Genre 6: Holes

Holes by Louis Sachar
Dell Yearling, 1998
ISBN 0-440-41946-8

Summary:
A boy's bad luck (caused by his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather") lands him in a prison camp for wayward boys. As the boys dig holes in the desert for the warden, they begin to wonder if perhaps they are digging for more than character building. As the story flashes back and forth a hundred ten years, the reader begins to realize that Stanley Yelnats' "bad luck" may actually be an opportunity to change his destiny.

Critical Analysis:
Sachar manages to write an incredibly intricate story that spans several generations and two continents, although the reader does not begin to understand the twists and turns for several chapters. Little by little, he reels out history until it becomes obvious that the characters in the current story are offspring of ones in the history.
On one level, Holes is a story of a teenage boy who, through a combination of bad luck and bad choices, ends up facing death in the Texas desert. As Stanley struggles to save a friend, he comes to realize that he is not just a fat kid with no backbone; instead, he recognizes that he has strength, intelligence, and determination. In struggling to save his friend, Stanley also saves himself.
On another level, Stanley is correcting a flaw in destiny created by his great-great grandfather. It is not coincidence that "the great-great grandson of Elya Yelnats carried the great-great-great grandson of Madame Zeroni up the mountain." Each character in history leaves a legacy that somehow aids the two boys in repairing the flaw.
While the tale may not be particularly realistic, it's not meant to be. The reader simply gets lost in the story and waits anxiously to find out what unexpected turn the plot will make next.

Review Excerpts:
"Sachar has written an exceptionally funny, and heart-rending, shaggy dog story. . . . With its breadth and ambition, Holes may surprise a lot of Sachar fans, but it shouldn't. With his Wayside School stories and--this reviewer's favorite--the Marvin Redpost books, Sachar has shown himself a writer of humor and heart, with an instinctive aversion to the expected. Holes is filled with twists in the lane, moments when the action is happily going along only to turn toward somewhere else that you gradually, eventually, sometimes on the last page, realize was the truest destination all along. . . . We haven't seen a book with this much plot, so suspensefully and expertly deployed, in too long a time."

Roger Sutton, The Horn Book, September/October 1998, v. 74 no. 5

"Sachar has cunningly crafted his fiction, precisely placing snippets of historical backstory within the chronicle of Stanley's travails, so that the focus of the book is the coming together and resolving of the manifold strands of karma. . . . Sachar's dry, wry tone assists in making the book's aim something other than gritty realism; though there is indeed wicked villainy and triumphant virtue, the point is less the struggle of the individual characters than their place in the working out of the larger patterns."

Deborah Stevenson, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 1998, v. 52 no. 1

Connections:

• Calculate the volume of a 5-foot deep, 5-foot diameter hole
• Research poisonous animals that live in the deserts of the U.S.
• What is a palindrome? What other words, names, and phrases can you think of that are palindromes?
• What is destiny? Research the fates from classical mythology.

Genre 6: The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Houghton Mifflin, 1993
ISBN 0-395-64566-2

Summary:
In Jonas' world, life is controlled by strict rules and behavior codes, which makes life smooth and comfortable. His predictable life is upended, however, when he begins to see things his friends and family cannot. At his Ceremony of Twelves, he is named as the new Receiver thanks in part to this unusual gift. Jonas finds that beneath his community's peaceful exterior lie choices that will determine whether or not he will embrace the fullness of being human.

Critical Analysis:
Any teenager can identify with 11-year-old Jonas; he is at an age where life is changing rapidly and adult responsibility looms on the horizon. He just doesn't realize yet exactly how much his life is about to change.
No one can read The Giver without encountering new ideas about society, rules, choice, and contentment. The reader is forced to examine what it truly means to live and what the cost of freedom is.
Lowry employs foreshadowing masterfully and weaves tantalizing hints about Jonas' world into every chapter. Early in the book, Jonas notices that baby Gabriel's eyes--which are the same unusually light shade as his own--seem to have a depth "as if one were looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk which hadn't been discovered yet." This is a perfect description of Jonas himself, in whom important "things" certainly have not yet been discovered. The reader notices the community is different from our world early in the book, but the differences seem small at first. In fact, the reader can almost imagine this is a small, isolated town somewhere in middle America near the present time. Then small details emerge such as the single word in a line from Chapter 2: "But her father had already gone to the shelf and taken down the stuffed elephant which was kept there. Many of the comfort objects, like Lily's, were soft, stuffed imaginary creatures." The subtleness of the clue is what hooks readers. Why is the elephant considered imaginary? What happened to the elephants?
Of course, the reader is never given a definitive answer. In fact, part of the beauty (and for some readers, the frustration) of the novel is that Lowry allows the reader to take part in deciding what has happened. At the end of the story, after his long, heroic journey, Jonas begins to sled down a hill "with certainty and joy that below" was happiness. Lowry does not clarify if that happiness is in the physical world or perhaps after death. In her Newbery acceptance speech, Lowry herself says that anyone looking for the "right" ending will be disappointed, and that, in fact, there isn't one. She explains that "There's a right one for each of us, and it depends on our own beliefs, our own hopes.


Review Excerpts:
"In a complete departure from her other novels, Lowry has written an intriguing story. . . . The Giver, who passes on to Jonas the burden of being the holder for the community of all memory 'back and back and back,' teaches him the cost of living in an environment that is 'without color, pain, or past.' The tension leading up to the Ceremony, . . . and the drama and responsibility of the sessions with The Giver are gripping. The final flight for survival is as riveting as it is inevitable. The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time."

Amy Kellman, School Library Journal, May 1993, v. 39

"The future society in which Jonas lives is benevolently, but totally, controlled. Babies are birthed by anonymous Birthmothers. . . . Sex is repressed, thanks to a pill. . . . Vocations are assigned by the Committee of Elders when each child reaches the age of twelve. While all these strictures are staples of science fiction, author Lowry, new to the genre, must be credited for the calm simplicity with which she describes Jonas' community. . . . The novel takes a didactic turn when Jonas, through the elderly Giver, begins to receive memories of colors, Christmas, family warmth and deep unhappiness. All these losses have already been implicitly rendered, and spelling them out turns story into sermon. . . . Lowry could go a lot further with the intriguingly cool world she has created, but the present novel feels too much like a scene-setting introduction."

Roger Sutton, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 1993, v. 46

Connections:

• Have students make a list of actions for which they have complete choice, no choice (must follow rules), and partial choice. Then discuss whether or not any choice is complete or any rule is foolproof. What makes people decide to follow rules or not?
• Research the utopia movement of the 19th century. Why did most of the communities fail? Why did communities such as the Oneida and Amana succeed?
• Have students design their own utopian communities, complete with a community philosophy, map, and laws.
• Examine how Lowry's prose style changes from the beginning of the book to the end. Why do you think her sentence structure and description change?
• What is an allusion? Why did Lois Lowry choose an apple as the first object Jonas could "see beyond"? To what story might the apple connect?
• Respond to the story's ending. What do you think happened? If you were to write the next chapter, what would happen?
• How is The Giver a hero's journey? What elements of the hero's journey can you identify?
• Compare The Giver to The Last Book in the Universe. In what ways are Jonas and Spaz' quests similar?

Genre 6: The First Part Last

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Simon and Schuster, 2003
ISBN 0-689-84922-2

Summary:
This story of teenage pregnancy is told by the 16-year-old father, Bobby, who gropes his way through the very adult responsibility of taking care of his baby. He experiences the joy of loving someone completely as well as the confinement of caring for someone who is so dependent.

Critical Analysis:
Angela Johnson twists the expected teenage pregnancy book by writing from the often overlooked male perspective. Although Bobby does not actually carry the baby for nine months, his relatively carefree world changes along with that of his girlfriend.
The story is told in alternating past and present chapters, allowing the reader to see Bobby's present parenting unfold while being held in suspense about the past: Where is the baby's mother? Why didn't the teens put the baby up for adoption? Why is this boy raising his child?
The story addresses the day-to-day reality of parenthood. Bobby laments, "I should have scoped how the day was going when Feather puked on me just as I picked her up out of her crib this morning." Every parent can relate to Bobby's having "about twenty minutes' sleep in the last three days" when caring for an infant. While Bobby clearly loves his daughter, no young reader will mistake parenthood for an easy job after reading this book.
Of course, along with the misery, Bobby experiences the joy of loving someone who is an actual part of himself. The reader can feel the depth of his bond with his daughter when he describes the end of a long day: "Afterward I always kiss her, my baby, and look into her clear eyes that know everything about me, and want me to be her daddy anyway."
The story is told in a believable manner for teens. In addition to being a dad, Bobby is a typical teenager who deals with parents, school, friends, love, loss, and his own uncertainty about the future.
In Chapter One, Bobby muses,

"I've been thinking about it. Everything. And when Feather opens her eyes and looks up at me, I already know there's a change. But I figure if the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They'd be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end.
Then everybody could end life on their mamma or daddy's stomach in a warm room, waiting for the soft morning light."

Although Bobby's rights of passage are more harsh than those of the average teen, he does grow wiser with experience, a feat any story's hero might hope to accomplish.

Review Excerpts:
"There's no romanticizing. The exhaustion is real, and Bobby gets in trouble with the police and nearly messes up everything. But from the first page, readers feel the physical reality of Bobby's new world: what it's like to hold Feather on his stomach, smell her skin, touch her clenched fists, feel her shiver, and kiss the top of her curly head. Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short, spare sentences that teens will read again and again."

Hazel Rochman, Booklist, September 1 2003, v.100, no. 1

"The story is deepened by realistic portrayals of Bobby's loving but tough mother, who refuses to raise her son's child, and his softer, more forgiving father, but mostly it's the unfolding tale of Bobby and Feather as he tries to find the best way to raise his child, remember her mother, and live his life."

Deborah Stevenson, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2003, v. 57 no. 1

Connections:

• Have students brainstorm what they know about caring for a baby. Calculate how much time a day is needed to care for a newborn baby.
• Research statistics about teen pregnancy in the U.S. How have the numbers changed over the past ten years?
• Research the medical dangers to teenage mothers and their babies.
• Compare this book to more typical teenage pregnancy stories told from the mother's point of view.
• Respond to the way Bobby's mother does not take on the role of caring for Feather. Why do you think she does this? Do you think she's making a wise choice?

Genre 5: Good Queen Bess

Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema, illustrated by Diane Stanley
Four Winds Press, 1990
ISBN 0-02-786810-9

Summary:
Stanley and Vennema give a brief factual account of the life and reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England from 1558 to 1603.

Critical Analysis:
Although the beautifully illustrated biography of Elizabeth I is brief, the authors discuss the queen's talents, tricks, and influences in addition to the expected milestones, even if some of her more interesting exploits are left out. Elizabeth is portrayed as a person with hopes, disappointments, love, faith, enemies, and intelligence.
One of Elizabeth's failures is discussed throughout the biography: her lack of heirs. The authors include discussion about Elizabeth's reasons to avoid marriage and how expectations of marriage influenced her rule. Stanley relates that Philip II of Spain offered to "relieve her of those labors which are only fit for men," presumably ruling her country. The other topic discussed throughout the biography is the influence of religion on Elizabeth, her enemies, and other European rulers. Clearly, marriage (or lack thereof) and religion were tremendous pressures during her entire rule.
The events and achievements in the biography show Elizabeth to be a resourceful pioneer; few men ruled as successfully as she did in a time when women were considered weak and inferior.
The overarching statement in the biography was not made by the authors, however, but by the queen herself: "Though you have had--and may have--many mightier and wiser princes sitting in this seat, yet you never had--nor shall have--any that will love you better." This love for her people is clearly why she is remembered as "Good Queen Bess."

Review Excerpts:
"This biography of Queen Elizabeth I does an excellent job of describing the context of her life so that reasons for many of her actions become clear. The resulting depth is a pleasant surprise and will give the book a wide audience. . . . {The text} informs on many aspects of Elizabeth's life: her childhood, how she became queen, what the political climates were that shaped her strategies and decision making, and who the key players were in her life."

Denise Wilms, BookList, September 1 1990, v. 87

"The book accurately describes the history, costume and culture of the Elizabethan era. Sadly, however, it does little to capture the spirit of this extraordinary queen. . . . This book devotes little space to her childhood. . . . The majority of the tale, devoted to Elizabeth's reign, . . . {is} a well-researched story of her magnificent statecraft, but the grandeur never materializes. Perhaps the book's most disturbing failure is also its most striking feature: the numerous and elaborate illustrations, all based on contemporary court portraits and engravings. . . . {Ms. Stanley} carefully conveys the pageantry of royal life without reflecting any of its liveliness."

Marianne Partridge, The New York Times Book Review, March 17 1991

Connections:

• Read biographies of other rulers from that time period. What are some similar problems they faced? How do their successes match with those of Elizabeth?
• Research the fashions, music, architecture, and art of the period.
• Create a family tree for Elizabeth showing her relationship to Mary and Jane Grey.
• Read excerpts from Shakespeare's plays. What attitudes toward women are apparent in his writing? What attitudes about religion?

Genre 5: Crispin The Cross of Lead

Crispin the Cross of Lead by Avi
Hyperion Books, 2002
ISBN 0-7868-0828-4

Summary:
A boy with no name of his own living in 14th-Century loses his mother. Following her death, he discovers his real name, Crispin, and is declared "Wolf's Head," the medieval version of "Wanted: Dead or Alive." His only option is to leave his village, a dangerous proposition for a boy with no family, no trade, no money, and no idea where to go. He is claimed as a servant by a traveling entertainer, and while his new master may seem harsh at times, he is also a protector who eventually helps Crispin claim his own freedom.

Critical Analysis:
While the draw of this book is firmly rooted in characterization, vivid details of daily living in 14th-Century England make the characters seem realistic. Crispin's first glimpse of a real city astonishes him:

"Pressing in on the crowded, narrow streets were looming walls of close-built buildings, structures two, sometimes three stories high, with slate, not thatch, roofs. These houses were, for the most part, built of timber beams with pale mortar filling in between the wood."

This is a far cry from his native village where doorless thatched huts house people on one side and livestock on the other, and the reader can imagine how engrossed a young boy would be by all the new sights and sounds.
Plot events are also dependent on a historical setting. When Bear claims Crispin as a servant, a modern reader's response might be indignation. People can't simply "claim" other people! However, Avi has already set the scene by introducing the medieval idea of loyalty to a lord, even a bad one, as well as the idea that peasants --especially young ones-- have no rights.
Even as a servant, Crispin's character is interesting because he is constantly growing. He learns the art of entertaining with music and dance at the same time he is uncovering clues about his past, which, from the earliest chapters, is clearly more complex than it might appear on the surface. The child who at one time is resigned to his peasant fate eventually figures out his past and grows to claim his own freedom.
Avi combines three staples of engrossing young adult fiction--mystery, action, and friendship--to create a book that children and adults of all ages can enjoy.

Review Excerpts:
Avi conjures the atmosphere of the medieval English landscape by concentrating on that world's physical details (especially the smells), yet it's also clear from Crispin's narration, wherein he constantly defers to the will of God, the overwhelming role that religion played in the life of the medieval peasant. The pace is quick, and the boy's change from cowed serf to courageous hero is logical and believable.

Janice M. Del Negro, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2002, v.56, no. 2

"Avi writes a fast-paced, action-packed adventure comfortably submerged in its fourteenth-century setting, giving Crispin a realistic medieval worldview even while subverting it with Bear's revolutionary arguments. . . . From Crispin's initial religious dependence and inability to meet others' eyes to his eventual choice of his own path and freedom, the theme of self-determination is carried lightly, giving this quick, easily digested thriller just the right amount of heft."

Anita L. Burkam, The Horn Book, September/October 2002, v. 78 no. 5

Connections:

• Research various aspects of 14th-Century English life: religion, food, architecture, government, or weaponry.
• Compare life in 14th-Century England to historical fiction about life elsewhere during the same time period (example: A Single Shard).
• Create models of the village or the city; create costumes for various characters.
• Discuss the themes of oppression and freedom across the centuries. Why do people always seek freedom, even when it involves risk?

Genre 5: Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Delacorte Press, 1999
ISBN 0-385-32306-9

Summary:
A ten-year-old orphan boy sets out on a quest to find his father after fleeing an abusive foster home. To make matters worse, he is black trying to survive in a society that considers him a second-class citizen during the middle of the Great Depression. Using a few clues left to him by his mother, Bud (whose mother always told him not to let people call him Buddy, a "dog's name") goes on the lam, trying to reach the man he believes to be his father without getting sent back to the orphanage.


Critical Analysis:
Christopher Paul Curtis uses a combination of research and family history to write Bud, Not Buddy. Although two of the characters are based on his grandfathers, Curtis admits he did not pay enough attention to "those boring old tales" told by family members, so much of his information about the Depression was accumulated through research.
He accurately portrays both the hardships of the Great Depression and the kindnesses extended by those who often did not have much to share. In Chapter 6, Bud faces the reality of going hungry when he is denied access to a breakfast bread line, but a hungry family pretends he belongs to them so he can eat despite the fact that they are risking their own place in line. Later in the book, homeless people in "Hooverville" offer Bud dinner and a place to sleep shortly before police raid and destroy the makeshift town. Throughout the book, Bud experiences both the worst and the best in people around him.
Even though Bud's plight seems grim at times, Curtis tells his story with a sense of humor. Early in the story, Bud explains that being six years old is tough. He uses losing teeth as an example. He says that you discover a loose tooth when you wake up one day, and when the tooth falls out, adults tell you it's "normal."

"You can't be too sure, though, 'cause it shakes you up a whole lot more than grown folks think it does when perfectly good parts of your body commence to loosening up and falling off of you.
Unless you're as stupid as a lamppost you've got to wonder what's coming off next, your arm? Your leg? Your neck?"

Of course, there is a sad counterpoint to his humor. Bud goes on to say, "Six is real tough. That's how old I was when I came to live here in the Home. That's how old I was when Momma died."

Bud eventually reaches the man he believes is his father, and clues Curtis has planted throughout the story begin to come together until Bud finds his true identity.


Review Excerpts:
"This is an Oliver Twist kind of foundling story, but it's told with affectionate comedy. . . . Told in the boy's naive, desperate voice, with lots of examples of his survival tactics, . . . this will make a great read-aloud. Curtis says in an afterword that some of the characters are based on real people, including his own grandfathers, so it's not surprising that the rich blend of tall tale, slapstick, sorrow, and sweetness has the wry, teasing warmth of family folklore."

Hazel Rochman, BookList, September 1 1999, v. 96 no. 1

"{This} book is a gem, of value to all ages, not just the young people to whom it is aimed. . . . In a time when it is all too easy to misread the signs of a child's yearning to belong, 'Bud, not Buddy' reminds us with great humor and grace what a difference connectedness makes."

Trudy C. Palmer, The Christian Science Monitor, September 23, 1999, v. 91 no. 209

Connections:

A Newbery Medal Winner, Coretta Scott King Award

Pair Bud, Not Buddy with a variety of other books about children who grow up during the Depression or children who face racism.

Research the Big Band era and bandleaders.

Research early labor unions.

Have students draw and cut out items that would symbolize their lives to "pack" in paper suitcases.

Listen to a recording of all or part of the story and discuss how the dialog is written.

Genre 4: An American Plague

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy
Clarion Books, 2003
ISBN 0-395-77608-2

Summary:
Jim Murphy paints a vivid portrait of epidemic-ridden 18th-century Philadelphia using excerpts from journals, newspaper articles, medical records, public records, church records, and personal letters.

Critical Analysis:
After reading the juvenile book An American Plague, I cannot think of any reason I would ever want to read an adult informational book about the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 unless I decide to attend medical school in the future. Jim Murphy's thirteen pages of sources for yellow fever research attest to the detail with which he researched his 165-page book. Murphy pulls from personal and public documents as diverse as newspaper articles, journals, church records, and 18th-century medical books. His research even lead him to visit Mutter Museum for Infectious Diseases, supported by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a group whose predecessors battled the fever and fought over possible cures and causes.
Besides presenting an enormous amount of information about the epidemic and societal attitudes of the times, Murphy manages to make the account read more like a novel than a typical non-fiction book. In the opening of chapter two, Murphy writes

"It was clear that thirty-three-year-old Catherine LeMaigre was dying, and dying horribly and painfully. Between agonized gasps and groans she muttered that her stomach felt as if it were burning up. Every ten minutes or so her moaning would stop abruptly and she would vomit a foul black bile."

With an introduction like that, who wouldn't be tempted to continue reading?
Where possible, Murphy lets the witnesses' words speak for themselves. When groups of physicians square off against each other defending their respective "cures" for yellow fever, Murphy does not need to point out the intensity of the rivalry. Instead, he lets Dr. Adam Kuhn's own words express the depth of his dislike for Dr. Benjamin Rush: "He, I say, is a scourge more fatal to the human kind than the plague itself would be."
Throughout the book, readers see the impact the fever had on the city, everyday residents, and both local and national leaders. Along with the victims, readers are also introduced to heroes from the expected (College of Physicians) to the unknown (Free African Society).
In addition to engaging, information-rich text, Murphy includes line drawings, maps, and engravings to help tell the story. Interestingly, hardly any art exists from the actual epidemic in Philadelphia, although the author is able to use related historical images to give readers an idea of what life during those times would have been like.

Lest anyone think history might not relate to modern life, the last chapter of the book explains how the U.S. is currently poised for another yellow fever epidemic. Since we have not been able to eradicate the mosquitoes that spread the disease, we have not manufactured the vaccine in years, and there is still no cure for yellow fever, we may be more connected to those souls in Philadelphia than we realize.

Review Excerpts:
"History, science, politics, and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation's capital more than 200 years ago. Drawing on firsthand accounts, medical and non-medical, Murphy re-creates the fear and panic in the infected city, the social conditions that caused the disease to spread, and the arguments about causes and cures. With archival prints, photos, contemporary newspaper facsimiles that include lists of the dead, and full, chatty source notes, he tells of those who fled and those who stayed--among them, the heroic group of free blacks who nursed the ill and were later vilified for their work."

Hazel Rochman, BookList, June 1, 2003

"Murphy injects the events with immediacy through his profiles of key players, such as local doctors who engaged in fierce debates as to the cause, treatment and nature of the "unmerciful enemy"—among them the famous Benjamin Rush. The text documents many acts of heroism, including the Free African Society's contributions of food, medicine and home care: the Society was rewarded afterwards only with injustice. Archival photographs and facsimiles of documents bring the story to life, and a list of further reading points those interested in learning more in the right direction. This comprehensive history of the outbreak and its aftermath lays out the disputes within the medical community and, as there is still no cure, offers a cautionary note."

Publishers Weekly, March 10, 2003

Connections:

• A Newbery Honor Book; National Book Award finalist; The Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
• Read An American Plague as a companion to the historical novel Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, possibly alternating a chapter of the novel with a chapter of the informational book.
• Research other plagues in history and how they affected society.
• Research the Free African Society of Philadelphia.
• Access the web sites for the Centers for Disease Control or the World Health Organization to find out what current epidemics are affecting the globe and what precautions they advise.