Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America

This book takes one particular subject in our nation’s history (the cotton industry) and explains it so well with pictures, quotes, and text. This book brings to students’ attention the true story of slavery. The treatment and work of slaves is told in truth in this book and I honestly have learned a lot. This was a very fascinating book which kept my interest with its facts, pictures, and interview quotes. A great characteristic of Up Before Daybreak is there are very little pages with just words. There is at least one picture to break up the text which makes it a lot easier to read and to hold the reader’s attention. I love the realistic pictures. They take you back to that time period to see what the world was like and I feel each picture was well chosen and represented the information in the text. Even the quotes said by real slaves allow us to see further into the life of a slave and the work done on cotton plantations. The interviews and pictures of former slaves and their work “give us insights into life in slavery times” (p.3). Students can see that slaves were treated as objects and not people. They were traded like we borrow items from friends or buy something from the store. That is what they did back then and it is important for students to see how far we have come since then. I, myself, was fascinated by the pictures and I caught myself looking at the pictures before reading. I study the pictures before reading so that I can have a general knowledge of what is to come in the text on the page.
I like how the author helps readers understand situations that occurred back then by comparing them to something readers would know about. For example, on page 12, the author helps explain the difficulty of pulling the seeds out of the fibers- “If you hold a boll of fuzzy seed cotton in your hand and squeeze, you can feel the tiny bumps of seeds inside. But when you try to get the seeds out- watch out! It’s tricky. The cotton fiber sticks to them. It’s a little like trying to pull stickers off your socks after you’ve been for a walk in a field or getting burs out of the thick coat of a dog.” The reader can visualize a sticker or bur caught in their sock and probably relate to that frustration. I can relate to and understand that because I had to pull so many stickers out my clothes as a kid after walking/playing in my grandparents’ backyard in central Texas. I am sure there are many other items in this book which students can make connections.
Overall, Up Before Daybreak gives a good amount of information about the cotton industry then and now without overwhelming the reader with too much detail. I enjoyed reading this book, especially because it was not too long and it kept my attention. I love history books and this one was a 5 star book!

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

I love history books, so I enjoyed this story. I am just like the author in that I have never heard about Emmett Till until I started graduate school. After reading this story and seeing what the author said about the civil rights movement, Emmett Till’s story should have been a major part in the civil rights movement because it dealt with treatment and consequences. “Many historians-and most history textbooks- cite Park’s act of civil disobedience as the beginning of the great civil rights movement, but it was the senseless murder of Emmett Till that galvanized Blacks all over the United States and set the stage for the civil rights movement to begin” (p. 26). It was good that the author told us the story of Emmett Till before and after he was murdered. I think the story was easier to understand after knowing what exactly happened. It was neat when the author gave us a history lesson inside a history lesson- told us what was popular back in the 50s and what places such as Mississippi and Chicago looked like at the time Emmett was alive. What helped in visualizing what America was like back then was all the authentic pictures. I thought it was great how the author incorporated real pictures of Emmett and other people involved. I got a better picture and was able to understand the situation more. The case of Emmett Till reminds me of Tom Robinson’s case in To Kill A Mockingbird. It was very much the same situation- behavior towards Tom and deciding he was guilty even though the evidence was clear that Tom was innocent.
The book gave such a great history of the civil rights movement in addition to Emmett Till’s story. All the information given in the book allows kids to understand how America was back during Emmett’s time. The author mentions in the book that the behavior towards African Americans has been going on since before the signing of the Declaration of Independence (p. 25). There were other killings of African Americans by whites going on even during broad daylight with witnesses, but no convictions were ever made. I found some quotes from the book that help to explain that time in America’s history:

“In a spectacularly intense moment, Mose Wright stood at the witness stand, pointed at Milam and Bryant, and stated that they were the ones who had come into his home to kidnap Emmett. Wright’s act of courage marked one of the first times an African American accused a white of a crime in a Mississippi court of law. Fearing for his life, he had to leave the state immediately after the trial.
Despite the many testimonies, the clear evidence (including Milam and Bryant’s confession to kidnapping), and Chatham’s eloquent closing-argument, after deliberating for barely an hour, the all-white jury declared the defendants not guilty” (p. 22-23).

“The Emmett Till trial is over, but we, as Negroes, should never forget its meaning. The fact that Milam and Bryant were acquitted shows us how tremendous a job we face to bring complete democracy to our entire nation. Negroes and other clear-thinking Americans must combine their efforts to press for freedom and equality through both political and legal challenges” (p. 23).

Getting Away with Murder would be a great book to use in a unit or lesson about civil rights. Students will be able to see how far we have come in our society. Overall, this is a great history book!
“To understand and appreciate the modern history of the fight for equal rights for African Americans, American teenagers of all races should know the story of Emmett Till and its impact on American Society. This book will, I hope, keep alive the memory of the Emmett Till case and provide a broader understanding if the beginning of the civil rights movement” (p. 13).

Persepolis

For me, this was a tough book to get into. I could not get motivated to read it. I feel bad for saying this, but it is true. It did not capture my attention. I was lost 20 pages into the story. I think what makes it hard for me are the illustrations which are not appealing (all black and white) and I do not know anything about the Iranian culture or history. There was a lot of information given and I could not keep track of all the events. Some parts were serious and then it would go to the little girl and her opinions which were as innocent as can be. I don’t know. I just could not connect with what was happening.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This was such a great and entertaining book. Once again, my 20-year-old friend read it during my office shift. He read it in one sitting and was constantly laughing. This is proof that even though Diary of a Wimpy Kid is labeled as a Young Adult novel, it is loved by readers of all ages.
I thought the layout of the book, words and pictures together, was an excellent way for the book. Of course, it was the obvious way to record a young adult’s emotions and every day adventures. The pictures supplied a great visual to the jokes the author, Jeff Kinney, wrote. The book does well at relating the every day emotions and activities of middle school and even high school students such as image, girls, popularity (peer pressure, class favorites), friends (fights), abilities, older siblings who make life hard for you just because it’s entertaining to them, etc. to today’s young adults. It could help students feel better about themselves. The book is such a fun read due to the cartoons which helps to break away from having to read so many words. I definitely enjoyed it because most books which have pages after pages full of nothing but words is boring and hard to stay with. Diary of a Wimpy Kid kept me entertained. The personality of Greg is great and he definitely is like many young adults in how he feels about life. The book is an awesome way to attract boys to journaling.
It is funny how the Cheese Touch becomes a sense of stress to Greg- “I don’t need that kind of stress in my life anymore.” The ideas in the book are great and funny. It reminds me of all the strange things, such as cooties-“Circle, circle, dot, dot. Now I’ve got my cootie shot”- that I used to do with my friends in elementary and junior high. In the book, the character, Greg, tells us that they are placed in reading groups- Gifted or Easy- and you can tell which group you were placed in by the assigned book. This is very similar to the school I went to from Kindergarten to Eighth grade. We didn’t have reading groups, but our classes were divided into Honors or Average. Lucky me, I was in each and every average class. Not one honors class. To me, having those divided classes into honors or average brings down students’ self-esteem. It’s horrible. It makes them feel like they don’t have the ability to succeed. They are labeled as “Average.” I was that child labeled as “average” until I reached high school where I made nothing but A’s in each of my classes. I believe teachers ignore the potential in students and just throw them in the average group.
There was one part of the book which I did not understand. On page 39, I could not tell the difference between the two cartoons. One is supposed to be “a good time to screw up” and the other “a bad time to screw up.” They look the same to me. I did enjoy the part of the book on page 42 when the mom makes Rodrick answer questions she created in punishment for his actions. The last question and Rodrick’s response were great:

Question: “Do you have anything you want to say to women for having owned this offensive magazine?”

Rodrick’s response: “I’m sorry women.”

I would recommend this book to anybody. It is very entertaining a sure winner amongst young audiences. It relates well to what young adults are going through at the middle school age and allows them to laugh and feel better about similar situations they have been in.

Craft Lesson 3: Titles (Making Predictions)

Materials:
Book: Acceleration by Graham McNamee

Discussion:
We can consider a title of a book the doorway into the story. For a writer, the title helps to get a story started. Many students, when first writing, just slap a title onto their page but end up not matching their title with their story. The title is an important factor when creating a story and we as teachers should discuss different titles with students and help them in making predictions about the stories by the title, and then discussing whether the story matched their predictions.

How to Teach It:
Do you ever wonder why a writer gives a book a certain title? What does the title of the book tell us about the story? Maybe the title relates to what happens in the book, something the character does or what happens to them, or the title is the general theme of the book. A writer uses a title to enter a story and get it started. As they write the story, the meaning is discovered. Once a writer completes a story, they often go back and reconsider their title to see if it matches what the story is about. They may ask themselves, “Does this title give the reader a doorway into the story?”
When you read a book, you first read the title and then look at the cover to get a general idea of what the book might be about, right? Consider the title of this book: Acceleration. Say it with me- Acceleration. Raise your hand if you have heard that word before. What do you think “acceleration” means? (Allow some students to give responses and write them on chart paper). Let’s look at the cover and see if it can give us some clues to figure out what the title means. What do you see on the cover? (Allow students to give as many items as they see and explain what they might symbolize. Help them out a little with items they cannot distinguish) What do you think the pictures on the cover tell us? Do you think the scary face, cats, subway, and written words connect in some way? (Feel free to give students hints and clues. Continue with the discussion to the point where, as a class, you have discovered that “acceleration” means “an increase in the rate at which something happens or develops” and that the man whose face is on the cover is probably accelerating and/or increasing in something.)

Bibliography:
McNamee, G (2003). Acceleration. New York, NY: Dell Laurel-Leaf.

Video Booktalk 2: Acceleration

Book Review 3: Daisy Kutter

Biography: Kazu Kibuishi is an American graphic novel author and illustrator. He is best known for creating and editing the comic anthology Flight and for creating the webcomic Copper. While pursuing a degree in film studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he drew the comic strip Clive and Cabbage for the student newspaper The Daily Nexus. After graduation, he worked as an animator for Shaded Box, commercials and video game studio. However, he decided to leave animation because there was no writing involved and went back to comics. He started producing the monthly comic Copper at his website, Bolt City. While editing Flight Volume 1, he also created the graphic novel Daisy Kutter: The Last Train which was selected by the American Library Association as one of the best books for young adults for 2006. He is currently producing the children's graphic novel Amulet, which was released in January 2008. Kibuishi lives in Alhambra, California, and married to fellow illustrator and collaborator Amy Kim Ganter.

Summary: Daisy Kutter's bandit days are behind her. She and partner Tom have gone legit, and now she is a respectable small-town citizen, owner of the local general store--and bored out of her mind. Frustration with the tedium of normal life and her own discontents gets her into trouble after she loses the store in a poker game. Mr. Winters, the security mogul who won it, offers a proposition she can't refuse: to test the new security robots on his train. He is willing to pay. In a fit of recklessness, Daisy takes the job.

Review: I read Daisy Kutter in one day and enjoyed it. It was a quick read and easy to understand with the pictures and dialogue in sequence. There is a good balance of pictures and dialogue where the reader can, on their own, discover what is happening. I could not help but admire the illustrations because they are so detailed and the features of each character remained the same throughout the story. (This is important when including illustrations inside a book.) I could see and feel the emotions of each character and could sense the intensity of each action scene because of how well the illustrations were drawn. Reading Daisy Kutter reminded me of when I read Archie comic books when I was younger. I was able to understand those short stories because of the pictures and dialogue supporting each other. I loved the whole train sequence where so much action took place. Once again, I could feel myself inside the story because of how well the illustrations brought it to life. Even though there was no words the majority of the time, I could still understand what was happening and experienced the effects with the pictures. The onomatopoeia was great! There is some language that may not be appropriate for younger students. Daisy Kutter is a book that is best suited for a more mature audience such as high school students. Even though we do not like hearing and using the language in the book, high school students have a better understanding where they will not get too offended by them. Daisy Kutter is a great action filled book that mature audiences will enjoy.

My book review can also be found at Borders.

Craft Lesson 2: Imagery

Materials:
Book: Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones
Book: Acceleration by Graham McNamee

Discussion:
When students are describing items in their stories, they tend to play it safe. As teachers we need to point out that strong and vivid description supports a story. Description becomes richer when two things are compared, especially when the items being compared are not usually thought of as being placed together. Supplying examples from writers’ works will show students how comparison works.

How to Teach it:
A good story has a lot of description to support the characters and the plot. These descriptions allow us to get a better picture of what the write is trying to say. They do not tell us what happens, they show us. One way to write good description is to compare two things you would not normally place together. Listen to Traci L. Jones’s description of the character Patrice from the book Standing Against the Wind:

“Oh.” It was all Patrice could think of to say.
They walked in silence a few steps before Monty spoke again. “You know that
empty lot near school?”
Yeah, why?”
“Well, the whole lot is filled with junk and trash and crap, but last spring, in
the middle of the trash this flower bloomed. This pretty little flower, right
there, in the middle of a lot full of garbage. It was the weirdest thing. I mean,
where did it come from? I didn’t know whether to pick it or let it keep
growing. I’d go by there every day to look at that stupid flower ‘cause it was so
unique and pretty and it tripped me out that it could bloom in the middle of
all that trash. Then one day I went by and someone had thrown an old stuffed
chair over it and broke it. Killed it. I told myself that the next time I saw
something beautiful trying to survive in the middle of trash I’d do what I
could to protect it, to make sure it grew and that nobody messed it up. So, I
guess you’re my flower.” (Ch. 11, pp. 128-129)

Jones took the character Patrice and compared her to a flower who survives in the middle of a lot of trash. She does well at showing us what Patrice looks like amongst everything else by comparing her to a flower. You can visualize a flower and how pretty it is amongst the middle of piles of trash. Consider this next example from Graham McNamee’s book Acceleration where he describes the character Kim:

“I read somewhere—or maybe I saw it in a movie—how people who lose a leg
or an arm can still feel the missing limb sometimes. They’ll get this
impossible itch on a foot that isn’t there anymore, or they’ll feel an ache
where there’s nothing left to ache. They call it a phantom limb, because of the
ghost pains it still sends back to the brain.
That’s what Kim is like for me now—my phantom girlfriend. Gone, but still
aching.” (Ch. 9, p. 52)

Just like Patrice being compared to a flower, Kim is compared to a missing limb in which you can still feel. Even though it is gone, you still have pain. McNamee describes the missing limb very well where you can understand how Kim still causes pain to the main character even when she is not around anymore. You can see and feel the frustration of not being able to get rid of the itch or ache Kim is causing.

Bibliograhy:
Jones, T (2006). Standing Against the Wind. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.
McNamee, G (2003). Acceleration. New York, NY: Dell Laurel-Leaf.

Daisy Kutter

I read Daisy Kutter in one day and enjoyed it. It was a quick read and easy to understand with the pictures and dialogue in sequence. There is a good balance of pictures and dialogue where the reader can, on their own, discover what is happening. I could not help but admire the illustrations because they are so detailed and the features of each character remained the same throughout the story. (This is important when including illustrations inside a book.) I could see and feel the emotions of each character and could sense the intensity of each action scene because of how well the illustrations were drawn. Reading Daisy Kutter reminded me of when I read Archie comic books when I was younger. I was able to understand those short stories because of the pictures and dialogue supporting each other. I loved the whole train sequence where so much action took place. Once again, I could feel myself inside the story because of how well the illustrations brought it to life. Even though there was no words the majority of the time, I could still understand what was happening and experienced the effects with the pictures. The onomatopoeia was great! Just like in Acceleration, there is some language that may not be appropriate for younger students. Daisy Kutter is a book that is best suited for a more mature audience such as high school students. Even though we do not like hearing and using words such as bastard, damn it, and bullshit, high school students have a better understanding where they will not get too offended by them. Daisy Kutter is a great action filled book that mature audiences will enjoy.