It's the day after Memorial Day--June 1, 2010--and the unofficial start of summer.
Do you have a pile of books stockpiled for your summer reading?
I'm making my way through Gail Collins' When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. The book is a little over 400 pages long, but reads quickly because it's broken out into short topical sections. Since I was born in 1961, this book documents the society and its changes that have helped to shape me and my life. In some ways, it's like a walk down the pop culture memory lane as I remember commercials mentioned in the book. Since this book was borrowed from a co-worker, I need to finish it and return it--before the summer is over!
I also have a collection of fiction sitting there, waiting for me to dig in. These include but are not limited to Julie Powell's Julie & Julia (saw the movie and LOVED Meryl Streep's performance as Julie Child) and Lisa See's Peony in Love. I listened to See's Shanghai Girls as an audio book and was captivated by her writing and descriptions of the lives of two Chinese sisters in Shanghai and the United States between 1937 and 1957.
If you are looking for a light romance to breeze through, pick up anything by Kaye Dacus, a classmate from Seton Hill University's writing popular fiction program. Dacus is a Christian writer with a light touch and a sense of humor. She has three series out, including the Brides of Bonneterre series, Ransom's Triology, and Matchmaker. You can see what Dacus would like to read this summer at http://kayedacus.com.
Remember, there is more daylight during the summer, so make sure to make time to read!
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Monday, July 02, 2007
July 11, 2007
Book Signing & Author Visit with Emilie Richards
Author of the Shenandoah Quilt Series, Emilie Richards will visit Kate & Becca's Quilt Patch, Etc., on Wednesday, July 11, at 2 p.m.
Copies of her latest release will not be available for sale, so stop by your local bookstore and pick up a copy before you stop by.
Quilt Patch, Etc., will have copies of the quilt instruction books that accompany her series available for sale.
Author of the Shenandoah Quilt Series, Emilie Richards will visit Kate & Becca's Quilt Patch, Etc., on Wednesday, July 11, at 2 p.m.
Copies of her latest release will not be available for sale, so stop by your local bookstore and pick up a copy before you stop by.
Quilt Patch, Etc., will have copies of the quilt instruction books that accompany her series available for sale.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Lois Lowry's Visit
I checked the Prime Stage web site today and the May 6 performance of The Giver is sold out. Tickets are available for other performances, though.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Authors Plan Spring Visits to Pittsburgh
I just learned that two authors will be visiting Pittsburgh this spring.
Jennifer Chiaverini, author of the popular Elm Creek Quilters series, will be promoting her newest release, Circle of Quilters, at the Joseph Beth Booksellers. The event will begin at 7 p.m. on March 28. Joseph Beth Booksellers is located at 2705 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203.
Prime Stage Theater (937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh) will present the dramatic adaptation of Lois Lowry's Newberry Award winning book, The Giver. Performances will be offered the weekend of April 29-30, May 5-7, May 12-14. Lowry is scheduled to attend the Saturday, May 6, performance and the reception following. Don't wait to purchase tickets as the theater is small (75 seats). Individual adult tickets are only $15. For more information, go to http://www.primestage.com/more_giver.
Jennifer Chiaverini, author of the popular Elm Creek Quilters series, will be promoting her newest release, Circle of Quilters, at the Joseph Beth Booksellers. The event will begin at 7 p.m. on March 28. Joseph Beth Booksellers is located at 2705 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203.
Prime Stage Theater (937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh) will present the dramatic adaptation of Lois Lowry's Newberry Award winning book, The Giver. Performances will be offered the weekend of April 29-30, May 5-7, May 12-14. Lowry is scheduled to attend the Saturday, May 6, performance and the reception following. Don't wait to purchase tickets as the theater is small (75 seats). Individual adult tickets are only $15. For more information, go to http://www.primestage.com/more_giver.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
March 2006: Books Read
4 Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Cows find an old typewriter and begin making demands of Farmer Brown. Fourteen two-page spreads. Subtle humor, as is evidenced in other picture books by Cronin. Illustrations are by Betsy Lewis.
4 Cronin, Doreen. Diary of a Worm. Joanna Cotler Books (Harper Collins), 2003.
Using a diary format, Cronin shows that a young worm--just like a young child--can have good days and bad days. Great illustrations by Harry Bliss (New Yorker cartoonist), good allusion, very creative use of a very simple idea.
4Cronin, Doreen. Giggle, Giggle, Quack. New York: Simon & Schuster (2002).
By changing Farmer Brown's instructions, Duck helps the farm animals have a great time during the farmer's vacation. Simple, yet great, concept. Humor is inherent. Duck's role is inferred--which is kind of neat. Illustrations are by Betsy Lewis.
Cows find an old typewriter and begin making demands of Farmer Brown. Fourteen two-page spreads. Subtle humor, as is evidenced in other picture books by Cronin. Illustrations are by Betsy Lewis.
4 Cronin, Doreen. Diary of a Worm. Joanna Cotler Books (Harper Collins), 2003.
Using a diary format, Cronin shows that a young worm--just like a young child--can have good days and bad days. Great illustrations by Harry Bliss (New Yorker cartoonist), good allusion, very creative use of a very simple idea.
4Cronin, Doreen. Giggle, Giggle, Quack. New York: Simon & Schuster (2002).
By changing Farmer Brown's instructions, Duck helps the farm animals have a great time during the farmer's vacation. Simple, yet great, concept. Humor is inherent. Duck's role is inferred--which is kind of neat. Illustrations are by Betsy Lewis.
4 Otto, Whitney. How To Make An American Quilt. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.
The story of eight women and how their lives intertwine. The story is told by the granddaughter of one of the characters, though she isn't very obvious in the novel. It's my understanding that she is a primary character in the movie of the same name. The structure of the book very much mimics a quilt with each woman's story able to stand alone (vignette), but pieced together with the other stories, it creates a greater, more beautiful pattern. Was difficult to get through early on (slow start, sometimes hard to keep track of the two sisters Hy and Gladie Joe). I had to read it in short spurts for some reason, where other books I am able to stay with for hours on end.
"Women were witness to Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Find some quality silk and cotton in red, white, and blue. Cut white stars in the evening as you sit on your summer porch. Applique the letters that spell out your name, your country, your grief. Stitch across the quilt a flag held in the beak of a dove. Ponder the fact that you could not vote for the man but will defy any male citizen who will not allow you your measure of sorrow at the president's sudden death. Say something in cloth about the Union lasting, preserved. Listen to the men expound their personal satisfaction in the glory of the vote. Listen to them express surprise that you too, would like to vote and be heard. They might say, This is not your concern, and conclude that perhaps you are too idle at home and should consider having another child.
Save your opinions for your quilt. Put your heart and voice into it. Cast your ballot; express your feelings regarding industrialization, emancipation, women's suffrage, your love of family."
How To Make An American Quilt by Whitney Otto
4 Powers, Tina Naughton. The Land of Imagination. Tucson: Imagination Publications, 2005.
Looks to be a self-published book. Picture book format but with more text than an average picture book. Story line: Queen is placed under an evil spell and can only speak in contractions (don't, can't, won't). Maid with a dream to be an actress receives magic dragon dust that eliminates the spell and no longer are there limitations in the land of possibilities. Nice message. Illustrations by Pamela S. Ross.
February 2006: Books Read
8Bond, Nancy. Another Shore. MacMillan Publishing Co., 1988.
Carolyn "Lyn" Paget is a reinactor at an historical park in Nova Scotia. She ends up being transported in back in time to 1744 as the character she is portraying. Shows the style of its time (much exposition). Premise is interesting but the ending surprised me. We never find out what really happened to cause the reality change. Would a coma have made it more believable? Would having her return to the present day make it more satisfying? (Ages 12 and up)
8 Macomber, Debbie. The Shop on Blossom Street. Ontario: Mira Books, 2004.
The lives of four women intertwine as they develop their relationships during a knitting class at A Good Yarn. Good study in POV (each chapter is from a different character's POV), plot development, and conflict. A little predictable, but Macomber does it so well, you're not offended or bored. Great exploration of what it's like to be part of a childless couple. Great character study--four very different women.
Carolyn "Lyn" Paget is a reinactor at an historical park in Nova Scotia. She ends up being transported in back in time to 1744 as the character she is portraying. Shows the style of its time (much exposition). Premise is interesting but the ending surprised me. We never find out what really happened to cause the reality change. Would a coma have made it more believable? Would having her return to the present day make it more satisfying? (Ages 12 and up)
8 Macomber, Debbie. The Shop on Blossom Street. Ontario: Mira Books, 2004.
The lives of four women intertwine as they develop their relationships during a knitting class at A Good Yarn. Good study in POV (each chapter is from a different character's POV), plot development, and conflict. A little predictable, but Macomber does it so well, you're not offended or bored. Great exploration of what it's like to be part of a childless couple. Great character study--four very different women.
January 2006: Books Read
= Faber, Michael. The Crimson Petal and the White. San Diego: Harcourt Books, 2002.
I read this because the author was described as a "21st century Dickens" and the allusion to the French Lieutenant's Woman. A novel described as "Victorian" that is about 1870s England. One woman's ascent from prostitution to governess. At times, seemed a bit long (835 pp). Twenty years of research went into the book. Interesting study in social structure and relationships. Technique: second person intro (you) and ending. Rest of story is third person omnipresent.
= Quick, Amanda. The Paid Companion. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004.
Eleanora Lodge loses her inheritance because of a scheming stepfather, which forces her to become a paid companion to support herself. Arthur Lancaster hires her to serve as his fiancée so that he can investigate his uncle's murder. Love ensues, they solve the murder, and live happily ever after. A good example of a romance with a mystery.
I read this because the author was described as a "21st century Dickens" and the allusion to the French Lieutenant's Woman. A novel described as "Victorian" that is about 1870s England. One woman's ascent from prostitution to governess. At times, seemed a bit long (835 pp). Twenty years of research went into the book. Interesting study in social structure and relationships. Technique: second person intro (you) and ending. Rest of story is third person omnipresent.
= Quick, Amanda. The Paid Companion. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004.
Eleanora Lodge loses her inheritance because of a scheming stepfather, which forces her to become a paid companion to support herself. Arthur Lancaster hires her to serve as his fiancée so that he can investigate his uncle's murder. Love ensues, they solve the murder, and live happily ever after. A good example of a romance with a mystery.
December 2005: Books Read
. Avi. Poppy's Return. New York: Harper Collins Children's Books, 2005.
Poppy, the mouse, travels to Gray House, her family home, to save her family from the bulldozer. She is accompanied by Junior, her son, Mephitis, the skunk, and Ereth, the porcupine. Sibling rivalry (Poppy & Lilly), death of parents (Mephitis), teenage angst and rebellion (Junior and Mephitis), prejudice (against Ereth), and other themes run through the book. Avi uses frequent POV changes to tell the story and the feelings of the animals.
. Sparks, Nicholas. The Notebook. New York: Warner Books, 1996.
A love story that frequently changes POV between the two main characters (Noah and Allie). Simple story of young lovers who separate then refind each other. The twist: Allie develops Alzheimer's. Sparks' skill lies in being able to take a simple story of emotions and keep the reader interested. Negatives: hard to figure out how the prologue and epilogue fit in.
. Sparks, Nicholas. The Rescue. New York: Warner Books, 2000.
I liked this novel better than The Notebook. Not as confusing because it's a straightline in terms of time. Very satisfying in terms of plot and pacing--though I did start getting a little tired of Taylor's inability to communicate.
Poppy, the mouse, travels to Gray House, her family home, to save her family from the bulldozer. She is accompanied by Junior, her son, Mephitis, the skunk, and Ereth, the porcupine. Sibling rivalry (Poppy & Lilly), death of parents (Mephitis), teenage angst and rebellion (Junior and Mephitis), prejudice (against Ereth), and other themes run through the book. Avi uses frequent POV changes to tell the story and the feelings of the animals.
. Sparks, Nicholas. The Notebook. New York: Warner Books, 1996.
A love story that frequently changes POV between the two main characters (Noah and Allie). Simple story of young lovers who separate then refind each other. The twist: Allie develops Alzheimer's. Sparks' skill lies in being able to take a simple story of emotions and keep the reader interested. Negatives: hard to figure out how the prologue and epilogue fit in.
. Sparks, Nicholas. The Rescue. New York: Warner Books, 2000.
I liked this novel better than The Notebook. Not as confusing because it's a straightline in terms of time. Very satisfying in terms of plot and pacing--though I did start getting a little tired of Taylor's inability to communicate.
November 2005: Books Read
g Brown, Dan, The DaVinci Code, New York: Doubleday, 2003
An excellent study in how to build a novel. Plot builds, chapters end with a question that leaves you wanting to read more, author gives away little tips that allow the reader to figure out the riddles with the characters. Almost all of the information is either made up or embellished (i.e. Opus Dei characterization, DaVinci's use of symbols, etc.). Good example of viral marketing, too, because the book's success was built upon word-of-mouth recommendations.
g Charpy, Elizabeth, Roux, Marie-Genevieve, Claude Dinnat, eds. Sister Rosalie Rendu: A Daughterf Charity with a Heart on Fire
A short biography that shows the contributions made by Sister Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity who lived in 19th century Paris. A piece of Sister of Charity history because of the connection to Saint Vincent de Paul.
g Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell-Laurel-Leaf, 1993.
A Newberry Medal winning book that lives up to the honor. A great ending that is open to interpretation, as well as discussion questions and an interview with the author. A great look at how memories "color" our life, precision of language, feelings, animals as pets, and what lies beyond the city walls.
g Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2003.
The winner of six awards, including the Michael L. Printz Honor for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. I liked this book because I liked how Virginia became her own person. The book dealt with serious issues: obesity, pre-marital sex, rape, issues with parents, and rebellion to name a few. Mackler does a good job of introducing issues in such a way that they are not threatening or judgmental. Shows great insight into the teen mindset.
g Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife. San Francisco: MacAdam Cage, 2003.
An interesting approach to a love story. Plot starts out slowly but builds to an emotional, touching ending. Story revolves around Henry, who travels back and forth in time, and his wife Clare, whom he meets when she is a child. Good study in use of alternating POV. I especially enjoyed the part after the daughter was born, because she time travels too.
g Snyder, Maria V. Poison Study. New York: Luna Books, 2005.
Nice fantasy novel written by soon-to-be graduate of the SHU program. Yelena (main character) is spared death by hanging by agreeing to become the food taster for the Commander of Ixia. Strong female characters, nice plot twists, great job of setting up for the next book in the series. I stayed up until 2 in the morning during the week in order to finish this book.
An excellent study in how to build a novel. Plot builds, chapters end with a question that leaves you wanting to read more, author gives away little tips that allow the reader to figure out the riddles with the characters. Almost all of the information is either made up or embellished (i.e. Opus Dei characterization, DaVinci's use of symbols, etc.). Good example of viral marketing, too, because the book's success was built upon word-of-mouth recommendations.
g Charpy, Elizabeth, Roux, Marie-Genevieve, Claude Dinnat, eds. Sister Rosalie Rendu: A Daughterf Charity with a Heart on Fire
A short biography that shows the contributions made by Sister Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity who lived in 19th century Paris. A piece of Sister of Charity history because of the connection to Saint Vincent de Paul.
g Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell-Laurel-Leaf, 1993.
A Newberry Medal winning book that lives up to the honor. A great ending that is open to interpretation, as well as discussion questions and an interview with the author. A great look at how memories "color" our life, precision of language, feelings, animals as pets, and what lies beyond the city walls.
g Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2003.
The winner of six awards, including the Michael L. Printz Honor for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. I liked this book because I liked how Virginia became her own person. The book dealt with serious issues: obesity, pre-marital sex, rape, issues with parents, and rebellion to name a few. Mackler does a good job of introducing issues in such a way that they are not threatening or judgmental. Shows great insight into the teen mindset.
g Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife. San Francisco: MacAdam Cage, 2003.
An interesting approach to a love story. Plot starts out slowly but builds to an emotional, touching ending. Story revolves around Henry, who travels back and forth in time, and his wife Clare, whom he meets when she is a child. Good study in use of alternating POV. I especially enjoyed the part after the daughter was born, because she time travels too.
g Snyder, Maria V. Poison Study. New York: Luna Books, 2005.
Nice fantasy novel written by soon-to-be graduate of the SHU program. Yelena (main character) is spared death by hanging by agreeing to become the food taster for the Commander of Ixia. Strong female characters, nice plot twists, great job of setting up for the next book in the series. I stayed up until 2 in the morning during the week in order to finish this book.
July 2005 - October 2005: Books Read
a Aiken, Joan. Give Yourself a Fright. Delacorte Press, 1989.
Not that good. Plot twists didn't work and some of her characters were downright mean spirited. Best story was the last story for which the book was named. This is a collection of short stories, supposedly in the horror vein. They fall flat--need some help from the master: Stephen King. Plots are relatively unsophisticated.
a Alcock, Vivien. A Kind of Thief.
Family's life is turned upside down when the father is accused of embezzeling money from company. Weak ending; we can only assume that the father was guilty because of the money in the suitcase. It's not clear whether Elinor Forest did the right thing by not telling anyone about the locked suitcase.
a Austen, Jane. Pride & Prejudice.
My favorit book by Austen. I love Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy's romance. Can I create characters as likeable and dislikeable as Austen's? Can I capture everyday life like she did? Romance without sex--is it possible to write that today?
a Avi. Blue Heron. Bradbury Press, 1992.
Well-written book. Dealt with a divorced family, job loss, stepchildren, and the changing of a character. Must read more of this prize-winning author's work. Story is about teen staying the summer with father and stepmom. She develops relationship with a blue heron and tries to protect it from a young boy intent on killing it with a bow and arrow. Her father's crisis (job loss and health problems) are developed skillfully.
a Avi. The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic. Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.
Interesting little book based on a proverb. A green-eyed person is needed to read the "book without words." Thorston uses the "Book Without Words" to extend his life. Brother Wilfred seeks to return the book to where it properly belongs. Sybil and Alfric (green-eyed child) and Odo (raven) are the other primary actors. Sybil will die if Thorston swallows all of the stones which will make him younger. Set in medieval times. Sometimes I felt that the plot could have moved along faster. Also, the extraneous characters (the town barrister and the shop owner) seem to get in the way of the story line, though they did provide some tension to the plot. Introduces alchemy.
a Avi. Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel. Orchard Books, 1991.
Ninth grader causes a major crisis for school district when he hums the Star Spangled Banner during homeroom. Great study in how the media works, how a story can get twisted, interpreted, and expanded upon from its actuality. Interesting format; no prose, just dialogue, documents, and transcripts to tell the story. Great teaching tool; excellent discussion piece. Also shows how communication works and doesn't work.
a Bauer, Marion Dane. Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota. Scholastica Books.
A special edition of the "Dear America" series, a set of books about historical events written in the form of diary entries by a young person living through the event. Started out a bit slow, but an interesting way to present historical information to a young audience. I can also see how this book series would promote journal writing among young people. Main character, Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, who was nicknamed Polly. The story of an English family's move to Minnesota in 1873 by railroad.
a Brown, Rita Mae. Full Cry. Random House, 2003.
Interesting storyline where animals communicate with each other. Story revolves around a group of fox hunters and involves a series of murders. Plot line could have been stronger and mystery could have been introduced earlier. Also--many characters so it was hard to keep track of who was who. I liked learning about the fox hunt, though.
a Chiaverini, Jennifer. The Quilter's Apprentice. Plume, 2000.
Interesting little book that incorporates quilting into the storyline. Sarah and Matt McClure help senior Syliva Compson begin renovating the family estate in exchange for quilting lessons and stories about the Compson family. In order to save the estate, they decide to turn it into a quilter's retreat center. Takes place in central Pennsylvania with many references to familiar names of towns and cities. Part of an on-going series that includes instruction books for making the quilts described in the fiction.
a Denenberg, Barry. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Breman-Perkins School for the Blind. Scholastica.
Part of "Dear America" series that presents historic events through the voice and eyes of a child writing in a diary. This book showcases the Perkins School for the Blind in 1932 and details the experience of Bess Brennan. With the help of her twin sister and a teacher, she continues to record diary entries. Based on actual people and an actual school.
a Deneberg, Barry. Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Bellows. Scholastica.
Part of the "Dear America" series. The Diary of a sixth grader who moves to Hawaii with her family just before the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Nice overlap of characters with events--especially since her father is a journalist. Excellent discussion points for classroom work. Amber Bellows is the diarist. Captures the fear of the country and provides some of the political atmosphere, too.
a Deneberg, Barry. So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl. Scholastica.
Diary of 14-year old Mary Driscoll, an Irish immigrant who fled famine-stricken Ireland for opportunity in America. Great for classroom discussion. Shows the conditions in the United States during the mid-1800s. A glimpse of how the Irish were treated as well as the working conditions that evolved as immigrant labor arrived, desperate for work and for money.
a Evanovich, Janet. Three Plums in One. Scribner, 1994.
Books includes the first three Plum novels written by Evanovich. One for the Money is a well-written crime thriller that verges on but doesn't become a romance. Plot moves along nicely, characters are well-defined, New Jersey humor is great. Main character is Stephanie Plum. Believable Stephanie Plum hooks up with policeman Joe Morelli to solve a murder and get Joe off the hook. Joe is being framed for the murder. Psychopathic boxer and his manager make Stephanie's life hell. Manager Jimmy Alpha is the actual killer, forced to kill because of his involvement with drug running using his boat.
In Two for the Dough (1996), Evanovich does a great job of keeping the reader entertained. She uses wit and action to move the plot along. Stephanie Plum hooks up with Detective Joe Morelli to solve the mystery of gun running, stolen caskets, and murder. Plot points include a funeral home, missing body parts, and a psychopathic killer.
Three to Get Deadly (1994) is particularly funny in spots, especially when Stephanie Plum's senior citizen neighbors all come out with guns. A likeable character and well-developed plot. We learn more about Ranger in this book, plus Stephanie realizes she misses Joe Morelli--and he likes her. Ice cream store, vigilante church minister, and dead drug dealers populate this novel.
a Fowler, Karen Joy. The Jane Austin Book Club. Marian Wood Books, 2004.
I need to read and re-read Jane Austen's work and then re-read this book. I liked the resources provided in the book. Can't say that I was quite as taken with this novel as the reviewers were. Story about a group of women and one man, and their lives as they revolve around the book club meetings and the books being read. I thought that there would be more parallels to Austin's plots.
a Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. Bradbury Press, 1978.
A Caldecott Medal book. A simple story probably based on a Native American legend. Based on today's standards, it's actually unsophisticated in plot. Its award was based on the artwork (colorful, but basic) and the fact that the story offers a layer of diversity to our world of Anglo-Saxon, white, homogenized literature. I'm not sure what the "lesson" was except that it shows the Native American connection to the "horse people."
a Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust: A Novel. Scholastica Press, 1997.
A Newberry Award book. A wonderful little book written in free verse that explores the experiences of a young girl growing up during the 1930s in the Okalahoma Dust Bowl. Great emotional depth, wonderful descriptions of life with the dust (a character in itself), and the magic of music permeate the book. Excellent depiction of family relationships--especially through hard times and through death and recovery. Definitely deserves the Newberry.
a Kidd, Sue Monk. The Mermaid Chair. Penguin Audio, 2005.
Excellent, well-written. Plot includes Catholic rituals and descriptions. Story is set on a fictional barrier island off the coast of South Carolina and centers around a married woman falling in love with a monk. Subplots include why her mother chops off two fingers and her father's death. Kidd changes POV frequently throughout the book. Worth reading again and analyzing.
a Rhodes, Amelia Atwater. Hawksong. Delacorte Press, 2003.
Danica Shardae is an avian shapeshifter (Hawk) who agrees to marry the leader of a rival clan, Zane Cobriana, to stop the war. Good story with nice plot line. Romantic elements in a fantasy setting. Written by a young author.
a Van Allsburg, Chris. The Polar Express. Houghton-Mifflin, 1985.
A book that stands the test of time. A simple story with a lesson--one must believe in order to hear the sleigh bell. Great illustrations. Definitely deserves the Caldecott Medal. I loved the image of the children on the train where the protagonist realizes he has lost the bell. An example of how a good picture book works; how a simple story line done well works. A book to read each Christmas for both young and old.
Not that good. Plot twists didn't work and some of her characters were downright mean spirited. Best story was the last story for which the book was named. This is a collection of short stories, supposedly in the horror vein. They fall flat--need some help from the master: Stephen King. Plots are relatively unsophisticated.
a Alcock, Vivien. A Kind of Thief.
Family's life is turned upside down when the father is accused of embezzeling money from company. Weak ending; we can only assume that the father was guilty because of the money in the suitcase. It's not clear whether Elinor Forest did the right thing by not telling anyone about the locked suitcase.
a Austen, Jane. Pride & Prejudice.
My favorit book by Austen. I love Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy's romance. Can I create characters as likeable and dislikeable as Austen's? Can I capture everyday life like she did? Romance without sex--is it possible to write that today?
a Avi. Blue Heron. Bradbury Press, 1992.
Well-written book. Dealt with a divorced family, job loss, stepchildren, and the changing of a character. Must read more of this prize-winning author's work. Story is about teen staying the summer with father and stepmom. She develops relationship with a blue heron and tries to protect it from a young boy intent on killing it with a bow and arrow. Her father's crisis (job loss and health problems) are developed skillfully.
a Avi. The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic. Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.
Interesting little book based on a proverb. A green-eyed person is needed to read the "book without words." Thorston uses the "Book Without Words" to extend his life. Brother Wilfred seeks to return the book to where it properly belongs. Sybil and Alfric (green-eyed child) and Odo (raven) are the other primary actors. Sybil will die if Thorston swallows all of the stones which will make him younger. Set in medieval times. Sometimes I felt that the plot could have moved along faster. Also, the extraneous characters (the town barrister and the shop owner) seem to get in the way of the story line, though they did provide some tension to the plot. Introduces alchemy.
a Avi. Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel. Orchard Books, 1991.
Ninth grader causes a major crisis for school district when he hums the Star Spangled Banner during homeroom. Great study in how the media works, how a story can get twisted, interpreted, and expanded upon from its actuality. Interesting format; no prose, just dialogue, documents, and transcripts to tell the story. Great teaching tool; excellent discussion piece. Also shows how communication works and doesn't work.
a Avi. Silent Movie. Athenium Books, 2003.
All black-and-white presentation that tells the story of a Swedish family who immigrates to America. They are separated. Mother and son are helped by old friends. Son Gustav is hired to star in silent movies. Father sees son in movie and family is reunited. Strong illustrations carry the story. An interesting picture book idea. Illustrations by C.S. Mordan.
a Bauer, Marion Dane. Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota. Scholastica Books.
A special edition of the "Dear America" series, a set of books about historical events written in the form of diary entries by a young person living through the event. Started out a bit slow, but an interesting way to present historical information to a young audience. I can also see how this book series would promote journal writing among young people. Main character, Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, who was nicknamed Polly. The story of an English family's move to Minnesota in 1873 by railroad.
a Brown, Rita Mae. Full Cry. Random House, 2003.
Interesting storyline where animals communicate with each other. Story revolves around a group of fox hunters and involves a series of murders. Plot line could have been stronger and mystery could have been introduced earlier. Also--many characters so it was hard to keep track of who was who. I liked learning about the fox hunt, though.
a Chiaverini, Jennifer. The Quilter's Apprentice. Plume, 2000.
Interesting little book that incorporates quilting into the storyline. Sarah and Matt McClure help senior Syliva Compson begin renovating the family estate in exchange for quilting lessons and stories about the Compson family. In order to save the estate, they decide to turn it into a quilter's retreat center. Takes place in central Pennsylvania with many references to familiar names of towns and cities. Part of an on-going series that includes instruction books for making the quilts described in the fiction.
a Denenberg, Barry. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Breman-Perkins School for the Blind. Scholastica.
Part of "Dear America" series that presents historic events through the voice and eyes of a child writing in a diary. This book showcases the Perkins School for the Blind in 1932 and details the experience of Bess Brennan. With the help of her twin sister and a teacher, she continues to record diary entries. Based on actual people and an actual school.
a Deneberg, Barry. Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Bellows. Scholastica.
Part of the "Dear America" series. The Diary of a sixth grader who moves to Hawaii with her family just before the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Nice overlap of characters with events--especially since her father is a journalist. Excellent discussion points for classroom work. Amber Bellows is the diarist. Captures the fear of the country and provides some of the political atmosphere, too.
a Deneberg, Barry. So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl. Scholastica.
Diary of 14-year old Mary Driscoll, an Irish immigrant who fled famine-stricken Ireland for opportunity in America. Great for classroom discussion. Shows the conditions in the United States during the mid-1800s. A glimpse of how the Irish were treated as well as the working conditions that evolved as immigrant labor arrived, desperate for work and for money.
a Evanovich, Janet. Three Plums in One. Scribner, 1994.
Books includes the first three Plum novels written by Evanovich. One for the Money is a well-written crime thriller that verges on but doesn't become a romance. Plot moves along nicely, characters are well-defined, New Jersey humor is great. Main character is Stephanie Plum. Believable Stephanie Plum hooks up with policeman Joe Morelli to solve a murder and get Joe off the hook. Joe is being framed for the murder. Psychopathic boxer and his manager make Stephanie's life hell. Manager Jimmy Alpha is the actual killer, forced to kill because of his involvement with drug running using his boat.
In Two for the Dough (1996), Evanovich does a great job of keeping the reader entertained. She uses wit and action to move the plot along. Stephanie Plum hooks up with Detective Joe Morelli to solve the mystery of gun running, stolen caskets, and murder. Plot points include a funeral home, missing body parts, and a psychopathic killer.
Three to Get Deadly (1994) is particularly funny in spots, especially when Stephanie Plum's senior citizen neighbors all come out with guns. A likeable character and well-developed plot. We learn more about Ranger in this book, plus Stephanie realizes she misses Joe Morelli--and he likes her. Ice cream store, vigilante church minister, and dead drug dealers populate this novel.
a Fowler, Karen Joy. The Jane Austin Book Club. Marian Wood Books, 2004.
I need to read and re-read Jane Austen's work and then re-read this book. I liked the resources provided in the book. Can't say that I was quite as taken with this novel as the reviewers were. Story about a group of women and one man, and their lives as they revolve around the book club meetings and the books being read. I thought that there would be more parallels to Austin's plots.
a Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. Bradbury Press, 1978.
A Caldecott Medal book. A simple story probably based on a Native American legend. Based on today's standards, it's actually unsophisticated in plot. Its award was based on the artwork (colorful, but basic) and the fact that the story offers a layer of diversity to our world of Anglo-Saxon, white, homogenized literature. I'm not sure what the "lesson" was except that it shows the Native American connection to the "horse people."
a Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust: A Novel. Scholastica Press, 1997.
A Newberry Award book. A wonderful little book written in free verse that explores the experiences of a young girl growing up during the 1930s in the Okalahoma Dust Bowl. Great emotional depth, wonderful descriptions of life with the dust (a character in itself), and the magic of music permeate the book. Excellent depiction of family relationships--especially through hard times and through death and recovery. Definitely deserves the Newberry.
"Hard times are about losing spirit,
and hope,
and what happens when dreams dry up."
-- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
a Kidd, Sue Monk. The Mermaid Chair. Penguin Audio, 2005.
Excellent, well-written. Plot includes Catholic rituals and descriptions. Story is set on a fictional barrier island off the coast of South Carolina and centers around a married woman falling in love with a monk. Subplots include why her mother chops off two fingers and her father's death. Kidd changes POV frequently throughout the book. Worth reading again and analyzing.
a Rhodes, Amelia Atwater. Hawksong. Delacorte Press, 2003.
Danica Shardae is an avian shapeshifter (Hawk) who agrees to marry the leader of a rival clan, Zane Cobriana, to stop the war. Good story with nice plot line. Romantic elements in a fantasy setting. Written by a young author.
"Meaningless hatred: the hatred of an enemy without a face. No one knows why we fight; they only know that we will continue until we win a war it is too late to win, until we have avenged too many dead to avenge, until no one can remember peace anymore, even in songs."
-- Hawksong by Amelia Atwater Rhodes
a Van Allsburg, Chris. The Polar Express. Houghton-Mifflin, 1985.
A book that stands the test of time. A simple story with a lesson--one must believe in order to hear the sleigh bell. Great illustrations. Definitely deserves the Caldecott Medal. I loved the image of the children on the train where the protagonist realizes he has lost the bell. An example of how a good picture book works; how a simple story line done well works. A book to read each Christmas for both young and old.
Kelly, Pamela Glass, and Mary Spelman, eds. From Inspiration to Publication--How to Succeed as a Children's Writer: Advice from 15 Award-Winning Writers. West Redding, CT: Institute of Children's Literature, 2000.
Well-written and easy-to-read, From Inspiration to Publication . . . is a great resource for the beginning writer. In fact, I plan to re-read it several times in order to further cement the concepts that it presents into my brain. I especially appreciated how the authors of the articles shared the process from concept to finished product, how they got their ideas, and the glimpse on how they did research and organized their materials.
Several things came to mind as I worked my way through the book. First, I continue to struggle with my manuscript, plotting in particular. Based on my communication with my mentor, I have changed the ages of my characters from high school (freshman and juniors) to middle school (seventh and eighth graders). This then projects that the age of my readers will be young teens, ages 10-14, who are referred to as adolescent readers. I don't think that my readers would be considered intermediate readers who are 8-12 years old as I think that the lower end of that age group is too young. (Kelly, p. 18)
According to From Inspiration . . . , adolescent readers want to "confront adult problems and find solutions." So, my intent to explore friendship, flirtation, and the judgment of others through a Catholic Christian lens seems like a path that will be of interest to this audience. I think that I need to increase the friction between Annette and her parents. I have to identify some issue or issues that will contribute to this friction. One way would be to have Annette's parents refuse to allow Annette to go to the football game. She would then go to the game, causing her to lie to them.
At some point, I'll need to scrutinize my sentence structure and the vocabulary being used to make sure that these elements are appropriate for this age group. I should be striving for about 20-word sentences, paragraphs up to 10 sentences long, and incorporating lots of dialogue. (Kelly, pp. 27-28)
Early on, I started working on the back story for my main character Annette. I think that the biggest reason why I haven't moved my manuscript further along is that I haven't committed to a "single, compelling conflict" for my main character. (Kelley, p. 30) I want her to have to choose between the two boys, Joey Hutchins and Rick Riley. I want Joey to be a nice, unassuming kid--the good guy whom the girl overlooks in favor of the flashy, older, more dangerous Rick Riley. Of course, her initial choice will be for Rick, but she'll quickly see that he isn't as great as she thought he was.
I keep coming back to the plot or a lack of one in my story. Is this my inability to make a decision? Have I failed to think it through? Am I just fearful? Do I lack adequate knowledge of life as a seventh grader, and hence struggle with putting that on the page?
My beginning: Establish my characters (Annette, Cady, Joey, Rick, Stacey, and Becca). Set the scene (junior high and home) Establish the problem (Annette has two boys interested in her, one good and one who is older and not so good; the decisions that she makes in regard to these two boys will affect her relationship with her parents, her friend, Cady, and with herself).
My middle: Annette, Cady, and Joey all go to the football game. Annette leaves the group to hang out with Rick Riley, further alienating Stacey (same-sex antagonist), as well as her friends Cady and Joey. Annette leaves the game with Rick and ends up at a party for older kids. Realizing she's in over her head, Annette has to find her own way home: Does she call Cady or Joey? Does she call her parents? Does she accept a ride from some older kids she doesn't know?
My ending: Annette gets invited to her first dance and has to convince her parents that she's learned from her experience at the football game in order to be able to go. At the dance, she again has to make choices about Joey and Rick Riley. Has she learned anything from the first football game?
I think that I have to further delineate what problems that I want Annette to solve. What lessons does she need to learn? How do these experiences relate back to her Catholic faith?
After reviewing the critiques of my submission(s) and noting the comments about point of view, I've made an effort to reread Chapter 5 and look for examples in the other fiction that I read/listened to this term. What helped was listening to the audio book for Sue Monk Kidd's The Mermaid Chair. Kidd changes POV frequently within this novel.
I think that I have to better develop my ability to write AND identify conflict within not only my story but all fiction. I also need to better identify what a scene is and be able to see that its contents or action truly moves the story along. I also have to make some decisions about how Annette grows from her experiences.
Well-written and easy-to-read, From Inspiration to Publication . . . is a great resource for the beginning writer. In fact, I plan to re-read it several times in order to further cement the concepts that it presents into my brain. I especially appreciated how the authors of the articles shared the process from concept to finished product, how they got their ideas, and the glimpse on how they did research and organized their materials.
Several things came to mind as I worked my way through the book. First, I continue to struggle with my manuscript, plotting in particular. Based on my communication with my mentor, I have changed the ages of my characters from high school (freshman and juniors) to middle school (seventh and eighth graders). This then projects that the age of my readers will be young teens, ages 10-14, who are referred to as adolescent readers. I don't think that my readers would be considered intermediate readers who are 8-12 years old as I think that the lower end of that age group is too young. (Kelly, p. 18)
According to From Inspiration . . . , adolescent readers want to "confront adult problems and find solutions." So, my intent to explore friendship, flirtation, and the judgment of others through a Catholic Christian lens seems like a path that will be of interest to this audience. I think that I need to increase the friction between Annette and her parents. I have to identify some issue or issues that will contribute to this friction. One way would be to have Annette's parents refuse to allow Annette to go to the football game. She would then go to the game, causing her to lie to them.
At some point, I'll need to scrutinize my sentence structure and the vocabulary being used to make sure that these elements are appropriate for this age group. I should be striving for about 20-word sentences, paragraphs up to 10 sentences long, and incorporating lots of dialogue. (Kelly, pp. 27-28)
Early on, I started working on the back story for my main character Annette. I think that the biggest reason why I haven't moved my manuscript further along is that I haven't committed to a "single, compelling conflict" for my main character. (Kelley, p. 30) I want her to have to choose between the two boys, Joey Hutchins and Rick Riley. I want Joey to be a nice, unassuming kid--the good guy whom the girl overlooks in favor of the flashy, older, more dangerous Rick Riley. Of course, her initial choice will be for Rick, but she'll quickly see that he isn't as great as she thought he was.
I keep coming back to the plot or a lack of one in my story. Is this my inability to make a decision? Have I failed to think it through? Am I just fearful? Do I lack adequate knowledge of life as a seventh grader, and hence struggle with putting that on the page?
My beginning: Establish my characters (Annette, Cady, Joey, Rick, Stacey, and Becca). Set the scene (junior high and home) Establish the problem (Annette has two boys interested in her, one good and one who is older and not so good; the decisions that she makes in regard to these two boys will affect her relationship with her parents, her friend, Cady, and with herself).
My middle: Annette, Cady, and Joey all go to the football game. Annette leaves the group to hang out with Rick Riley, further alienating Stacey (same-sex antagonist), as well as her friends Cady and Joey. Annette leaves the game with Rick and ends up at a party for older kids. Realizing she's in over her head, Annette has to find her own way home: Does she call Cady or Joey? Does she call her parents? Does she accept a ride from some older kids she doesn't know?
My ending: Annette gets invited to her first dance and has to convince her parents that she's learned from her experience at the football game in order to be able to go. At the dance, she again has to make choices about Joey and Rick Riley. Has she learned anything from the first football game?
I think that I have to further delineate what problems that I want Annette to solve. What lessons does she need to learn? How do these experiences relate back to her Catholic faith?
After reviewing the critiques of my submission(s) and noting the comments about point of view, I've made an effort to reread Chapter 5 and look for examples in the other fiction that I read/listened to this term. What helped was listening to the audio book for Sue Monk Kidd's The Mermaid Chair. Kidd changes POV frequently within this novel.
I think that I have to better develop my ability to write AND identify conflict within not only my story but all fiction. I also need to better identify what a scene is and be able to see that its contents or action truly moves the story along. I also have to make some decisions about how Annette grows from her experiences.
Clements, Andrew. The School Story. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001.
Audience: 8-12 year olds or grades 5 though 8.
Natalie Nelson is a sixth grader who has written a book. With the help of her best friend, Zoe, and teacher, Ms. Clayton, the three work to have the book published by submitting the manuscript to the same publishing house for which Natailie's mom works.
I found the book to be an interesting overview of the publishing industry. I also found the two students to be extremely creative and resourceful in how they manipulated the system, wresting the book away from the evil Letha in order to allow Natalie's mom to work on the project. Too bad real authors aren't able to manipulate the path their manuscripts will take through the publishing industry.
While I enjoyed reading the book because it offered me a glimpse into the foibles of the publishing industry (slush piles, editors with so many manuscripts to read and so little time, competition among editors for the next perfect book), I did find the book a little unrealistic. I'm not familiar with many sixth graders who would be either mature enough or sophisticated enough to pull off an accurate portrayal of adults. Of course, maybe that's part of the magic of the book.
Also, I'm not very familiar with children who have been raised in the city. Maybe city kids mature faster than their more rural cousins. I also found it a bit unrealistic that the adults who did finally become involved did so. This was especially true in the case of the teacher. Liability issues seem to loom on every horizon and would seem to be a deterrent to helping the girls in this situation. Clements does a good job of answering the objections, though. For example, the teacher uses her money, not the girls' money and Zoe's father is a lawyer who can be on the look out for legal potholes.
It's interesting that all three books (Bloomability, The Wedding Planner's Daughter, and The School Story) each contain some "text" that is separate from the actual storyline. In Bloomability, it's the little blocks that contain Dinnie's dreams. In The Wedding Planner's Daughter, it’s the quotes that begin each chapter heading and that are sprinkled throughout the text. In The School Story, it's the excerpts from Natalie's book and the example of the forms that the girls completed for the office services. In each book, these items serve as both a graphic element to break up the text, and as a story element, adding another level to the storyline. (This could be where the seed was planted to add a journal component to my manuscript.)
Griswold's model, the Three Lives of the Child-Hero, can be used to further analyze the structure of The School Story.
In Natalie Nelson's first life, she is also an orphan in that her father is deceased and her mother seems to be tied up with work, bringing manuscripts home to read. The two characters have an amicable relationship, but Natalie still feels the loss of her father profoundly.
Hanna worried about Natalie. Ever since she lost her dad, Natalie had kept much more to herself. She seemed happy enough, and she didn't seem to need to talk about not having a dad, but maybe that was a problem. Hannah was glad that Fred made the effort to be part of the family, and she knew that Natalie loved him. But having an uncle who loved you wasn't the same. Nothing could ever be the same. (Clement, p. 111)
The Nelson's don't live in abject poverty but the pinch of the finances is there:
But an afternoon cab ride to her office building near Rockefeller Center took much longer, and the fare was almost twice as much. Hannah Nelson just couldn't afford to pay that much for transportation every single school day. (Clements, p. 18)
Hannah Nelson is the primary breadwinner in the family and feels the stress of that responsibility daily. The negligence isn't one that is detrimental to Natalie's physical health. Instead it is an emotional negligence in that Natalie's mother is almost totally consumed by her job and by trying to please a demanding boss.
Like Willa in the Wedding Planner's Daughter, Natalie remembers the vanished happy times when her father was still alive. This comes across in the second chapter when we learn how Natalie became an avid reader and, in particular, how her father contributed to that love: "But not with dad. He was loud and reckless. He made funny voices for all the firemen and ducks and princesses." (Clement, p. 9)
At the end of the chapter, we see how Natalie remains in contact with the memory of her father: "She sat in her dad's old red desk chair and used his old Macintosh computer. Not quite a cabin or an attic, but close enough--and it was as close as Natalie could get to her dad." (Clement, p. 12)
The School Story veers from Griswold's model in several places. We really don't get a sense of any violation of a marriage prohibition by Natalie's parents. There isn't an actual journey in The School Story either unless you factor in the amount of time that Natalie and her mother spend riding the bus. Especially since this act of riding the bus alone illustrates the early maturation process for Natalie.
Another area that doesn't quite fit the story is the category of destination: big house & the great outdoors. One could consider the large office building where Hannah Nelson works as the "Big House," a place where Natalie isn't entirely welcome, but it's a part of her typical after-school routine. The "great outdoors" comes at the end of the book when Natalie and Hannah join Uncle Fred on vacation to the Grand Canyon.
Another part of Griswold's model that doesn't quite fit is the adoption by a second family. Of course, the girls decide to take on or "adopt" adult personas in the form of Zee Zee Reisman and Cassandra Day, which fulfills this requirement. The inclusion of Uncle Fred, the brother of Natalie's father, as an adult relative who can provide guidance to Natalie could also be considered an adoption of sorts.
Using the example of the children adopting adult personas, we can then say that the surrogate parents are of a different social rank, i.e. adults with more privileges and freedom than children typically have. Uncle Fred would also be of a different social rank, in that he owns his own business and frequently invites Natalie and her mother to join him on vacations during the summer.
The same-sex antagonist is Letha Springfield, editor-in-chief of Shipley Junior Books. Even though the name book says that the name has Greek origins and means ladylike (Stafford, p. 444), this reader found it quite the coincidence that the name looks like the root of the word "lethal," which comes from the Latin "lethalis," meaning death. (Mish, p. 713) Letha works against both Hannah and Natalie by taking over the editing of the manuscript. By pushing Hannah to complete jobs on short deadlines and thus forcing her to work at home in the evenings and on the weekends, Letha also contributes to the symbolic "orphaning" of Natalie.
The opposite-sex helpers are easy to identify: Robert Reisman, Zoe's father; indirectly Tom Morton, publisher; and Uncle Fred. The outsiders who serve as helpers are Ms. Clayton, Zoe, and indirectly Kelley Collins, executive assistant to Tom Morton.
The triumph over the antagonist occurs when the manuscript is sent to the publisher, who reads it at the prompting of his executive assistant, and pulls Letha off the project in order to allow Hannah to handle it as was requested in the cover letter.
The next four categories of Griswold's model blend together in The School Story. Natalie emerges as the Savior, issues of identity are resolved, and the recognition ceremony all occur when Natalie arrives at Shipley Junior Books for the party being held to meet Cassandra Day. In some ways, Zoe is more the Savior, because she masterminded the whole publishing project. She was able to get the news crew there, and she was willing to take the chances necessary to protect Natalie's manuscript from Letha.
The accommodation of two lives occurs when Natalie and Hannah talk about the book on their way home after the party:
Hannah cleared her throat. "You know, I almost didn't want you to read this book by Cassandra Day--because of the parts about Angela and her father. I thought those sections might be too hard on you."
Natalie nodded. "Those parts were hard to write. But I wanted to remember Daddy. I wanted to feel what it would be like if he was still here. I don't want to forget about him, not ever."
"Of course not. You won't. He'd be so proud of you right now." (Clement, p. 189)
Finally, the mother and daughter can freely talk about husband and father without the sorrow of death getting in the way. Natalie's book has served as a cathartic element that allowed her to express her feelings about a father figure.
-----------------------------
Clements, Andrew. The School Story. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001.
Creech, Sharon. Bloomability. New York: Harper Trophy, 1998.
Griswold, Jerry. Audacious Kids: Coming of Age in America's Classic Children's Books. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Mish, Frederick C., editor. Merriam-Webster's CollegiateDictionary, 11th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003.
Paratore, Coleen Murtagh. The Wedding Planner's Daughter. New York: Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Stafford, Diane. 50,001 Best Baby Names. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2004.
Audience: 8-12 year olds or grades 5 though 8.
Natalie Nelson is a sixth grader who has written a book. With the help of her best friend, Zoe, and teacher, Ms. Clayton, the three work to have the book published by submitting the manuscript to the same publishing house for which Natailie's mom works.
I found the book to be an interesting overview of the publishing industry. I also found the two students to be extremely creative and resourceful in how they manipulated the system, wresting the book away from the evil Letha in order to allow Natalie's mom to work on the project. Too bad real authors aren't able to manipulate the path their manuscripts will take through the publishing industry.
While I enjoyed reading the book because it offered me a glimpse into the foibles of the publishing industry (slush piles, editors with so many manuscripts to read and so little time, competition among editors for the next perfect book), I did find the book a little unrealistic. I'm not familiar with many sixth graders who would be either mature enough or sophisticated enough to pull off an accurate portrayal of adults. Of course, maybe that's part of the magic of the book.
Also, I'm not very familiar with children who have been raised in the city. Maybe city kids mature faster than their more rural cousins. I also found it a bit unrealistic that the adults who did finally become involved did so. This was especially true in the case of the teacher. Liability issues seem to loom on every horizon and would seem to be a deterrent to helping the girls in this situation. Clements does a good job of answering the objections, though. For example, the teacher uses her money, not the girls' money and Zoe's father is a lawyer who can be on the look out for legal potholes.
It's interesting that all three books (Bloomability, The Wedding Planner's Daughter, and The School Story) each contain some "text" that is separate from the actual storyline. In Bloomability, it's the little blocks that contain Dinnie's dreams. In The Wedding Planner's Daughter, it’s the quotes that begin each chapter heading and that are sprinkled throughout the text. In The School Story, it's the excerpts from Natalie's book and the example of the forms that the girls completed for the office services. In each book, these items serve as both a graphic element to break up the text, and as a story element, adding another level to the storyline. (This could be where the seed was planted to add a journal component to my manuscript.)
Griswold's model, the Three Lives of the Child-Hero, can be used to further analyze the structure of The School Story.
In Natalie Nelson's first life, she is also an orphan in that her father is deceased and her mother seems to be tied up with work, bringing manuscripts home to read. The two characters have an amicable relationship, but Natalie still feels the loss of her father profoundly.
Hanna worried about Natalie. Ever since she lost her dad, Natalie had kept much more to herself. She seemed happy enough, and she didn't seem to need to talk about not having a dad, but maybe that was a problem. Hannah was glad that Fred made the effort to be part of the family, and she knew that Natalie loved him. But having an uncle who loved you wasn't the same. Nothing could ever be the same. (Clement, p. 111)
The Nelson's don't live in abject poverty but the pinch of the finances is there:
But an afternoon cab ride to her office building near Rockefeller Center took much longer, and the fare was almost twice as much. Hannah Nelson just couldn't afford to pay that much for transportation every single school day. (Clements, p. 18)
Hannah Nelson is the primary breadwinner in the family and feels the stress of that responsibility daily. The negligence isn't one that is detrimental to Natalie's physical health. Instead it is an emotional negligence in that Natalie's mother is almost totally consumed by her job and by trying to please a demanding boss.
Like Willa in the Wedding Planner's Daughter, Natalie remembers the vanished happy times when her father was still alive. This comes across in the second chapter when we learn how Natalie became an avid reader and, in particular, how her father contributed to that love: "But not with dad. He was loud and reckless. He made funny voices for all the firemen and ducks and princesses." (Clement, p. 9)
At the end of the chapter, we see how Natalie remains in contact with the memory of her father: "She sat in her dad's old red desk chair and used his old Macintosh computer. Not quite a cabin or an attic, but close enough--and it was as close as Natalie could get to her dad." (Clement, p. 12)
The School Story veers from Griswold's model in several places. We really don't get a sense of any violation of a marriage prohibition by Natalie's parents. There isn't an actual journey in The School Story either unless you factor in the amount of time that Natalie and her mother spend riding the bus. Especially since this act of riding the bus alone illustrates the early maturation process for Natalie.
Another area that doesn't quite fit the story is the category of destination: big house & the great outdoors. One could consider the large office building where Hannah Nelson works as the "Big House," a place where Natalie isn't entirely welcome, but it's a part of her typical after-school routine. The "great outdoors" comes at the end of the book when Natalie and Hannah join Uncle Fred on vacation to the Grand Canyon.
Another part of Griswold's model that doesn't quite fit is the adoption by a second family. Of course, the girls decide to take on or "adopt" adult personas in the form of Zee Zee Reisman and Cassandra Day, which fulfills this requirement. The inclusion of Uncle Fred, the brother of Natalie's father, as an adult relative who can provide guidance to Natalie could also be considered an adoption of sorts.
Using the example of the children adopting adult personas, we can then say that the surrogate parents are of a different social rank, i.e. adults with more privileges and freedom than children typically have. Uncle Fred would also be of a different social rank, in that he owns his own business and frequently invites Natalie and her mother to join him on vacations during the summer.
The same-sex antagonist is Letha Springfield, editor-in-chief of Shipley Junior Books. Even though the name book says that the name has Greek origins and means ladylike (Stafford, p. 444), this reader found it quite the coincidence that the name looks like the root of the word "lethal," which comes from the Latin "lethalis," meaning death. (Mish, p. 713) Letha works against both Hannah and Natalie by taking over the editing of the manuscript. By pushing Hannah to complete jobs on short deadlines and thus forcing her to work at home in the evenings and on the weekends, Letha also contributes to the symbolic "orphaning" of Natalie.
The opposite-sex helpers are easy to identify: Robert Reisman, Zoe's father; indirectly Tom Morton, publisher; and Uncle Fred. The outsiders who serve as helpers are Ms. Clayton, Zoe, and indirectly Kelley Collins, executive assistant to Tom Morton.
The triumph over the antagonist occurs when the manuscript is sent to the publisher, who reads it at the prompting of his executive assistant, and pulls Letha off the project in order to allow Hannah to handle it as was requested in the cover letter.
The next four categories of Griswold's model blend together in The School Story. Natalie emerges as the Savior, issues of identity are resolved, and the recognition ceremony all occur when Natalie arrives at Shipley Junior Books for the party being held to meet Cassandra Day. In some ways, Zoe is more the Savior, because she masterminded the whole publishing project. She was able to get the news crew there, and she was willing to take the chances necessary to protect Natalie's manuscript from Letha.
The accommodation of two lives occurs when Natalie and Hannah talk about the book on their way home after the party:
Hannah cleared her throat. "You know, I almost didn't want you to read this book by Cassandra Day--because of the parts about Angela and her father. I thought those sections might be too hard on you."
Natalie nodded. "Those parts were hard to write. But I wanted to remember Daddy. I wanted to feel what it would be like if he was still here. I don't want to forget about him, not ever."
"Of course not. You won't. He'd be so proud of you right now." (Clement, p. 189)
Finally, the mother and daughter can freely talk about husband and father without the sorrow of death getting in the way. Natalie's book has served as a cathartic element that allowed her to express her feelings about a father figure.
-----------------------------
Clements, Andrew. The School Story. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001.
Creech, Sharon. Bloomability. New York: Harper Trophy, 1998.
Griswold, Jerry. Audacious Kids: Coming of Age in America's Classic Children's Books. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Mish, Frederick C., editor. Merriam-Webster's CollegiateDictionary, 11th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003.
Paratore, Coleen Murtagh. The Wedding Planner's Daughter. New York: Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Stafford, Diane. 50,001 Best Baby Names. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2004.
Paratore, Coleen Murtagh. The Wedding Planner's Daughter. New York: Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Audience: 9-12 year olds or grades 4-6
Out of the three genre books that I read this term, I enjoyed the Wedding Planner's Daughter the most.
Willafred Clancy Havisham has figured out the secret to wedded bliss, and it's hidden in the hem of every wedding gown worn by her mother's clients. Stella Havisham is a single mom who turned to wedding planning after the unexpected death of her husband the day after their wedding day. She became extremely successful after her daughter began sewing the pits from cherry cordials into the hem of each bride's wedding gown.
I enjoyed the quotes from literature that opened each chapter and especially liked Willa's reading list at the end of the book. I thought the book was well written and captured the desire of a 13-year old to have a father, as well as the depth of her imagination and romantic notions--even though her mother tries so very hard to keep her grounded in the real world.
There are all of the pre-requisite pre-teen turning into teen dilemmas: boys, a swim party where tissues used to pad Willa's chest end up floating in plain view in the water, a good friend and a not-so-good friend, first dance, and the question of when she'll have breasts. Underlying all of this is Willa's desire to have a father . . . but at the end of the book, Willa realizes that she just wanted her mother to really see her.
Will the book appeal to all audiences? Probably not. Because of the book's location on Cape Cod and the celebrity or economical status of Stella's clients, readers of a lower-income status or a more ethnic background might find it hard to relate to Willa and her predicaments. The universal themes of love, the desire to have a loving mother and father, and the romantic world vs. reality will ring true, though.
After completing Jerry Griswold's Audacious Kids, and then going back to The Wedding Planner's Daughter to look for the paradigms he describes, it was interesting to see that Willa was reading Tom Sawyer in the opening chapter of the book. (Paratore, p. 2) While the book isn't an exact fit into Griswold's model, the model is still useful in looking at the novel.
Willa Havisham isn't a true orphan, in that she lives with her natural mother throughout the book. Instead, Willa is an emotional orphan. She experiences a poverty of love from her mother, as well as a poverty of creativity and romanticism. Stella insists that Willa follow a set of rules that will keep her grounded in reality and prepare her for a top college and career. Leading the list is "Girls should have great expectations" and "Don't count on Prince Charming: he could fall off his horse." (Paratore, p. 7) Willa, herself, recognizes her semi-orphaned status:
Well, at least I'm not a complete orphan. At least I still have a Mother. And I do feel really sorry about what happened, but it's been almost thirteen years, and I know Father would understand if Mother got married again. He'd want her to be happy.
He'd want me to be happy. (Paratore, p. 17)
Willa's vanished happy times are the visions she has of her mother and father that she has pieced together from the poems and letters stashed in a red, heart-shaped trunk in her mother's closet. "The trunk is filled with love." (Paratore, p. 70) Willa's reverie is deep:
I can almost feel the warmth of my father's hand as I trace the words he wrote to Mother. . . . I hold the letter against my cheek. It's comforting, like a kiss. . . . I bring the letter to my ear and it rustles against my hair. I love you Willa, I love you. (Paratore, p. 71-72)
The prohibition against the marriage of Stella and Billy Havisham is an internal one on the part of Willa's mother, rather than being an external one from either set of in-laws. "[Stella] was going to be a big-shot businesswoman. She had no intention of being swept off her feet by some sweet-talking man." (Paratore, p. 11)
Throughout the book, Stella rues the fact that she had fallen hopelessly in love with a romantic man who suddenly vanished from her life. Because of the deep hurt that she experienced, Stella tries so very hard to protect not only herself from more emotional pain, but to protect her young daughter who is ready to live life to its fullest.
The Journey, or the transition into the second life, occurs when Stella and Willa move to Cape Cod, Stella's hometown.
Cape Cod, its beaches and the Atlantic Ocean represent the Great Outdoors. Instead of Willa actually living in the Big House, she wishes to live in the Big House next door that happens to be the home of her English teacher Sam Gracemore. "The Poet's big white house . . . was once the elegant Bramblebriar Inn." (Paratore, p. 21) Willa ends up spending a lot of time with Sam as she plots to bring him together with her mother.
Willa's symbolic adoption by a second family happens in two ways. First, the Belle family provides Willa with a sense of what it would be like to have a mother and father. Mrs. Belle fulfills many motherly duties for Willa, including helping her pick out her first formal dress for a dance, applying make-up, and allowing Willa to borrow a pearl necklace and earrings. These are activities that most mothers would share with their daughters. Instead, Stella is busy planning another wedding and is absent from Willa's life.
Second, Willa's second family is part of the larger environment and includes Nana, Mr. Tweed, and Sulamina Mum.
In some ways, the surrogate parents of a different social rank works a bit backwards. Stella is described as successful and glamorous. The Belle family seems like a typical middle-class family, and none of the other characters mentioned in the previous paragraph appear to be independently wealthy. Nana owns a candy shop, Mr. Tweed owns a bookstore, and Sulamina Mum is the local minister. They all offer Willa a different kind of richnes--a richness of love and friendship.
The same-sex antagonist first is Stella. At every angle she works against Willa's wishes. She insists on removing the romantic and fantastic elements from Willa's life, she insists on rules, and she refuses to be drawn into a relationship with anyone who might be potential father material for Willa.
The opposite-sex helpers include Sam Gracemore and Mr. Tweed while the outside helpers are Nana, Mrs. Belle, and Sulamina Mum.
Willa's triumph over the antagonist begins when she actually convinces Stella to host the Memorial Day picnic, to which Sam is invited. It continues when Stella, Willa, and Sam celebrate the Fourth of July together at the Bramblebriar Inn. The triumph is the softening of Stella's hard, exterior shell:
The poet puts his hand on Mother's shoulder. "I know, Stella, I know," he says. "It's something you never get over."
I see a look on Mother's face that I have never seen before. It looks like hope. (Paratore, p. 120)
The final triumph comes when Willa runs away to Bramble on her 13th birthday and Stella comes looking for her in the labyrinth.
And then, for the first time in my life, my mother looks at me, stares deep into my eyes . . . and really looks at me. She takes my face in her hands and looks in my eyes like I'm the one and only thing that makes her happiest in the world.
"I love you, Willa," she says.
My mother called me Willa. (Paratore, p. 183)
Willa greatest realization comes at this point:
Then, like lightning, it strikes me. All those years, all those birthdays, wishing for a father, thinking that's what I wanted most in the world. I was wrong. That wasn't it.
What I really wanted, what I needed most, was my mother. To really, truly see me. (Paratore, p. 184)
Willa emerges as the savior when Stella and Sam elope to Nantucket. The note left for Willa acknowledges this:
Dear Willa,
You were right. It's not about the big wedding day. It's the days that come after that count.
We can't wait to share them with you.
Love,
Mom and Sam (Paratore, p. 189)
The Third Life: Return is symbolized, in the greater sense, by Willa's return to Bramble on her 13th birthday. In a smaller sense, it is symbolized by Stella and Sam's return to Bramble where they begin renovating the Bramblebriar Inn.
The issues of identity are resolved as Stella becomes a softer, gentler person who is able to express love and emotion and Sam steps into the role of father. "Sam (he says to call him Dad only if and when I want to, but I'm kind of used to 'Sam' so that's good for now) . . . " (Paratore, p. 190) Willa now has the family that she has been wishing for.
The recognition ceremony is expressed in the "new statue by the labyrinth. "It's the present mother and Sam gave me after their honeymoon: a girl with a long ponytail, stretched out on her stomach on the grass, smiling as she reads a book." (Paratore, p. 190)
The accommodation of two lives is symbolized by the cherry seed that Willa plants in the front yard of the inn. It ties together all of the threads of the story: the cherry trees in bloom when Stella and Bill met, the cherry cordials Stella ate during courtship, the cherry cordials Willa ate as she dreamed of the perfect life, the love that Willa sewed into the hem of each wedding gown, and it now becomes a symbol of a future filled with the sweet perfume of love. Someday it will grow into a cherry tree with blossoms sweet as perfume." (Paratore, p. 190)
Audience: 9-12 year olds or grades 4-6
Out of the three genre books that I read this term, I enjoyed the Wedding Planner's Daughter the most.
Willafred Clancy Havisham has figured out the secret to wedded bliss, and it's hidden in the hem of every wedding gown worn by her mother's clients. Stella Havisham is a single mom who turned to wedding planning after the unexpected death of her husband the day after their wedding day. She became extremely successful after her daughter began sewing the pits from cherry cordials into the hem of each bride's wedding gown.
I enjoyed the quotes from literature that opened each chapter and especially liked Willa's reading list at the end of the book. I thought the book was well written and captured the desire of a 13-year old to have a father, as well as the depth of her imagination and romantic notions--even though her mother tries so very hard to keep her grounded in the real world.
There are all of the pre-requisite pre-teen turning into teen dilemmas: boys, a swim party where tissues used to pad Willa's chest end up floating in plain view in the water, a good friend and a not-so-good friend, first dance, and the question of when she'll have breasts. Underlying all of this is Willa's desire to have a father . . . but at the end of the book, Willa realizes that she just wanted her mother to really see her.
Will the book appeal to all audiences? Probably not. Because of the book's location on Cape Cod and the celebrity or economical status of Stella's clients, readers of a lower-income status or a more ethnic background might find it hard to relate to Willa and her predicaments. The universal themes of love, the desire to have a loving mother and father, and the romantic world vs. reality will ring true, though.
After completing Jerry Griswold's Audacious Kids, and then going back to The Wedding Planner's Daughter to look for the paradigms he describes, it was interesting to see that Willa was reading Tom Sawyer in the opening chapter of the book. (Paratore, p. 2) While the book isn't an exact fit into Griswold's model, the model is still useful in looking at the novel.
Willa Havisham isn't a true orphan, in that she lives with her natural mother throughout the book. Instead, Willa is an emotional orphan. She experiences a poverty of love from her mother, as well as a poverty of creativity and romanticism. Stella insists that Willa follow a set of rules that will keep her grounded in reality and prepare her for a top college and career. Leading the list is "Girls should have great expectations" and "Don't count on Prince Charming: he could fall off his horse." (Paratore, p. 7) Willa, herself, recognizes her semi-orphaned status:
Well, at least I'm not a complete orphan. At least I still have a Mother. And I do feel really sorry about what happened, but it's been almost thirteen years, and I know Father would understand if Mother got married again. He'd want her to be happy.
He'd want me to be happy. (Paratore, p. 17)
Willa's vanished happy times are the visions she has of her mother and father that she has pieced together from the poems and letters stashed in a red, heart-shaped trunk in her mother's closet. "The trunk is filled with love." (Paratore, p. 70) Willa's reverie is deep:
I can almost feel the warmth of my father's hand as I trace the words he wrote to Mother. . . . I hold the letter against my cheek. It's comforting, like a kiss. . . . I bring the letter to my ear and it rustles against my hair. I love you Willa, I love you. (Paratore, p. 71-72)
The prohibition against the marriage of Stella and Billy Havisham is an internal one on the part of Willa's mother, rather than being an external one from either set of in-laws. "[Stella] was going to be a big-shot businesswoman. She had no intention of being swept off her feet by some sweet-talking man." (Paratore, p. 11)
Throughout the book, Stella rues the fact that she had fallen hopelessly in love with a romantic man who suddenly vanished from her life. Because of the deep hurt that she experienced, Stella tries so very hard to protect not only herself from more emotional pain, but to protect her young daughter who is ready to live life to its fullest.
The Journey, or the transition into the second life, occurs when Stella and Willa move to Cape Cod, Stella's hometown.
Cape Cod, its beaches and the Atlantic Ocean represent the Great Outdoors. Instead of Willa actually living in the Big House, she wishes to live in the Big House next door that happens to be the home of her English teacher Sam Gracemore. "The Poet's big white house . . . was once the elegant Bramblebriar Inn." (Paratore, p. 21) Willa ends up spending a lot of time with Sam as she plots to bring him together with her mother.
Willa's symbolic adoption by a second family happens in two ways. First, the Belle family provides Willa with a sense of what it would be like to have a mother and father. Mrs. Belle fulfills many motherly duties for Willa, including helping her pick out her first formal dress for a dance, applying make-up, and allowing Willa to borrow a pearl necklace and earrings. These are activities that most mothers would share with their daughters. Instead, Stella is busy planning another wedding and is absent from Willa's life.
Second, Willa's second family is part of the larger environment and includes Nana, Mr. Tweed, and Sulamina Mum.
In some ways, the surrogate parents of a different social rank works a bit backwards. Stella is described as successful and glamorous. The Belle family seems like a typical middle-class family, and none of the other characters mentioned in the previous paragraph appear to be independently wealthy. Nana owns a candy shop, Mr. Tweed owns a bookstore, and Sulamina Mum is the local minister. They all offer Willa a different kind of richnes--a richness of love and friendship.
The same-sex antagonist first is Stella. At every angle she works against Willa's wishes. She insists on removing the romantic and fantastic elements from Willa's life, she insists on rules, and she refuses to be drawn into a relationship with anyone who might be potential father material for Willa.
The opposite-sex helpers include Sam Gracemore and Mr. Tweed while the outside helpers are Nana, Mrs. Belle, and Sulamina Mum.
Willa's triumph over the antagonist begins when she actually convinces Stella to host the Memorial Day picnic, to which Sam is invited. It continues when Stella, Willa, and Sam celebrate the Fourth of July together at the Bramblebriar Inn. The triumph is the softening of Stella's hard, exterior shell:
The poet puts his hand on Mother's shoulder. "I know, Stella, I know," he says. "It's something you never get over."
I see a look on Mother's face that I have never seen before. It looks like hope. (Paratore, p. 120)
The final triumph comes when Willa runs away to Bramble on her 13th birthday and Stella comes looking for her in the labyrinth.
And then, for the first time in my life, my mother looks at me, stares deep into my eyes . . . and really looks at me. She takes my face in her hands and looks in my eyes like I'm the one and only thing that makes her happiest in the world.
"I love you, Willa," she says.
My mother called me Willa. (Paratore, p. 183)
Willa greatest realization comes at this point:
Then, like lightning, it strikes me. All those years, all those birthdays, wishing for a father, thinking that's what I wanted most in the world. I was wrong. That wasn't it.
What I really wanted, what I needed most, was my mother. To really, truly see me. (Paratore, p. 184)
Willa emerges as the savior when Stella and Sam elope to Nantucket. The note left for Willa acknowledges this:
Dear Willa,
You were right. It's not about the big wedding day. It's the days that come after that count.
We can't wait to share them with you.
Love,
Mom and Sam (Paratore, p. 189)
The Third Life: Return is symbolized, in the greater sense, by Willa's return to Bramble on her 13th birthday. In a smaller sense, it is symbolized by Stella and Sam's return to Bramble where they begin renovating the Bramblebriar Inn.
The issues of identity are resolved as Stella becomes a softer, gentler person who is able to express love and emotion and Sam steps into the role of father. "Sam (he says to call him Dad only if and when I want to, but I'm kind of used to 'Sam' so that's good for now) . . . " (Paratore, p. 190) Willa now has the family that she has been wishing for.
The recognition ceremony is expressed in the "new statue by the labyrinth. "It's the present mother and Sam gave me after their honeymoon: a girl with a long ponytail, stretched out on her stomach on the grass, smiling as she reads a book." (Paratore, p. 190)
The accommodation of two lives is symbolized by the cherry seed that Willa plants in the front yard of the inn. It ties together all of the threads of the story: the cherry trees in bloom when Stella and Bill met, the cherry cordials Stella ate during courtship, the cherry cordials Willa ate as she dreamed of the perfect life, the love that Willa sewed into the hem of each wedding gown, and it now becomes a symbol of a future filled with the sweet perfume of love. Someday it will grow into a cherry tree with blossoms sweet as perfume." (Paratore, p. 190)
Is Domenica Santolina Doone an "Audacious Kid"?
Author Jerry Griswold sets forth a series of premises in his introduction to Audacious Kids and then proceeds to use those premises to analyze 12 children's books that were popular with both adults and children during the Golden Age of American Children's Books (1865-1914). Griswold shows the reader how each story resembles the other, calling this recurring story structure the "Three Lives of the "Child-Hero." He also uses a psychological analysis of each book to show the reader how the classic "ur-story" is brought forth through the plot. (Griswold, p. 3-10)
Bloomability by Sharon Creech easily fits into Griswold's model in its early stages but requires some stretching of the plot to fulfill the last four or five elements.
In an instant, 13-year old Domenica Santolina Doone becomes a virtual orphan when her parents send her to Switzerland with an aunt and uncle she barely knows. The financial poverty of the family is evident through the conversation between Dinnie's mother and grandmother. Dinnie's mother describes their life as "rich," to which Grandma Fiorelli replies, "Rich? This is a rich life?" Dinnie's mother answers, "Money isn't everything, Ma." (Creech, p. 4)
Dinnie experiences another kind of poverty when she is asked to leave behind possessions with each move the family makes because her father unable to or unwilling to stay in any job for an extended period of time. (Creech, p. 1) While Dinnie isn't dispossessed royalty, she does have memories of vanished happy times. She remembers her mother being happiest while working in a city, using her skills as an artist (Creech, p. 2) and remembers happier times fishing with her father and family. (Creech, p. 98-99). The parents violation of a marriage prohibition is obvious in the first chapter when Grandma Fiorelli is complaining about Dinnie's father's lack of ambition.
Dinnie's transition to a new life begins when she leaves with her aunt and uncle for Switzerland. It is the journey that is taken by each of the child-heroes analyzed by Griswold. Dinnie herself recognizes the three phases of her life, calling them her "first life," her "second life," and her "new life."
Dinnie begins her second life in Switzerland, a place where she can enjoy skiing, fishing, and the outdoors. Griswold calls this phase the Destination: Big House and the Great Outdoor. (Griswold, p. 6) While Dinnie actually lives with Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy in a chalet, it is the American school that takes on the aura of the "big house." Dinnie describes it:
. . . tucked in a rim of trees, stood an old red-roofed villa. From the outside, the villa looked dignified and sturdy and vast and frightening. Pale stone walls, iron balconies, tall black-rimmed windows. . . . Inside were dark wood floors and dim, narrow hallways. Doors and shutters creaked and groaned. Dusty portraits lined the halls: grim-faced men in black robes stared directly, accusingly, at me, and some faced sideways, ignoring me. In the dining hall ancient armor and weapons splattered the walls: shields and spears and helmets, ghastly dark shapes. I listened for sounds of captive princesses. (Creech, p. 22)
Dinnie's adoption into a second family is an informal action, rather than a formal one with court room scenes and the signing of papers. Instead, Dinnie's adoption into a second family is made obvious when her aunt insists that Dinnie refer to their new home as "our casa." (Creech, p. 26)
Earlier in the book, Dinnie describes her aunt, saying, "She looked like my mother, but she was all dressed up in clothes that matched. She sounded like my mother, too, but her words came out faster than my mother's words did." (Creech, p. 15)
Dinnie also describes her uncle in parental terms, "He was very tall, with black curly hair and didn't look at all like my father. He looked like someone in an advertisement, clean and neat, even after our long flight." (Creech, p. 15) Dinnie's second family grows to include the students with whom she becomes good friends: Guthrie, Lila, Keisuke, and Belen.
It is obvious that Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy, Dinnie's surrogate parents, are of a different social rank--or rather are able to live a very different lifestyle than Dinnie's natural parents. This is because of the opportunities made available to Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy through Uncle Max's job as a headmaster. Dinnie's life is more stable with Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy, and she is afforded more opportunities and luxuries with them than she was when living with her natural parents.
The same-sex antagonist isn't quite as obvious in Bloomability as it is in the books that Griswold analyzes. Aunt Sandy is quite benign and sympathetic. She doesn't take on the role of persecutor or disciplinarian. The worst thing that she does is correct Dinnie's bad Italian that is displayed on the signs in Dinnie's bedroom window. Even Mrs. Stirling, the founder of the American school, isn't Dinnie's antagonist--even though she is described in an imposing manner and seems somewhat insincere. Dinnie's same-sex antagonist isn't an adult as portrayed in the classics that Griswold analyzes. It is actually Dinnie's friend Lila, who competes with Dinnie for Guthrie's attentions.
Lila constantly complains to the headmaster (Uncle Max) about what she doesn't like at the school. She is rude to others, self-centered, and a xenophobe and bigot. Dinnie constantly found herself making excuses for Lila's bad behavior.
On another level, Dinnie could be her own same-sex antagonist as she works through the maturation process, moving from the immature Dinnie who claimed to be kidnapped to the more mature Dinnie who saw that change could bring opportunities.
The opposite-sex helpers or outsiders in Bloomability are also less obvious than those described by Griswold. Uncle Max could be considered an opposite-sex helper who is willing to take Dinnie in and educate her. Uncle Max is patient and kind. Guthrie might be considered an opposite-sex helper, too, in that he helps Dinnie to see her life and the world with different eyes.
The next stage in Griswold's analysis is the triumph over the antagonist. If Lila is considered Dinnie's same-sex antagonist, then Dinnie's triumph occurs when Lila leaves the school with her mother after the avalanche. Lila's departure allows Guthrie to focus on Dinnie and to reinforce her new positive self-image. Dinnie no longer feels like "Dinnie the Dot." During an excursion, Guthrie declares to Dinnie:
"Oh,"he said, wrapping me in a sudden hug. "You're a very interesting person, Domenica Doone."
Interesting? Had he said interesting? (Creech, p. 245)
This declaration is an affirmation of Dinnie as a person. She is no longer the "new kid" in school; she has opinions and a new assurance in herself.
If Dinnie is her own same-sex antagonist, then her triumph over her limited perspective found earlier in the book is illustrated when she describes how she felt during this excursion:
I had an odd feeling, as if I were aware of being a speck on this mountain, a speck in this wide scene, my little dot self, but also, simultaneously, I felt a part of it and above it and very, very free, as if this were my world, mine. Libero, libera. I breathed in the air, and I thought: This--this is me! (Creech, p. 245)
Finally, Dinnie feels whole and part of something larger than herself.
The final stage of this second life, according to Griswold, is when the child emerges as savior. While Dinnie doesn't actually rescue anyone, there is a dramatic rescue scene in the book when Guthrie and Lila are caught in the avalanche. Dinnie knows exactly where Guthrie's body will be found, and she wills the rescuers to that spot where her eyes are fixed.
Looking at this from another perspective, Dinnie rescues herself. She overcomes the loss of her natural family and the dysfunctional behaviors that their actions have brought on. Her confidence level changes, and she has gained a greater insight into the person that she is and the great opportunities the world has to offer. Dinnie also gains insight into the romanticism by which she views others in her life:
I thought about my mother and me and Crick and Stella, following my father from town to town, and I remembered the exciting parts about traveling with him. And then I looked at Uncle Max and Mrs. Stirling standing there, and I thought that they and my father and Guthrie all had the same thing in common: a way of traveling that made you keen to go along with them, to see the world the way they saw it. (Creech, p. 256)
Griswold's final phase of Three Lives of the Child-Hero is called "The Third Life; Return." Dinnie calls this her "Next Life." Through her experiences at the school and with the people she meets in Switzerland, Dinnie's issues of identity are resolved. As stated earlier, she has a greater self knowledge of herself and her place in the world.
The obvious recognition ceremony is the banquet and graduation ceremony for the middle school students. The children are dressed in formal attire and acting differently:
We looked nice, but odd, I thought, as if we were playing grown-up. We were acting differently, too, because of our new clothes and the presence of so many parents. We were a little stiff and overly polite. (Creech, p. 248)
Since Creech does not allow us to actually witness Dinnie's return to her natural family, we are left without a symbolic recognition ceremony that is present in the books analyzed by Griswold.
As a nod to Dinnie's new maturity, Dinnie is given a choice as to what she wants to do about her next year of school rather than being whisked off as she was in the beginning of the book:
A month earlier, Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy had given me a choice. It was a choice not entirely mine, I figured, because first I had to find out what my parents wanted me to do. Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy would give me a plane ticket to America, and I could either go on to school wherever my parents were, or I could spend the summer in America and then return to school in Switzerland in the fall. I hadn't been able to make that decision yet. All I knew at the time of our graduation ceremony was that I was going home, at least for the summer. (Creech, p. 247-248)
This also marks the accommodation of two lives, the final phase of Griswold's outline. This accommodation of Dinnie's two lives is further illustrated by her declaration of love for Switzerland:
At that moment, I loved Switzerland completely. I loved it with every piece of me, with every hair on my head and every eyelash and every cell. I felt as if this was my home, and I was no longer a stranger. Instead, I was like the snail who carts his home along with him on his back, from place to place. I thought about my fishing in the streams and wondered if I was carting not only my home along with me, but also my family, too. If that was the case, I could take Switzerland and Guthrie and Lila and Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max and Keisuke and Belen and Mari--all of them--with me when I left. (Creech, p. 261)
Bloomability isn't a perfect fit into Griswold's model. Yet, the model holds up under scrutiny, providing another method of looking children's literature--even that literature that is being produced today.
------------------------------
Creech, Sharon. Bloomability. New Yortk: Harper Trophy, 1998.Griswold, Jerry. Audacious Kids: Coming of Age in America's Classic Children's Book. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Bloomability by Sharon Creech easily fits into Griswold's model in its early stages but requires some stretching of the plot to fulfill the last four or five elements.
In an instant, 13-year old Domenica Santolina Doone becomes a virtual orphan when her parents send her to Switzerland with an aunt and uncle she barely knows. The financial poverty of the family is evident through the conversation between Dinnie's mother and grandmother. Dinnie's mother describes their life as "rich," to which Grandma Fiorelli replies, "Rich? This is a rich life?" Dinnie's mother answers, "Money isn't everything, Ma." (Creech, p. 4)
Dinnie experiences another kind of poverty when she is asked to leave behind possessions with each move the family makes because her father unable to or unwilling to stay in any job for an extended period of time. (Creech, p. 1) While Dinnie isn't dispossessed royalty, she does have memories of vanished happy times. She remembers her mother being happiest while working in a city, using her skills as an artist (Creech, p. 2) and remembers happier times fishing with her father and family. (Creech, p. 98-99). The parents violation of a marriage prohibition is obvious in the first chapter when Grandma Fiorelli is complaining about Dinnie's father's lack of ambition.
Dinnie's transition to a new life begins when she leaves with her aunt and uncle for Switzerland. It is the journey that is taken by each of the child-heroes analyzed by Griswold. Dinnie herself recognizes the three phases of her life, calling them her "first life," her "second life," and her "new life."
Dinnie begins her second life in Switzerland, a place where she can enjoy skiing, fishing, and the outdoors. Griswold calls this phase the Destination: Big House and the Great Outdoor. (Griswold, p. 6) While Dinnie actually lives with Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy in a chalet, it is the American school that takes on the aura of the "big house." Dinnie describes it:
. . . tucked in a rim of trees, stood an old red-roofed villa. From the outside, the villa looked dignified and sturdy and vast and frightening. Pale stone walls, iron balconies, tall black-rimmed windows. . . . Inside were dark wood floors and dim, narrow hallways. Doors and shutters creaked and groaned. Dusty portraits lined the halls: grim-faced men in black robes stared directly, accusingly, at me, and some faced sideways, ignoring me. In the dining hall ancient armor and weapons splattered the walls: shields and spears and helmets, ghastly dark shapes. I listened for sounds of captive princesses. (Creech, p. 22)
Dinnie's adoption into a second family is an informal action, rather than a formal one with court room scenes and the signing of papers. Instead, Dinnie's adoption into a second family is made obvious when her aunt insists that Dinnie refer to their new home as "our casa." (Creech, p. 26)
Earlier in the book, Dinnie describes her aunt, saying, "She looked like my mother, but she was all dressed up in clothes that matched. She sounded like my mother, too, but her words came out faster than my mother's words did." (Creech, p. 15)
Dinnie also describes her uncle in parental terms, "He was very tall, with black curly hair and didn't look at all like my father. He looked like someone in an advertisement, clean and neat, even after our long flight." (Creech, p. 15) Dinnie's second family grows to include the students with whom she becomes good friends: Guthrie, Lila, Keisuke, and Belen.
It is obvious that Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy, Dinnie's surrogate parents, are of a different social rank--or rather are able to live a very different lifestyle than Dinnie's natural parents. This is because of the opportunities made available to Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy through Uncle Max's job as a headmaster. Dinnie's life is more stable with Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy, and she is afforded more opportunities and luxuries with them than she was when living with her natural parents.
The same-sex antagonist isn't quite as obvious in Bloomability as it is in the books that Griswold analyzes. Aunt Sandy is quite benign and sympathetic. She doesn't take on the role of persecutor or disciplinarian. The worst thing that she does is correct Dinnie's bad Italian that is displayed on the signs in Dinnie's bedroom window. Even Mrs. Stirling, the founder of the American school, isn't Dinnie's antagonist--even though she is described in an imposing manner and seems somewhat insincere. Dinnie's same-sex antagonist isn't an adult as portrayed in the classics that Griswold analyzes. It is actually Dinnie's friend Lila, who competes with Dinnie for Guthrie's attentions.
Lila constantly complains to the headmaster (Uncle Max) about what she doesn't like at the school. She is rude to others, self-centered, and a xenophobe and bigot. Dinnie constantly found herself making excuses for Lila's bad behavior.
On another level, Dinnie could be her own same-sex antagonist as she works through the maturation process, moving from the immature Dinnie who claimed to be kidnapped to the more mature Dinnie who saw that change could bring opportunities.
The opposite-sex helpers or outsiders in Bloomability are also less obvious than those described by Griswold. Uncle Max could be considered an opposite-sex helper who is willing to take Dinnie in and educate her. Uncle Max is patient and kind. Guthrie might be considered an opposite-sex helper, too, in that he helps Dinnie to see her life and the world with different eyes.
The next stage in Griswold's analysis is the triumph over the antagonist. If Lila is considered Dinnie's same-sex antagonist, then Dinnie's triumph occurs when Lila leaves the school with her mother after the avalanche. Lila's departure allows Guthrie to focus on Dinnie and to reinforce her new positive self-image. Dinnie no longer feels like "Dinnie the Dot." During an excursion, Guthrie declares to Dinnie:
"Oh,"he said, wrapping me in a sudden hug. "You're a very interesting person, Domenica Doone."
Interesting? Had he said interesting? (Creech, p. 245)
This declaration is an affirmation of Dinnie as a person. She is no longer the "new kid" in school; she has opinions and a new assurance in herself.
If Dinnie is her own same-sex antagonist, then her triumph over her limited perspective found earlier in the book is illustrated when she describes how she felt during this excursion:
I had an odd feeling, as if I were aware of being a speck on this mountain, a speck in this wide scene, my little dot self, but also, simultaneously, I felt a part of it and above it and very, very free, as if this were my world, mine. Libero, libera. I breathed in the air, and I thought: This--this is me! (Creech, p. 245)
Finally, Dinnie feels whole and part of something larger than herself.
The final stage of this second life, according to Griswold, is when the child emerges as savior. While Dinnie doesn't actually rescue anyone, there is a dramatic rescue scene in the book when Guthrie and Lila are caught in the avalanche. Dinnie knows exactly where Guthrie's body will be found, and she wills the rescuers to that spot where her eyes are fixed.
Looking at this from another perspective, Dinnie rescues herself. She overcomes the loss of her natural family and the dysfunctional behaviors that their actions have brought on. Her confidence level changes, and she has gained a greater insight into the person that she is and the great opportunities the world has to offer. Dinnie also gains insight into the romanticism by which she views others in her life:
I thought about my mother and me and Crick and Stella, following my father from town to town, and I remembered the exciting parts about traveling with him. And then I looked at Uncle Max and Mrs. Stirling standing there, and I thought that they and my father and Guthrie all had the same thing in common: a way of traveling that made you keen to go along with them, to see the world the way they saw it. (Creech, p. 256)
Griswold's final phase of Three Lives of the Child-Hero is called "The Third Life; Return." Dinnie calls this her "Next Life." Through her experiences at the school and with the people she meets in Switzerland, Dinnie's issues of identity are resolved. As stated earlier, she has a greater self knowledge of herself and her place in the world.
The obvious recognition ceremony is the banquet and graduation ceremony for the middle school students. The children are dressed in formal attire and acting differently:
We looked nice, but odd, I thought, as if we were playing grown-up. We were acting differently, too, because of our new clothes and the presence of so many parents. We were a little stiff and overly polite. (Creech, p. 248)
Since Creech does not allow us to actually witness Dinnie's return to her natural family, we are left without a symbolic recognition ceremony that is present in the books analyzed by Griswold.
As a nod to Dinnie's new maturity, Dinnie is given a choice as to what she wants to do about her next year of school rather than being whisked off as she was in the beginning of the book:
A month earlier, Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy had given me a choice. It was a choice not entirely mine, I figured, because first I had to find out what my parents wanted me to do. Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy would give me a plane ticket to America, and I could either go on to school wherever my parents were, or I could spend the summer in America and then return to school in Switzerland in the fall. I hadn't been able to make that decision yet. All I knew at the time of our graduation ceremony was that I was going home, at least for the summer. (Creech, p. 247-248)
This also marks the accommodation of two lives, the final phase of Griswold's outline. This accommodation of Dinnie's two lives is further illustrated by her declaration of love for Switzerland:
At that moment, I loved Switzerland completely. I loved it with every piece of me, with every hair on my head and every eyelash and every cell. I felt as if this was my home, and I was no longer a stranger. Instead, I was like the snail who carts his home along with him on his back, from place to place. I thought about my fishing in the streams and wondered if I was carting not only my home along with me, but also my family, too. If that was the case, I could take Switzerland and Guthrie and Lila and Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max and Keisuke and Belen and Mari--all of them--with me when I left. (Creech, p. 261)
Bloomability isn't a perfect fit into Griswold's model. Yet, the model holds up under scrutiny, providing another method of looking children's literature--even that literature that is being produced today.
------------------------------
Creech, Sharon. Bloomability. New Yortk: Harper Trophy, 1998.Griswold, Jerry. Audacious Kids: Coming of Age in America's Classic Children's Book. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Creech, Sharon. Bloomability. New York: Harper Trophy, 1998
Audience: 8-12 year olds or grades 5 though 8.
Thirteen-year old Domenica Santolina Doone, known as Dinnie, is growing up with a family that is constantly moving. Like the main characters in Green Acres, Dinnie's parents come from different backgrounds. Her mother grew up in the city and her dad, in the country. Dinnie's father has a hard time keeping a job. Her mother had a college degree, yet frequently is waiting tables to contribute to the family income. Dinnie's older siblings, Crick and Stella, begin to act out because of all of the moves they've experienced. Crick ends up in jail and Stella marries a Marine and has a baby. Thus ends Dinnie's "first life."
At this point, Dinnie's Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy arrive. In order to give Dinnie a chance at a better life, the family agrees that Dinnie should travel with her aunt and uncle to Switzerland. There, she will live with them and attend the private school where Uncle Max is the headmaster. Thus begins Dinnie's "second life."
Dinnie's "next life" begins when she returns to the United States and her family.
I appreciated the way the Creech portrayed a dysfunctional family without alienating the reader from them. I'm sure that there are many children who can relate to some or all of the family's challenges (moving all the time, a sibling who gets into trouble with the law, a sibling who gets pregnant at a young age, a parent who is unable to hold a job). It is a sympathetic portrayal that allows the reader to see how this lifestyle is negatively affecting each child.
Creech did a good job with presenting accents and different languages in a print medium. Many children won't have the opportunity to visit Switzerland, but they will have to learn to appreciate the gifts and friendships of children who are different from themselves. Dinnie's experience in Switzerland is an example of learning to appreciate the gifts of different cultures. The use of phrases in Italian help to capture the sense of place in this novel, as do Creech's descriptions of a foreign landscape: Switzerland.
"Dinnie's Dreams" were an interesting touch, as well as the word in the window. I also liked the foreshadowing developed in the last paragraph on page 24: " . . . Later I would be able to look back at this view and to see it and appreciate it, and it would affect me profoundly. But on that first day, I could only see what wasn't here: my family."
On a different note, I think that Creech dropped out of character with the first paragraph on page 22: "It looked like a picture in the book Sandy and Max had given me." This probably should have referenced Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max.
Creech touches on sensitive topics, but she isn't heavy handed, which would make this book palatable for most parents and school situations. The many situations faced by Dinnie and her family provide ample fodder for classroom discussion. It isn't the cutting-edge realism, but rather the harder points of life portrayed in a gentle manner.
Audience: 8-12 year olds or grades 5 though 8.
Thirteen-year old Domenica Santolina Doone, known as Dinnie, is growing up with a family that is constantly moving. Like the main characters in Green Acres, Dinnie's parents come from different backgrounds. Her mother grew up in the city and her dad, in the country. Dinnie's father has a hard time keeping a job. Her mother had a college degree, yet frequently is waiting tables to contribute to the family income. Dinnie's older siblings, Crick and Stella, begin to act out because of all of the moves they've experienced. Crick ends up in jail and Stella marries a Marine and has a baby. Thus ends Dinnie's "first life."
At this point, Dinnie's Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy arrive. In order to give Dinnie a chance at a better life, the family agrees that Dinnie should travel with her aunt and uncle to Switzerland. There, she will live with them and attend the private school where Uncle Max is the headmaster. Thus begins Dinnie's "second life."
Dinnie's "next life" begins when she returns to the United States and her family.
I appreciated the way the Creech portrayed a dysfunctional family without alienating the reader from them. I'm sure that there are many children who can relate to some or all of the family's challenges (moving all the time, a sibling who gets into trouble with the law, a sibling who gets pregnant at a young age, a parent who is unable to hold a job). It is a sympathetic portrayal that allows the reader to see how this lifestyle is negatively affecting each child.
Creech did a good job with presenting accents and different languages in a print medium. Many children won't have the opportunity to visit Switzerland, but they will have to learn to appreciate the gifts and friendships of children who are different from themselves. Dinnie's experience in Switzerland is an example of learning to appreciate the gifts of different cultures. The use of phrases in Italian help to capture the sense of place in this novel, as do Creech's descriptions of a foreign landscape: Switzerland.
"Dinnie's Dreams" were an interesting touch, as well as the word in the window. I also liked the foreshadowing developed in the last paragraph on page 24: " . . . Later I would be able to look back at this view and to see it and appreciate it, and it would affect me profoundly. But on that first day, I could only see what wasn't here: my family."
On a different note, I think that Creech dropped out of character with the first paragraph on page 22: "It looked like a picture in the book Sandy and Max had given me." This probably should have referenced Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max.
Creech touches on sensitive topics, but she isn't heavy handed, which would make this book palatable for most parents and school situations. The many situations faced by Dinnie and her family provide ample fodder for classroom discussion. It isn't the cutting-edge realism, but rather the harder points of life portrayed in a gentle manner.
"Audacious Kids" Provides Model for Analysis
Griswold, Jerry. Audacious Kids: Coming of Age in America's Classic Children's Books. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
When I first looked at the table of contents to Jerry Griswold's Audacious Kids, I was a bit intimidated. Here were 12 books with which I had a passing acquaintance--including only two that I actually remembered reading as a kid. Those two were Little Women and Tom Sawyer. Of the other books Griswold had selected, I had seen movie versions of five of them: The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, The Prince and the Pauper, Little Women, The Secret Garden, and Pollyanna.
Once I got an understanding of Griswold's model, The Three Lives of the Child-Hero, and saw how he applied it to these children's classics, I became amazed at what was brought forth from each story. So amazed that I decided to hold each of my genre books up to his model to see how well they fit or didn't fit. What I found was that each book could easily fit the model, with only one book having several components fail to match (The School Story). The detailed results of that analysis are found elsewhere in the reading journal.
It was interesting to see how the maturation process is universal, from its oedipal beginnings in Greece to the present. It also was interesting to see how several of these novels, written in the period following the Civil War, paralleled the development of the United States as a nation. Then there was the transition from the fiction that promoted control of spiritual vices like sin to fiction that promoted control of one's emotions.
Throughout the next three terms, I'd like to read a sampling of the books detailed by Griswold and even possibly look at how the books differ from the movies that have been made from them.
If I were to apply what I learned from Griswold's book to my current manuscript, I'd have to make several changes.
First, I would have to better develop Annette's alienation from her parents or remove one or both of her parents from the story in order to place her in an orphaned state. She would have to feel some sense of neglect or poverty, either real in the sense of financial poverty or figurative in the form of a spiritual or emotional absence. Because she comes from a family with six kids, there is some implied poverty in the manuscript. If I further develop the theme of spirituality in the book and Annette's lack of it or her development of it, Annette could experience spiritual poverty early in the book.
There would have to be some memory of the vanished happy times for Annette. I might show this by emphasizing Annette's memories of family life prior to her parents return to Catholicism--a life with fewer rules, prayers, and church. (Yes, this is a stretch, but it would fit the model.) By developing a storyline that shows some conflict between Annette's parents and her grandparents, I could work in the aspect of violation of a marriage prohibition. I could also work in some sort of marriage prohibition as it relates to the Catholic faith. Maybe one of her parents had been married and divorced, which would mean that until he or she applied for and received an annulment, the family would have been estranged from the Church.
The journey could be the various activities that Annette will go to apart from her parents and in the company of boys as opposed to being an actual trip. These activities, like the football game and the dance, and Annette's experiences at them would be part of Annette's journey to maturity.
The second life portion of Griswold's model would have to be better developed in my manuscript. The great outdoors might be the football game and the big house could be the school or school gymnasium where the dance will be held. I would definitely have to develop a second family situation for Annette where she receives the nurturing, advice, etc. that she isn't receiving at home. As part of that development, I'd have to work in the surrogate parents being of a different social rank.
The same-sex antagonist or antagonists in the manuscript might be the older girls who are also interested in Rick Riley taking them to the dance. The opposite-sex helpers or outsiders would have to be identified and developed. Because Joey Hutchins is interested in Annette, he might be one of the opposite-sex helpers, even though Annette doesn't perceive him as such early in the book.
The second half of the book would have to be developed to incorporate the other elements that Griswold proposes: child as savior, issues of identity resolved, recognition ceremonies, accommodation of two lives.
What I learned from Griswold's model is that I could easily use this as a tool to better develop the plot of my manuscript and end up with a book that could be quite interesting on several levels. This model could also be used as a plot-writing exercise, plugging in the events and then threading them along with transitions and details.
I did find that after I got deeper into the book, Griswold was making the same point over-and-over again. It worked for me in that it reinforced the message or the point. It didn't work in that it was repetitive.
In addition to providing the model of The Three Lives of the Child-Hero, Griswold further delineated the books into four other categories: Oedipal Patterns, Manuals of Republicanism, The Theater of Feelings, and The Gospel of Optimism. I think that I could see using the insight gained from Oedipal Patterns, Theater of Feelings, and the Gospel of Optimism more than I would the Manuals of Republicanism. I'm wondering if I would recognize a book being written today, or even books written since 1914, as depicting the current "state" of the United States.
Griswold's model is especially applicable to one of the most popular children's books in today's market: the Harry Potter series. Harry is an orphan who experiences extreme neglect and mistreatment while living with his muggle aunt and uncle. He is disposed royalty in that he is famous for having survived the attack that killed his mother and father. The vanished happy time was before his parents' deaths. The marriage prohibition was also there in that his muggle relatives think less of Harry's parents because they were wizards.
The journey is his trip to Hogwarts, which also fulfills the definition of the Big House and the Great Outdoors. His adoption into a second family is when Harry becomes friends with the Weasleys. The Weasleys are of a different social rank as evidenced by the teasing that Ron and Ginny receive because of the hand-me-down items that they have to use at the school. The same-sex antagonist is Volgamort on a higher level and Malfoy on a lower level. The opposite sex helpers and outsiders abound: Hermione, Ron, Sirius Black, Dumbledore, and Hagrid.
Triumph over the antagonist comes in stages. Harry triumphs over Malfoy by capturing the golden snitch in the Quidditch match. Harry triumphs over Volgamort in stages as the series continues. Harry, the child, emerges as savior at the end of each book when he triumphs over the enemy at hand. With each book, Harry's issues with identity are resolved a bit more as he learns about his parents and role he is playing to overcome the evil wizards.
The recognition ceremonies tend to be a huge banquet at the end of the book where Harry and his friends are recognized in some way. The accommodation of Harry's two lives (one living with a muggle family and the other living as a wizard) continues to grow with each book as Harry continues to choose to use magic and fight the battles he is destined to fight.
Overall, I found Griswold's book very helpful and insightful. I can see myself referring back to his model as I work through other works of children's fiction and my own.
When I first looked at the table of contents to Jerry Griswold's Audacious Kids, I was a bit intimidated. Here were 12 books with which I had a passing acquaintance--including only two that I actually remembered reading as a kid. Those two were Little Women and Tom Sawyer. Of the other books Griswold had selected, I had seen movie versions of five of them: The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, The Prince and the Pauper, Little Women, The Secret Garden, and Pollyanna.
Once I got an understanding of Griswold's model, The Three Lives of the Child-Hero, and saw how he applied it to these children's classics, I became amazed at what was brought forth from each story. So amazed that I decided to hold each of my genre books up to his model to see how well they fit or didn't fit. What I found was that each book could easily fit the model, with only one book having several components fail to match (The School Story). The detailed results of that analysis are found elsewhere in the reading journal.
It was interesting to see how the maturation process is universal, from its oedipal beginnings in Greece to the present. It also was interesting to see how several of these novels, written in the period following the Civil War, paralleled the development of the United States as a nation. Then there was the transition from the fiction that promoted control of spiritual vices like sin to fiction that promoted control of one's emotions.
Throughout the next three terms, I'd like to read a sampling of the books detailed by Griswold and even possibly look at how the books differ from the movies that have been made from them.
If I were to apply what I learned from Griswold's book to my current manuscript, I'd have to make several changes.
First, I would have to better develop Annette's alienation from her parents or remove one or both of her parents from the story in order to place her in an orphaned state. She would have to feel some sense of neglect or poverty, either real in the sense of financial poverty or figurative in the form of a spiritual or emotional absence. Because she comes from a family with six kids, there is some implied poverty in the manuscript. If I further develop the theme of spirituality in the book and Annette's lack of it or her development of it, Annette could experience spiritual poverty early in the book.
There would have to be some memory of the vanished happy times for Annette. I might show this by emphasizing Annette's memories of family life prior to her parents return to Catholicism--a life with fewer rules, prayers, and church. (Yes, this is a stretch, but it would fit the model.) By developing a storyline that shows some conflict between Annette's parents and her grandparents, I could work in the aspect of violation of a marriage prohibition. I could also work in some sort of marriage prohibition as it relates to the Catholic faith. Maybe one of her parents had been married and divorced, which would mean that until he or she applied for and received an annulment, the family would have been estranged from the Church.
The journey could be the various activities that Annette will go to apart from her parents and in the company of boys as opposed to being an actual trip. These activities, like the football game and the dance, and Annette's experiences at them would be part of Annette's journey to maturity.
The second life portion of Griswold's model would have to be better developed in my manuscript. The great outdoors might be the football game and the big house could be the school or school gymnasium where the dance will be held. I would definitely have to develop a second family situation for Annette where she receives the nurturing, advice, etc. that she isn't receiving at home. As part of that development, I'd have to work in the surrogate parents being of a different social rank.
The same-sex antagonist or antagonists in the manuscript might be the older girls who are also interested in Rick Riley taking them to the dance. The opposite-sex helpers or outsiders would have to be identified and developed. Because Joey Hutchins is interested in Annette, he might be one of the opposite-sex helpers, even though Annette doesn't perceive him as such early in the book.
The second half of the book would have to be developed to incorporate the other elements that Griswold proposes: child as savior, issues of identity resolved, recognition ceremonies, accommodation of two lives.
What I learned from Griswold's model is that I could easily use this as a tool to better develop the plot of my manuscript and end up with a book that could be quite interesting on several levels. This model could also be used as a plot-writing exercise, plugging in the events and then threading them along with transitions and details.
I did find that after I got deeper into the book, Griswold was making the same point over-and-over again. It worked for me in that it reinforced the message or the point. It didn't work in that it was repetitive.
In addition to providing the model of The Three Lives of the Child-Hero, Griswold further delineated the books into four other categories: Oedipal Patterns, Manuals of Republicanism, The Theater of Feelings, and The Gospel of Optimism. I think that I could see using the insight gained from Oedipal Patterns, Theater of Feelings, and the Gospel of Optimism more than I would the Manuals of Republicanism. I'm wondering if I would recognize a book being written today, or even books written since 1914, as depicting the current "state" of the United States.
Griswold's model is especially applicable to one of the most popular children's books in today's market: the Harry Potter series. Harry is an orphan who experiences extreme neglect and mistreatment while living with his muggle aunt and uncle. He is disposed royalty in that he is famous for having survived the attack that killed his mother and father. The vanished happy time was before his parents' deaths. The marriage prohibition was also there in that his muggle relatives think less of Harry's parents because they were wizards.
The journey is his trip to Hogwarts, which also fulfills the definition of the Big House and the Great Outdoors. His adoption into a second family is when Harry becomes friends with the Weasleys. The Weasleys are of a different social rank as evidenced by the teasing that Ron and Ginny receive because of the hand-me-down items that they have to use at the school. The same-sex antagonist is Volgamort on a higher level and Malfoy on a lower level. The opposite sex helpers and outsiders abound: Hermione, Ron, Sirius Black, Dumbledore, and Hagrid.
Triumph over the antagonist comes in stages. Harry triumphs over Malfoy by capturing the golden snitch in the Quidditch match. Harry triumphs over Volgamort in stages as the series continues. Harry, the child, emerges as savior at the end of each book when he triumphs over the enemy at hand. With each book, Harry's issues with identity are resolved a bit more as he learns about his parents and role he is playing to overcome the evil wizards.
The recognition ceremonies tend to be a huge banquet at the end of the book where Harry and his friends are recognized in some way. The accommodation of Harry's two lives (one living with a muggle family and the other living as a wizard) continues to grow with each book as Harry continues to choose to use magic and fight the battles he is destined to fight.
Overall, I found Griswold's book very helpful and insightful. I can see myself referring back to his model as I work through other works of children's fiction and my own.
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