Eyes of the Emperor

An Analysis of the 6^th Grade Level Reading in Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury

When I found this book, I felt that young people should be aware of the issue of racism in America during times of war. While most young people would assume that we live in a “melting pot”, the racism experienced by Japanese-Americans through interment camps is an important commentary about American life in WWII. Author Graham Salisbury writes this book for young people as teenagers, but it can easily be read by 11-12 years old at the 6^th grade level. With many of the students in my classroom on the cusp of teenage life, the experiences of Eddy Okana provide insight into multicultural teenagers behavior. Okana is boy that wants to join the army and serve his country, but he learns he cannot be trusted by the military in combat.  I was amazed to learn that when joins the 100th Infantry Battalion, the Army uses him as a decoy to train dogs to attack Japanese soldiers. However, after reading of some of the brutal training missions in which Okana and his friends are chased by dogs, I felt that this would be too much for an 11-12 year old. I felt that some of the students would be frightened at the intensity of the military episodes involving blatant racism towards Japanese-Americans. While Salisbury writes this story within the parameters of a 11-12 year old reading level, the content is just too strong for my particular classroom environment.



Night Rider.......

Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

After reading this book, I felt somewhat irritated with the sensationalized violence that is being depicted in sporting culture in America. Of course, many athletes go to parties and can, occasionally, have non-committal sex with girls that may be fans of football, but Lipsyte goes too far in parts of the book. When “Co-Captain” Ramp sexually assaults another Chris after football practice with a baseball bat via anal intercourse, I realized that this was an extremely rare and heinous way to get the reader’s attention. I have read stories of violent incidents before, during, and after sporting events, but this was simply outrageous. In some ways, it promotes a crude myth of extracurricular violence in sporting culture, which is certainly not a common occurrence in high school life. Therefore, I would never use this book in class because it does not teach “literature” as life, as it propagandizes an artificially fear-based and sensational form of entertainment for the young adult reader. While I would not want dismiss the homosexual overtones of this story, I do not feel it teaches students to respect people from differing sexual backgrounds. In many ways, this book promotes an overly sensationalized view of “team” loyalty and it promotes a culture of unethical and immoral behavior as an acceptable paradigm in teenage high school social interaction. If my students read this book, I think they would respond negatively to the secrecy of the team after the sexual assault. More so, I don’t think any of them would really believe the story because of the blatant dramatization of violence and sexual assault in sporting culture.  

 

My Rotten Life.............

Lubar, David. My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie

     I really liked this fun book about the young zombie, Nathan Abercrombie. While I was initially against using a book about the “walking dead” in my classroom, I felt that Lubar’s plot inspires young people to not be zombies in real life. While Nathan has almost superhuman abilities by being able to outrun other students and play video games all night long, he truly desires to return to be a living human being. More so, Lubar takes the “misfit” of the school and gives him these extraordinary powers to empower himself and excel. I really enjoyed Nathan as a role model for my students because he truly wants to live again, but he uses his new powers to learn self-esteem and that he is human being of value—even though he is different. However, I didn’t like the character Abigail for trying to get Nathan to visit her uncle Hurt-Be-Gone as a solution to make him feel better about being a social misfit. I don’t think that would be a good example at all for students in the classroom…it would encourage emotional escapism. But for the most part, Lubar gives Charlie these powers to help him realize that it is much better to be human and to feel, than it is to not feel and have these supernatural powers to impress the popular kids. Lubar really does show the importance of learning self-esteem and being happy with oneself even though young people, such as Nathan, do not fit into school clicks or are not accepted.

Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan

For the most part, I really liked the comic book art done by John Rocco and other artists with a digital-painting style. Again, I am a big fan of the use of spatial imagery and text to help students connect words with pictures. With the help of the artists that imagined this illustration in the book, the student can also begin to see words as images in which to bring a story alive in their minds. Since words are abstraction of actual events, the graphic novel format can be very useful in the classroom. I liked Riordan’s main character, Percy Jackson, because he is a demigod/hero persona that enjoys reading. Through his textbooks, Percy imagines himself as a son of Zeus, which sets a plot structure in which reading becomes the crux of his adventures. More so, his reading skills promote a positive role model for learning. In the classroom, the graphic novel format not only allows students to better visual Percy and his adventures, the entire book is based on this theme. I found this aspect of Riordan’s characterization and plot structure extremely clever for students needing inspiration to read. I feel that this book entices the imagination and it provides a positive role model for students integrate visual imagery in the text that accompanies each image. I feel the students would love to read this book because of the mythic heroism that Riordan inspires through the premise of reading.

 

Dust-bowl-era

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

 

I really enjoyed this novel as a means in which young students can understand the grim history of the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression. While many written histories discuss the suffering of farmers that had lost their crops in the Great Depression, Billie Jo brings a young adult perspective to suffering and poverty in the Dust Bowl. Also, Hesse’s use of a free verse provides an effective way in which a young adult could communicate in a diary format. In the classroom, the stanza form simplifies the dark emotions that are represented in Billie Jo’s own education and through her mother’s discipline: I do as she says. I go to school,/ and in the afternoons I come home,…and all the while I glare at Ma’s back with a scowl/foul as maggoty stew (Hesse, 1997, p.29). This type  free style verse made an impact on me because of the honesty and clarity of Billie Jo’s writing. More so, it does not hide emotions that many young people feel, especially in having to do their homework. Personally, I enjoyed the realistic portrayal of young girls struggles, which I feel that some of the students can learn the historical and personal realities of life in the Dust Bowl. More profoundly, Billie Jo’s tragic loss of her mother and father can also teach young people resilience and self-reliance. I liked this book and I would highly recommend this book to be used in classrooms for young adult readers.

 

Storm......breaker

Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel by Anthony Horowitz

I feel that the Stormbreaker graphic novel is an excellent way to spatially influence young people to read complex plot structures. Alex Rider’s role as a “superspy” is one example of complex storyline that reveals illustrated action, scene segments, and multiple plot development in a compartmentalized manner. I also enjoyed the mange art, which captures much of the action that as young adult reader might miss if they read Horowitz's text-only original novel version. I feel that this book could definitely be used in class, but only within certain parameters of reading instruction. I disliked the character of Alex Rider because he presents unrealistic expectations of young adults in reality. This was a “turn off” to me because Alex is really behaving like an adult through the lens of a young adult perception of the world. To be able to accomplish heroic feats of physical strength and to also have an extremely high IQ at this age level is unrealistic (Horowitz, 2006, p.15). In some ways, I think it will make the students become awe inspired at Rider’s abilities or it will discourage them to learn in the classroom. However, I felt that Horowitz can challenge students to grasp multiple plots in the spy novel format.  Overall, I felt that that this book would be excellent for bridging spatial and text-based reading skills in the classroom, but not as a strong example of realistic characterization for teaching young adults literature.

 

The Dear One

The Dear One and From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson

I felt a sense of pity for the main character, Melanin Sun, in the Notebooks of Melanin Sun because of the gender confusion he experienced in his mother’s lesbian relationship. When Melanin becomes angry and confused about his mother’s sexual identity, it reveals the secrecy and taboo that affects him because of homophobia in American society. In one example, Sean, an enemy of Melanin, yells: “You mother’s a dyke” in front of crowd when he is with his mother (Woodson, 1995, p.106). A feeling of vulnerability and despair ripped though me as Melanin and his mother were humiliated in this part of the novel. I think this type of gender challenge is crucial for student to read in the classroom. They need to know that stereotypes about a person’s sexuality do not make them “different” and that lesbians are, in fact, human beings too. Woodson’s The Dear One also gave me a feeling of pity and compassion for a pregnant teenager having to live with a family in a middle class suburban neighborhood. Rebecca is a city girl that has a very poor education and she has become accidentally impregnated. This book can be extremely helpful to the class by understanding how suburban girls, such as Feni, must come to understand poverty, ignorance, and class status that cloud her stereotypes about urban life. I enjoyed this book because Woodson has a impressive ability to communicate issues of sexuality that teach diversity and tolerance towards young women from differing backgrounds. 

Esperanza

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

I really enjoyed this book because it teaches the humility and wisdom of class diversity through the experiences of Esperanza. The student can learn the differing behaviors and values of a wide range of classes in Esperanza’s fall from grace as a daughter of a wealthy Mexican rancher. After her father is killed during a conflict with a rancher relative, Esperanza and her mother, Mama, must work as immigrant workers in California in the midst of the Great Depression. I felt that it was heartbreaking to see anyone lose their home, but it teaches an important lesson about humility in a typically class divided culture. In my opinion, it is a great gift that Esperanza must interact with poor children of all races and understand how poverty eradicates racism, classism, and bigotry when there is very little money involved.  More so, it is the American Dream that gives Esperanza the opportunity to see real poverty in the hopes of improving their dire situation: “The work is hard in the United States but at least there we have a chance to be more than servants (Ryan, 2000, p.36). I feel type of theme can be used within the classroom because there are so many students from differing class backgrounds and racial identity. The heartbreaking poverty that Esperanza witnesses not only teach her humility, but it also allows her to experience diversity in racial and class-based lifestyles in the U.S. I really enjoyed this book because of Ryan’s ability to show that young women like Esperanza (from wealthy families) found humility and gratitude as typically privileged members of the upper classes. 

Summer Swans..................

The Summer of the Swans

I felt that this book was too focused on the way people and family members respond to the mentally disabled, which negates their own perspective of life.  While the book teaches compassion and care for the mentally disabled, it does very little to help the student learn about Charlie’s mindset and where he is coming from in the book. Actually, I was very curious as to why Charlie ran away and what he was thinking when he decided to disappear. I am not really fond of the other characters because they appear in a constant state of anxiety about caring for Charlie, especially in the character of Sara. I don’t think that I would recommend this book because it makes the caregiver the center of attention, when it is Charlie that deserves our full attention. More so, Charlie becomes the center of a mystery styled plot. This not only insinuates that no one the story really understands Charlie, but that he has become part of a cliché plot structure. I disagree with this type of plot and characterization of Charlie, which alienates the mentally disabled and puts an overt focus on the confused and often-irritated caregivers found in this story. While I do enjoy the compassionate way that Byers brings together the community to help the mentally disabled, I would not use this book as a means in which to better understand persons, such as Charlie. In the classroom, I would not recommend this book.

Skin......

The Skin I’m in

I feel that this book provides an important insight into the varying degrees of “blackness” that are part of minority communities. I was often stunned at the racist hierarchy of the students, which had caused Maleeka so much alienation and pain. For the most part, I think middle school students should know about this rarely mentioned problem of racism amongst minorities. I felt that it was extremely alarming that the closer a minority was to being white, the greater their popularity in the school. This book can definitely be used in the classroom as a way to help students of all races realize this various grades of racism outside of the typical black or white dualism. I have witnessed this type of minority racism towards a Kenyan girl in my classroom. She had very dark skin and some of the lighter skinned girls would often give her a hard time or demean her in the class. Often, she sat in the corner and seemed distant from the other African American students. I feel that this book is not just a historical story, but also one that can easily be understood by present-day behaviors of minority-on-minority racism. By having a dark skinned girl from Africa in the classroom, it is obvious that this book could have a major impact on racial behaviors that I have experienced. Yes, this book should be a mandatory because it would make the students aware of this aspect of racial identity amongst minority groups.

 

Birmingham

 

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963

I agree with the fictional storyline of the Watson’s trip to Birmingham, since it really made me feel connected with the suffering of Kenneth and his family after the 16^th Avenue Church bombings. Of course, the lessons to be gained from reading this book is that of the “separate but equal” laws in America that hid much of hideous assaults on black people and their communities in the South. I really liked the main character, Kenneth, since his curiosity and intelligence provide a balanced view of Byron’s delinquency and his parent’s authoritarian mindset. I feel that Curtis created Kenneth as a middle ground in which a narrator can get all sides of the story. I agree that this book would be appropriate for the classroom of middle school students because they can understand how history tends to underscore the violence aimed at black people the South. For instance, the fear of being stopped by white “redneck“ locals and/or the police in the Deep South is one such danger that forces Kenneth’s father to keep driving non-stop into the night (Curtis 146). I feel that students can really get a historical insight into the danger that black people faced against violent white southerners. I disagree with the combative nature of racial language in the book through the usage of the N-word and redneck dichotomy between blacks and whites. While the racial tensions are real and we understand the hatred is mutual between the two races, it does not provide a means to understand the Civil Rights Era mentality of equality through Martin Luther King Jr. I think that this book can be really effective in making history come alive through the experiences of the Watson family in Birmingham.

 

 



Crash....crash....crash......

Reading and Comprehension in Crash by Jerry Spinelli: An Analysis of the Important Balance of Athletics and Intellectual Development in American Sporting Culture

The important quote taken from Spinelli’s commentary on the predominance of American sporting culture is defined through the main character, John “Crash” Coogan. John has earned the nickname “Crash” because he embodies the primal physicality of the all-star athlete at his middle school. When Spinelli writes: “On the football field I don’t run around people, I run through them. Life is football” (Spinelli 83). Of course, Crash is very popular, but he finds a counter-cultural force in Penn Webb, a vegetarian and pacifist Quaker. Crash constantly makes fun of Webb, but he soon learns that brute force does not equal power or genuine respect by his peers. Spinelli provides a young adult forum for disabled students to connect with Webb as the victim of Crash’s initial crudity, but more so, to understand how he transforms into a compassionate person that respects intellectual and/or creative people. This is one way in which Spinelli writes well in that he shows a subtle awakening in the Crash character as  means of forging a balanced view of intellectual and athletic respect in the student reader. In regards to the primacy of sporting culture often trumping intellectual development in American popular culture, disabled students might find a role model in Crash as a person wiling to let go of rigid stereotypes and to learn to respect others characters, such as Webb, that enjoy reading and participating in sporting events, such as track and field.

The reaction of disabled students to the bullying experienced by Webb from Crash is one that would certainly bring up emotions of anger and frustration. In this regard, I would implement a strong character driven analysis of Crash and Webb by the students to understand both sides of this athlete/intellectual duality:  “I think aloud and demonstrate how I analyze a character’s decisions and motivation [and] make personal connections to a conflict” (Elliot and Dupuis 32). This is one key factor in character analysis, which can bring down the stereotyped barriers that have been conditioned in student behavior. Spinelli is utilizing the characterization of Crash and Webb to break down dualistic mindsets, which can be merged and diversified in a polarized learning culture. In the classroom, this can be a very important tool in stimulating intellectual growth and respect even though sporting culture appears to dominate most American learning environments. Through the changes that Crash experiences in the book in respect to artists and creativity, classroom analysis of sporting culture can become more balanced in the school’s culture. Certainly, I do not intend to trump one activity over another, but the predominant American sporting culture can be equalized with an increase in student vigor to read and find diversity in the comprehension process.  By respecting both aspects of athleticism and intellectual pursuits in reading education, Spinelli’s young adult novel can help to encourage disabled persons at the middle school level to understand the importance of all facets of schooling environments.

 

Love.....dog.....

Free Verse Novel Love That Dog by Sharon Creech and Mary M. Dupuis

One of the most important quotes in Creech and Dupuis’ novel about reading comprehension and poetry is based on her main character, Jack, and his confusion when reading abstract poetry. When trying to read William Carlos Williams’ “The Red Wheelbarrow”, he assumes that there is a complex and incomprehensible meaning that alludes him in the text: “I don’t understand/the poem about/the red wheelbarrow/and the white chickens/ and why so much’ depends upon/ them” (Creech 3). This is directly related to the way that Creech and Dupuis uses “free verse” style in order to show the student that it is actually a more simplified style of writing (Elliot 148). Soon after, Jack begins to more easily comprehend poetry and the mystique of complexity and difficulty in comprehension disappear. In the classroom, Creech’s text is invaluable in building a bridge between the oftentimes humorous and over complicated interpretation of poetry written by adults and simple reading exercises. For instance, the student can focus on free verse verbs and noun usage instead of conjunction interjections that might confuse the reading comprehension process. For the disabled student, the compound language of poetry could be a key style of writing that can increase reading comprehension, rather than be a deterrent. I feel that many students might initially react in a similar way jack in Love that Dog, but the “hostilities” would soon be abated after analyzing the simple poetry of William Carlos Williams in “The Red Wheelbarrow” that Creech and Dupuis exemplify in Love that Dog.

 

Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?

An important passage in Who Killed Mr. Chippendale reveals the powerful means of showing the student/teacher relationship within the classroom. Glenn (1996) writes about the experience a teacher named Robert Chippendale that allows the student to experience the inner thoughts of an educator: “By the babble of two thousand students--/Not a melting pot, but a multicultural mix,/Slouching its way toward Tower” (Glenn 2). This passage moved me because of its flow as a story of a teacher/student relations in the classroom (aka.The Tower), which reveals the more human side of teacher’s complex interactive stance on the school’s multicultural background. Narrative poetry can be an excellent way in which to easily communicate short and descriptive sentence to persons with special abilities that I work with in the classroom. With middle school students at this reading level, it is possible to more easily bring them into the multicultural tensions found in Glenn’s story. Narrative poetry has a way of capturing powerful emotions and ideas in short compact sentences. More so, the line-by-line poetic structure makes it easy to compartmentalize these ideas for students with reading comprehension cognitive disabilities. In this way, “students may enjoy a poetry in a familiar narrative form” (146), which can  be applied to Glenn’s poetry as a way of connecting the teacher to the student through the inner thoughts of Mr. Chippendale. Perhaps middle school students can find a stimulating means in which they can see that teachers are also human and that more intimate relationships can be developed when teaching reading skills in the classroom.

References:

Elliott, J. B., & Dupuis, M. M. (2002). Young adult literature in the classroom: Reading it, teaching it, loving it. Newark, Del: International Reading Association.

Glenn, M. (1996). Who killed Mr. Chippendale?: A mystery in poems. New York: Lodestar Books.

Wimpy Kid

Teenage Alienation in Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Kinney’s Dairy of a Wimpy Kid had a major impact on my perspective as a teacher that educates middle school persons with disabilities. While Kinney’s main character, Greg Heffley, is not a disabled person, yet his sport-loving father and his classmates alienate him because he likes computer technology. More so, Greg is a literary example of an alienated teenager that has alternative skill sets as a “computer geek”, which are often disrespected in American sporting culture: “Every time Dad kicks me out of the house to do something sporty, I just go up to Rowley’s and play my video games there” (Kinney, 2007, p.26). When teaching this type of literature in the classroom, Kinney’s (2007) own use of real life experiences makes his characterization of Greg an authentic and often humorous commentary on the hedonistic use of computer technology for young people: “Greg's faults are my faults, but he is a fictional character” (Murphy and Glantz, 2012, p.22) This perspective provides a way to teach tolerance and respect for students with different talents than what is normally accepted in American culture. In the classroom, some athletic students can also tend to alienate more artistic or intellectual types of students because they different than the norm. Kinney’s (2007) story provides a means in which to encourage tolerance and understanding through literature and reading comprehension. While some students react with contempt to others that differ from them, Diary of a Wimpy Kid accomplishes the goal of encouraging a diversity of differing personality variables in classroom learning.

                   References:

Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid. New York: Amulet Books.

Murphy, B. and Glantz, S. (2012). Author Profile: JEFF KINNEY- The Real-Life Wimpy Kid?. Library Media Connection, Vol. 30 (Issue 4), p20-23.

Monster.....Racism

An Analysis of Teaching the Problem of Racism for African American Middle School Students in Monster by W.D. Myers

     

Myer’s moving story of African American youth Steve Harmon illustrates a powerful representation of the persecution of people due to the color of their skin. Harmon has been falsely accused of being a “look out” for bank robbers that murder a drug store owner. Through a literary perspective, it is illustrates how a predominantly white criminal justice system can turn an innocent young man into a criminal at a moment’s notice: “You’re young, You’re black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?” (Myers, 1999, p.79). For middle school African Americans and other minorities, Myer’s storyline can provide a means in which to discuss racism as a serious problem in American culture in which to "study books that reflect their cultures.”(Elliot and Dupuis, 2002, p.47). Myers (1999) book teaches the student about the injustice of the criminal courts, which can help make more minority students overcome these obstacles in the classroom. After teaching students the story of 16 year-old Steve Harmon, they can be better prepared to deal with possible racist incidents in society. More so, basic reading by Martin Luther King and other anti-racist Civil Rights leaders can be read in conjunction with Myers’ story. In my experience persons with disabilities at the middle school level, many African Americans become angered at the racism aimed at black people in the example provided by Myers. However, they often come to realize that Myers is exposing injustices that they see on an everyday basis in their neighborhoods. Through literature and education, these students can utilize Myers’ Monster to overcome and become more aware of the complexities of “white-on-black “ institutional racism in American culture.

          References:

Elliott, J. B., & Dupuis, M. M. (2002). Young adult literature in the classroom: Reading it, teaching it, loving it. Newark, Del: International Reading Association.

Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (1999). Monster. New York, N.Y: HarperCollins Publishers.

This is to be the blog on which you write your reflections and your reactions to the young adult novels that you will be reading this semester.   I look forward to reading all of your reactions to our new works of literature.    Dr. Ries