Hanukkah Book Review: The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

The end of Hanukkah is fast approaching, so I wanted to get in a review of what was the first book that I read since my son started his mock Newbery book club that I thought could be a contender for the 2011 Newbery award.  That book is The Cardturner by Louis Sachar, who won the Newbery award in 1999 for Holes (although his previous win might make him a less likely candidate, since only five authors have ever won the award twice.)

This book, which is geared to a slightly older reader than the last two books, is about a teenager (rather than a middle schooler) who is roped by his family into serving as the eyes and "cardturner" for his blind, ailing, bridge game-loving great uncle--who also happens to be extremely rich.  Having just lost his sight from diabetes, which prohibits Lester Trapp from playing bridge,  his lifelong passion, the old man is forced to rely on his clearly-inadequate nephew,  Alton Richards, who has no knowledge and no interest in the game.  However, as time passes, Alton learns more and more from his uncle--both about bridge and about life.  It is a wonderful story of intergenerational dynamics, family secrets, relative rivalry, second chances, and grabbing the gusto out of life, no matter how long or how short you expect it to last.

This book also stand out, however, because it is Sachar's attempt to tempt a new generation away from their video games and into learning an "old fashioned" game like bridge.  He intersperses the story with pages explaining concepts in the game, or otherwise conveying his love for it.  Understanding bridge isn't essential to understanding the plot, but it helps to at least read his explanation pages to get some of the nuance of the action during the bridge games (of which there are many).  Sachar does a great job of capturing the mystique of bridge--almost as a symbol of a more elegant, more sophisticated era--in a way that intrigues, rather than repels, the Millennial Generation of today's tweens and teens (which I think is quite a feat, regardless of the story).

In fact, my son learned some bridge this year and has quite enjoyed it.  So maybe Sachar's goal of regenerating interest in a fading card game is not as quixotic at it might seem when you just hear about it.  Try the book--you might get hooked too.

Hanukkah Book Review: The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley

Now, for a change of pace, I thought I would write not about a humorous book, but about a book on a humorist.  The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) is an unusual twist on a biography; it is a description of the great 19th century American writer, Mark Twain, as told by his 13 year old daughter, Susy.  The author, Barbara Kerley, is a renowned writer of biographies and other nonfiction books for children.  She had considered writing about Mark Twain for years, then stumbled upon a reference to a biography that Twain's adolescent daughter had written about him.   So Kerley tells the story of Mark Twain, but intersperses the pages with little cut-out pages from Susy's biography, where she reflects on this famous man from a personal perspective.

At first glance, this is a pretty simple book; the reading level is more for the elementary school level than for middle schoolers.  But like another of the picture books I reviewed earlier, my beloved Blockhead:  The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D'Agnese (another point of light in 2010), I think it can also be appropriate for early adolescents.  For one thing, Susy is herself 13, so middle schoolers can relate to that.  I personally think a first reading of Tom Sawyer, or particularly of Huckleberry Finn, is more appropriate during middle school, so this could go nicely with reading some of Twain's most important books.  It contains a page with tips for writing biographies, and demonstrates more middle school-level biography techniques, like using a particular anecdote to illustrate a larger truth about the subject, rather than a mere recitation of facts that is more common to elementary school.  But more importantly, read carefully, this book explores some of the issues that tweens wrestle with in middle school, like the difference between how others see us and how our family sees us, our public and our personal personas, and accepting our weaknesses along with our strengths.

The illustrations by Edwin Fotheringham are also quite lovely, and are not too juvenile for middle schoolers.

My son picked it up and read it on his own, and he enjoyed it.  But I plan to read some Twain later in the year, and expect to return to this book again then.

And while we are on the subject of biographies about humorists...
Last week, my son read the book Sir Charlie:  Chaplin, the Funniest Man on Earth by Sid Fleischman, and declared that it was one of the best books he had ever read.  I haven't read it myself, so I can't vouch for it personally.  But Fleischman won the 1987 Newbery award for his book, The Whipping Boy, so chances are that this book is pretty well written.  And Sir Charlie is definitely for a middle school level or higher.  Or if you want to continue the Mark Twain theme, Fleischman also wrote a biography on Twain entitled The Trouble Begins at 8:  A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West.  It's definitely on my list to read when we roll around to that point in our history and literature studies.

Hanukkah Book Review: A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup

After all those uplifting books, I thought I would go for one that is just plain fun--A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup.  The name alone probably tips you off to the fact that this is going to be a pretty silly book.  Once you read the following bio about the author, you'll be sure of it:  Dr. Cuthbert Soup was born in Vienna, Austria, at the height of the Great Sausage Famine. At twenty-three he dropped out of high school and moved to New York City, where he landed a gig playing elevator music. He was soon fired, however, as his trombone kept smacking other people in the elevator. He is currently the founder and president of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice, where he has served as an unofficial advisor to CEOs and heads of state, and has given countless inspirational lectures to unsuspecting crowds. In his spare time he enjoys cajoling, sneering, and practicing the trombone in crowded areas. Dr. Soup currently resides in a semi-secret location somewhere in the United States. This is his first book.

 The story is kind of wacky, and involves such items that kids really enjoy as a time machine, a traveling circus, international spies, cowboys and pirates...and much, much more.  It sort of reminds me of a silly, tween-oriented comedic version of the old Mission Impossible television shows, where they would have all these scenes that didn't seem to relate to each other, and the characters kept taking on new personalities, but it would all come together at the end, just in time to keep the bad guys from doing whatever they were trying to do.  In the same way, there are so many characters that you lose track of them, but they all end up having a role in the book's conclusion.

There are some good themes in the book, such as the importance of family and, once again, the importance of accepting people who are different, but it is mostly a light and humorous read.  But the humor is mostly from wacky or unexpected events or characters, not the more various-unpleasant-bodily-functions jokes of many juvenile comedies.  The humor was perfect for my highly-right-brained son;  I read it first, and after I read just a couple of chapters, I knew he would love it--and he did!  It is an easy read for middle schoolers, and is probably appropriate for most upper elementary students as well.

Hanukkah Book Review: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

So now I come to the last in a troika of books that are related in at least my mind:  Mockingbird, Out of My Mind, and now The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger.  Origami Yoda is another testament to not judging a book by its cover, particularly in the context of middle schoolers and the tweens who is "different" from their peers.  However, Origami Yoda presents a much more common situation, and handles the entire question with humor as well as insight.  Origami Yoda is sort of the YA equivalent to watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas," while reading the other two are much more (good) tear-jerkers, like a high-quality "Hallmark Hall of Fame" Christmas special.

The square peg in this book is Dwight, the weird kid that the other sixth graders all consider to be a "loser."  Dwight is such a dweeb that one day he shows up at school with a paper puppet on his finger--an Origami version of Yoda from Star Wars--and starts spouting unsolicited advice.  What a loser, right?  Except the funny thing is....Origami Yoda's pronouncements have a way of coming true.  So what is going on?  Could the force really be with a folded up piece of paper?  Or is it Dwight?  Does he have hidden talents that no one could have ever expected?

One thing that I really liked about this book (besides the message, of course) is that it is written as a series of diary entries.  Dwight's classmates really want to figure out if Origami Yoda is the real deal or not, so they agree to share their experiences with his advice.  So each chapter is written by a different student--sometimes a girl, sometimes a boy.  Some of them are Team Yoda, some of them think it is all a ruse, and at least one or two are beginning to appreciate some of Dwight's differences.   And as each entry unfolds, the reader gets to see that even the "coolest" kids in school are grappling with self-image and relationship issues, especially in that most dangerous of topics--a burgeoning interest in the opposite sex.   I think Angleberger kind of captures that sixth-grade voice as well as an adult can, and includes in his chapter student-like drawing and comments or insults by other classmates as they read the entry of each chapter that helps make it even more authentic.

All in all, I think this is a VERY imaginative way to approach this topic, and Angleberger has done a fabulous job in making this topic very accessible to his target audience--ESPECIALLY to boys, who (not to be sexist or anything) might be less open to reading a heavier book on this topic, such as Mockingbird or Out of My Mind.  For example, while he finished both the others, he didn't really enjoy them.  But he loved The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, and rates it as one of his favorite books of the year.  And I think he got the theme of non-judgment and accepting the differences of others (which is a big value for us, both as a family and in the homeschooling and spiritual communities to which we belong) better from The Strange Case of Origami Yoda than he did from the other two.

Again, I don't know how the Newbery Committee considers these various factors.  How do you compare books that cover similar themes in such different ways?  All I can say is the The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is one of my favorite YA books of the year, and would definitely have a place on my personal top seven list for 2010 (I believe that is the official number Newbery members recommend).

Hanukkah Book Review: Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

As I said in yesterday's post,  while I loved Mockingbird, my one complaint might be that I think it may be more of a critics' (and parents') choice than one of young adolescents.   There is another book that covers some of the same themes that appears to be more popular with the tweens I know from our local Mock Newbery Club and some other online clubs (at least, according to their blogs).  That book, Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, is the subject of today's special Hanukkah book review.

Like the protagonist in Mockingbird, the narrator of Out of My Mind has some special challenges that make other students in her school dismiss her, unaware of the incredible gifts she holds inside.  In the case of ten-year-old Melody, she has a photography memory and is probably the smartest child in the school.  Unfortunately, due to her severe Cerebral Palsy, which has rendered her incapable of speech or writing,  Melody has never been able to communicate her inner brilliance to anyone else.  So instead of winning praise for her outstanding memory, she is shunted into Special Education classes that some years can be valuable, but other years nothing but a boring waste of time--depending on the attitude of her teacher.  She also sometimes attends part of a regular classroom, where the other students tend to either shun or mock her.  But despite the difficulties and frustrations, Melody searches for a way to prove herself to the world around her.

This is another good book.  Some of the passages are quite poetic, especially when Melody describes how words feel to her, or how she associates music with different colors (which is a real condition, called synethesia, that many musical talents, including Leonard Berstein, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Duke Ellington, apparently share).  Of course, since it is told in the first person, we readers get to hear what is going on in Melody's head, which is much more fluid language than the more silted conversations Mockingbird's Caitlin carries on with herself.  And it covers many the same themes about about not underestimating either oneself or others, being less judgmental about people with differences, and the difficulty in status and relationships that is so prevalent in middle school, obvious disability or not.

And I'm suspecting that it is easier for middle schoolers to learn those lessons from Melody rather than the more-difficult-to-get-in-synch-with Caitlin, even those Melody's handicap is more extreme.  I'm thinking that is why most of the middle schoolers I know prefer this book to Mockingbird (which I prefer).  I don't know whether that kind of thing figures into the Newbery committee or not.  But my personal advice, as a parent, is to give Out of My Mind to your tweens, and save Mockingbird for your teens.

Hanukkah Book Review: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

For the second night of Hanukkah, I thought I would review the book that recently won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and is on most people's short list for the 2011 Newbery Awards--Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine.

If yesterday's The Thirteenth Princess was based on a fairy tale, then Mockingbird was inspired by a nightmare--namely, the shooting of 33 people at Virginia Polytechnic University in Blacksburg, VA, close to where the author lives.  In this book, Erskine looks at how someone can pick up the pieces if his or her family have been the victims of such senseless violence.  But the protagonist and narrator of the book is not just your average "someone"--she's a 5th grader with Asperger's syndrome who not only lost her beloved older brother who helped her navigate the world, but whose mother has died from cancer, leaving her with only her grieving and just-barely-functioning father in the home.

This is a rough set-up for a story--but also, I think, a brilliant one.  Most of us can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one in something like 9/11 or Columbine or the VPI tragedy.  But imagine trying to deal with it compounded by the issues related to Asperger's, an autistic spectrum disorder that is usually not associated with a lack of cognitive or "academic" understanding, but with poor social skills, the inability to pick up on non-verbal or non-literal cues, and a lack of empathy or understanding of the feeling with other.  As I said, I think this was a brilliant concept of Erskine's.

So much of the book deals with the main character, Caitlin, trying to develop empathy for other with the help of a committed school counselor and a few off-beat, maybe/could-be friends.  But, of course, that is just the ploy; the real business of the book is for us, the readers, to develop empathy for people like Caitlin. Erskine puts us inside Caitlin's head, who dictates the whole book in first person, explaining not only what she says or does, but why she is saying or doing it.  It takes a little while to get into the thinking pattern, especially the verbal cues Caitlin thinks to herself to behave as she knows she is expected by the world to behave.  But it is definitely worth the effort, for once you figure out her system, it is a wonderful way to see why people that the world thinks act "crazy" are really behaving quite logically-within their own system.

There are a few other things that I appreciate about the book.  I love that it has an important tie-in with To Kill A Mockingbird, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  I like the ending, which is hopefully without a "happily ever after" context that doesn't fit the situation.  I like seeing schools making a difference to kids like Caitlin, and even overwhelmed teachers who might act like dunderheads, but can realize their mistakes, apologize, and try to do better.  The characters in this book are all quite easy to relate to:  flawed people doing their best under a bad situation.  They are people in progress, just as we all are, and they are at least moving in the right direction.

My one reservation, at least in terms of this blog, is the question, "Is this really a middle schoolers book?"  Again, I'm not sure.  But I'm inclined to think not, at least for the younger end of the spectrum.  Once again, the reading level is appropriate, especially since it is being narrated by a 5th grader, and middle schoolers can definitely relate to the context if not the specific situation.  On the other hand, it is a grim situation to pick up and read about.  I'll confess that I didn't want to read it, although now I'm so glad that I did.   And it does take a while to get inside Caitlin's world and understand what is going on through her perspective.  So maybe it will work for 13 or 14 year olds, but I think it is a bit mature for the 10-12 crowd.  My son read it, and he thought it was pretty good, although sad and sometimes confusing.  And since it is such a wonderful book, if the reader can really get into it, I would advise holding off with your children until you think they are ready to really benefit from it.

But as an adult, I found it a very powerful, enlightening, and uplifting book.  There is kind of a mantra in the book about making something "good and strong and beautiful."  I think that is exactly what Erskine has done with this book.

Hanukkah Book Review: The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

Tonight is the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.  While we aren't Jewish, we've just finished a three-month study of that religion, and it felt like we should acknowledge the holiday in some way (besides the fact that we're having potato latkes for dinner tonight).

One thing that really impressed me about the Jewish religion is the amount of focus they put on their holy book, the Torah.  That is, they really honor and celebrate the book itself, not just the wisdom it contains. So I thought, in honor of Hanukkah, I would spend the next eight nights on my blog reviewing books that I think brought light to the world in the past year.  They will probably be books we've been reading for my son's Mock Newbery Book Club, but we'll see what I come up with.

For tonight, the first night of Hanukkah, I am reviewing The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler.  This book is quite a lovely book.  It is a retelling of a fairy tale, and so it contains all sort of classic fairy tale elements--noble princes and beautiful princesses, witches good and evil, spells and enchantments, and even an invisibility cloak.  However, it is based on one of the lesser-known stories--the Grimm Brother's tale of The 12 Dancing Princesses.  This is a relatively later story (it is not thought to have been told earlier than the 17th century) and pretty much confined to Eastern Europe.  In the original version, the plot focuses on figuring out the "how"--how the 12 beautiful princesses wear out their shoes every night, even though they are locked in their bedrooms.  Zahler's version fleshes out the "why"--why do they spend every night dancing in a fantastical place beneath the lake by the castle.

The proceedings in this book are told by the "thirteenth princess," the outcast sister of the 12 dancers.  It falls to her to unravel the mystery of what is happening with her sisters, who are suffering much more dire consequences for their nightly sojourns.  She is helped in her efforts by a stout-hearted stable boy, a kindly witch, and a handsome soldier.  But the story is mainly hers, as she seeks to discover herself along with saving her sisters.

This is a great story for adaptation because it hasn't been done to death, and even the Grimm Brother's description of the enchanted lands are quite beautiful.  But in Zahler's words, the place becomes luminous, even though there are hints of a dark force behind the gorgeous veneer.  It deal with great themes for the early adolescent--the search for oneself, how one does and does not fit in with one's familiars or peers, how things that you've known since childhood may look different with viewed with maturing eyes, and, of course, the quest for true love and our personal "happily ever after."  And it contains a lesson that I repeat often to my son and my students:  that even good things--for example, love or parents' attempts to protect their children from harm--can go bad if taken to an extreme.

I enjoyed reading this book myself, but I think it is a great story for middle schoolers as well.