with proper relationships and support a person can find the self-caring and self-discipline to turn toward an innate purpose" (56-57).

"Before they end up losing much of their imaginative powers as adults, they can still dream. It's up to the rest of us to help them achieve their healthiest and most pertinent dreams" (62).

"The groundwork for young people to become full with their destinies is the firm and invigorating embrace of community" (63).

"We can start by acknowledging the gifts that all youth bring into this world, and the need for strong communities that can organize themselves around these gifts" (67-68).

"Interestingly the students [at Bryn Mawr] had a 100 percent graduation rate and a 100 percent college entrance rate. One teacher told me the reason for this was that 'we won't let them fail.' Those children didn't just feel empowered, they felt entitled. [...] The difference was that the children in Bryn Mawr were expected to succeed (which is its own distorted pressure). In my neighborhood, however, they were expected to fail, and if someone manages to succeed, they are often considered special, 'not like the others,' establishing a breach between the youth and their community. The young man who wondered why us 'inner city' folk lacked the fortitude to 'pick ourselves up' didn't even see how many resources and support systems existed for him to make it. Nobody does it alone" (70).

"That teacher, who saw a genius, not a gangster, in Francisco, filled a void this young man was desperately seeking to be filled" (75).

On parents and setting boundaries with explanations, "However, you might, for example, step in and say you don't want them listening to certain music, reading certain books, or watching certain TV programs. These are still areas where adults can make a good case for intervention (better you than the government). Young people may not like it, but you have to be ready to thoroughly defend your decision. Arbitrary and unilateral decision making is not a good way to teach young people how to think and decide things for themselves" (79).

"This is where prevention has its role: From infancy to adulthood, we need to teach, not threaten; to respond with measures that are instructive and revelatory, not punitive and repressive. When people are older and presumably know better, and punitive measures are utilized instead of instructive ones, we still need to remember that learning is a lifelong endeavor. you can't ever say that someone is done learning" (82).

Violet in Private

I have been seeing reviews of Violet in Private all over book-lover blogs. I was excited to see an opportunity to win the book on Hope's Bookshelf (even a signed copy).

The author, Melissa Walker, is having a release month party on her blog where she is giving away a book she has read and loved every day. The grand prize is going to be signed copies of the Violet trio.

Book Vault Birthday Riddles

I found out about a really fun give-away by Book Vault on Pop Culture Junkie's blog. It is Dominique's birthday this month, so every day from August 1st until August 28th there will be a riddle on various blogs. Each riddle you can solve earns you a chance to win one of these books:

- A signed copy of The Debs
- A signed copy of Kandide and the Secret of the Mists (and a book mark and poster featuring Kandide)
- A signed copy of Severed Ties
- 2 signed copies of The Elite

Click on the book vault link for full details about the contest.

Fancy Nancy

Earlier this summer Laurie Halse Anderson had a link on her blog for this Babble article by Rachel Shukert. The premis for her article is this: "There was a time when the shelves of the Young Adult section at the bookstore (or even the library, as the more ancient among you may remember) were filled with stories of smart, urban, and overwhelmingly middle class children doing very normal and often humorous things." She thinks there are too many rich kids taking over Young Adult literature. While there is definately a niche for these types of characters in the genre, that is not an accurate full picture.

Regardless, I do not agree with all the books she is against or that she characterizes as the "rich kids". One of the books that Shukert mentions in her article is Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor. This is what she had to say, "While there are still plenty of cute picture books about loveable penguins on the shelves of the Barnes & Noble Jr. section, there's also the phenomenon of Fancy Nancy, a series of picture books by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser, now approaching their hundredth week on the New York Times Bestseller List. Glamour-obsessed, status-conscious, and achingly posh young Nancy can't understand why her boring family can't share her passion for fashion and all things upper class — she's frustrated at being misunderstood, stranded in a family of (gasp!) normal people without such lofty aspirations, who seem perfectly content to live average lives devoid of privilege or luxury." I had previously read Fancy Nancy, and this did not seem to match my take on her. It had been a while since I read it though and wondered if I just missed this message. However, this weekend I had a chance to revisit the book, and I fell in love with it all over again.

I enjoy reading the book to my daughter and see Nancy as a typical creative girl with a healthy imagination who enjoys playing dress-up. After seeing advertisements on a store bulletin board, Nancy thinks of posting her own announcement on the fridge at home so that her family can learn to be fancy. What's not to like about a girl being creative and modeling the use of writing for a real purpose that ends up producing the results she was hoping for? I love that her parents come to take her "class" and let her give them a fancy make-over to go out to dinner. Most of all, I love Nancy because she absolutely loves words. In order to sound fancy, she searches for just the right word, such as fuchsia for purple, stupendous for great, chauffeur for driver. Her mom encourages this by saying parfait is a fancy word for ice cream sundaes. Isn't this the exact fascination of word play that we would love all of our students/children to possess? Fancy Nancy is who she is largely based on her parents' support and influence for her to discover and explore. They are helping instill an inquisitive lifestyle for Nancy and her younger sister from a young age.

While Shukert later says the author redeems the books because of the family values embedded in the books (which I also noticed), I do not agree with her evaluation of Nancy. I am proud to share any girl character who represents a love for literacy and creativity with my own kids!