Book Talk #10- Thin Wood Walls

        Thin Wood Walls is a coming of age story about a boy who is Japanese-American that lived near Seattle, Washington prior to WWII.  11 year old Joe Hanada and his family are living the American dream and are excited about the upcoming Christmas Holiday but after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941that all changed.  Joe’s family and all the other Japanese-American families were split up forced to move to War Relocation Camps by the FBI.  Joe’s dad is taken somewhere else because he is suspected to be a spy.   Joe’s family lives in the internment camp, in a shack that has “thin wood walls,” that is surrounded by soldiers and barbed wire.  The FBI questions all of these people to see if they are loyal to America or Japan which makes Joe feel torn between his loyalty to his country and his Japanese heritage.  Joe keeps a journal throughout his experience in the camp where he writes poetry and talks about his concern for his father who he has not seen since the family was split up and for his brother who joined the American Army to prove is loyalty to America.  Joe is forced to grow up quickly when his world is changed overnight.   
           This was a great read but I thought this was an intense story that gives a new prospective to what was going on for some Americans at this time.  I think because Pearl Harbor and WWII was so devastating that the fact America had their own internment camps gets over looked; I didn’t learn about these camps until I was in college.  This would be a good book for an 8^th grade class and I think this would be a great book to incorporate into a lesson on the effect of WWII on Americans.  America went through so many changes during WWII but not everyone’s experience was the same.  WWII was harder on some Americans and I think this is a good example of that difference. 

Book Talk #9- Of Mice and Men

 

              Of Mice and Men is about a two friends George and Lennie who are from the same town.   George has taken care of Lennie since Lennie’s aunt died.  These companions are basically homeless and travel around looking for farm work.  It is obvious that Lennie had a mental disability which George tries to hide from people they meet. Lennie is big and extremely strong, but does not know his own strength and is attracted to things that are soft and fluffy.  For example, he squeezed a mouse to death because he loved it so much but he really does not have a mean bone in his body.  George gets him and Lennie a job on a farm and when they get there George does all the talking so that no one knows the Lennie lack intelligence but this makes their new boss suspicious because it seems that George  is trying to protect Lennie.  This new job goes pretty good for the two of them.  They work hard and live in the bunkhouse and even Lennie has a job taking care of the rabbits.   But Lennie’s brute strength soon gets him in big trouble again and the story ends in a way you won’t be expecting.   

                I think this story would be a good story for a reader at a 8^th, 9^th or 10^th grader because although the reading is not difficult some events in story are not appropriate for the younger crowd.  This is a very short read and the storyline moves quickly so I think that it will keeps students’ interest.  You can use this book when teaching about the Wage Worker’s West of the late 1930’s and what people did for at time. I like this book and it’s one of the few that I actually enjoy by John Steinbeck

Book Talk 7-Holes

    

          Holes starts out by describing Camp Green.  This camp used to be a lake side camp but is now dry and barren.  The camp is for young juveniles to go to serve out their sentence instead of going to jail.  The main character, Stanley Yelnats, and his family have extremely bad luck which they blame on the curse of his great great grandfather which has been carried through the generations.  Stanley was accused and convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and is sentenced but he gets to pick where he serves his time, so he chooses Camp Green thinking that camp would be more like summer camp but all the boys do in the camp is dig holes.  They dig big, deep holes and they don’t know why.  All they are told is that digging helps to build character, but there is another reason why.  I don’t want to give the story away but there a lot of layers in this story because the story lines of this book are all sort of connected in one way or another.  The mystery of how these story lines are connected is what makes this book fun and exciting because you want to find out what the big mystery is. 

          Holes was a great read and I think this would be a great book for a middle school aged child because this book has adventure and mystery so I think it will keep student’s interest.  And since the book itself is about adolescent boys they can really relate to some of the issues that these boys have.  This book doesn’t really have academic content and could be used for a fun read.  I do think this would be a fun book to show students how important your family’s history can really be.  The multiple story lines in this book are all related because of what happened in the past and therefore shows that the past does effect the future, but that you can change your future no matter what happened in your past.    

Book Talk #6-The Scarlet Letter

            The Scarlet Letter is about a young puritan girl, Hester, who was sent from England to the Americas by her husband to start their life in America while he finished up business in England.  However, the husband took longer than he thought and Hester had an affair with the town minister and gave birth to their child.  Hester is publicly humiliated for her adulterous act and took the punishment on her own by wearing a red letter A for Adulterer.   Hester was brought up by the God fearing, brimstone and fire beliefs, and knows the extent of her sins but Hester does not tell the town who she had the affair with and who the father of her daughter Pearl is.  Hester is essentially kicked out of town so she lives by herself and raises her daughter on her own.  Over the years Hester over comes other struggles as a young single mom, living in a time of such strict religious beliefs, and grows up a long with her daughter.   As more time goes by, she still does not disclose who the father of her child is and over time fewer and fewer people remember her sin and forget what the red A means. 

                I chose The Scarlet Letter because I liked reading the book when I was younger, but it has been a very long time since I read it.  The language can be challenging sometimes but I feel a middle school aged child could read it however, I think an 9^th or 10^th grader would enjoy this book more.  The challenging part about this book would be when the characters speak in old English, but as long as you could walk the student through what they are saying I think they would understand what’s going on.  The material of the book is a little racy because they talk about adultery, meaning sex, and sin.  So you would have to explain what adultery is and for those students who aren’t religious and you would have to talk about what a sin means.  Religion can be a touchy subject for parents and students but I think as long you kept it within the context of The Scarlet Letter you could avoid any issues.  Overall, I think this book would be perfect for an 9^th or 10^th grader because it talks about a younger girl who over comes societal issues essentially by herself. 

 

Book Talk #5- Bless Me, Ultima

            Bless Me, Ultima is a story about a man, Antonio, who is telling a story about his childhood and how he grew up.  The story takes place in Guadalupe, NM, which is north of Las Vegas, NM, in the mid 1940s during and after World War II.  Antonio’s mom is extremely religious and believes that farming and city life was how you should live, but his dad was cowboy and loved living on the open range.  These contradicting believes is what Antonio grew up with learned to appreciate both views.  His parents also have different dreams of what he should grow up to be, but only the curandera, Ultima, knows what he will be.  In New Mexican culture the curandera is a witch doctor that is religious but is also in tune with nature and is respectful of Mother Nature.

             I enjoyed this book because I can relate to and understand Chicano culture.  There were a lot of words in this book that are Spanish and in fact Antonio doesn’t even speak English at the beginning of the book.  Bless Me, Ultima is printed in Spanish which I think is cool if you are teaching a bilingual class because then students could read it in a language they are comfortable in.   But there is adult language used in this book so I would use this with a high school class. 

Book Talk #4- The Water of Life

            I chose this book for my book talk because I wanted to honor my grandmother who used to read this to me when I was a little girl.  I loved staying over at her house because I knew I would get to hear this story.  My grandma was an avid reader and although I don’t read as much as she did I believe she had a huge influence on my motivation to read. 

            The Water of Life is about a fisherman named Pilchard who lives quietly in a small village in Europe.  Pilchard is a very kind and humble man who helps every neighbor or any one, for that matter, who is in need.  One day the king of Pilchard’s village summoned him to castle.  The King asked Pilchard to go on quest for him.  His quest was to find the water of life.  So Pilchard went on the quest and while on his journey Pilchard’s never ending kindness to strangers pays off.

            I think book would be great for a 2^nd or 3^rd grader because although it’s an easy read there are a couple of challenging words.  But the book its self is a wonderful story about how showing kindness to others can sometimes be considered a gift.

Book Talk #3- The Giver

          The Giver takes place sometime in the future although, it is never specified when exactly this story is going on which is good and bad because it’s hard to understand this book sometimes without a reference to time.  However, the book can be applied and used at different points in time because it is not clarified.  The main character is an 11 year old boy names Jonas.  He lives with his parents and his sister in an extremely controlled community.  Nobody can feel emotion or is allowed to have an opinion or even their own ideas.  But everyone has a role in the community and everyone contributes equally.  Children at the age of 12 are told what career job they chosen for and begin their training in that position; they could be “Caretakers of the Old” or be “the Childbarers”.  When Jonas turned 12 he was chosen for a special job; he was chosen to be “the Receiver.”  There is only one receiver and he is an old man who is ready to pass his wisdom and knowledge onto his successor.  “The Receiver” is someone that feels all the memories, the pain and emotions the people in the community are not allowed to feel.  As Jonas continues his training he sees what the world is like with color and with feelings.  But as he grows in knowledge he grows apart from his family and friends and he begins to change his point of view on the way this community lives. 

           I think this is a great book for young adults who are beginning to think for themselves and are trying break away from mainstream thought.   Jonas talks about how he feels about taking on this new honorable position in the community.  He feels honored but he gets frustrated because he can’t share his wisdom with his friends or family because The Receiver has to bare this knowledge and feelings alone.  As he begins this process he starts to see how ignorant the people in the community are.  The issues that Jonas has with his community can relate to students who are trying to understand their own society and maybe don’t agree with what they were brought up to believe.  The book it’s self is well written and is a great book but I found it to be a little abstract at times, but I feel it’s something students could work through. 

 

Book Talk 2- Walk Two Moons

Walk two moons is a story about a 13 year old girl, Sal, who loses her mother in a car accident a year ago and so it’s just her and her dad.  In the story she is on a road trip with her grandparents and they are on their way to visit the grave of Sal’s mother.  On the way Sal and her grandparents exchange stories.  Sal talks about her friend Phoebe, who has family issues of her own.  Sal and Phoebe are best friends and get involved in each other’s stories a great deal.  Walk Two Moons is narrated by Sal who is speaking about what has happened for the last few months.   Her grandparents are also telling her stories about their heritage which Sal is very proud of.  Through Sal’s stories and flashbacks and her grandparents’ stories there are parallels that seem to the link the narratives together.  Sal reflects as she is speaking throughout the story and begins to realize that events and people in her life begin to take on a different meaning for her. 

I think this was a great story over all.  This book would be great for a middle school student, specifically a girl, because Sal deals with issues a real teenage girl does.  She learns her perceptions are not always right and that she is not the only child that has family drama or has suffered loss.  This book also shows that reflection is an important thing to do because it forces you to think and deal with issues that come into your life.   I feel that because of the way Walk Two Moons was written there are many minor lessons in this story that students would be able to apply in their own lives. 

 

Book Talk #1- Sounder

Book Talk #1- Sounder

            Sounders takes place in the 19^th century, but I think it specifically takes place at the beginning of the 19^th century before the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression because the family in the story is a poor and hungry, African American, sharecropper, southern family.  Sharecropping was one of the few agricultural jobs a black man could have after the Reconstruction Era of the Civil War.  The story itself is about the relationship between the boy and his father and the father’s dog named Sounder.  The story is told in 3^rd person mostly from the perspective of the boy and he seems very melancholy and serious.  You can tell in the story that the boy is not educated and is not literate and that is something that he wants to change. 

            The beginning of Sounder talks about the how hard life is for the family.  They are so poor they just eat biscuits and gravy for breakfast, which is cheap to fix.  Life was very hard for them but then life gets harder when the dad is arrested and convicted of stealing.  On the night the father was arrested by the local Sheriff and deputies, the dog, Sounder, tries to help the father but was shot by one of the deputies and ran away.  After losing his father and dog the boy goes to look for the Sounder but doesn’t find him. 

            The boy goes to see his father while he is in jail but the visit didn’t go the way the boy had hoped and his father told him not to come back.  While the father is in jail and working in a camp, the boy and mother take care of the dog and the boy befriends a teacher who takes him under his wing and teaches him to read.  A year later the father comes home.  The father is badly burned and deformed from an accident in the camp.  The family was finally reunited.  One night the father and Sounder go hunting and the family is torn apart once again by an accident.     

            Something that I found interesting was that Sounder was the only character that was given a name especially since the story was mostly told from the boy’s point of view.  I also noticed the boy grows up in the story.  He goes from being a timid uneducated boy to being an educated young man in a rather short period of time.  He loses a sense of innocence because he not only has to live without his father, and the dog temporarily, he goes and visits his father in jail which is something children have to do currently. But he over comes these challenges in life and at the same time he learns to read which is something he really wanted to do.  So even though the boy doesn’t have a name, his character becomes a bigger part of the story as he matures. 

            I think this would be a good book for students to read in a Social Studies class when you are talking about life of American families at the turn of the century.  You can compare life of African Americans, Native Americans and white men and women and see how they lived differently.  This book shows the transition between Reconstruction and the Great Depression in terms of African Americans.  Sounder is a quick read which will help to keep students motivated, but this would be appropriate for a 5^th – 7^th grade student.