The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things- Creative Project

This is my final creative project based on the book The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler, a Michael Prinz Honor for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

The Arrival

Bibliography

Tan, Shaun. (2006). The Arrival. US: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN: 0-439-89529-4.

Summary

This book shares the story of one man's journey of leaving his wife and daughter behind to create a better life. He boards a ship to start in a new land with strange writings and concepts. The story is all in the pictures which Tan beautifully portrays the life of an immigrant starting in a new world and the determination it takes to succeed.

Critical Analysis

The main character is a man who has a wife and daughter. At the beginning of the book, readers will feel the hurt the family is faced with when the man is packing to leave. The storyboard-type pictures takes the story frame-by-frame to connect readers with the emotions of the story. From the goodbye hug to the wife wiping her tears to the letting go of hands, Tan does a wonderful job with drawing the readers into the story and leaves the readers wanting to know what happens to the man.

Many readers these days, young and older, can connect with the man throughout the story as he is an immigrant, trying to make it in a foreign land. All things seem strange yet exciting at the same time: the language (written and verbal), the scenery, customs and traditions, and the people itself. Tan uses great detail in telling this story without using any words. Each picture perfectly complements the previous.

The journey the man takes has its disappointments but also progresses through the book. He makes friends, finds jobs, and starts to assimilate into the new culture while trying not to compromise himself and forget his family. The reader is left wanting the man to succeed in what he needs to do to return to his family.

The pictures are of vivid detail about seeing the new world through the eyes of an immigrant. Things seem strange and just so foreign in the beginning. Nothing seems to make sense and just makes life more confusing. But as the man learns about his new world, things begin to seem "normal". The man, as well as the reader, begins to have hope that he will succeed.

Review Excerpts

Australian Children's Book of the Year Awards Winner 2007
West Australian Premier's Australia Asia Literary Award Winner 2006
American Library Association Notable Books for Children Award Winner 2008
Book Sense Book of the Year Award Nominee 2008
Hugo Awards Nominee 2008
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books Award Winner 2007
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year Winner 2007
Virginia Reader's Choice Awards Nominee 2008
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Winner 2008
Locus Awards Winner 2008
Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee 2010

School Library Journal- Young readers will be fascinated by the strange new world the artist creates, complete with floating elevators and unusual creatures, but may not realize the depth of meaning or understand what the man's journey symbolizes. More sophisticated readers, however, will grasp the sense of strangeness and find themselves participating in the man's experiences.

Booklist- Filled with subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form.

Voice of Youth Advocates- The crafting is perfect, as panel sequences communicate action wordlessly, using, for example, a long series of cloudscapes to explain the tedious passage of time. But this cunning, careful artwork does not preclude the persistent throb of human warmth.

Publisher's Weekly- With this haunting, wordless sequence about a lonely emigrant in a bewildering city, Tan (The Lost Thing) finds in the graphic novel format an ideal outlet for his sublime imagination.

Connections

• Hold discussions about any connections made to this book such as personal experiences or family members who have experienced moving to foreign places.
• Have students conduct interviews of immigrants to learn about their feelings of the transition into a new culture.

When You Reach Me

Bibliography

Stead, Rebecca. 2009. When You Reach Me. US: Random House Children's Books. ISBN: 0-385-73742-4.


Summary

Miranda's life seemed uncomplicated: school was the usual and her and her best friend, Sal, were inseparable. But then strange events start to occur such as the spare key to her apartment disappears, Sal quits talking to her, and random letters start to appear. Other events start to occur but eventually all play a part in the story that starts to unfold. Then she realizes that all of the clues connect and she realized a life is dependent on her solving the clues.


Critical Analysis

The main character of Miranda is a sixth grader who encounters strange events while trying to figure out why her best friend, Sal, no longer talks to her. Letters keep appearing, Miranda becomes friends with Marcus who punched Sal in the stomach for no apparent reason, and the laughing man starts to exhibit strange behaviors. As the letters keep coming, Miranda is not sure what to do. She is afraid of the unknown but slowly starts to piece the pieces together and realizes that someone she cares about may be in trouble. The suspense that Stead builds keeps the reader guessing what the big mystery of the book is. I did not want to put the book down; I needed to know how all of the events and mysterious activities came together at the end. And as things started to make sense, I wanted to re-read certain parts to make the connections clearer.

There were a few themes that reoccurred throughout the book: having independence, friendships and second chances, and time travel. Having the independence of walking home alone are challenged with the laughing man hanging out in front of Miranda's apartment are tested. Now, she is forced to make new friends. This can be a difficult process that readers roughly around the same age can relate to when having to start over with new friends. Some of the dialogue created between Miranda and Marcus leave the reader wanting more, to find out what happens to Miranda and the other characters as well as finding out the role of the notes.

Review Excerpts

Newbery Medal Award Winner 2010
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books Award Winner 2009
Book Sense Book of the Year Award Winner 2010
IRA Children's Book Awards Award Winner 2010
Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Book Award Nominee 2010
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Winner 2010
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Nominee 2010
Volunteer State Book Award Nominee 2011

School Library Journal- "The climax is full of drama and suspense. This story about the intricacies of friendship will be a hit with students."

Publisher's Weekly- "Eventually and improbably, these strands converge to form a thought-provoking whole. Stead (First Light) accomplishes this by making every detail count, including Miranda's name, her hobby of knot tying and her favorite book, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. It's easy to imagine readers studying Miranda's story as many times as she's read L'Engle's, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it raises."
Connections

• Tie the connections between this book as well as other books containing the same sujects. Compare and contrast the books; create a booktalk or open discussion.

Speak

Bibliography
Anderson, Laurie Halse. (1999). Speak. US: Penguin Group (Puffin) Inc. ISBN: 0-14-240732-1.

Summary

After a tragic event at a summer party, Melinda Sordino becomes an outcast among her friends and the whole school for calling the cops. She begins high school with no friends and practically mute while carrying the burden of the party's events on her heart. This compelling novel addresses a touchy subject faced by many in today's society.

Critical Analysis

Melinda Sordino was a typical teenager starting high school when the unthinkable happens while at a party with friends: she is raped by a fellow student. After the tragic event, Melinda tries to call for help but instead is blamed for breaking up the party and becomes an outcast. She enters high school with no friends and a bad label. Throughout the book, she hardly says a word, you just hear her thoughts. And its in these thoughts that a reader begins to feel her pain and connect with her on some level. Melinda slowly begins to open up again after closing herself off from others. When she begins to find her voice again, she is met with some resistance before being heard. There are other characters that affect her transition into "normalcy' within high school.

 You begin to feel her hurt and pain from not being able to open up about what happened along with trying to find her identity. " I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with. I am Outcast." All you want is for Melinda to be able to speak to someone about what happened and for others to know the truth instead of judging her. This book has a way of teaching the readers that events such as rape should not be kept quiet, that holding it in will only lead to more pain.

The setting of the book mainly takes place in Melinda's high school, with some at her home and reflections of the night when her world was turned upside down. Readers can connect with Melinda when everyone entering high school is trying to find their place of belonging and their purpose in it all. The tone of the book takes on a serious mood where Melinda is struggling with the pain of the rape and all the while, trying to be normal and find her place in school.

Review Excerpts

Michael L. Prinze Honor Book
A National Book Award Finalist
Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist
LA Times Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award
New York Times Best Seller
ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Quick Pick
Publishers' Weekly Best Book of the Year
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Horn Book  Fanfare Title

SCASL Book Award (South Carolina) Award Nominee 2002
Sequoyah Book Award Award Winner 2002
Volunteer State Book Award Award Winner 2002
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Award Nominee 2002
Evergreen Young Adult Book Award Award Winner2002
Garden State Teen Book Award Award Winner 2002
Iowa Teen Award Award Nominee 2002
California Young Reader Medal Award Nominee 2003
Nevada Young Reader's Award Award Nominee 2003
Virginia Reader's Choice Awards Award Nominee 2002
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Award Nominee 2003
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards Award Winner 2000
Carolyn W. Field Award (Pennsylvania Library Association) Award Winner 2000
Grand Canyon Reader Award Award Nominee 2004
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Award Nominee 2004

School Library Journal- "This compelling novel presents a realistic portrayal of life in a contemporary high school. "

Kirkus Review- "The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn, but it is its raw and unvarnished look at the dynamics of the high school experience that makes this a novel that will be hard for readers to forget."

Booklist- "In her YA fiction debut, Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers."

Connection

• Create an open discussion about the book, its contents, and feelings that were stirred while reading this book. Let the students know that it can be a touchy subject but it is important to discuss.