Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck

Bibliography

Selznick, Brian. 2011. WONDERSTRUCK. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780545027892

Plot Summary

In 1977, a young boy named Brian is living with his relatives after his mother passes away. Plagued by interesting dreams, he visits his old house to discover the truth about his father, where an accident renders him deaf. Through illustrations, we are introduced to Rose, a young deaf girl who longs to escape her New Jersey home to visit the wonders of New York. Going back and forth between writing and illustrations, Selznick beautifully captures how these two stories intertwine and while you may not always find what you are looking for, you will find what you need.

Critical Analysis

Selznick is a master at storytelling, through both words and pictures. He once again creates a wonderful book using both of these artforms with Wonderstruck, a story that intertwines two rather similar characters that dream of something that they must go out on their own to find. Both find what they are looking for and more.

With young Brian's story, Selznick uses imagery through words and shows us through Brian's thoughts and emotions what he is experiences with the death of his mother and the longing of wanting to know who his father is. We also see Brian's experience with becoming completely deaf and how he interacts with different characters that he comes across on his journey, namely another boy he meets in New York names Jamie. Selznick does an excellent job of showing this experience of having to communicate while being deaf and even introduces some sign language to the readers. Readers will be able to understand and maybe relate to Brian and his situations, which are easy to understand and comprehend through Selznick's use of diction and word choice.

With Rose, Selznick uses his unique black and white illustrations to bring Rose's story to life, where we see that she is also completely deaf and longs to connect with her family that mostly works and resides in New York. We see how she doesn't let her deafness stop her from dreaming and eventually taking on a massive project in her older age. Selznick does a great job of showing emotion through his illustrations, being able to depict true emotions in the eyes or body language of the characters he draws. 

As the stories of Brian and Rose collide, Selznick creates a wonderfully surprising and satisfying conclusion that draws to a close the themes of family bonds, time and its passage, and how communication without words can be achieved and be beautiful

Review Excerpts

Horn Book Guide: "Ben's story suffers from an excess of telling rather than showing; nevertheless, there is much technical brilliance and genuine heart here."

School Library Journal Starred: "The dual text/illustration format is not a gimmick when used to tell the right stories; the combination provides an emotional experience that neither the words nor the illustrations could achieve on their own."

Publishers Weekly Starred: " It takes several hundred pages and a big chunk of exposition to connect these two strands, but they converge in an emotionally satisfying way. Selznick masterfully uses pencil and paper like a camera, starting a sequence with a wide shot and zooming in on details on successive pages."

Connections

Activity: Pictures yourself creating a diorama of your town. What are the special items or keepsakes that you would put under certain areas or buildings, like Rose in the book?

More by Brian Selznick: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

                                        The Marvels

                                        Baby Monkey, Private Eye

More like Wonderstruck: Splendors and Glooms by Laura A. Schlitz

                                         Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

                                         Charlie & Frog by Karen Kane

Cat and Rat

Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

Bibliography

Young, Ed. 1995. CAT AND RAT: THE LEGEND OF THE CHINESE ZODIAC. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 080502977X

Plot Summary

A story about the Chinese zodiac signs and how each of the signs got their names from the certain animals represented by them.

Critical Analysis

An interesting take on how the animals competed to become the Chinese zodiacs and how cats and rats became enemies. Young uses simple language to depict this tale, which is greatly overshadowed by the wispy, ghostlike illustrations. Some readers, like myself, would be fascinated by the abstract images, which come across as sinister and haunting while other readers might find them just a bit frightening. The images on the dark background also might disinterest some readers who might not be able to see well. 

I believe that Young made an interesting choice when combining these kinds of images with what many have interpreted as a light trickster tale, and to some degree, it works. His take makes the rivalry between the cat and the rat that much more serious and makes the rat out to be essentially the villain of the tale. I think that this book will turn heads and draw more people to Young and his works, such as his other interpretation of the tale, Lon Po Po, where Young also uses his darker illustrations.

Review Excerpts

Horn Book Guide: "Darkly hued, abstract pastels on rice paper and white type on a black background create a sinister interpretation of this traditional tale."

School Library Journal: "Since 1996 will be the Year of the Rat, schools and libraries planning Chinese New Year celebrations can use Young's title, although the shadowed passion of his drawings forms an uneasy partnership with what is essentially a light trickster tale."

Kirkus Review: "The text is printed along the side of page, black on white. Inclusion of a page of horoscopes along with the Gregorian equivalents to the animals' years will intrigue readers, but the story may not keep them involved to the end."

Connections

More by Ed Young: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China

                                Seven Blind Mice

                                Hook

More Books about the Chinese Zodiacs: Dragon Noodle Party: A Story of Chinese Zodiac Animals by                                                                     Ying Chang Compestine

                                                                 Chinese Zodiac Animals by Sanmu Tang

                                                                Chinese Zodiac (Who Are You?): by Virginia Loh-Hagan

Activity: Discover your Chinese zodiac. What does it say about you?

The Christmas Coat

The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood

Bibliography

Driving Hawk Sneve, Virginia. 2011. THE CHRISTMAS COAT: MEMORIES OF MY SIOUX CHILDHOOD. Ill. by Ellen Beier. New York, NY: Holiday House. ISBN 9780823421343

Plot Summary

Based on an experience from the author's childhood, The Christmas Coat is about young Virginia who needs to new coat because hers is too small. Her family has always taught that others are more in need than Virginia's family, so Virginia must watch as coats go to other children. She then receives a huge surprise at the end of the book.

Critical Analysis

It is always inspiring to read books based on the author's own experiences. This book by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve is based on a memory of hers from her childhood. The author keeps the story and language simple for kids to read and enjoy and also to learn from. The idea of putting others before ourselves and looking out for those in our community is a message that should resonate with all and inspire those to help others. We see how young Virginia obeys her mother and father in this regard and shows how she is then rewarded for it. This book also can introduce readers to the idea of the theast boxes and what they meant to the Native American communities that got them.

The illustrator of this book, Ellen Beier, uses soft colors to paint the story which works greatly with the wintery setting. She does a great job of catching the emotions of the characters, such as Evelyn's happiness at her new coat and Virginia's jealously we can see on her face as she sits in the background. Virginia's new red coat pops out of the page and helps the reader to realize its importance in the plot and how meaningful it is to Virginia. 

This book is a wonderful story from a Native American author that weaves a story of how we can show compassion towards others and how good deeds are rewarded.

Review Excerpts

Horn Book Guide: "With its authentic portrait of a Sioux childhood and Christmas traditions (captured in watercolor and gouache illustrations) and its eventual happy ending, this is a quiet but affecting picture book."

School Library Journal: "Based on the author's 1940s childhood on a Sioux reservation in South Dakota, this richly descriptive narrative is well matched by detailed and expressive watercolors."

Publishers Weekly: "Beier’s detailed, pastel-dominated watercolor and gouache paintings affectingly convey Virginia’s swirling emotions as she tries to reconcile her longing for the coat, her jealousy of the girl who gets it, and her obedience to her mother, which is eventually rewarded."

Connections

More by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve: The Trickster and the Troll

                                                                 Lana's Lakota Moons

                                                                Dancing Teepees

More Native American Picture Books: Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child, Jonathan Thunder

                                                               Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Cornelius Van Wright

                                                               Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble

                                                               Maillard, Juana Martinez-Neal

Activity: Talk about ways that you can support your community like in the book.

The Birchbark House

 

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

 

Firekeeper's Daughter

 

Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!

Yum! MmMm! Que rico!: America's Sproutings

Bibliography

Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO!: AMERICA'S SPROUTINGS. Illus. by Rafael Lopez. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books. ISBN 9781584302711

Plot Summary

A collection of haikus written about foods native to the Americas. Includes brief paragraphs giving the history of the food and where it originates.

Critical Analysis

Pat Mora's collection of foody haikus is a fun read and a great introduction for kids to haikus. Each haiku has unique and fun vocabulary and bouncy rhythm. Young readers can learn about the origins of these delicious foods from reading the poems and the paragraphs on each page that give background information over where these foods originate and fun facts about them. Mora knows how to write a poem and makes this a hard to put down book.

Paired with Mora's fantastic words are Rafael Lopez's colorful and eye catching artwork. His illustrations are fun to look at and make you hungry for these mouth-watering foods. Lopez uses acrylic in his pictures, which brings life to the words and immerses the reader. 

Pat Mora continues to make fun books that also teach students about food history and language arts. 

Review Excerpts

Texas Bluebonnet Award Shortlist

Kirkus Reviews: "More interesting as social science than as poetry, but visually gorgeous."

Booklist: "This inventive stew of food haiku celebrates the indigenous foods of the Americas. Each of the 13 poems appears on a gloriously colorful double-page spread, accompanied by a sidebar that presents information about the origin of the food. . . this will provide lots and lots of lip-smacking fun that teachers can use to supplement social studies and language arts units; they can also share one poem at a time, between other subjects."

Connections

More by Pat Mora: "Tomas and the Library Lady"

                                " Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart"

                                "A Pinata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas"

More Illustrated by Rafael Lopez: "The Day You Begin" by Jacqueline Woodson

                                                        "Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You" by Sonia Sotomayor

                                                        "Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played the Piano for President                                                          Lincoln by Margarita Engle

Activity: Students will write their own haikus about some of their favorite foods