Speak

Bibliography

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. Speak. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0374371524.

Brief plot summary

Melinda is a friendless outcast at Merryweather High School. She broke up an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, and now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. It is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party.

Critical analysis

For anyone who has ever felt the depths of teenage vulnerability, the raw, naked sense of exposure that seems to be so much a part of adolescence for so many of us, Melinda’s character will resonate deeply and immediately. While she may be sharper, and more biting and witty in her scathing observations of father, mother, former friends, and the idiotic realities of public education, she is at the very least the heroine we all wish we could be in the face of such tragic victimization.

Anderson’s debut novel cuts like a razor in its dissection of a dysfunctional family where father and mother are even more self-absorbed than their daughter. The unsung hero of the novel is (almost amazingly) an art teacher who doesn’t go out of his way to mentor his students, but who by his standard classroom practice manages to create the climate where Melinda is able to work out her grief through her year’s project, learning to depict a tree. Especially effective for me is the germinal, womb-like janitor’s closet where Melinda hides out. Anderson uses this as the novel’s central symbol, reflected in the seemingly dead tree outside Melinda’s bedroom window. Like the tree, Melinda is eventually brought back to life.

She finds her voice, convincingly at the novel’s climax, which is both harrowing and plausible. With it she is able to renegotiate her relationships with her parents, her friends, and the boy who victimized her and comes to a new understanding of her own power and dignity.

Review excerpts

"An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, Speak will hold readers from first word to last." – Horn Book, Starred Review
"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." – Booklist

"A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as today's headlines…. 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." – Kirkus Reviews
"Anderson expresses the emotions and the struggles of teenagers perfectly. Melinda's pain is palpable, and readers will totally empathize with her. This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story." – School Library Journal
"In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. . . . Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers’ empathy. . . . But the book’s overall gritty realism and Melinda’s hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired." – Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"A story told with acute insight, acid wit, and affecting prose." – Library Journal

Awards / Best Books

Michael L. Printz Honor Book, 2000

National Book Award Finalist, 2000

Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist, 2000

Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year, 1999

Booklist Editors’ Choice, 1999

Bulletin Blue Ribbons, 1999 (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)

School Library Journal Best Books, 1999

Horn Book Fanfare, 1999

New York Times Bestseller

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2000

YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2000

Young Adults’ Choices, 2001 (International Reading Association)

Classroom Connections

Listen to Laurie Halse Anderson read her poem “Listen” and then respond to the poem and make connections. What might you want to say to Ms. Anderson about your reaction to Speak and how it has affected you personally?

Watch the film version of Speak and debate which is better, the movie or the book?

Pair the reading of Speak with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlet Letter.  Students compare and contrast the two novels through a variety of activities. An excellent guide is available at http://madwomanintheforest.com/teachers/deceit-despair-and-dejection/.

Pair the reading of Speak with Maya Angelou’s I know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Look for commonalities and connections between Melinda Sordino and Maya Angelou.

Pair Speak with one of the following poems: “Elephant in the Room” (author unknown) and “I’m Nobody” (Emily Dickinson). Find connections between these poems and Speak.

View the scene where Susanna is forced to see the psychiatrist by her parents in the movie Girl, Interrupted. Students identify things that this scene has in common with Speak.

Have students organize a Clothesline Project in their school or community to address the issue of violence against women. The Clothesline Project is a visual display of shirts with graphic messages and illustrations that have been designed by women survivors of violence or by someone who loves a woman who has been killed. The purpose of the Project is to increase awareness of the impact of violence against women, to celebrate a woman's strength to survive and to provide another avenue for her to courageously break the silence that often surrounds her experience.

Read Alikes:

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Brutal by Michael B. Harmon

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

You Don’t Know Me by David Klass

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Beautiful by Amy Lynn Reed

What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones

What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Bibliography

Lin, Grace. 2009. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0316114271.

Brief plot summary

Minli is raised in poverty at the base of Fruitless Mountain. After her mother scolds her for spending what little money they had on a goldfish, Minli is inspired by the folktales her father has told her to set off alone to find the Old Man of the Moon with the hopes that he will tell her how to bring prosperity and happiness to her family and village. Along the way she encounters an assortment of characters and magical creatures, including a dragon that accompanies her on her quest to learn the secret to happiness.

Critical analysis

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon begins with a happy, but poor, Minli content growing up at home. She is fascinated by the folktales that her father Ba tells her. After spending most of the family's money to buy a goldfish, she soon begins to understand her mother's disgruntlement with the family's lack of means and food. Minli decides to set off on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon, a character she heard about in Ba's tales. Because of the tales she is certain that the Old Man of the Moon will be able to help her family find wealth and happiness. This is the beginning of Minli's adventure into a lush, mythical world that includes dragons, talking goldfish, an evil tiger, kings, trickery, riddles, and plenty of magic.

This fast-paced, timeless story of greed, gratitude, faith and friendship is highly accessible. Minli's adventures are interwoven with stories drawn from Chinese folk and fairy tales. These tales not only strengthen and advance the plot, but they also add to characterizations and the setting. Typeface changes are used to differentiate between Minli's story and the folktales. The story stays partially rooted in reality as chapters cut to Minli's worried parents who are desperately waiting back home for Minli's safe return. Throughout these chapters we watch as Minli's parents grow and find the secret to happiness.

The book design is striking and includes artwork by the author. A list of books about the Chinese folktales and fairy tales that inspired the story is provided. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is often compared to The Wizard of Oz. As a devotee of Baum’s Oz books, I agree that there are some similarities: Minli like Dorothy goes on a quest and picks up friends who both help and need to be helped. But I don’t think Linn had Oz in mind when she wrote this book—the similarities are simply coincidental in her original and compelling work.

Review excerpts

"Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of greed and the joy of gratitude." – Booklist, Starred Review

"With her ‘lively and impulsive spirit,’ Minli emerges a stalwart female role model who learns the importance of family, friendship and faith during her amazing journey." – Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"The author's writing is elegant, and her full-color illustrations are stunning. Minli's determination to help her family, as well as the grief her parents feel at her absence, is compelling and thoroughly human." – School Library Journal, Starred Review
"Readers will love this extraordinary tale with its fanciful characters, colorful illustrations, and the hopes and dreams of a determined and courageous young girl." – Library Media Connection, Highly Recommended

"Gorgeous book design augments this fast-paced fantasy…" – Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices (CCBC)

Awards / Best Books

Cybil Award Finalist, 2009

Indies Choice Book Award Honor Book, 2010

John Newbery Medal Honor Book, 2010

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature Winner, 2010

ALSC Notable Children’s Books, 2010

Booklist Top 10 SF/Fantasy for Youth, 2009

Choices, 2010

Teachers’ Choices, 2010; International Reading Association

Classroom Connections

Students write their own original fantasy story based on a folk/fairy tale from another culture.

Students work in groups to create a board game based on the book. An example created by an 11 year old can be seen here: http://www.gracelin.com/content.php?page=wherethemountainmeetsthemoon&display=activities

Students research and identify examples of dragons that are found in literature and depicted in artwork from other cultures. They then create their own dragons and identify how their dragon is similar/different from the dragons they researched.

Read-Alikes:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

City of Embers by Jeanne DuPrau

Treasury of Chinese Folktales: Beloved Myths and Legends from the Middle Kingdom by Shelley Fu

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 

Tale of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

Dumpling Days (Pacy Series) by Grace Lin

The Year of the Dog (Pacy Series) by Grace Lin

The Year of the Rat (Pacy Series) by Grace Lin

The Five Ancestors series by Jeff Stone

The Dragon Keepers series by Carole Wilkinson

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

The Arrival

Bibliography

Tan, Shaun. 2007. The Arrival. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. ISBN 978-0439895293.

Brief plot summary

A small, poor family in an oppressive country decides they must immigrate to a new land. The father must set out alone to find work and create a place for his wife and child so that he can send for them to join him in the new land.

Critical analysis

In this unprecedented graphic novel, both wordless and filmic, the strangeness of leaving one’s home and going to an alien country is evoked in a vision that owes as much to sepia-tinted silent film as it does to such fantasy masterworks as David Lindsey’s Voyage to Arcturus and its imitators in C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy and Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.

Once “read” it is remembered by the mind’s eye as a silent film, but experienced in the heart with a depth of strangeness and otherness that only the most original works of art and poetry and music offer up. I don’t think that it is entirely unintentional that the creatures and cityscapes remind one of Hieronymus Bosch and the German expressionists as strange as this juxtaposition might seem.

While The Arrival is often scary, it never becomes terrifying. There are new friends to be made in this strange, new land where the architecture, the machinery, and the plants and animals are all only just recognizable in their shape and function, and their size seems to be portrayed according to their emotional impact on the father. This could easily become a terrifying descent of nightmare proportions; however, the deep humanity the protagonist finds at critical junctures and in humorous situations always rescues the reader if sometimes at the last moment.

A great deal of soft humor and deep empathy emerges in this immigrant’s relationships with his house-pet, landlady, and new friends as he learns to navigate this unfamiliar world. At the right time and in the right way he is at last able to send for his wife and child in the deeply satisfying conclusion. I can’t get this book out of my mind. It is the greatest artistic expression of the immigrant experience that has ever come my way.

Review excerpts

"Considering the terror that fuels debates about immigration throughout the western world, Tan's message is pointed and utterly relevant, not just to teens struggling with their own feelings of alienation, but to all humankind. It is an absolutely marvelous book." – VOYA
"… the story's immediacy and fantasy elements will appeal even to readers younger than the target audience, though they may miss many of the complexities. Filled with subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." – Booklist, Starred Review

"An astonishing wordless graphic novel blends historical imagery with science-fiction elements to depict—brilliantly—the journey of an immigrant man from his terror-beset land of origin to a new, more peaceful home." – Kirkus Reviews

"…Tan has created a powerful yet wholly accessible visual metaphor that conveys the complete sense of displacement and confusion that is part of the immigrant experience." – Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices

"Tan captures the displacement and awe with which immigrants respond to their new surroundings in this wordless graphic novel." – School Library Journal, Starred Review

"The artwork is ornate with detail. Tan has created a whimsical, fantastical world that will be so foreign to the reader that they will understand what the man is experiencing. Wordless graphic novels can be a hard sell sometimes, but Tan has successfully told this elaborate story." – Library Media Connection

Awards / Best Books

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, 2008

Cybil Award Finalist, 2007

New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year, 2007

Parents’ Choice Award Gold, 2007

ALSC Notable Children’s Books, 2008

Amazon Editors’ Top 10 Books, 2007

Booklist Editors’ Choice, 2007

Bulletin Blue Ribbons, 2007 (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)

Choices, 2008 (Cooperative Children’s Book Center)

Horn Book Fanfare, 2007

Kirkus Best Young Adult Books, 2007

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books, 2007

School Library Journal Best Books, 2007

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008

YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2008

Classroom Connections

Dorothy Gish’s 1916 short feature Gretchen the Greenhorn will give students the sepia feeling of early 20^th century European immigrants coming to America.

Paintings by Hieronymus Bosch will give students some context for the frightening sense of shape and form the father encounters in the new world.

A Wrinkle in Time will give imaginative young readers a taste of otherworldly narrative.

Include The Arrival as part of a unit on immigration. Students can search for key facts in the history of immigration to the United States.  Include information about reasons for migration, statistics, and trends. As a culminating activity students can write a letter to a friend or relative back home from the point-of-view of an immigrant at the turn of the century. In your letter describe your journey over to America, your arrival at Ellis Island, and how you are adapting to life in your new country.

Students view some of the images that inspired Shaun Tan in his illustrations. Some examples include:

1.   Coming South, 1886, Tom Roberts

2.   Over Land by Rail by Gustave Dore, 1870

3.   Photographs of Ellis Island, New York, 1892–1954

4.   1912 photography of a newsboy announcing the sinking of Titanic

Locate the illustrations where Tan has referenced these images, and compare them with the original images. Look for similarities and differences in the images, the effect of visual referencing, why those particular images may have been used.

Read Alikes:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
The Red Tree by Shaun Tan
Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

Lost and Found, Three by Shaun Tan

Habibi by Craig Thompson

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

 

Chains

Bibliography

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2008. Chains. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-1416905851.

Brief plot summary

Set during the American Revolution, Chains tells the story of thirteen-year-old Isabel and her sister Ruth, young slaves who expect to be freed when their owner, Miss Finch dies. Instead, they are sold to a cruel New York City couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lockton, who are British Loyalists. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners. Although reluctant at first, Isabel realizes that her loyalty is available to whoever can provide her with the promise of freedom.

Critical analysis

Written from the first-person point of view, Chains is a gripping historical thriller that tells the parallel stories of Isabel’s fight to gain her personal freedom and a young nation’s fight for freedom from the tyranny of England. The characters are skillfully drawn and Isabel’s emotional story is thought provoking. Slave masters are accurately depicted and Isabel gives insight into the experiences, feelings and opinions of slaves.

Anderson’s love for research is apparent throughout the book. Readers will feel as if they have been transported to 1776 through the detailed descriptions and rich imagery. The themes of power, freedom and the sources of human strength keep this engrossing story moving ahead at full speed from the first page through the last words. The epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter are well chosen and add to the authenticity of the story.

An appendix addresses many questions about history that readers will appreciate. This is the first book in a trilogy. The sequel, Forge, is already available and the final book Ashes is expected in Fall 2012.

Review excerpts

“Anderson explores elemental themes of power, freedom, and the sources of human strength in this searing, fascinating story.” – Booklist, Starred Review

“Readers will care deeply about Isabel….” – Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“The characters are well developed, and the situations are realistic. An author's note gives insight into issues surrounding the Revolutionary War and the fight for the nation's freedom even though 20 percent of its people were in chains. Well researched and affecting in its presentation, the story offers readers a fresh look at the conflict and struggle of a developing nation.” – School Library Journal

“Anderson (Speak; Fever 1793) packs so much detail into her evocation of wartime New York City that readers will see the turmoil and confusion of the times, and her solidly researched exploration of British and Patriot treatment of slaves during a war for freedom is nuanced and evenhanded, presented in service of a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.” – Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Anderson's novel is remarkable for its strong sense of time and place and for its nuanced portrait of slavery and of New York City during the Revolutionary War.” – Horn Book

“Engrossing . . . a heart-racing story.” – Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Chains offers a perfect springboard for classroom discussion and history lessons. But don't dismiss it as academic fodder. Battle scenes and politics, heroic acts and secret plots fill its pages, making it as exciting for readers who prefer action (as do many boys) as it is inspiring for those more drawn to stories about people and relationships (as girls often are).” – Christian Science Monitor

Awards / Best Books

Cybil Award Winner, 2009

National Book Award Finalist, 2008

Parents’ Choice Award Gold, 2008

School Library Journal Battle of the Kids Books Nominee, 2009

Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction Winner, 2009

School Library Journal Battle of the Kids’ Books Nominee, 2010

ALSC Notable Children’s Books, 2009

Amazon Editors’ Picks: Top 10 Books, 2008

Booklist Best Books for Young Adults, 2009

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books, 2008

School Library Journal Best Books, 2009

Teachers’ Choices, 2009

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2009

Classroom Connections

 Schedule a Skype visit with Laurie Halse Anderson. The current fee is $300 for a 45-60 minute long session with Ms. Anderson. Students can hear the author talk about the book and ask her questions. Visit http://madwomanintheforest.com/teachers/skype/ for more information.

Students view “Liberty in the Air” episode of Slavery and the Making of America (PBS).  Students will examine the life of Titus, a runaway slave from New Jersey who led a band of guerilla soldiers for the British, and explore why and how African Americans fought during the Revolution. Students will then have the opportunity to visit online interactive resources. As a culminating activity, students creatively write journal entries from a variety of historical perspectives, including slave, runaway slave, slave owner, and British soldier. Full lesson plan can be found at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/teachers/lesson1.html.

Students view “Liberty in the Air” episode of Slavery and the Making of America (PBS).  Students will examine Thomas Jefferson’s complex and contradictory relationship with slavery. Through an examination of a variety of online primary source documents, students will examine his attitude toward slavery and how he addresses it in the Declaration of Independence. Students will rewrite portions of the Declaration of Independence to more accurately reflect Jefferson’s views and the views of contemporary American society. Full lesson plan can be found at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/teachers/lesson2.html.

Research and learn more about Colonial-era slavery or the American Revolution in New York City.

Other related books:

• Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson – ISBN 978-1416961444
• Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson – ISBN 978-0689848919
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson – ISBN 978-0763636791
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson – ISBN 978-0763646264
• Eyewitness: American Revolution by Stuart Murray – ISBN 978-0756610593
• George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer – ISBN 978-1426300424
• George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War by Thomas B. Allen – ISBN 978-1426300417

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Bibliography

Kelly, Jacqueline. 2009. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 978-0805088410.

Brief plot summary

Calpurnia Virginia Tate (Callie Vee) is an inquisitive eleven-year-old growing up in a small Texas town in 1899. She is the only girl in a family of seven children. Her mother is trying to prepare her for her life as a wife and mother by ensuring that she learns the domestic arts—knitting, tatting, cooking and playing the piano; however, Callie is more interested in exploring the natural world around her. During the closing months of 1899 Callie forms a deep relationship with her Granddaddy, who kindles her interest in natural science and encourages her to use the scientific method in her quest for answers about the natural world.

Critical analysis

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is that rarest of books that draws in readers who would not ordinarily turn to science. It makes a romance of the most mundane of scientific tasks as it embraces an early 20^th century Texas girl’s coming of age and the struggle to find one’s identity in a society with strict gender expectations.

Callie’s story of self-discovery is told through lively first-person narrative that includes sly humor and rich details that breathe life into the well-defined characters and settings. The culture and social life of the early 20th century is accurately depicted in Calpurnia’s family and the community. Fact and fiction are well balanced as historical details are carefully woven into the story, adding to its authenticity. Each chapter begins with an epigraph taken from Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. These chapter headings not only provide a hint about what is occurring in Calpurnia’s life, but also provide the reader with a direct connection with Calpurnia, who is reading The Origin of Species.

The book’s themes of science, family life, and working toward a future dream should resonate with its audience. The story ends with a new century dawning and the reader is left rooting for Callie Vee to challenge traditional roles and expectations for the women of her times and to realize her dream of becoming a scientist.

Review excerpts

“Kelly, without anachronism, has created a memorable, warm, spirited young woman who’s refreshingly ahead of her time.” – Horn Book, Starred Review
“Interwoven with the scientific theme are threads of daily life in a large family—the bonds with siblings, the conversations overheard, the unspoken understandings and misunderstandings—all told with wry humor and a sharp eye for details that bring the characters and the setting to life. The eye-catching jacket art, which silhouettes Callie and images from nature against a yellow background, is true to the period and the story. Many readers will hope for a sequel to this engaging, satisfying first novel.” – Booklist, Starred Review

“Readers will finish this witty, deftly crafted debut novel rooting for "Callie Vee" and wishing they knew what kind of adult she would become.” – Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“A charming and inventive story of a child struggling to find her identity at the turn of the 20th century… there’s no uncertainty over the achievement of Kelly’s debut novel.” – School Library Journal, Starred Review
“Callie’s transformation into an adult and her unexpected bravery make for an exciting and enjoyable read. Kelly’s rich images and setting, believable relationships and a touch of magic take this story far.” – Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Each chapter of this winning…novel opens with a quotation from ‘On the Origin of Species’—a forbidden book that her own grandfather turns out to have hidden away.  Together they study Darwin’s masterpiece, leading to a revolution in Callie’s ideas of what she might accomplish on her own.” – The New York Times Book Review

Awards / Best Books

Indies Choice Book Award Honor Book, 2010

John Newberry Medal Honor Book, 2010

School Library Journal Battle of the Kids’ Books Nominee, 2010

ALSC Notable Children’s Books, 2009

Amazon Editors’ Picks: Top 10 Books, 2009

Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth, 2010

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books, 2009

School Library Journal Best Books, 2009

Teachers’ Choices, 2010

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2010

Classroom Connections

Each chapter begins with an epigraph from Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. Students take any given chapter and connect the significance of the epigraph to the theme of that chapter.

Calpurnia is fascinated with Charles Darwin and his book The Origin of Species. Students can research Charles Darwin’s life and the book that made him famous. What was his basic premise? How does it link to Callie’s observations about the green and yellow grasshoppers?

Callie longs to be a scientist. Have a discussion about how unusual this was for a girl growing up at that time. Students can research and write about the social or cultural obstacles Calpurnia might face in pursuing this goal and the possibility that she will be able achieve her goal?

Compare this book with Albert Marrin’s book Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy, another book that deals with women’s rights at the turn of the century.

Other related books:

• Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman – ISBN 978-0805087215
• Charles Darwin: Naturalist by Margaret J. Anderson – ISBN 978-0766027947
• DK Biography: Charles Darwin by David C. King – ISBN 978-0756625542
• Lifelines: Charles Darwin by Alan Gibbons – ISBN 978-0753462515
• Evolution: How We and All Things Came to Be by Daniel Loxton – ISBN 978-1554534302
• The True Adventures of Charley Darwin by Carolyn Meyer – ISBN 978-0152061944
• Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial by Ronald Kidd – ISBN 1416905723
• Who Was Charles Darwin? by Deborah Hopkinson – ISBN 978-0448437644

Lily's Crossing

Bibliography

Giff, Patricia Reilly. 1997. Lily’s Crossing. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0385321426.

Brief plot summary

Lily Mollahan spends the summer of 1944 at her family’s summer beach house in Rockaway, as she has for as long as she can remember; but World War II has changed everything. Her father goes overseas to war and her best friend, Margaret, has moved to a wartime factory town. Left without her best friend, Lily feels alone until she meets Albert, a refugee from Hungary. Over the summer they develop a friendship, sharing adventures and secrets.

Critical analysis

Lily’s Crossing is a moving story set during World II that will give young readers an idea of what it was like to grow up during that time and an understanding of how the war affected people on the home front. As the plot and characters develop the reader will be challenged to think about the meaning of family, dealing with guilt, separation and loss, the consequences of dishonesty, and the rewards of honesty–themes readers will easily identify with through the characters of Lily and Albert.

Giff tells a compelling friendship story that includes believable main characters, well drawn and clearly presented. Poppy is the exception—he seems to lack dimensionality. The narrative gives insight into Lily’s private thoughts that ultimately result in her decisions and actions. We are able to experience Lily’s growth as she moves beyond her self-centered childhood and navigates her way into adolescence. The historical details are accurate and non-intrusive, providing the setting for an appealing, realistic and relevant story.

Review excerpts

"Details...are woven with great effect into a realistic story." – Horn Book, Starred Review
"With wry comedy and intense feeling...Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II...The friendship story is beautifully drawn." – Booklist

“…Nonfiction writing at its best. Essential for WWII collections as well as teaching units on conformity, peer pressure and resistance.” – Kirkus Reviews
“The developing friendship between Lily and Albert, and Albert's plan to swim to Europe to find Ruth, will grab readers' attention and sustain it to book's end. Despite convenient plot twists to reach a happy ending, Giff's well-drawn, believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice.” – School Library Journal
"Exceptional characterizations and a robust story line...this has all the ingredients that best reward readers." – Publishers Weekly

"Brilliantly told." – The New York Times Book Review

Awards / Best Books

Newberry Medal Honor Book, 1998

Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book, 1997

ALSC Notable Children’s Books, 1998

Teachers’ Choices, 1998; International Reading Association

Classroom Connections

Explore the ThinkQuest student project, HomeFront (http://library.thinkquest.org/15511/), about life in the US during World War II. Students can create timelines showing what might have been happening in Lily's life, in the US, and in other parts of the world during each year of the war.

Albert comes from Hungary. Students can research Hungary and how it was involved in World War II.

Students research how and why World War II ended and create a news story about the end of the war.

After finishing the novel listen to an episode of Portia Faces Life (http://www.otrcat.com/portia-faces-life-p-49242.html). Assign groups of students portions of Lily’s Crossing and have them develop an episode of a radio soap opera based on the novel. Each group records their episode adding sound effects and music. They also develop a commercial as part of the episode.

Other related books:

• DK Eyewitness Books: World War II by Simon Adams – ISBN: 978-0756630089
• The Good Fight: How World War II Was Won by Stephen E. Ambrose – ISBN: 978-0689843617
• Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn – ISBN 978-0547076607
• Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff – ISBN: 978-0440238010