The sky is everywhere by Jandy Nelson
May 20, 2010
(Walker Books; ISBN 978 1 4063 2630 7)
Who is for? The publishers say 12-15 year olds, but some of the content may make it more suitable for 15-16 year olds if being used as a class reading book
What’s it about? After the sudden death of Bailey her older sister, seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker is left struggling with her grief. She refuses to pack up her sister’s belongings and spends many hours alone and writing poems about Bailey, poems which she leaves scattered around her home town. In the midst of her grief, Lennie is smitten by good-looking new boy, Joe Fontaine. Their developing relationship is complicated by Lennie’s seemingly inexplicable attraction to her dead sister’s boyfriend, Toby - an attraction that seems to be returned. Along the way, Lennie makes some moving discoveries about her absent mother and Bailey.
Is it any good? It’s hard to summarise the story without it making it sound somewhat sordid or silly. In fact, with a few minor reservations, this is one of the best and most moving teen books I’ve read in quite a while. For a start, it’s physically pleasing to read: the flexiback cover with blue elastic gives it the feel of a journal; the inside font is blue; and there are colour plates and poems throughout the book. More than that, it is well written. Although a first person narrative from the point of view of Lennie, the language is a nice balance of authentic-sounding colloquial teen and more poetic passages with some lovely use of imagery, including metaphor and simile. Like Shark Girl reviewed previously, this is a novel with a hopeful and realistic, but not overbearingly positive ending. My reservations? While the book is generally nicely paced, there are a couple of chapters where the love-triangle sub-plot becomes a tad annoying. However, more aggravating is the character of Joe - he’s just too damned good to be true. Okay, I don’t want to deny anyone the right to fantasise a bit, but how high are we setting expectations when the perfect guy is not only a gifted musician and is stunningly handsome, but his father makes guitars, he has two equally good looking brothers, and he’s French! Pleeaase, give us a break. Finally, there is some coarse language used in the book and Lennie’s sexual awakening is dealt with fairly frankly (e.g. there’s talk about boys’ boners), although this is done with sensitivity. Teachers should certainly preview the novel carefully.
What can I do with it? The sky is everywhere would be a welcome addition to units exploring the way teenagers are represented or for issues-based units (e.g. relationships education or dealing with grief). Like many books reviewed on this blog, extracts could be used as models of effective, literary writing. This is also an interesting example of an author (and publisher) pushing the bounds of the book with its use of multimodality. Finally, the book includes references to a range of classic literature and, in particular, very interesting use is made of Wuthering Heights. So, the novel could be used as a gentle introduction to the ‘classics’ and a critique of traditional romantic fiction such as and Pride and Prejudice. Overall, this book is highly recommended.
The secret adventures of Charlotte Bronte
May 14, 2010
The secret life of Charlotte Bronte by Laura Joh Rowland (Pier 9; ISBN 978 1741969139)
Who is it for? Well read teens
What’s it about? After success with the publication of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte is accused of breach of contract and travels to London with her sister Anne to clear her name. On the train, she meets a governess, Isabel White, who is subsequently murdered brutally (of course!). Against her will, Charlotte is drawn into events that could change the course of English history, and brings danger to her beloved family in Haworth.
Is it any good? This was a really enjoyable tale set in Victorian England. Although completely fictional, Rowland does draw on knowledge of the times and the life of the Brontes in a way that adds authenticity and believability to a suitably melodramatic plot. One of the best features of the book is its tight editing - so rare in much contemporary fiction. Consequently, the story moves along at a brisk pace that rarely flags. While the writing attempts to capture Charlotte’s style, it is a bit clunky at times. This is more than made up for by the rich picture painted of Victorian life, with its sense of both promise and hypocrisy. A particularly admirable aspect of the novel is the way that it ties together the history of Europe at the time into events transpiring far away in China. A writer of Korean and Chinese descent, Rowland manages to keep the reader well entertained while encouraging them to reflect critically on English history. Like most books in the espionage and adventure genres, credibility is stretched at times, but for readers willing to suspend disbelief, this is a really enjoyable novel.
How might it be used? There is a growing number of novels in the market that take the classics and have fun with them. This is more serious than most and explores issues of gender, class and race. The Secret Adventures would serve well as an accompaniment to Charlotte Bronte’s work, and could even be used a way into the works of all three Bronte sisters. The multi-generic storytelling technique used may be worthwhile as a model for students’ own writing. Overall, a worthwhile book to use with students - although certainly not to everyone’s taste. Check out Rowland’s website: www.laurajohrowland.com/charlotte.
Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
May 9, 2010
Published by Candlewick Press; ISBN 978 0 7636 4627 1
Who is it for? Teenagers (12 years and up)
What’s it about? Jane Arrowood is fifteen years old when she loses her arm to a shark attack. The incident receives nationwide media attention thanks to video of the attack shot by a by-stander. The public is swept up in the dramatic events and, while recovering in hospital, Jane begins to receive (unwanted) mail from strangers offering their sympathy, support and prayers. Overhwhelmed and grieving the loss of her arm, a promising artistic talent and her previous life, Jane eventually returns home and begins school again, continuing the journey towards recovery; frustratingly, she has to relearn even simple tasks such as doing up shoe laces and buttering toast. Even more, with her dreams of artistic success seemingly shattered, she must search deep inside herself to discover who “Shark Girl” really is.
Is it any good? This is a novel that deals in the psychology of loss and, in one sense, there is not a lot of ‘action’. However, the novels moves briskly, helped in part by the choice of Bingham to write in prose poetry. I’m not a big fan of the genre, but it works very effectively here, focussing as the story does on the innerworld of Jane. Moreover, Jane’s first person reflections are interpolated with news articles and letters from concerned strangers, giving the reader public and private perspectives on Jane’s brush with death. In fact, one of the strengths of the novel is to encourage the reader to see the way that intense public interest in private tragedies can affect victims - for better and worse. Finally, while the novel moves towards a hopeful ending, it is, all the same, an uncertain future that Jane faces when the story finishes; Bingham avoids a happy-ever-after ending and opts, instead, for nuance and an air of authenticity. This was, apparently, an Oprah’s Book Club Kids Reading List Selection - and who would argue with Oprah?
How could it be used? This is an easy to read, but well-written novel likely to appeal to many teens. The horrible events of the shark attack are never described explicitly, but that starting point is a great hook. As well as being used as a text that explores grief of a particular kind, the novel can also be used to demonstrate the use of prose poetry for narrative and the use of multiple genres to provide different perspectives. Overall, this is a good book with positive, realistic messages - recommended.
The Night Fairy
May 2, 2010
Who’s it for? Children (particularly girls) aged 8-12
What’s it about? Flory, the Night Fairy, is attacked by a bat when she is only a few days old and her wings are badly damaged. As a result, she must take shelter in the garden of a kindly old lady who never learns of her existence. Very quickly, Flory must learn to fend for herself against all sorts of dangers that await a creature such such as herself who is only the size of an acorn. Along the way, she must forge some unlikely alliances with a silly squirrel an unfriendly hummingbird.
Is it any good? This is a beautifully illustrated, well written tale that will appeal to younger readers, especially girls. After only a brief introduction to fairy lore, Newberry Award winning author, Laura Schlitz, moves quickly to the crisis in the young fairy’s life, the damage to her delicate wings. The story moves along briskly, with little time for the reader to get bored before Flory is entangled in another adventure. Angela Barret’s exquisitely detailed illustrations help bring Flory and her miniature world to life. At 117 pages, this is a brisk, delightful and at times humorous read. My only quibble is that the main character, Flory, is fairly self-centred and bossy - even at the end - and the other characters are not all that likeable. Nevertheless, the story has a happy ending (although not entirely predictable) and Flory learns valuable lessons about respecting others and the importance of friendship and reconciliation.
How can it be used? This would certainly be a welcome addition to any school library or class reading collection. It is also a book that would work well read aloud. For all students, extracts can be used to model effective literary writing techniques. Schlitz shows what can be achieved with carefully chosen, but simple vocabulary, for example ‘Spring drew closer to summer. The tulips dropped their petals, and the peonies bloomed, fat matresses of milky petals and rich smells.’ Finally, there is an excellent website: www.thenightfairy.com. This is also worth studying for its use of visuals. All in all, a highly recommended resource.
Reading unit for older students
June 14, 2009
Getting boys to read is a struggle faced by many teachers. Here is a unit designed for and implemented originally in an all boys school; it’s aim is to promote the value of reading. The language and format are based on the Queensland 2008 Senior English Syllabus (Open Trail version), but the unit could be easily adapted for schools in other authorities. (In fact, orginally the unit was designed for the 2002 Senior English syllabus in Queensland and only minor changes had to be made for the new syllabus.)
Download unit here: Business of reading: sell a book
This unit has been taught successfully in the classroom and was enjoyed by the students.
Comparing The Great Gatsby and The Truman Show
January 31, 2009
Do you love teaching The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald but want to freshen up your approach? Try teaming it with a study of Peter Weir’s film, The Truman Show (starring Peter Carey). At their heart, both explore the corruption of the American Dream.
The table below provides an outline of some interesting parallels between the contemporary film and classic novel.
Obviously, the two stories are executed very differently, but the table offers a starting point for a comparative study.
|
The Great Gatsby |
The Truman Show |
| Central character: Jay Gatsby | Central character: Truman Burbank |
| The name is a fiction which he created as part of a larger re-invention of his own life. | The name if fiction, granted to Truman at birth as part of a larger invention and control of his entire life. |
| ‘Father’ dead; no contact with parents. | ‘Father’ dead. |
| Living the American Dream, but unfulfilled. | Living the American Dream, but is dissatisfied. His ‘dream’ wife is corrupt - paid to live with him and interrupts their lives with commercial endorsements. |
| Daisy Buchanan who lives across the bay is Gatsby’s object of desire. Wears white. | Lauren who supposedly lives across the seas in Fiji is Truman’s object of desire, even though he is ostensibly married. Lauren is wearing a white top when we first meet her. |
| This object of desire is symbolized by the greenlight at the end of Daisy’s pier. | This object of desire is symbolized by the green, tropical island of Fiji.. |
| Everything about Gatbsy’s world is an illusion - largely of his own creation. | Everything about Truman’s world is an illusion - he is part of a massive, reality television program run by a commercial media organization. |
| Poverty is hidden and/or ignored in Gatsby’s world. | Christof’s society has no place for poverty or vagrants. |
| The eyes of Dr T. J. Eckleberg (God?) loom over Gatsby’s world, ever watchful. | Christof (Christ?), the shows director and creator, looks down on Truman’s world, ever watchful. |
| Ultimately, Gatsby’s world is corrupt and crumbles. The fabric of illusion can’t be held together and reality inevitably breaks through (the accident, and George Wilson and his gun). | Ultimately, Truman’s world is corrupt and crumbles. The fabric of illusion can’t be held together and reality inevitably breaks through (the light that falls from the ‘sky’). |
| Gatsby is unable to escape the consequences of the ‘foul dust’ that floats in the wake of his dreams. | Truman eventually wakes up to the illusion and escapes. |
For good measure, you might also like to thrown in Peter Carey’s early short story, ‘American Dreams’. It tells the (ultimately tragic) story of what happens in a small, country town in Australia when the townsfolk’s dreams of fame and fortune come true. A copy of this story can be found in The fat man in history (first published in 1974 by the University of Queensland Press).
Improving literacy results in Queensland schools
September 14, 2008
Queensland students have not done as well as their counterparts in other states when it comes to literacy - at least on the raw data. There are a number of unavoidable reasons for this, including:
- the later school starting age for student
- the number of students in living in remote and isolated areas.
However, there is no doubt in my mind that lack of educational leadership from the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) has much to answer for in this regard. In pandering to the prejudices of politicians, journalists and a small but vocal minority of academics, the QSA has ensured that there has been no statewide syllabus for English since 1987 (yes, 1987 - that’s not a misprint!). To make matters worse, the QSA no longer employs experienced English Heads of Faculty in order to provide advice about teaching English to schools and, recently, a Physical Education teacher was given the task of re-writing the Senior English syllabus. A number of consequences have flowed from this situation:
- a lack of a coherent, educationally sound approach to teaching English and literacy
- confusion in many teachers’ minds about what is the right way to teach English and literacy - with the result that they have often fallen back to outmoded teaching methods.
The situation has been worsed by funding cuts to the QSA by the state government - according to reports, all work on new syllabuses in the early and middle years has stopped until the next financial year due to a redirection of funds to the health system. Providing lists of essential learning targets is only partly helpful.
So, what are teachers to do? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Do you have a good knowledge of English grammar (traditional and functional), and can apply that to practical strategies for helping students read and write?
- Do you understand the range of factors that will assist students to undertake reading and writing tasks, including cultural knowledge and understanding, knowledge about language, thinking processes and attitudes?
- Do you consistently and effectively use all aspects of the teaching-learning cycle: modelling, guided practice and independent practice?
- Do you understand the various roles of the reader (code breaker, meaning maker, text user and text analyst) and do you understand the implication of these for teaching individuals and groups of students in your care?
- Do you structure your teaching of reading effectively with appropriate pre, during and after reading activities?
- Do you structure your teaching of writing effectively with appropriate pre, during and after writing activities?
- Do you effectively and explicitly model all significant written tasks that students are required to undertake?
- Are your students trained to reflect effectively on their own work and that of others?
- Is your approach consistent with the approach taken by other teachers at your school?
- Are you part of a professional learning community that seeks to strive for constant improvement?
What’s the use of chapter questions?
August 25, 2008
In order to test whether students have read their novel (or play), English teachers have traditionally given them chapter (or Act) questions. However, these can be both dull and futile: dull because there’s nothing like having to answer a multitude of questions to kill your interest in a novel; and futile because they are an invitation for students to copy each other’s work just to ensure that the questions have been completed. What’s the alternative then? Here are six ideas:
- Literary lies: The teacher produces a summary of the story that contains ten errors (ranging from obvious to subtle). The students are then required to identify and ‘correct’ these errors.
- Twenty questions: Starting with the teacher, a number of people in the class take turns being ‘IT’. This person sits at the front of the room and must think of a character, object or place from the story. Individually or in teams, students have the opportunity to ask yes-or-no questions. If they receive a ‘yes’ they continue asking questions until they can guess the character or object, or until they receive a ‘no’ in response to a question. The first person or team to guess the character or object wins. If twenty questions have been asked and no-one has determined the correct answer, the person acting as ‘IT’ reveals the answer and a new person becomes ‘IT’. Prizes can be awarded, if wished. Alternatively, adapt a current game show on television as a classroom activity.
- Who? What? Where? When?: The students are given an A4 sheet of paper that contains unfinished line drawings of various scenes from the novel (or play). These drawings should not be too specific or detailed. Students are then required to identify who (which characters) are in the scene, what’s happening, where this is occurring (setting) and when. Finally, the scenes have to be arranged in chronological order and colour, dialogue, additional drawing can be added to the scenes. Students can create their own and swap with other groups.
- Photostory: Using digital cameras, students work in groups to create a series of photographs which summarise the major scenes of the novel (or play). These can then be uploaded to Microsoft’s PhotoStory 3 (available as a free download), and appropriate captions, audio narration and music added.
- Hot seat roleplay: One person sits at the front of the room in a chair. That person is to take on the role of a designated character from the story and answer questions from the audience in role. This also works well with a panel of students playing different characters.
- Mapping: Have students create detailed, annotated maps based on the events and characters in the story. These can drawn digitally.
This is just a small taste of a much wider range of possible activities. The main points of difference between these suggestions and the traditional chapter questions include:
- They encourage active engagement with the text.
- They encourage discussion and close reading.
- They are likely to be more enjoyable.
So, throw away those chapter questions and try something more creative and ultimately worthwhile.
Helping students use literary language
July 6, 2008
Teachers often comment that students write the way they speak. In imaginative or literary writing, this often manifests itself in pieces that are action oriented and are dominated by the following features:
- First person
- Simple and compound sentences (‘and/but’ as conjunction)
- Short noun groups
- Everyday, colloquial language, including for evaluations (e.g. ‘The ride was really awesome’)
In order to make their works appealing and accessible for older children and adolescents, much professional young adult literature displays these same characteristics.
However, recent research into ‘demand’ writing tasks (standardized writing tests) is suggesting that the features most valued by markers include:
- Third person
- Complex sentences (independent & subordinate clause/s)
- Choice of nouns and verbs for implicit, evaluative purposes (e.g. ‘The snow was lofted onto the window sill.’)
- Long noun groups
- Figurative and symbolic language, especially for evaluations.
In my own work with schools, I am starting to notice a disconnect between the type of texts that students are reading and writing in the upper primary and middle schools, and the expectations of the senior school. Put simply, in addition to the highly accessible and popular books available, students also need exposure to and immersion in more sophisticated (age appropriate) writing from quite early in their schooling. For at least some of these texts, they need to study the language use closely so that they can develop an explicit understanding of how particular literary effects are achieved.
Provided below is a first attempt at providing some recommendations for stories that use various elements of a more literary style of language, should be appealing to students, and could be read independently or read aloud by the teacher - extracts will work best in some circumstances. They are arranged in rough groupings according to age suitability, the list includes a number of titles published in Australia, and there is a mix of classics and more contemporary stories (including some well written popular fiction). The editions listed may not be the most recent and some books may be out of print; where this is the case, try your local library or second hand book store. Finally, this list will be updated over time and your comments on the selection are most welcome.
Note: Please make sure you preview titles before using them in your classroom to ensure that they are appropriate for your school and community context.
Younger children
Start with: Muntean, M and Lemaitre (illus.) (2006). Do not open this book! New York: Scholastic Press. [No literary masterpiece, but a fun book to introduce the notion of word play and the power of language.]
Early, M. (1991). William Tell. Montville, Qld: Walter McVitty Books.
Issa and Karas, G. B. (2007). today and today. New York: Scholastic Press. [A beautiful book of haiku for children - based on the seasons of the year.]
Lester, A. (1994). Isabella’s bed. Rydalmere, NSW: Hodder Headline Australia Pty Ltd.
Lester, A. (1990). Magic Beach. North Sydney, NSW: Allen and Unwin.
Mahy, M. and Chamberlain, M (illus.) (1985). The man whose mother was a pirate. London, England: Puffin Books.
Older children/Young adolescents
Adornetto, A. (2007). The shadow thief. Australia: Angus and Robertson.
Babbit, N. (1975). Tuck Everlasting. USA: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Barrie, J. M. (1998). Peter Pan and Wendy. Bath, UK: Robert Frederick Ltd.
Bear, G. (1998). Dinosaur summer. London: HarperCollins Publishers.
DiTerlizzi, T. and Black, H. (2003). The Spiderwick chronicles: the field guide. Sydney: Simon and Schuster.
Gurney, J. (1992). Dinotopia: a land apart from time. Bathurst, NSW: Crawford House Press Pty Ltd.
Hartnett, S. (2007). The ghost’s child. Camberwell, Victoria: Viking (Penguin).
Lewis, C. S. (1950). The chronicles of Narnia: the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. Great Britain: Geoffrey Bles.
Lynch, J. (2008). The highest tide. London: Bloomsbury. (See Review of The highest tide)
Sutcliff, R. (1992). Beowulf: dragonslayer. London, UK: Red Fox (Random House Children’s Books).
Tan, S. (2008). Tales from outer suburbia. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1994). The Lord of the Rings: the fellowship of the ring. London: HarperCollins Publishers.
Wild, M. and Spudvilas, A (illus.) (2006). Woolvs in the sitee. Camberwell, Victoria: Viking (Penguin).
Older adolescents
Bear, G. (2003). Darwin’s children. London: HarperCollins Publishers.
Betts, A. J. (2008). Shutterspeed. Western Australia: Freemantle Press.
Blixen, K. (1954). Out of Africa and Shadows on the grass. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin.
Greene, G. (2001). Twenty-one stories. Sydney: Vinatge. (see ‘The destructors’ in particular)
Guterson, D. (1995). Snow falling on cedars. Great Britain: Bloomsbury.
Proulx, E. Annie (1993). The shipping news. London: Fourth Estate Ltd.
Scott Fitzgerald, F. (1950). The great Gatsby. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin.
Suskind, P. (1985). Perfume: the story of a murderer. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin.
Temple, P. (2005). The broken shore. Melbourne, Australia: Text Publishing.
36 Books to Read Before Finishing High School
June 28, 2008
Books to read before finishing high school
Here’s an eclectic list of books that students might like to try reading in each year level (Year 7 through to Year 12). They include:
- Alice in Wonderland, the great, Lewis Carrol’s children’s classic
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the mystery that launched Agatha Christie
- We are the weather makers, Tim Flannery’s lucid and compelling explanation of global warming
- Our sunshine, Robert Drewe’s lyrical account of Ned Kelly’s life
- Years of rice and salt, Kim Stanley Robinson’s speculative account of world history after the plague wipes out European civilisation
- Long walk to freedom, Nelson Mandela’s inspirational and enlightening life story
Download the complete list now (36-books-to-read-before-you-leave-high-school).
The list includes fiction and non-fiction books and the selection was based on the assumption of three books read per semester (that is, six books a year). Of course, this limited what could be included and the selection process has resulted in a list which I’m sure will be controversial – so feel free to modify the inclusions to suit your own school. The list is meant to be generative and in no way comprehensive or mandatory.
For your information, selections were based on a number of – at times conflicting – criteria:
- Is the book of literary and/or cultural merit?
- Is the book suitable for the year group – language and content?
- Does it offer something a bit different from the norm?
- Will the book challenge readers in some way?
- Will the book encourage further reading and exploration?
- Are the books representative across a range of dimensions, e.g. gender, genre, eras, fiction and non-fiction, cultures etc? While I have been as careful as I could, ultimately the self-imposed limit of 36 books has also limited my ability to be entirely representative.
- Do the books have proven success with students? In most cases, the books are ones that have been recommended by students themselves.
Let me know what you think. What else would you include?
