Heaven

The Bibliography
Johnson, Angela. 1998. Heaven. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780689822292

The Plot
Marley and her family live in Heaven... Heaven, Ohio. Their lives are basically perfect. Marley has good friends, she loves her parents and her brother, that is, until she finds out that they are not her parents and brother, but her aunt, uncle and cousin instead. Her true father is her Uncle Jack, who travels around with his dog, Boy. Uncle Jack gave Marley to his brother to raise because his wife, Marley's real mother, passed away and Jack didn't think he could take care of her on his own. Marley struggles to return to her feeling of Heaven after her life is flipped upside down.

The Analysis
Heaven is a short, quick read. I enjoyed the story and actually read it in one sitting. Reading about Marley and her perfectly beautiful friend Shoogy and her sweet, single-father friend Bobby and his little girl Feather, show what Marley's life could have been like. It could have been perfect, but Shoogy doesn't like her perfect life, so much so that she cuts herself to not be perfect. Bobby is a single-father and cares for his little one and works hard to succeed in that life. That's what could have been. But it's not what happened because life isn't always perfect.

The cultural markers in Heaven are there, but are subtle. I think there were only one or two mentions of skin color and hair. The fact that Marley was named after Bob Marley is also a sign, but I actually have two cousins that named their baby girls Marley after Bob Marley and they're white. There was a mention of taking Kool-Aid to the lake, but almost all kids drinks Kool-Aid. Shoogy and Feather are pretty peculiar names, but that doesn't mean anything either. These markers are slight, but if they were not included, the story wouldn't be quite what it is.

The Review
Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, November 1998 (Vol. 32, No. 6))
Each one of Johnson's books seems to me to be a polished gem, and Heaven is among the most brilliant. She has a unique style that is difficult to describe, but not difficult to read and react to. Heaven is a small town in Ohio, a town that seems to attract people from all over the country: "We live in Heaven 'cause about twelve years ago Momma found a postcard on a park bench postmarked HEAVEN, OH. On the front of the postcard were clouds and a group of people floating around and waving. It said, HI FROM HEAVEN. Momma said she'd been looking for Heaven her whole life -- so we moved: Momma, Pops, Butchy, and me." In some ways, they are in heaven, working and living with friendly people. In the summer of this story of revelation, Marley (named after Bob) babysits for a toddler named Feather, who is lovingly tended by her single dad, Bobby, an image of what could have been Marley's life, as we discover. She hangs out with her best friend Shoogy whose seemingly perfect family serves as a image of Marley's seemingly perfect family. Then Marley finds out that her parents have lived with a lie: that she is their adopted daughter, and her father is actually her beloved Uncle Jack who sends letters to her from all over the country where he is aimlessly traveling along with his dog. She is stunned by this news, filled with conflicting emotions that she finds difficult to express. Mostly, she is furious that she has been told a basic lie about her identity, and that her world, her heaven, has been turned upside down. Over the weeks, as she comes to terms with this new reality, she is helped by her friends and family, all of whom love her dearly. Again, Johnson writes of African American families and communities, mentioning here and there the shade of brown skin, perhaps the dreadlocks, that identify her characters' racial identity. This is a part of them, but certainly not the whole of these incredibly whole folks Johnson has created.

The Connection
Since this story is about Marley and her life after being given up for adoption from her widower father, it could be interesting to read another story by Angela Johnson that also features a single father, this time, one that takes care of his baby, The First Part Last.

Black Cowboy Wild Horses

The Bibliography
Lester, Julius. 1998. Black Cowboy Wild Horses. Ill. by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books. ISBN 0803717973

The Plot
Black cowboy Bob Lemmons wrangles a group of wild horses on his own by becoming a wild horse himself.

The Analysis
The watercolor, gouache and pencil illustrations by Jerry Pinkney show how a cowboy rides on the dusty plains and tracks a group of wild horses. The illustrations are colorful and expressive. Bob the cowboy blends into the nature around him when he chases the wild horses, giving the impression that he has become nature, has become a horse himself. While this is the story of a black cowboy, it could easily be a white cowboy, or a green cowboy. There is nothing to say that this book is only about a black man. The story is more about a man becoming one with his surroundings, becoming a horse to gather a group of wild horses. Any cowboy could do that, even a cowgirl!

I don't think I would share this story during storytime in its entirety because it's very long-winded. It would be good to share with older kids interested in history and cowboys.

The Review
Michael Cart (Booklist, May 1, 1998 (Vol. 94, No. 17))
One of every three cowboys who helped tame the Wild West was either Mexican or black. This is the true story of one of the latter, Bob Lemmons. In language rich with simile and metaphor, Lester's account focuses on the former slave's uncanny tracking abilities as he trails a herd of mustangs as well as his mission to tame the wild horses and lead them back to the corral. Pinkney's earth-colored gouache and watercolor paintings add the look of the Texas plains to Lester's account and capture the energy of the horses as they gallop across sweeping, double-page spreads. Lester and Pinkney's manifest love and respect for the West and cowboys of color, whose contributions have been too long overlooked, distinguish their latest collaboration.

The Connection
To show children that cowboys aren't only white men with big bushy mustaches, I would share this book along with other books about black cowboys like Saddles and Sabers: Black Men in the Old West by LaVere Anderson and The Journal of Joshua Loper: a Black Cowboy by Walter Dean Myers. Children need to see that every person can be anything they want to be and not what is typically thought.

The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll

The Bibliography
McKissack, Patricia C. 2007. The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll. Ill. by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Schwartz and Wade Books. ISBN 9780375837593

The Plot
During the Great Depression, Nella wants a doll for Christmas and writes a letter to Santy Claus asking for one. When she and her two sisters get the doll, they have to share it, but Nella doesn't want to, because it's her all-I'll-ever-want-for-Christmas present, not her sisters'. Nella learns that she has more fun with her sisters than she has alone with the doll, and also learns to share.

The Analysis
The watercolor and pencil illustrations of The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll created by Jerry Pinkney give the reader a glimpse into the lives of Nella and her family during the Depression. The clothes and hairstyles and the papering of the walls shows how these girls lived in the Great Depression. The illustrator is very talented and gives each character their own shade and depth of color; they're all black, but not all the same color, just like real people of color, just like real people. They only real textual markers in this book that make me think this is a book about people of color is the use of the name Santy Claus instead of Santa Claus. Even then, if the book wasn't illustrated, I probably would have thought this story was just about a poor family during the depression, not necessarily a black or a white or a yellow or a red family.

The Review
Beverly Combs (Library Media Connection, November/December 2007)
Patricia McKissack's storytelling expertise and Jerry Pinkney's rich illustrations have come together again to produce a memorable book. Three little girls, growing up in the Depression, dream of Christmas. Nella is desperate to get the Baby Betty doll and despite her family's discouragement, she writes a letter to Santa. On Christmas morning, there is indeed one doll, and Nella feels that she is the true owner of this wonderful gift. As Nella begins playing with her doll alone, her sisters go off to play elsewhere. Nella plays with her precious doll, but realizes that the doll doesn't sing with her, doesn't clap, and doesn't giggle. At her mother's suggestion, Nella includes her sisters in a Baby Betty tea party. This is a wonderful story about dreams and sharing those dreams. The illustrations are warm and detailed and make the characters come alive for the reader. The text is simple, but descriptive. The characters are African American and provide a window into a time and place with which young readers may be unfamiliar. This would be a nice book to share before Christmas as students write those letters to Santa or after as they share their toys at show-and-tell time.

The Connection
This book could be shared in conjunction with other books about dolls and Christmas, like The Dolls' Christmas by Tasha Tudor and The Christmas Dolls by Candice Ransom, or other books about sharing like Emily's Sharing and Caring Book by Cindy Post Senning and, again tying it to Christmas, Sharing Christmas by Kate Westerlund.

Stolen

The Bibliography
Christopher, Lucy. 2010. Stolen. New York: Chicken House. ISBN 9780545170932

The Plot
While Gemma is at a coffee shop in an airport in Bangkok, waiting on a flight to Vietnam with her parents, she is approached by a handsome man named Ty who offers to buy her a drink. Little does Gemma know that Ty has been watching her, stalking her, since she was a little girl. He has been planning for quite some time to steal her away from the big city and take her to his home in the Australian outback. He drugs her there in the airport and kidnaps her, taking her to the middle of Sandy Desert in Australia where he has made his home. Throughout Gemma's ordeal, Ty treats her well, says he loves her, and shows her compassion, but she wants nothing more than to escape. After she manages to steal the key to Ty's car, Gemma leaves the house in the middle of the desert, only to get lost and nearly die. Ty nurses her back to health, and during this, she finds that she cares for Ty. Wandering off to find him one morning, Gemma is bitten by a death adder, and Ty must take her to the hospital, which also means he must return his captive and reveal himself as a kidnapper. Because he cares so greatly for Gemma, Ty does this and is taken to jail. Written in a letter to Ty, Stolen ends with Gemma learning about Stockholm Syndrome and wondering if she actually suffers from the condition or if she really loves Ty.

The Analysis
At first, I didn't really get into Stolen. Something about the second person YOU just didn't sit right with me, but I suppose that's because it's not the most popular way to write a novel. I also didn't like that there were no chapters, but as it's written as a letter, I don't suppose there would be chapters, would there? After I got used to the second person and thought breaks, I began to enjoy the novel more. It may seem silly, but I didn't realize that there were huge deserts with camels in Australia. Reading Stolen made me want to visit the outback and see these red desert sands and black-trunked trees. I really felt like I was isolated with Gemma in the desert the farther I made it into the book, and I suppose that's a good thing when reading a book about a different culture... feeling like you're really there and not feeling confused or not understanding something. I wish there had been some more closure at the end of the novel, though. I wish I could have seen Ty's trial, but maybe that's just because I like watching Law and Order....

The Review
Rachelle Bilz (VOYA, June 2010 (Vol. 33, No. 2)) Sixteen-year-old Londoner Gemma Toombs is drugged and abducted from Bangkok’s airport while on holiday with her parents. After charming twenty-something Ty buys her coffee, Gemma is dazed until she wakes up in a bedroom. Ty takes Gemma to the Australian outback, many miles from civilization. Gemma, furious, tries various means to escape Ty, but all prove futile. A nearly fatal run into the desert convinces Gemma to stay put. Over time, Gemma learns Ty’s story. His horrible childhood was filled with abandonment and abuse. Gemma is chilled to learn that Ty has stalked her since she was ten; he loves Gemma and wants her to appreciate the land like he does. After a month, Gemma trusts Ty and feels sorry for this young man who screams and cries while asleep. Stolen is an atypical abduction story in that both Gemma and the reader begin to understand and care for Ty. Imprisonment, not sexual or physical abuse, is the crime here. The opposite of the Beast in the fairy tale, Ty is ugly on the inside. His demons come out at night in dreams and only occasionally manifest themselves in anger. Like Gemma, the reader almost feels sorry for Ty, a good person who is damaged. Written as Gemma’s letter to Ty, Stolen has a veracity and immediacy that rivets the reader to the page. Vivid descriptions of the Sandy Desert combine with Gemma’s emotional turmoil to evoke a sense of danger. This fascinating, disturbing novel should appeal to teens fourteen and older. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12).

The Connection
Since the theme for the Summer Reading Club for teens this year is You Are Here, all of the books on the reading list will fit in well. This would be a great book to share with my teens about Australia. In fact, if I haven't put this on my summer teen display which features books with settings outside of the United States already, I will do it soon.

Outside of SRC, I think I'd share this book with my teens, then have them read Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. We could discuss the similarities and differences between the kidnappings and the victims of each story.

How I Became and American

The Bibliography
Gündisch, Karin. 2001. How I Became an American. Chicago: Cricket Books. ISBN 0812648757

The Plot
In the beginning of the 1900s, Johann and his family immigrate to the United States from Austria-Hungary. Johann, now Johnny the American, writes in his diary the experiences he and his family have in their new lives in Youngstown, Ohio. His father works in a steel mill, his mother buys a small farm, his older brother moves to California, his sister is slightly boy crazy and wants to be a teacher, his younger brothers like stories and to mess their diapers and Johnny tells about how they become accustomed to life in a new country.

The Analysis
Reading How I Became an American made me miss the German exchange student my family hosted when I was in middle school. Even though Christoph came from a well-to-do family with summer houses all over Europe and really has nothing in common with Johann, I still thought of him while I read. The book, translated from German, was a simple read, nothing too serious happening, except for the death of Johann's baby sister, but even that was bearable because it was more common at the time, therefore the family wasn't dreadfully overcome by it. I enjoyed the translator's notes about German name days, Mord Amerika and Quark. I felt I learned quite a bit from this book, about emigrating, immigrating, and what it's like to be an American.

The Review
Florence Munat (VOYA, April 2002 (Vol. 25, No. 1))
Basing her 2002 Batchelder Award-winning novel on letters of the more than five million Eastern and Southeastern European immigrants to the United States around 1900, Gündisch describes a typical immigrant experience through the eyes of ten-year-old Johann "Johnny" Bonfert. The Bonfert family shared a two-room cottage in Austria-Hungary. Food was adequate but money scarce. When Johann's father and older brother travel to America to work in the steel mills of Youngstown, Ohio, they eventually save enough money to bring the rest of the family over, including a new baby. During the ocean crossing, Johann and his family endure cold, hunger, and seasickness. After clearing Ellis Island, they take a train to Youngstown. The baby soon dies as a result of unsanitary conditions in the ship's steerage. Despite their sorrow, the family members pull together and work hard--Johnny sells newspapers, his little brother delivers bakery rolls before school, and his older sister works as a maid--and at last they buy a boardinghouse for newly arrived immigrants. There is no high drama here--just the day-to-day activities of adjusting to a new country, language, and culture. Johnny understands his mother's homesickness and her attempt to replicate her old culture by starting a poultry business. He and his siblings adapt more quickly. While his parents anxiously await news from home, Johnny contemplates the working conditions at the mill and worries about his classmates who have dropped out of school to work there. Although the story is set one hundred years ago, new immigrants will spot similarities between the Bonferts' adjustment and their own experience.

The Connection
It would be interesting to invite someone from Germany to discuss life in Germany compared to life in America with kids and teens after reading this book. Of course, it would be quite different from Johnny's life, but it would still be a great experience! We could then discuss the differences between a 1900s immigrant and a more recent one! Now I feel like I need to give Christoph a call....

Where Is the Green Sheep?

The Bibliography
Fox, Mem. 2004. Where Is the Green Sheep?. Ill. by Judy Horacek. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 015204907x

The Plot
Lots and lots of sheep... blue sheep, swing sheep, slide sheep, train sheep, but where is the green sheep? Sleeping under a green bush, of course! We don't find him until the last page, though. This story keeps kids guessing until the end, trying to find that silly green sheep!

The Analysis
I really like Where Is the Green Sheep?. The illustrations are adorable and the story is cute and fun. I love heavy outlines and they make the watercolor sheep really stand out. It's a fun story to tell, too. Kids really like it and that's the best part of any storybook, sharing it with kids! There is not much of a connection to another culture, unless you just know that both Mem Fox and Judy Horacek are from Australia.

The Review
Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Mar. 1, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 13))
Here's the blue sheep. / And here is the red sheep. / Here is the bath sheep. / And here is the bed sheep. / But where is the green sheep?" Little ones will bounce with anticipation as the simple yet clever text takes them to visit one sheep and then another. The green sheep, however, is nowhere to be seen until the final spread, where he is found under a very green bush, fast asleep. Until the lost sheep turns up, children will have fun with the other sheep that make an appearance and perhaps, unbeknownst to them, also get lessons in colors and comparisons (the near sheep, the far sheep). In this neat and satisfying wedding of text and art, the squat, square format uses wool-white backgrounds to display much of the amusing pen-and-watercolor pictures. As for the sheep themselves, Horacek has concocted simply lined happy animals, whose wool is indicated by dozens of curlicues. Laughs and interactive play will ensue among readers and listeners, alone or in groups.

The Connection
This story could be used to share with kids authors and/or illustrators from another country. It would be neat to share with them the book Ready to Dream by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft, both of which are not from Australia, and see which book they think was written and illustrated by Australians. Oh ho! Tricky!