6. Celebrate Your Body 2, by Dr. Lisa Klein and Dr. Carrie Leff

Leff, C. (2019). Celebrate your body 2. Emeryville, CA: Rockridge

This book is a puberty guide for tween and teen girls ages 10 to 18.  Puberty is one of the first signs that you're growing up and that's something to be celebrated.  From bras and braces to budding romantic feelings, this guide stands out among puberty books for girls as you become an expert on everything from pimples to peer pressure. Of all the puberty books for girls, this one will help you discover how your changing body is beautiful, special, and simply on the way to becoming the number one you.

Celebrate Your Body 2 goes beyond other puberty books for girls.  Not only does it discuss what happens to a girl’s body when she begins puberty, begins ministration and how reproduction works, it goes beyond.  There are chapters on how your brain changes during puberty.  It discusses relationships with friends both boys and girls.  It discusses hygiene and how to take care of feminine hygiene, but also the importance of clean hair, brushing your teeth, wearing clean clothes, and eating healthy.  This book covers every aspect of being a healthy teen, mental and physical. 

Being the mother of two teenage girls, I wish I had found this book before puberty.  I am impressed on how much detail this book goes into.  It shows a girl how to put on and take off a pad and how to put in and take out a tampon.  It is the job of a mother to teach those things, but in today’s world, some girls are being raised by single fathers.  This book would be good for both father and daughter.  This isn’t the kind of book to teach in a classroom, so there are not any teaching resources for it.  It is a valuable addition for any middle school or high school library. 

 

5. The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness

Ness P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press

Todd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown, a small settlement on New World – an alien planet only recently colonized by humanity. Todd is close to his thirteenth birthday, the age in Prentisstown at which all boys become men.

Todd has been told that all the women and nearly all the men on New World were killed in a war with the Spackle that occurred around the time of his birth. The Spackle are New World's native inhabitants and are blamed for the release of the 'germ' that caused the majority of deaths and was particularly fatal to women. The inhabitants of Prentisstown claim that every Spackle was wiped out during the war and Todd has no reason to believe otherwise. As a side effect of the virus, the remaining men in Prentisstown can hear each other's (and animals') thoughts, described as an ever-present cascade of “Noise”.

The men of Prentisstown make up the last surviving settlement on New World - at least according to Mayor Prentiss, after whom the town is named.

At the beginning of the book, Todd and his dog Manchee discover a lone patch of silence (a hole in the Noise) in a local swamp. Bewildered, Todd and Manchee make their way back into town.

When Todd explains the silence to Ben and Cillian, his adoptive parents, his Noise accidentally projects the discovery to the entire town. Ben and Cillian suddenly reveal they have been planning Todd's escape from Prentisstown for his entire life. The two men immediately force him to leave Prentisstown, with just a satchel of supplies and Manchee to accompany him. Todd unwillingly obeys. Cillian fights off Davy Prentiss (the Mayor's son) and other men from the town, while Ben gives Todd his own hunting knife and Todd's deceased mother's diary.

Todd escapes into the swamp with Manchee and discovers a girl, who lacks Noise. She is the first girl Todd has ever seen, except in the minds of the townsmen. The girl says nothing at all.

Todd, Manchee and the girl are suddenly attacked by the town preacher, Aaron, who has recently been provoking Todd in physical and mental fights. Todd and Manchee force him into the swamp's lake, where he is attacked by crocodiles. The girl silently leads Todd through the swamp to her scout ship, where her parents' bodies lie dead. She has crash-landed on New World, Todd realizes. With aid from a map inside Todd's mother's diary, the three begin traveling together towards Farbranch, a settlement marked on the map. Todd hopes that the settlement still exists and that, if so, it can protect them from the men of Prentisstown.

Todd realizes that he, infected with the germ, might transmit the germ to the girl and kill her. She hears this in his Noise and flees, but he pursues her along with Manchee until they both encounter Aaron and Prentisstown men who are tracking them at a bridge. The girl manages to save the three by setting the bridge on fire with her campfire pack. After this incident, she works up the courage to speak and finally tells Todd her name is Viola.

Todd and Viola are found by a woman, Hildy, at the nearest town, Farbranch. She tells Todd that the Noise germ is in fact not fatal for women and does not affect them at all - none of the women have Noise. She takes the three to her settlement. An army of men from Prentisstown arrives and burns down the town, killing all those who will not join them. Todd, Viola, and Manchee flee for Haven. Haven is rumored to be the largest settlement in the New World.  They are hoping the town can fend off the Prentisstown army. They also are hoping to find a transmitter tower to contact Viola's people, who are a second wave of planetary settlers, to warn them.

After a few days on the road, Davy finds them. Viola manages to shock Davy, and Todd moves to kill him, but finds himself unable to kill. Instead, Todd ties Davy up before heading off for Haven with Viola. During the trip, Todd, Viola and Manchee find a live Spackle. Todd is shocked, believing that all Spackle had been killed in the war. Worried at an attack and frustrated with his 'cowardice' of keeping Davy alive, Todd leaps at the Spackle and kills it, but faces instant regret.

Aaron finds them.  He stabs Todd, and kidnaps Viola. Todd wakes and hurriedly pursues Aaron.  As his stab wound becomes infected, he quickly weakens. Todd finds Viola and Aaron, using Manchee as a distraction while he rescues Viola. When the plan is unsuccessful, Todd and Viola manage to get away but are forced to leave Manchee behind with Aaron, who kills the dog in a fit of rage. The pair flee on a boat, and Todd passes out from his wounds.

Todd wakes up under a care of a doctor in another settlement. Insisting on a walk, he encounters Ben hiding in the outskirts of town. He reveals that Cillian died in Todd's escape from Prentisstown. The people of the new town label Ben as a murderer due to his Prentisstown origins.   Ben and Todd convince the townsfolk to help them fight the approaching Prentisstown army. As the army approaches, Ben, Todd, and Viola use the confusion to escape.

After gaining some distance, Ben explains the truth: the Noise germ is a natural contagion of the planet, not an attack by the Spackle. The men of Prentisstown, driven mad by Noise and resenting the women's ability to remain silent, killed all the women and were subsequently banished from the rest of New World for their crimes. The boys were to learn a version of the truth from the Mayor on their thirteenth birthday. This is why Ben and Cillian sent Todd away prior to his becoming a man - he could only be safe from the persecution by the rest of the world if his thoughts were wholly innocent.

Ben, Todd, and Viola continue toward Haven, but Davy finds them again. Ben distracts him to allow Todd and Viola to run, but then the two are cornered by the deranged Aaron in a cavern near a waterfall by Haven. Todd suddenly realizes that the boys of Prentisstown become men by killing someone upon turning thirteen. Aaron thinks of himself as a symbolic sacrifice for the 'last boy' in Prentisstown and tries to provoke Todd into killing him. Attempting to stop Aaron from succeeding, Viola grabs the knife and stabs Aaron in the neck. He falls into the waterfall and dies.

Davy again intercepts the pair on their way to Haven, shooting Viola. Todd subdues Davy, escapes, and carries a dying Viola to Haven to get help.  Mayor Prentiss is already there to greet them. After Haven surrendered without a fight, the Mayor declares himself President of New World. Through his despair, Todd realizes that he cannot hear the Mayor's Noise. With no other choice, Todd surrenders to the Mayor to save Viola.

This book is the first book in the Chaos Walking series.  The second is The Ask and the Answer and the third is Monsters of Men. 

One of the major themes of the book is the importance of literacy.  In Prentisstown the Mayor outlaws school and learning to read.  He believes that by keeping the town illiterate, he has more power over them.  This is a legitimate argument since slave owners in the past used the same tactic.  Todd feels intimidated and ashamed because he is illiterate.  Young adults can see why an education is important.   On the other end of the spectrum is Viola.  She is constantly using her intelligence to outsmart their pursuers.  She wants to help Todd by reading his mother’s diary to him.  It takes Todd swallowing his pride to allow her to read the map and parts of the book.

I found a teaching resource by Walker Books that gives ideas on activities and discussions related to the book.

https://www.walkerbooks.com.au/statics/dyn/1327365287339/Knife-of-Never-Letting-Go-Classroom-Ideas.pdf

 

 

Textbook reading 1 chapters 1-5

 

Textbook Reading 1 Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1: Why do we share literature with children?

1.       because it’s fun

2.       because it aids in the acquisition of language and language development

3.       because it develops empathy

4.       because it supports life-long readers

a.       unconscious delight (series reading, serial reading-reading ladders)

b.       reading autobiography (about someone like us- the mirror)

c.       reading for vicious experiences (other people -window)

d.       read for philosophical speculation (trying to form opinions about things)

e.       read for esthetic experiences (pleasurable -sounds nice)

5.       because it develops the imagination

6.       because it transmits culture

Chapter 2. Divisions of Yong People’s Literature

                Children’s literature 0 to 8 years old

-Wordless, regular picture, easy readers early chapter, and beginning novels

                Middle grades/Tweens 8-12 years old

                                -found in elementary school libraries, simple cute chapter stories

                Middle school 11-13 years old

-adds drama (deals with tougher issues), usually set in middle school, deals with romance, LGBTQ issues, transgender issues, (in middle school library)

                Young adult 13-18 years old

-look at the topic to make sure young adult-language, older topics (in high school library)

                New Adult 18-30 years old

-cutting edge protagonist, older that YA and can appeal to adult audience.  Deal with issues of recent high school graduates going off to college

Chapter 3. The Anatomy of a book

                Books are divided into 3 main parts: the front matter, the body matter, and the end matter.

                Front Matter

Book cover includes the title and the author and/or editor’s name. It can also include the publisher, and the series title (if applicable).

The front matter will also include your title page, the author and the publisher.  

The first page is a half-title page of the book, the book title printed at the half-way point. 

A frontispiece is an image of picture on the left-hand side of the first spread to draw visual interest.

The title page included the title of the book, the author, and publisher details.  It is usually on page 3, at right-hand page.

A copyright page includes the dates of publication, publisher, and any copyright materials. The copyright statement will include who has legal rights to the information in the book.  (authors vs illustrators/photographers).  If the book is published in the US, it might include the Library of Congress Catalog Number.  The edition number is also included. 

A dedication(optional) is when an author chooses to honor an individual or group, they may insert a note on this page.

An acknowledgment (optional) is a pager an author uses to thank individuals who contributed their time, resources, and talent in writing the book. 

A table of contents (optional) lists all the chapters and sections in a book with their title.  More important in non-fiction and digital books.

The foreword (optional) is typically written by someone other than the author.  It might be an expert in the field or a popular writer in a similar book.

Testimonials (optional) are written by people endorsing the author or the book.

Preface (optional) is a brief section that introduces the book but is generally written by author.  The author explains why the book was written.

                Body Matter

                Is the core content of the book that includes parts, chapters, and the body copy.

Introduction (optional) is about the content of the book.  It can be used to establish the theme, methodology, and provide useful definitions. It is also used sometimes to explain how the books should be used academically.  In fiction genres, they may use it to explain the world they have set up and how it came to be.

Prologues (optional)acts as the introduction to the story and comes before chapter one.  It should contain information that is vital to the rest of the story.  They are common in plays but rare in nonfiction books.

Epigraph/quote ( optional) is a phrase, quote or poem used at the start of a chapter.

Half-title page (optional) is an extra half-title page that is useful if you had a long front matter.  It brings the reader back to the story.

Main text includes your main body test, parts, and chapters. 

Epilogue (optional) is a chapter or segment that comes after the main story and concludes it.  They are general used in fiction.

Afterword/Postscript (optional) another literary device that comes after the main story and discusses how the story came into existence.  It can also discuss the reception of the book and added later.

                End Matter

Appendix/appendices (optional) gives additional or information on topics explored in the main section of the book.

Glossary (optional) gives definitions and sometimes pronunciations of words.  Usually in non-fiction books.

Bibliography (optional) is the pages where the author cites their sources used in the book.

Index (optional) is in the back of the book and contains subjects and keywords used throughout the materials. Used primarily in non-fiction books.

Colophon (optional) is usually on the last page and credits the people directly involved with the production of the book.

Back cover gives a summarized overview of the book.  It also includes the barcode, publisher logo or mark, and a QR code.

Spine of the book joins the pages together so that they don’t fall out everywhere.  It includes the title, author and sometimes the publisher logo.

Chapter 4. genres and formats

               

Genres: fiction and nonfiction-everything else is a subgenre

                                Fiction divides into subgenres

1.       realism- which divides further

a.       realistic modern contemporary

b.       historical

2.       fantasy-which divides further

a.       modern

-hard science fiction >low science fiction

-high fantasy>low fantasy

b.       traditional

   -folktale, ballad, fable, legend, myth, fairy tale

                                Nonfiction

1.       informational

a.       expository nonfiction

b.       narrative nonfiction

c.       biography

                                                                                                                           i.      autobiography

                                                                                                                         ii.      memoir

Genrefying

                -Categorizing genres into subjects in libraries

-They ARE NOT genres!

-examples: chick lit, mystery, guy reads, horror, sports fiction, action/adventure, paranormal, war, classics, humor, dystopia

                                To genrefy a library vs not to genrefy a library

 

                Formats: How the book is written

                                -Have genres of books that are formatted a certain way

-Common formats: poetry, drama, novels, chapter books, short stories, picture books, graphic novels.   

Chapter 5. What is YA Literature? (Mertz & England, 1983)

1.       it involves a youthful protagonist

2.       it uses a point of view which presents an adolescent’s interpretation of things

3.       it has directness of exposition and direct confrontation

4.       it involves a significant change in the life of the main character (s)

5.       it shows a highly independent protagonist

6.       it shows gradual and incremental change as well as incomplete growth in the main character(s)

7.       it mirrors concerns over contemporary issues

8.       it has a main character who reaps the consequences of decisions and action

9.       it usually involves a brief time period, limited setting, few fully developed characters may be part of the structural convention

10.   it draws upon a sense of how adolescents develop

The information I gained reading theses chapters will help me to organize my library so that books can be found easily by everyone.   I will be able to recommend books to students  that will better fit their interest and needs and age group.  I will be able to recommend books to my teachers based on their needs in the classroom.  I have learned the anatomy of a book and where to find the different parts.  

4. Monster, by Walter Dean Myers

Myers, W.D. (1999). Monster. NY: Scholastic

The story takes a unique approach in that it is presented as a screenplay with notes by the narrator, a sixteen-year-old from Harlem named Steve Harmon. Steve has been charged with murder, and he’s being kept in prison until the trial. He’s writing the play in order to keep his mind occupied while he awaits trial. If Steve is found guilty, the judge might pronounce a sentence of anywhere from twenty years in prison to death. The novel’s structure varies between screenplay and narrative prose, reflecting Steve’s interest in film.
Steve’s situation seems simple enough at first. He begins by discussing how much he hates and fears being in jail, due to the threat of violence and sexual assault. When the trial begins, the reader learns about his arrest, but not whether or not he committed the crime—for the good reason that Steve himself is uncertain about his guilt. Monster then delves into the psychological realm as Steve tries to decide if he is innocent or if he is, in fact, a monster. He thinks his attorney, Kathy O’Brien, doesn’t believe in his innocence, and his father has been aloof. Steve is on the brink of losing his ability to self-identify.
As the trial progresses, so too does Steve’s screenplay. Scenes he writes within the screenplay, as well as narrative passages that describe Steve, reveal not only the attitude in his neighborhood but also the treatment he received upon his arrest. Additionally, the reader learns more about what happened surrounding the murder. According to the police, two young men entered a drugstore intent on robbing the cashier, who happened to be the store owner. He pulled a gun and there was a struggle; one of the two robbers tried to wrest the gun from him. It went off, and the cashier died. The two robbers took the money and fled.

After this revelation, Steve’s case gets more complicated. As the police investigate the crime, they turn to witnesses and informants because they can’t get any fingerprints at the crime scene. One such character is already in prison, and implicates Steve and his co-defendant, James King, in the murder. The police also suspect a man named Richard “Bobo” Evans, who is serving time because he got caught selling drugs to an undercover cop after the murder took place. Evans testifies in court that he planned the robbery with King, and that Steve was on lookout for the robbery. Evans says that King shot the victim. Steve is still implicated too, however, by having been a part of the group robbing the drugstore.

Even though Steve is no longer facing the death penalty, the threat of at least twenty years in prison casts him into depression and he contemplates taking his own life. O’Brien convinces him that he must testify to prove his innocence, and coaches him to prepare him. She suggests that instead of saying he’s not guilty, he should say that he didn’t commit the crime, because his fear and time in prison may have given him feelings of guilt even if he did not murder—or know of plans to murder—the store owner.

He performs well on the witness stand, talking about how he was only acquainted with King and Evans from the neighborhood, that he didn’t plan anything with them, and that he didn’t linger in the drug store that day. Instead, he says he was walking the neighborhood making notes about filming there, and only walked in and out briefly. King doesn’t testify, and the two defense attorneys and prosecuting attorney make their closing statements. O’Brien thinks she has planted enough doubt about Steve’s involvement in the robbery, and therefore in the murder, to ensure his release.

At the end of the trial, the jury finds King guilty and Steve innocent.

The book explores themes relating to incarceration, injustice, and being poor or black or both in America’s inner-cities. Many of Myers’s numerous other works explore similar topics, but perhaps the most noted, since it directly relays his own childhood experience, is his memoir Bad Boy, which recounts Myers’ childhood in Harlem. Another similar book is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me.  It tells the story of his similarly difficult childhood in Baltimore as he recounts the events of his life to his son and explains to him what it means to be a black man in America, particularly in light of the disadvantages and injustices he will face.  Monster also explores dynamics of prison life and what that does to a person’s psyche, regardless of race. Another book that explores the American justice system would be In the Belly of the Beast, a book composed of letters written by longtime-convict Jack Abbott to the journalist and author Norman Mailer, which describes Abbott’s experience and analysis of what he regarded as a brutal and utterly unjust prison system, much like Steve Harmon recognizes in Myers’s novel.

I found a lesson plan for the story.  It has handouts, pacing guides, and other useful.  Was created and by Livaudais-Baker English Classroom.

http://mrslivaudais.com/

 

3. Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar

 

Behar, R. (2017). Lucky broken girl.  NY: Nancy Paulsen.

As the story opens, Ruth Mizrahi explains that she is in the remedial class at her school in New York City not because she is dumb, but because when she arrived in the country with her family, she did not speak English. She and her friend, Ramu, practice their English, and she expects to “graduate” from this class into the regular class as a result of her mastery of the language. Although Ruth misses her old life in Cuba, which her family fled after Castro’s revolution, she is grateful they are alive and well.
Ruthie receives the news that she is going to be promoted into the regular class. At home, her father purchases a new car, a big Oldsmobile, and gives her a pair of Go-Go boots as a present. The family goes for a drive with Papi driving the car, but there is a car accident that leaves a young boy dead and Ruth’s leg broken in several places. The doctor informs Ruthie and her family that the best thing to do is to immobilize both of Ruthie’s legs, and so, she is put into a body cast that covers her from her chest to her toes, and she will be stuck in bed for many months.

Ruthie sees her bed as a prison. She hates the boy who caused the accident even though he died as a result. She has a lot of anger inside of her and she prays that it will go away. Meanwhile, the school sends her a teacher, Joy. Joy describes herself as “a bit of a hippie.”

Ramu wants to visit Ruthie, but his family will not allow it.  Ruthie keeps up with him through her little brother.  One day tragedy strikes Ramu’s family.  His little brother ends up falling out of a window.  Ruthie morns for her friends.  Ramu moves to India with his family, and he and Ruthie begin to exchange letters.
Bored, Ruthie begins talking with her “Jewban” grandparents about her faith while Joy teaches her academic subjects. Ruthie begins praying and writing letters to God, as well as other deities—Ramu gives her a pendant with Shiva on it, and so she prays to Shiva (and writes letters to Shiva as well), reasoning that since America has freedom of religion, it’s okay to pray to everyone. She also welcomes visits from her neighbor, Chicho, who is Mexican and educates her about art and Frida Kahlo. Ruthie decides to write a letter to Kahlo as well.

Ruthie’s life is no fun; she has to go to the bathroom in a bedpan, and her diet includes things like prune juice to counteract the effects of being bedridden. Her family struggles to pay the bills her convalescence generates, and her mother becomes extremely stressed and unhappy dealing with these issues. Ruthie resents her friend, Danielle, not coming to visit her, leaving her very lonely and unhappy.  One day Danielle does come to see her, but she runs out crying, leaving Ruthie angry and sad.
Ruthie begins to read and draw more, becoming intellectually curious to counteract the boredom. Joy and Chicho both encourage this, and Ruthie slowly begins to come to terms with her situation. She forgives both the boys who caused the accident, as well as the classmates who didn’t come to visit her, realizing her own flaws and faults and that not everyone is able to do the right thing all the time.
Ruthie continues to have conversations with her grandparents, and she begins to write down what they tell her. Her grandmother tells her about being a young woman and fleeing Europe to escape the anti-Semitism growing there. Ruthie begins to have a better understanding of what her family has gone through, and what they’ve lost by seeking a better life for her.  After almost a year, Ruthie’s body cast is removed and now she has to learn to walk again.
Amara, a nurse, begins to visit to help Ruthie. Amara, extremely strict and no-nonsense, insists that Ruthie begin physical therapy and learn to walk again. After so long in bed, Ruthie’s leg muscles are weak, and she struggles; when Amara has to skip a few days, Ruthie retreats to bed again, refusing to try. Amara returns and begins working Ruthie again.

Ruthie returns to school on crutches.  She is in the smart class with Danielle.  The teacher asks for a volunteer to help Ruthie home every day.  Danielle volunteers. She and Ruthie have a talk and Ruthie learns how upset Danielle has been because she couldn’t bare to see Ruthie in the cast.  Ruthie forgives Danielle.

She slowly regains the ability to walk, but with a limp.  Ruthie worries that her doctor will feel bad if she has a limp, as the whole point of the body cast was to prevent this from happening.

One day while over at her house, Danielle gives Ruthie a gift, her black go-go boots.  Ruthie puts them on and tries to walk.  As if by magic, Ruthie begins walking without a limp.  She trusts her leg!
Behar ends the book with a note explaining how closely the story hues to her real-life experience, and that now and again she feels like little Ruthie again, the broken girl trapped in her bed, but then she grows up again and faces life with all its dangers.

I have a personal connection with Ruthie in this story.  I fell off a ladder and broke my ankle completely in half and had to wear an external fixture for four months, then a regular cast for two months, then a month of physical therapy. I wasn’t bedridden like Ruthie, but I know the frustration of not being able to walk, not being able to do for yourself.  I too counted the days and tore off the months of the calendar.

I found a teacher’s guide to the book put out by the publisher.  It is for 6^th grade level.  It covers the themes of the immigrant experience, our complicated identities, and influences that help us grow. The link is below.

https://www.ruthbehar.com/images/LuckyBrokenGirl_EducatorsGuide_16_5p.pdf

2. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

 

Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. NY: Farrar Straus Giroux

The summer before her freshman year of high school, Melinda Sordino meets senior Andy Evans at a high school party. During the party, Andy rapes Melinda. In shock, Melinda calls 9-1-1, but does not know what to say and runs home. The police come and break up the party, and some people are arrested. Melinda does not tell anyone what happened to her.

When she returns to school in the fall, she is shunned.  She has no friends left, everyone bullies her or ignores her.  Melinda is finally befriended by Heather, a girl who is new to the community. Heather, being an upbeat, and bubbly person, realizes that Melinda is depressed and an outcast and she doesn’t want them to spend time together anymore. Heather is also worried about her image and social life and wants to be in one of the “in” groups. Being friends with Melinda isn’t going to get her there.

As Melinda's depression deepens, she begins to skip school and withdraws from her already distant parents and other authority figures.  They think her silence as means of getting "attention".

Melinda slowly befriends her lab partner, David Petrakis. She sees David as strong-someone who stands up for himself.  She is drawn to him because he begins to encourage her to speak up for herself.

Near the end of the book, Melinda's decides to tell her ex-best friend Rachel what really happened to her at the party. Rachel is dating Andy and he invites her to the senior prom and Melinda is worried.  Rachel breaks up with him on prom night because of what Melinda told her.  Andy realizing only one person could've told Rachel, so he attacks Melinda in the abandoned janitor's closet Melinda had turned into her own special hiding place.  Melinda fights back against Andy and is able to get help in time. When word spreads about what happened and the truth about that night is revealed, other girls begin to open up about what kind of person Andy is.  The students no longer treat Melinda as an outcast but as a hero instead.

The school year is almost over, and Melinda knows summer school is in her future. On the last day of school, Melinda talks with Mr. Freeman, her art teacher and the only adult that never gave up on her.  She tells him her story and finally regains her voice.

When I first began reading this book, I thought to myself, “this is just a story about the daily life of a teenager.  Why is this book so special?”  As the book progressed, I realized that something was really wrong with her and I wanted to find out what happened at the party. I believe this is a cleaver tactic by the author to draw you in.  I ended up loving the book and I want my teenage daughters to read it.

Trees and other plants are major symbols in this book. They represent life and new beginnings.  Melinda is assigned to make a tree into art in art class.  She begins with portraying her artistic trees as dead.  That mirrors her own feelings of being dead inside.

As the story progresses, she begins to focus on gardening in her own yard.  As spring blossoms, she cleans, digs, plants, and makes her yard look alive.  The oak tree in the yard must have its dead limbs cut so it can live.  This is the “slap in the face” that Melinda needs.  She sees that the dead part can be trimmed, and the tree will come to life.  Her dead part that needed to be trimmed is her opening up about being raped.  Once she does, she begins to heal.

There is so much more about the book that I could write about. There is more symbolism that runs all through the story.  I could discuss how PTSD can affect people other than soldiers returning from war.  I could discuss how sorry all of the adults are in this story by not recognizing that something is wrong with that young lady, but this is a blog post, not a paper.

I found a neat study guide for this book, created by a teacher named Jenifer Smith.  It is geared towards young adults and their interest.

http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view_print.php?book=26185

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

 

 

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. NY: Little Brown

 The book follows a fourteen-year-old boy during his freshman year of high school.   He lives with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington. It is written in diary style, moving from the start of the school year to the beginning of summer. It includes both Junior's written record of his life and his cartoon drawings, some of them funny and others more serious.  The story begins by introducing Junior, the main character. He tells of his birth defects, including the fact that he was born with hydrocephalus and therefore is small for his age and suffers from seizures, poor eyesight, stuttering, and a lisp. As a result, Junior has always been picked on by other people on the reservation. Junior’s family is extremely poor and has limited access to opportunities.  Junior's only childhood friend is Rowdy, a classmate who is abused at home and is known as a bully on the reservation. Despite his intimidating role, Rowdy often stands up for Junior and they bond by enjoying kids' comics.

  Junior's first day of high school is pivotal to the plot of the novel. When Mr. P, his geometry teacher, passes him his textbook, he sees his mother’s name in it, realizing that the book is an old hand-me-down. Angered and saddened by the fact that the reservation is so poor that it cannot afford new textbooks, Junior violently throws the book, which hits Mr. P's face, breaking his nose. When he visits Junior at home, Mr. P convinces Junior to transfer to the high school in the nearby farming town of Reardan.  The town of Reardan is far wealthier than Wellpinit, and Junior will be the only Indian to attend.  It is difficult, but Junior's family support him and do what they can to make it possible for him to stay in the new school. Rowdy, however, is upset by Junior's decision to transfer, and the once-best friends have little contact during the year.

 He makes a few white friends and his interactions with the white students give him a better perspective both on white culture and his own. He realizes how much stronger his family ties are than those of his white classmates.  Junior also realizes that the white students have different rules than those he grew up with, which is evident when he reacts to an insult from the school's star athlete, Roger, by punching him in the face. Junior hit him, as he would have been expected to do on the reservation, and he expects Roger to get revenge. But Roger never does; in fact, Roger and his friends show Junior more respect. 

 Junior tries out for the basketball team and to his surprise, he makes the varsity team, which pits him against his former school, Wellpinit, and specifically Rowdy, who is Wellpinit's star freshman. Their first match demonstrates to Junior just how angry the reservation people are at him for transferring: when he enters the court, they boo and insult him.

 Junior experiences the loss of his grandmother and a family friend, Eugene. After grieving and reflecting on his loved ones' deaths, Junior plays in his basketball team's second match against Wellpinit. Reardan wins and Junior gets to block Rowdy. Junior feels triumphant until he sees the Wellpinit players' faces after their defeat and remembers the difficulties they face at home and their lack of hope for a future; ashamed, he runs to the locker room, where he vomits and then breaks down in tears. Later, Junior receives another blow in hearing the news of the death of his sister and her husband who were killed in a fire at their trailer.

 In the course of the year, Junior and his family suffer many tragedies that are all related to alcohol abuse. These events test Junior's sense of hope for a better future and make him wonder about the darker aspects of reservation culture.  He is torn between the need to fit in his new, all-white school and holding on to his Indian heritage, leading him to face criticism from his own community. Despite these challenges, they also help him see how much his family and his new friends love him, and he learns to see himself as both Indian and American. Meanwhile, Rowdy realizes that Junior is the only nomad on the reservation, which makes him more of a "traditional" Indian than everyone else in town. In the end, Junior and Rowdy reconcile while playing basketball and resolve to correspond no matter where the future takes them.

 My favorite part of the book is when Junior decides to take control of his destiny and begins going to Reardan Highschool instead of the school on the reservation. He sees how his people are hopeless and joyless on the reservation and he wants better for himself. He is scared, but he overcomes his fear and joins the “white people”.  

 My least favorite part of the book was when his dog got sick.  He was helpless and couldn’t help him because his family couldn’t afford a vet.  He had to watch his friend suffer until his dad shot the dog and put it out of misery.  I cried after reading this part.  

 I found a great teaching guide on the Scholastic website.  It includes ideas on teaching the book, and extension activities as well. The link is below.  

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/absolutely-true-diary-part-time-indian-storia-teaching-guide/