The One and Only Ivan, 2013 Newbery Medal Winner
Author: Applegate, Katherine
Illustrator: Castelao, Patricia
Publisher: Harper, 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades 4-8
Promotional Ideas
Plot Summary: Ivan is a gorilla living in a cage as a mall attraction. His friends, both animal and human, help him find some happiness in his lonely life apart from other gorillas. Everything changes when a new animal attraction comes into the picture. Ivan makes a promise that ultimately changes all their lives. Though the story is fictional, it is based on a real gorilla named Ivan now in residence at Zoo Atlanta and events that unfolded in his life.
Personal Response: This is such a touching book. It's hard to read for an animal lover, but the story has so much hope, that it was hard to be sad. It reminds me of a special I saw on TV in high school that has stayed with me all these years. Dolphins are kept as attractions for Florida hotels - usually alone. I have never forgotten one dolphin that swam with an inflatable alligator as his only friend.
Literary Element: The story's conflict is animal vs. man, and ultimately good vs. evil. Ivan narrates the story. His limited language skills are reflected in the sparse prose. The chapters are extremely short to reflect Ivan's moving from thought to thought quickly. the end - One day, a still day when the hot air hummed, the humans came" (p. 128).
Illustrations: There are small illustrations every 5-10 pages that help the reader relate emotionally to the animals. Most of the illustrations show how the animals are feeling at key points in the story.
Review: Horn Book (January/February, 2012)
"I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. / It's not as easy as it looks." In short chapters (the book has an open layout and frequent illustrations) that have the look and feel of prose poems, Applegate has captured the voice of Ivan, a captive gorilla who lives at the "Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade." When a new baby elephant, Ruby, arrives, Ivan promises the old elephant, Stella, that he will take care of her. When Stella passes away, he realizes that their years of captivity in such a restrictive environment are not what Ruby deserves. He hatches a daring plan that involves his own original artwork, a stray dog, the daughter of the custodian, and a zoo thousands of miles away. Ultimately, his plan is successful and the captive animals are relocated to the much-more-humane habitat of the zoo as the pensive, melancholy tone gives way to hope and joy. The choice to tell this story in the first person and to personify the gorilla with an entire range of human thoughts, feelings, and emotions poses important questions to the reader, not only about what it means to be human but also about what it means to be a living creature, and what kind of kinship we all share. An author's note describes the true incident that inspired this story and includes more information about the real Ivan. Jonathan Hunt
Review: Booklist (February 15, 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 12))
Grades 3-6. Ivan, a silverback gorilla, has lived in a glass, metal, and concrete enclosure at Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, “conveniently located off I-95,” for 27 years. Bored, he watches TV, draws pictures, throws “me-balls” (dried excrement) at visitors, and enjoys the company of a venerable elephant named Stella and a few other friends. After a baby elephant arrives, Ivan makes Stella a solemn promise that seems impossible to fulfill. The text, written in first person from Ivan’s point of view, does a good job of vividly conveying his personality, emotions, and intelligence as well as creating a sense of otherness in his point of view. His story is based on the life of a gorilla now living at Zoo Atlanta. The book’s wide-spaced lines, plentiful white space, and pleasing black-and-white illustrations make this a quicker read than the page count might suggest. Animal fans will enjoy this one.
Promotion: The One and Only Ivan fits well into a unit on social justice or animal rights for middle schoolers. The idea of Ivan as an artist would give it a place in an art classroom. Other animals that paint/draw could be studied.
Author: Applegate, Katherine
Illustrator: Castelao, Patricia
Publisher: Harper, 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades 4-8
Promotional Ideas
Plot Summary: Ivan is a gorilla living in a cage as a mall attraction. His friends, both animal and human, help him find some happiness in his lonely life apart from other gorillas. Everything changes when a new animal attraction comes into the picture. Ivan makes a promise that ultimately changes all their lives. Though the story is fictional, it is based on a real gorilla named Ivan now in residence at Zoo Atlanta and events that unfolded in his life.
Personal Response: This is such a touching book. It's hard to read for an animal lover, but the story has so much hope, that it was hard to be sad. It reminds me of a special I saw on TV in high school that has stayed with me all these years. Dolphins are kept as attractions for Florida hotels - usually alone. I have never forgotten one dolphin that swam with an inflatable alligator as his only friend.
Literary Element: The story's conflict is animal vs. man, and ultimately good vs. evil. Ivan narrates the story. His limited language skills are reflected in the sparse prose. The chapters are extremely short to reflect Ivan's moving from thought to thought quickly. the end - One day, a still day when the hot air hummed, the humans came" (p. 128).
Illustrations: There are small illustrations every 5-10 pages that help the reader relate emotionally to the animals. Most of the illustrations show how the animals are feeling at key points in the story.
Review: Horn Book (January/February, 2012)
"I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. / It's not as easy as it looks." In short chapters (the book has an open layout and frequent illustrations) that have the look and feel of prose poems, Applegate has captured the voice of Ivan, a captive gorilla who lives at the "Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade." When a new baby elephant, Ruby, arrives, Ivan promises the old elephant, Stella, that he will take care of her. When Stella passes away, he realizes that their years of captivity in such a restrictive environment are not what Ruby deserves. He hatches a daring plan that involves his own original artwork, a stray dog, the daughter of the custodian, and a zoo thousands of miles away. Ultimately, his plan is successful and the captive animals are relocated to the much-more-humane habitat of the zoo as the pensive, melancholy tone gives way to hope and joy. The choice to tell this story in the first person and to personify the gorilla with an entire range of human thoughts, feelings, and emotions poses important questions to the reader, not only about what it means to be human but also about what it means to be a living creature, and what kind of kinship we all share. An author's note describes the true incident that inspired this story and includes more information about the real Ivan. Jonathan Hunt
Review: Booklist (February 15, 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 12))
Grades 3-6. Ivan, a silverback gorilla, has lived in a glass, metal, and concrete enclosure at Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, “conveniently located off I-95,” for 27 years. Bored, he watches TV, draws pictures, throws “me-balls” (dried excrement) at visitors, and enjoys the company of a venerable elephant named Stella and a few other friends. After a baby elephant arrives, Ivan makes Stella a solemn promise that seems impossible to fulfill. The text, written in first person from Ivan’s point of view, does a good job of vividly conveying his personality, emotions, and intelligence as well as creating a sense of otherness in his point of view. His story is based on the life of a gorilla now living at Zoo Atlanta. The book’s wide-spaced lines, plentiful white space, and pleasing black-and-white illustrations make this a quicker read than the page count might suggest. Animal fans will enjoy this one.
Promotion: The One and Only Ivan fits well into a unit on social justice or animal rights for middle schoolers. The idea of Ivan as an artist would give it a place in an art classroom. Other animals that paint/draw could be studied.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1996 Newbery Honor, also honored as ALA Notable Children's Book and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book
Author: Curtis, Christopher Paul
Publisher: Delacorte Press, 1995
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades 5-9
Promotional Ideas
Plot Summary: The Watson family goes on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama in the hopes of improving the attitude of their juvenile delinquent son, Byron. While there, they become part of a church bombing that rocks their faith to the core.
Personal Response: This is one of my favorite read-alouds of all time. The family is hilarious, and brings needed levity to such a serious topic. The characters are so well written that they feel like people you've known your whole life. It's a book you don't want to end because you won't get to "be with" these people any more.
Literary Element: There is symbolism throughout the book. The "wool-pooh" represents death, for example. This is a book that can help introduce that idea to students, as it's often a concept they've not encountered (in my experience) until reading this book.
Review: Booklist (August 1995)
Gr. 4-8. In a voice that's both smart and naive, strong and scared, fourth-grader Kenny Watson tells about his African American family in Flint, Michigan, in 1963. We get to know his strict, loving parents and his tough older brother, who gets into so much trouble his parents decide to take him back "home" to Birmingham, Alabama, where maybe his strong grandmother will teach him some sense. Several of the family stories are a bit self-conscious (we keep being told we're going to laugh as Dad puts on a show and acts the fool), but the relationships aren't idealized. Racism and the civil rights movement are like a soft rumble in the background, especially as the Watsons drive south. Then Kenny's cute little sister is in a Birmingham church when a bomb goes off. She escapes (Curtis doesn't exploit the horror), but we're with Kenny as he dreads that she's part of the rubble. In this compelling first novel, form and content are one: in the last few chapters, the affectionate situation comedy is suddenly transformed, and we see how racist terror can invade the shelter of home.
Review: School Library Journal (February 2000)
Gr 5-8-In the only Newbery Honor book to make my list, the weighty issues and historical perspectives don't get in the way of a very funny family. Byron plays some awful tricks on his younger brother Kenny, but readers can't help but laugh at some of his less harmful teasing. He tells a convincing story to little sister Joey about how garbage trucks scoop up frozen Southern folks who don't dress warmly enough, and half-fools Kenny with his tall tale. While the boys supply many of the laughs, it's clear that they get their sense of humor from their dad. His gentle teasing and tongue-in-cheek exaggerations can be hilarious. Laughter and Tears Award: More than any other book on my list, the humor in The Watsons shifts to near tragedy and many thought-provoking developments. The serious stuff succeeds in part because readers grow so close to this family through the humor that comes earlier in the book.
Promotion: The Watsons Go to Birmingham is an obvious choice for a social studies unit on civil rights, Jim Crow laws, or other racial/social change in the 1960's. It does not sugar-coat the issue, but has enough humor in it to make the book accessible to middle school students.
Author: Curtis, Christopher Paul
Publisher: Delacorte Press, 1995
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades 5-9
Promotional Ideas
Plot Summary: The Watson family goes on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama in the hopes of improving the attitude of their juvenile delinquent son, Byron. While there, they become part of a church bombing that rocks their faith to the core.
Personal Response: This is one of my favorite read-alouds of all time. The family is hilarious, and brings needed levity to such a serious topic. The characters are so well written that they feel like people you've known your whole life. It's a book you don't want to end because you won't get to "be with" these people any more.
Literary Element: There is symbolism throughout the book. The "wool-pooh" represents death, for example. This is a book that can help introduce that idea to students, as it's often a concept they've not encountered (in my experience) until reading this book.
Review: Booklist (August 1995)
Gr. 4-8. In a voice that's both smart and naive, strong and scared, fourth-grader Kenny Watson tells about his African American family in Flint, Michigan, in 1963. We get to know his strict, loving parents and his tough older brother, who gets into so much trouble his parents decide to take him back "home" to Birmingham, Alabama, where maybe his strong grandmother will teach him some sense. Several of the family stories are a bit self-conscious (we keep being told we're going to laugh as Dad puts on a show and acts the fool), but the relationships aren't idealized. Racism and the civil rights movement are like a soft rumble in the background, especially as the Watsons drive south. Then Kenny's cute little sister is in a Birmingham church when a bomb goes off. She escapes (Curtis doesn't exploit the horror), but we're with Kenny as he dreads that she's part of the rubble. In this compelling first novel, form and content are one: in the last few chapters, the affectionate situation comedy is suddenly transformed, and we see how racist terror can invade the shelter of home.
Review: School Library Journal (February 2000)
Gr 5-8-In the only Newbery Honor book to make my list, the weighty issues and historical perspectives don't get in the way of a very funny family. Byron plays some awful tricks on his younger brother Kenny, but readers can't help but laugh at some of his less harmful teasing. He tells a convincing story to little sister Joey about how garbage trucks scoop up frozen Southern folks who don't dress warmly enough, and half-fools Kenny with his tall tale. While the boys supply many of the laughs, it's clear that they get their sense of humor from their dad. His gentle teasing and tongue-in-cheek exaggerations can be hilarious. Laughter and Tears Award: More than any other book on my list, the humor in The Watsons shifts to near tragedy and many thought-provoking developments. The serious stuff succeeds in part because readers grow so close to this family through the humor that comes earlier in the book.
Promotion: The Watsons Go to Birmingham is an obvious choice for a social studies unit on civil rights, Jim Crow laws, or other racial/social change in the 1960's. It does not sugar-coat the issue, but has enough humor in it to make the book accessible to middle school students.
Flora & Ulysses, 2014 Newbery Medal Winner
Author: DiCamillo, Kate
Illustrator: Campbell, K.G.
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades 3-6
Plot Summary: Flora is an only child caught in the middle of her parents' divorce. She feels very alone, until a "superhero" squirrel comes into her life. Ulysses helps her feel connected to someone again, and ultimately helps to bring her family together again. Though the parents do not reunite, there is a peace brought back to the family.
Personal Response: This novel hit a little too close to home for me. My daughter comes from a divorced home, and I know that she does not always receive all the attention she needs from me due to recent family illnesses and deaths, my full time job, and my pursuit of a master's degree. The mother was the villain in the book, and I didn't want her to be. She was redeemed as a mother somewhat at the end, but not really in a very satisfactory manner.
Literary Element: Kate DiCamillo has now joined the ranks of the graphic novelists. There were entire sections told in comic form, and allusions to other fictional comics were made.
Illustrations: "The Illuminated Adventures" of Flora and Ulysses rely heavily on the pencil cartoon drawings to tell parts of the story and to impart emotion. They are integral to the story, which would be much weaker without them.
Review: Booklist starred (June 1, 2013)
Grades 3-6. The story begins with a vacuum cleaner. And a squirrel. Or, to be more precise, a squirrel who gets sucked into a Ulysses Super Suction wielded by Flora’s neighbor, Mrs. Tickham. The rather hairless squirrel that is spit out is not the same one that went in. That squirrel had only one thought: “I’m hungry.” After Flora performs CPR, the rescued squirrel, newly named Ulysses, is still hungry, but now he has many thoughts in his head. Foremost is his consideration of Flora’s suggestion that perhaps he is a superhero like The Amazing Incandesto, whose comic-book adventures Flora read with her father. (Drawing on comic-strip elements, Campbell’s illustrations here work wonderfully well.) Since Flora’s father and mother have split up, Flora has become a confirmed and defiant cynic. Yet it is hard to remain a cynic while one’s heart is opening to a squirrel who can type (“Squirtl. I am . . . born anew”), who can fly, and who adores Flora. Newbery winner DiCamillo is a master storyteller, and not just because she creates characters who dance off the pages and plots, whether epic or small, that never fail to engage and delight readers. Her biggest strength is exposing the truths that open and heal the human heart. She believes in possibilities and forgiveness and teaches her audience that the salt of life can be cut with the right measure of love. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: DiCamillo has a devoted following, plus this book has an extensive marketing campaign. That equals demand.
Review: Publishers Weekly (June 24, 2013)
Newbery Medalist DiCamillo and illustrator Campbell meld prose with comics sequences in a broad comedy tinged with sadness. Bitter about her parents' divorce, Flora Buckman has withdrawn into her favorite comic book, The Amazing Incandesto! and memorized the advisories in its ongoing bonus feature, Terrible Things Can Happen to You! She puts those life-saving tips into action when a squirrel is swallowed whole by a neighbor's new vacuum cleaner, the Ulysses Super-Suction Multi-Terrain 2000X. Flora resuscitates the squirrel, christens him after the vacuum, and witnesses a superhero-like transformation: Ulysses is now uber-strong, can fly, and composes poetry. Despite supremely quirky characters and dialogue worthy of an SAT prep class, there's real emotion at the heart of this story involving two kids who have been failed by the most important people in their lives: their parents. It's into this profound vacuum that Ulysses really flies, demonstrating an unconditional love for his rescuer, trumped only perhaps by his love for food and a desire "to make the letters on the keyboard speak the truth of his heart." Ages 10-up. Author's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. Illustrator's agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Promotion: This would fit well in a library promotion of graphic novels. It's more intelligent than some of the graphic novels that are popular today. It would be a great gateway book for reluctant readers to get them interested in other Kate DiCamillo books and from there, other more literary choices than Captain Underpants.
Author: DiCamillo, Kate
Illustrator: Campbell, K.G.
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades 3-6
Plot Summary: Flora is an only child caught in the middle of her parents' divorce. She feels very alone, until a "superhero" squirrel comes into her life. Ulysses helps her feel connected to someone again, and ultimately helps to bring her family together again. Though the parents do not reunite, there is a peace brought back to the family.
Personal Response: This novel hit a little too close to home for me. My daughter comes from a divorced home, and I know that she does not always receive all the attention she needs from me due to recent family illnesses and deaths, my full time job, and my pursuit of a master's degree. The mother was the villain in the book, and I didn't want her to be. She was redeemed as a mother somewhat at the end, but not really in a very satisfactory manner.
Literary Element: Kate DiCamillo has now joined the ranks of the graphic novelists. There were entire sections told in comic form, and allusions to other fictional comics were made.
Illustrations: "The Illuminated Adventures" of Flora and Ulysses rely heavily on the pencil cartoon drawings to tell parts of the story and to impart emotion. They are integral to the story, which would be much weaker without them.
Review: Booklist starred (June 1, 2013)
Grades 3-6. The story begins with a vacuum cleaner. And a squirrel. Or, to be more precise, a squirrel who gets sucked into a Ulysses Super Suction wielded by Flora’s neighbor, Mrs. Tickham. The rather hairless squirrel that is spit out is not the same one that went in. That squirrel had only one thought: “I’m hungry.” After Flora performs CPR, the rescued squirrel, newly named Ulysses, is still hungry, but now he has many thoughts in his head. Foremost is his consideration of Flora’s suggestion that perhaps he is a superhero like The Amazing Incandesto, whose comic-book adventures Flora read with her father. (Drawing on comic-strip elements, Campbell’s illustrations here work wonderfully well.) Since Flora’s father and mother have split up, Flora has become a confirmed and defiant cynic. Yet it is hard to remain a cynic while one’s heart is opening to a squirrel who can type (“Squirtl. I am . . . born anew”), who can fly, and who adores Flora. Newbery winner DiCamillo is a master storyteller, and not just because she creates characters who dance off the pages and plots, whether epic or small, that never fail to engage and delight readers. Her biggest strength is exposing the truths that open and heal the human heart. She believes in possibilities and forgiveness and teaches her audience that the salt of life can be cut with the right measure of love. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: DiCamillo has a devoted following, plus this book has an extensive marketing campaign. That equals demand.
Review: Publishers Weekly (June 24, 2013)
Newbery Medalist DiCamillo and illustrator Campbell meld prose with comics sequences in a broad comedy tinged with sadness. Bitter about her parents' divorce, Flora Buckman has withdrawn into her favorite comic book, The Amazing Incandesto! and memorized the advisories in its ongoing bonus feature, Terrible Things Can Happen to You! She puts those life-saving tips into action when a squirrel is swallowed whole by a neighbor's new vacuum cleaner, the Ulysses Super-Suction Multi-Terrain 2000X. Flora resuscitates the squirrel, christens him after the vacuum, and witnesses a superhero-like transformation: Ulysses is now uber-strong, can fly, and composes poetry. Despite supremely quirky characters and dialogue worthy of an SAT prep class, there's real emotion at the heart of this story involving two kids who have been failed by the most important people in their lives: their parents. It's into this profound vacuum that Ulysses really flies, demonstrating an unconditional love for his rescuer, trumped only perhaps by his love for food and a desire "to make the letters on the keyboard speak the truth of his heart." Ages 10-up. Author's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. Illustrator's agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Promotion: This would fit well in a library promotion of graphic novels. It's more intelligent than some of the graphic novels that are popular today. It would be a great gateway book for reluctant readers to get them interested in other Kate DiCamillo books and from there, other more literary choices than Captain Underpants.
The Graveyard Book, 2009 Newbery Medal Winner, also received the Carnegie Medal, the Hugo Award, and the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book
Author: Gaiman, Neil
Illustrator: McKean, Dave
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2008
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades 4-8
Plot Summary: Bod, short for Nobody, as a toddler, is the lone survivor of a violent attack on his family. He crawls into a graveyard and finds refuge with the spirits there. They raise him as their own, and protect him, sometimes at a high personal cost.
Personal Response: I did not love this book, but I enjoyed it. It came very highly recommended, and expectations might have been part of the problem. It was a very imaginative story, but one that I had a hard time immersing myself in. With the many awards and accolades the book has received, it must be a short-coming on my part.
Literary Element: This book is built on the good vs. evil theme. Gaiman asks us to think carefully about what truly is good and evil in this novel. Though some characters are all good (such as the Hounds of God), most of the characters fall somewhere in between. Characters that are "good" have a reputation in the supernatural world for being "bad," such as vampires. Choices determine who is good and bad, so it adds a level of depth to the good vs. evil plot.
Review: Booklist starred (September 15, 2008 (Vol. 105, No. 2)) Grades 6-10. While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owenses will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages.
Review: Horn Book (November/December, 2008)
When a toddler fortuitously escapes the murder of his family by "the man Jack," he is taken in by the ghostly denizens of a local graveyard, renamed Nobody Owens, and ushered through childhood by the kindly Mr. and Mrs. Owens and the enigmatic Silas. (As "Bod" soon learns, there are more kinds of people than just the living and the dead, and Silas falls outside those categories.) Growing up in this strange setting entails many adventures, from getting kidnapped by ghouls, to procuring a headstone for a shunned young woman who was "drownded and burnded" as a witch, to, most dangerous of all, attending school with other living children -- all of which prepare Bod for a final showdown with the man Jack, who has never stopped hunting him. Lucid, evocative prose ("'Look at him smile!' said Mrs. Owens...and with one insubstantial hand she stroked the child's sparse blond hair") and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. Warmly rendered by the author, Bod's ghostly extended family is lovably anachronistic; their mundane, old-fashioned quirks add cheerful color to a genuinely creepy backdrop. McKean's occasional pages and spots of art enhance the otherworldly atmosphere with a flowing line, slightly skewed figures, and plenty of deep grays and blacks. Gaiman's assured plotting is as bittersweet as it is action-filled -- the ending, which is also a beginning, is an unexpected tearjerker -- and makes this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.
Promotion: The supernatural characters and Gothic tone of this novel would work well for a Halloween-themed unit for older students. It brings the fun of the spooky fall holiday that older students still enjoy.
Author: Gaiman, Neil
Illustrator: McKean, Dave
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2008
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades 4-8
Plot Summary: Bod, short for Nobody, as a toddler, is the lone survivor of a violent attack on his family. He crawls into a graveyard and finds refuge with the spirits there. They raise him as their own, and protect him, sometimes at a high personal cost.
Personal Response: I did not love this book, but I enjoyed it. It came very highly recommended, and expectations might have been part of the problem. It was a very imaginative story, but one that I had a hard time immersing myself in. With the many awards and accolades the book has received, it must be a short-coming on my part.
Literary Element: This book is built on the good vs. evil theme. Gaiman asks us to think carefully about what truly is good and evil in this novel. Though some characters are all good (such as the Hounds of God), most of the characters fall somewhere in between. Characters that are "good" have a reputation in the supernatural world for being "bad," such as vampires. Choices determine who is good and bad, so it adds a level of depth to the good vs. evil plot.
Review: Booklist starred (September 15, 2008 (Vol. 105, No. 2)) Grades 6-10. While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owenses will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages.
Review: Horn Book (November/December, 2008)
When a toddler fortuitously escapes the murder of his family by "the man Jack," he is taken in by the ghostly denizens of a local graveyard, renamed Nobody Owens, and ushered through childhood by the kindly Mr. and Mrs. Owens and the enigmatic Silas. (As "Bod" soon learns, there are more kinds of people than just the living and the dead, and Silas falls outside those categories.) Growing up in this strange setting entails many adventures, from getting kidnapped by ghouls, to procuring a headstone for a shunned young woman who was "drownded and burnded" as a witch, to, most dangerous of all, attending school with other living children -- all of which prepare Bod for a final showdown with the man Jack, who has never stopped hunting him. Lucid, evocative prose ("'Look at him smile!' said Mrs. Owens...and with one insubstantial hand she stroked the child's sparse blond hair") and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. Warmly rendered by the author, Bod's ghostly extended family is lovably anachronistic; their mundane, old-fashioned quirks add cheerful color to a genuinely creepy backdrop. McKean's occasional pages and spots of art enhance the otherworldly atmosphere with a flowing line, slightly skewed figures, and plenty of deep grays and blacks. Gaiman's assured plotting is as bittersweet as it is action-filled -- the ending, which is also a beginning, is an unexpected tearjerker -- and makes this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.
Promotion: The supernatural characters and Gothic tone of this novel would work well for a Halloween-themed unit for older students. It brings the fun of the spooky fall holiday that older students still enjoy.
Dead End in Norvelt, 2012 Newbery Medal Winner, ALA Notable Children's Book
Author: Gantos, Jack
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011
Genre: Autobiography/Realistic Fiction
Recommended Audience: grades 5-12
Promotional Ideas
Plot Summary: Eleven year old Jack anticipates a boring summer since he has been grounded for its entirety. He is made to help his arthritic neighbor Miss Volker, which leads to many adventures for them both.
Personal Response: I read this book aloud to my daughter, who was eleven at the time. I found the content to be a little more than what I had anticipated. I was not prepared for the intricate details about dead bodies at the mortuary. However, we both really enjoyed this book. I love a book that goes in unexpected directions, and Dead End in Norvelt certainly has that element.
Literary Element: Blood is a theme running through the novel. The narrator, Jack, has nosebleeds, which get worse at ominous points in the novel, such as when he buys poison for Mr. Spizz - this foreshadows bloodshed to come.
Review: Kirkus Reviews starred (August 15, 2011)
An exhilarating summer marked by death, gore and fire sparks deep thoughts in a small-town lad not uncoincidentally named "Jack Gantos." The gore is all Jack's, which to his continuing embarrassment "would spray out of my nose holes like dragon flames" whenever anything exciting or upsetting happens. And that would be on every other page, seemingly, as even though Jack's feuding parents unite to ground him for the summer after several mishaps, he does get out. He mixes with the undertaker's daughter, a band of Hell's Angels out to exact fiery revenge for a member flattened in town by a truck and, especially, with arthritic neighbor Miss Volker, for whom he furnishes the "hired hands" that transcribe what becomes a series of impassioned obituaries for the local paper as elderly town residents suddenly begin passing on in rapid succession. Eventually the unusual body count draws the-justified, as it turns out-attention of the police. Ultimately, the obits and the many Landmark Books that Jack reads (this is 1962) in his hours of confinement all combine in his head to broaden his perspective about both history in general and the slow decline his own town is experiencing. Characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones. (Autobiographical fiction. 11-13)
Review: Library Media Connection (November/December 2011)
The town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania was founded in 1934 to provide out-of-work miners with affordable housing. By 1962, when this story takes place, the town is in decline. Jack's summer plans are thwarted when his mother places him under "house arrest," allowing him only to help arthritic Miss Volker. She dictates obituaries and historical facts to Jack who types them up and takes them to the newspaper office. When Miss Volker is accused of poisoning the women who died that summer, Jack sets out to clear her name. This is an interesting coming of age story. The town of Norvelt does exist, and author Jack Gantos did live there as a child. The town is populated by a series of eccentric characters who contribute to the humor of the story, and the relationship that develops between Jack and Miss Volker rings true. Gantos fans will find this one of his best works. Charlotte Decker, Librarian and Educational Reviewer, Cincinnati, Ohio [Editor's Note: Available in e-book format.] RECOMMENDED
Promotion: Dead End in Norvelt would be an interesting study in how the depression affected American culture. The town was named after Eleanor Roosevelt and founded during the depression. At the time of the novel's setting in 1962 - the town is dying (literally).
Author: Gantos, Jack
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011
Genre: Autobiography/Realistic Fiction
Recommended Audience: grades 5-12
Promotional Ideas
Plot Summary: Eleven year old Jack anticipates a boring summer since he has been grounded for its entirety. He is made to help his arthritic neighbor Miss Volker, which leads to many adventures for them both.
Personal Response: I read this book aloud to my daughter, who was eleven at the time. I found the content to be a little more than what I had anticipated. I was not prepared for the intricate details about dead bodies at the mortuary. However, we both really enjoyed this book. I love a book that goes in unexpected directions, and Dead End in Norvelt certainly has that element.
Literary Element: Blood is a theme running through the novel. The narrator, Jack, has nosebleeds, which get worse at ominous points in the novel, such as when he buys poison for Mr. Spizz - this foreshadows bloodshed to come.
Review: Kirkus Reviews starred (August 15, 2011)
An exhilarating summer marked by death, gore and fire sparks deep thoughts in a small-town lad not uncoincidentally named "Jack Gantos." The gore is all Jack's, which to his continuing embarrassment "would spray out of my nose holes like dragon flames" whenever anything exciting or upsetting happens. And that would be on every other page, seemingly, as even though Jack's feuding parents unite to ground him for the summer after several mishaps, he does get out. He mixes with the undertaker's daughter, a band of Hell's Angels out to exact fiery revenge for a member flattened in town by a truck and, especially, with arthritic neighbor Miss Volker, for whom he furnishes the "hired hands" that transcribe what becomes a series of impassioned obituaries for the local paper as elderly town residents suddenly begin passing on in rapid succession. Eventually the unusual body count draws the-justified, as it turns out-attention of the police. Ultimately, the obits and the many Landmark Books that Jack reads (this is 1962) in his hours of confinement all combine in his head to broaden his perspective about both history in general and the slow decline his own town is experiencing. Characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones. (Autobiographical fiction. 11-13)
Review: Library Media Connection (November/December 2011)
The town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania was founded in 1934 to provide out-of-work miners with affordable housing. By 1962, when this story takes place, the town is in decline. Jack's summer plans are thwarted when his mother places him under "house arrest," allowing him only to help arthritic Miss Volker. She dictates obituaries and historical facts to Jack who types them up and takes them to the newspaper office. When Miss Volker is accused of poisoning the women who died that summer, Jack sets out to clear her name. This is an interesting coming of age story. The town of Norvelt does exist, and author Jack Gantos did live there as a child. The town is populated by a series of eccentric characters who contribute to the humor of the story, and the relationship that develops between Jack and Miss Volker rings true. Gantos fans will find this one of his best works. Charlotte Decker, Librarian and Educational Reviewer, Cincinnati, Ohio [Editor's Note: Available in e-book format.] RECOMMENDED
Promotion: Dead End in Norvelt would be an interesting study in how the depression affected American culture. The town was named after Eleanor Roosevelt and founded during the depression. At the time of the novel's setting in 1962 - the town is dying (literally).