Looking for Alaska

Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. New York: Speak.

Book Summary

Looking for Alaska follows Miles Halter, as he enters a private school for his junior year of high school.  At this school, he finds a new group of friends: The Colonel, Alaska, Lara, and Takumi. The first half of the novel focuses on the friends as they survive school and pull pranks on the “Weekday Warriors,” the kids who don’t board at the school.  During this time, Miles falls in love with Alaska, who is a reckless, unstable, but thrilling girl. Alaska, whose mother died when she was eight of a brain aneurism, is neurotic and self-destructive in many ways. One night, after drinking and smoking, Alaska leaves the group crying. That night, she dies in a car accident. As the book goes into the second half, Miles and his friends try to comprehend what happened to Alaska. Certain details of the accident and hints hidden in Alaska’s favorite book lead them to believe she committed suicide. The novel focuses on how Miles, the Colonel and the school handles her death.

Impressions

John Green knows how to create compelling characters. His teens are neurotic and emotion-driven, which accurately depicts that stage of life.  They also managed to be sophisticated and knowledgeable, while still doing plenty of messed-up teen things, particularly their pranks. While there is a long of language, drinking, smoking, and some sexual content, this book really focuses on the fragility of life and the blame we put upon ourselves when we feel that we’ve failed. Alaska feels like she failed her mother and it destroys her. Miles and the Colonel feel like they failed Alaska, but they find a way to understand that it was not their fault.

While this book has been banned because of drugs, sexual content, etc., I think it is a strong novel that shows the intensity of emotions as a teenager. It also deals with heavy issues and doesn't abandoned its characters when things get tough. Teens struggling with a death of a loved one could find solace in this book.

Professional Review

Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter's adolescence has been one long nonevent -no challenge, no girls, no mischief, and no real friends. Seeking what Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps," he leaves Florida for a boarding school in Birmingham, AL. His roommate, Chip, is a dirt-poor genius scholarship student with a Napoleon complex who lives to one-up the school's rich preppies. Chip's best friend is Alaska Young, with whom Miles and every other male in her orbit falls instantly in love. She is literate, articulate, and beautiful, and she exhibits a reckless combination of adventurous and self-destructive behavior. She and Chip teach Miles to drink, smoke, and plot elaborate pranks. Alaska's story unfolds in all-night bull sessions, and the depth of her unhappiness becomes obvious. Green's dialogue is crisp, especially between Miles and Chip. His descriptions and Miles's inner monologues can be philosophically dense, but are well within the comprehension of sensitive teen readers. The chapters of the novel are headed by a number of days "before" and "after" what readers surmise is Alaska's suicide. These placeholders sustain the mood of possibility and foreboding, and the story moves methodically to its ambiguous climax. The language and sexual situations are aptly and realistically drawn, but sophisticated in nature. Miles's narration is alive with sweet, self-deprecating humor, and his obvious struggle to tell the story truthfully adds to his believability. Like Phineas in John Knowles's "A Separate Peace"(S & S, 1960), Green draws Alaska so lovingly, in self-loathing darkness as well as energetic light, that readers mourn her loss along with her friends."

Lewis, J. (2005, February 1). School Library Journal.

Library Uses

This is a tough book for library use. I think it could be used in an older teen book club. However, as we know, this book has been banned from some libraries and schools because of drug use and sexual content. That could lead to problems in a teen book club and would need to be addressed prior to beginning the novel.

Mile’s obsession with last words could, however, lead to an interesting biography display based on last words.

The Wonder Book

Rosenthal, A. K. (2010). The wonder book. New York: HarperCollins

Book Summary

Rosenthal’s collection of whimsical poems contains many humorous and witty lines of verse. She has some that play on old nursery rhymes, such as “It Could Be Verse,” that changes the words to “Eeny-Meany-Miney-Mo,” “Mary had a little Lamb,” and other popular rhymes.  She even has a poem that uses the periodic table to teach about table manners.

Impressions

The sketch-like illustrations are very reminiscent of Shel Silverstein’s popular poetry collections. Many add a sense of movement to the poem; the way the text is laid out on the page does this as well. In the poem about the periodic table, the text is laid out in a table. The “Wonder” poem has its text in little thought bubbles from several different characters. This attention to detail really brings the poems alive. I can imagine this would be a fun collection to read aloud to young readers or for new readers to read on their own. The words are simple and, as poems, often rhyme, which makes it easier for newer readers to follow along.

Professional Review

Here is a joyous, totally original potpourri of stories, poems, lists, palindromes, visual jokes, and random observations about the universal delights and conundrums of childhood. Set squarely in the world of the 21st-century child, with references to tae kwon do, 50 TV channels, and chocolate-chip pancakes, these varied musings nonetheless speak to everyone's inner child, young or old, mentioning table manners, dinosaurs, bratty children, whining, the tooth fairy, and moms and dads who can't relate. Simple, evocative, and childlike black-and-white line drawings, in concert with judicious and varied use of white space, perfectly capture the happy/sad/serious/silly moods of the selections. A book that can be opened on any page, it includes a handy, tongue-in-cheek index of key words and images to guide readers to subjects of interest. Make room on the poetry shelf between Prelutsky and Silverstein: fans of such well-loved titles as "The New Kid on the Block" (1984) and "A Light in the Attic" (1981, both HarperCollins) will flock to this winning volume of sheer fun.

Finn, K. (2010, March 1). School Library Journal.

Library Use

Poems from this book would lend themselves well to songs during storytime or a music & movement program.

Knights of the Lunch Table: The Dodgeball Chronicles

Cammuso, F. (2008). Knights of the lunch table: The dodgeball chronicles. New York: Graphix.

Book Summary

Another sort of retelling, The Dodgeball Chronicles are a modern day Arthurian tale. Cammuso’s graphic novel tells the story of Artie, a new kid at a new school. Artie is a typical young boy, except for the fact that he is terrible at dodgeball. Well, he was a typical boy until he opened a locker that hadn’t been opened in years, and by opening that locker, he gains access to a mysterious locker that knows just what he needs. Other Arthurian characters appear as well, such as Merlyn, the helpful and wise teacher, Percy, Artie’s new friend, and Gwen, a strong young girl who comes to Artie’s aide.

Impressions

This is a great graphic novel for elementary school readers. While the reader should have some knowledge about King Arthur and his story, it’s not necessary for readers to know all the details of the old stories. Cammuso is obviously having fun with his modern tale, especially since Artie’s “Excalibur” is an old locker and instead of jousting, there is an epic dodgeball match. Cammuso uses the names of the legend’s heros and villians but alters them to be more applicable to a modern audience.

While it is a graphic novel, there is still a fleshed out story, enhanced by the illustrations. The coloring is bright and vivid; Cammuso also adds details to his backgrounds, like the locker smiling and the renegade spider hiding in a corner.

Professional Review

Arthurian legend gets an update for young readers in this outstanding graphic novel. During his first day at Camelot Middle School, Artie King opens a locker that no one has ever been able to open; gets a pop quiz from his science teacher, Mr. Merlyn; and offends both Principal Dagger and bully Joe Roman. Joe is the leader of the Horde, a gang that happens to be the local dodgeball (a game played here with the fervor of Texas football) champions. With his future at Camelot riding on a challenge match, Arthur calls on new friends Wayne and Percy, and gets a little assistance from that mysterious locker. References to other versions of Arthurian legend are sprinkled throughout (such as mentions of Camelot alumni Terry White and Tommy Mallory), but the funny, fast-paced tale of young Arthurs quest to defeat the bullies stands well on its own. The appealing illustrations are full of color, action, and life. Point new fans to one of the many retellings of the deeds of the Round Table while they wait for the second volume in the series.

Gallego, B. (2008, July 1). School Library Journal. 

Library Uses

Many libraries have graphic novel collections for younger readers. Some also do programming centered around graphic novels. This would be a great example to use in any sort of program focused on graphics, ie., a create-your-own graphic novel program or an illustration program. It would also be a good book to add on any sort of readers’ advisory list that includes modern retellings of old tales.

Odd Boy Out

Brown, D. (2004). Odd boy out: Young Albert Einstein. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Book Summary:

Odd Boy Out focuses on the childhood of Albert Einstein. While we all know him as a genius, Don Brown uses his book to relate Albert to other young people. He fought with his sister, he threw tantrums, he didn’t like to go to school or his parent’s parties.  Although he’s disinterested in many of his school subjects, he loves geometry and is fascinated by music and math. He focuses on his passions and go where they take him. As he grows older, he attends a college in Switzerland and then gets married. When his son is born, Albert spends his time walking his son’s baby carriage around the city of Zurich. It is during these nights under the stars that Albert puts together his views of space, time, and energy that has since changed our world.

Impressions

This was a unique take on Albert Einstein. Because it was focused on his youth, it helps to make the genius more relatable to young readers.  Brown manages to give the reader what feels like an intimate glimpse into Albert Einstein’s psyche. As he describes Einstein’s inner thoughts as a youth, Brown shows the reader that just because you don’t follow what is expected of you, doesn’t mean you can’t do great things. The drawings are simple and primarily focus around Albert. Brown also includes some geometric shapes and stars in the sky. With this, he shows Albert’s internal thoughts through his images.

Professional Review

 “This well-crafted picture-book biography focuses on Einstein's hard-to-classify brilliance, which led to awesome scientific discoveries, but all too often left him a misunderstood outsider. Brown describes his subject's loving, cultured parents who were frequently nonplussed by their son's behavior and temper. He found himself the "odd boy" at school, and as the only Jewish student, was sometimes taunted by other children. He puzzled his instructors as well; though clearly gifted in science, math, and music, he was an indifferent student in most subjects. Brown's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, rendered in a palette of dusky mauve and earthy brown, portray a doubtful, somewhat unhappy-looking child, except for a picture in which he gazes fondly at a compass, a gift that astonishes him as he ponders its mysteries. In many scenes he is marginalized on the sidelines, set apart by color and shading. One dramatic spread features an adult Einstein pushing his child in a carriage, looking small against a backdrop that highlights some of the scientific puzzles that so engaged him. Through eloquent narrative and illustration, Brown offers a thoughtful introduction to an enigmatic man. This book will pique the interest of readers with little or no knowledge of Einstein."

Taniguchi, M. (2004, October 1). School Library Journal.

 Library Uses

This story could be the introduction to a STEM program (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This book helps show that the beginnings of all these fields start with asking yourself questions about the universe. Albert Einstein showed the importance of pondering and thinking and where that could take you. Using this book during a program that focuses on STEM may help children have a more positive approach to science.