BIBLIOGRAPHYLord, Cynthia. 2006. RULES. Book design by Kristina Albertson. New York,N.Y.: Scholastic Press. ISBN:0-439-44382-2.
PLOT
Twelve-year old Catherine has no tolerance for her younger brother David's disabilities. She creates rules for his set of behaviors. It's her friendship with Jason, a paraplegic that has her re-evaluating those rules and herself.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Catherine's character creates the plot for each chapter exposing her insecurities through rule making behavior for her brother. Common for girl teens of this age, who don't want to appear "dorkish", for self preservation from embarrassment she must contain and control the problem, her brother.
Each chapter begins with a "rule". The author weaves the story using the rules to further the plot and setting which is set in present time, the mall, occupational therapy, birthday parties, neighbor's yards and in the house. Places all common to her brother but still believable areas for the reader to experience situations that would cause a scene. I can identify in part with Catherine because I grew up with many foster children, one being deaf. He "mooed" loudly wherever we went and it caused people to look and stare. I wanted to hide. However, unlike Catherine I was not in charge of making the rules.
Using first person in natural conversations with her parents and friends, the dialogue is believable. The words and defiant tones are representative of teenagers today. Even Jason, Catherines' paraplegic friend who she has made "speaking" cards for taps out to her in response to not wanting to go to Speech Therapy,"Whatever. Speech."(Lord, 2006 pg. 148). Signifying the voice, the style and theme of growing into adulthood regardless of handicap, tweens respond equally,"Whatever". The story is not biased or overloaded with details but gives enough to the reader to understand the situation and feel with the characters, even with David. Catherine looks at her brother and thinks, "How can his outside look so normal and his inside be so broken?"(Lord, 2006. pg. 110). Meanwhile, Jason's outside appears broken but his inside speaks clarity and helps Catherine change her rules accepting herself and the world around her.
The gender quotient appears equal. Catherine has her friend Kristi and Melissa. Jason and David have disabilities while another character Ryan, teases David. Through these characters conversational language,Catherine is forced to learn about herself, put away her feelings of resentment, rejection and accepts her brother, "like sharing something small and special, just my brother and me"(Lord, 2006 pg. 200).
The point of view, material and content is appropriate for this age of reader as well as for adults. One rule made,"If you need to borrow words, Arnold Lobel wrote some good ones"(Lord, 2006 pg. 198), again relates to the reader who may be familar with his works helping to establish plot, setting and mood of the chapter.
REVIEWS/AWARDS
Kirkus Review
Catherine is an appealing and believable character, acutely self-conscious and torn between her love for her brother and her resentment of his special needs. Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences.
School Library Journal
Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. . . this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.
Buckeye Children's Book Award (Ohio)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (Vermont)
Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan)
Great Stone Face Award (New Hampshire)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award
Kid's Choice Awards Nominee
KidPost Book of the Week
Maine Student Book Award
Mitten Award (Michigan Library Association)
Newbery Honor Medal
Schneider Family Book Award
Washington Post Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts (NCTE)
CONNECTIONS
Theme: Social Skills
School Library:
Have students each write one new rule on a Post-It note. Write the classroom rules on the board. Have students post their note to the matching rule. If the rule is not similar, create a section for "Other Rules". Next, post Catherine's Rules for David and compare to class rules or "Other". How realistic are the "rules"? What are some common sense, good manners, or social skills that we use as Young Adults?
Public Library:
Next to the Storytime room, have colored paper for children to write "rules" posting onto the wall. Read the selected books for younger children or have books displayed at front desk.
Allen, Kathryn, Madeline. 2003. THE LITTLE PIGGY'S BOOK OF MANNERS. Henry Holt,Co. ISBN-10:0805067698
Eberly, Sheryl. 2001. 365 MANNERS KIDS SHOULD KNOW:GAMESAND ACTIVITIES. Standard Publishing. ISBN-10:0784716846
Katz, Karen. 2002. EXCUSE ME! A LITTLE BOOK OF MANNERS.Grosset & Dunlap.ISBN-10: 0448425858
Leaf, Munro.2004. MANNERS CAN BE FUN. Universe.ISBN-10: 0789310619
Leaf, Munro.2002. HOW TO BEHAVE AND WHY.Universe. ISBN-10: 0789306840
Poetry Connection: It's Hard To Be An Elephant by Jack Prelutsky. (Imagine all the rules Catherine would come up with for this poor old pachyderm.)Prelutsky, Jack. 2008. BE GLAD YOUR NOSE IS ON YOUR FACE.ISBN-10: 0061576530
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rosoff, Meg. 2004. HOW I LIVE NOW. Jacket Ill. Istvan Banyai. New York, N.Y.: Wendy Lamb Books. Random House Children's Books. ISBN: 0-385-74677-6.
PLOT
Elizabeth, who prefers to be called Daisy, visits her Aunt in England. The fifteen-year old girl from New York, only child, stepmother-hater learns about love and family from their instant acceptance. Through an unexpected World War and her four cousins, Elizabeth tells her story.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Elizabeth, the main character goes by Daisy which to me when I think of Daisy is a sweet, innocent, fresh name for a character. This sets up the irony of who Elizabeth is. The author reveals in detail the cousins but the reader patiently waits throughout each chapter to learn something new about Elizabeth. The reader experiences the metamorphosis of a selfish, callous, city girl, to a love raging tween transforming into an adult-like caregiver needing to quickly grow up to survive, taking care of Piper, her youngest cousin throughout the war.
The plot took some surprising turns, a few of which I was not ready for and questioned if it was appropriate even for a twelve-year old to read. For example the matter-of-fact child sex, and masturbation conversations. Maybe this was the author's way of keeping the male tween interested in the storyline. Maybe this was the author's way of dialoguing a theme true of what teens talk about reflecting a style to gender and culture. As a parent and future librarian, this is a good example of why parents should read the book before their children. For librarians, the importance of knowing content preventing future questions,"Why is this book in our school library?"
The setting was contemporary creating the stereotyping of "war", bombing, food rationing, limited petrol, lack of medicine, and borders closing. Characters referred to "The Occupation" and "The Enemy" but never a specific mention of a date or place other than England.
The author's style was new to me. Not written using quotation marks to clue in conversation, just capitalization mid sentence in paragraphs. Elizabeth's character tugged at me as she stopped the story to talk to the reader, "You might wonder as I did"(Rosoff, 2004 pg.37) or "This is a place that I need to explain..." and I felt it disconnected me from the story even though she was "filling me in with facts". From one chapter, "I would like to make an important point before this goes any further. If you don't believe me it just means you've never met one of them yourself, which is your lost"(Rosoff,2004 pg.49).
A theme that transformed from lust "starving, starving, starving for Edmond. What a coincidence that was the feeling I loved best in the world"(Rosoff, 2004 pg.45), "Hunger wasn't a punishment,crime weapon simply a way of being in love"(Rosoff, 2004 pg.53) for which a teenager today would also esteem. However contrasted further along in the story, it changes to an actual hunger and starvation not from love but the effects of the war. At one point the children are left alone in the house as the mother leaves the country before the war breaks out, a turning point in the story. The government comes through checking the village and Elizabeth thinks, "We do not need any government surplus parents thank you very much" as would be the expected defiant reaction from independent teenagers(Rosoff, 2004 pg 59) regardless if they were starving, neglected and in need of help. Is it a predicatable ending of hope and love? There are twists and turns to get there, road blocks along the way with a surprise at the end!
REVIEWS/AWARDS
Starred Review*Publishers Weekly*
This riveting first novel paints a frighteningly realistic picture of a world war breaking out in the 21st century . . . Readers will emerge from the rubble much shaken, a little wiser, and with perhaps a greater sense of humanity.
Starred Review*The Horn Book*
A winning combination of acerbic commentary, innocence, and sober vision. . . . Hilarious, lyrical, and compassionate.
Starred Review*Booklist*
Gr. 8-11. A 15-year-old, contemporary urbanite named Daisy, sent to England to summer with relatives, falls in love with her aunt's "oldy worldy" farm and her soulful cousins--especially Edmond, with whom she forms "the world's most inappropriate case of sexual obsession." Matters veer in a startling direction when terrorists strike while Daisy's aunt is out of the country, war erupts, and soldiers divide the cousins by gender between two guardians. Determined to rejoin Edmond, Daisy and her youngest cousin embark upon a dangerous journey that brings them face to face with horrific violence and undreamt-of deprivation. Just prior to the hopeful conclusion, Rosoff introduces a jolting leap forward in time accompanied by an evocative graphic device that will undoubtedly spark lively discussions. As for the incestuous romance, Daisy and Edmond's separation for most of the novel and the obvious emotional sustenance Daisy draws from their bond sensitively shift the focus away from the relationship's implicit (and potentially discomfiting) physical dimension. More central to the potency of Rosoff's debut, though, is the ominous prognostication of what a third world war might look like, and the opportunity it provides for teens to imagine themselves, like Daisy, exhibiting courage and resilience in roles traditionally occupied by earlier generations. Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
2005
ALA Best Books for Young Adults Winner
Booklist Books for Youth Editors' Choice Winner
Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe Prize Winner
Branford Boase Award Winner
Horn Book Fanfare Winner
Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award Winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee
Michael L. Printz Award Winner
Orange Prize for New Writers Nominee
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year Winner
Publishers Weekly Flying Start Author Winner
2004
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize Winner
Whitbread Award Shortlist
CONNECTIONS
Theme: Family
School Library:
Search a 4 generation genealogy chart for both of your parents. If you were adopted or living with a grandparent, continue from their information. Follow it further enough to discover "roots" outside of the United States. Write a fictional essay of your travels to that country, which relatives you visited and the activities you shared during your stay.
Public Library:
Create a Young Adult display exhibiting large genealogical trees and "roots" from popular writer's, Judy Blume, Judith Voirst, Meg Rosoff, Cynthia Lord and other award-winning authors, displaying their works next to their ancestral charts.
After reading those books, students can gather information the author used to establish, "familial ties" or could that could be used to trace a family tree for that fictional character, perhaps filling in the blanks and "inventing" more facts. Present with class to see if there are any "sybling connections" or host a class "family reunion" with each student brining their chart and favorite book to share.
Poetry Connection: Granny Grizer by Jack Prelutsky. Prelutsky, Jack.1984.THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK. Greenwillow. ISBN-10: 0688022715
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BIBLIOGRAPHYHale, Shannon and Dean. 2008. RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE. Ill. Nathan Hale. New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books. ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-070-4.
PLOT
A new spin on a classic tale of Rapunzel. From a little girl to a Western-galloping heroine, Rapunzel seeks to find her true identity and reunite with her mother. Through her adventure she meets her Prince, Jack.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
"Well I'll be swigger-jiggered and hung out to dry," the lassoing redheaded Rapunzel exclaimed, bubbled caption overhead, "I was speechless". Such captions throughout this graphic novel make wordplay fun adding depth to the characters. It took me awhile to accept a slanging, swinging, roughing, toughing cowgirl-like character compared to the books introduction of an innocent protected-from-the-outside- world child. Only until she climbs the wall does her character change. I wondered where she had learned to become so tough or had heard the accent and drawls of the western world that she incorporated into her speech.
It was Part 2: Rustling Up Some Grub that put the following story into context for me creating the "Wild Frontier" plot and setting for the story. From there on in the dialogue and characters were true to form. Comedy throughout the novel kept this tale original and fresh not piggy backing on the older version of one locked away. For example, the future hero Jack, bumps into Rapunzel disquised wearing western women's clothing compared to the Colgate smiling assumed "adventuring hero"off looking to save the beautiful maiden, asks Rapunzel, "so tiny ragmuffin, you may point the way to her mystical tower" oblivious with whom he's speaking. Rappunzel gives him directions to her recently escaped dungeon and they part in opposite directions, captions above," This is where the 'once upon a time' part ends, with yours truly finally free from that perpendicular prison". That was the beginning of a 'yeeeha" adventure consistent with the author's style and voice.
This graphic novel visually colors the setting painting action ahead, detailing each scene with facial expressions giving the reader a ride vanquishing villians keeping with the theme of good verses evil and love will conquor all. The style the author carries is a playful tone that works between Rapunzel and Jack. After reuniting with her mother and killing off Gothel Jack looks up at Rapunzel, "Punzie?Hey Punzie! Let your hair back down! I want to climb up!"(Hale, 2008 pg. 142). This ties for the reader the old version with the new. Rapunzel's reply,"Not to get all namby-pamby, but thanks for helping me". With that, a short-haired Rapunzel and Hero Jack kiss, which is where fairytales end, happily-ever after.
REVIEWS/AWARDS
Booklist
Grades 5-8.This graphic novel retelling of the fairy-tale classic, set in a swashbuckling Wild West, puts action first and features some serious girl power in its spunky and strong heroine. Young Rapunzel lives a lonely life, never knowing what lies beyond the high garden walls of her mother’s royal villa until one day she climbs the wall to see what’s on the other side. When she finds that the world outside is a dark place oppressed by her mother’s greed for power and uncovers the real secret of her own birth, she is imprisoned in a magic tree tower. In her years of captivity, she learns a lot about self-reliance and care for her exceptionally long hair, and eventually she is able to escape, vowing to bring down her mother’s cruel empire. Hale’s art matches the story well, yielding expressive characters and lending a wonderful sense of place to the fantasy landscape. Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers. --Tina Coleman
School Library Journal*Starred Review*.
Grade 5 Up–This is the tale as you've never seen it before. After using her hair to free herself from her prison tower, this Rapunzel ignores the pompous prince and teams up with Jack (of Beanstalk fame) in an attempt to free her birth mother and an entire kingdom from the evil witch who once moonlighted as her mother. Dogged by both the witch's henchman and Jack's outlaw past, the heroes travel across the map as they right wrongs, help the oppressed, and generally try to stay alive. Rapunzel is no damsel in distress–she wields her long braids as both rope and weapon–but she happily accepts Jack's teamwork and friendship. While the witch's castle is straight out of a fairy tale, the nearby mining camps and rugged surrounding countryside are a throwback to the Wild West and make sense in the world that the authors and illustrator have crafted. The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. Knowing that there are more graphic novels to come from this writing team brings readers their own happily-ever-after.–Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2009
ALA Notable Children's Books Middle School
Coretta Scott King Author Award
Cybil Graphic Novel Middle School
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award-Nominee
Pura Belpre Award
Schneider Family Award
Sibert Medal and Honor
South Carolina Adult Book Award
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens
2008
Eisner Award Nominee Best Publication for Teens/Tweens
Printz Honor
CONNECTIONS
Theme: Fairy Tale's through Graphic Novels
School Library:
Students will research for graphic novels using a "fairytale theme".
Bracken, Beth. 2008. CINDERELLA. Stone Arch Books. ISBN-10: 1434208605
Hoena, Blake A.2008.JACK AND THE BEANSTALK.Stone Arch Books. ISBN-10: 1434208621 Lemke,Donald.2008. HANSEL AND GRETEL.Stone Arch Books.ISBN-10:143420863X
Powell, Martin. 2008. RED RIDING HOOD.Stone Arch Books. ISBN-10: 1434208656
Public Library:
Can continue to showcase graphic novels or read other selections written by Shannon Hale:
BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS.2007. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books.
ISBN-10: 1582349908
PRINCESS ACADEMY.2007. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books. ISBN-10: 1599900734
THE GOOSE GIRL(BOOKS OF BAYERN).2005. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books. ISBN-10: 1582349908
Spotlight Shannon Hale with "fairytale" moments from her life using a timeline on display. Young Adults can add their own "fairytale" moments to the timeline or "fairytale"moments from the community.
Poetry Connection:Something Told the Wild Geese by Rebecca Field. Harrison, Michael. 1999. ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN.ISBN-10: 0192761900
Poetry can be used to showcase "fairytales".
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