ALAN Online

ALAN 2012 Workshop Break-out Session Proposal Form

David Macinnis Gill — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:26:57 +0000

The theme for the 2012 ALAN workshop is “Reaching Them All, ALAN Has Books for Everyone”–books for boys, books for girls, for challenged readers, brilliant readers, for fantasy readers, for science-fiction readers, reality lovers, LGBTQ teens, teens in other countries, teens from other countries who now live here, Christian kids, Jewish kids, Muslim kids, non-believing kids, kids with problems at home–alcoholism, illnesses, incest, divorce–as well as kids from happy, fun-loving homes, from family units with one mom or one dad or both or grandparents or two moms or two dads, teens who live in cyberspace, teens who can’t afford a computer–YOUNG ADULTS, ALL YOUNG ADULTS.

The 2012 ALAN Workshop will present a different format. All Educator Break-outs will occur on Monday afternoon. All Author Break-outs will be on Tuesday afternoon. (Note: Authors, please indicate your publisher’s name and whether or not your publisher has agreed to support your participation if you are selected.) Preference will be given to those who did not present in 2011. All applicants must be ALAN members.

Proposals must include:
Session Title:
Description and Purpose of Break-out Session (including proposed target audience if not in title). Submit proposal on separate sheet–250 words or fewer.

Name of Session Chair:
Street Address, Email Address, Telephone Number, Institutional Affiliation and position or publisher.
Presenter(s) for Session, plus their affiliations/publisher

Electronic submissions should be sent to cjbott627 [at] gmail [dot] com Please use ALAN Breakout in the subject line. Proposals are due no later than midnight of Friday, JANUARY 6, 2012. If proposals are not submitted electronically, please mail your proposal to cj bott, 34540 Sherbrook Park Drive, Solon, Ohio 44139, no later than Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

ALAN Mission Statement

David Macinnis Gill — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:37:42 +0000

ALAN Mission Statement

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English:
• Defines young adult literature as works in a wide variety of genres and forms, including multi-media formats, with topics relevant to the interests and needs of young people in middle and high school.
• Promotes the inclusion of young adult literature as a bridge to other curricular works and as a stand-alone curricular selection in both the English language arts program and across the curriculum.
• Supports educators and librarians in their use of the literature, advocates the right to read the literature, and defends freedom of choice for independent reading, inclusion in classrooms, presence in library collections, and in book clubs.
• Provides opportunities for teachers, librarians, teacher educators, and others involved in the use of young adult literature to enhance their practice and teaches the educational community and general public about the value of this literature.
• Celebrates the ever-changing nature of the field and welcomes artistic innovation, experimentation, and risk-taking by authors, publishers, and others involved in the creation of young adult literature.
• Evaluates young adult literature on its individual merits and in the context of larger bodies of literature as appropriate and engages in ongoing rethinking of the literary canon.
• Cooperates with other organizations that advocate similar goals and objectives.

March 8, 2011

Under the Radar Nov 2011

Ricki Ginsberg — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:45:50 +0000

Under the Radar: Cinco Puntos Press’s The Blood Lie and This Thing Called the Future

presented for your enjoyment by James Bucky Carter, CJ Bott, and Ricki Ginsberg

Introduction:
Bucky: When CJ Bott asked Ricki and me to be part of Under the Radar, I knew I wanted to accomplish two things. I wanted to eventually talk about some graphic novels, and I wanted to spotlight the small press publisher in my current home city. Herein, and with the help of my fellow UTR-ers, I am pleased to offer evidence of meeting the latter goal. Cinco Puntos press is an independent publisher of multicultural literature for all audiences. The press, located in downtown El Paso, welcomes student visitors to its location and often comes to the local university, The University of Texas at El Paso (where I am employed), to give students an insider’s look at publishing. Among their current young adult authors are Benjamin Alire Seanz, author of books like Last Night I Sang to the Monster, a staple in my YA courses, and Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood; Luis Alberto Urrea, who, along with Christopher Cardinale, crafted the magical graphic novel Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush, a story with appeal to children’s and young adult literature readers; and Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, whose The Smell of Old Lady Perfume features a young girl dealing with the border issues of adolescence and adulthood and the literal border of El Paso, TX, and Ciudad Juarez, MX, which just happens to be near where Cinco Puntos is located as well.

In 2011, Cinco Puntos welcomes two new authors of young adult literature. Shirley Reva Vernick published The Blood Lie with the press, and J.L. Powers offers This Thing Called the Future.

Whenever I teach a course on Young Adult literature, I always share Kenneth L. Donelson and Alleen Pace Nilsen’s criteria for what constitutes the best of the best of adolescent literature. I draw this information from the seventh edition of Literature for Today’s Young Adults. Doing so allows us a frame to apply to each of the books we read. Below. CJ, Ricki, and I apply the criteria to the two titles mentioned above.

The Blood Lie

Jack Pool, the oldest son of Jewish Russian immigrants, turned sixteen on September 22, 1928. All he could think about was earning a day off of work, getting his license, travelling to Syracuse to study cello, and spending time with his crush, Emaline Durham. When Daisy, Emaline’s four-year-old sister, goes missing directly after being under Jack’s supervision, the people of Massena, New York, begin to worry. With the help of an anti-semitic hooch runner who needs the woods cleared of would-be-heroes so he can secure a delivery of booze, worry becomes fanatical hate, and Jack finds himself guilty before proven innocent, along with the other Jewish citizens of his small town. The Blood Lie is Shirley Reva Vernick’s meditation on hate as wildfire.

Characteristic 1: Written from the point of view of a young person
Bucky: The book is written in the third person and stays with it consistently. We’re certainly in Jack’s head most of the time, and we get insight into the thought processes of other kids and teens too, but The Blood Lie is driven mostly by dialogue and the narrator’s description.
Ricki: I agree that Jack’s voice is the most important narrative, as he is the protagonist. However, I found it interesting and enlightening to hear Emaline’s narrative as well, also told in the third person.
CJ: Hearing Jack’s young, hopeful, determined, anxious, but proud voice was very important to me when I read this book, but the other voices also added to my understanding of the time, the prejudices, and the boundaries Jack faced and would continue to face in his life. However, it was the voice of the bigot, though it was needed, that created the conflict and, therefore, the story.

Characteristic 2: The young person or people in the story are able to take credit for their accomplishments.
Bucky: Jack is a skilled musician, and he hopes to escape Massena for a larger town. We have no reason to assume he won’t get what he’s looking for based on his talent, though he worries that society’s prejudices may follow him wherever he goes. Toward the end of the novel, he seems to have internalized some of the antisemitic sentiment of his neighbors and worries that no matter what he does in life, he may never be able to experience full credit in a positive sense because of his identity as a Jew. He does get credit for being a hero in an intriguingly subversive scene involving a rabbi who is grateful for his quick-thinking, but even then, his accomplishment can’t be named and celebrated directly or overtly.

Characteristic 3: The narrative is fast-paced.
Bucky: I would call this a novella, though it is being marketed as a novel. The pace is very quick and picks up speed as the story develops. Perhaps Vernick is using pace as a technique to illustrate how quickly misinformation spreads and the deleterious results it can have when a town’s majority population seems poised to need nothing more than a good excuse to hate its minority neighbors.
Ricki: I agree, Bucky. The narrative moves at a fast pace, which will certainly appeal to teens. It only took me about ten pages to become engrossed in Jack’s story. I was able to read the entire book in one sitting, and I didn’t want to put it down. I think the book will hook many readers.
CJ: The book is fast-paced in some places but comfortably slow in others, which gave me a break in the intensity. On my second read, I found so many things I had missed on the first read.

Characteristic 4: Includes a variety of genres and subjects
Bucky: I always apply this characteristic to a sample of YA Lit rather to any one title.
Ricki: Yes, this novella is most obviously a work of historical fiction. However, it can also be classified as a mystery, in my opinion. I loved the Author’s Note at the end, where the author tells a folktale.

Characteristic 5: Addresses diversity in some way
Bucky: While I get the impression that most of the town is Caucasian, there is religious diversity in that we have characters who identify as either Jewish or of any number of Christian denominations. Many of the residents are immigrants or first-generations Americans. Jack’s father emigrated from Russia. Rabbi Abram is from Lithuania. Several other European nations are mentioned as former homelands.
Ricki: In addition to the religious diversity, there is a great diversity with the ages of the key players. Some of the narrative voices of the story are: Jack (a teenage boy who is Jewish), his mother, Emaline (a teenage girl who is a Christian), and her mother. The differences in the ages of the characters influences their values and understanding of the world.
CJ: Do not forget Gus, hardly a religious man, who is so interested in saving his illegal shipment of booze that he stirs up a religious conflict that the town will probably never escape. Or the wonderful Rabbi Abrams who holds fast to his faith when being bitter would have been far too easy. This book, the town contain Christians, Jews, religiously uninvolved, old, young, and descendants from many countries, much like life.

Characteristic 6: The text is basically optimistic (coming of age; change; transformation; silver lining; sense of becoming; glimpses of possibilities)
Bucky: The last scene with Emaline and Jack really plays with this notion of the silver lining. On the one hand, Jack will get to travel to Syracuse to audition for the music school there. On the other, no social progress seems to have been made in his town; the world isn’t a better place to live in. All of this is, of course, illustrated by an opportune puff of smoke and what can only transpire as the two are enveloped in its opaqueness.
Ricki: The text is optimistic in that Jack and Emaline both seem to learn and grow from the circumstances of the novel. They both display a strong maturity when they realize they cannot be together due to societal constraints. The advancement of the town did not give me a sense of optimism, but I think it would be wrong for the book to convey this message. The book is very realistic to the time period. I found Mrs. Pool’s ability to forgive to be incredibly admirable and very optimistic, and this gave me a sense of hope.
CJ: There is hope in the fact that Eva Pool and Jennie Durham long ago became friends respectful of the other’s spiritual beliefs and implanted that virtue in their children. Small steps are needed when reshaping the values history has implanted.

Characteristic 7: The text deals with emotions important to young people.
Bucky: The star-crossed romance between Jack and Emaline may strike many as frustrating. We get the feeling that even before the town’s recent embarrassment, there were social divisions regarding who could court whom. The two share a mutual attraction, but Emaline knows that some lines aren’t to be “crossed,” as is evident when Jack notices the crucifix around her neck at the exact time she tells him she wishes things could be different, but they’re not. The text also features a host of family dynamics and will, most likely, get kids thinking about how parenting styles have changed over the generations. Basic emotions like hate, love, anger, disappointment and forgiveness are apparent, but not specific to young people, of course. Still, I think The Blood Lie captures the attention easily and will give all readers plenty to consider.
Ricki: I think Bucky does a great job surveying a few of the numerous themes of this book. As a teacher, I can’t help but think about how this would fit into my classroom. I’ve already considered pairing it with Night by Elie Wiesel and A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. My tenth grade curriculum focuses on tolerance, and I focus much of my class on genocide (current and past). This book shows how genocide begins–with hate. I appreciated that the love story isn’t the primary focus of the novel. It would be easy for me to use this book for students to make connections with their own lives. Teens always have to deal with rumors, and this book tells just how detrimental a rumor can be on a young person’s life.
CJ: The religious prejudices in this book can easily apply to current events around the world. Consider Darfur or Sudan; consider the harassment of Muslims in the our country, and how many Muslims, though loyal to the true essence of their faith, are treated like terrorists. The book would also fit into a unit on bullying. Gus Poulos is a classic bully. History is littered with bullies.

This Thing Called the Future

Khosi lives in South Africa and is proud of her Zulu culture. But the modern world is with her as well. She is surrounded by billboards about AIDs. One in every four people in her area have HIV, and she is dismayed by locals’ reactions to the disease. When her mother falls ill, she tries to avoid the whispers in church. After she believes her neighbor has set a curse on her family, she isn’t sure if she should follow modern or traditional beliefs. Should she become a healer or a nurse? And, how will she ever avoid the drunk man in town who is trying to attack her every time she walks alone?

Characteristic 1: Written from the point of view of a young person
Ricki: The novel is written from the first-person point-of-view of Khosi, a young girl who lives in South Africa. I found her to be a strong female, and readers will, likely, be very sympathetic toward her. I was rooting for her as she navigated the difficult circumstances that exist within this generation of young people in South Africa.
CJ: This truly is Khosi’s story; she is the only one who knows all parts of it. A secret keeper, she only shares those secrets with the reader.
Bucky: Khosi is a deep-thinking, reflective, mature girl who quickly establishes an intimate relationship with the reader. As CJ suggests, the reader gains a quick liking for and investment in her life. Powers does a great job at establishing a strong, unique voice from a lead character that one can’t help but admire.

Characteristic 2: The young person or people in the story are able to take credit for their accomplishments.
Bucky: Khosi must decide for herself how she will balance her ancestry and modernity. Certainly, as she completes an exquisitely-written vision quest/fever dream, she must take charge to decide her fate.
CJ: She can certainly take credit for her school accomplishments, but she must hide the part of her which connects with her ancestors, particularly her grandfather who died the day Khosi was born. Gogo, her grandmother, sees Khosi spiritual ways and knows the ancestors are guiding her, but Khosi must learn how to call them when she needs their help. Because of the environment, there seems to be many layers of secrecy in this book, and Khosi hides nearly as much from her mother as her mother hides from the family.

Characteristic 3: The narrative is fast-paced.
Bucky: The narrative has a good pace. It’s steady and has a rhythm but does not always move quickly. This is not a critique, though. Powers does such a great job of getting us into Khosi’s head and letting us feeling her uncertainties and worries and angst about self-defining decisions she must make and how she will react to the decisions of those close to her, that when the narrative is not quick, we understand why. But, when its time for action, the pace is swift and exciting. I have to say that Chapter 36, “Battle,” was one of the most enticingly intense scenes I have read in recent years. So, while I won’t say the novel is fast-paced for 213 pages, I will say it is well-paced.
CJ: I agree, while it does some fast forward and a bit of slow motion, so much of the book is in Khosi’s mind or in scenes she can’t tell anyone about that the action ebbs and flows, but like the plot, the action comes through in so many layers.

Characteristic 4: Includes a variety of genres and subjects
Ricki: This novel is a realistic fiction. Teens in the United States will be able to learn about a new culture, as well, so it could fit in the genre of multicultural literature.
Bucky: I like that while it is realistic, there are so many elements of the spiritual and supernatural too. Readers might enjoy deciding for themselves if some of the more mystical elements can be explained by science or something else. Does everything have to have a logical explanation? Subjects or themes explored include sibling and family relationships; conflict between ancient cultural practices and contemporary society; puppy love; coming of age, and more. While the story is a bildungsroman, it bridges the space between literary realism, magical realism, and the more metaphysical “fever dream” element of many vision quests.
CJ: Well said, Bucky.

Characteristic 5: Addresses diversity in some way
Ricki: Absolutely. Many young adults are very sheltered from the lives of other young adults in different countries. I think the author aimed to teach, and she succeeded. This book will be incredibly enlightening to teenagers, many of whom don’t understand how HIV/AIDS has impacted their peers in Africa. Within the novel, there is diversity between characters, as well. Some members of society believe in traditional medicine, while others place their faith in more modern science. Khosi is torn between these two worlds.
Bucky: Agreed. HIV/AIDS gets swept under the rug a lot in the United States nowadays, and we don’t often think about how disease and globalization and modernization are all intertwined.There is some socioeconomic diversity apparent as well. Indeed, it is an economic impulse that provides for one of the more shocking revelations of the novel. Also, how many YA novels are there out there set in South Africa? Obviously more than I know about, but this one is such a detailed and artfully-crafted text that I felt like I was learning much about a nation and its people. I was enthralled with the dynamics and tensions among cultural customs. The glossary of Zulu words helped immensely and, just like Khosi’s narrative, offered a sense of “insider information.”
CJ: It saddens me to think so many people in our world are ignorant of the AIDS crisis in Africa. Forty-three years ago I lost my best friend to AIDS. It was such a secret because we had so little understanding of it then. In this country, we have more understanding now, but less awareness of the rest of the world.
There were many levels of diversity in this Powers book as there were in her book, The Confessional, also an incredibly structured, richly-drawn book filled with varied and wonderful characters.
This book would be a good cross-over in a class studying African history, world history, the AIDS crisis, or world religions.

Characteristic 6: The text is basically optimistic (coming of age; change; transformation; silver lining; sense of becoming; glimpses of possibilities)
Ricki: Similar to The Blood Lie, I didn’t find the setting of the story to be very optimistic. My stomach turned as the drunk man tried to grope Khosi. My heart hurt for her as she was unsure of her mother’s diagnosis. However, Khosi’s strength is incredibly admirable, which gives me a sense of hope. She has strong family values and is passionate about helping her country. Therefore, for me, the book shows optimism in the face of tragedy. Khosi comes into her own as she navigates the waters of maturity, and she certainly develops and grows emotionally in her journey.
CJ: I would have trouble calling this book optimistic. It is real and gritty and worldly, and the fact that Khosi survives is the only sense of hope I found.
Bucky: Yes. In a nation that has been so defined by black and white, Khosi sees that most of life is lived in the middle ground. Good people have to make difficult choices that, if made public, might call into question their nature. Mysticism does mix with modernity, as some things have easy explanations while others do not. Khosi ends the text by looking ahead. She knows the past can’t be changed, even when aspects of it seems channeled through her. She recognizes the ambiguity of life as part of life. “There is only this thing called the future,” she says, with agency but knowledge that the known and unexplainable will always find ways to intersect.

Characteristic 7: The text deals with emotions important to young people.
Ricki: Khosi tackles issues that concern teens all around the world, including conflicts with family, doubts of religion, poor choices of friends, new relationships, and sickness of loved ones. The story is very honest in that Khosi isn’t always sure she is making the right choice, but she allows her heart to guide her. She is a great role model for young adults.
Bucky: Khosi’s adoration for Little Man is sweet and sincere. Many teens will be able to relate to the strong crush and attraction they share. Heck, it even made this old fogey remember the rush of intense feelings associated with young love. Khosi also has responsibilities that many will see reflected in their own lives. She has chores and helps take care of her little sister, for example, and she has to deal with her coming of age as she is taking care of family as well. While Khosi may not live in what many readers might think of as modern society, her life is every bit as hectic and complicated and full as many teens’ today. She might be fighting spirits and witches instead of balancing soccer and ballet, but Khosi has a very full plate and struggles to keep it all going smoothly.
CJ: There are so many ways this book can connect with young people and how the reader chooses to participate in The Thing Called the Future will ultimately reveal much more about the reader than this text that calls for discussion, sharing, savoring.

Final Thoughts:
Bucky: While we hope you’ll read each of these texts and decide for yourself whether they constitute works among the best of the best of Young Adult literature, we found that both books met many of Donelson and Nilsen’s criteria points in intriguing, thought-provoking ways. Check out The Blood Lie and This Thing Called the Future, both 2011 releases from El Paso’s own Cinco Puntos Press, and be intrigued for yourself!

ALAN Review Call for Submissions

David Macinnis Gill — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:42:13 +0000

TAR Fall 2012 Theme: Poetry and Young Adult Literature
Billy Collins says that he wants to “walk inside the poem’s room.” Marianne Moore wants “imaginary gardens with real toads in them.” Poetry in all its varied forms is used in a myriad of ways in young adult literature. Some authors (Karen Hesse, Ellen Hopkins, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Mel Glenn) create novels in verse while other authors (Jacqueline Woodson, Nikki Grimes, Sharon Flake) weave poetry into their prose. Other authors write collections of poems for adolescents (Gary Soto, Rita Dove, Paul Janeczko). Adolescent readers can take many, many paths to poetry in YAL. The theme of this issue invites us to consider the ways in which we can walk inside a poem’s room or find that imaginary garden with adolescents. What is it about poetry that grabs adolescent readers? Many young adult authors are experimenting with the ways in which they use poetry to tell their stories; how does this help adolescent readers and writers? How does the way in which authors use poetry to tell complex narratives push adolescents to be stronger readers? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. March 1 submission deadline.

TAR Winter 2013 Theme: Flash Back-Forge Ahead: Dynamism and Transformation in Young Adult Literature
In her Fall 2011 President’s Column, Wendy Glenn reflects that our field manages to “successfully shift and sway with time and changing elements, while maintaining a core commitment to young people and the books written for them.” For this call, we wonder, like Glenn, what topics, voices, and forms have shaped our field and what we anticipate those future ones will be. What titles endure and why? Which ones are poised to become readers’ favorites? As we pursue the next trend in young adult literature, what should we be careful not to lose? What will our future roles as young adult literature advocates be and with whom should we be forging relationships? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. July 1 submission deadline.

TAR Summer 2013 Theme: 40th Anniversary Issue. While we will be soliciting articles from past ALAN presidents and editors as well as influential young adult authors, we welcome submissions which reflect on the past forty years of ALAN. November 1 deadline.

TAR Fall 2013 Theme: Reading and Using Nonfiction Young Adult Literature
So often our schools tend to privilege the reading of fiction over the reading of nonfiction. But what about those kids who want to read something other than the novels we assign? What about the students who crave nonfiction? The theme of this issue asks us to consider the role of nonfiction in the classroom and in the personal choice reading of adolescents. What is it about nonfiction that grabs students? What role can/should nonfiction ply in classrooms? What nonfiction have you used that empowered adolescents? What is it that we must consider or celebrate when teach/use/recommend nonfiction? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. March 1 submission deadline.

ALAN Workshop Handouts

David Macinnis Gill — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:46:48 +0000

ALAN breakout session handouts will be participants to download as desired. If you are an ALAN speaker, please email handouts to the address provided by Wendy Glenn.

Select handouts for breakout sessions are available here:

“Forging Ahead by Collaborating with Content Area Content Colleagues in the Arts”–Bull, Stover, & Kaplan
“The Intersection of Sport, Education, and Society in Young Adult Literature”–Alan Brown
“Flash Back: Forge Ahead“–Laurie Friedrich
“Traversing the Boundary Between Insider and Outsider: Learning a Language and Culture and Helping Shape the Future.”–Neesha Meminger #1 and #2
Forging Ahead: Proposing, Designing, Teaching and Defending a High School Young Adult Literature Elective. 1, 2, & 3–Ricki Ginsberg, Tiffany Smith, Carrie Melnychenko, Leslie DesJardin
“The Undergraduate YA Lit Course:What? How? Why?”–Bill Broz & Amy Cummins

ALAN’s Picks: October 2011

Pam B. Cole — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:55:44 +0000

ALAN’s Picks is a monthly book review column compiled and edited by Dr. Pam B. Cole of Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.

All the Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2011, 354 pp., $16.99
Family/Love/Relationships/Responsibility/Organized Crime
ISBN: 978-0-374-30210-8

winzip crack free

At the age of seventeen and with both parents dead, Anya is responsible for a dying grandmother, her mildly disabled older brother, and her younger sister. She is the oldest daughter of the head of an organized crime business, chocolate no less. Told in the future tense, this story involves chocolate as an illegal substance. After being accused of attempted murder by giving her ex-boyfriend poisoned chocolate, she finds herself in a jail for young girls. As if she has room in her life for additional drama, Anya falls in love with the district attorney’s son; their relationship does not have his blessing. While she tries to ensure that she and her siblings lay low and stay out of the limelight, Anya has to make decisions that no seventeen year old should make. But one thing is for sure: regardless of how painful the decision will be for her, regardless of what she has to sacrifice personally, Anya always does what is best for her family; family comes first!

Gabrielle Zeven has created a story that is easy to read and one that the reader will not want to put down. Readers of all ages will enjoy this book.

Reviewed by Priscilla A. Boerger, Boca Raton, FL

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari
Scholastic, 2011, 344 pp., $$17.99
Post-apocalyptic/Survival
ISBN: 978-0-545-25563-9

Ashes, Ashes takes place in the not too distant future after a multitude of disasters have happened. Not only has global warming caused floods, droughts and other drastic weather changes, but a small pox epidemic has annihilated the human race between the ages of thirty and sixty and most everyone else. But Lucy survives. She is the sole survivor of her family and is doing her best to live off the land in Central Park. Everything changes, though, when she meets Aidan from a close by camp and finds out that survivors are being hunted. Though Lucy struggles with communicating since she has been alone for so long, Aidan and she find a connection, and Lucy begins trusting him. From this point forward, the action starts, and Lucy’s life is truly on the line.

Ashes, Ashes is a truly realistic post-apocalyptic novel that takes readers through a young lady’s story of survival against horrible odds. The book grabs readers right away with Lucy’s struggles from finding food that is not contaminated to escaping wild dogs. One surprising aspect of the novel is the twist about half way through that takes this post-apocalyptic novel and transforms it into a dystopia.

Reviewed by Kellee Moye, Orlando, FL

Brooklyn Burning by Steve Brezenoff
Carolrhoda, 2011, 202 pp., $17.95
Inner City/Street Children/Alcohol/Drugs/Punk Music/Relationships
ISBN: 978-0-7613-7945-4

The scene is Brooklyn, the year, 2006, and our narrator is Kid, a homeless teenager who manages to survive on the kindness of strangers. Thrown out of the house by an angry father (Kid is an alcoholic), Kid falls in and out of love with other homeless teens, only to be saved by the gracious understanding of caring adults. Danger (to no surprise) still attracts our narrator as he and his friends are the prime suspect in a warehouse fire that consumes a close friend. Kid did not set the fire, but feeling responsible for the death, Kid readily accepts blame. The true tragedy comes, though, when the police return Kid home and together, they must deal with a father whose prejudice for a child’s shameful lifestyle overpowers any feeling of compassion.

Gritty, sad and unforgiving are the adjectives which best describe this haunting read. A brutal coming-of-age story, readers experience a desperate teen who, rejected by parents, turns to one person after another looking for the love that cannot be found at home. What is really at heart, though, is a deeply affecting look at what many young people experience when their families cannot accept their child’s confusion about their own sexual identity. For despite all we know about Kid, we—the readers—do not know whether Kid and the other teens are male or female. Instead, we are left to assume what we can infer—making this read even more provocative and challenging. What this story does reveal is Kid’s central desire for basic human connection—especially to a father who cannot reconcile with his child’s confusion. Young people who like harsh, uncompromising, realistic stories will find this book vivid, perceptive, and all too honest.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kaplan, Orlando, FL

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan with Jonathan Farmer, photographer
Knopf/Random House, 2011, 245 pp., $16.99
Relationships/Suicide/Mental Illness/Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-375-86098-0

It is difficult enough that Ariel, Evan’s only friend, is gone, but suddenly cryptic photographs begin appearing. The first is a photograph taken on his path to school—from the precise spot where he finds it. He is surprised to find himself the subject of the next photograph because Ariel is the only one he ever allowed to photograph him. Photographs appear in his locker and in places only Ariel should know they have been. Is she back? Is she tormenting him because of what he did? She was his best friend, but did
he ever really know her? The situation intensifies with photographs of Ariel herself, ones that Evan has never seen. How well did he really know her? Who is the mysterious photographer, and why is he or she tormenting him this way? Desperate for answers, Evan reaches out to Jack, Ariel’s former boyfriend, to help him solve the mystery.

Raising the question of how well we can ever know another person—even somebody we love—this book also probes the issue of how well we can know ourselves. Told from Evan’s point-of-view, the text includes words, phrases, passages—even entire chapters—that are lined out, suggesting Evan’s mental revisions as he grapples with Ariel’s attempted suicide, consequent hospitalization, and his role in saving her life. Should he, he wonders, have allowed her to destroy herself as she claimed she wanted? That is what Dana, the mysterious photographer, believes. Her photographs remind Evan that his moments with Ariel might not have been as private as he believed and are intended to punish him for preventing Ariel’s suicide. Jonathan Farmer’s photographs, combined with the stylistic presentation of Evan’s uncertainties, tighten the distance between reader and narrator and heighten the readers’ engagement as we try to solve these mysteries with him.

Reviewed by Kathleen Dudden Rowlands, Northridge, CA

The Jewel and the Key by Louise Spiegler
Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt, 2011, 456 pp., $16.99
Time Travel/World War I/Theater/Relationships/Social Issues
ISBN: 978-0-547-14879-3

Addie longs to land the leading role in her school theater productions, but she is constantly ousted and ostracized by a posse of girls who seem to be shoe-ins when it comes to acting. In her quest for stardom, she discovers evidence of the glory days of a local rundown theater. As she begins to explore, her quest is shaken by an earthquake that interrupts her dream and her life. Things begin to unravel as quickly as they seem to weave together in her favor. A key is discovered, unlocking a history of lights, action, and fame. Addie is caught between two worlds and must choose which direction she will go: revert to the past to capture a dream she never thought she could fulfill or progress to the future to create new opportunities for herself and others.

A book with a hint of an agenda, The Jewel and the Key caters to a wide audience by appealing to the dramatic and then leaning toward the political. Young readers will be surprised to learn how early labor unions showed their opposition to war as far back as WWI. The Jewel and the Key serves as a good bridge to more informational texts discussing WWI, labor unions such as the Industrial Workers of the World, or war opposition. The story captivates and draws readers in until the very last page.

Reviewed by Kristie Jolley, Pleasant Grove, UT

Rip Tide (Book 2 of Dark Life) by Kat Falls
Scholastic, 2011, 320 pp., $16.99
Science Fiction/Scuba Diving/ Marine Biology/Fantasy/Social Issues
ISBN: 978-0-545-17843-3

A rip tide occurs when conflicting currents meet. In this sequel to Dark Life, Ty and his girlfriend, Gemma, discover a city of corpses on the ocean’s bottom. Like the book’s title, the characters are caught in a rip tide of conflict. Before the pair can begin solving the gruesome mystery, they are engaged in more urgent business: the kidnapping of Ty’s parents. Forced to enlist Gemma’s outlaw brother’s help, the three must battle the devious and sometimes evil forces of the mainland’s Commonwealth police, the surfeit and other threats in the shapes of both humans and sea life.

Falls’ science fiction novel quickly engages the reader and maintains a fast pace. While the tale is somewhat predictable, the details of sea life, both real and imagined, are sure to enthrall any reader who loves the ocean. Falls immerses her characters into the ocean world much like so many authors used the American West of the 1800s, and she does it well. The book successfully synthesizes adventure, science fiction, social prejudices, and mystery with budding romance, no mean feat. Despite a lexile level assessed at 780, the text offers a wealth of new vocabulary that makes this book an excellent addition to both the teen library and a science classroom library.

Reviewed by Coleen E. Sams, Clearwater, FL

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods
Paulsen/Penguin, 2011,128 pp., $16.99
New Orleans/Katrina/Jazz/Perseverance
ISBN: 978-0-399-25507-6

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach lives in New Orleans with his family where he interacts with many different people in his neighborhood. Readers begin to experience how vibrant and special New Orleans is to the people who live there. While much of his time is spent interacting with elders in the jazz community, Saint also has a very special relationship with the older girl who lives next door and with a stray dog he has adopted. The story begins just before Hurricane Katrina hits the city, and readers follow Saint, his family, and his neighbors as they prepare for the storm.

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach is a likable, well-developed character. Woods builds suspense in the story by foreshadowing a less than pleasant outcome for him. Interesting supporting characters and engaging situations make the story fun and interesting as readers want to find out what happens to Saint.

Reviewed by Edith Campbell, Indianapolis, IN

Secrets of Tamarind by Nadia Aguiar
Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, 2011, 374 pp., $16.99
Fantasy/Adventure
ISBN: 978-0-312-38030-4

The magical island of Tamarind is a lush tropical paradise, populated by a diverse range of flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. Its delicate ecosystem is kept in balance and protected from the dangers of the outside world by a mysterious substance called ophalla. When a shady organization known as the Red Coral Project discovers Tamarind and launches a massive mining operation to extract ophalla for scientific research and possible commercial applications, the island’s fragile environment is threatened. This imbalance triggers the appearance of a series of mystical signs, messages laid during the Tamarind’s Extraordinary Days to aid future generations should the island ever face ecological disaster. Now, the survival of Tamarind and its unusual inhabitants lies in the hands of Maya, Simon, and Penny Nelson, who once more travel on the schooner Pamela Jane to investigate the island’s magic, find their missing parents, and stop the Red Coral Project before it is too late.

Combining elements of The Chronicles of Narnia, His Dark Materials, The DaVinci Code and Lost, this sequel to The Lost Island of Tamarind presents a rollicking fantasy adventure story that also serves as a thinly veiled meditation on environmental catastrophes in our own world. The author’s experiences living in Bermuda inform the novel’s vivid descriptions, providing a note of local color to its fantastical settings. This novel would make an excellent selection for a middle school read aloud, offering ample opportunities for word study, developing visualization skills and enriching students’ understanding of critical social studies and science concepts through fiction. Familiarity with Nadia Aguiar’s first Tamarind novel is not required to enjoy the riches of Secrets of Tamarind, a true feast for the senses.

Reviewed by Sean Kottke, Lansing, MI

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff
Razorbill/Penguin, 2011, 368 pp., $17.99
Demons/Angels/Relationships/Christian Mythology
ISBN: 978-1-59514-339-6

Daphne was born in Hell. Its perpetually burning, gleaming cities reflect the limitless expanse of time around her. Daphne is equally bored and apprehensive of her fate in this place. Half angel, half demon, Daphne has little to do except wonder whether she is destined to succumb to her mother’s seductive darkness or pursue the divine light her father once possessed. She is forced out of her eternal stupor when her brother Obie is kidnapped, and she teams up with a troubled mortal named Truman to search for Obie on Earth. Daphne becomes caught in the space between Heaven and Hell. Here she dodges the perils of divine politics on Earth and comes to know profound love in spite of her beginnings.

Rarely are the characters of Hell well developed. Lucifer, Beelzebub, and other minor demons are usually just vague forces of evil in many horror stories. Brenna Yovanoff, however, creates a place where good and evil are not so clean cut. Angels and demons possess free will in her novel, and that makes all the difference. Readers will enjoy Daphne and Truman’s unique love/adventure story and will find surprising the redemption offered (and sometimes turned down) to many characters. The Space Between is a book filled with danger and grace—an unlikely combination that Yovanoff pulls off with subtle conviction.

Reviewed by Adrienne Kisner, Boston, MA

White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
Roaring Brook, 2011, 234 pp., $16.99
Horror/Mystery/Thriller
ISBN: 978-1-59643-594-0

Winterfold is a coastal town in England slowly being eroded by the harsh waters of an ocean. Rebecca is a teenage girl forced to move to this one-road town and live with her overworked father. Once in the town, Rebecca befriends the interesting and strange Ferelith, who has lived in Winterfold her whole life. Together, they explore the broken-down churches and fascinating history of the town. Little by little, the town’s dark secrets come to life, and Rebecca discovers that Ferelith may not be whom she seems.

Sedgwick has weaved a mysterious and gothic tale, which includes flashbacks and amazing description. The two main characters are inviting and mysterious as well as strong and realistic. This is a gripping tale, which is—at times—frightening. Leave the lights on when browsing this one.

Reviewed by Ray Engle, Indianapolis, IN

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Scholastic, 2011, 608 pp., $29.99
Mystery/Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9780545027892

Two stories of loss and discovery unfold in the opening pages of Wonderstruck. Ben, rendered deaf by a bolt of lightning, is grieving his mother’s recent death and begins assembling clues to help locate the father he has never known. Rose, deaf from toddlerhood, longs to escape the home in which she has been locked away and deprived of her family’s love and acceptance. Both children embark on impossible journeys that take them to New York City and the marvelous American Museum of Natural History, although their tales begin in wildly different eras: Ben’s in the storied summer of 1977, and Rose’s in 1927, during the twilight of the silent movie era. How the extraordinary tales of these two young adults, separated by half a century, connect and reflect each other is a mystery that drives the novel forward on parallel narrative tracks, with Rose’s story told in pictures and Ben’s in prose.

Brian Selznick has already proven himself to be a master of interweaving prose and sequential art narrative into a singular, magical story in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and Wonderstruck takes readers on a glorious and even more ambitious journey down this same stylistic path. Selznick ramps up the visual storytelling this time and continues the grand experiment launched by D.W. Griffith in the classic 1916 silent film, Intolerance, to tell multiple stories simultaneously in such a way that the whole is greater than the sum. He succeeds admirably, cross-cutting between narrative threads all the way to the end. If the story is ultimately less of a puzzle box than The Invention of Hugo Cabret, it has greater intimacy and more emotion. The title perfectly describes the emotion that readers are likely to feel as they read this novel, which bursts forth with child-like wonder on every page.

Reviewed by Sean Kottke, Lansing, MI

The Yo-Yo Prophet by Karen Krossing
Orca, 2011, 237 pp., $12.95
Maturation/Illness/Change/High School/Coming of Age
ISBN: 978-1-55469-827-1

Calvin Layne spends his days as a freshman in high school attempting to avoid jocks, bullies and most of all, Rozelle, who rules the school with her cronies, Annette and Sasha. At home, he watches as his grandmother’s health deteriorates, while he helps run her dry cleaning shop below their apartment. Amid his crumbling life, Calvin turns to the only thing that relaxes him: working his yo-yo and finds he has become a street performing star almost overnight. The only problem is Rozelle, who thinks that she can bully him into letting her run his gig and claim half his earnings. She claims, too, that Calvin becomes prophetic when he works his yo-yo.

Krossing’s use of terse, but vivid imagery depicts a torn young man struggling to fit into a teenage world unaware of the larger problems of his life at home. The Yo-Yo Prophet takes the reader along Calvin’s journey, showing how a normal kid’s fears, inadequacies, and defeats lead him to grow and make decisions that enable him to become more of the young man he wants to be. Recommended for a slightly older YA reader.

Reviewed by Robin K. Jolley, Miramar, FL

Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award 2012 Committee Announced

Ricki Ginsberg — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:23:24 +0000

The 2012 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of four new members. The new members were chosen from an extremely impressive group of candidates and will join six returning members from the 2011 committee. Members of the selection committee must be: 1) ALAN members and 2) classroom teachers, university professors, or librarians. Committee members will serve for two years with the possibility of reappointment for a third.

The new members are:

Jonatha Basye Librarian Ralston High School, Ralston, NE
Kellee Moye Classroom Teacher Hunter’s Creek Middle School, Orlando, FL
Mindi Rench Classroom Teacher Northbrook Junior High School, Northbrook, IL
Lois Stover Professor St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St Mary’s City, MD

The seven returning members from the 2011 committee are:

Ricki Ginsberg, Committee Chair Classroom Teacher Rockville High School, Vernon, CT
Wendy Glenn, Past Chair Associate Professor University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Carolyn Angus Director George G. Stone Center for Children’s Books, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
Lois Buckman Librarian Caney Creek High School, Conroe, TX
Jeff Harr Classroom Teacher Theodore Roosevelt High School, Kent, OH
Jeff Kaplan Associate Professor College of Education, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Diane Tuccillo Teen Services Librarian Poudre River Public Library District, Fort Collins, CO

For more information about the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, including the award context and criteria and submission information, please visit the ALAN website http://www.alan-ya.org/amelia-elizabeth-walden-award/ or contact Ricki Ginsberg at rickiginsberg [at] gmail [dot] com.

ALAN’s Picks: September 2011

Pam B. Cole — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:24:00 +0000

ALAN’s Picks is a monthly book review column that is compiled and edited by Dr. Pam B. Cole of Kennesaw State University.

Reviewed this month:
Alice Blissby Laura Harrington
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Emily and the Rats in the Belfry by Lynne Jonell & Illus. Jonathan Bean
The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Macker Jefferson’s Sons: A Founding Father’s Secret Children by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
My Boyfriend Is a Monster 2: Made for Each Other by Paul D. Storrie & Illus. Eldon Cowgur
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie by Matt Blackstone
The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric

Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington
Viking/Penguin, 2011, 306 pp., $25.95
Family/Death/War
ISBN: 987-0-670-02278-6

Fifteen-year-old Alice Bliss has a treasure many teens desire but don’t often experience: a close, supportive relationship with her dad. Matt Bliss, formerly an engineer, but now carpenter/craftsman, coaches little league baseball and utilizes his skills as a farm team pitcher. Alice and Matt share gardening, his workshop, and life lessons. This special bond causes Alice incredible pain, though, when her father’s Army Reserve unit is called up. After only six weeks, rather than the usual six-month training period, Matt is deployed to Iraq. From the day Alice, her eight-year-old sister, and their mom drive Matt to Fort Dix, Alice’s life becomes a blur. She wears her dad’s shirt for weeks until her mother sneaks it into the trash; she lives on memories and often hears her dad’s words of encouragement. Alice and her mother struggle to connect, but they frequently end up fighting; both hold the pain of Matt’s absence welled inside. Younger sister, Ellie; Uncle Eddie, and Gram provide what support they can, but ultimately the family faces a stark reality: Matt will not be coming home alive.

Harrington creates an incredibly poignant story; grief and loss are palpable. Harrington’s use of present tense brings the characters alive. Additionally, her portrayal of what families face when a loved one is deployed makes the novel appealing for males and females, adults and teens, alike. Alice is a particularly believable teen, who falls in love, struggles to fit in, wants to be cared for, but rejects false affection. She also lives in a universe of constant anxiety: teachers cannot understand her sudden inability to concentrate, and sometimes she has to “mother” her mother.

Reviewed by Mary Warner, San Jose, CA

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Knopf/Random House, 2011, 417 pp., $17.99
Adventure/Magic/Orphans
ISBN: 978-0-375-86870-2

Kate, Michael, and Emma are beloved children of devoted parents, until their charmed life is ripped apart one snowy Christmas Eve. The three spend the next few years mercilessly being shuffled from one orphanage to another until an old family acquaintance intervenes. The children are brought to what they think is an orphanage of “last resort,” but it is instead the gateway to a daring, dangerous, magical adventure. The children discover a book—an atlas—that can transport them through time and space. Through the atlas, the children begin fulfilling a prophecy in which they confront an ancient evil, rescue other children in peril, and realize that they are valued and protected beyond measure.

The Emerald Atlas is one part A Series of Unfortunate Events and two parts Harry Potter, with some new elements added. The plot unfolds with equal amounts of drama, magic, adventure, and suspense. Readers will root for mature Kate, intrepid Michael, and plucky Emma as they face off with a frightening, well-developed evil foe. Boys and girls alike will find a strong lead character with whom they can relate, and the adventure and relationships will keep even the most finicky reader engaged. The ending is satisfying, but it leaves the door open for many more adventures.

Reviewed by Adrienne Kisner, Boston, MA

Emmy and the Rats in the Belfry by Lynne Jonell & Illus. Jonathan Bean
Henry Holt, 2011, 372 pp., $17.99
Friendship/Adventure
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9183-0

Emmy Addison lives in parallel worlds, the one her parents know and one in which she befriends talking rats and chipmunks. Raston Ray, her pal Ratsy, can turn humans into rats with a simple bite, while his sister, Cecilia, can reverse the procedure with a sweet kiss. Evil Jane Barmy and her devoted running mate, Cheswick Vole, have been turned into rats in a previous adventure and now seek revenge on Emmy and her pals. In his lab at the Antique Rat, Professor Capybara is developing a patch that utilizes Sissy’s valuable saliva. Miss Barmy wants it, too, so she can become human and gorgeous again; Cheswick adores her, so the two evil conspirators kidnap Sissy and force her to provide them with the kiss contents.

Emmy, along with her human friends, Joe and Ana; two elderly aunts, and several rats and bats unite in a suspenseful adventure to free Sissy. Spunky Emmy and her pals will fascinate tween readers with a tale that focuses on the value of friendship and loyalty, no matter the source.

Reviewed by Judith A. Hayn, Little Rock, AR

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler Penguin, 2011, 368 pp., $18.99 Relationships/Social Networking ISBN: 978-1-59514-491-1

High school students, Emma and Josh, have been friends since grade school, but their relationship has been a bit strained lately due to Josh’s misreading of what he perceived to be a romantic moment between them. When Emma receives a new computer from her dad, Josh gives her an AOL CD-ROM with 100 free hours on it, but wait a minute, this is 1996! When Emma logs in and begins to surf the internet, she discovers something called Facebook, which has yet to be created. Both Emma and Josh are able to see themselves, through their profiles, fifteen years in the future. The narration alternates between Josh and Emma, allowing readers to see how both cope as they discover that their thoughts and actions in 1996 affect who they will become in 2011.

The Future of Us may sound like sci-fi or fantasy, but it is the story of how two teenagers, given the power to control their futures, handle such a responsibility. Asher and Mackler have succeeded where many YA stories fall short. They have created characters whose relationships and interactions feel real. Early on, readers will stop trying to figure out how Facebook could appear on someone’s computer in 1996. They will simply be rooting for Emma and Josh to create the best future possible. Ages 12-up.

Reviewed by Bryan Gillis, Kennesaw, GA

Jefferson’s Sons: A Founding Father’s Secret Children by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Dial/Penguin, 2011, 363 pp., $17.99
Historical Fiction/Thomas Jefferson/Slavery/African-Americans
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3499-9

Thomas Jefferson is known to have fathered the children of his African-American servants who were essentially slaves at his home in Monticello. This remarkable and revealing story is a fictionalized account of the last twenty years of Jefferson’s life as told through the eyes of three of his slaves, two of whom were sons by his servant Sally Hemmings. Naturally, these children, born to a slave and out of wedlock, were to keep their father’s identity a secret. Told in three parts in these young slave children’s fictionalized voices, these engaging and poignant alternating chapters are fascinating for what they reveal both historically and psychologically about what life might have been like for Thomas Jefferson’s invisible offspring.

Inspired to tell the story of one of the true early American icons while touring Monticello, author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley read everything she could about Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with Sally Hemmings. A popular historical fiction novelist, Bradley wanted to recreate through the eyes of their children just what life might have been like for these secret offspring. Precious, and incisive, this creative, yet faithful historian, manages to bring the everyday to life—how Jefferson’s received special treatment such as easier work, better shoes, even violin lessons—and were promised to be set free when they turned twenty-one. But, would they ever really be free? Especially, those who were not light-skinned enough to enter white society? And what did their father really mean when he wrote “all men are created equal?” Did he have his black children in mind? This smart and honest narrative attempts to shed new light on territory adolescents with a penchant for knowing the back story of historical figures just might find fascinating.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kaplan, Orlando, FL

My Boyfriend Is a Monster 2: Made for Each Other by Paul D. Storrie
Illustrated by Eldon Cowgur
Lerner, 2011, 127 pp., $9.95
Relationships/Monsters/Graphic Novels/Alienation/Grief
ISBN: 978-0-7613-7077-2

Maria, member of a misfit string quartet, meets hunky new student, Tom Stone, son of a funeral director. The school is reeling from a car accident that took the lives of three cheerleaders, and Maria volunteers her quartet for a school assembly in order to get away from the creepy school counselor, who is convinced that she avoids dealing with the deaths of her parents. Tom sees Maria practicing, and the chemistry is immediate. Tom, however, uses his work at his father’s funeral home to avoid social interactions with Maria. Determined to meet up with him, Maria takes a batch of cookies to his house and stumbles upon Tom’s father’s laboratory, where a girl is being assembled from the parts of the deceased cheerleaders. Tom then reveals his secret: that he is a creation as well. When the “newborn” (Hedy) starts making friends, her appearance spells trouble for the whole town, especially for Maria.

Funny and light, this graphic novel feels like Twilight meets Scooby Doo. Cowgur’s illustrations lend both humor and gravitas to the narrative, and the layout of the panel illustrations paces the novel beautifully. Cute throwaways, like alternate titles, “punny” character names, and advice for the lovelorn resonate with both reluctant and experienced readers alike, making this graphic novel a title you will want to share.

Reviewed by Wendy Cope, Kennesaw, GA

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
Amulet, 2011, 400 pp., $16.95
Fantasy/Adventure/Orphans
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0025-5

Peter Nimble is a blind orphan. He also happens to be the world’s greatest thief. He lives a rough life in his port town, where he is constantly abused by Mr. Seamus, a man who took Peter in solely to use his gift of thievery to his own benefit. When Peter steals a box of unknown contents from an enigmatic traveling haberdasher, his life takes a dramatic turn. He soon finds himself transported to a hidden island, and before he knows it, he is on a quest to save the people of the Vanished Kingdom. With only his fantastic eyes and newfound friend, Sir Tode, by his side, Peter starts on the journey he has always been destined to make. Along the way, he learns the secret each fantastic pair of eyes holds, and in so doing, he learns more about himself then he ever imagined.

This is not a tale for the faint of heart! Though the writing is geared toward younger readers, the story itself is a wonderful mix of magic and gruesomeness that is reminiscent of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. In his debut novel, Auxier takes us on an extraordinary journey with truly memorable characters.

There’s the mysterious Mr. Pound, who jumpstarts Peter’s adventure; Mr. Pound’s seemingly omniscient mentor, Professor Cake, who keeps an eye on the world and the people in it who need rescuing; Sir Tode, the wildly entertaining knight who, due to a hag’s curse, is part man, part cat, and part horse. This is a creative, witty, well-paced novel that is nothing short of charming. It is guaranteed to bring smiles to readers’ faces, no matter what age. Truly unique!

Reviewed by Crystal Leibowitz, Moriches, NY

A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie by Matt Blackstone
FSG/Macmillan, 2011, 256 pp., $16.99
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/Relationships/High School
ISBN: 978-0-374-36421-2

Our hero is Rene, a fourteen-year-old boy with one major problem—he suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Forever plagued by the fear of germs (and dying), our young Rene follows ritualistic patterns to the point of self-destruction. He must wash himself in the correct order, stand perfectly still when the clock strikes a certain time, and pick up coins that are “face-up.” Isolated from family and friends, he lives a life obsessed with fear—until something nearly magical happens. Rene’s new and only friend, Gio, has a life mission to turn Rene into one “cool dude”—a trick that tests the limits of their friendship, patience, and passion.

The title—A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie—comes from Rene’s obsessive life habits. Prone to wearing Batman capes (and smelling his hands when he is very nervous), Rene has a chain of rituals that makes “living with himself” straight out of a horror movie. For if he breaks one ritualistic behavior, he fears the worst. Writing with compassion, humor and keen insight, debut author Matt Blackstone has written a compelling stream of consciousness read which will not only delight young people who know of others with this life-threatening disorder, but will also spark much conversation—among friends, parents and teachers alike—about how best to cope with this debilitating, yet all too common medical condition. And what makes this book most appealing is that the author has managed to tackle a subject matter—OCD—that heretofore has not received much treatment in young adult books—and now, through the magic of fictional realism, is front and center in a most engaging read for all ages.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kaplan, Orlando, FL

The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric
Delacorte/Random House, 2011, 464 pp., $17.99
Fantasy/Venice/Family Relationships
ISBN: 978-0-385-73999-3

Everything changes when young Teodora goes to Venice with her adoptive scientist parents and gets hit on the head by a mysterious book. The incident reveals that the natural disasters plaguing the city stem from a supernatural threat ordinary people cannot see, and a prophesied war between the forces of good and evil is on the brink. With the help of Renzo, a snobby Venetian boy, and her own quick wits and magical abilities, Teo must hunt down a mysterious traitor from beyond the grave and stop him from plunging the city into its watery depths—along with all of its inhabitants.

Lovric seamlessly blends historic Venice with a realm where mermaids, ghosts and winged lions roam freely. Readers will constantly find themselves learning new facts about the famous Italian city as Teo and Renzo uncover a dark mystery sealed deep within its archives. The encounters with Venice’s more otherworldly citizens are described with great attention to detail, and younger readers may find certain aspects of the story frightening. But no matter how bleak the situation becomes, a genuine sense of humor in the narration provides a glimmer of hope for its protagonists. For anyone interested in learning about Venice’s fascinating history or reading a whimsical, well-developed fantasy, The Undrowned Child will certainly satisfy.

Reviewed by Loree Varella, West Orange, NJ

Where I Belong by Gillian Cross
Holiday House, 2011, 245 pp., $17.95
Fashion/Mystery/Somalia
ISBN: 978-082-342-3323

Somali-born Khadija is sent to England when she is thirteen years old to get an education. She believes that her father sent her away so that she might escape the warlords who are ravaging her beloved homeland. Living with fourteen-year-old Abdi’s family in a small Somali community near London, Khadija’s exquisite beauty is recognized by world-renowned fashion designer, Sandy Dexter. Dexter plots to introduce a new fashion line with Khadija as her mystery model called Qarsson, the hidden one. Working together, both Abdi and Khadija learn that secrets are not easily kept within the tight-knit Somali community and are betrayed by a family friend. Jeopardizing Khadija’s chances to earn money and reunite with her family in Somalia, the villains of this story are numerous and surprising.

Rich, sensory descriptions of Somalia and its culture draw readers into the intrigue of Where I Belong, giving glimpses of Khadija’s home and Abdi’s ancestry. Gillian Cross’s main characters alternate narration chapter-by-chapter, illustrating first-person insights that make characters more real. Readers experience first-hand the betrayal, loss and—in the end—hope as Khadija and Abdi grow to understand where they truly belong.

Reviewed by Kelly Byrne Bull, Baltimore, MD

Under the Radar August 2011

Ricki Ginsberg — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:35:43 +0000

UNDER THE RADAR

A discussion of books from smaller publishers by four members of the ALAN Board,

Ricki Berg, James Bucky Carter, Paul W. Hankins, and CJ Bott.

Guantanamo Boy

By: Anna Perera

Today, the committee of Under the Radar is excited to review Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera. It was first published in England in 2009 and will be published by Albert Whitman and Company on August 1st, 2011. The novel is set six months after 9/11, when 15-year-old Khalid and his family, Pakistani father, Turkish mother, and two younger British sisters are visiting family. Without his family’s knowledge, Khalid is arrested as a terrorist and taken first to Karachi, then Kandahar and finally to Guantanamo Bay. During his interrogation, he is beaten and tortured for crimes he did not commit. Guantanamo Boy covers over two years of his life.

We all bring ourselves into every book we read, and sometimes we battle to see beyond our experience. Here is what each of us brings from our experiences on 9/11.

Paul’s Experience the Day of 9/11

On September 11th, 2001, I had just arrived at Knobview Hall on the IU Southeast Campus for the American Literature course I was taking that fall. I was a veteran with a sailor’s experience and G. I. Bill benefits, a new father and recent graduate of Baby Bootcamp (there really is a course), and now a student in his second semester of college. News coverage of the event was shown on a monitor in the hall on the way to my class and I stopped to see that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Thinking back to my military experience, I remembered the day we were placed on high alert because of the terrorist bombing of the same location some ten or so years earlier. My immediate thoughts were somewhere along the lines of “How unfortunate that this building should be damaged again after extensive rebuilding already.” After my class–which met twice a week and was therefore about an hour and a half long, I found out what was really happening outside of our classroom.

Ricki’s Experience the Day of 9/11

Believe it or not, I was actually a senior in high school during 9/11. While in class, the principal came over the loudspeaker and announced the news. I remember being very angry that he couldn’t tell us more. With a relative who went to the twin towers often, I worried the whole day. I had a math test the next block, and because I was so upset, I received a failing grade. It was the only test I failed in high school, and I remember crying afterward, not realizing that I was crying because of the devastation of the 9/11 attack. The whole day and following weeks, I felt like I was in a fog. I watched the news channels over and over for hours. After I while, I realized the channels were replaying the same coverage, but I couldn’t change the channel because I yearned for answers.

Bucky’s Experience the Day of 9/11

I was in my Literary Criticism class at the University of Tennessee, where I was earning my MA, when I heard the news. It came from one of our “flighty” peers, so I thought she meant the trade center in Seattle and figured it was a toy plane. Another peer had a handheld radio, and he tuned in and was able to offer more details. We were all stunned, and class was dismissed early. I remember walking with a good friend of mine who was also in the class and hearing the rumors swirling in those first few hours when no one knew what the heck was going on. Many were worried about the Oak Ridge nuclear facility nearby. Just as many seemed to think there would be an imminent attack on the UT football field, though. It was a strange, weird time when information was coming from all angles and rarely seemed adequately verified. It was hard to know what to expect next. Even though it was a beautiful day outside, it seemed like the sky was falling.

CJ’s Experience the Day of 9/11

I was in study hall when the Latin teacher came in and asked if I had heard—I think I responded with something like, “Oh you mean about the football team . . .?” And then she told me. Immediately I moved my students over to a room with a TV and we watched as a plane hit the second tower. Every one of these students looked at me to see if it was real, to see how I was reacting and they saw my tears. The rest of the day, as I remember it now, is scattered moments with my students, a phone call home and grabbed seconds when I tried to breathe deeply and slowly. Moments when I tried to parallel what had just happened and that incredible blue sky! No classes were canceled; we even had Open House two days later. The parents looked at me for answers, I had no answers but I told them to keep talking with their sons and daughters because like all of us in that room that night, they were scared and very unsure what might happen next.

CJ: What is the main focus of this book? Torture? Khalid? Faith? To challenge the reader to THINK? Something else?

Bucky: I think the book is an expose on methods employed by the U.S. armed forces in the ongoing war on terror, and I think the book is also a testament to human endurance and a way of illustrating that even when good people seem to be doing bad things and bad things happen to good people, there are still those with enough humanity to help set things right like the British lawyer was trying to do. I do think the book seeks for readers, especially American readers, to take a hard look at their country’s strategies and tactics.

Ricki: I agree, Bucky. It feels like the book has a political and social agenda. Perera pushes the reader to question the methods and approaches to terrorism. For me, the central question was: How far should we go to fight terrorism? Khalid is an average teenager with good intentions and a strong sense of family. If he is attacked as a terrorist, anyone could be.

CJ: I agree with both of you. What drew me into the topic, besides the events is that I find Perera’s writing to be vivid and compelling. How could I read the following passage and not feel for Khalid?

Lying face down on a concrete floor before interrogators—

Pain shoots up his arms as he wiggles his hands nearer to the ring bolted to the floor to try to ease the pain. Fully aware as he stares at the ring that it’s a chain within a chain. Inside a locked cell. Inside a guarded prison camp circled by tows of high, curling razor wire. Its perimeter patrolled by soldiers carrying guns loaded with bullets, guarding a prison that’s part of a base. A base situated at the tip of an island, in the middle of two oceans. Protected by water on one side and landmines on the other.

The dot on the floor is him, a sixteen-year-old boy. A boy who’s looking at himself from every angle. Looking down on him. Looking up from below. From underneath, then behind and in front. Backwards and forwards, images flash through his brain. Nothing but thin air covers his bones. His lungs. His heart. He can see this own dusty breath sweeping from his mouth.

Mirrors of light bounce from him like laser beams.

“Tell us the name of the fifth accomplice?” (200-201).

Perera creates the complete experience of Khlaid’s time imprisoned and I was as uncomfortable as she wanted me to be. After reading the water-boarding incident and after several other events, I had to put the book down and walk around the room. The scene where the men were made to have their heads shaved was unsettling. But Khalid’s life in solitary confinement touched me the most. The details of his meals, the worn blankets, the sounds, the blaring music, the men in their prayers, the absence of sounds, the handcuffing before his cell door was opened and again when he returned to the cell, standing with this back to the door while the chains were removed. The closeness of the air, the extreme range of temperatures, the zone where his mind retreated. “There’s something strangely soothing about the thought of screaming his head off.” 209. Disturbing, personally troubling and yet I wanted to keep reading. I am a very proud American, I know things like this have gone in the world for centuries—unrealistically, I just didn’t want it to be on our soil.

Paul: I guess I miss when Perera makes these kinds of assertions (explicitly) unless the reader visits the end notes or further comment on Guantanamo Boy by the author or reviewers. Older readers, discussion leaders, and lead learners will be all too familiar with the horrendous treatment of these prisoners. The author renders these treatments in the detail that is afforded to the length of this book (the length of which is generally reserved for fantasy and paranormal in my reading of Young Adult literature). Herein is where I see Perera asking the reader to draw from some well that may not be there for most young adult readers. We must remember, this is a generation growing up with a sense of cultural approval in regard to a new genre in film called “torture porn.” To this end, I would say that the treatment of the conditions and activities within these holding areas will need to carefully considered and instructional approaches will need to be tailored to each classroom and the students within that learning community.

Further, and I may be challenged for posting this (the forum does not allow for intent and inflection to be conveyed) the takeaway for this reader is found in defining one’s terms. This would be an important lesson for a post-9/11 culture, and one that our culture is still coming to terms with in the midst of war and resolution to war. Our country has been at war with terrorism (our country’s terms, right?) for going on ten years with the release of Guantanamo Boy and I sense that we still have difficulty expressing, in no ambiguous manner, the definition of “terrorism,” or for that matter, “torture.” I am sure some could and feel very comfortable and pleased to take me to task, but one of the more difficult lessons we can teach in the classroom, particularly the reading/writing classroom, is to define our terms. Even more difficult when trying to nail down a definition on ambiguous terms like “freedom” and “security” all the while trying to blend the two into some palatable package. I tell my learners in Room 407 that it is often the person who begins first to talk about the term who gets to set the definition of that term if not met with challenge.

Moving away from the notion of torture and imprisonment–while still staying within the “focus” aspect of the question posed, we might look to how Guantanamo Boy fits into a schema of related stories and works. Underneath the historical backdrop and social commentary (implicit and explicit) of this is the story of a person falsely accused and imprisoned under a system with which they are not entirely familiar but are still accountable to (this should create “ladders (Lesesne 2010) of the reading mind that would include The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter (both of which are set on “our soil”). Teachers employing methods and strategies presented by John Golden in his book, Reading in the Dark, wherein film is used and approached in some of the same ways as literature, might look to the 1999 film, Brokedown Palace (PG-13) starring Kate Beckinsale and Claire Danes. More and more, as I think about how we use Young Adult Literature within our learning communities, I try to think about the connectivity of the new with the the classics of classroom tradition.

Bucky: Khalid seems like an average teen until he gets kidnapped, and then he suddenly seems to tap into a lot of anger and “gutsy” resistance. He’d shown some adolescent rebellion before, but nothing like this. What do you think is the reasoning for having Khalid respond with anger and resistance instead of outright primal fear in those early scenes of his captivity?

Ricki: I was surprised to see such a shift in his character. He quickly developed into a strong, independent person. I wonder if the author intended for readers to feel his anger (rather than hock or fear) toward his captors. Khalid’s thoughts affected my own reactions to his capture. When he became angry, I did, as well. If Khalid responded with fear, I don’t think it would be as easy for readers to develop strong feelings of the injustice of his situation. For me, his resistance gives the book more meaning.

Bucky: I was surprised too. It reminded me of the Peter Parker/Spider-Man dynamic. Peter is the more humble persona, but once he’s in the mask, he uses bravado to get him through. Once Khalid had the bag over his face, he seemed to act similarly. I don’t know if I should say he seemed to act out of character, or if the author is trying to suggest how quickly everything changes in high-stress situations. But, it did feel like an abrupt character shift.

CJ: I think he experienced the powerlessness of fear immediately after he was taken, restrained, hooded, gaged with duct tape, and taken somewhere. When the restraints were removed, he believed he would be able to talk his way out of this very obvious mistake. When he couldn’t, he got mad as no one seemed to taking him seriously or willing to believe him. Anger is a secondary emotion and often a form of protection, it disguises another more basic emotion, for Khalid it was covering up fear. It was easier to be angry than to show how terrified he was. I don’t think he was a particularly strong person at that point, but I believe he found the strength in him through his history and rediscovered faith. There were time references throughout the book that made it clear how long he had been imprisoned–it was always a surprise to me how much time had passed. The reading itself did not give me that understanding. He was strong but while in solitary, depression took over. By the time he got home, he was simply grateful.

Paul: In order to get some kind of sense of Khalid’s initial responses to his abduction and imprisonment, I returned to Carol S. Pearson’s (1991) archetypes as found in her book, Awakening the Heroes Within. What I see the panel describing in the pre-imprisoned Khalid is the shadow of the Innocent archetype, which is traditionally paired with the Orphan archetype. Without reviewing how archetypes work, we can at least look at the strengths, weaknesses, and shadow presentations, of these two archetypes to see what Khalid is doing pre-imprisonment and within confinement. The shadow presentation of the innocent is that they may be blind to their obvious weaknesses or perhaps deny them. Khalid, while a character of another culture presents like so many of the teens we work with in the learning community. There is a sense of innocence coupled with a sense that they don’t need to know what is happening in the world outside of the one they have created for themselves. It’s little wonder that I see, time and time again, the student who finds themselves meeting with a probation officer because of what they, the student, see as a minor transgression. Here is Khalid, playing a game based upon a notion of war and bombing, in a post 9/11 culture with people he knows and trusts as well as those he does not so and subsequently should not trust. But here he is. Incredulous to how a game may be the reason he finds himself imprisoned. We see Khalid enter into the shadow presentation of the orphan archetype when he sees himself as the victim of the activity of others. But, as Pearson shares, both archetypes found separately and in tandem with one another have strengths in optimism and hope (innocence) and interdependence/seeking others in like circumstances (orphanage). When Khalid returns home and performs the simple gesture of polishing his father’s shoes (a beautiful scene of servitude in any piece of literature), we are witness to the wise innocent, still retaining a sense of hope and optimism (innocence) while finding new worth and value in those with whom he has been reunited (orphanage). The wise innocent will also continue to question the intent of Tariq and the game Tariq created as this is what the wise innocent does when they return from the journey. The skilled author is able to bring the reader into a character’s life and to demonstrate the archetypes in their organic presentation (even if the author is not doing this by way of style or approach). The character, Khalid, lends himself nicely to these kinds of conversations particularly when thinking about who he is pre-imprisonment, imprisonment, and post-imprisonment.

Ricki: At the end of the novel, Tariq is still in Guantanamo Bay. Does it feel like this is a loose end? Or, does it seem that the author did this to promote social action?

Bucky: I wonder if we’re not supposed to be left with a feeling of uncertainty toward Tariq. Is he as innocent as Khalid or less so? That lingering tension made me think of Myers’ Monster, another text that deals with young people experiencing a US-centric sense of justice. “Did he or didn’t he?” That reminded me of the guiding “Does she or doesn’t she?” question so central to Daisy Miller. A focus on the centrality of the ambiguous in literature, would, in my opinion, make for some great conversation with students.

CJ: It was a bit unusual that cousins would end up in cells next to each other. Tariq is more than he seems, perhaps because he has too many “deals” going with the guards. However he did help Khalid from the dark side.

Paul: Ambiguity is a conversation field that is just ripe for the harvesting. It’s the stuff that Bucky is talking about with Daisy Miller that we talk about in The Awakening. It’s a strength of this text to leave this piece purposefully unclear. In order to come full-circle with the story, Perera releases one prisoner while keeping another behind bars. But, while thinking about Tariq, to what degree will Khalid continue to be a prisoner of the conditions he has now survived? Here is where the ambiguity lends itself to an even more tantalizing conversation about recidivism and institutionalization that could bring readers out of the multi-cultural and into the local connections with which they can begin to make reasoned assertions about Khalid’s disposition at the end of the book. Readers could also go back and research the current conditions at Guantanamo Bay. What might have happened to Tariq in light of what they find in their research. Again, I think it’s a great strength of Perera’s to end on this note.

What comes back for me, more than the disposition of Tariq, is the new position within Khalid finds himself as a member reborn into his family.

Bucky: Is the USA the new Evil Empire? If you don’t think so, was it hard not to see it that way while you were reading this novel?

CJ: I did get a bit defensive for my country when I was reading this book. I still cry when I say the Pledge of Allegiance having grown up idealizing my country and am not good at accepting injustices, however I have learned as a teacher that the ugliness still needs to be discussed to challenge myself and my students to think about these happenings, form their own conclusions, make their choices, and wave the banners they choose to support.

Ricki: Whenever I read a book, I think about if/how I could teach it and how I can connect it to other books my students have read. I couldn’t help but think of Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen. When I read that book with my students, they are always shocked about the United States’ involvement in the Guatemalan genocide. I don’t see the United States as the evil empire, but it would be naive to think that our country has always made good warfare decisions.

Paul: This is the best place for me to take exception with the title of the book. And I am a title guy. I like how an allusion within or from outside of a text lends itself to title in songs and in books. But this play on place is too close to home for this reader. As a veteran of the U. S. Navy who served at Guantanamo Bay for three months as part of a Joint Task Force mission, I think something is missed in a title that suggests Guantanamo Bay is place that is used to torture prisoners. This did not happen when I was there (there were no Camp Deltas or X-Rays while I was there in 1992). In fact, Guantanamo Bay continues to be a thriving locality of contractors, with a fully operational hospital as well as other entities put into place as a service to those members of the Joint Task Force assigned there (a fully operational PX serves as a store and a bank and there is even a McDonald’s on the station). To have a title that seemingly equates one person’s experiences with the place itself might lend itself to a misinterpretation of the mission of the service people at Guantanamo Bay. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is host to the facilities described in Perera’s work, but it is not the sole mission and day-to-day mode of operation for a base that also receives immigrants into the U. S., providing a transitional place for those who find themselves in exodus. This is in no way an advocacy for the activities described in Perera’s work. I’m more human. . .and more prudent than to make a comment that would even suggest I approve of torture or violation of the guest/host relationship (I’ve read far too many Greek tragedies to be so bold).

CJ: Torture seems to have been around for centuries. I do not understand why anyone thinks torture is an efficient way to get information. I tried to google the origins of torture and discovered Wikipedia seemed to go back the furthest. Here is an excerpt taken on 6 July 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture#History

Antiquity

The ancient Greeks and Romans used torture for interrogation. Until the 2nd century AD, torture was used only on slaves (with a few exceptions). After this point it began to be extended to all members of the lower classes. A slave’s testimony was admissible only if extracted by torture, on the assumption that slaves could not be trusted to reveal the truth voluntarily.[7]

One of the oldest methods of torture was crucifixion. Its antiquity is indicated in its wide use by the Phoenicians. It was employed also by the Scythians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians and the Carthaginians.[8]Notorious mass crucifixions followed the slave rebellion under Spartacus and the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. To frighten other slaves from revolting, Crassus crucified 6,000 of Spartacus’ men along the Appian Way from Capua to Rome.[9] Prior to crucifixion, victims were often savagely whipped with barbed metal lashes, to induce exsanguination. This had the effect of weakening the condemned and thus sped up what could be an inconveniently long execution process.

Over time the conceptual definition of torture has been expanded and remains a major question for ethics, philosophy, and law, but clearly includes the practices of many subsequent cultures.

Ricki: My biggest take-away from the book was that torture is both ineffective and inhumane. I always knew torture was inhumane, but this book developed that to a view I am much more passionate about. Some people might argue that a small amount of torture is okay if it is for the good of a larger purpose, such as preventing a terrorist attack. This book seems to disprove this thought, stressing the point that torture creates false, misleading information.

CJ: I do not know how a soldier can be trained to be brutal to prisoners. Perhaps it comes with the rawness of combat and war, losing the sense of humanity most of us are born with. Six months after 911, there were many Americans filled with such an intense anger I feared that more than another attack. That anger was closer to me.

In Guantanamo Boy, there seemed to only be soldiers without a sense of humanity, but then a very few others showed up, and when Khalid was transferred to the last area before he left, the humanity seemed to return.

Bucky: I’ve learned that torture, war, and violence all have connections to “othering.” Jap, gook, towelhead — terms like these that become stand-in words for “enemy” help to dehumanize people such that they can be seen as lesser, different, even disgusting. This makes hurting them or killing them easier, it seems. Of course, part of “othering” experiences is supposed to be seeing the self in the gaze of the other/othered, and I think this book does a good job of asking us to do that, whether all readers are ready for it or not.

CJ: “Othering” is one component of bullying. Paul all that you said fits the definition of bullying.

Ricki: In what ways might this book be used to promote social action from our students?

Bucky: Promoting social action with this text would have to allow for students to be able to act differently, of course. The old standby of writing letters comes to mind, but that might also mean some students would be inclined to offer “Keep up the good work!”-type responses. Teachers would at least have to pretend to be OK with those opposing viewpoints, right? We can’t assume–and I’m not assuming Ricki was doing such when asking this question–that all students will read the text and be incensed at Khalid’s treatment. I think elements of debate would have to accompany discussion of the book and also be part of any lead-in toward taking social action.

Ricki: Great point, Bucky. I think students will have a gamut of reactions to this book. It would be interesting to have a debate about whether torture is appropriate in some situations. I wonder if the book would be a great stepping stone for students to examine aspects of society that they don’t agree with (politically or socially).

CJ: Those people who have the need to speak out, to work towards solution–will read Guantanamo Boy with different eyes than those who bury their heads or are extremely involved in some other part of life.

Paul: This would be a great question to come back to as we find teachers adopting and sharing this title within their learning communities. Initially, without the benefit of instructor anecdote, I could see the lead learner needing to ask, maybe even pointedly, what sense of advocacy or internal shift is happening within the individual reader. I’d like to ask Albert Whitman & Company to allow teachers within this discussion panel to pilot the book in their classroom in the next year to see what responses look like from the students sharing the text. I’m am not thinking that students don’t care, but they are given much to care about from the Disney Channel’s “Friends for Change” spots to the school’s Relay for Life car wash. I think it’s important for we, the lead learner, to have a sense of message and takeaway from the book. We read it, friends–what do we want students to think, say, do, or be after reading this book (answering a question with a question is Socratic, or so I am told).

Paul: When/if selecting Guantanamo Boy for the classroom, what should this look like by way of scope and sequence? What do the readers need to know before entering into the text? What supports should be in place as the readers read the text? To what degree does the book lend itself to cross-content extensions? What supplementary texts might be considered? Further, what alternative titles might be offered to students who may object to elements of Perera’s work?

Ricki: This book lends itself to great classroom discussions. I think it is important for teachers to give background information about terrorism and Guantanamo Bay. Personally, I would ask students grapple with the question: Can torture ever be justified? I think it would be beneficial for students to track their thoughts about torture and terrorism as they read, citing specific points in the book that affect their thoughts. This book changed my whole concept of torture and terrorism. I think it would do the same for our students.

Bucky: I’m a proponent of the thematic unit if guiding inquiry approach, so I guess I would like for the text to be embedded in a curriculum surrounding a theme or question. Maybe making the text part of a grouping would also make it seem less controversial to include in the first place? I think the potential for cross-content extensions is vast. I mentioned Monster as a text that may deal with issues of justice like this one does. The book did offer many nonfiction links that might help scaffold the text. When I think of alternative titles, I think of ‘replacements,” and I just don’t know if there is a book that handles the War on Terror as effectively as this one does for a YA audience. Anybody else have other text suggestions?

CJ: As educators isn’t it our mission/our goal to allow our students the freedom to go to the end of their thoughts, to stretch and test their mental boundaries? To allow them to create their own value systems? The best lesson I learned was to walk into class and ask my students. “Okay, what do we need to talk about in this book?” They named every topic on my list and started the discussions themselves–they had so much to say and they were taking over! I loved it as a supporter of a student-centered classrooms. I have come to believe that we do not teach, the best of us simply create a safe environment with opportunities for our students to learn what they believe.

Interview with Anna Perera author Guantanamo Boy

CJ: Khalid’s experiences are so personally told, were you able to create that from research or did you interview former prisoners? If so, were any as young as Khalid? Had any been held at GB?

PERERA: I didn’t talk to former prisoners of any age because I didn’t want to borrow or steal their stories. Their experiences belong to them, not me. What I did was immerse myself in the character of Khalid as a result of extensive research. Can you tell us a bit more about how and where you researched?

Imagining myself as an ordinary teenage Muslim boy living in a world where racism and anger were common after 9/11 was something that my growing up mixed race in Britain and having taught teenage boys from a wide ethnic background served as useful reminders of man’s possible inhumanity to man. At one stage I ran an educational unit for adolescent boys excluded from mainstream school; an experience which was a big help in understanding the teenage psyche because of the one on one time I was able to spend with them. I used every emotion, memory, thought, idea, detail and story that I could to make Khalid a believable character.

CJ: Having read your Author’s Note, I understand it was a charity benefit for an organization named Reprieve (http://www.reprieve.org.uk/) that motivated you to write this book/ Could you tell us something more about that night

PERERA: It was in the fall of 2006 when a good friend and I clapped and sang in the audience of the Globe Theatre in London for the Reprieve charity gig for Guantanamo detainees. You could feel the crowd’s heartfelt hopes winging their way into the crisp, night air, praying those prisoners would be freed and given back their lives. The injustice was palpable and when Clive Stafford – Smith, the director of Reprieve, said children were also being held there, I was so shocked and appalled that I instantly decided to write a teenage novel that would hold up a mirror to the insanity of this notorious prison.

CJ: Would you say you were on a mission?

PERERA: The desire to write this story felt more like a compulsion than a mission. It may sound strange but I honestly didn’t have any choice. The characters and events found me. Information appeared, as if by magic, on a daily basis. I’ve never experienced anything like it before or since. Trusting to a greater power and an inner guidance helped and though I fretted endlessly about many things, I never doubted the book would be published.

CJ: Did you research torture in general or specific to Guantanamo.

I have done a bit of research in preparation for this interview and know that torture has quite a long history in this sad little world of ours and is a far too present in interrogations around the world. I do not condone it and quite simply do not understand why it is an accepted form of interrogation?

PERERA: Yes, I researched torture in general and specifically with relation to Guantanamo. As you say, torture has been widely used throughout history. Nothing new there but what is interesting right now and the reason many people don’t understand why it is an accepted form of interrogation is due to the promotion of a new myth that harming a defenceless, captive prisoner is a useful way of obtaining information which will somehow benefit innocent people. This myth has been proved to be a rank lie and began with a theory known as ‘The Ticking Bomb,’ which goes something like this: A man in custody knows the location of a bomb which will go off at a set time causing massive loss of life. The use of torture in these circumstances is therefore necessary and a justifiable method of getting the information. This theory by Alan Dershowitz resulted in endless, intellectual debates about the morality of torture, the means, methods, time span, equipment that should be used etc and that is how the myth expanded. Let’s not forget these debates are spin offs from a fantasy scenario that has never taken place. A ticking-bomb fantasy that resulted in the legalising of water-boarding, sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation, extremes of hot and cold etc. When contrasted with the law of the heart: ‘No man has the right to harm another’, no intellectualising or justification is required – just a simple love for self and all humanity.

CJ: What has been the reaction to Guantanamo Boy in your country? In Europe?

PERERA: The book was critically acclaimed in the UK by all the major newspapers and journals and nominated for ten awards, including the Costa Children’s Award and Carnegie Medal. The European reviews have also been wonderful and so far the book has been translated into fifteen languages.

CJ: Thank you for being willing to share with us.

PERERA: Thank you and Ricki, James and Paul for the questions and wonderful Under The Radar site. What a great idea. Many thanks for your interest and thoughtful questions.

They were a real pleasure to consider and answer.

CJ: We will look for Guanantamo Boy to be available in the US soon. In fact, I have this from your American publisher, Albert Whitman.

Guantanamo Boy is on the IndieBound Kid’s Indie Next List for Summer 2011 so the publisher moved the printing up and the book is now available, as of July 1.

Guantanamo Boy was one of the first books Josalyn Moran, Albert Whitman & Company’s Vice President, Publishing, presented when the she arrived at Albert Whitman last year, and the company was instantly interested and excited about the possibility. Albert Whitman will publish Anna Perera’s second young adult novel, The Glass Collector, about the Coptic Christian community in modern Egypt, in Spring 2012.

This link is in the book: source for Timeline.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-children-of-guantanamo-bay-480059.html

Grant Money for Teachers!

David Macinnis Gill — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 02:56:34 +0000

ALAN Sponsors two grant programs for teachers and researchers, the ALAN Foundation Research Grants and the Gallo Grants to attend the ALAN Workshop.

ALAN Foundation Research Grants
Members of ALAN may apply to the ALAN Foundation for funding (up to $1,500) for research in young adult literature. Proposals are reviewed by the five most recent presidents of ALAN. Awards are made annually in the Fall and are announced at the ALAN breakfast during the NCTE convention in November. The application deadline each year is September 15th.

Applications for the grant: Alan Foundation Application

Gallo Grants
The Gallo Grants were established in 2003 by former ALAN Award and Hipple Award recipient Don Gallo to encourage educators in their early years of teaching to attend the ALAN Workshop for the first time. The grants provide funding—up to $750 each—for two classroom teachers in middle school or high school each year to attend the ALAN Workshop. (The amount of a grant may be less than $750 if the applicant lives within commuting distance of the convention location where airfare and housing would not be necessary or has access to other funding). In addition to the $750 grant, the registration fee for the workshop will also be covered. Recipients will receive half of the grant ($375) before the workshop. The remaining half of the grant will be disbursed at the end of the ALAN Workshop. The ALAN Workshop is held at the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English on the Monday and Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving Day. Applicants must be teaching full-time; must have been classroom teachers for less than five years prior to the year in which they are applying; and must not have attended an ALAN Workshop previously. Membership in ALAN is not required for consideration, though applicants are expected to become ALAN members if they receive this grant.

Applicants must fill out the grant application form and submit an essay of no more than 750 words explaining their interest in Young Adult Literature, what they hope to gain by attending this year’s ALAN Workshop, and how they hope to use the experience in their classrooms in the future. A letter of support must also come from the applicant’s school system. The deadline for submission is September 1st. Applicants will be judged on their ability to articulate their understanding of the value of Young Adult literature as well as their explanation of how they intend to use YA books and the information they gather at the Workshop in their own classrooms.

Recipients of Gallo Grants are required to submit, within 30 days after the workshop, brief (two-page) anecdotal reports of their ALAN workshop experiences—noting highlights and commenting on the value of the experience personally and professionally, particularly its impact on teaching.

The Grant application: Gallo Grant Application