The Odyssey

The Bibliography
Hinds, Gareth. The Odyssey, A Graphic Novel. Somerville: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763642686

The Characters
The main character of The Odyssey is obviously Odysseus! In this version of Homer's epic poem, Odysseus is a strappingly buff older gentleman. Other characters include his son Telemachus, his wife Penelope, and the various gods and goddesses, kings and queens he meets along his way back home to Ithaca.

The Plot
Odysseus's plot hasn't changed much in this version. He desperately wants to get home after the Trojan war, but gets strung along and toyed with by the gods, especially Poseidon after he blinds one of the sea god's cyclops sons.

The Setting
The setting of this graphic novel is the Mediterranean and various islands that Odysseus stops at on his long journey back to Ithaca.

The Theme
A theme of The Odyssey is the idea that brains are better than brawn, although Odysseus is pretty muscly for an old, old man.

The Style
The graphic novel version of The Odyssey is illustrated in watercolor and colored pencils. It shows in colorful detail the exploits of Odysseus as he travels back to his home after the Trojan War. There is not much text in the graphic novel version, especially compared to the epic, but the pictures almost do a better job of telling the story, which is what good graphic novels do.

The Analysis
I enjoy The Odyssey in pretty much every form. Mythology is one of my favorite subjects to study and seeing the visualization of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses in delicate colored pencil was lovely. It's always interesting to see different people's adaptations of the classics, and in this version, you really do see what the author was thinking, since he drew it!

The Review
Jesse Karp (Booklist, Sep. 15, 2010 (Vol. 107, No. 2))
Starred Review* As the proliferation of recent Odyssey graphic novelizations approaches the record held by Shakespeare adaptations, it is perhaps appropriate that Hinds, the Bard’s premiere sequential adapter, should produce the most lavish retelling of Homer yet. Showing great artistic evolution since his rough-and-tumble Beowulf (2007), Hinds lets the epic story take its time, with a slow build and pages that aren’t afraid to alternate packed dialogue with titanic action. The sumptuous art, produced with grain, texture, and hue, evokes a time long past while detailing every line and drop of sweat on Odysseus’ face and conveying the sheer grandeur of seeing a god rise out of the ocean. Teens may be baffled by the hero’s commitment to the same pantheon of gods who heap trouble in his path, but they will not lose touch with the universal qualities of steadfastness that Odysseus still embodies. The mythic trials have seldom felt more grueling or genuine, and this makes a perfect pairing with Tim Mucci and Ben Caldwell’s adaptation for a slightly younger audience from the All-Action Classics series, affording a chance to see how an archetypal story can function so powerfully at both the realistic and the stylized ends of the artistic spectrum. A grand example of Hinds’ ability to combine historical adventure with human understanding.

The Connection
Since some teens find might find Odysseus and mythology a little daunting, it could be more intriguing to watch the 1997 TV movie The Odyssey, assuming you have a movie license, after discussing the epic and the graphic novel. Other mythological movies could be watched, too, like Troy or even Clash of the Titans.

When You Reach Me

The Bibliography
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 9780385797425

The Characters
The main character of When You Reach Me is normal, everyday, New York City sixth grader Miranda. The events that happen to and around Miranda are extraordinary, but she takes them in stride... more or less. When Miranda finally deciphers the notes left for her by a mysterious stranger, the audience does, too, and experiences the fantastic events of the story with her.

The Plot
While Miranda's mom is training to be on the hit 1970s game show, The $20,000 Pyramid, Miranda receives mysterious notes that seems to be from the future. The notes reveal that something life changing is going to happen, and Miranda is the only one who can do anything about it.

The Setting
The setting of this novel about time travel is in 1970s New York. This is what we now call Urban Fantasy, with fantastic events happening in a normal, nonfantastic (in the magical sense) city.

The Theme
The theme of When You Reach Me is the acceptance of life and what happens around you, despite how challenging or fantastic it may be.

The Style
When You Reach Me is written from Miranda's point of view. Time travel is integral to the outcome of the story, but it's discussed in a purely quizzical, sixth grade scientific sort of way. Nothing is overly complicated or difficult to understand, which makes the story seem more believable, like a friend from school really could come back from the future to save a life.

The Analysis
When You Reach Me was a really fun read. I actually read it in almost one sitting, just because I wanted to find out what these mysterious notes really meant and what was going to happen between Miranda and her friend Sal. I also wanted to find out if her mom won her gameshow. I always liked watching The $20000 Pyramid when I was younger, so seeing the game-themed chapter titles made me want to read them all the more.

The Review
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2009 (Vol. 77, No. 11))
When Miranda's best friend Sal gets punched by a strange kid, he abruptly stops speaking to her; then oddly prescient letters start arriving. They ask for her help, saying, "I'm coming to save your friend's life, and my own." Readers will immediately connect with Miranda's fluid first-person narration, a mix of Manhattan street smarts and pre-teen innocence. She addresses the letter writer and recounts the weird events of her sixth-grade year, hoping to make sense of the crumpled notes. Miranda's crystalline picture of her urban landscape will resonate with city teens and intrigue suburban kids. As the letters keep coming, Miranda clings to her favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time, and discusses time travel with Marcus, the nice, nerdy boy who punched Sal. Keen readers will notice Stead toying with time from the start, as Miranda writes in the present about past events that will determine her future. Some might guess at the baffling, heart-pounding conclusion, but when all the sidewalk characters from Miranda's Manhattan world converge amid mind-blowing revelations and cunning details, teen readers will circle back to the beginning and say, "Wow...cool."

The Connection
I think it would be really fun to share this book with kids, then make a time capsule! Since the book is all about time, I think that would be a cool activity to do. We could also watch the Back to the Future movies, maybe have a futuristic party, or a pastursitic (Yep, made that word up!) party! Or, we could always just read this, then read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle like MIranda does, then discuss time travel and if we think it's really possible. Ooh! What a fun book!

Speak

The Bibliography
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 0374371520

The Characters
Melinda Sordino is the main character of Speak. It's written from her point of view, although I don't think I'd want any young girl to feel like she's in Melinda's shoes. Melinda's internal journey and emotional growth are tied to the plot and action of the story. If she didn't experience what she experienced, she wouldn't be the same Melinda, she definitely wouldn't have had to grow up as quickly as she did. She definitely changed through the course of the story, and though she had a terrible experience, she came out okay at the end, or at least as good as she could.

The Plot
During the summer before freshman year of high school, Melinda goes to a party with her friends, but calls the police and gets the party busted. She starts school as an outcast. Throughout the novel in flashbacks, the reader finds out that Melinda was raped at the party. She survives her entire freshman year despite being picked on by nearly everyone, including her former best friends, but doesn't talk about the tragic event that she lived through until one of her former friends starts dating the guy who attacked her.

The Setting
The majority of the novel takes place at and around Merryweather High. Even though Melinda skips a lot, the novel is broken into four segments, each quarter of her school year. The book revolves around her school life and her inability to speak, about the events that happened to her or about anything else.

The Theme
The theme of Speak is the difficulty of overcoming a personal tragedy and the struggle to still live despite it.

The Style
Speak is written from Melinda's point of view and is filled with her thoughts, most of which are about the night she was raped. Everything ties back to that night. Since Melinda doesn't speak much, the dialogue rings true. If you were traumatized, you probably wouldn't have much to say at the school where everyone hates you, would you? The tone of the book is serious laced with ironic humor.

Gender and Culture
Melinda's story probably wouldn't work if it were Mel instead. Melinda is a scared but strong female leading character.

The cultural markers are modern, so it seems the book is still contemporary, like it could happen in any high school today.

The Analysis
I enjoyed reading Speak and will recommend it to a few teen readers that come into my library. It's a difficult story, but one that high schoolers need to read, especially the girls. Even if they haven't been in a situation as dire as Melinda's, it's still a good read, and it's important for them to know that they need to be strong even if something bad happens.

The Review
Debbie Carton (Booklist, September 15, 1999 (Vol. 96, No. 2))
Having broken up an end-of-summer party by calling the police, high-school freshman Melinda Sordino begins the school year as a social outcast. She's the only person who knows the real reason behind her call: she was raped at the party by Andy Evans, a popular senior at her school. Slowly, with the help of an eccentric and understanding art teacher, she begins to recover from the trauma, only to find Andy threatening her again. Melinda's voice is distinct, unusual, and very real as she recounts her past and present experiences in bitterly ironic, occasionally even amusing vignettes. In her YA fiction debut, Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers.

The Connection
While this book isn't about the happiest of subjects, it's an important one. It could be used in a book talk with teens about the big S-E-X or problems that they encounter in high school.

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy

The Bibliography
Meyer, L.A. 2002. Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 0152167315

The Characters
The main character of Bloody Jack is Mary "Jacky" Faber, an orphan girl turned ship's boy in eighteenth-century London. Other characters include her ship's boy friends, Benjy, Davy, Tink, Willy and Jaimy. There are many more characters, other shipmates and officers of the Royal Navy, and Mary's orphan friends still in London.

The Plot
Mary Faber lived on the streets of London in 1797 after her family died of the plague. She disguises herself as a boy to join a pirate-hunting ship of the Royal Navy to escape the streets. Calling herself Jacky, she earns her way on the ship by being able to read. She and the other ship's boys grow up on the ship. There's where the problems begin for Jacky. The ruse of "The Deception" wears thin when her voice doesn't drop, she stops taking off her clothes to swim with the boys and, uh oh, she gets her period. Love starts to bloom on the ship, but it's awkward because Jaimy, another ship's boy, thinks he's in love with another boy! Luckily for Jaimy, Jacky reveals herself to him. They plan to leave the ship together and get married, but she's found out and gets dropped off at a boarding school in Boston.

The Setting
late eighteenth century London and across the seas to North America

The Theme
The theme of Bloody Jack is a coming of age theme and a story of love for a poor girl, dressed as a boy, trying to live an adventurous life.

The Style
Bloody Jack is written in the words of Mary "Jacky" Faber. She was taught to read and knows how to speak properly, but grew up on the streets and on a ship surrounded by sailors. She picks up a way of speaking that mimics her environment, and the time period.

The Analysis
I liked reading Bloody Jack and plan to read the sequels. It took me a while to get used to the way Jacky spoke and thought, but in order for it to be an accurate historical novel, it had to be done. I did think it was interesting the way her voice changed throughout the progression of the novel, she sounded like a scraggly orphan at the beginning, a sailor in the middle, but when she came out to Jaimy, she began to sound more like a proper lady. The changes were subtle, but they were there.

The Review
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 15))
Posing as a lad in the late 1790s, a spunky orphan girl secures a job as a ship's boy in the British Navy, a position that becomes compromised by her evolving maturity and love for a fellow crewmember. Meyer, a debut novelist, has penned a rousing old-time girl's adventure story, with an outsized heroine who is equal parts gutsy and vulnerable, then sets her loose on a pirate-hunting vessel in the high seas. The novel is full of action and derring-do, but the real suspense is generated by maintaining what the heroine calls "The Deception," her disguise as a boy. Initially, it's fairly easy because Jacky, as the heroine decides to call herself, is as flat-chested, hairless, and high-voiced as the rest of the boys. She simulates using the ship's head, imitating the boys' "shake-and-wiggle action" and even creates a faux penis out of cloth under her drawers, so that she's as "well rigged out" as the rest of the lads. Clever and courageous, Jacky deals with both the ship's bully and pedophile, fights pirates valiantly, and manages to save the day for her shipmates, enabling them to secure the buccaneers' booty. Jacky is such a marvelous creation that the other characters feel shadowy in comparison, and the least engaging parts of the novel involve her secret romance with a fellow ship's boy. Capped by a fitting but bittersweet ending, the first-person narrative shines, and a wealth of historical research is seamlessly knitted into the material. A first-rate read.

The Connection
This would be a fun book to read aloud during the book club I have with a local elementary school. They always like it when I do voices, and this one is full of them. It would be interesting to read this book, then read books about pirates, like the Library of Pirates books by Aileen Weintraub.

Catherine, Called Birdy

The Bibliography
Cushman, Karen. 1994. Catherine, Called Birdy. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0395681862

The Characters
The main character of Catherine, Called Birdy, is fourteen-year-old Catherine, daughter of Rollo the Knight and lady Aislinn. Other characters are Catherine's brothers, Thomas, Edward and Robert, her friend and local goatherd Perkin, her nursemaid Morwenna, various other friends and townsfolk, and many suitors that come trying to buy Catherine's hand in marriage.

The Plot
Catherine's brother Edward tells her to write a diary, recording the events that happen to her each day in hopes that she will grow less childish and more learned. Throughout the year of writing, starting in September 1290 and ending in September 1291, Catherine tells of her life, the several men that come seeking her hand in marriage, hiding from them and figuring out ways to live her own life.

The Setting
1290-1291, the village of Stonebridge in the shire of Lincoln in the country of England

The Theme
The theme of Catherine, Called Birdy, is a coming of age theme in medieval times. The time comes for Catherine to learn to be a woman, to do her sewing and spinning and embroidering, and to be married off to the highest bidder, whether she wants to or not.

The Style
Catherine, Called Birdy, is an epistolary novel, written as a diary in the words of Catherine, showing the way of speaking and mannerisms of the time. Mayhap I should begin to speak like Catherine. Corpus bones!

The Analysis
I enjoyed reading this book and thought Catherine was pretty funny. She went to such depths to avoid being sold off by her father to the wealthiest suitor, blackening her teeth and her hair and setting the privy on fire. She was a good friend to goatboy Perkin and had crushes on a boy who worked under her father and on her uncle... eesh. She didn't want to get married, but would rather have painted or been a Crusader. She loved her mother and her nursemaid and her birds. The only problem I really had with the book is that I wanted her to be able to choose her own husband, and I hoped it would have been Perkin! At least she didn't have to marry the big, gross Shaggy Beard, though, and became betrothed to his son, who seemed to care for her.

The Review
Charles R. Duke (The ALAN Review, Winter 1995 (Vol. 22, No. 2))
Catherine, known as Birdy because of her love for various kinds of birds, is a headstrong fourteen-year old living in medieval England. Her brother Edward suggests she keep a diary so she will become more learned and less childish. Catherine's year-long record of her daily activities gives readers a detailed account of life in the late 1200s. Catherine's father wants her to marry, but she fights all the way, setting fire to the privy while one of her suitors is inside, disguising herself as a very ugly serving girl, and finally running away. This is not a fast-moving or highly plotted story, but it is rich with details of life in a medieval home of limited means. For history buffs, the story should prove interesting. Girls will be far more attracted to it than boys and will undoubtedly identify with the struggle women had in defining their role in a world dominated by men.

The Connection
A fun activity for older elementary kids would be to share this story, then have them read other epistolary novels like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney or The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, then have them chronicle a period of their own lives in a diary.

The Green Glass Sea

The Bibliography
Klages, Ellen. 2006. The Green Glass Sea. New York: Viking. ISBN 067061341

The Characters
Eleven-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is the main character of The Green Glass Sea. Other characters include her father, a scientist, enemy-turned-friend Suze Gordon, and her parents, also scientists. There are many other minor characters, friends of Dewey, friends of Suze, and lots of scientists and members of the army. There are also minor characters who are not so minor, including Richard "Dick" Feynman, a Nobel-prize winning physicist and quantum mechanic, although in the book, he hadn't won the prize yet, and Robert Oppenheimer, "the father of the atomic bomb."

The Plot
Dewey Kerrigan is the daughter of a scientist who works on the top secret "gadget" in 1943 in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Although she doesn't know what he's working on, no one is allowed to know, she knows it is important. All the children growing up in the unknown Los Alamos know their parents are busy working on this "gadget," but don't find out what it is until after the book is over, on August 6th, 1945. The story is about Dewey growing up while the atomic bomb is being created.

The Setting
1943-1945 Los Alamos, New Mexico

The Theme
The theme of The Green Glass Sea is one of commitment to what one believes in, the love of a young girl for her father, and the need for a family.

The Style
The Green Glass Sea is written in a style appropriate for a military scientist's child in the 40s. Dewey is a smart girl, so she speaks intelligently. The author provides a list of sources in the Author's Note for references and in the Acknowledgments, lists many sources where she retrieved her information.

The Analysis
I enjoyed The Green Glass Sea. Dewey's a smart kid and it was interesting to see what could have been going on in Los Alamos when my granddad was fighting in World War II. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to wars and what all went on behind the scenes, so I enjoyed reading about life during WWII.

The Review
Ann Cazin (Library Media Connection, April 2007)
Dewey loves to invent, do advanced math, and make discoveries. Her mother left her when she was young and her grandmother has had a stroke, so she must go to live with her father. Dewey ends up in the middle of the desert where everything is hush-hush, but she has found a piece of heaven, searching through the military junkyard and talking with adults that show interest in her inquisitiveness. This book is about the people who worked on the Manhattan Project and the early days of Los Alamos. While Dewey loses her father, she ends up finding a new family. At the end of this story, Dewey and her new family visit the site where the A-bomb was tested; it was so hot that it melted the sands into a sea of green glass. The description of this part of World War II is interesting and provocative. This well-paced story gives us an insight to a different part of the war and how it affected the people that were involved in the Manhattan Project. Recommended.

The Connection
If I were a history teacher, or more of a history buff, I'd share this story with kids learning about WWII, just so they could get the same taste I did when I read it. It could also be a good one to share with an elementary book club, then we could do the past/present question activity that was suggested in our text with Dewey, since she's the same age as the students in the club.

Prehistoric Actual Size

The Bibliography
Jenkins, Steve. 2005. Prehistoric Actual Size. Boston. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618535780

The Criteria
Accuracy The short bits of information about the prehistoric creatures in Prehistoric Actual Size are easy to read and to the point. Each creature listed shows a time period of when it lived and its size. Each creature also has a pronunciation guide if the name is difficult to say, which helps children with their accuracy. At the end of the book, there is a section of how they know what they know, which explains that the illustrations in the book are not exactly accurate, but they are as accurate as possible based on comparisons of fossils found to skeletons of animals that are alive today.

Organization Since the book is so short, it does not have page numbers, a table of contents, index, etc, but it's a quick, informational read for kids, so such things are not exactly necessary.

Design The illustrations are the selling point of this book. They are "actual size," so kids will find it very interesting to see how big a real life dinosaur was!

Style The style of Prehistoric Actual Size is perfect for anyone who wants a quick glimpse into the life size eyes of a protoceratops, or the life size teeth of a giganotosaurus. The information is easy to read, see and understand.

The Analysis
This book was a lot of fun to read and was especially enjoyable to look at. I love cut paper artwork, so seeing gigantic claws of prehistoric monsters made that way was exciting for me. The four page spread of the head of an enormous dsungaripterus, a flying reptile with a ten-foot wingspan was fantastic. I loved the quick facts, too, less than a paragraph for each creature means a fun and easy read for all ages. This book is all about the art and the art is great! So if a=b and b=c, then a=c, right? This book is great!

The Review
Susan Hepler, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Using many illustrations which feature the part for the whole, Jenkins involves dinosaur lovers in the next thinking level. In his signature collage illustration, Jenkins shows in actual sizes a small shark, a horned meat-eating amphibian, part of a dragonfly too big to fit on the page, and on into heads, a giant set of teeth, an astounding claw, and a baby protoceratops being looked upon by his mother’s gimlet eye. It invites readers to consider how big things are and, by inference, how we can tell the size from the fragment at hand. Each spread states how many millions of years ago the animal lived and what its actual size was. The payoff for older readers is the 4-page back matter in which each animal depicted gets a full picture--although not to scale--and a paragraph about it. While younger readers will surely love this book, it seems to belong in an slightly older age group.

The Connection
Since I love cut paper art so much, a fun project would be to share other books by Steve Jenkins, like Actual Size and Never Smile At a Monkey, then make cut paper artwork of our own, maybe even life size self-portraits, and bind them together in a book to put on display!