Graphic Novels Part 2

After my last blog post I reflected on my statement that there are many teachers that don’t let students read graphic novels.  As I kept replaying the words in my head I realized that students must be taught how to read a graphic novel.  It isn’t just looking at the pictures or reading the fewer words on the page.  Readers must closely look at the pictures, reread the words and infer what is happening in the “white” space between the pictures.  Teacher must realize that the graphic novel may be shorter or with more pictures, but if kids are reading them we must encourage more of the same behavior. 

In the new Choice Literacy newsletter there is an article that reinforces this.  Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan  write a wonderful article entitled Is "Just Right" Still Just Right?: Helping Children Select Appropriate Books   that addresses this fact.  We as teacher get so caught up in “levels” that we no longer see the reader.  Langrigan and Mulligan eloquently write that “just right” books are what we enjoy. (Sorry I know there is more to it than that, but that is my one sentence summary!)

Last week I had morning duty.  It is a fun 25 minutes outside on the playground where I get to visit with students. During my time outside I asked a student, from another class, what she was reading.  Her response, “I read a level 38!”  I replied, “Oh, but what is the title of the book?”  Again, “I’m a level 38.” When did Level 38 become a book?  Why are we as educators so concerned about reading levels and not joy of reading a book? (OK in reality educators that follow book blogs don’t fit in this category, but still….)

Stepping down from my

 I want to talk about two books from the Cybil’s Graphic Novels I received.  One is very much a guy book the other will be a hard sell, but totally worth it in the end.

I love the story of King Arthur, but in reality it is usually done by watching the story on TV or at the theatre.  Currently there are two versions on TV.  BBC is in its fourth season of Merlin, and Showtime has Camelot.  Guilty pleasure watching.  I was excited when I received Excalibur The Legend of King Arthur by Tony Lee and Sam Hart.  It is a great read.  The background story is told quickly, so that we can get right to the action. The illustrations are interesting and I really got into reading the story.  It is definitely a YA book.

When I was a kid my mom read me the Oz trilogy.  They were hers from when she was a little girl.  I remember looking forward to being read the stories.  Another book I really enjoyed during my judging was Ozma of Oz L. Frank Baum by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young.  This will be a hard sell for boys.  There is a girl with a large bow on the cover, so right off the bat there is a major hurdle to get over.  Trust me it is worth it.  The illustrations are fantastic.  Dorothy is definitely not a sweet little girl in this book.  Her ornery expressions made me laugh throughout the book.  Boys will kike the adventure part and the robot.  

Graphic Novels Part 1

For the last three years I have been lucky enough to sit on a CYBILS panel.  I feel honored to be able to add my opinion on what is great children's literature.  It is a daunting task.  I am responsible to read as many books as I can and narrow it down to my top five.  This year I was on the graphic novel committee.  There are two sections.  The first is middle grade graphic novels and the second is young adult graphic novel.  Since I teach third grade I am much more comfortable reading middle grade fiction.  There were wonderful books nominated, but I was surprised that there weren't more choices.  Last year I did middle grade fiction and there were over 125 books.  Even though my comfort level is in middle grade I LOVED the YA graphic novels. 

As I was reading I kept thinking about all the teachers out there that don't let kids read graphic novels.  I am sure they have their "good reasons", but the truth is teachers that don't let students read graphic novels are short changing them.  There were some phenomenal books nominated.  They spanned the range of books.  There were graphic novels based on literature, ones on superheroes, some vampires (some not bad!), ones on robots, and even current events.  In other words there were graphic novels that met the needs of every reader.  Some of my favorites made the short list and some didn't.  Originally I was just going to blog about "boy" graphic novels, but I think that some of the "girl" ones have guy appeal.   

Two books that did make the short list were two of my favorites.  The first one is Sidekicks by Dan Santat and the second is Level Up by Gene Luen Yang.  I can't wait to share many of them with you and my class.  Happy New Year.

The book trailer for Sidekicks by Dan Santat was one of my favorites of the year.  With any trailer the hope is that people (teachers) will preorder the books and share with their class.  Well it worked because I did and I did!   Sidekicks is a wonderful superhero story about an aging superhero (just like me without the cape or gadgets!).   Captain Amazing is tired.  He needs help, so a call is placed to find a new sidekick that could eventually take over. 

This is where it gets fun.  His animals decide they must and will be his sidekicks.  I still laugh thinking about a hamster, dog and chameleon coming to the rescue of anyone.  I mean really who can’t laugh seeing a hamster in a USA, Red, White, and Blue superhero costume.  The story is charming and the graphics make me think of older comics.   It is very popular in my third grade class.

Growing up most of us feel we need to meet our parent’s expectations.  For boys it tends to be living up to what we believe our dad’s hopes are.   Given that I couldn’t throw or catch a ball I knew I didn’t live up to what I thought my dad wanted.  In Level Up by Gene Luen Yang’s new graphic novel the main character Dennis Ouyang didn’t come close to what his parents wanted for him. 

Dennis’ father dies when he is young and he never really gets over the death.  He starts college and soon becomes so engrossed in video games.  This leads to dropping out of school.  Along the way he finds that he can live up to the expectations. 

I really enjoyed Level Up.  The graphic novel is split up into video game levels.  (Get it level up!)  The illustrations are interesting.  At times they are very vivid and others times very muted.  The text in the bubbles is easy to read and forces the reader to really think about what is happening.  This is definitely a YA  book.

Why We Teach!

Last year I was lucky enough to have Milo as a student.  He is a wonderful young man full of curiosity, and a great sense of humor.  He comes from a home filled with love.  This morning his father, Ross, sent me an email that was a tribute to his elementary school teacher.  He has given me permission to post it here.  Yesterday I spent the day with Sharon Taberski and today this letter.  Two extremes that demonstrate why I am a teacher.  Thank you Ross.  You, Milo and every other kid is why we do what we do.

TO ALL THE TEACHERS OF THE WORLD:


I just got word that my elementary school teacher passed away on Saturday night. Flowers are not enough. Donations are not enough. The only tribute I can even remotely imagine great enough is to reach out to the teachers of the world and encourage you to be Mrs. Koontz for your students, as Deleta Koontz was for me.

I had the life-enriching privilege of spending three years in the classroom of Mrs. Koontz. No, I didn’t have to take fourth grade over three times. You see, in the small Lutheran school in the Missouri prairie town of Lockwood where I grew up, our classrooms were divided into grades 1–3, 4–6, and 7–8.

Those three September-to-May voyages in Mrs. Koontz’s classroom shaped my destiny more than any other time in my life. I didn’t learn a thing. I DISCOVERED everything.

When we read the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, we dressed the part, built a real log cabin with our dads over chilly autumn weekends, and spent a whole day at Mrs. Koontz’s farm around a cast-iron pot, waiting for the miracle of apple butter to occur. To this day, a simple spoonful of that gooey apple goodness transports me back to that day of butter-churning, apple-peeling, fire-stoking magic.

And let’s not forget the Boston Tea Party Day when we pushed all the chairs against the wall and set up a mom-staffed tavern that served spiced tea to a mad band of grade-schoolers fed up with taxation without representation.

There were annual Sadie Hawkins day races, teepees erected on the school lawn, and commemorative trees planted to mark our nation’s bicentennial. Speaking of celebrating 1976, Mrs. Koontz spent most of 1975 assembling a red, white, and blue wardrobe so she could wear our nation’s colors EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE BICENTENNIAL.

She was a patriot for sure. A Christian. And an angel at the right time in my life. When I transitioned mid-semester to this small Lutheran school from the local public K-8, I struggled to fit in. She created opportunities that allowed me to stand out, as she did for all her students. She identified our gifts and allowed each of us to give them back to the world.

I always loved to make stuff. I still do. So creating bulletin boards for the classroom was a task she handed over to me. Sometimes, I chose to forgo recess in order to bring her classroom’s cork boards to life.

Every two years, the Lutheran school staged amazing youth theatrical productions. Jack and the Beanstalk was my first. When I, cast as the giant, proposed a pair of shoes made from stacked 2x4s to make me taller, she immediately shared my vision. When I suggested an extension ladder wrapped in painted paper with oversized leaves as the beanstalk, she knew exactly how it could work. And her greatest theatrical accomplishment was an all-community production of The Sound of Music. It had been her dream forever to bring this alpine blockbuster to our predominantly German farm town. To create the abbey bells that beckoned Maria down from the hills, Mrs. Koontz once again pulled sheer genius from her bag of tricks. A coat rack of suspended cake pans and skillets created the perfect auditory illusion of the echoing bells she remembered from her European travels.

Mrs. Koontz’s German heritage lay just beneath the surface in so many things she did. We practiced Christkindl-giving in her class every Christmas, a tradition many know as Secret Santa. She taught us to sing Christmas carols in German. She fully embraced the town’s annual Strassenfest weekend festival every year. And when she retired from teaching, she picked up the accordion and formed a polka band that toured and performed at German folk festivals.

After returning from a trip to Europe and enchanting us with vivid anecdotes of all the wonders she had experienced, she told us that one day we would all most likely get to Europe. I thought she was crazy. She was right. I have been six times. And in all those travels, nothing has given me more joy than a sprawling Alpine meadow or strolling through a quaint, half-timbered town marked by crooked doors and window boxes overflowing with scarlet geraniums. Without a doubt, the joy, I feel, is directly linked to that love for storybook European nostalgia she instilled in me.

I live in Colorado now, where I’m a Creative Director for an advertising agency, a job that allows me to channel Mrs. Koontz just about every day. And every September, as the aspens begin to turn, my wife and I take our sons up into the hills to experience as many Octoberfests as we can. And I don’t see a pair of lederhosen, dance a polka, or devour a giant pretzel without sharing in some quiet personal communion with Mrs. Koontz. I think to myself, “She would LOVE this.”

Dear teachers everywhere, as you stand in front of your classrooms tomorrow, and every day after, look into the eyes of your students and wonder: thirty-seven years from now, which one of these brilliant little souls will write a tribute like this about me? Am I making eyes sparkle, hearts sing, minds wonder? Not wander. Toss convention into the wind. Think about the imaginative ways in which you can encourage those future-shapers entrusted to you to savor the wonders in the world that lie outside your classroom window–all that’s come before them and all that lies ahead of them.  Ask yourself, “What can I do so my legacy of discovery and learning will outlive me one day?” How can I be… like Mrs. Koontz? The greatest teacher that ever lived. Next to you, of course.

Auf Wiedersehen,

Ross Snodgrass

Another year of Guys Read

The afternoon was filled the roar of boy voices, clamping of feet up the stairs, faces filled with excitement, food (no spilled juice!), laughter, visiting, a little discussion of Rewind by William Seator, more goofiness, voting on the December book (Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs was the easy winner), and getting the next book (Guys Read Thriller).  That was how my first Guys Read Book Club started.  I missed the first one because I was home with a high fever, a lovely UTI and kidney infection.  Since kids read this blog I won’t get into the details. 

Anyway back to the boys.  At one point I had a flash back to five years ago and the eight little third graders that made up that first book club.  (Yes, you were little!)  I am fortunate to work in a school with so many male teachers.  Yep, I’m not alone with the 30 monsters that make up this years Guys Read Book Club.  I figure that about 25% of the boys in grades 3-5 attend the book club. (In five years we have read only ONE non-fiction book.) It is exciting and overwhelming to think about what long-term effect the book club will have on these young readers.

Due to the shear number of boys we split them up into three groups.  It is very scientific.  I count the number of boys and make little slips with numbers, and they draw.  Well, that part is going to change for next month because a few fifth graders figured out what group I was going to have and sorted through the numbers to find the #1.  Nicholas, another fifth grader, was more blunt he said, “I didn’t even pick a number I was going in group no matter what!”

Yet, again the discussion was not deep, but it was a fun time. Teachers are expected to do many things, most of choose to do even more.  As I begin another year with these boys all I can think about is that no matter what, spending time with this ever growing group of knuckleheads makes my job as a teacher even more special.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

I just finished Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick! My mind is racing, and all of my thoughts are not in order over this spectacular book.  However, I am afraid if I don’t write right now I will never put down those thoughts in writing.  Awestruck comes first.  Through out the book I constantly stopped and re-read sections to take in the beauty of Mr. Selznick’s prose and illustrations.  I know my writing will not do justice to this book.

Wonderstruck is a story told in text and illustration.  It is a hybrid novel, picture book and graphic novel.  Unfortunately, these labels do not do truly fit this book.  There are two principle characters in the story. The section on Ben is done in text and takes place in 1977, and the section on Rose is done in illustrations and is set in 1927.  Eventually the two stories collide. 

The inside flap says,  “both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.”  We the readers are fortunate to travel with them on their quests.  At the end we are get as much out of the journey as Ben and Rose.

I use Hugo Cabret in my higher guided book clubs because Mr. Selznick ability as a storyteller makes students slow down and REALLY think about what they are reading, and everything is not always as it seems.  I will use this book the same way.  It will be easy to challenge students to find the clues of how the characters are connected.  What type of items would they put in their own wonder cabinet?  What will I put in my wonder cabinet?

Sorry for jumping all over the place, but I am excited about this book because I have a new student that is severely hearing impaired and I can’t wait to share this book with M and her mom.

To stop my ramblings I will end with just a couple more thoughts about Wonderstruck.  First, one of the reasons I am passionate about getting children to read is, so they can experience books like this.  Second, this book is for people 8 and above. (YES adults must read this book.)  Finally, Brian Selznick should come to the CCIRA Conference!

Wonderstruck is nominated for the CYBILS in the graphic novel.  I did not receive a copy from the publisher, but it is worth the $30.

The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man by Michalel Chabon

The other day I was reading The New York Times Book Review, and on the list of bestseller picture books was a new book by Michael Chabon.  How did I miss the fact that my favorite author had a new kids book?  The beginning of the school year, a kidney infection, and a new puppy played a major part of being out of the loop; but missing this geez!

 

The very first author I saw speak ok was Michael Chabon.  He was read from The Mysteries of Pittsburg.  I remember sitting at the Tattered Cover, mesmerized by an author discussing the writing process. Over the years I have read his books and seen him speak a few more times.  Can you say groupie?  The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay is one of my favorite novels, even if I spent a lot of time looking up words in the dictionary.  I do use this example to show my students that all readers have to use different strategies to be successful.

The other day I had a dentist appointment, so I had a little extra time between when my guest teacher showed up and the hygienist mutilated my gums.  What does one do with an extra hour in the middle of the day?  Easy!  Spend the time loading up with books at The Bookies.  My copy of The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man was one of the many books in my box. 

I instantly fell in love with this book.  From the beginning the reader gets to know that Awesome Man is very special.  Throughout the book Awesome Man demonstrates his many talents.  He is so totally awesome that he can hug mutant Jell-O from Beyond the Stars.  Awesome Man shares his secret identity with the reader, or does he? 

When he reveals his secret identity half my class guessed incorrectly.  Do not worry there will be no spoiler alert.  Awesome Man is an enjoyable read aloud.  Kids laughed at his abilities and understood the importance of the ginormous Awesome Power Grip.

I have waited years for Chabon to write a picture book.  It is exciting that I finally get to share his writing with my students.

CYBILS

I am so excited to be a judge again this year.  The last two years I was a first round judge for Middle Grade Fiction.  This year I am honored to judge Graphic Novels. There are positive changes in this years nominating process, so make sure to read them.  Check it out here CYBILS 2011 LET THE READING COMMENCE!!!

Alex Van Helsing Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson

The other day I was going through my stack of books figuring out what to read next when I pulled out Alex Van Helsing Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson.  A couple of items caught my eye.  First, the publicity firm is in Marblehead, so I figured wow another Mass connection.  Secondly, the back made me laugh “NO SPARKLY VAMPIRES HERE!”  As I read the press release and back I thought why not give it a try?   Normally I don’t read the second book in a series if I haven’t read the first one.  It is hard enough keeping up with books, so unless a student recommends it I tend to shy away from them.  But like I said this one perked my interest. 

Truth be told I enjoy watching mindless TV.  I find it reduces the brain waves during a hectic week, so I must admit that I enjoy True Blood and a few shows on USA Network.  Now before I continue I want to be perfectly clear.  I REALLY enjoyed Alex Van Helsing. I quickly became engrossed in the story, and plan on reading the first one.  It is better written than White Collar or shows on SyFy, but I couldn’t help comparing it to some shows.  Mr. Henderson please understand what I am about to write I mean as a good thing.  Picture Buffy the Vampire Slayer (change the name to Alex) meets Nakita (without Section being evil, and change the name to Alex) meets Covert Affairs and you have a fun read; andpossible Guys Read Book Club book.

The story is about Alex Van Helsing.  A young man sent to a boarding school in Austria.  During his first month he finds out he can fight vampires.  The vampires have their hideout under Lake Geneva.  How cool is that?

The story is fast paced.  Great vocabulary.  I needed to look up a couple of words.  Focus on world issues, and it takes place in Europe.  The press release and book says that it is for ages 12 and up.  I would say 10 and up.  There are some intense scenes and possible questions on why on earth parents would send their kids to a boarding school.  I know a few guys that will be excited to read this book.

Thanks harper Collins for the ARC.  Book to be released today!

Cheesie Mack Is Not A Genius or Anything by Steve Cotler, Wicked Good

Fried Clams and Lobster

For some reason most of the books I have read this summer have a New England setting.  It has been way too many years since I have been there.  Recently I even read that Anchovies is still a great neighborhood place.  I remember when that was our big night out!  So, Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything by Steve Cotler didn’t help with the homesick.  If anything it made it worst because the setting is Gloucester Mass.  I lived in Boston, but it so close to Crane’s Beach and Essex, home

of the world’s best-fried fish.  The story had me so close to Woodman’s yet so far!

Two best friends, Ronald “Cheesie” Mack and Georgie Sinkoff, are approaching the end of an era and the beginning of a frightening one.  Yes, the end of elementary school and the upcoming entrance to middle school.  As any normal fifth grade boy they plan the perfect event to make sure their “graduation” is memorable. The principal makes sure it is normal like all the ones before. 

Luckily the boys have summer camp to look forward. Unfortunately, Georgie finds out his dad can’t afford it.  In solidarity Cheesie declares he will not go if Georgie cannot go.  On the way to figuring out what to do for the summer, they make a new friend and discover the true meaning of integrity.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was wicked funny.  I liked the voice and the first person narration.  The drifting off topic made me laugh.  The first time I had to re-read the previous page before I figured out that at times Cheesie would insert an idea for another story.  It will be a great book to put in the hands of kids this fall.

Me, a Writer?

I am a writer.  For the last 48 years, I have not considered myself a writer.  Yes, I can write an email, a letter, a thank you card, report card comments, and even a blog.  But writing and being a writer are totally different.  I think back to my writing instruction growing up, and I don’t remember any teacher teaching me how to write.  I know I did worksheets. How can I forget the cold feel of new dittos? And the smell?  I remember writing my first “term paper” on Norman Rockwell.  I worked really hard on it, and I was so proud of my work.  When I saw the “C” on the cover I was devastated. The teacher’s comments were “Your notecards are incomplete, we’ve talked about your poor penmanship, and why are there words printed on the back of the pages?” However, the most painful memory of writing happened in sixth grade.  I turned in my “How to Essay.” I can still picture the harsh look on my teacher’s face, and her voice when she told me she didn’t understand anything I had written.  When I asked her to explain she replied, “You are such a spoiled brat!”

Being that, historically, I was a non-writer, teaching writing is a struggle.  As a third grade teacher, teaching students to write is paramount.  So year after year, I have lied and faked my way through the Writer’s Workshop. I dreaded that they could sense my fear, and one day, my young students would realize I was a fraud. They would look up at me and say,  “You want us to consider ourselves writers; you are not even a writer!”

Given my relationship with writing, it is ironic that I ended up applying to the Denver Writing Project.  Last February at the state reading conference, I was visiting with Mark Overmeyer, a respected writer/educator who has published two books on Writer’s Workshop.  As we discussed the conference, he brought up the Denver Writing Project and encouraged me to participate.  While he talked my stomach started turning flips, and my heart started beating faster.  I thought he must have me confused with someone else. All I could think about was that I was not a writer.  Why would I even contemplate doing a writing project?  I listened politely, looked at him; finally confessed that I was terrified to write.  That night I received two emails from Mark.  The first was information about the Denver Writing Project, and the second was about my blog.  “I just read your blog.  You can write!”  Mark is very polite, so I took it as a nice gesture.  Remember, I was not a writer.

Always the curious one, I clicked on the link and read about the Denver Writing Project.  The more I read the more I thought: I need to do this.

I need to do this. 

I was tired of the anxious feeling I had every day before writing.  I took the next step and applied.  I filled out the application and wrote the brief essay.

As you can guess, I made it into the Summer Institute.  On the morning of June 13, 2011 I timidly made my way into the classroom on the University of Colorado at Denver campus.  This was to be my home, away from home, six hours a day for the next 20 days.

 I learned how to use SLAM poetry to engage students. 

I wrote.

I learned how to use low-risk activities so students can experiment with different leads for stories.  

I wrote. 

I shared MY WRITING with my colleagues.

I wrote. 

I was inspired by a peer that demonstrated the importance of not just showing our students our writing; but writing with them so they can see the process. 

I wrote. 

I learned ways to bring writing to life in my class.

I wrote.  

I learned not to reel from horror at having to be a writing teacher. 

I wrote.

My confidence grew and slowly I began to change the way I looked at writing. I know writing will never be easy, and I realize that it will always be a slow process.  I will still struggle with spelling and misuse words like than and then. I will never write like Michael Chabon or Federico García Lorca, but I will write.

This I believe is why the Denver Writing Project helped me find the writer inside me.

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

When I was a kid there was a commercial with the tagline “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”  Ironically it was for margarine, which is totally messing with nature.  That’s a whole different topic.  The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill has a different take on what happens when one tries to fool with Mother Nature.

Jack is delivered to the house of his aunt and uncle.  They live in Hazelwood, Iowa.  Jack’s life in San Francisco was lonely.  He had no friends and his parents rarely paid any attention to him.  He wasn’t in any family pictures.  Jack was invisible.  Once he moves in with his aunt and uncle everything starts to change.  Jack is noticed, he learns how to have friends and the town bully sets his sights on him.  He thinks things might start to become normal.  WRONG!!! 

While Jack is getting accustom to his new life magical and spiritual happenings are making his life anything but normal.  Mother Nature was split in half.  The Good and The Bad.  Greed took the lives of many innocent children.  As Jack’s friendships strength he learns that he must make a huge sacrifice for the ones he loves.

I am not doing justice to The Mostly True Story of Jack  by Kelly Barnhill. I don’t want to give too much away from this wonderful, creepy story.  Just like in the story where children are sucked in, Ms. Barnhill’s storytelling sucked me in.  I had trouble putting this delightful book down.  The twists and turns made it exciting and emotional. 

The press release and the info on the back of the book say’s that is for ages 8-12.  NOPE.  The content is too mature for 8 year olds.   My best bet is 9 ½ to 12.  There will be a fourth grade or fifth grade class that will be excited to get my copy.

Copy courtesy of the publisher.  On sale August 2011.

Book Talk Tuesday

Summer is in full swing.  Which means spending some afternoons reading at the neighborhood pool, dinner on the patio, farmer’s market, mosquito bites and annoyance that a couple of tomato plants still have no blossoms. This summer there has been less reading because of the Denver Writing Project.  I am in the trenches right now and loving it, so expect a non book related post in a couple of weeks about my time as a Fellow.

My reading so far this summer has been some major misses (The Tragedy of Arthur), but mostly incredible hits.  One of the latter is my first read aloud of the new school year.  I initially entered the blog world of kid lit to find titles for new books to share with my students.  In six weeks I am excited that I get to share Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne with a new group of third graders.

Noah is an eight year old that runs away from home.  It is not an abusive home just a sad home.  He ends up in a very odd small village.  There is a magical tree, a talking donkey and dachshund, and an old man that shares his incredible life’s tale with the young Noah.  As the old man tells Noah his story, young Noah starts to realize that running away might not be the best thing to do.

The story takes place in England.  There are humorous references to the Irish and Scots.  Mr. Boyne points out that the Scots are the second smartest people in the world right after the Irish.  Kids in Southie will get this, but it is truly in the story for the adult reader.  At times the setting seems to take place in the “olden days” but then there is a reference to a mobile phone.  This will make for interesting conversations about the setting in stories. 

When I get to the end of some books I am sad that I don’t get to spend more time with my new friends, there are endings when I say “you’ve got to be kidding that’s it?” and in the words of Goldilocks there are ending that are just right.  This book is that.  Don’t worry there is no spoiler, but I enjoyed the ending.  It left me with the feeling that I knew the whole story.  Luckily, though I get to spend more time with Noah, the Old Man, Donkey and Dachshund.

(Thank you Random House for the copy of the book, but I also purchased one at The Bookies.  That one is being passed around by former students.)

My Most Excellent Year A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger

Whenever I travel I am not allowed to bring schoolbooks along.  The directive from above is that I need to read adult books, “NO, kid books!”  Anyhow, while I was figuring out what to take to read on vacation in Spain I found a YA book I snuck in my bag.  I don’t follow rules well, which is why I often get called to the principal’s office.  (That’s another story!)  The book was My Most Excellent Year A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger. 

Recently, I have started to read YA books differently because so many of my former students still come to me for recommendations.  My Most Excellent Year A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park it is a tale of the friendship between three unique teenagers, two best friends and the new girl at school.  The book begins with an 11^th grade writing assignment.  The students must write about their most excellent year.  Our three protagonists write about their freshman year.  The first is TC Keller aka Anthony or Tick.  He is a very special young man whose mother died when he was six.  Next is Augie Hwong, Tick’s gay Chinese-American “brother”.  Finally, is Alejandra Perez aka Alé a daughter of a Mexican diplomat and love interest of Tick.  Funny thing though tick is not the smoothest with the girls and says very corny things to Alé.  After his first line she asks him “Do girls really fall for that?”  The three friends tell the story, so the voice changes with each chapter.  Tick meets Augie after he returns to school following the death of his mother.  When Tick returned to school the other kids didn’t know how to interact with him, or were afraid that the cancer that killed his mom might be contagious and thus their mom’s catching it. Augie wasn’t afraid of him and joined him for lunch and asked a very casual question.  The two boys quickly become friends and soon “brothers”.  Their parents set up the boys bedrooms to make life easier because of all the time they spend at each others house. 

Tick is a very caring person that passionate about baseball.  His parents met at a Red Sox game. He started a web site to “Free Buck Weaver” one of the baseball players banned fro baseball after the White Sox cheating.  Buck Weaver was banned even though he didn’t participate in the cheating.  Once Alé  arrives at his school Tick’s starts his hilarious quixotic quest for her heart.  Teenage boys are dorks!  Tick’s passion through the book is what makes him so lovable.  He wants the best for those around him.  Augie is a gay teen whose “brother” and folks know he is gay before he admits it.  His coming out is more an opening night then quiet letting everyone accept the news.  His family and friends see his sexuality as just another part of Augie.  The newest addition to the boy’s life is Alé Perez.  Her parents and brother are diplomats that end up in Brookline Mass.  It was always expected that Alé would end up in the family business.  She is a blunt young lady who insults heads of states and doesn’t realize that others think she is snobby when she talks about having dinner at Madonna’s house.  Augie strong arms her into helping with the talent show and a funny thing happened on the way to the stage she found out she is an awesome singer and dancer.

I truly, enjoyed  My Most Excellent Year A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park.  I like the chapters with the different voice and how emails and texting also are tools to drive the story.  There is teenage angst, but not to the point of total despair and melancholy.   I laughed throughout the book, but also felt sadness when the characters were hurting.  In other words if I was a high school teacher (And thank god I’m not. WAY TOO HARD!!!) I would want students like these three kids.  Most importantly and the reason I think it is appropriate for 6^th graders is the issues of relationships are honest and innocent.

PS Thank you to my Denver Writing Project writing group.