The Three Questions

The picture book I would share with YA is The Three Questions by Jon Muth. Tracy Smiles shared this book with our class last Thursday and I instantly throught it would be a great book to use with my students. In the book, the main character asks three questions: When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? I think these three questions can lead to some strong discussion among YA. I had my students answer the three questions before I read the story and then again when I was done. We had a lot of discussion around the characters and the purpose behind the book. It also led to discussions about finding yourself. It was very powerful. Oh... and the illustrations are wonderful. The red kite led to 10 minutes of discussion.

Olive's Ocean

I have two 5th graders in my class that are in my book club. We pick books to read and discuss what is going on in the book. I asked them a few of the discussion questions and this is what they said:
What character was you favorite? They both said Martha the main character, because she is smart and becoming mature in the book.
What character did you dislike? Since we are only part way through the book, one said the dad because he always walks away when he is mad. The other said the brother, because he isn't with the family as much anymore.
Do you like this book? Both said yes because they can relate to what Martha is going through. They enjoy reading about the "problems" like YAL discusses. They were bothing enjoying finding out what would happen to Martha.
Would you read something else by this author? Yes because they like the language he uses and they like the characters he creates.

Best YA Books of All Time

I knew going into this class that I would struggle a bit because I have never been a reader. I do not read for fun and I never have. Of the books I have read, I enjoyed realistic fiction more than any other genre. In classes with Sue during undergrad and during my master's she has introduced me to some new realistic fiction books that brought back some of my love for readoing. I want reading to become an enjoyable thing rather than a chore.

On the list on page 103, I have only read 5 books. One of my all time favorite books is Catcher and the Rye, so I was very happy to see that on the list. I read Hatchet in 6th grade and did not enjoy it, but probably because I hated reading so much, I couldn't enjoy the book. I have Chocolate Wars on my reading list and I hope to read it with my classroom book club. I think everyone's best book list is different, because books affect us in different ways based on our life experiences. The Scarlet Letter was the first assigned book that I actually read from cover to cover. I didn't just go straight to the Spark Notes, because I found it so interesting. The Puritan Society struck an interest for me and it was the first book I read with some real controversy and social and moral issues in it.

Student Survey

Like many of you out there, I felt like I have a pretty good idea about the trends that lie among adolescents. I gave the survey to my fifth grade class, as they are almost middle schoolers. After giving the survey, I noticed that the books that popped up more than once was Twilight, 39 Clues, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which are three books I have not read. I think Twilight is popular due to the Tension versus Shock Effect characteristic described by Pam Cole. I have heard my students say they can not put it down and they just want to read more. This reminded me of a book that is going around my class called "Found." Probably 8 of us have read it for fun because it has that characteristic--you just don't want to put it down. Diary of a Wimpy Kid has the sense of humor factor that Cole describes. The humor in it is appealing to the adolescents, personally I think it is kind of crude. I really do not know much about 39 Clues, but it is a series I would like to read. It was interesting to me that all of the books were series or sagas. Students seem to like books that can lead them into another book.

The Blind Side was the most popular movie. I also enjoyed that movie and I was not surprised that my students picked a recently released movie as their favorite. I was just happy they didn't say Superbad or Hangover like many others of you saw. The video games were pretty split. Most of my girls said their favorite game was on the Wii or Mario Bros. Some of my boys said sports games, but others said Halo and Call of Duty. I have played both of those games and they are very graphic and extremely violent. In the new Call of Duty, my partner was shot and his brains splattered across the screen--not exactly appropriate for 11 year olds, or me really.

Looking at the trends, I am pleased to know that I was familiar with almost all of the answers. It helps to now the trends, so I can relate examples for lesson to the things my students are interested.

Banned Books

It was funny that censorship is the discussion topic for this week because I am reading two books that are banned in some schools. The first book is The Great Gilly Hopkins. This is one of my favorite books. It is about a girl that is in foster care and has been moved around a lot. She is now very sarcastic and cynical about the world. I like to say she has an attitude problem. Throughout the book, Gilly uses curse words. Some people would feel that this book should be banned due to the language. I personally take another approach. Gilly is a very tough girl, who has been through a lot. I think the language she uses, shows how she feels. It shows the kind of girl she has become. In the end she changes, and that change would not be as noticeable without the language in the earlier parts of the book. I am reading the book aloud to my class and depending on the moment, I either just say the word or I change it slightly. For me I use this as a discussion opportunity. I talk to my students about why the author would include that type of language. My students said that they feel like Gilly is more believeable with that type of language. I completely agree with them. Gilly will stay in my classroom until I am forced to remove it.

The other book I am finishing up is Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes. I was immediately drawn to this book, because I loved the beginning. Martha (the main character) receieves a letter from Olive's mother. Olive had just been killed in an accident. Martha found out from the letter that she was the one person that Olive wanted to be like and be friends with. She really starts to think about Olive a lot. She also is dealing with things with her family. Martha has also decided she wants to be a writer. The first few chapters were very clean, but now I have read several "damns," but I was most shocked by the sex reference. Martha walks into the kitchen to find her father and mother giggling and kissing. She says her brother calls this MSB which stands for Morning Sex Behavior. For fifth grade, I thought that might be a little too mature. But I still ask myself, if that one thing should be cause for the book to be banned. As a read aloud, I would just skip that part, but as far independent reading I can't make sure the student skips over it. I feel very torn about this and I really don't know what I should do. I am not even sure I want to tell my principal because I would hate to see this book leave our library. Any ideas out there?

Censorship at My School

Recently, our school received boxes of books from the district. They came in packages and arrived with organized blue bins. As students started exploring the books, we started to have problems with some of the content and language within the books. It only took a few weeks before parents started calling the principal with concerns. We were asked to pull some of the books from the bins without any discussion. Later a student found the "b" word in a Judy Blume book. Again without any discussion, we were asked to pull the books. I didn't feel that this was the best way to deal with the books. It actually just made the students more interested in reading them. I thought we should discuss it as a staff and maybe have a permission form that parents need to sign in order for the child to access that book. I didn't feel that it was dealt with in a manner where teachers could voice their opinion. To me, some of the best books out there have been banned or have inappropriate language. So the question is at what point do we pull some of the best books due to the content or language. Maybe I am just more liberal, but I feel that students deserve to read great literature even if it means children are exposed to some adult language and content.

OMG! I HEART Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The movie I chose to watch was Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is one of my favorite adolescent movies and my fiance never lets me watch it, so I told him I needed to do it for class :) The movie is about four siblings during a war that go to live with a family. The house is very big and mysterious. During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy (the youngest) finds a secret entry to a fantasy world called Narnia through the back of a Wardrobe. Eventually all four siblings enter the fantasy world. While there, they discover that a witch has turned the world cold and evil and that there is a prophecy that the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve will come to take back control of Narnia, bringing peace to the land. With the help of Aslan(the lion ruler) and other fantasy creatures, the four children are able to fulfill the prophecy, but not without danger and betrayal.

This movie is attractive to adolescents for several reasons. The first is that the majority of young adults like fantasy movies. They like getting lost in the imagination and becoming a part of a different and interesting world. I also think most adolescents can relate to atleast one of the main characters. Each character is very different and has a key role in the movie. For example, Edmund is a little mischevious and makes some bad decisions, but in the end is so brave and helps his family win. Lucy on the other hand is gentle and kind, but maybe too trusting. I think adolescents like seeing kids as the heros in a movie. Finally, students would probably really enjoy the graphics in this movie. The filmmaking side of it is truly amazing. The war scene is very intense and the graphics are very believable.

Obviously I would recommend this movie to any adolescent, especially those that enjoy fantasy. I think it is an exciting adventure that keeps you on your seat and interested the whole time.

My Adolescent Defining Moment

I really enjoyed reading the defining moments that each author wrote. My favorite was Lois Lowery's probably because she is my favorite author of all time. Her story was about an experience she had as an adolescent in Tokyo. She was on a bus with other American students, mostly older than her and it was Christmas time. When she stepped on the bus she noticed endless amounts of decorations, which was unusual because the bus driver was most likely not Christian. She also realized that he bought the decorations with his own money. While on the bus a "loud-mouthed" older boy decided to rip down a decoration and many students then followed in his foot steps. Although Lowery didn't participate in this act of disrespect, she also didn't say or do anything. She realized at that moment that she betrayed herself for no doing anything. She was just as bad as the other students.

Once I read this story, it gave me a lot of insight into Lowery's writing. In her book Number the Stars, she brings up many moments of betrayal and unfairness. I can see why she write abouts those moments. Most of us can relate to moments of betrayal, although they are usually not as severe as the Holocaust. She really puts things into perspective.

I think my defining moment as an adolescent was when I read Bridge to Teribethia for the first time. I was never a reader and I was assigned to read a book and do a book report for my 6th grade English class. At this point in my life reading was a chore--something I did to complete assignments. For some reason I was really drawn into this particular book. I actually read it in my free time when I could have been watching TV. One night my dad and I were reading the part of the book were Jesse's best friend dies. I was so surprised because both of us had tears streaming down our faces. This was the very first time that a book really touched me and made me feel like I was there living the incident with Jesse. It completely changed my outlook on books, although I still do not read for fun very often.