HOW I LIVE NOW

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rosoff, Meg. 2004. HOW I LIVE NOW. New York, New York: Random House.
ISBN 0385746776

PLOT SUMMARY
Daisy, the narrator of the story, is a 15 year old girl from New York who goes to London, England to visit her aunt and four cousins (Osbert, the eldest, Isaac and Edmond twins, and Piper, the youngest and only girl) and get away from her widowed father and pregnant girlfriend. Instantly upon arriving she feels a connection with her 14 year old cousin Edmond and they are able to read each other's minds. A few days later her aunt, Aunt Penn, leaves to attend a conference in Oslo when a bomb goes off in London which prevents her from returning home. At first the children don't mind because they enjoy not having any adults around. This also allows the relationship between Daisy and Edmond to blossom which turns into incest and sex on a regular, almost daily, sometimes more than once a day, basis.

Eventually war breaks out and the army comes and takes over their house to use in the war effort. Osbert enlists with the Army, Isaac and Edmond are sent off to live in another town, and Daisy and Piper and their dog Jet are sent to live in another town in the opposite direction of their home and the others to live with an army major (Major McEvoy) and his family. The government in order to keep everyone in their homes and not out asking questions or comparing notes tell the country that there is a smallpox epidemic. Daisy and Piper decide that they want to be useful so they tell Major McEvoy that they can train their dog Jett through a whistle that Piper produces. She becomes very useful to the army while Daisy learns to shoot a gun and then eventually along with several others become the crop gatherers. Daisy at one point tells the reader "I spent some of my endless hours of leisure learning to shoot a gun, which I thought might come in handy someday, if not in the war then back on the streets of New York."

One night while coming home from a long day's work one of the workers named Joe "loses" it and starts yelling obscenities at a guard. The guard very nonchalantly shoots him in the head. As Major McEvoy gets out to assist him he too is shot and left for dead. The truck continues on the McEvoy's farm where Daisy, Piper, Mrs. McEvoy, and her youngest son decide it is no longer safe to stay there after learning that the enemy army is going from home to home and shooting anyone that they do not like. In the confusion and haste their dog Jet gets left behind. They travel to a nearby farm where other families are staying in a barn with many soliders.

After staying there for awhile Daisy realizes that it is no longer safe to stay there and that she made a promise to Piper to reunite her with her family. She discusses her plan with one of the soliders she trusts, Baz, and after formulating her plan she and Piper set off in the dead of night. "And as we walked along and the noises of guns got to sound like little pops I told her about knowing where Isaac and Edmond were staying and having a map and talking to Baz about my plan and pumping every solider in the barn for clues on how to survive in the wild." They travel by night and sleep/hide during the day, eating the few provisions that Baz prepared for them and eating edible plants they find. They finally reach the river that runs behind Piper's family farm and realize that they are getting closer to home.

The first farm they come to has a pack of wolves devouring seventeen human bodies. Daisy makes a futile attempt to try and shoo them away but realizes eventually that they ignore her and decides it is best to move on. They finally reach Piper's farm and retreat to the lambing barn since it is secluded and does not appear to have been disturbed. Shortly there after they hear a noise and suddenly Jet appears out of nowhere. Daisy and Piper eventually make their way to the farmhouse to check it out and end up taking baths and finding some of their own clothes to put on. One day when they are in the farmhouse the phone rings and Daisy answers it not recognizing the voice on the other end at first. The story ends here and then continues as chapter one of the epilogue.

The epilogue opens with Daisy having spent some time in a mental hospital and upon release decides to live by herself instead of with her father and his new family. One day a letter arrives from Piper and after Daisy musters up the courage to open it she realizes that her home and famiy are in England. Once arriving there she catches up on what has been happening with the others since they last spoke and learns that Aunt Penn died shortly after reaching Oslo while attempting to return to the farm and the children. The others appear to be fine except for Edmond who is withdrawn and does not speak verbally or telepathically. Through Daisy's determination and patience she breaks through to Edmond and realizes that this is where she belongs and will live the rest of her life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
HOW I LIVE NOW won the Michael Printz Award in 2005. The Michael Printz award is given annually starting in 2000 to the author that writes the best quality book for young adults that year. For more information on the Michael Printz Award check out this website http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/Printz.cfm.

This novel is contemporary realistic fiction. There are several criteria that determine if this type of genre is well written or not. One of the elements that must be evident in the story is characterization which must contain believable characters that act like real people, realism that is factual, situational, emotional, and social, and must avoid the typical stereotyping of males and females. Another requirement is that the plot must be credible, have events that are true-to-life, and avoid coincidence and pat endings, but have hopeful, if not a happy resolution. The setting must be believable and contemporary. And finally, the theme must include topics that are timely and relevant, have a personal resonance for the young adult reader, and avoid didacticism, the story must not be overpowered by the theme.

The characters in HOW I LIVE NOW are indeed believable and they deal with situations that young adults of today are faced with. For example, Daisy and Edmond act on their impulses instead of thinking things through (using their brains instead of their "needs") when they commit incest. An example of how these two were acting on their impulses are "two people who were too young and too related could start kissing without anything or anyone making us stop. There were no parents, no teachers, no schedules. There was nowhere to go or nothing to do that would remind us that this sort of thing didn't happen in the Real World. ....For a while Edmond and I pretended that what was happening between us was totally reversible." Many teens of today either think about having this type of relationship or are in this type of relationship and have convinced themselves that there is nothing wrong with it, have "blocked out" the real world that include the people who would tell them that this is not a good situation to be in , and think that the relationship is forever and if it is not that they can undo what they have done.

Rosoff shows her skill when it comes to the plot being credible, having events that are true-to-life, and avoiding coincidence and pat endings, but instead having a hopeful, if not a happy ending. Daisy tells the reader at the end of the story, "I know all about those conditions, only this time they're outside of me. And anyway, fighting back is whiat I've discovered I do best. After all this time, I know exactly where I belong. Here. With Edmond. And that's how I live now."

In a contemporary realistic fiction novel the setting must be believable and contemporary. If the reader has done any previous exposure to what life is like during war times then they can see with a few updates that this could be the modern version of World War II. If the reader has not read anything previously about wars they can conceptualize that the ways things were in the book could indeed really happen. "The kitchen was the worst and I guess even army guys like to spend lots of time in the kitchen and the big table was covered with heaps of paper. There were maps drawn on the wall and no food except what I'd found in the pantry that first day Piper and I went to check the barn next door there was no sign of the chickens or sheep or any other animals..."

Finally, Rosoff's theme includes topics that are timely and relevant, have a personal resonance for the young adult reader, and avoid didacticism, the story is not overpowered by the theme. When Daisy is speaking about her giving up the hunger strike that she began in New York she states, "...I wouldn't be good old Daisy if I didn't get my appetite back just when everyone else in the world was learning how to starve, and partly the idea of wanting to be thin in a world full of people dying from lack of food struck even me as stupid."

REVIEW EXCERPT
School Library Journal:"This Printz award winner is a good choice for book discussions as it considers the disruption of war both physically and emotionally and should be on every high school and public library shelf."

CONNECTIONS
Some other books that deal with issues that confront young adults are:
Hautman, Pete. GODLESS. ISBN 1416908161
Marchetta, Melina. SAVING FRANCESCA. ISBN 0375829822
Rosoff, Meg. JUST IN CASE. ISBN 0385746784
Lynch, Chris. INEXCUSABLE. ISBN 1416939725

The other Printz Award and Honor books since 2000 until the posting of this review are:
2007
Winner:

Yang, Gene Luen. AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. ISBN 1596433736

Honor Books:
Anderson, M. T. THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION; v. 1: THE POX PARTY. ISBN 0763624020

Green, John. AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES. ISBN 0525476881

Hartnett, Sonya. SURRENDER. ISBN 0763634239

Zusak, Markus. THE BOOK THIEF. ISBN 0375842209

2006
Winner:
Green, John. LOOKING FOR ALASKA. ISBN 0525475060

Honor Books:
Lanagan, Margo. BLACK JUICE. ISBN 0060743921

Zusak, Markus. I AM THE MESSENGER. ISBN 0375836675
Partridge, Elizabeth. JOHN LENNON: ALL I WANT IS THE TRUTH, A PHOTOGRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY. ISBN 0670059544

Nelson, Marilyn. A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL. ISBN 0618397523

2005
Winner:

Rosoff, Meg. HOW I LIVE NOW. ISBN 0385746776
Honor Books:
Oppel, Kenneth. AIRBORN. ISBN 0060531800
Stratton, Allan. CHANDA'S SECRETS. ISBN 1550378341

Schmidt, Gary D. LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY. ISBN 0553494953

2004
Winner:
Johnson, Angela. THE FIRST PART LAST. ISBN 0689849230

Honor Books:
Donnelly, Jennifer. A NORTHERN LIGHT. ISBN 0152053107

Frost, Helen. KEESHA'S HOUSE. ISBN 0374400121

Going, K. L. FAT KID RULES THE WORLD. ISBN 0142402087

Mackler, Carolyn. THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS. ISBN 1844282937

2003
Winner:
Chambers, Aidan. POSTCARDS FROM NO MAN'S LAND. ISBN 1862302847
Honor Books:
Farmer, Nancy. THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION. ISBN 0689852231
Freymann-Weyr, Garret. MY HEARTBEAT. ISBN 0618141812

Gantos, Jack. HOLE IN MY LIFE. ISBN 0099475871

2002
Winner:
Na, An. A STEP FROM HEAVEN. ISBN 060627412X
Honor Books:
Dickinson, Peter. THE ROPEMAKER. ISBN 0385730632

Abrams, Jan Greenberg. HEART TO HEART: NEW POEMS INSPIRED BY TWENIETH-CENTURY AMERICAN ART. ISBN 0810943867

Lynch, Chris. FREEWILL. ISBN 0747562660
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. TRUE BELIEVER. ISBN 0571207022

2001
Winner:
Almond, David. KIT'S WILDERNESS. ISBN 0340883502
Honor Books:
Coman, Carolyn. MANY STONES. ISBN 0330399179
Plum-Ucci, Carol. THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED. ISBN 0606225692
Rennison, Louise. ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL FRONTAL SNOGGING: CONFESSIONS OF GEORGIA NICOLSON. ISBN 0060521848

Trueman, Terry. STUCK IN NEUTRAL. ISBN 0064472132

2000
Winner:
Myers, Walter Dean. MONSTER. ISBN 0064407314

Honor Books:
Almond, David. SKILLIG. ISBN 0440229081
Anderson, Laurie Halse. SPEAK. ISBN 0844672920
Wittlinger, Ellen. HARD LOVE. ISBN 0689872577

Other ways to connect and extend the book:

1)Have students create a database in which after they have read several of the above mentioned books they collect and organize facts comparing information for patterns. This would probably work best if the students input the data at the conclusion of each book instead of waiting until after they read two or more in order to make sure that the information is fresh in their memories.

2)Have the students create new art to advertise the book and add a compelling blurb to draw readers in.

3)Have the students design a postage stamp with a three paragraph (or more if preferred) essay describing why the subject was important enough to deserve a commemorative stamp.

4)Have the students create a playable game based upon the book and then host a game time in which their fellow classmates actually play the game.

THE GIVER

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. 1993. THE GIVER. New York, New York: Random House. ISBN 0440237688


PLOT SUMMARY
This is a modern fantasy novel about a 12 year old boy named Jonah that becomes the Receiver of all memories. Jonas and the people that live in his community live in a world that is void of "life" and beauty. Their world has no color, noone has any feelings and no memories. Everyone is assigned a lifetime job at the age of 12 based upon a high-ranking committee that decides after observing the children for the past 11 years what they are best at. In fact one of the most "lowly" jobs that is only great for three years before the glamour is gone is the "career" of birthmother.

Several women are "chosen" to be birthmothers who produce all the children that are born into this society. Once the children are born they are sent to the Nurturing Center where they are nurtured and observed to make sure that they are healthy and if not are disposed of. The "releasing",as it is called, is done by inserting a hyperdermic needle filled with a fluid that causes instant death into the skull of the baby. A child does not receive its name until December, no matter when during that year it is born. This is also the time when it is decided which set of parents get the child, provided that they do not already have one boy and one girl. This same procedure of eliminating the "useless" is used on anyone that is deemed unfit to continue in this society--the old, sick, weak, the smaller of a set of newborn twins. The only difference being is that if the person is old enough the injection is made into a vein in the arm instead of the head.

Everyone's life is very structured and any rule-breaking or disrespect of any kind is dealt with in a harsh manner. Obedience to the rules, each other, and elders is begun as soon as a child is able to start walking. If the child does not "perform" correctly he/she is swatted with a switch. Noone is allowed to talk about any personal matters or ask questions and people automatically ask for forgiveness and the apology is accepted for any offensive words or deeds such as being late for school. Here is one example of a pilot making a simple mistake and for this bringing death upon himself-"...a Pilot-in-Training had misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn. Desperately the Pilot had been trying to make his way back before his error was noticed. NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED, the voice had said, followed by silence."

Jonas is excused from the rules governing the others and may ask any question of anyone at any time because of his status as the Receiver. He meets with the Giver, the one that holds all of the memories for their society, to have all of the memories, good and bad, passed on to him before the old man is sent to Elsewhere. Elsewhere is the term for where people are sent once they are no longer of any use and therefore disposed of. During the year that Jonas spends after school with the Giver he learns all about the secret life of the society that he lives in and also realizes that the boy child, Gabriel, that his father has been allowed to bring home to try and nurture, a far cry from the norm, that he too has "the gift." The gift being that he too can see colors and "retain memories."

Jonas soon comes to realize that he can no longer live life as he has known it for the past 12 years of his life so as agonizing as it is he knows he must leave his community and take Garbriel with him because both will be killed if they do not flee--Jonas for not following the "rules" of his chosen career and Gabriel for having the gift of memories. After traveling by bicycle for many days Jonas finally arrives in Elsewhere as it was seen in one of his dreams that the Giver had passed to him. And as the story ends the reader cannot help but wonder what awaits these two at the bottom of the hill--at a house filled with people awaiting the arrival of Christmas.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Lowry has written many books and in THE GIVER she again demonstrates that her "gift" is writing. A well-written modern fantasy must demonstrate the following: a plot that is believable, internally consistent, original, and creative; a setting that provides enugh description to help the reader visualize the surroundings; characters that the reader can identify with, characters that are credible and multi-dimensional; a theme that transcends time and place; and the style of language should be appropriate for the story and do just the right amount of explaining with a clear and consistent point of view that encourages the reader to believe in the fantasy world.

The plot of THE GIVER is believable eventhough it is a fantasy world. There is a community, people, "typical" roles as far as family units go. The protagonist, Jonas, has to obey rules and be respectful to others and his elders, many of the same things that all parents want and expect of their children. Teenagers also experience "growing pains" much as Jonah does, wanting to fit in while at the same time struggling to make up his own mind about what is right and what is wrong. "Now Jonas had a thought that he had never had before. This new thought was frightening. What if others--adults--had, upon becoming Twelves, received in their instructions the same terrifying sentence? What if they had all been instructed: You may lie? His mind reeled. Now, empowered to ask questions of utmost rudeness--and promised answers--he could, conceivably (though it was almost unimaginable), ask someone, some adult, his father perhaps:"Do you lie?" But he would have no way of knowing if the answer he received was true."

When it comes to the setting Lowry provides details that allow the reader to know that this could be a real place. The people, adults included, ride bicycles, they eat real food, colorless though it may be, and the people go to school and to work every day. The children are also required to do volunteer work and eventhough this is not a requirement in all families the reader does know what it means to volunteer. "Jonas rode at a leisurely pace, glancing at the bikeports beside the buildings to see if he could spot Asher's. He didn't often do his volunteer hours with his friend because Asher frequently fooled around and made serious work a little difficult."

Jonas and the other characters are people that the reader can relate to and feel for them as obstacles arise in their lives, eventhough these people are not allowed to express any bad feelings nor love. In one part of the book Jonas' sister Lily is talking about her day. "I felt very angry this afternoon," Lily announced. "My Childcare group was at the play area, and we had a visiting group of Sevens, and they didn't obey the rules at all. One of them--a male; I don't know his name--kept going right to the front of the line for the slide, even though the rest of us were all waiting. I felt so angry at him. I made my hand into a fist, like this." She held up a clenched fist and the rest of the family smiled at her small defiant gesture."

The theme of Lowry's book reflects universal truths that transcend time and place. "Giver," Jonas suggested, "you and I don't need to care about the rest of them." "The Giver looked at him with a questioning smile. Jonas hung his head. Of course they needed to care. It was the meaning of everything."...."And you have the courage. I will help you to have the strength."...But he felt a very deep sadness that he had left his closest friend behind." Later in the story Jonas "robbed the community of food: a very serious crime, even though what he had taken was left-overs, set out on the dwelling doorsteps for collection."

Lowry's style of writing uses language that sounds much like the way real people talk and think. She has the reader believing in the story eventhough it is a work of fiction. She draws the reader in from the very first page. "It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overfown the community twice. He had seen it both times. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet, almost a blur at its high speed, go passt, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. Then one more time, a moment later, from the opposite direction, the same plane." Even a reader that does not normally read modern fantasy will be drawn in to the story and not be able to put it down until the last word has been read.

REVIEW EXCERPT
School Library Journal:"This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time."

CONNECTIONS
A few other books by Lois Lowry that are modern fantasy include:

GATHERING BLUE. ISBN 0385732562

MESSENGER. ISBN 0385732538

GOSSAMER. ISBN 0385734166

Other ways to stretch the learning after reading the book include:

1)Have the students write the next chapter. The book ends with "... and all at once he could see lights, and he recognized them now. He knew they were shining through the windows of rooms, that they were the red, blue, and yellow lights that twinkled from trees in places where families created and kept memories, where they celebrated love. ....Suddenly he was aware with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting, too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing."

2)Pretend that in the community Jonas and Gabriel left behind that it is ok to choose a new Receiver. Have the students create an advertising campaign promoting their character of choice from the remainder of characters still there.

3)Have students write a letter as if they were one of Jonas' family or friends and in the letter share deep thoughts and describe what life is like for the people that are still living in the community.

JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gantos, Jack. 2000. JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0374399891

PLOT SUMMARY
Joey Pigza is a 10 year old boy who has lived with this mother most of his life. His father has been non-existent in his life since shortly after his birth. The summer after he turns 10 Joey decides that he wants to visit and get to know his father. His mother is apprehensive about it but agrees to let him go so that he can draw his own conclusions about why his father has not played a role in his life all these years. Joey brings along his constant companion, Pablo, his Chihuahua, to also spend the summer with him at his father and grandmother's house.

Joey uses a patch to control his ADHD which his father shortly after arriving flushes all the remaining patches down the toilet. Joey's father claims that he does not need them and then if Joey would only try hard he can control his actions. This is an interesting comment on the part of the father because he "self-medicates" himself all the time with alcohol, always claiming that he controls the alcohol not the other way around.

Joey's father lives with his mother (Joey's grandmother) who at one time had lived with Joey and his mother. She recalls the times that she spent with Joey and his mother and even though she never comes out and admits it she deep down inside regrets trading that stable environment for the one she lives in now. She is a chain smoker and uses an oxygen machine and is dependent on others to transport her and do many things for her that she can no longer do for herself.

At first Joey is happy to have the patch removed and convinces himself temporarily that he can do just fine without his patches but as the summer wears own he starts to realize that he needs his medication to be able to function and begins to realize that his father believes that the only way that he himself can function is by having his daily doses of beer.

After suffering the effects of his father's low self-esteem Joey flees to the local mall where he makes a desperate and pleading telephone call to his mother to come and rescue him from this place he once thought that he wanted to be a part of. The story ends with Joey's mom picking him and Pablo up leaving all of Joey's other possessions that he brought with him for the summer behind in their haste to flee the demon that the alcohol has made his father become.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is a Newbery Honor book for the year 2001. The reader can definitely see why this book out of many that could be chosen got this recognition. The qualities that make this book a treasure and will have children reading it are due to the characterization, plot, setting, and theme techniques that Gantos is a master at using in order to make a book come alive and draw the reader in.

When it comes to characterization young adults must be able to connect with the characters, in other words the characters must seem like real people. The story must be factual, situational, emotional, and social in addition to not stereotyping the characters in the story. Gantos has shown his skill at characterization because Joey is a believable person with real-life issues that children today deal with. Many children deal with having ADHD, divorced parents, alcoholic parent(s), and not feeling accepted, loved, respected, and ever "good enough". There is no stereotyping going on in the story.

One example of how Gantos makes his characters come to life is the scene, which by the way had me laughing, where Joey's mother is driving him to see his father, and Joey is asking her a million questions about his father, many of the same questions that he has been asking for the last two weeks. "What if he's not nice? What if he hates me? What if he's as crazy as you always said he was? What if he drinks and gets nasty? Whatt if I don't like him? What if Grandma tries to put me in the refrigerator again? What if they make Pablo sleep outside? What if they don't eat pizza? What if I want to come home quick, can I hire a helicopter?" An adult reader, especially a parent, can hear their own children as they ask their endless questions about life. A child would relate to Joey's questions because they know themselves have had countless questions about things in this life that are puzzling to them.

Gantos has the skill of plot down to a science. A plot must be credible, true-to-life, and avoid coincidences and pat endings and instead have hopeful if not happy resolutions. This is true of JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL because in the end eventhough Joey is happy to be going home with his mother a part of him wishes that his father were different and that they could have a mutually respectful father-son relationship as well as being able to keep the bond with his grandmother. In the car as they are driving home the conversation between Joey and his mother is as follows:"He needs meds," I said. "He's been self-medicated forever," she replied. "He needs help," I said. "He doesn't believe in help." "He needs me," I said. "Sure he does," she said. "But he's still too messed up to know it."

The setting in a good fiction book for young adults must be believable and contemporary. In JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL this is the case because the setting is present-day Pittsburgh. In order for young adults to relate to a fiction book written on their level the theme must include topics that are timely and relevant to their lives, have a personal resonance for them, and avoid didacticism, the story should not be overpowered by the theme. Gantos is truly a master at his craft because he tells a true believable story about a ten-year old boy with ADHD and the circumstances that can arise when a parent and child do not a close, loving relationship.

Joey, as well as the other characters are believable and easy to relate to. This book will have the reader feeling a wide range of emotions. This a trait that shows an author knows how to reach his audience, keep them interested from page one, and leaving them wanting to know what happens next to the characters. The reader will find himself/herself laughing outloud in one section of the book and the next moment sad or upset because noone seems to understand what Joey is feeling and Joey cannot seem to get the right words out to express all the feelings he has inside.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal:"Gantos, at his best with real kidspeak dialogue"

CONNECTIONS
Other books that deal with Joey Pigza as the main character are:
JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWED THE KEY. ISBN 044086433X
I AM NOT JOEY PIGZA. ISBN 0374399417
WHAT WOULD JOEY DO? ISBN 0060544031

Other ideas to connect readers and the book are:
Have a speaker (child or adult) come and talk about what it is like to have to live day to day with ADHD
Create a detailed itinerary listing sites of importance, what to pack, money exchange, temperature for the season, where to stay, how to get from place to place in Pittsburgh
Change one aspect about the story, for example the setting-place or time or one of the character's personality or choices.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CRAZY HORSE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Freedman, Russell. 1996. THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CRAZY HORSE. Illustrated by Amos Bad Heart Bull. New York:Holiday House. ISBN 0823412199

PLOT SUMMARY
This is a biography about the life, adventures, and death of Crazy Horse. The book starts out by naming the main characters and their role in Crazy Horse's life. Freedman then takes the reader through the life of Crazy Horse, first as a child, then a young adult, then as a grown man, to finally elderly man who dies fighting for what he believed in-that the white people were visitors to this land and had no right to take from the Native Americans what they felt was rightfully theirs.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The criteria that establishes whether or not a book is indeed a biography are accuracy, organization, design, and style. He spent countless hours with the survivors and family members who knew Crazy Horse the best in order to make sure that the facts were accurate, that he quoted Crazy Horse directly, that nothing he wrote was fictionalized, and to show that Crazy Horse was human by illustrating his accomplishments as well as his failures.

When it comes to accuracy Freedman has done his research. One example of this is evidenced when Crazy Horse, known by the name of Curly when he was a child, became "the war party's servant and errand boy, expected to fetch water, tend the horses, do whatever he was told." This facts can be proven because Freedman spoke to many people who knew of Crazy Horse and if their stories had contradicted each other then Freedman and the reader would know that these were myths not facts. Noone that Freedman spoke to told a different spin on the same story.

Freedman does a superb job in organizing the book. The layout is logical and coherent, sequential, patterned, and provides reference aids. The reference aids that Freedman provides are a table of contents, a list of the main characters with a brief description of what they played in Crazy Horse's life, a chronology of the main events in the life of Crazy Horse, maps, and a selective bibliography.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CRAZY HORSE is a book that invites the reader in to learn more abut this fascinating man in America's history. Bull's illustrations add an element of authenticity to Freedman's writing. Bull was the tribal historian for his tribe and the one Crazy Horse belonged to. He had "picture histories of past events, called winter counts. Each winter, each year, was represented by a drawing of some outstanding event. The years were not numbered, but were given names..". Through Bull's illustrations and Freedman's writing a reader can see that each man is/was passionate about his work and now their works are being shared with many avid readers. Some of the interesting concepts and vocabulary that Freedman uses in the book are "boast, scalps, Crazy Horse's unwillingness to have his picture taken." Once when a post surgeon at Camp Robinson, Nebraska tried to persuade Crazy Horse to have his picture taken Crazy Horse said no. "My friend", Crazy Horse would ask him, "why should you wish to shorten my life by taking from me my shadow?"

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CRAZY HORSE was definitely written by the right person. He makes sure that he reports the facts while at the same time humanizing a group of people that have long been misunderstood and forgotten. Not only did he meet with the ancestors of Crazy Horse but he actually while researching this book visited the Black Hills in South Dakota and the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

REVIEW EXCERPT
School Library Journal:"written with the attention to detail of a historian and the language of a storyteller."

CONNECTIONS
Some other biographies by Russell Freedman are:
LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. ISBN 0395518482
KIDS AT WORK: LEWIS HINE AND THE CRUSADE
AGAINST CHILD LABOR. ISBN 0395797268
MARTHA GRAHAM: A DANCER'S LIFE. ISBN 0395746558
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: HOW THEY INVENTED THE AIRPLANE. ISBN 082341082X. A Newbery Honor book.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: A LIFE OF DISCOVERY. ISBN 0395845203. A Newbery Honor book.

Other ways to extend the book are:
1)Recreate a day in the life of Crazy Horse-for example the incident at Platte Bridge-the student prepares a speech in first person to explain the thought process he, as Crazy Horse, went through to make the decision that he did.
2)Writing as if were Crazy Horse write several letters to Lieutenant Caspar Collins that share your deep thoughts and reveal your personality and rationale for your actions. The letters should also reveal things about the recipient's character as well.

WORTH

BIBLIOGRAPHY
LaFaye, A. 2004. WORTH. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689857306


PLOT SUMMARY
WORTH is the historical fiction story of a boy named Nathaniel (Nate) and an orphan boy named John Worth that Nate's father brings home after a tragic accident leaves Nate unable to help any longer with the day-to-day operations of the family farm. Nate is at first resentful of John Worth because he feels that John is getting closer to his father. Nate longs to be close to, admired, and respected by his father. Nate's father feels responsible for the accident that caused the permanent misuse of Nate's leg. This causes Nate's father to draw farther and farther away from his son in addition to the fact that during this day and time is was unconsidered "unmanly" for males to show or display any affection.

Nate's mother is cold and uninviting to John initially but by the end of the story has grown to love and accept him as a second son. Even Nate's father starts to treat John as a second son rather than a "slave" which is what John actually is because he is fed and clothed but not paid for all of the labor he performs on the farm. He does not even initially sleep in the house but in a shed outside. John and Nate start to form a bond when they realize that they can help each other with what each is lacking in--Nate in reading and John in how to use and operate the tools needed to conduct the daily farm work in addition to learning other basics such as how to ride a horse. The story ends with the reader knowing that through the trials and tribulations of daily living that these people have finally found the courage and risks that it takes to become a family--one that loves, accepts, and respects one another.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book won the Scott O'Dell award in 2005. This book definitely deserved this award based on the criteria of setting, characters, plot, theme, and style. When it comes to setting LaFaye definitely did her research for this time in America's history. This is evident in the book when in one place she describes how many people in America and in this particular instance Nebraska survived "We lived by trade mostly. Come winter, Ma traded for food goods. By spring, she traded for shares of folks' seed. Tinkering kept us going...".


Characters are easy to identify with eventhough the reader may not have had any personal experience with the actual events in the story. One can feel Nate's frustration, disappointment, and embarrasement when he states that he "never wanted to recite my 7s like a baby in front of all those kids who could figure any old numbers they cared to." LaFaye also does a excellent job when it comes to the plot of the story. The plot grows out of the characters and how they really behave given the circumstances of their setting. One example of this is when Nate becomes frustrated because he can't read, eventhough he doesn't realize at this point that it takes time, patience, and practice to become a fluent reader. Nate states "And I never, ever wanted to read another darn book like a stuttering old fool. So I threw that stupid reader out the window and buried myself in bed. God could have His stupid old world. I wanted nothing more to do with it. Amen."


The theme in a historical fiction book should be reflective of the day and time of the setting while at the same time connecting the reader to the present. LaFaye shows her skill at doing this because John Worth is an orphan and there are children today who are orphans and instantly connect with him and the variety of thoughts, feelings, and emotions that he expresses. At one point John states "I miss her" (referring to his mother)"till it chokes me." Later John during a conversation with Nate asks "What right do we have to wish our family away from Heaven?" A child that has lost a family member, orphan or not, will understand what it is like to want to have that family member back on earth and then wondering if it is being selfish to want that for themselves.

The last major competent of an historical fiction novel is that the style of writing must be twofold--a natural way of writing for the author and at the same time reflect the speech patterns and dialect of the characters during that era. LaFaye is truly a master at her craft because the reader can tell that she remains true to herself while at the same time being faithful to the time period that the novel is set in. One example of this is when Nate, John, and Nate's parents are at the dinner table and John says "Thank you for the meal, ma'am." A few minutes later Nate inquires of his mother, "Need any help with the dishes, Ma?" Overall, this is a wonderful novel and is a great tool to get young people interested in reading historical fiction.



REVIEW EXCERPT
School Library Journal:" A compelling and historically accurate story beautifully rendered."


CONNECTIONS
A couple of other historical fiction books by A. LaFaye are:
THE YEAR OF THE SAWDUST MAN. ISBN 0689831064
EDITH SHAY. ISBN 0689842287

Other activities that could be used as follow-up after reading the book are:
1)Plan the film version of the book--have the student(s) write the film from the perspective of one of the main characters (John or Nate) or LaFaye. Write a letter to a producer suggesting or defending choice of actors and actresses bbased on knowledge of characters, select locations, and describe how would stage specific scenes. Finally, design the movie poster and plan the trailer.

2)A reviewer has read WORTH and written a bad review of it so now acting as LaFaye the student must now respond to this review.

MATILDA BONE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, Karen. 2000. MATILDA BONE. New York, New York: Random House. ISBN 0440418224

PLOT SUMMARY
MATILDA BONE is a historical fiction novel set in medieval England. Matalida is an orphan that is brought by her guardian Father Leufredus to be a servant to Peg, the "wrong sides of the track" bonesetter. Peg takes care of the poor people who cannot afford to go to a "real" doctor to reset their broken bones. In the beginning of the story Matilda does not want to be there and thinks that Father Leufredus will becoming back for her soon. Matilda is an educated girl who can speak, write, and understand Latin in addition to being able to communicate with the saints that she prays to daily. These are not skills that are valued on Blood and Bone Alley and Matilda must learn new skills in order to pull her weight and become the kind of servant, and in time apprentice, that Peg needs. Some of the new skills that Matilda acquires are starting a fire, mixing up the substances that Peg needs for her patients, learning how to choose the best quality produce at the best negotiated price she can get at the local food market using the small amount of money she has given by Peg each day, and to start to rely on her wits to solve issues that occur instead of praying to her saints that do not answer her prayers.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
It is obvious that Cushman conducted through research for this novel because the details are accurate and exemplify the life and times of the people that lived during this time and place in our world's history. Eventhough the characters are not real people that lived in medieval England there is accuracy in her writings that if were researched would reveal that people truly lived, spoke, and acted in the same way that her characters do. For example, it was a common practice to leech people whom it was believed had too much blood in their bodies which in turn caused their ailments-"too much blood is the cause of most trouble." "Bleeding reduces pains, without a doubt, once we let the extra blood out. ....The leeches fed on her blood, until, swollen and satiated, they dropped off."

Cushman's book is logical and easy to follow. The reader first learns of Matilda, then of Peg, of the mannerisms unique to each that seemed to peculiar to each of them in turn, and then it expands to include the world that made up their daily lives-the sick and poor, the people who lived as they did and some that didn't(some worse and some better), and the chores, work, and resilience that was required to make it from day to day. Cushman even provides a section at the back of the book entitled "author's note" that discusses the information that she gathered while conducting her research for this book. Cushman's style of writing captures the reader's attention from the very first sentence. "Matilda stood before the scarred wooden door and stared at the bright-yellow bone painted there." This is a book that will educate the reader about this place and time in the history of the world.

REVIEW EXCERPT
Parents Choice:"The richness of the book lies in its setting."

CONNECTIONS
Three of Cushman's other books are:
CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. ISBN 0064405842
THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE. ISBN 006440630X
THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE. ISBN 0064406849

Students can continue where the story leaves off in MATILDA BONE by either writing the next chapter in the book or by following the life of one of the characters during the next year.

SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Armstrong, Jennifer. 1998. SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD: THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF SHACKLETON AND THE ENDURANCE. Frank Hurley, Photographer. New York, New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0517800136

PLOT SUMMARY
This is the amazing true story of Captain Ernest Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven who set out in August 1914 to attempt to be the first explorers to cross Antarctica. It details the hardships they endured during the worst weather that part of the world had ever experienced. They spend the next several months toughing out on their ship the Endurance through relentless icestorms. When one of the worst of the worst icestorms hits causing big rips in the sides of the Endurance Shackleton realizes that in order for he and his men to survive he must make the tough and wise decision to abandon ship. Once this decision was made Shackleton then decided that he and his crew had no other options but to continue on across the ice and try and reach Antarctica on foot, which brought about a new set of challenges.


These challenges included such things as what to leave behind and what was necessary for survival, living out in the frigid weather 24/7 with few tents between them, pulling their two smaller boats across the ice (they knew that they would need these once they could sail again), and keeping everyone alive. They spent months on the ice floes until finally refuge on Elephant Island. Finally, in an attempt to find help and have them rescued Shackleton and five men he chose set out in one of their remaining boats. This was a daring and treacherous journey across eight hundred miles of ocean. Shackleton and all twenty seven of his crew were rescued with none of them dying after having spent all that time in such horrendous conditions.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Armstrong does a superb job of recreating for the reader the story of how twenty eight brave men accepted a mission and then through perserverance lived to tell about their experiences. She did many hours and months of research to make sure that she got her facts straight and that the whole story was told. She weaves conversations, diary entries, facts, and details into a cohesive easy-to-read story. Armstrong's qualifications make her an excellent choice for telling this story. She has written or co-authored over 100 books and many of them have been nonfiction and included historical events. For example, she wrote a book about Holocaust survivors (see reference below) which required as this book does that the facts are accurate and happened as presented in the book. This is a requirement of nonfiction books--that the facts are true just as the author states because every fact in the book can be proven or contradicted through reliable sources.

When it comes to the organization of the material presented in SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD Armstrong again shows that she has done her homework because the story is sequential, she describes the position of each of the crew members and the developing relationships and trust that they developed for each other. The design of the front cover of the book gives a glimpse into what is in store for the reader eventhough the reader does not realize it at the time. The stark white dominates over the crew as they toil with the daunting task of pulling the ship across the ice. This image illustrates the power of the weather and how it can make the independent become the dependent.

Armstrong has a style of writing that immediately captures the reader's attention and makes one want to read the entire book to find out what becomes of the characters at the end of the story. She provides many new vocabulary words for the reader to add to his/her knowledge base. Some examples of this are when she is describing the scene at the whaling station and she states "the carcasses of blue and humpback whales putrefying in the midnight sun..."; in order for the reader to truly understand what a whaling station was and what it was like at this particular whaling station they would need to either have background knowledge or research the words "whaling station", "carcasses" and "putrefying." She also uses the word "cabin fever", a word that is not probably in most children's vocabulary. The word "floe" is used many times in the book, another word that the reader would need to understand in order to fully appreciate what the crew was up against. This is an impressive book that provides insight into what the true meaning of courage and perserverance really mean especially when it is realized that this was the time before more advanced technology had been developed.

REVIEW EXCERPT
Library School Journal:"The text moves from diary entries to explanations of how to read the sun, and the descriptions of the terrain and weather are superb."


CONNECTIONS
Armstrong has written or co-authored over 100 books for all ages so here are just a few of her award-winning nonfiction books:
PHOTO BY BRADY: A PICTURE OF THE CIVIL WAR. ISBN 0689857853
IN MY HANDS: MEMORIES OF A HOLOCAUST RESCUER. ISBN 0385720327
THE CENTURY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. ISBN 0385327080

Here are some alternatives to doing the traditional bookreport on the book that will still offer the teacher a way to determine if the student(s) did indeed read the book:
1. Write a professional looking resume for one of the crew and attach cover letters that would have been written by that person. Simulate an interview of this man applying for the job with Shackleton and convince Shackleton why he should hire him.
2. Using Shackleton or one of his crew members write an epitaph for his tombstone, a newspaper obituary, and present in front of the class present his eulogy.
3. Pretend that you are Shackleton and create two alternate scenarios concerning a decision that he made. These can either be written or dramatized in front of the class.