aTOC/Mast_TAR_Fall07 1 10/2/07, 3:05 PM T ◆ H ◆ E Instructions for Authors ALAN REVIEW ABOUT THE ALAN REVIEW. The ALAN Review is a peer-reviewed (refereed) journal published by the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English. It is devoted solely to the field of literature for Co-editors James Blasingame, [email protected] adolescents. It is published three times per academic year (fall, winter, and summer) and is sent to all members, Arizona State University individual and institutional, of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE). Members of ALAN need not Lori Atkins Goodson, be members of NCTE. [email protected] THE ALAN REVIEW publishes reviews of and articles on literature for adolescents and the teaching of that literature: Wamego Middle School, Wamego, Kansas research studies, papers presented at professional meetings, surveys of the literature, critiques of the literature, articles about authors, comparative studies across genre and/or cultures, articles on ways to teach the literature to adolescents, YA Book Review Editor Lori Atkins Goodson and interviews of authors. Middle School Claudia Katz, National Louis Connection Editor University AUDIENCE. Many of the individual members of ALAN are classroom teachers of English in middle, junior, and senior high schools. Other readers include university faculty members in English and/or Education programs, researchers in High School Kay Smith, Utah the field of adolescent literature, librarians, authors, publishers, reading teachers and teachers of other related content Connection Editor Valley State College areas. ALAN has members in all 50 states and a number of foreign countries. Research Connection Jeffrey S. Kaplan, University Editor of Central Florida PREFERRED STYLE. Manuscripts should usually be no longer than fifteen double-spaced, typed pages. A manuscript Publishers Connection M. Jerry Weiss, Jersey City submitted for consideration should deal specifically with literature for adolescents and/or the teaching of that literature. Editor State College, Emeritus It should have a clearly defined topic and be scholarly in content, as well as practical and useful to people working with and/or studying adolescents and their literature. Research studies and papers should be treated as articles rather Professional Resource William Broz, Connection Editor University of Northern Iowa than formal reports. Stereotyping on the basis of sex, race, age, etc., should be avoided, as should gender-specific terms such as “chairman.” Library Connection Diane P. Tuccillo, Mesa Public Editor Library, Mesa, Arizona MANUSCRIPT FORMAT. Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout, including quotations and bibliographies. Non Print YAL Jean Brown, Rhode Island A title page with author’s name, affiliation, address, and a short professional biographical sketch should be included. Connection Editor College The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript pages; however, pages should be numbered. Short quotations, as permitted under “fair use” in the copyright law, must be carefully documented within the manuscript and in the Editorial Review Board bibliography. Longer quotations and complete poems or short stories must be accompanied by written permission of Lawrence Baines, University of Toledo the copyright owner. Katherine Barr, San Francisco, California Kylene Beers, Yale University Author interviews should be accompanied by written permission of the interviewed author to publish the interview Jean Borren, Northern Arizona University in The ALAN Review. Interviewers should indicate to authors that publication is subject to review of an editorial board. Cynthia A. Bowman, Columbus, Ohio The title of The ALAN Review should not be used to gain an interview. Linda Broughton, University of South Alabama Jean E. Brown, Warwick, Rhode Island Original short tables and figures should be double-spaced and placed on a separate sheet at the end of the John “Jack” Bushman, University of Kansas manuscript. Notations should appear in the text for proper placement of tables and figures. Michael Cart, Chico, California Melissa Comer, Cumberland College The ALAN Review prefers the use of the Publications Manual of the Modern Language Association (MLA). Chris Crowe, Brigham Young University A 3 1/2-inch IBM compatible disk in a recent version of Word format must accompany all manuscripts. Disks must be Pat Daniel, University of South Florida clearly labeled with author’s name, manuscript title, disk format, and file title. Kevin Dupree, University of Southern Mississippi Joan Elliot, Indiana University of Pennsylvania SUBMITTING THE MANUSCRIPT. Send three clear copies and a disk of the manuscript to: Bonnie Ericson, California State University at Northridge Dr. James Blasingame, Co-Editor, The ALAN Review, Department of English/English Education, College of Liberal Arts Ted Fabiano, Blue Valley Northwest High School and Sciences, P.O. box 870302, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-0302. Karen Ford, Ball State University Nena Foster-Pritchard, North Olmsted High School, Ohio Include a self-addressed stamped envelope to which return stamps are clipped. The manuscript cannot be returned if Montye Fuse, Arizona State University the envelope and stamps are not included. Articles submitted only by facsimile or e-mail cannot be considered, except Marshall George, Fordham University when sent from overseas. Wendy Glenn, University of Connecticut Gail P. Gregg, Florida International University REVIEW PROCESS. Each manuscript will receive a blind review by the editor and at least two members of the Robin Denise Groce, Mississippi State University editorial review board, unless the length, style, or content makes it inappropriate for publication. Usually, authors Kay Bushman Haas, Ottawa, Kansas should expect to hear the results within eight weeks. Manuscripts are judged for the contribution they make to the Judith Hayn, University of Arkansas, Little Rock Kathy Headley, Clemson University field of adolescent literature, clarity and cohesiveness, timeliness, and freshness of approach. Selection also depends Sarah Herz, Westport, Connecticut on the manuscript’s contribution to the overall balance of the journal. Kaavonia M. Hinton-Johnson, Old Dominion University PUBLICATION OF ARTICLES. The ALAN Review assumes that accepted manuscripts have not been published previ- Jaime Hylton, University of New England Rita Karr, Oklahoma Road Middle School, Maryland ously in any other journals and/or books, nor will they be published subsequently without permission of The ALAN Review. Joan Kaywell, University of South Florida Should the author submit the manuscript to more than one publication, he/she should notify The ALAN Review. If a Kathryn Kelly, Radford University submitted or accepted manuscript is accepted by another publication prior to publication in The ALAN Review, the Patricia P. Kelly, Virginia Tech author should immediately withdraw the manuscript from publication in The ALAN Review. Daphne Key, Papillon, Nebraska Teri S. Lesesne, Sam Houston State University Manuscripts that are accepted may be edited for clarity, accuracy, readability, and publication style. Terry C. Ley, Auburn University, Emeritus Rob Lockhart, Morehead State University Upon publication, the author will receive two copies of The ALAN Review in which the article appears. Publication usually Caroline McKinney, University of Colorado at Boulder occurs within 18 months of acceptance. Arlene Harris Mitchell, University of Cincinnati William R. Mollineaux, Sedgwick Middle School, Connecticut DEADLINES. Please observe these deadlines if you wish to have your article considered for a particular Elaine O’Quinn, Appalachian State issue of The ALAN Review. Elizabeth Poe, University of West Virginia FALL ISSUE Deadline: MAY 15 Suzanne Reid, Emory and Henry College WINTER ISSUE Deadline: OCTOBER 15 Gary Salvner, Youngstown State University SUMMER ISSUE Deadline: FEBRUARY 15 Barbara G. Samuels, University of Houston at Clear Lake John S. Simmons, Florida State University, Emeritus Cover credits: The ALAN Review cover was designed by Jim Blasingame. Credit lines for individual book jackets as follows: Robert C. Small, Radford University Monster Blood Tattoo: Book One: Foundling; reproduced by permission of publisher, Penguin. Weedflower; reproduced by permission Elaine C. Stephens, Michigan of publisher, Simon & Schuster. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; reproduced by permission of publisher, Little, Brown. Barbara Stover, Chatfield Senior High School The Glory Field; reproduced by permission of publisher, Scholastic, Inc. The One O’clock Chop; reproduced by permission of publisher, Lois Stover, St. Mary’s College of Maryland Henry Holt. No Quarter; reproduced by permission of publisher, McBooks Press. Flash Point; reproduced by permission of publisher, Alan Teasley, Durham, North Carolina Peachtree Press. Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer; reproduced by permission of publisher, Penguin. Twilight; reproduced by Mary Ann Tighe, Troy State University permission of publisher, Little Brown. Ellis Vance, Fresno County Office of Education Elizabeth Watts, Broward County, Florida Ann Wilder, Durham, North Carolina Carole Williams, St. Louis, Missouri Susan N. Wood, Florida State University Geri Yaccino, St. Charles Middle School, Illinois Connie Zitlow, Ohio Wesleyan University

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

aTOC/Mast_TAR_Fall07 2 10/2/07, 3:05 PM JimLori BlasingameGoodson & Jim& Lori Blasingame Goodson

From the Editors

s fall rolls in, we embark on another school Smith explores “The Death of Genre” and how YA year filled with new students, new texts, and fiction often doesn’t fit neatly into distinct classifications. A new opportunities. And, with such a growing Lisa Scherff and Candace Lewis Wright provide list of quality young adult titles, how can you not be interesting connections regarding Ironman and The excited? Catcher in the Rye, in their effort to pair the two For this issue, we emphasize these opportunities novels. The authors emphasize literary theories as through our theme of “Young Adult Literature—No well as a practical application for the works. We step Genre Unwanted.” Besides offering engaging texts that into some impressive libraries with an article by Diane relate to adolescents’ worlds, YA lit provides an P. Tuccillo, Paulette Goodman, Joann Pompa, and Joan enormous variety of genres designed to interest even Arrowsmith. They discuss the integral role of school the most reluctant readers. Through this issue’s libraries in helping teens connect with reading and collection of articles, we share numerous approaches writing. educators use to address everything from autobiogra- ALAN award winners are featured in this issue, as phy to horror. Also in this issue, Robin Mara explores well. Lisa Arter provides details of Alleen Pace Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose and metaphor, which Mara Nilsen’s efforts to promote young adult literature. determines as the heart of the novel. Nilsen is the winner of the 2006 Hipple Award. Joan Kaywell provides a tribute to the late Ted Virginia Monseau and Marc Aronson, the 2006 Hipple, who was such an integral part of the ALAN winners of the ALAN Award, discuss fiction, nonfic- family. She details a collection of literature designed as tion, and adolescents with The ALAN Review’s Jim a lasting memorial for the individual who served as Blasingame. Awards were presented during the 2006 executive secretary of this organization for nearly 20 ALAN Workshop in Nashville. years. Claudia Katz, in The Middle School Connection, In the Professional Resource Connection, William reviews Teri Lesesne’s new book, Naked Reading. And, Broz, Jeff Copeland, and Jerome Klinkowitz focus on Ellen Wayman Gordon details an honor bestowed upon “genre-jumping,” with Copeland’s Inman’s War: A M. Jerry Weiss by The Center for Young Readers. Soldier’s Story of Life in a Colored Battalion in WWII. In addition, this issue of The ALAN Review offers This unique article features a review of the book by some of our regular features, including more than 30 Klinkowitz, as well as Copeland’s own words about reviews of the newest works of young adult literature the text, as well as an annotated bibliography. as part of our Clip and File section. In another article, Linda J. Rice interviews author While the fall leaves may be tumbling down, and fellow teacher Trudy Krisher, who shares details students in classrooms across the country are seeing of her life and her career in writing. Jonathan young adult literature—and its many genres—budding Stephens examines the genre of young adult literature with possibilities. We hope you enjoy this collection; . . . what it is and what it isn’t, as well as a closer thanks for beginning another school year with The look at several books in the genre. In his article, Scot ALAN Review. Let the excitement continue.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

b3_5_TAR_Fall07 3 10/2/07, 3:04 PM Call for Manuscripts

2008 Summer theme: Life at My House: Depictions of Family in Young Adult Literature This theme is intended to solicit articles about young adult literature, authors, and instructional approaches that deal with family relationships. One possibility is a discussion of how the concept of family in young adult literature has evolved to reflect a different reality from what might have been considered a traditional family at one time. Other possibilities might include discussion of books that celebrate family relationships, illuminate the problems inherent in a dysfunctional family, or address any aspect of groups that function as a family. This theme is meant to be open to interpretation and support a broad range of subtopics. General submissions are welcome, as well. February 15 submission deadline.

2008 Fall theme: How Will Life Be in 2053? Visions of the Future in Young Adult Literature This theme is intended to solicit articles about young adult literature, authors, and instructional approaches that speculate on the nature of life in the future. This need not be limited to science fiction or fantasy by any means, but could center on any books that deal with trends that may impact life in the future. This theme is meant to be open to interpretation and support a broad range of subtopics. General submissions are welcome, as well. May 15 submission deadline.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

b3_5_TAR_Fall07 4 10/2/07, 3:04 PM ALAN Foundation Research Grants

Members of ALAN may apply to the ALAN Foundation for funding (up to $1,500) for research in young adult literature. Proposals are reviewed by the five most recent presidents of ALAN. Awards are made annually in the fall and are announced at the ALAN breakfast during the NCTE convention in November. The application deadline each year is September 15th.

Gallo Grants The Gallo Grants were established in 2003 by former ALAN Award and Hipple Award recipient Don Gallo to encourage educators in their early years of teaching to attend the ALAN Workshop for the first time. The grants provide funding—up to $500 each—for two classroom teachers in middle school or high school each year to attend the ALAN Workshop. (The amount of a grant may be less than $500 if the applicant lives within commuting distance of the convention location where airfare and housing would not be necessary.) The Workshop is held at the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English on the Monday and Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving Day. Applicants must be teaching full-time; must have been classroom teachers for less than five years prior to the year in which they are applying; and must not have attended an ALAN Workshop previously. Membership in ALAN is not required for consideration, though applicants are expected to become ALAN members if they receive this grant. Each applicant must fill out the grant application form and submit an essay of no more than 750 words explaining their interest in Young Adult Literature, what they hope to gain by attending this year’s ALAN Workshop, and how they hope to use the experience in their classrooms in the future. A letter of support must also come from the applicant’s school system. The deadline for submission is September 1. Applicants will be judged on their ability to articulate their understanding of the value of Young Adult Literature as well as their explanation of how they intend to use YA books and the information they gather at the Workshop in their own classrooms. For further information about this grant, contact ALAN Executive Secretary Gary Salvner at [email protected] or 330-941-3414. Information about the ALAN Workshop may be obtained from the ALAN Website—www.alan-ya.org. Information about the NCTE Convention may be obtained on the NCTE Website—www.ncte.org—or by writing to NCTE Headquarters at 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

b3_5_TAR_Fall07 5 10/2/07, 3:04 PM LoriJoan Goodson Kaywell & Jim Blasingame

Honoring Ted Hipple by Keeping YA Literature Alive for Future Generations

In Memory of Ted Hipple (7/2/35–11/25/04): Survey Results to a Special Collection in His Name USF, ALAN and Authors Wish You Well Eternally!

Facts about Theodore Hipple award, for notable service to advance the teaching of the language arts in Florida? It is fitting that Ted Hipple passed away on Thanksgiv- •A prolific writer—having published numerous ing morning as his is a life that so many of us give books, countless journal articles, and more con- thanks for, both knowingly and unknowingly. Ted’s gratulatory notes and/or ones of thanks that would quick wit, jovial nature, great laugh, and dedication to surpass the net worth of Donald Trump and Bill the profession were infectious and his service record, Gates combined? humbling. • Department Chairperson and Professor at the Did you know, for example, that Ted was . . . University of Tennessee at Knoxville (went to UT • One of the founders of the Assembly on Literature the fall of 1984) where he mentored new doctoral for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of students like Amy Maupin (Transylvania U) and Teachers of English (NCTE), an organization for ALAN President-elect David Gill (UNCW) as well which he served for more years “than most of us as new assistant professors like Lisa Scherff (UA) have been teaching” and was the first recipient of while continuing to mentor his former doctoral its service award—named in his honor—in 2000? students, the likes of Jeff Kaplan (UCF) and me • Department Chairperson at the University of (USF) here in Florida? Florida, joining UF fall 1968, and was colleagues My relationship with Ted went back 30 years, with former ALAN President, Authors4Teens though we got close beginning around 1983. I have creator, and the Godfather of YA short stories Don been so blessed by having him as a mentor. He was Gallo for as many years as “the earth’s been the one who showed me the way life could be in a cooling”? myriad of ways as he was the model professor, •Presented the Florida Council Teachers of English colleague, friend, and father figure. I was fortunate to Honor Award in 1980, FCTE’s most prestigious be able to attend his memorial service, which oc-

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 6 10/2/07, 3:03 PM curred on Thursday, 12/2/04, in books go out of print just about as Knoxville, Tennessee. The service One of Ted’s concerns was quickly as they come into print.” was a moving display of the far- Although admittedly unscientific, reaching effects of a gifted teacher keeping YA literature on June 21, 2006, I e-mailed ALAN and an awesome human being. members this question: Is there a There were well over 200 people in readily available and he young adult book you absolutely attendance and so many more who used to say, “It seems that love that has gone out of print? sent cards and gave testimonials as From then until September to how their lives were so posi- YA books go out of print 2006, individuals could name one tively influenced by his passion for out-of-print young adult book they teaching, integrity, life, and service. just about as quickly as would love to see reissued. This Here is a sample: they come into print.” message was forwarded by ALAN • The world of young adult members and posted on message literature has lost a giant. (Bill boards, and responses were Mollineaux, 2003 ALAN President) obtained from librarians, educators, authors, parents, • Shakespeare gave his highest praise to one of his editors, and one teenager. Respondents were asked to characters, a person he wrote, for whom “age provide three bits of information: the name of the cannot wither, nor custom stale.” Such was true of book, the author of the book, and whether they would Ted, vibrant, outgoing, always interested in life and most identify themselves as a librarian, educator, in us, his colleagues and friends. He is irreplace- parent, or student. able, and he will be missed. (Leila Christenbury, 2002 NCTE President) The Results •I admired his passion and knowledge for young In short, responses were obtained from 116 adult literature. (Linda Rief, author and middle people: 68 educators, 28 librarians, 10 parents, 7 school teacher) authors, 2 editors, and one teenager. • He was a model for everything that was good and The following 12 books received more than one honorable and worthwhile in our lives and in our nomination in descending order: profession. . . .To paraphrase a line from • (4) The Quartzsite Trip by William Hogan (3 Shakespeare: “We shall not soon see his like pass Educators & Librarian) this way again.” (Jeff Golub, 2002 FCTE Honor • (4) The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen Randle Award recipient, USF Professor Emeritus) (2 Educators, Editor, & Parent) • He was always a stand in a river of indifference . . . • (3) The Dog King by Paul Collins (2 Educators & with a voice that resounded with clarity. I so Parent) appreciated that from him and trusted his views. • (2) Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John by Pearl S. (Carol Pope, English Education Section Editor) Buck (Parent & Educator) To read more about Ted Hipple, read “In Memoriam: • (2) Sex Education by Jenny Davis (2 Educators) Ted Hipple” by Donald R. Gallo and Joellen Maples in • (2) The Magic Meadow by Alexander Key (Educator English Journal, Volume 94, Number 3, January 2005, & Author) 10-12. • (2) Kinship by Trudy Krisher (Educator & Author) • (2) Othello: A Novel by Julius Lester (2 Educators) Deciding How to Best Remember Ted • (2) Miriam’s Well by Lois Ruby (Educator & Librarian) Hipple • (2) A Couple of Kooks and other Stories about Love It was during the memorial service that I decided by Cynthia Rylant (Educator & Librarian) that we needed to create something in his name so • (2) Making Up Megaboy by Virginia Walter (2 others could be inspired by his many contributions. Educators)* One of Ted’s concerns was keeping YA literature • (2) Sparrow Lake by Carol Beech York (Educator & readily available and he used to say, “It seems that YA Librarian)

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 7 10/2/07, 3:03 PM The following five authors received more than one the same PowerPoint shown at ALAN 2005 was nomination for different books: (4) Gordon Korman*, playing in the background. (To see this visual tribute (3) Sue Ellen Bridgers*, (2) Margaret Mahy, (2) to Ted Hipple developed by USF doctoral student Jim Barbara Shoup, and (2) Betty Smith. See Appendix 1 Sams, please visit my website at http://www.coedu. for the remaining list of 87 titles, receiving one usf.edu/kaywell/). nomination. NOTE: Those bolded items that have an Next, award-winning novelist Lois Duncan asterisk beside them are now available in the Ted graciously addressed the audience with her wit and Hipple Special Collection (see Appendix 3). charm, expressing the importance of such a collection Initially, I was going to see about finding these to the field of adolescent literature. She also shared books and getting them digitized until I found out how some of her poetry from her newest book, Seasons of complicated the copyright issues had become regard- the Heart (a print-on-demand book available from i- ing that process. Finally, with the help of Mark universe 1-800-288-4677), and helped us all believe Greenberg, the Director of the University of South that a new spring will come after those winter periods Florida (USF)’s Special Collections Department, and of grief and sorrow. Lois Duncan generously donated Jamie Hansen, the USF Special Collections Cataloguer, the proceeds of the night’s sales as well as her talk for the idea for a Ted Hipple Special Collection was the continuation of this Special Collection. Since my conceived. For the next year, I solicited donations from first edited trade book Dear Author: Letters of Hope people via e-mail, phone calls, personal letters, blogs, was actually dedicated to Ted Hipple, a portion of the and “various and sundry” means. royalties has been donated to the Ted Hipple Fund established by the ALAN Board of Directors after his The Dedication death; a match has also been given by Philomel for On May 23, 2007, The Ted Hipple Special Collec- this cause. tion of Autographed First-Edition and Out-of-Print Finally, a plaque was given to the Hipple family Young Adult Books was officially dedicated (See Poster and they were invited to do the actual ribbon cutting Session at 2007 ALAN for the 333 donated books. Of these 333 first-edition Workshop in New York). autographed books, 25 were advanced reading copies, Ted Hipple was a true Ted’s wife of 49 years, 12 included both an advanced reading copy and its Marge Hipple, flew in from first edition, and 2 were original manuscripts prior to advocate of professional Tennessee for the event as publication. Forty-nine authors sent me their personal well as two of their three copies for inclusion and eight colleagues—Dick service and practiced children—Kathy Hipple Abrahamson, Chris Crowe, Don Gallo, Sarah Herz, from New York City and Teri Lesesne, Alleen Pace Nilsen, Cinda Snow, and what he preached. In Betsy Hipple from Los Alan Teasley—contributed. Three publishers—Farrar, addition to serving as Angeles. Besides USF’s Straus and Giroux; HarperCollins; and Peachtree Assistant Provost Dwayne Publishers—donated, and both of my sons—Christo- President of ALAN from Smith, Dr. Lisa Scherff pher Maida and Stephen Kaywell—gave many of their came from Alabama and personal “association copies” to this Special Collec- 1977 to 1979, Hipple was Dr. Jeff Kaplan drove over tion. See Appendix 3 for the complete list of books Executive Secretary of our from Orlando, Florida. acquired thus far. Mark Greenberg gave the group for nearly 20 years opening remarks and read What You Can Do a letter from ALAN Ted Hipple was a true advocate of professional before retiring from that Executive Secretary Dr. service and practiced what he preached. In addition to post in 2000. Gary Salvner (See Appen- serving as President of ALAN from 1977 to 1979, dix 2). There wasn’t a dry Hipple was Executive Secretary of our group for nearly eye among the Hipples and 20 years before retiring from that post in 2000. On the several others were also affected among the 50 or so in NCTE convention program every year for nearly 35 attendance as I read my personal tribute to Ted while years, Ted’s was a familiar face at the ALAN Breakfast

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 8 10/2/07, 3:03 PM and ALAN Workshop. He also served as chair of CEE Ted’s words, “It’s better THAT they read rather than (Conference on English Education) and as chair and WHAT they read!”; recruit a new ALAN member associate chair of the NCTE Secondary Section; he (www.alan-ya.org), the organization so dear to Ted’s served at the local and state levels as well. Visit the heart; or donate to this Special Collection in some NCTE Web site www.ncte.org for an article on way. If you have an autographed first-edition of a YA volunteering with NCTE and/or your state affiliate— book or an out-of-print YA book that you would like to “Ask Not What NCTE Can Do for You”—written by donate to this collection, please e-mail me at Hipple for the Fall 2000 Council-Grams at http://www. [email protected] or send it to me at ncte.org/about/gov/cgrams/res/118813.htm?source Joan F. Kaywell, Ph.D., College of Education 162, =gs. Ted Writes, University of South Florida, 4202 E Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-5650. Remember a foundation has Bob [Hogan] . . . said, ‘NCTE must have volunteers or it will collapse.’ So it was then, so it is now. And not just, or been established through ALAN in Ted’s name to help even mainly, for the national outfit, but also for state and this Special Collection grow. If you care to donate, you local affiliates. Look about you, please . . . [and] become a can do so by contacting ALAN Treasurer Marge Ford at volunteer for NCTE or your state or local affiliate. Get in- [email protected]; your contributions are tax volved; be a player. You don’t have to run for elective office deductible. or give the luncheon address. Those jobs can come later. For now. . . . Ask to join a committee. And what’s in it for I hope you are as excited as I am that the litera- you? In addition to helping out, you will find it personally ture that Ted loved so well can be preserved in his and professionally among the most enriching experiences name. My next step is to actually purchase old YA first you can have. Trust me on that last point. I’ve been around editions as I find them, mail them to authors for their the NCTE volunteer block a time or two and wouldn’t have signature, and continue growing the collection until I missed it for anything. join Ted in the hereafter. Of course, the ALAN Work- It is no accident that I stepped up to the plate to shop will always guarantee some new books, and I serve as ALAN’s Membership Secretary with Dr. Gary hope you will consider bequeathing your personal Salvner serving as its Executive Secretary. Please autographed titles when the time is right. notice that the position Ted held for almost two I’ll close with what Mike Angelotti, Professor of decades had to be split in two. English Education at the University of Oklahoma, had In conclusion, I hope you join me in honoring Ted to say about Ted at his memorial: “Good humor. and what he represents by serving the profession in Guttural laugh. Always positive. Tireless worker for some way: Volunteer for a professional organization; endless causes. . . Move over Saint Peter. There is a give a young adult book to a teenager to read since, in new Executive Secretary in town!”

Appendix 1

87 Out-of-Print Young Adult Titles, Receiving One Nomination (Alphabetized by Author) * Bolded items are now available in the Ted Hipple Special Collection (see Appendix 3). 1. Mildred Ames: Anna to the Infinite Power (Educator) 9. Pierre Berton: The Secret World of Og (Educator) 2. Chester Aaron: Lackawanna: A Novel (Educator) 10. Sue Ellen Bridgers: All Together Now (Educator) 3. Goldie Alexander: Mavis Road Medley (Educator) 11 . Sue Ellen Bridgers: All We Know of Heaven (Educa- 4. Avi: Wolfrider (Educator) tor)* 5. Natalie Babbitt: The Search for Delicious (Educator) 12. Sue Ellen Bridgers: Home before Dark (Educator) 6. Rob Batista: Street Angel (Educator) 13. Bruce Brooks: Midnight Hour Encores (Educator) 7. James W. Bennett: Squared Circle (Educator) 14. Bill and Vera Cleaver: Where the Lilies Bloom (Author) 8. Robert Hugh Benson: Come Rack Come Rope 15. Daniel Cohen: The Headless Roommate and other (Educator) Tales of Horror (Educator)

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 9 10/2/07, 3:03 PM 16. Dennis Covington: Lizard (Educator) 50. Ellen Levine: A Fence Away from Freedom (Educator) 17. Gary Crew: Strange Objects (Librarian) 51. Margaret Mahy: The Boy Who Was Followed Home 18. Gilbert Cross: A Hanging at Tyburn (Educator) (Librarian) 19. Charlotte Culin: Cages of Glass, Flowers of Time 52. Margaret Mahy: The Tricksters (Educator) (Educator) 53. John Marsden: So Much to Tell You by (Librarian) 20. Jane Louise Curry: The Bassumtype Treasure 54. Sharon Bell Mathis: Listen to the Fig Tree (Educator) (Librarian) 55. Mercer Mayer: Me and My Flying Machine (Parent) 21. Jennifer Dabbs: It’s Beyond Redemption (Librarian) 56. Eloise Jarvis McGraw: Greensleeves (Librarian) 22. Nicole Davidson: Crash Course(Librarian) 57. Theresa Nelson: Earthshine (Librarian) 23. Terry Davis: If Rock and Roll Were a Machine 58. Joan Lowery Nixon: House on Hackman’s Hill (Educator) (Educator) 24. Carl Deuker: Heart of a Champion (Librarian) 59. Roger Norman: Albion’s Dream (Parent) 25. John Donovan: I’ll Get There, It Better Be Worth the 60. Andre Norton: Stand and Deliver (Educator) Trip (Author ) 61. Andrew J. Offutt: The Galactic Rejects (Librarian) 26. Gerald Durrell: The Mockery Bird (Teenager) 62. Gary Paulsen: Harris and Me (Librarian) 27. Hazel Edwards: General Store (Educator) 63. Christopher Pike: Last Vampire Series (Librarian) 28. Carolyn Dwight Emerson: The Magic 64. Elizabeth Marie Pope: The Perilous Gard (Educator) Tunnel(Librarian) 65. Hans Jurgen Press: The Adventures of the Black 29. Zach Emerson: Welcome to Vietnam (Educator) Hand Gang (Educator) 30.Ronald Fair: Cornbread, Earl and Me (Educator) 66. Jean Renvoize: A Wild Thing (Librarian) 31. Mary Gallagher: Spend It Foolishly (Librarian) 67. David Rish: A Dozen Eggs (Librarian) 32. Paul Gallico: The Man Who Was Magic (Parent) 68. S.L. Rottman: Hero (Educator)* 33. Don Gallo: Connections (Educator)* 69. Marisabina Russo: House of Sports (Librarian) 34. Nancy Garden: Loners (Librarian) 70. James Willard Schultz: A Son of the Navajos 35. Sheila Garrigue: The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito (Educator) (Author) 71. Sheila Schwartz: Growing Up Guilty (Educator) 36. Libby Gleeson: Eleanor Elizabeth (Parent) 72. Barbara Shoup: Stranded in Harmony (Librarian) 37. Sheila Gordon: Waiting for the Rain (Educator) 73. Barbara Shoup: Wish You Were Here (Educator) 38. David Haynes: Right by My Side (Educator) 74. Betty Smith: Maggie-Now (Parent) 39. James Herriott: All Creatures Great and Small 75. Betty Smith: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Educator) (Educator) 76. Zilpha Keatley Snyder: Black & Blue Magic (Parent) 40. Karen Hesse: Witness (Educator) 77. Celia Strang: This Child Is Mine (Librarian) 41. William H. Hooks: Maria’s Cave (Educator) 78. Marc Talbert: The Heart of a Jaguar (Editor) 42. Paul Janesczko: Poetspeak: In Their work, about 79. Erika Tamar: Fair Game (Librarian) Their Work (Author) 80. Julian Thompson: The Grounding of Group Six 43. Philip D. Jordan: Fiddlefoot Jones of the North (Educator) Woods (Educator) 81.Yoshiko Uchida: Journey to Topaz (Educator) 44. Gordon and Bernice Korman: The D- Poems of 82. Dorothy Van Woerkom: Becky and the Bear (Librar- Jeremy Bloom (Educator) ian) 45. Gordon Korman: Don’t Care High (Educator) 83. Victoria Walker: The Winter of Enchantment 46. Gordon Korman: I Want to Go Home (Librarian) (Parent) 47. Gordon Korman: Macdonald Hall (Educator) 84. Stanley Gordon West: Growing an Inch (Educator) 48. Gordon Korman: Son of Interflux (Author) 85. Robert Westall: Gulf (Educator) 49. Evelyn Sibley Lampman: The City Under the Back 86. Robb White: The Lion’s Paw (Educator) Steps (Librarian) 87. Paul Zindel: The Pigman (Educator)

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 10 10/2/07, 3:03 PM Appendix 2

Letter from ALAN Executive Secretary Gary Salvner

ALAN

May 22, 2007

Dear Marge, Joan, and friends and family of Ted Hipple,

I’m sorry I can’t be with you on this special day. If anyone in the field of young adult literature deserves to have a special collection of YA titles named after him, it is Ted Hipple.

I succeeded Ted as Executive Secretary of ALAN in 2000—succeeded but didn’t replace a man who had given nearly 20 years of leadership to the organization. I had been president and on the ALAN board for a number of years, but I had no way of appreciating the steady, behind-the-scenes guidance Ted gave to us until I was challenged with taking over. Ted always made those management tasks look easy, alert continually to both small details and large implications. In particular, he was attentive to the people of ALAN, its members and officers. “Don’t worry; you’ll do fine,” Ted said as I took over, and it was only because he answered nearly all my frantic e-mails within hours that I got settled into what will always, to me, be “Ted’s job.”

If anything was professionally more important to Ted than ALAN, it was the field of young adult literature itself. None of us could keep up with his reading pace, and we all hung on those brief e-mails of his stating, “I just read. . . It’s a great one. Give it a try.” Ted Hipple shaped the summer reading lists of many, many professionals in the field with his “Give it a try” tips.

In a brief tribute to Ted after his death in 2004, I wrote, “Ted Hipple was like those great young adult novels he recommended—spirited, thoughtful, and masterfully composed. He was sometimes funny, always honest, never boring. Ted was the book you couldn’t put down. He’s the book we won’t forget.”

The Ted Hipple Special Collection of Autographed First-Edition and Out-of-Print Young Adult Books further ensures that we won’t forget this titan in the field of young adult literature. My greetings to all of you as you join to dedicate this very special collection in honor of a very special man.

Regards,

Gary Salvner

Gary Salvner Executive Secretary, ALAN Youngstown State University

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 11 10/2/07, 3:03 PM Appendix 3

The Ted Hipple Special Collection of Autographed First Edition and Out-of-Print Young Adult Books—Dedication May 23, 2007 * Advanced Reading Copy 33. Michael Cadnum: In a Dark Wood ** Both Advanced Reading Copy and First Edition 34. Michael Cadnum: Raven of the Waves 35. Elisa Carbone: Blood on the River, Jamestown 1607 1. Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak 36. Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game 2. Sandy Asher: Dude! Stories and Stuff for Boys 37. Michael Cart: The Best American Non-Required 3. Sandy Asher: On Her Way: Stories and Poems about Reading Growing Up a Girl 38. Michael Cart: From Romance to Realism: 50 Years of 4. Sandy Asher: Out of Here Growth and Change in Young Adult Literature 5. Sandy Asher: With All My Heart, With All My 39. Michael Cart: Love and Sex: Ten Stories of Truth Mind: 13 Stories about Growing Up Jewish 40. Michael Cart: My Father’s Scar 6. Andrew Auseon: Funny Little Monkey 41. Michael Cart: Necessary Noise: Stories about Our 7. *Avi: Crispin: The Cross of Lead Families as They Really Are 8. T. A. Barron: The Great Tree of Avalon Book One: 42. Michael Cart: Presenting Robert Lipsyte Child of the Dark Prophecy 43. Michael Cart: Tomorrowland: Stories about the 9. **T. A. Barron: The Great Tree of Avalon Book Two: Future Shadows on the Stars 44. Michael Cart: What’s So Funny? Wit and Humor in 10.T. A. Barron: The Great Tree of Avalon Book Three: Children’s Literature The Eternal Flame 45. James Bucky Carter: Building Literacy Connections 11 .T. A. Barron: The Hero’s Trail with Graphic Novels 12. *T. A. Barron: Tree Girl 46. Jan Cheripko: Rat 13. T. A. Barron: The Wings of Merlin 47. Judith Ortiz Cofer: The Year of Our Revolution 14. L. G. Bass: Sign of the Qin 48. **Sneed B. Collard: Flash Point 15. Joan Bauer: Best Foot Forward 49. Kevin Crossley-Holland: Arthur at the Crossing 16. Joan Bauer: Stand Tall Places 17. Marion Dane Bauer: Am I Blue? Coming Out from 50. **Chris Crowe: Getting Away with Murder: The True the Silence Story of the Emmett Till Case 18. Raymond Bial: Tenement: Immigrant Life on the 51. **Chris Crowe: Mississippi Trial, 1955 Lower East Side 52. Chris Crutcher: Ironman 19. Edward Bloor: Crusader 53. Chris Crutcher: The Sledding Hill 20. **Edward Bloor: London Calling 54. Chris Crutcher: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes 21. Edward Bloor: London Calling 55. **Chris Crutcher: Whale Talk 22. Sue Ellen Bridgers: All We Know of Heaven 56. Christopher Paul Curtis: Bucking the Sarge 23. Sue Ellen Bridgers: Keeping Christina 57. Karen Cushman: Matilda Bone 24. Sue Ellen Bridgers: Permanent Connections 58. Maureen Daly: Acts of Love 25. Kevin Brooks: Lucas: A Story of Love and Hate 59. Dana Davidson: Jason Kyra 26. Kevin Brooks: Martyn Pig 60. Monalisa DeGross: Donavan’s Word Jar 27. Martha Brooks: Being with Henry 61. Mark Delaney: Misfits No. 2: Of Heroes and Villains 28. Jen Bryant: Pieces of Georgia 62. Mark Delaney: Pepperland 29. Jen Bryant: Thomas Merton: Poet, Prophet, Priest 63. Matt de la Pena: Ball Don’t Lie 30. Jen Bryant: The Trial 64. Sarah Dessen: Dreamland 31. Dori Hillestad Butler: Do You Know the Monkey Man? 65. Sarah Dessen: Just Listen 32. Michael Cadnum: Forbidden Forest: The Story of 66. Kenneth L. Donelson & Alleen Pace Nilsen: Litera- Little John and Robin Hood ture for Today’s Young Adults

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 12 10/2/07, 3:03 PM 67. Jennifer Donnelly: A Northern Light 111. Nancy Garden: Endgame 68. Sharon Draper: Copper Son 112. Nancy Garden: Good Moon Rising 69. Sharon M. Draper: Jazzimagination: A Journal to 113. Nancy Garden: Lark in the Morning Read and Write 114. Nancy Garden: The Year They Burned the Books 70. Sharon M. Draper: Tears of a Tiger 115. Mel Glenn: Class Dismissed! 71. Lois Duncan: Seasons of the Heart 116. Mel Glenn: Split Image: A Story in Poems 72. Lois Duncan: They Never Came Home 117. Alan Gratz: Samurai Shortstop 73. Jeanne DuPrau: The City of Ember 118. Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan: Vincent van 74. Laura Elliot: Annie, Between the States Gogh, Portrait of an Artist 75. Laura Elliott: Flying South 119. Nikki Grimes: Bronx Masquerade 76. L.M. Elliott: Give Me Liberty 120. Nikki Grimes: Dark Sons 77. L.M. Elliott: Under a War Torn Sky 121. *Nikki Grimes: The Road to Paris 78. Deborah Ellis: A Company of Fools 122. *Brent Hartinger: The Order of the Poison Oak 79. Nancy Farmer: The Ear, the Eye and the Arm 123. Jim Haskins: Separate But Not Equal: The Dream 80. Nancy Farmer: The House of the Scorpion and the Struggle 81. Jean Ferris: Love Among the Walnuts 124. Patricia Hermes: Emma Dilemma and the New Nanny 82. *Sharon G. Flake: Bang! 125. Karen Hesse: Letters from Rifka 83. Sharon G. Flake: The Skin I’m In 126. Karen Hesse: Phoenix Rising 84. Sharon G. Flake: Who Am I Without Him: Short 127. *Linda Oatman High: Sister Slam and the Poetic Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives Motormouth Road Trip 85. Paul Fleischman: Breakout 128. Valerie Hobbs: Sonny’s War 86. Alex Flinn: Breathing Underwater 129. Will Hobbs: Crossing the Wire 87. Adrian Fogelin: Anna Casey’s Place in the World 130. Will Hobbs: Down the Yukon 88. Adrian Fogelin: The Big Nothing 131. Will Hobbs: Ghost Canoe 89. Adrian Fogelin: Crossing Jordan 132. Will Hobbs: Jackie’s Wild Seattle 90. Adrian Fogelin: My Brother’s Hero 133. Will Hobbs: Leaving Protection 91. **Adrian Fogelin: The Real Question 134. Will Hobbs: The Maze 92. Adrian Fogelin: Sister Spider Knows All 135. Will Hobbs: River Thunder 93. Russell Freedman: Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of 136. Will Hobbs: Wild Man Island Discovery 137. Michael Hoeye: No Time Like Show Time 94. Cornelia Funke: Inkspell 138. Gloria Houston: Littlejim’s Dreams 95. Don Gallo: Center Stage: Plays for Young Adults 139. Gloria Houston: Mountain Valor (original manuscript) 96. Don Gallo: Connections 140. Gloria Houston: Mountain Valor 97. Don Gallo: Destination Unexpected 141. Pat Hughes: Open Ice 98. Don Gallo: First Crossing 142. Jeanette Ingold: The Big Burn 99. Don Gallo: Join In 143. Jeanette Ingold: Pictures, 1918 100. Don Gallo: No Easy Answers 144. Angela Johnson: Gone from Home 101. Don Gallo: On the Fringe 145. *Patrick Jones: Nailed 102. Don Gallo: Short Circuits 146. Gail Karwoski: Miracle: The True Story of the Wreck 103. Don Gallo: Sixteen of the Sea Adventure 104. Don Gallo: Time Capsule 147. Gail Karwoski: Quake: Disaster in San Francisco, 1906 105. Don Gallo: Ultimate Sports 148. Gail Karwoski: Tsunami: The True Story of an April 106. Don Gallo: Visions Fools’ Day Disaster 107. **Don Gallo: What Are You Afraid Of? Stories 149. Joan F. Kaywell: Adolescent Literature as a Comple- about Phobias ment to the Classics, Volume One 108. Don Gallo: Within Reach 150. **Joan F. Kaywell: Dear Author: Letters of Hope 109. Nancy Garden: Annie on My Mind 151. Joan F. Kaywell: Using Literature to Help Troubled 110. Nancy Garden: Dove and Sword Teenagers Cope with Family Issues

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 13 10/2/07, 3:03 PM 152. Sally M. Keehn: The First Horse I See 199. Gloria D. Miklowitz: Close to the Edge (paperback) 153. M. E. Kerr: Blood On The Forehead 200. Gloria D. Miklowitz: The Emerson High Vigilantes 154. M. E. Kerr: “Hello,” I Lied 201. Gloria D. Miklowitz: The Enemy Has a Face 155. M. E. Kerr: Little Little 202. Gloria D. Miklowitz: Harry Truman 156. M. E. Kerr: Slap Your Sides. 203. Gloria D. Miklowitz: Masada: The Last Fortress 157. M. E. Kerr: What I Really Think of You 204. Gloria D. Miklowitz: The Love Bombers (paperback) 158. M. E. Kerr: Your Eyes In Stars 205. Gloria D. Miklowitz: Past Forgiving 159. Daniel Keyes: Algernon, Charlie and I: A Writer’s 206. Gloria D. Miklowitz: Runaway (paperback) Journey 207. Gloria D. Miklowitz: Secrets in the House of Delgado 160. David Klass: You Don’t Know Me 208. Gloria D. Miklowitz: The War Between the Classes 161. Annette Curtis Klause: Freaks Alive, on the Inside! (paperback) 162. Ron Koertge: The Brimstone Journals 209. Ken Mochizuki: Beacon Hill Boys 163. Ron Koertge: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright 210. Jaclyn Moriarty: The Year of Secret Assignments 164. Ron Koertge: Shakespeare Bats Cleanup 211. Walter Dean Myers: The Greatest: Muhammad Ali 165. Kathe Koja: Buddha Boy 212. Walter Dean Myers: Malcolm X: By Any Means 166. Kathe Koja: Talk Necessary 167. Gordon Korman: Son of the Mob 213. Walter Dean Myers: The Righteous Revenge of 168. Marie G. Lee: F Is for Fabuloso Artemis Bonner 169. Marie G. Lee: Necessary Roughness 214. Donna Jo Napoli: The Bravest Thing 170. A.C. LeMieux: Dare to Be, Me! 215. Donna Jo Napoli: Crazy Jack 171. A.C. LeMieux: Do Angels Sing the Blues? 216. Donna Jo Napoli: The Great God Pan 172. A.C. LeMieux: The TV Guidance Counselor 217. Donna Jo Napoli: Jimmy, the Pickpocket of the Palace 173. Gail Carson Levine: Ella Enchanted 218. Donna Jo Napoli: On Guard 174. David Levithan: The Realm of Possibility 219. Donna Jo Napoli: Shark Shock 175. Robert Lipsyte: The Brave 220. Donna Jo Napoli: Shelley Shock 176. Robert Lipsyte: The Chemo Kid 221. Donna Jo Napoli: Spinners 177. Robert Lipsyte: The Chief 222. Donna Jo Napoli: Ugly 178. Robert Lipsyte: Free to Be Muhammad Ali 223. John Neufeld: Boys Lie 179. Robert Lipsyte: Raiders Night 224. Joan Lowery Nixon: Playing for Keeps 180. E. Lockhart: The Boyfriend List 225. Joan Lowery Nixon: The Weekend was Murder! 181. David Lubar: Dunk 226. Han Nolan: A Face in Every Window 182. David Lubar: True Talents 227. Naomi Shihab Nye: The Space between Our 183. Chris Lynch: Dog Eat Dog Footsteps: Poems and Paintings from the Middle 184. Chris Lynch: Inexcusable East 185. Chris Lynch: Political Timber 228. Susan Heyboer O’Keefe: My Life and Death by 186. Chris Lynch: Slot Machine Alexandra Canarsie 187. Carolyn MacCullough: Stealing Henry 229. James Patterson: Maximum Ride: The Angel 188. Victor Martinez: Parrot in the Oven, Mi Vida Experiment 189. Alfred C. Martino: Pinned 230. James Patterson: Maximum Ride: School’s Out- 190. Susan C. McCarthy: Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands Forever 191. Susan C. McCarthy: True Fires 231. Edith Pattou: East 192. Janet McDonald: Brother Hood 232. Gary Paulsen: Brian’s Hunt 193. Janet McDonald: Chill Wind 233. Gary Paulsen: Brian’s Winter 194. Janet McDonald: Spellbound 234. Gary Paulsen: The River 195. Janet McDonald: Twists and Turns 235. Mary E. Pearson: David V. God 196. Carolyn Meyer: Mary, Bloody Mary 236. Mary E. Pearson: A Room on Lorelei Street 197. *Ben Mikaelsen: Countdown 237. Mary E. Pearson: Scribbler of Dreams 198. Gloria D. Miklowitz: Camouflage 238. Richard Peck: A Long Way from Chicago

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 14 10/2/07, 3:03 PM 239. Richard Peck: The Teacher’s Funeral, A Comedy in Autobiography of a Kid Three Parts 282. Jerry Spinelli: Milkweed 240. Robert Newton Peck: A Day No Pigs Would Die 283. Shelley Stoehr: Weird on the Outside 241. Lynne Rae Perkins: Criss Cross 284. Tanya Lee Stone: A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl 242. **Julie Anne Peters: Between Mom and Jo 285. Joyce Sweeney: Shadow 243. Rodman Philbrick: The Last Book in the Universe 286. Ann Turner: Learning to Swim (A Memoir) 244. Carol Plum-Ucci: The Body of Christopher Creed 287. Megan Whalen Turner: King of Attolia 245. Adam Rapp: The Buffalo Tree 288. Susan Vaught: Trigger 246. Adam Rapp: The Copper Elephant 289. Deb Vanasse: A Distant Enemy 247. Marilyn Reynolds: Beyond Dreams 290. Vivian Vande Velde: Smart Dog 248. Marilyn Reynolds: No More Sad Goodbyes (original 291. Wendelin Van Draanen: Swear to Howdy manuscript) 292. *Ned Vizzini: Be More Chill 249. Ann Rinaldi: Millicent’s Gift 293. Rich Wallace: Losing Is Not an Option, Stories 250. *Ann Rinaldi: Mine Eyes Have Seen 294. Virginia Walter & Katrina Roeckelein: Making 251. *Ann Rinaldi: A Stitch in Time (The Quilt Trilogy) Up Megaboy 252. John H. Ritter: The Boy Who Saved Baseball 295. Will Weaver: Hard Ball 253. John H. Ritter: Under the Baseball Moon 296. Will Weaver: Memory Boy 254. Harriette Gillem Robinet: Children of the Fire 297. M. Jerry & Helen S. Weiss: Big City Cool: Short 255. S. L. Rottman: Head above Water Stories about Urban Youth (paper) 256. S. L. Rottman: Hero 298. M. Jerry & Helen S. Weiss: Dreams and Visions: 257. S. L. Rottman: Rough Waters Fourteen Flight of Fantasy (paper) 258. S. L. Rottman: Shadow of a Doubt 299. Carol Lynch Williams: Adeline Street 259. **Pam Munoz Ryan: Esperanza Rising 300. Carol Lynch Williams: Carolina Autumn 260. Graham Salisbury: Island Boyz Short Stories 301. Carol Lynch Williams: A Mother to Embarrass Me 261. Graham Salisbury: Lord of the Deep 302. Carol Lynch Williams: The True Colors of Caitlynne 262. Allan R. Shickman: Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adven- Jackson ture (Earthshakerbooks, Bonnie Lenz) 303. Diane Lee Wilson: Black Storm Comin’ 263. Gary D. Schmidt: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster 304. Ellen Wittlinger: Blind Faith Boy 305. Ellen Wittlinger: Heart on My Sleeve 264. Sherry Shahan: Death Mountain 306. Ellen Wittlinger: Sandpiper 265. Neal Shusterman: Dissidents 307. Jacqueline Woodson: Behind You 266. Neal Shusterman: Full Tilt 308. Jacqueline Woodson: The House that You Pass on 267. Neal Shusterman: The Schwa Was Here the Way 268. Neal Shusterman: The Shadow Club 309. Jacqueline Woodson: If You Come Softly 269. Neal Shusterman: The Shadow Club Rising 310. Jacqueline Woodson: Miracle’s Boys 270. Neal Shusterman: Thief of Souls 311. Sharon Dennis Wyeth: The World of Daughter 271. Marilyn Singer: How to Cross a Pond: Poems about McGuire Water 312. Tim Wynne-Jones: The Book of Changes 272. **Alan Lawrence Sitomer: Hip-Hop High School 313. Tim Wynne-Jones: Lord of the Fries and Other 273. *Alan Lawrence Sitomer: Homeboyz Stories 274. *Alan Lawrence Sitomer: The Hoopster 314. Tim Wynne-Jones: Some of the Kinder Planets 275. William Sleator: The Boxes 315. Tim Wynne-Jones: Stephen Fair 276. William Sleator: The Last Universe 316. Tim Wynne-Jones: A Thief in the House of Memory 277. William Sleator: Marco’s Millions 317. Jane Yolen: The One-Armed Queen 278. Cynthia Leitich Smith: Tantalize 318. Jane Yolen: Sister Light/Sister Dark 279. Sonya Sones: What My Mother Doesn’t Know 319. Jane Yolen: White Jenna 280. Gary Soto: Fearless Fernie (Poems) 320. Paul Zindel: The Doom Stone 281. Jerry Spinelli: Knots in My Yo-yo String: The 321. Paul Zindel: Reef of Death

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

c6_15TAR_Fall07 15 10/2/07, 3:03 PM William Broz Professional Resource Connection

with guest contributors Jeff Copeland and Jerome Klinkowitz

Inman’s War: Genre Jumping Brings to Life the Letters of an African American WWII Soldier (Plus, a Bibliography of African American WWII Literature Suitable for YA Readers

have written about the literature librarians and English teachers have was a moving read, and it is a great of WWII in this space before become in spreading the word to book for young adults. In my I (“Finding Small Press and Self- their social studies colleagues about opinion, it achieves this status by Published Books about WWII.” the value of their students reading blurring the lines of genre. The Volume 32, Number 1, Fall 2004), book-length fiction and nonfiction book is largely a first-person and I will probably do it again if the texts, especially texts about WWII. narrative constructed from the editors let me. That is because I This time I am offering resources letters of Inman Perkins (a WWII have seen so many great middle about the literature of WWII as it GI) and the extensive research that school teachers attach units of depicts African-Americans. grew out of those letters. It is not robust and engaging literature of I am inspired in this effort by fiction and it is not non-fiction, and WWII onto a common reading of having just finished Inman’s War: the text of the book is a first-person the play The Diary of Anne Frank A Soldier’s Story of Life in a Colored narrative rather than a collection of found in many middle school Battalion in WWII by Jeffrey S. letters. literature anthologies. More recently Copeland. You are going to be Below, distinguished literary I have seen how effective both hearing about this book from many scholar Jerome Klinkowitz offers a middle school and high school sources, if you haven’t already. It review of Inman’s War. That review is followed by something you cannot find within the pages of Inman’s War—a photocopy of one of Inman Perkins’ letters to his wife, Olivia, accompanied by notes that show Copeland planning how to spin the letter into his first- person narrative. This column concludes with an annotated bibliography of books about African-Americans in WWII compiled and introduced by Inman’s War author and professor of young adult literature Jeffrey Copeland. But first I want to entice you with the story about the

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

d16_24_TAR_Fall07 16 10/2/07, 3:01 PM writing of Inman’s War. The truth is Reviewed by Jerome Klinkowitz, Profes- stranger than fiction. sor of English, University of Northern The letters were from a Iowa Once upon a time, in the fall of 2002, Jeffrey Copeland, whose area young African-American Inman Perkins was a science of YA literature is the lives of poets teacher at Charles Sumner High who write for young adults, and WWII soldier to his wife. School in St. Louis, Missouri. There who had little past experience with Some were from the wife he met and married Olivia artistic or creative writing, Merriwether, who taught science. In stumbled across an old suitcase full to the soldier—nearly 150 1942, he joined the United States of letters at a flea market in Army Air Force, serving in a Signal Belleville, Illinois, just across the letters written between Construction Battalion that saw Mississippi River from his home- fall 1942 and late spring combat in Italy—at Anzio, which town of St. Louis, Missouri. The saw some of the fiercest and letters were from a young African- 1944. costliest fighting of World War II. American WWII soldier to his wife. As a teacher, he was a leader, and Some were from the wife to the became even more of one in the to read the accounts of the battal- soldier—nearly 150 letters written service. In doing so, he quickly ion Perkins lead. And there is more between fall 1942 and late spring attained the rank of First Sergeant. to the story of writing this book 1944. The reading of those letters Why not higher? Because he was an that you can read about in sent Copeland on an odyssey. He African American. His unit was Copeland’s introduction to his went to the school in St. Louis segregated; officers’ commissions annotated bibliography below. where the husband and wife had were limited to whites. Being First When I read Inman’s War, I taught and was told, “The records Sergeant was as far as Inman thought it was perfect for young might be stored downtown some- Perkins was allowed to go. adult readers as well as for anyone where.” But on the way out of the To his men, however, he might interested in WWII or the African- building the elderly custodian who as well have been a general, a American experience in the Mid- had overheard said, “I know about highly respected and beloved one at west in the 1940’s. It would be a Inman and Olivia Perkins.” that. Disregarding military custom, great book for high school history Copeland learned that some of that they saluted him as if he were students or college students in schools students of the era in which General Eisenhower himself. And African-American Studies. I hope the Perkins taught were quite well while it is the Eisenhowers and The ALAN Review readers keep known. Later, standing in line after Pattons who have had their stories teaching those important units on a lecture to meet the great Dick told by leading historians, it is WWII and encourage individual Gregory who had been one of Sergeant Perkins who (with scholar students and reading groups to read Olivia’s students, Copeland showed Jeffrey S. Copeland’s help) tells his widely in the scores of great books Gregory a picture of Inman in own. During his training in the U.S. on the subject. I hope that the uniform standing next to Olivia on and while stationed abroad, Inman following review and bibliography the steps of the high school and wrote his fiancée (and soon, will help you round out your asked him if he remembered these secretly, his wife) Olivia nearly 150 classroom and library collections. people. Recognizing his teacher letters, which she saved for the rest Gregory got misty-eyed, and when of her life. For Inman’s War those Review of Inman’s War he learned of the letters and the letters are used to create an book in-progress asked if he could Inman’s War: A Soldier’s Story of autobiographical narrative that tells write the introduction. Copeland Life in a Colored Battalion in an important story of what some traveled to several repositories of WWII. By Jeffrey S. Copeland. St. have called America’s Greatest military archives only to learn that Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2006. Generation, a story that now has a he was the first person since 1945 366 pp. Paperback. $17.95 rainbow hue.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

d16_24_TAR_Fall07 17 10/2/07, 3:02 PM Inman Perkins’ tale could have the rescue of some villagers trapped been one of limitations: of having He persevered as a leader in a bombed building. It’s a tricky to teach only African American task, putting his men at great risk. students, themselves restricted to a of soldiers; she continued He must commandeer building segregated high school; having to supplies and improvise a structural marry Olivia in secret, because at as a teacher (of some support that allows his men to that time in that school district, remarkable students, climb through the teetering rubble married women were not allowed (past an unexploded bomb) and to continue their careers as educa- including Arthur Ashe, bring the survivors to safety. tors; of having to serve in what was Instead of killing Germans, Inman’s formally named as a “colored” Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, battalion saves Italians. Needless to battalion (other battalions were and Dick Gregory, the last say, they are hailed as heroes. colored, too, but their color was With full respect for Inman white); and having to discover the of whom has honored her Perkins’ story, Jeffrey S. Copeland racial attitudes of the American effectively “channels” himself as South, after being raised in middle with an introduction to the teacher/sergeant’s voice, taking class circumstances in Des Moines, this volume). letters and developing them into a Iowa. Thankfully, neither Inman coherent, compelling story. That nor Olivia let themselves be many of them were love letters hamstrung by these obstacles. He does not detract in the least. persevered as a leader of soldiers; expectations. Because both Inman Instead, it gives the story its fullest she continued as a teacher (of some (in the service) and Olivia (in high dimension. Inman loved Olivia, and remarkable students, including school) are devoting themselves to she him. He loved his men, and Arthur Ashe, Tina Turner, Chuck informing and inspiring others, they him. And whether at war or in Berry, and Dick Gregory, the last of their leadership makes issues of the the classroom, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins whom has honored her with an day all the more critical. Inman, for loved their country, making it better introduction to this volume). example, has to teach men how to by everything they did. Succeeding against the odds has drive Army vehicles, and some of *** become popular lore for the these men have never sat in the What Jerome Klinkowitz means by attractiveness of their generation, front seat of a car! He stands up for using the term “channeling” can be and the materials of Inman’s War them when custom would restrict seen by considering the Inman substantiate the claim people of their Rest & Relaxation time to the Perkins letter in Figure 1, this era make for our sympathy and base and its environs, instead of the Copeland’s notes on the letter, and admiration. more exciting prospects of some a quote from the book that is Because the materials of Inman time off in Mexico. He guides them connected to the letter and the Perkins’ letters have been woven through minefields—some laid by notes. into such an appealing story, Germans, other (metaphorically, Here we see Copeland making readers can get a true sense of what but no less real in their effect) by notes to create the first-person life was like for a pair of two still racial custom in our own military. narrative out of the letters. relatively young people in the years That Inman led men in a Signal just before and during World War Construction Battalion proves Notes—Letter, June 8, 1943: II—life not just from an African significant. His unit endured all the 1. First of all, Inman talks in this American perspective, but from risks of combat forces, yet with a letter about the “Special Ser- viewpoint of people born into a different mission: not to destroy but vices” organization set up for all world on the threshold of great, to build. They supported troops, things related to recreation and even monumental change— an era, but also civilians. One of the book’s athletics at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, in other words, somewhat like our most impressive episodes comes Texas. He was actually elected own time of millennial fears and near the end, when Inman directs President/representative of his

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

d16_24_TAR_Fall07 18 10/2/07, 3:02 PM Figure 1.

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d16_24_TAR_Fall07 19 10/2/07, 3:02 PM segment of the council (repre- lation size, and card tables and chairs senting the 449th). What he did that didn’t collapse when leaned on This became a running or sat in. The Club also had a jukebox not know at the time he wrote stuffed with the latest Glen Miller and this letter was that while he was joke between Inman and Benny Goodman records and a large allowed to be part of the overall Olivia in their letters dance floor right next to it. . . . We council, recreation and athletics had our own recreation area in the were still to remain segregated because the 449th never barracks and had converted part of the on the base. A little over a motor pool into our own version of a Service Club, but it wasn’t even close month later he wrote Olivia got [a movie projector] to being in the same league as the base about his surprise in discovering club. For the men, the base club was this fact. In other words, he was through normal channels. like entering the gates of Shangri-La. invited to the table, but he It was just one of many Colonel Ellis had stuttered and wasn’t invited to eat . . . stammered that first week we came to camp when he explained to me that 2. He also talks here about a movie promises made to the our battalion [the only colored battal- projector that was supposed to th ion on the base] would be allowed to be given to his outfit. This 449 that never material- use the club only on Thursday eve- became a running joke between ized. Eventually, his friend, nings. I asked it all of the other groups Inman and Olivia in their letters on the base had special nights as well. because the 449th never got one His response was, “Well, others use Williams, had to go to the the club the rest of the time.” through normal channels. It was I was sorting files at the time and just one of many promises made other side of the base to pretended not to hear him. Without to the 449th that never material- “borrow” one. looking up, I said, “I’m sorry, Sir. I was ized. Eventually, his friend, looking for something and missed Williams, had to go to the other what you were saying. So, other groups on the base have their own side of the base to “borrow” one. Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he had taught special nights, too?” 3. In this letter Inman talks about “Sort of, They all . . . that is . . . before the war. Unfortunately, the the new U.S.O. club (what it’s used by . . .” he said, struggling Inman’s battalion called the “day” did not coincide with his for words and chopping sentences in Service Club). Although he says leave, so those at Sumner held it two. Finally he just blurted out, “Well, in this letter he doubted a rumor without him present. Olivia said it’s restrict . . .”—and he minute he said it I saw out of the corner of my from another sergeant that a few words on his behalf. The voice of Inman Perkins telling eye his eyes widen as he realized what Inman would be giving a talk at he had started to say. He quickly his own story in the text is amazing the dedication, he did end up shouted out, louder than he probably doing exactly that. However, as we see on page 234 of Inman’s meant to, “I mean it’s reserved the rest after all the pomp and circum- War. This scene takes place in the of the week!” He paused a minute, taking his stance surrounding the dedica- office of the white colonel in charge of the colored battalion where glasses off to wipe them with his hand- tion died down, Inman’s battal- kerchief, and added, softly, “Our bat- Inman, a master sergeant, spends ion was allowed the use of the talion gets to use it Thursday nights, facility just one night per week. some of his time as an administra- OK?” This limited use eventually led tive assistant. “If you say so, Sir,” was all I could think of to say. I understood perfectly to one of the major conflicts The most anticipated night of the week what he meant. Perfectly. between the men of the 449th was Thursday night. Thursday night and others on the base (de- was our one and only night to use the Inman’s War reads like a novel, but scribed in the book). base Service Club. . . . The Service it is more and less than a novel. It Club was popular with the men be- is A Soldier’s Story of Life in a 4. The “Red Letter Day” he is cause it had brand-new pool tables talking about in the letter was with smooth felt, Ping-Pong tables that Colored Battalion in WWII. “Inman Perkins Day” at Charles were level, shuffleboard tables of regu- ***

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

d16_24_TAR_Fall07 20 10/2/07, 3:02 PM Chasing Ghosts: African- segregated, “Colored Battalion.” His Perkins’ experiences. Along the American Contributions in letters described and detailed way, the ghosts started to take World War II everything from life in a crowded form, finally started to achieve flesh army barracks to the particulars of and bones. It became more and Finally, Jeffrey S. Copeland what he was taught in the “sepa- more clear that the men of the offers a few words of his own, as rate but equal” training classes 449th, like those in so many other well as a bibliography (see p. 00): given to his battalion, the “449th segregated battalions, were truly The journey started on a hot Signal Construction Battalion, Army unsung, and often invisible, heroes and dusty Saturday morning at an Air Corps.” Through the years of the great conflict of World War outdoor flea market in Belleville, readers have been presented with II. Illinois. Piles of old letters were wonderful accounts of the “group” While completing this back- stacked haphazardly in a suitcase achievements of units like the Red ground research, I paused to take a balancing precariously on the edge Ball Express, Tuskegee Airmen, and look at the other literature written of a dealer’s table. I picked up a the 761st Tank Battalion. However, about the contributions of other couple of the letters and started the letters I held in my hand that African-American soldiers who reading them. I immediately Saturday morning provided a look served during the war. The list, at discovered two things. First, the behind a curtain that had been first, appeared thin. Very thin. It letters were World War II vintage. largely closed, and tightly, since the took side trips down many paths, Second, the voice in the letters conclusion of the war. but a core list of books finally touched something deep within me. The journey—make that the began to emerge. Within this list, it Most of the letters were from a quest—that followed to bring this immediately became apparent that Sergeant Inman Perkins to Olivia story to paper took me to muse- most of the books about the Merriwether of St. Louis, Missouri. ums, archives, military installa- African-American involvement in The more I read into the letters, the tions, and schools across the the war could be classified into four more my mind began racing. Who country for the gathering of the categories: Books describing were these people—and what had necessary background information specific events or battles; Unit happened to them? I purchased the to fill in the gaps in Sergeant (group) histories of the “Colored letters and began a quest that I Battalions”; Books about the could not have imagined in my experiences of individual soldiers wildest dreams. Why are there so many (very few. . .); Books dealing When I got back home that primarily with how the African- same afternoon, I put the letters in important stories in this American soldiers were coping with chronological order and started the two-front war many were facing area being published by reading through them. It was only at the time—the conflict overseas then I realized Sergeant Inman university presses? Partly VS the racial conflict still present on Perkins was a member of what, at the homefront in the U.S. It should the time of World War II, was called because titles written also be noted that books in these a “Colored Battalion,” a label that categories written specifically for was, sadly, fitting for many of that specifically for younger younger readers are a relatively era because of the segregation that readers have not yet recent development, paralleling the was a fact of life in the armed rise of multicultural studies in the forces. Sergeant Perkins was a found their way into schools. For now, young readers talented and gifted writer with an interested in these areas will need eye for detail. His nearly one print—but they will, no to expand their reading horizons hundred and fifty letters provided a doubt, in the coming and sample everything from titles chronicle of a story not told before: written specifically for them to A personal account of what life was years. scholarly examinations published like for the individual soldier in a by university presses—and every-

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

d16_24_TAR_Fall07 21 10/2/07, 3:02 PM thing in between (NOTE: Why are disturbing stories of the war. An once they joined the American there so many important stories in accidental explosion killed over forces.) this area being published by 300 African-American soldiers Colley, David P. Blood for Dignity: university presses? Partly because serving at Port Chicago, Califor- The Story of the First Integrated titles written specifically for nia. When survivors of the Combat Unit in the U.S. Army. younger readers have not yet found disaster refused to return to St. Martin’s Griffin, 2004. (240 their way into print—but they will, unsafe working conditions, over pages). (A quick and compelling no doubt, in the coming years.) two hundred were court mar- read. Relates the story of What follows is an annotated shaled.) African-American troops that bibliography of the core group of Brooks, Philip. The Tuskegee were added to combat units near titles that kept showing up during Airmen. Compass Point Books, the end of World War II. They my search—and those recom- 2005. (48 pages). (Not as were mostly unwelcome . . .) mended to me by young readers comprehensive as most books on form across the land. Colley, David P. The Road to the subject, but important Victory: The Untold Story of because it explores the history of World War II’s Red Ball Express. An Annotated Bibliography how the unit came about. Warner Books, 2001 (336 pages). —The African-American Targeted for middle school (One of the best accounts of the Experience in World War readers.) convoy unit that helped supply II: America’s Unsung, Bruning: John Robert, Jr. Elusive the troops as the allies advanced Invisible Heroes Glory: African-American Heroes on Germany. Their contributions Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Walton. of World War II. Avisson, 2001. are described here through Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story (135 pages). (Biographical interviews with former drivers of the 761st Tank Battalion, profiles of African-American and detailed research. A fine WWII’s Forgotten Heroes. soldiers who were awarded the book.) Congressional Medal of Honor (7 Broadway Publishers, 2004. (320 Cooper, Michael L. The Double V of them). Also includes bio- pages). (This story of the “Black Campaign: African Americans graphical sketches of some of the Panthers” is a must for class and World War II. Lodestar more prominent Tuskegee libraries because of its detailed Books, 1998. (86 pages). Airmen. Targeted for middle look at the almost constant racial (Describes how the contributions school readers and up.) issues that faced these gallant to the war effort were in stark men while they were in combat. Carroll, Peter N., Michael Nash, contrast to the reception the Young readers enjoy the third and Melvin Small. The Good soldiers received when they person point of view used to tell Fight Continues: World War II returned home. Has section of the story.) Letters from the Abraham photos and maps. Targeted for Adler, David A. Joe Louis: Lincoln Brigade. New York middle school readers.) University Press, 2006 (300 America’s Fighter. Gulliver Copeland, Jeffrey S. Inman’s War: pages). (A very readable account Books/Harcourt, 2005. (32 A Soldier’s Story of Life in a of the exploits of the “Lincoln pages). (While not exclusively Colored Battalion in WWII. Brigade,” a volunteer outfit that about Mr. Louis’ army service Paragon House, 2006. (366 fought during the Spanish Civil during WWII, the book does pages). (Book provides an War right before the U.S. present a fine look at his individual, personal account of involvement in WW II. Also contributions to the war effort. the life and service of Sergeant follows the men through their For primary grades.) Inman Perkins of the 449th Signal eventual service with the U.S. Allen, Robert L. The Port Chicago Construction Battalion, Army Air Army and contrasts their Mutiny. Heyday Books, 2006. Corps. Includes detailed Epi- treatment while in Spain with (244 pages). (One of the more logue.) the discrimination they faced

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d16_24_TAR_Fall07 22 10/2/07, 3:02 PM Francis, Charles E. and Adolph distinguishes this one is the American experience in WW II Caso. The Tuskegee Airmen: The authors included interviews with through letters sent home from Men Who Changed a Nation. the pilots and their family mem- soldiers in many of the segre- Branden Books, 1997 (496 bers. A very personal, sensitive gated units.) pages). (Book is important look at this exceptional unit.) McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick because it contains over one Homan, Lynn M. and Thomas McKissack. Red-Tail Angels: The hundred pictures, may of them Reilly. Tuskegee Airmen: Ameri- Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of never seen before, of the can Heroes. Pelican Publishing, World War II. Walker and Airmen. The photos bring the 2002. (85 pages). (Written in Company, 1995. (136 pages). pilots to life in a way other novel form, a substitute teacher (One of the “Best Books for books do not.) keeps a class spellbound as he Young Adults “ in 1996. Has Griggs, William E. and Phillip J. relates his experiences during become something of a “modern Merrill. The World War II Black WWII as a member of the classic” in multicultural studies. Regiment That Built the Alaska Tuskegee Airmen. Great for a Different from most others on Military Highway: A Photo- read-aloud experience. Targeted this subject by quality of the graphic History. University of for middle school readers.) writing and inclusion of first- Mississippi Press, 2002. (195 person accounts of many of the Jefferson, Alexander and Lewis pages). (A beautiful book Airmen. A must for classroom Carlson. Red Tail Captured, Red containing a chronological libraries.) Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee history of the creation of this Airman and POW. Fordham Moore, Brenda L. To Serve My important highway. Also a look University Press, 2005. (133 Country, to Serve My Race: The at the non-combat contributions pages). (Story is nearly unique Story of the Only African Ameri- of African-American soldiers.) as it is the personal account of can WACS Stationed Overseas Harris, Jacqueline L. The Tuskegee one of the very few African- During World War II. New York Airmen: Black Heroes of World American soldiers to become a University Press, 1998. (240 War II. Dillon Press, 1996. (144 prisoner of war. Also contains pages). (One of only a handful pages). (What makes this book the drawings done by the of accounts of the contributions different, and important, is that Airman while a prisoner in of African-American women to it contains many first-person Germany.) the war effort. Book is based in accounts. Also has a comprehen- part on interviews with those Kelly, Mary Pat. Proudly We Served: sive, and useful, bibliography. who served in the 6888 Central The Men of the USS Mason. Targeted for middle/high school Postal Directory Battalion. A Naval Institute Press, rev. ed. readers.) quick read and an important 1999. (220 pages). (Somewhat book.) Hasday, Judy L. The Tuskegee difficult to navigate at times, but Airmen. Chelsea House, 2003. still an important account of a Moore, Christopher. Fighting for (108 pages). (One of the better convoy escort ship where the America: Black Soldiers—The accounts and loaded with crew was almost entirely Unsung Heroes of World War II. archival pictures. Excellent composed of African-American Presidio Press, rev.ed. 2005. (400 timeline traces complete history sailors. Includes letters from and pages). (BIG book, but important of the unit. Targeted for high photographs of the sailors.) because it includes newspaper school readers.) articles of the era to supplement McGuire, Phillip. Taps for a Jim the text, which provides a Homan, Lynn M. and Thomas Crow Army: Letters from Black context not found in most other Reilly. Black Knights: The Story Soldiers in World War II. Univer- books on the subject.) of the Tuskegee Airmen. Pelican sity Press of Kentucky, 1993. Publishing, 2001. (336 pages). (276 pages). (Book shares a Owens, Emiel W. Blood on German (Another excellent book. What personal view of the African- Snow: An African-American

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d16_24_TAR_Fall07 23 10/2/07, 3:02 PM Artilleryman in WWII and an important part of the pages). (One of the few, and Beyond. Texas A&M University battalion’s history that has best, accounts of the contribu- Press, 2006. (160 pages). (Traces seldom been addressed in the tions of African-American troops the life of Mr. Owens from his history books.) who served in World War I. boyhood through his service in Readers may be shocked by the Stanley, Sandler. Segregated Skies. the war to his life after the war. overt discrimination described in Smithsonian Paperback Series, One of the very few autobio- the book.) 1998. (217 pages). (History of graphical accounts of the the 477 Bomber Group and the Taylor, Theodore. The Flight of Jesse African-American experience 332nd Fighter Group—and how Leroy Brown. William Morrow, during the war.) the men had to convince all 1998. (300 pages). (Noted YA Pfeifer, Kathryn Browne. The 761st around them that they were author Theodore Taylor tells the Tank Battalion. Twenty-First worthy of sharing the skies.) story of the first African- Century Books, 1994. (80 pages). American U.S. Naval Pilot who Stillwell, Paul and Colin L. Powell. (An older book, but important flew during the Korean conflict.) The Golden Thirteen: Recollec- because it looks at the experi- tions of the First Black Naval ences of individual men who Jerome Klinkowitz, Professor of Officers. Naval Institute Press, served in the battalion.) English at the University of Northern 2003. (336 pages). (A wonderful Iowa, is an editor of The Norton Potter, Lou, William Miles, and oral history of the first African- Anthology of American Literature, Nina Rosenblum. Liberators: Americans to become officers in and is author of forty books of literary Fighting on Two Fronts in World the U.S. Navy. Contains inter- and cultural criticism, including War II. Harcourt, 1992. (303 views with eight of the original studies of World War II flyers’ pages). (Traces the birth of the thirteen.) memoirs in Their Finest Hours (Iowa 761st Tank Battalion, from its State University Press, 1989), Yanks Wilson, Joe and Julius W. Becton. formation to its return to the Over Europe (University Press of 761st Black Panther Tank Battal- U.S. Book will also serve as an Kentucky, 1996), With the Tigers Over ion in World War II: An Illus- excellent supplement to the PBS China (University Press of Kentucky, trated History of the First African special on the same subject.) 1999), and Pacific Skies (University American Armored Unit to See Press of Mississippi, 2004). Robert, John and Jr. Bruning. Combat. McFarland, rev.ed. Elusive Glory: African-American 2006. (323 pages). (Title says it Jeffrey Copeland is Professor of Heroes of World War II (Young all. Beautiful and inspiring English Education and Head of the Adult Series). Avisson Press, photographs of the men of the Department of English Language and 2001. (135 pages). (Details the “Black Panther” unit.) Literature at the University of military experiences of fifteen Northern Iowa. He has authored and *** African-American soldiers and edited numerous textbooks, including And two to grow on: Two titles, in pilots of WWII. One of these is Speaking of Poets (NCTE) and Young particular, stand out as representing Adult Literature. Ben Davis, Jr., one of the the African-American contributions original Tuskegee Airmen.) in other conflicts. These are Bill Broz is Assistant Professor of Sasser, Charles W. Patton’s Pan- valuable as they provide young English Education at the University of thers: The African-American 761st readers with important context for Texas-Pan American. He has pub- Tank Battalion in World War II. the books examining World War II. lished several articles and book Pocket Books, 2005. (368 pages). chapters on teaching writing and Barbeau, Arthur E., Florette Henri, (What separates this account literature in high school, including and Bernard C. Nalty. The from others is the detailed look “Hope and Irony: Annie on My Mind” Unknown Soldiers: African- which won the 2002 English Journal at the battalion’s help in liberat- American Troops in World War I. Hopkins Award. ing a Nazi concentration camp, DeCapo Press, 1996. (279

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

d16_24_TAR_Fall07 24 10/2/07, 3:02 PM LoriLinda Goodson J. Rice & Jim Blasingame

McCarthy and More: A Conversation with Trudy Krisher

met Trudy Krisher when she was signing books at perspective and traits of each. I took photos of the 3-D the NCTE Annual Convention in Indianapolis in heads and sent them, along with the speeches, to I2004. I was excited to meet this author whose book Trudy. She really liked what the student had done, Spite Fences, winner of the International Reading noting in particular that the student’s speech writing Association book award for 1995, had so captured my picked up on Trudy’s own use of dialect and repeti- students’ attention and interested them in the Civil tion. The student example from Uncommon Faith was Rights Movement. When I approached Trudy, I felt an an original piano composition played in the back- immediate connection; she was so warm and welcom- ground to a monologue from the perspective of the ing. This kind-hearted, highly intelligent, gifted writer book’s protagonist, Faith Common. The piano compo- readily answered my questions about Spite Fences and sition and monologue, “Jewel in a Pig’s Snout” (see enthusiastically talked about the inspiration for her Figure 2), were written by one of my students, then-new book, Uncommon Faith (2003). Talking with Michael Rinaldi-Eichenberg. Michael had his mother Trudy left me upbeat and eager to see how her latest read the lines for his tape recording so the voice novel would resonate with my students. I felt honored would be a woman’s. When I told my students that I that this award-winning author took such an interest had shared their work with the author and that she in my approaches to teaching her novel. I could see was very impressed, I could tell they felt really proud that Trudy was not one who just cared about the of themselves, and deservedly so. As those who invest quality of her writing as evidenced by awards and their lives in English language arts and working with reviews; this author clearly cared about her writing in young people, we are fortunate to have authors like much more personal terms: how it touched students’ Trudy Krisher who genuinely care not only about lives and impacted their understanding. Since our telling great stories but about connecting with stu- meeting at NCTE in 2004, Trudy and I have corre- dents and supporting the work of teachers. sponded via email. Also a teacher, Trudy would In August 2006 I received an advance copy of converse with me about teaching strategies, and she Trudy Krisher’s latest novel, Fallout. In the spirit of has always been interested to hear about the myriad of Spite Fences (1994), Kinship (1997), and Uncommon creative responses my students have had to her Faith (2003), Krisher’s fourth YA novel also has novels. Two particular examples come to mind: one historical underpinnings. Fallout (2006) offers insight from Spite Fences, the other from Uncommon Faith. In into the McCarthy era of the 1950s while also includ- response to Spite Fences, one of my students, Kirsten ing elements that will remind readers of Hurricane Lutz, made 3-D Character heads for characters Maggie, Katrina which devastated New Orleans and surround- Virgil, and Zeke. Kirsten then wrote and recorded a ing areas in 2005. In addition to asking Krisher about speech for each (see Figure 1). The speeches really got her new book, Fallout, in the interview that follows, I into the minds of the characters, sharply defining the have taken the opportunity to look at her work

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 25 10/2/07, 3:00 PM Student-created characters heads and speeches by Kirsten Lutz

Maggie’s Speech Virgil’s Speech

Mama says we’re not white Whoo-ee! What a night! trash like that Virgil Boggs and Me and the boys have his kind. She’s right. We don’t set that old nigger, go ‘round beatin’ up coloreds, Zeke, straight! He’ll be terrorizing little girls, or trying tuckin’ tail and runnin’ to rape someone like me. Yet, scared from now on. my friend Zeke says blacks and Guess he and that fancy whites sweat alike under one lawyer thought a sun so why do we drink from change was a-comin’. separate water fountains, not Gawd! eat at the same table—why? We Our venerable KKK even have separate bathrooms! Grand Wizard says Trouble sure rained down coloreds are the on Zeke beginning that day at mongrels of the world . Byer’s Drugs . . . I’d been up in . . We don’t let no the big tree restin’ and thinkin’. canine dogs eat at our When the truck pulled up and tables and drink from spewed forth Virgil and his boys, I sat quiet. When they beat on Zeke our glasses, so why would we let nigger-dogs do it? Why, until he seemed nigh upon dead, I sat frozen to my bones. Then they those colored folk should be glad we whites let them have peed and did something else all over Zeke . . . their own public bathrooms, and we cleared out the back of Zeke quit coming uptown much after that night, so I just set the buses door them so they can get somewheres. Where in myself to finding him. I’d seen news stories about bus station sit-ins ‘tarnation do they think they’re going anyways? They’re not fit and church kneel-ins and even on a black man who KO’d a white man for any work but what we give them. in boxing. I wanted to see how Zeke was and to ask him why coloreds Well, one thangs for sure, Zeke got our message tonight. seemed to be so fired up to pushing whites. I kept hearing Zeke’s He ain’t gonna see, hear, or speak no evil against whites no words that night under the Ghost Tree. He held his head proud-like more. That’s one terrified nigger. He’ll keep . . . out of whites’ and said, “Just wantin’ my rights, is all. My rights and my people’s.” bathrooms and he’ll sure ‘nuf keep his gorilla trap shut. Yes, What is civil rights, anyway? boys, we have struck a blow for our cause tonight.

Zeke’s Speech

“Never be afraid of the truth,” that’s what I said to young Maggie that day she wanted to buy her daddy a birthday present with two nickels that weren’t hers. Now, I’m fighting for my own brand of truth. It seems, most ways, I’ve been fighting for truth all my life. Sure, I’m afraid. Equal rights for my people is gonna be a hard road to travel. There will be worse things than beatings between now and the victory-time. It’s wrong to treat any man different ‘cause his skin is not the same color as another man’s. That Virgil Boggs and his white supremacy buddies believe they have silenced me. Their taunts and name-callings are kindling and their pummeling fists, stomp-kicking feet, and acrid urine all provide fuel to keep the desire for freedom Student Kirsten Lutz with character heads she made from Styrofoam burning within my soul. They have made this desire even face mannequins. Kirsten arranged the character heads on a lazy- stronger. No, Sir-ree! It’s Virgil and his kind who are wrong, Susan and turned each toward the class while playing a tape and I am more determined than ever to follow Dr. King’s recording of the corresponding character speech. vision. Yes, we shall be free.

Figure 1. Character Heads and Speeches (From Linda J. Rice, What Was It Like? Teaching History and Culture through Young Adult Literature, Figure 7.6. New York: Teachers College Press, ©2006 by Teachers College, Columbia University. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.)

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 26 10/2/07, 3:01 PM collectively and explore some of the common threads Jewel in a Pig’s Snout that appear in all four of her young adult novels. In Why am I mired in the 19th Century? this way, this interview is intended to be more than a Just a young woman searching for equality discussion of her latest novel; it is also intended to And how can I prompt readers to look at Krisher’s earlier works and Invoke one God give insight into the author herself. I hope you enjoy Ignore my talents And remain invisible? the interview that follows with this master writer and Sometimes I just want to explode teacher. I’m tired of being ignored I’m incensed and enraged Interview with Trudy Krisher I don’t want to practice Discretion in a feminine cage Linda: Tell us about your new book, Fallout. What was the inspiration for it? I’ll not quietly mend your socks Nor cook and clean all day And if I get married Trudy: I started Fallout about five years ago after Don’t expect a dutiful slave having written a short story called “We Loved I will learn calculus Lucy” for a Don Gallo short story collection. The and Greek and astronomy inspiration for it was my belief that teenagers who And while I sew by the schoolhouse fire question things—like Brenda Wompers, one of the I’ll learn geometry heroines of the book—can have a difficult time in I don’t want to become a product of my society high school but that their presence is ultimately Pretending to be someone else entirely beneficial and necessary. I will be proud Fallout is set in the year 1954 and has a Cold To be a woman War theme. Students can learn a lot about what the I won’t be an Invisible subject 50s were like—duck-and-cover drills, dreams about Sometimes I just want to break out the supposed glories of atomic energy, changes Just you wait Amos Read brought about by the new interstate highway Wait and you’ll see system, suburbia, and such. But the two most If you call me a jewel in a pig’s snout important historical events that happened in 1954 Then that’s what I will be in terms of the novel were the McCarthy trials and Which I prefer to Lucy Putnam’s ignorance the insertion of the words “under God” into the Each and every day Pledge of Allegiance. Because she accepts you and The high school setting of Fallout is one Your society’s backward ways which I hope teenagers can relate to. There are My subscription to sexism whispering campaigns, rumors, and gossip just like Has long ago run out in the McCarthy trial, and one of the protagonists, And if that’s the case an intellectual teenager named Brenda Wompers, Then I’m a jewel in a pig’s snout stages a protest about the use of the words “under When most women are both naïve and ignorant God” when she is expected to recite the pledge. All I see society as a biblical confinement I’m logical this takes place against a North Carolina backdrop Mathematical of hurricanes. In 1954, North Carolina experienced Wanting nothing more three—of which Hurricane Hazel, which roars up at Than to be an equal the climax of the book, was incredibly destructive. And I am proud to be a woman

Reading by Cecilia Rinaldi Linda: You would have been working on Fallout when Piano by Michael Rinaldi-Eichenberg the Tsunami devastated southeast Asia and Hurri- cane Katrina slammed into the gulf states. What influence did that play in your writing about Figure 2. Monologue in Response to Uncommon Faith Hurricane Hazel?

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 27 10/2/07, 3:01 PM Trudy: I was at NCTE at the ALAN conference in prohibitions that kept blacks from the beaches and Indianapolis when Uncommon Faith came out, and lunch counters. I was working on Fallout then. I had even men- Kinship is a companion piece to Spite Fences tioned in my talk that I and set in a trailer park in the 1960s showing that was looking at hurricanes part of life where people were on the move with My father was a true and the year 1954 when their cars, with the trailers. It takes the story of Pert there were three hurri- Wilson, Maggie’s friend, and looks at her life. It’s a Southern gentleman, canes in North Carolina. story of community where I tried to develop the But also in 1954 was the setting of the trailer park and show a warm and passionate amateur histo- year they added “under loving community. In the course of the story Pert rian, and student of the God” to the pledge. When longs for her father who abandoned the family I was at the conference in when she was born. She has this idea that if only Civil War. Our family 2004, there’d been this she had a father, everything would be fine. When Supreme Court case about he comes back to town she realizes that she has vacations were spent this father out in California people in her life who are much more like family combing battlefields, and who was upset because than her father is—that she has people who love his daughter had to say her even though they are not blood relatives. my mother kept a special “under God” in the pledge. I chose the year 1837 for Uncommon Faith He brought a lawsuit and because it was a period that fascinated me. It was pair of shoes in the car— eventually lost, but it was much like our own radical 1960s. The Jacksonian a very big issue. So when can-do spirit prompted people to believe all things she called them her the tsunami came and were possible, and it was a great reforming period. “battlefield shoes”—for Katrina came and then Activists like the Grimke sisters, Dororthea Dix, and there’s all this controversy Julia Ward tried to address issues of mental health, slogging through the about whether you should provide services for the blind, open colleges to have the Ten Command- women, and address the problems of slavery. The muck. ments in the courthouse issue of education for women found its way into and all that, I thought “oh, the novel because Faith Common is bright and I look so present, like I can see into the future.” But talented and curious, yet she is only expected to the fact is all those things happened as I was well cook and sew, which she detests. I thought it would into the book. The events were fortuitous, but they be fascinating to develop a spunky character who didn’t have that much to do with writing the book. was denied an education. I was curious about what she might do; the novel is the result. Linda: I notice that all four of your YA novels have Fallout, the new novel, is set in 1954, during historical settings. How did you choose those the McCarthy era, and the suspicion and rumor that settings? characterized that period are reflected in the high school setting of the novel. The current challenges Trudy: I love history and the research that goes along to proclamations of religion in public buildings and with it. My father was a true Southern gentleman, monuments and in challenges to school prayer passionate amateur historian, and student of the actually began in 1954 when the words “under Civil War. Our family vacations were spent combing God” were added to the Pledge of Allegiance. So I battlefields, and my mother kept a special pair of am looking at the tension that arises over this shoes in the car—she called them her “battlefield religious-secular turmoil in the novel. shoes”—for slogging through the muck. I chose the early 60s and the Civil Rights Movement for Spite Linda: I notice that two of your novels deal with Fences because it was a period familiar to me. My issues of religion and personal faith. Considering high school was integrated when I was 14, like that schools and society today hear so much about Maggie Pugh, and I was well aware of the Jim Crow the separation of church and state, do you ever feel

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 28 10/2/07, 3:01 PM that you’re going out on a limb addressing such an ethical and moral choice made—not always issues? easily—by individuals.

Trudy: Believe it or not, I always feel like I’m going Linda: How might your books help YAs to work out on a limb. My books have dealt with women’s through—or at least more seriously consider—some rights, racism, intellectual freedom, and other of these deeper, spiritual issues as they relate to topics. Religion is just one of them. As I’ve contin- their own lives? ued to write, I’ve continued to develop more courage about addressing difficult issues because Trudy: My most recent book, Fallout, addresses the response from readers tells me that they are religious and spiritual questions most directly. As hungry for these kinds of conversations. Genevieve Hardcastle is challenged to develop Linda: I also notice that each of your novels has a her own opinions about Believe it or not, I always strong female protagonist. Was that deliberate on the Cold War, nuclear your part? In other words, are there particular proliferation, and the feel like I’m going out on messages you want to send to young women—or to atmosphere of suspicion men about women—in your writing? and accusation that a limb. My books have abounds in her high dealt with women’s rights, Trudy: I think the use of women as characters is just school world and in the natural because I am a female. However, in Uncom- post-World War II world racism, intellectual free- mon Faith I purposefully focused on John Com- around her, she mon, Faith’s brother, to show that the conventions struggles with the dom, and other topics. of the time worked against men as well as women. overarching question, John is musical and is uninterested in the educa- “Who is my neighbor?” tion and career path —that of a minister—expected I hope the novel will prompt teenagers to try to of him. Like Faith, he suffers because his natural define what is meant by “neighbor” or how their talents are thwarted by the society in which he particular religion defines “neighbor.” They also lives. In general I’m never trying to teach a “mes- might want to think about what is required of a sage,” but I am trying to answer questions. In Spite person who believes in helping his neighbor. How Fences, it’s “How can we pull down the fences far can—or should—he go in doing this? Are there between the races and build more bridges?” In limits or boundaries to our obligations to others? Fallout, it’s “Who is my neighbor?” In Kinship, it’s “How do we define ‘family?’” Or at least some kind Linda: Please share some thoughts on using young of approximation of these. adult literature as a venue for teaching history.

Linda: What else would you want to say about the Trudy: We have kids now who have no sense of their religious content of your novels—or if particular historical past at all or why it’s relevant. I think characters are intended to represent and critique that using novels to get them interested is perfect. religious viewpoints or paradigms? A lot of times students think of history as just a bunch of dry facts, and the way it’s sometimes Trudy: My books really are all about the questions I taught, I could see why they think that. But wrestle with personally and that I believe others are everyone is connected to their time and place. wrestling with, too. As far as religion goes, I We’re all part of history. When you talk about wouldn’t say that there’s religious content per se in getting kids interested in history through literature, my books; instead, I think the characters experi- the issues that are in the past seem to so many ence spiritual struggles. The determination to people like they’re dead and gone, but what I see is confront injustice—like racism or sexism—is that they just have a life of their own. They may essentially, in my view, a spiritual struggle, part of come forward in another form, but they continue to

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 29 10/2/07, 3:01 PM be around us. You think about racism in Spite ture for young adults—is, in my view, about how a Fences—it’s better now, but it doesn’t mean there’s character grows and changes, and there’s no not a problem still. And you can talk about developmental period as rich with growth and McCarthyism in 1954, change as the adolescent years. and we’re not afraid of I believe that it may have McCarthy anymore, but Linda: Your International Reading Association Award- we are afraid of Mus- winning book Spite Fences celebrated its 10th made young adults even lims and terrorists. We Anniversary in 2004. What do you think of that? have to be careful that How well has the book done over the years? What more compassionate, we don’t falsely accuse. were your highlights with that book? patriotic, and sensitive to Linda: How has the post Trudy: I truthfully hadn’t realized that Spite Fences the issues of the global 9-11 world affected your has already been in print for over ten years. The outlook on teaching book has done very well, and I even met last world in which all of us history through litera- summer with a screenwriter in Los Angeles who seem even more tightly ture or writing historical has optioned the novel and is hoping to turn it into fiction in general? In a film. I suppose the most exciting thing that connected, especially other words, as an happened with Spite Fences was that it was used as author, what has the part of an exchange program between Dayton and since 9-11. I think that impact of 9-11 been? Sarajevo on the issue of racial healing. Young adults 9-11 may have challenged in Sarajevo read Spite Fences, and then they Trudy: I find that the participated in a cultural exchange in which they those of us who write for impact of 9-11 is yet to were brought to Dayton and shared their stories, be understood. Still, I poems, and other artistic endeavors with young young adults to speak believe that it may have adults here in Dayton. I was honored to be the even more deeply to the made young adults even keynote speaker for this Dayton Peace Accords more compassionate, event. concerns they face. patriotic, and sensitive to the issues of the Linda: Have any of your books become targets of global world in which censors, and if so, how did you feel about that? all of us seem even more tightly connected, especially since 9-11. I think that 9-11 may have Trudy: I’ve had one or two censorship challenges, and challenged those of us who write for young adults they astonish me. People will say things like “the to speak even more deeply to the concerns they book is anti-family,” and I’m just amazed. It’s very face. interesting to me. In one sense I feel bad about it, but in another sense I feel kind of proud because it Linda: When did you start writing with a young adult makes me think “Gee, they’re really taking what audience in mind, and what prompted that interest? I’ve written to heart.” My point of view is that when you write something, you just put it out Trudy: As far as audience goes, I never really think there, and people are free to respond to it however that I’m writing for a particular audience like a they want to. “teenage” audience. I am totally just focused on the I also think about my preacher who is a close writing, the story itself. However, I am consistently friend of mine, and he’ll say Sunday morning he drawn to the struggles of characters who happen to gives a sermon that is about X, and people will be teenagers; I think that the years from 12-18 are come up to him after church and say, “Well, I liked some of the most intense, change-driven years of that sermon about Y,” and he’ll think “Was that in any person’s life, and they are replete with opportu- there?” But I think people bring to a piece of nities for fiction. Any literature—including litera- writing who they are, what they need, their own

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 30 10/2/07, 3:01 PM perceptions, and that kind of thing. I can’t really be person who put together the information on Spite threatened by it. Fences and Kinship is named Pat Scales, and I think For kids to grow up and know how to deal she did an excellent job. I can’t say enough about with the world they need to fill their minds with as the quality of the assignments. much good stuff as they possibly can. They really need to be able to think through some tough Linda: As an author, what is it like for you to see things, so to the extent that we keep that from students respond to your novels in the ways that them, it can be a disadvantage. Kids can absolutely Kirsten Lutz and Shannon Wensyel did? (see see a lot more than we give them credit for. Kids Figures 1 & 3) are not offended by things, their parents are. Trudy: I have been an English teacher my whole life. Linda: Your website www.trudykrisher.com includes I’m sort of like a writer who teaches, but mostly some really great information for teachers to I’m a teacher who writes because teaching is what I include book reviews, classroom activities, sugges- do. So when I see things like this happening in the tions for further reading, and thematic and interdis- classroom with kids, it really does make my heart ciplinary connections. How involved were you in beat faster because that’s really what you want to creating that, and what are you thoughts on the do is connect with kids. The speeches show that site? Kirsten really understood the book and was really relating to it. And with Shannon’s example of Trudy: As a teacher I think I can tell what makes a repetition, a lot of students think they are not to good lesson plan or assignment, and I was kind of repeat the same thing over and over again, but this afraid of who the publisher might have putting shows how it can be a really effective dramatic these things together. But at Random House they device. hire professional teachers and consultants. The

Student Shannon Wensyel assumed the role of character, Magnolia, from Spite Fences when composing this extended scene using rhythm and repetition.

Mama, Please Mama, I see the way you look at me, and I know it’s not the way a mother should look at her daughter. I know it’s not the way other mothers do, and I know that if I ever have a daughter, I won’t look at her this way. I see how angry you get when I let you down, when I make you ashamed, or when I am just in the way. But I don’t understand, Mama. I don’t understand why you get so angry. I don’t understand why you act as if you hate me, as if I’m the worst of the worst. I am tired of trying to understand you. That’s why I am leaving—because I’m just plain tired. I don’t want to have to be afraid to come home anymore. I don’t want to have to lie about my marks and welts and bruises. I don’t want to have to flinch when you raise your hand. I’m tired of being afraid of my own mama. Mama, please—just love me. It makes me sick that I have to ask you—that I have to ask my own mama to care about me and not do me wrong. Doesn’t it make you sick, too? Doesn’t it make you sick that your daughter fears you, that your own daughter can’t bear to be in the same house as you anymore? Well it makes me mighty sick, Mama. I can’t really believe I’ve stayed this long. Despite your beatings and abuse, despite the fact that my hard work went without notice or thanks, despite the pain of always being the “other” child—the lesser child—and even despite the fact that I was blamed for bringing shame to this family when the most shameful thing of all is your anger and ugliness, I stayed. Maybe I was waiting for things to change—for you to change. But it’s all gotten to be too much, Mama; and if you can’t love me, if you can’t promise me here and now that you’ll never say another word to hurt me or lay another hand on me, I am leaving. I will leave, and I will not look back. Mama? Mama, please.

Figure 3. Repetition for Dramatic Effect (From Linda J. Rice, What Was It Like? Teaching History and Culture through Young Adult Literature, Figure 7.7. New York: Teachers College Press, ©2006 by Teachers College, Colum- bia University. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.)

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 31 10/2/07, 3:01 PM Linda: How did you get your start as a writer? course, are perfect examples of that intensity of change and growth that you like to create in Trudy: I loved literature, and I loved to read, but literature. nobody ever said “oh, you’ve got to be a writer.” When my first child Laura was born in 1976, I Linda: I read on your website that you have two wrote part time for the newspaper. I wrote a book daughters and a son. What role have your children review column each week that I was paid $25.00 played in your writing, and how have they re- for, and while I was reading all the stuff that was sponded to your books and notoriety? current, I realized “I might want to try this some time.” I always wrote on my own and quietly and Trudy: Oh my [said with laughter], they don’t think I never thought anyone would ever publish anything have any notoriety at all. I’m the person who I’d written. When my daughter Kathy was sick and makes their sandwiches. They think it’s cool that in cancer treatment things were so hard for our their mom writes novels, but they don’t see me as family. But when she was better, I took this [an award-winning author]. They see me as the children’s literature class and wrote this book mother, the one who drove them to soccer games Kathy’s Hat (1992). It was a positive look at a and irritated them when I reminded them to put on child’s struggle with cancer and how her friends their seatbelts. But they have influenced me. I can’t tried to help her through it. My class liked the story think of anything I’ve done that has been more so much, and Kathy and I had started a support important to me than raising these kids. I was a group for the kids at the hospital, so I decided I single parent, and I decided many, many years ago would self-publish this book. It was really a home- that your kids don’t ask for you to be divorced, and spun thing. My kids and I walked around the table so whatever I did my first effort was going to be and assembled the book ourselves with a spiral that the kids were ok. One of the things that having binding. We had a signing at a local bookstore, and kids did for me is give me a lot of insight about then somebody I knew took the book and sent it to people and even myself. I used to think I had some an agent. The agent sold it right away to a real strong points, but as part of a family, I’m growing publisher, and they published it. The publisher right along with them and learning about myself. I asked if I had anything else, and I sent her what happen to think, for example, I’m a good listener, was a draft of Spite Fences, and that’s how things but if you have teenagers [laughter], not so. When happened. We went from this really dark period of you’re a parent, you think you’re teaching them, time in our family that was so sad to the writing— but they teach you a lot. It’s sort of like being a the putting stuff down in words somehow that teacher—the idea is you’re the font of all wisdom, turned things around for me. It’s hard to believe but you know all good teachers will tell you their that it worked like that, but that little home-spun students teach them far more than they teach their book gave me my life. Kathy is now a lawyer in students. Columbus; we’re just so blessed. Linda: Besides being a writer, what are your major life Linda: What book or author would you say has been passions in terms of how you spend your time? influential in your development as a writer? Trudy: My whole life is pretty much about writing and Trudy: One of my favorite books is Anne Tyler’s teaching, which might sound really boring, except Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. She has a real for I love what I do, and I think if you love what understanding for how unique and eccentric and you do, then it doesn’t seem like it’s your job. So odd all of us are in some way. She has a great sense I’d say my biggest passion is really encouraging my of compassion for people, and I admire her work, students’ development—truly helping them to see especially her ability to develop characters. That’s that they have potential, that they are worth what I’m really interested in as a writer—watching something. I think the biggest challenge for people characters grow and change. Young people, of is to figure out what their purpose is in life—what

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

e25_33_TAR_Fall07 32 10/2/07, 3:01 PM is it that they’re good at, and what is it they’re Linda: What else would you want teachers and supposed to be doing. So I see my job as a teacher readers to know about you? as not only to teach my students English, but to help them to see that they have a purpose and to Trudy: One of the things I most like to do is laugh. My find out what that purpose is. friends tell me that I can make them laugh and Also, I love nature. Last summer I went with have a sense of irony and play, even though at some friends, and we got inter-tubes and floated heart I’m a fairly serious person. But I do like to down the Mad River on a hot summer afternoon—I laugh, and you will find humor in my books event love doing stuff like that. I love walking my dog. I though they’re about serious topics. love to swim. I don’t have an exciting life, but that’s ok. I’m a nester. I love my house. I love to Linda J. Rice, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the sew. Department of English at Ohio University where she teaches Integrated Language Arts methods courses Linda: What were you like as a high school student: (Teaching Language & Composition and Teaching Did you like reading? What activities were you Literature), Young Adult Literature, and a variety of other courses, including Women and Writing, Writing & involved in? What was your social life like? Research in English Studies, and Critical Approaches to Fiction. Linda has worked on special projects with the Trudy: I was so busy with everything. I was in Ohio Department of Education and regularly presents at student government. I was always on committees— state and national conferences, including NCTE and the you know, the person who would always go and ALAN Workshop, where she presented with Trudy Krisher decorate for the dance. I had lots of friends. When I in 2006. In addition to other publications, Linda is the was in high school and they had “most likely to author of What Was It Like? Teaching History and Culture succeed” and all that, I was voted “most depend- through Young Adult Literature (Teachers College Press, able”—a young person you could really count on. 2006). She is a National Board Certified Teacher and was I’ve always been like that—very dependable, named Outstanding High School English Language Arts responsible, reliable. Educator by the Ohio Council of Teacher of English I loved high school. I had a wonderful time in Language Arts in 1998. She was awarded the distinction University Professor by the Center for Teaching Excellence high school. I went to a great big high school in at Ohio University for 2006-2007. Florida. But I never kept a journal. I never sat around and read books; I was always climbing trees like Maggie [from Spite Fences]. I was always Works Cited kickball and outside and would have enjoyed being Krisher, Trudy. Kathy’s Hat: A Story of Hope. Illustrated by on sports teams, but we didn’t have them in those Nadine Bernard Westcott. days. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman, 1992. I liked my English classes, and I used to feel Krisher, Trudy. Spite Fences. New York: Delacorte, 1994. my heart swell when I’d read poetry or something Krisher, Trudy. Kinship. New York: Delacorte, 1997. Krisher, Trudy. Uncommon Faith. New York: Holiday House, really good like that, but I never thought I’d have 2003. anything to do with it professionally. Writing is Krisher, Trudy. Fallout. New York: Holiday House, 2006. something I came to totally on my own. I had Tyler, Anne. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. New York: empathy for people and a way with words, but I Knopf, 1982. didn’t know you could put those things together until much later.

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e25_33_TAR_Fall07 33 10/2/07, 3:01 PM JonathanLori Goodson Stephens & Jim Blasingame

Young Adult: A Book by Any Other Name . . .: Defining the Genre

hildren’s. Bildungsroman. Adolescent. Juvenile. such as The Gossip Girl, Clique, The Au Pairs, and The Teen. Young Adult—so many names for such a Seven Deadly Sins deluging the market with what C controversial body of literature. many consider pulp entertainment. If one were to As America’s readership continues to shrink, judge the books by their covers, one might assume marketing departments scramble for new strategies for that the graphic-rich dust jackets, many pink with pop getting books into readers’ hands. Bookstores have femininity, offer nothing but surface reading of candy reshuffled their shelves and recategorized their writing. And indeed, many people have. sections, drawing titles from both Children’s and Other converted critics have embraced Young Grownup Fiction (Sadly, “Adult Fiction” doesn’t ring Adult so dearly that they have scoured the canon for the way I wish it could) to create the new Teen, or any classics they could adopt into the Y.A. family. J.D. Young Adult, sections of their stores. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Mark Twain’s The Because the Young Adult umbrella seems to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Maya Angelou’s I shelter the many simpler, aimed-for-children books as Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Harper Lee’s To Kill a well as the overabundance of catty, chick-lit-ish Mockingbird, C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Charles novels, this new category has brought with it certain Dickens’ Great Expectations, and William Golding’s negative assumptions from critics across the board. Lord of the Flies are just a sampling of the claimed Young Adult Literature has been accused of being: classics, not to mention more recent Grownup novels •For children only such as Stephen King’s Carrie, Mark Haddon’s Curious • Somewhat simplistic Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and Markus • Chick lit for teens Zusak’s I Am the Messenger. • Less than literary Still other critics have rejected • Not serious enough for use in the Young Adult expansion by chal- schools lenging and banning books they •A marketing ploy As America’s readership thought contained subject matter •Written by less serious or continues to shrink, too mature for children and teens. amateur writers Among the most contested titles • Experimental marketing departments are some that many would consider • Not established enough to bid Young Adult classics—Robert for spots in the canon scramble for new strate- Cormier’s The Chocolate War, Judy Indeed, a cursory riffle through gies for getting books into Blume’s Forever and Are You There a local bookstore’s Young Adult God? It’s Me, Margaret., J.K. Rowl- section might lead a critic to these readers’ hands. ing’s Harry Potter series, and Lois conclusions, especially with series Lowry’s The Giver, among others.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

f34_42_TAR_Fall07 34 10/2/07, 2:42 PM All arguments considered, the majority of the fun and emotion in a academic, serious side of society still seems to cast book, I’m not greedy, I’ll My reading list included negative light on Young Adult Literature. Many have happily take that” (Carroll asked, “What exactly makes Young Adult any different 106). And I might add award winners and new from Grownup or Children’s literature?” and “What truth to his list. His words does it mean for a book to be Young Adult?” Discus- make me wonder if his releases, historical and sion has arisen about: goal is any different from futuristic fiction, single • The look and age of the characters—from the the majority of Grownup lightning bolt on Harry Potter’s forehead (J.K. writers. If “child” were and multiple P.O.V., Rowling’s Harry Potter series) to the shaved head of changed to “person” or Egg (Cecil Castelluci’s Boy Proof) “reader,” then his state- straight and homosexual • The location of the stories—from a 1452 AD copy ment would still seem a relationships, science shop in Mainz, Germany (Matthew Skelton’s noble writerly cause. Endymion Spring) to the exotic tarpits (Margo This led me to choose fiction and fantasy genres, Lanagan’s Black Juice) twelve recent Young Adult • The action and plotting—vivid, fast-paced scenes novels, a wide variety of smart kids and mental and action books from the past five patients, school lit and • The core conflicts—blackmail (Markus Zusak’s I years (2002–2006), to Am the Messenger), date rape (Chris Lynch’s study as a sampling of high culture, and the Inexcusable), telekinesis (Stephen King’s Carrie), Y.A. Literature, through performance enhancing drugs (Robert Lipsyte’s which I could analyze outcasts. Raiders Night), and poverty (Markus Zusak’s what is going on in the Fighting Ruben Wolfe) “genre” today. My reading •Tone, voice, and point of view list included award winners and new releases, histori- • The linguistic and structural tricks the writers cal and futuristic fiction, single and multiple P.O.V., employ straight and homosexual relationships, science fiction • The characteristics that define what many are and fantasy genres, smart kids and mental patients, calling a “genre” school lit and high culture, and the outcasts. My hope I can’t help but feel transported back to English class, was to get an up-to-date look at the current trends and the way the above list showcases the long-heralded decide for myself what makes a Young Adult book any elements of quality Literature—Character, Setting, different from its Grownup relatives. Plot, Conflict, Tone, Voice, and Point of View. I would be lying if I, as an aspiring Young Adult 12 Y.A. Novels under the Microscope writer, were to say these conflicts have not affected my world. Questions immediately shot up regarding Feed by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick, 2002) the fiction project I set out to accomplish for my Hail the future of America! The moon, the 51st Masters of Fine Arts thesis, a Young Adult novel state, is an industrialized wasteland and not too featuring two high school seniors and the clash different from Earth. Lesions are developing on people’s between one’s identity as the school clown and the skin that turn out to be pretty cool when worn by the other’s descent into the football gambling world. right celebrities. The Feed continues to provide the ideal Accomplished writers of Grownup Fiction doubted the entertainment experience for those who have taken the validity and literary capabilities of a juvenile novel, surgical step of progress. As Titus, a feed-wearing expressing concerns about whether creative writing of member of the teenage party scene, grapples with that kind belonged in a graduate program. typical teenage issues cleverly translated for the future, When asked about his goal as a writer of Young he is driven to make the same decision we all have to Adult Literature, Newbery Award-Winning author make at some point—What are we going to let define Christopher Paul Curtis said, “if the novel lets one us? child see that there is a real potential for beauty and In this ALA 2003 Best of Y.A. novel, the voice is

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

f34_42_TAR_Fall07 35 10/2/07, 2:42 PM the first thing to grab you—“The moon turned out to is falsely accused of a crime, earning him the different completely suck.” “I’m so null.” “I wasn’t so skip label of “wolf’s head,” a name reserved for criminals when we were flying . . .” “. . . if any of them were who can be killed on the spot. Bear offers Crispin youch.” “. . . these fake birds that were the big spit.”— shelter from his pursuers in addition to teaching him all authentic and witty guesses at futuristic teen slang. the trade of juggling, something a poor, orphan boy People speak in post-email language, technobabble could not hope to survive without. This exploration of like “re: Violet” already a part of everyday use. Other personal identity is a common enough thread through- linguistic tricks such as SchoolTM and CloudsTM give out Young Adult literature. Mix that together with the the text a unique flavor. Just about when we begin to missing family relationships, an action-packed feel like “complete bonesprockets” in the face of this narrative, the mentor figure and older guide, and the creative dialect, we meet Titus and his moon-partying intrigue of the medieval world brought to life through friends. This cast of characters worries about clothing the eyes of an outcast teen, and you have the makings and social status, especially when celebrities start of a novel that belongs in the “genre.” wearing their fashionable skin lesions with pride and popularity. Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis The Feed, an implanted device that sustains (Wendy Lamb, 2004) biological life and enhances communication, bom- This humorous story features Luther T. Farrell, a bards them with advertisements of things they just young black boy and freshman in high school, who have to have if they expect to keep up with the in- lives with and works for the Sarge, the dictator mom. crowd. It also allows them to “null out” on some feed- With his best friend Sparky, his love for philosophy, altering drugs, which might not be considered drugs and his hatred for Flint, Michigan, Luther gets pro- by some because of their lack of physical harm. In the moted to head of the Sarge’s group home. At the same middle of this party atmosphere, Titus is thrust into a time, he is trying to find a way to win the school’s relationship with Violet, a girl who teaches him more science fair for the third year in a row and somehow about himself than he was hoping to learn. This not ruin things with Shayla Patrick, the cute girl who journey toward identity, combined with a budding just happens to be his greatest competition. relationship, pressure from friends, the hovering Working an after-school job like many teens his authority of the parental units, and the adolescent age, high school freshman Luther T. Farrell helps run voice and use of language work together to fit this the Happy Neighbor Group Home for Men with the book for the label of Young Adult. Sarge, otherwise known as his mother. This job, the Sarge tells him, is a great way for a young black man Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Hyperion, 2002) like himself to work his way out from under the Crispin does not know his name because his father oppressive hand of society. For as tenuous as his home died years ago in the plague. “Asta’s Son” is all anyone and work relationships are with the Sarge, his school has ever called him. Doing their best to survive in life is just as uncertain. Luther dreams of getting to meager conditions, he and his mother live among the know Shayla Patrick but balks before taking any steps poorest of the poor in fourteenth-century medieval toward intimacy. The only time they ever seem to England. When his mother dies, Crispin tries to learn meet is at the school’s science competition, something the truth about his name and his father, a search that Luther has won for two consecutive years, a feat puts him in the hands of Bear, a wise, traveling jester which cannot be good for his chances with her. with the right questions and answers to help a lad find Luther’s friend Sparky tries to get rich quick by himself. consulting with Dontay Gaddy, the flimflam lawyer at This historical novel and winner of the 2003 1-800-SUE-EM-ALL, and Luther takes it upon himself Newbery Award features Crispin, a thirteen-year-old to set his friend straight. First jobs, friendship con- peasant boy without an identity, who has been flicts, girls, school drama, and a little detective work awarded the derogatory label “Asta’s Son” because he to unearth an enormous secret are what put this ALA does not have a father. His mother dies, and he is 2005 Best of Y.A. novel on the Young Adult map. forced to flee through the English countryside after he

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

f34_42_TAR_Fall07 36 10/2/07, 2:42 PM The A-List by Zoey Dean (17th Street Productions, academic classes in school, novels like Louisa May 2003) Alcott’s Little Women, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Welcome to Hollywood 90210, the world of couture, and William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Teachers and parties, and hot young bucks. Having just flown in to school administration are portrayed as the bad guys. live with her father for the summer, Anna Percy is the Characters constantly compare their successes and new girl in town. Cammie, Sam, and Dee are her failures to their peers. Money is an issue; alcohol is problem. There is no way in Neiman Marcus they are used and abused; and characters maintain a going to let the new girl somehow win the love (or lust) hyperawareness of their bodies in proximity to of heartthrob Ben Birnbaum. If anyone has a chance at potential relationship partners. the sort of wishes that money and power cannot buy, it Pretextual comments like “I want to scream . . . ,” is her, which means there is only one thing to do with a “I’m about to say . . . ,” and “I don’t ask any of this . . girl like that—make her life miserable. .” add to the already present internal monologues of Boredom is just not possible with A-List members the characters. The sections make frequent efforts to Cammie, Sam, and Dee catfighting with Anna for the begin and end with strong lines. Fragments—“Bad rights to Ben Birnbaum. Among the books accused of moment. Really, really bad moment.”—are employed watering down the Young Adult market, The A-List to great effect, oftentimes coming in the form of active highlights the high-class battles for teen social status, onomatopoeia—“Click”—and other times appearing in the dysfunctional family relationships, multiple party the form of repeated words—“Go, go, go, go.” Nick- scenes, close attention paid to clothing and outward names such as “James the Pain,” “Mr. I Know, Mr. I appearance, and the internal struggles for identity, in Tell It Like It Is,” “Zo,” and “The Big C” are doled out such a way that this novel does not deserve to be by characters in an effort to control their environ- excluded from the company of Young Adult, even if ments. Clever conceptual devices like the shaded “.I., critics cringe at its inclusion. II, III, IV” are used to separate the different parts of the novel. Crunch Time by Mariah Fredericks (Atheneum, Crunch Time, arguably more than its eleven peers, 2006) efficiently and pervasively displays Young Adult tricks Four students band together their own SAT prep of the trade to tailor its narrative for teen markets. group in a story that delves deeply into matters of identity, where the worst thing you thought about Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (Knopf, 2003) people turns out to be true and that is all anyone sees. Paul has known he was gay since his Kindergarten I guess it comes down to who you are at the end of the teacher wrote it in his report card. Since then, his life day—the sweet guy, the hot guy, the girl with nothing, has not been as difficult as it probably should have the girl with everything, or the cheater. been. The town he lives in is supportive, his family High school students Leo, Jane, Max, and Daisy loves him for who he is, and Tony (also gay—they are alternate points of view to tell this story in a back-and- just friends) and Joni (straight as a toothpick) are his forth style that, on numerous occasions, ends up in all best friends forever. Gay relationships and transvestite four characters minds within the same scene. This friends, such as Infinite Darling, the football team’s approach allows a 50/50 split between the male and quarterback, are commonplace at this school. female characters’ narrative lines, offering the reader This ALA 2004 Best of Y.A. novel relays the love the clearly-portrayed thoughts and emotions of four story between two sophomores in high school who do characters. This novel goes so much further in its not just happen to be boys. This openly ideological utilization of common Young Adult tools than most of exploration of an inventively tolerant high school its peers. atmosphere is what allows unique characters like The The IMs, answering machines, emails, notes, Infinite Darling to flourish. As is often the case, letters, blogs, and lists add a highly multitextual layer characters are interested in some division of the arts, while also including recent technological devices Noah being the one who introduces Paul to the secret natural to today’s teenage world. Additionally, the art studio in his house. Parental relationships and their classics are referenced in relation to the characters’ acceptance of the identities their children claim are

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

f34_42_TAR_Fall07 37 10/2/07, 2:42 PM contrasted by Tony’s oppressive home environment At a deeper level, fourteen-year-old Hector’s guitar and Paul’s accepting family. lessons with Pastor Dan introduce a character’s desire Again, the classics are represented by Emily to delve into the arts, a common thread among Young Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice Adult, not to mention its portrayal of a young man’s and Men. Multitextual layers like song lyrics, poetry, pursuit of a desired skill under the tutelage of a wise and notes passed in class add to the romantic nature adult. Debbie’s cramped living quarters lead her to the of the story. Experiments with structure—a paragraph discovery of her mother’s old photo albums, connect- broken up by an A-Z list through the alphabet and ing her to family members from the past, allowing her parentheses used to add frequent inner-paragraph to see them when they were happy. Hector’s struggle emphasis—are common in Young Adult. Lines such as to pick up on and function within the social norms of “. . . every conscious part of me is in the hand that he the dating environment illustrate his awkward transi- holds” show the character’s hyperawareness of his tion into adulthood. Debbie’s time spent volunteering body. Characters are given nicknames that end up to help with the elderly German woman Mrs. Bruning permanent in certain social situations—“ambisexual” add a multiethnic layer, as well as a young girl’s and “duosexual,” “Seven” and “Eight.” grappling with a dying woman. All things considered, Boy Meets Boy contains many However, Criss Cross does not feel like a Young of the markings of contemporary Young Adult Fiction. Adult novel, its tone and voice more like a midgrade, or children’s book, its tensions, conflicts, and charac- Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow, ter desires more middle school than high school. 2005) Debbie feels there is something more to this life, King Dork by Frank Portman (Delacorte, 2006) something she senses when she looks at her mother’s Holden Caulfield, step aside for the new king in old photographs and wonders if the people she sees had town: Tom Henderson, great American nobody, Chi- things figured out as much as it seems. Her wish for mo, Hender-fag, Sheepie, and King Dork. His Hillmont excitement comes true when her parents volunteer her High School life is a combination of disappointments— to help with Mrs. Bruning, an elderly woman with from his exploits with girls, to his wannabe band that fading health and a houseful of all things German. does not even have a drummer and amps . . . or Critics might argue that this 2006 Newbery Award guitars, to his father killed in a hit and run, to his Winning novel contains too many graphic illustrations subterranean position on the social totum pole. to be considered Young Adult. Perhaps they are right. The main character, tenth-grader Tom Henderson, Or perhaps with a graphic novel such as Gene Luen is an outcast, a fringe player in the strata of Hillmont Yang’s American Born Chinese winning the prestigious High School society. His nicknames are just the first Michael L. Printz Award in 2007, Criss Cross is more layer of the Young Adult voice that rushes through on-target than its critics realize. these pages. The numerous names that he and Sam At a surface level, the multitextual use of lists and Hellerman come up with for their rock band that has song lyrics, haikus and Nancy Drew, and the reading yet to acquire any instruments or a drummer are as of magazines such as Mad Magazine, Reader’s Digest, off-the-wall as their characters—Easter Monday, Ray and Popular Mechanics help add a teen element. A Bradbury’s Love-Camel, The Mordor Apes, The Chi- number of the classics are again mentioned—Emily Mos!, and Sentient Beard, to name a few of their Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Frank Baum’s The Wizard twenty-five. When they change band names to the of Oz, William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Nancy Wheelers, their first album is entitled Margaret, Dream, and Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. Frequent It’s God, Please Shut Up!, a hilarious twist on the sections are formatted with experimental purposes in classic Young Adult novel by Judy Blume—Are You mind—an entire page written in italics to signal a There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. person’s thought process, a chapter formatted into It is Tom’s discovery of a forgotten box of his columns to separate out two narrative points of view father’s books, which includes a few of the Classics— happening simultaneously, and dialogue formatted as John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, and William it would be in a play. Golding’s Lord of the Flies—that takes this deep into

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

f34_42_TAR_Fall07 38 10/2/07, 2:42 PM Young Adult territory. The highlight of the stash is his Brooklyn Bridge, does Craig finish his journey from father’s copy of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye from Broken, to Healing, to Normal, to Real, and finally, to when he was twelve. The copy is scribbled up and Alive. spilled on, with secret codes hidden throughout. The Nominated to the ALA 2007 Best of Y.A. list, this mockery of The Catcher cult teachers at school journey of New York teenager Craig Gilner’s is one of continues during Tom’s detective-like search for some hope in the face of depression and suicide. After the truth about his father as a teenager. From Tom’s SATs and years of academic labor to get into sexual explorations with the mysterious fake-mod Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School, Fiona, to the scandals in the school administration, to Craig begins to see that he might not make it. This the Intro and Outro chapters, nearly everything about world is not for him. His world includes witty labels this novel screams Young Adult. for serious things—Tentacles, Cycling, The Shift— alcohol, marijuana and amphetamines, suicide 33 Snowfish by Adam Rapp (Candlewick, 2003) attempts, visits to shrinks, and internal dialogues with Boobie, Custis, and Curl are the dark survivors at the soldier in his stomach that starves him at will. the fringe of society. What is particularly amazing is During his stint in Argenon, we see his the way everything in this depraved world feels so cool hyperawareness of body when he is with Noelle, and clean through Custis’ eyes. Even though the three especially during the third best sex scene of the year of them are on the run from the police because of what according to the Henry Miller Award panel. We see his Boobie did to his parents and are looking for a rich tendency toward doling out nicknames—Blue Streaks family to sell Boobie’s baby brother to, he holds out and Humble. We see an inventive display of onomato- hope that his gat, the Skylark, and Curl’s trick money poeia—Fffffffft!—Hoooooooo-ee!—Bzzzzzzzzt! — are somehow going to hold their lives together. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.—and Waaa-taaa. Waaa- When a novel starts out with a line like “On top taaa. of everything, Boobie’s got the clap,” I know I’m in for Craig’s story journals his journey toward identity, something unique. Obviously enough, the gripping a discovery that he needs a place to call his own, a dialect unique to the different characters was the first realization that other people’s labels and expectations thing to grip me. The darkness of these characters’ on his life may not be the best for him, an awakening situation follows close behind. Baby in tow as they to the fact that his family loves him and wants the flee from the police for murdering their parents, these best for him, no matter what he decides. Craig’s time teens have a rough road ahead. Through the multiple in the hospital allows him to discover his love for art, points of view of Custis, Curl, and Boobie, this and specifically drawing. Along with the other teen narrative plunges the reader into the minds of the elements, the personally-tailored brain maps that he most outcast of outcasts. draws for the people around him supply this narrative Rapp does not employ any of the “tricks” that so with a feel that is distinctly Young Adult. many of his peers do. He uses the characters’ desire for a place to call home, their unique vantage point on Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (Razor Bill, 2005) adolescent life, and the utter darkness of their situa- When Cal Thompson moves to New York City and tion to hit the reader with a blizzard of Young Adult spends the night with Morgan, his desires and passions hope at the end. change forever. He finds out he has been infected by the parasite, but not in the worst way. Yes, he is a Peep, It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini or Parasite-Positive, which means he will develop (Miramax, 2006) superhuman strength and senses, start to hate the Craig Gilner looks like your everyday modern kid, sunlight and everything else he has ever loved, and chilling with Aaron and hoping for something more begin to crave human blood. However, he is only a with Nia, until he sneaks out in the middle of the night carrier, which means he may able to control his desires, and admits himself into a mental hospital. Not until to a point. the wild parties, Argenon (mental) Hospital, crazy This vampire story features a nineteen-year-old roommates, Egyptian music, Brain Maps, and the protagonist who is forced to locate his progenitor, the

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

f34_42_TAR_Fall07 39 10/2/07, 2:42 PM girl who gave him the parasite. Their relationship does not mean that it is not a powerfully-crafted hovers on the edge of romance and business the entire novel. It only means that Liesel is perhaps too young, time, as Cal’s detective work brings him ever closer to the narrative too grand, and the voice too somber to uncovering the magnitude of New York City’s prob- fit with the rest of the expanding genre. lem. The voice throughout the narrative goes the furthest toward making this book Young Adult. The Tying Up the Threads first person and past tense allow Cal to get us to feel a bit of his paranoia through the every-other-chapter The question still needs an answer: What charac- lessons on parasites. Fast-paced, grippingly action- terizes a book as Young Adult? What makes it different packed, featuring teen characters and their love lives from its Children’s or Grownup relatives? in light of the parasite, and explaining all vampire In her book Walking on Water: Reflections on myths from the past, this book cannot help but feel Faith and Art, Madeleine L’Engle says that “a like Young Adult. children’s book is any book a child will read.” This approach would mean that a teen’s reading of Plato’s The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf, 2006) Republic would qualify the philosopher’s writing for Narrated by Death and set in a small town outside membership. Further exploration of this idea would Munich during World War II, this is the story of nine- mean that if a Grownup were to pull Criss Cross off the year-old Liesel Meminger, a German girl taken into shelf for reading, it could be claimed as a Grownup Hans Huberman’s household as a foster child. As novel. This definition seems deficient. likeable as she is well-developed, it is amazing to Brown and Stephens say in their book Teaching watch a young girl remain so strong in the face of Young Adult Literature that if a book is written about human tragedy, impossible hatred, and adolescent teens and for teens, then it is Young Adult. This love. This story pays approach might allow critics to say that any of the tribute to the simple power classics with a teen protagonist belongs to the cat- When I talked with Zusak of words, to their ability to egory. They might also look at “written for teens” and change our minds, destroy argue that no one can tell for whom a book is written. at the 2006 Los Angeles our lives, move our souls, Marketed for Grownups in Australia and Young Adults recount our memories, and in the United States, Zusak’s The Book Thief is a prime Times Festival of Books, yes, heal our world. example. When I talked with Zusak at the 2006 Los he said that he did not When Death starts Angeles Times Festival of Books, he said that he did telling stories, teens are not completely understand the marketing strategies, completely understand likely to listen. When the that all he tries to do is write a good book. story is about a nine-year- Still others have claimed all coming-of-age novels the marketing strategies, old girl in World War II as Young Adult, labeling them various German words: that all he tries to do is Germany, teens might the bildungsroman to tell the story of a protagonist’s stop. Death often inter- growth into adulthood, the kunstlerroman to tell the write a good book. rupts the narrative to story of a protagonist’s growth into an artist, and, as insert his own factoids and Chris Crowe coins, the sportlerroman to tell the story commentary, the last of of a protagonist’s growth into an athlete. Despite which will chill readers to the bone. The center pages which German words are used to categorize a novel, of the book feature an illustrated booklet designed not all “romans” can be adopted as Young Adult. over the torn-out pages of a copy of Mein Kampf. The James Joyce’s A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, frequent fragmented sentences give the language a a kunstlerroman by definition, obviously does not fit structure geared for teens that conveys a much older the mold. voice, something Death cannot help but bring to his Since there does not seem to be a clear definition, story about this pre-adolescent girl. First published in please allow me to offer mine. As I see it, the label Australia as a Grownup novel, The Book Thief does “Young Adult” refers to a story that tackles the difficult, not embody very many Young Adult elements, which and oftentimes adult, issues that arise during an

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

f34_42_TAR_Fall07 40 10/2/07, 2:42 PM adolescent’s journey toward identity, a journey told field of Young Adult peers by daring to tackle the through a distinctly teen voice that holds the same themes that critics continue to insist belong to the potential for literary value as its “Grownup” peers. Grownups.

1. Written about Teens 5. The Same Potential for Literary Value Out of my twelve Young Adult reading selections, as Grownup Novels all but Zusak’s Liesel from The Book Thief are teen In a perfect world, everyone would understand protagonists. Cal Thompson from Peeps is the oldest at this concept, and a book’s literary value would not be nineteen. While adult characters may play prime roles, judged solely on the age of its audience. With a it is the adolescent we care most about in these careful scan of the canon one can easily notice the novels. He or she is the one we follow and care for, numerous books featuring adolescent protagonists— and in the case of first person narratives, the one Charles Dickens’ Pip (Philip Pirrip), J.D. Salinger’s whose mind we know and live through. Holden Caulfield, Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet, Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, Alexandre Dumas’ 2. A Distinctly Teen Voice Philippe, and many more. These are, however, only the books that lasted. Many more did not. Things are Eight of these novels are told in the first person, not any different now. Some books survive, and most while only four are in the third person. This 67% told are forgotten, Children’s, Young Adult, and Grownup in first person is drastically higher than both Grownup books alike. and Children’s fiction. Nine of them are in the past There are, of course, other smaller factors that add tense, with three of them in the present tense. Twenty- to the Young Adult environment—experimental form, five percent may not seem like much, but in my technology, social status, self-image, young love, experience, compared to Grownup and Children’s friends, work, and parental units—but these are not, fiction, it is significantly higher. what I consider to be, the crucial elements. For these Statistics aside, the narrative voices of Young twelve novels, the term Young Adult serves as both an Adult novels, especially when in first person, are as age demographic and a genre. Sure, it might be a tool unique as the protagonists who embody them. The used by marketers to put more books in the hands of lingo is modern. The pace, fast. The desires, youthful. readers, but that tool is grounded in the reality of the The observations, distinctly teen. writing itself. Robert Cormier once said, “I write to affect 3. The Journey toward Identity people. Everything is to affect the reader” (Carroll Liesel’s developing love for books, words, and 106), and that’s what a quality Young Adult novel writing in The Book Thief, Cal’s grappling with his life does. It takes its readers, youth and adult alike, to a as a vampire in Peeps, Paul’s claiming of his sexual place where adolescence lives on, a place where that self in Boy Meets Boy, the four students striving toward journey toward identity continues to happen. college in Crunch Time—at the heart of all twelve novels lies this journey toward individual identity. Jonathan Stephens is in his final semester in the MFA program at California State University at Long Beach after 4. Tackling the Adult Issues in Teenage five years as a high school English teacher. He is manag- ing editor of RipRap Literary Journal and reviews books Lives for TeenReads.com. From the school administrator’s videotaping of minors in King Dork, to the fraudulent finances and rampant litigation in Bucking the Sarge, to the mental sickness in It’s Kind of a Funny Story, to the kidnap- ping and murder in 33 Snowfish, to vampire mythology in Peeps—this sample set of novels mirrors its

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f34_42_TAR_Fall07 41 10/2/07, 2:42 PM Works Cited Anderson, M.T. Feed. Cambridge: Candlewick, 2002. Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead. New York: Hyperion, 2002. Brown and Stephens. Teaching Young Adult Literature. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1994. Calliope. “Research Paper Info: What makes YA, YA?” 28 July 2006. . Carroll, Pamela. “YA Authors’ Insights about the Art of Writing.” The English Journal 90 (2001): 104-109. Crowe, Chris. “Young Adult Literature: Sports Literature for Young Adults.” The English Journal 90 (2001): 129-133.

———. “Young Adult Literature: The Problem with YA Literature.” The English Journal 90 (2001): 146-150.

———. “Young Adult Literature: AP and YA?” The English Journal 91 (2001): 123-128.

———. “Young Adult Literature: YA Boundary Breakers and Makers?” The English Journal 91 (2002): 116-118. Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the Sarge. New York: Wendy Lamb, 2004. Dean, Zoey. The A-List. New York: 17th Street Productions, 2003. Fredericks, Mariah. Crunch Time. New York: Atheneum, 2006. Gillis, Candida. “Multiple Voices, Multiple Genres: Fiction for Young Adults.” The English Journal 92 (2002): 52-59. Glasgow, Jacqueline N. “Radical Change in Young Adult Literature Informs the Multigenre Paper.” The English Journal 92 (2002): 41-51. L’Engle, Madeleine. Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. Chicago: Harold Shaw, 1998. Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy. New York: Knopf, 2003. Perkins, Lynne Rae. Criss Cross. New York: Greenwillow, 2005. Portman, Frank. King Dork. New York: Delacorte, 2006. Rapp, Adam. 33 Snowfish. Cambridge: Candlewick, 2003. Vizzini, Ned. It’s Kind of a Funny Story. New York: Miramax, 2006. Westerfeld, Scott. Peeps. New York: Razor Bill, 2005. Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Knopf, 2006.

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f34_42_TAR_Fall07 42 10/2/07, 2:42 PM LoriScot Goodson Smith & Jim Blasingame

The Death of Genre: Why the Best YA Fiction Often Defies Classification

few years ago, I received a phone call from a adding a list called genre-busters, novels which do not desperate sixth grade reading teacher. “Help!” easily fit into a single category. The more I think about Ashe cried, “I have a literary mutiny on my my YA favorite titles of the past few years, the more hands. I need your help now!!” I immediately raced bewildered I become. Zusak’s The Book Thief— upstairs. historical fiction or fantasy? Anderson’s The Astonish- Our sixth graders read Louis Sachar’s Holes as a ing Life of Octavian Nothing—historical fiction or required novel. The teacher uses Holes as part of her science fiction? Rosoff’s How I Live Now?—realistic unit on fantasy. In a time where many middle fiction or science fiction? Shusterman’s The Schwa schoolers are steeped in Harry Potter and Paolini, Was Here—realistic fiction or fantasy? I have come to Holes just did not seem to fit into that the same the realization that genre might be dead, that many of category of fantasy. recently published YA novels no longer fit into the “Mr. Smith,” they argued, “It can’t be fantasy. It’s predictable categories we typically designate for too real.” books. Is it time to despair? I think not. Rather, let us What followed was a long discussion about the celebrate the innovative fashion in which today’s YA different types of fantasy. We debated over the effects authors are bending the traditional definitions of of rattlesnake nail polish, the existence of yellow genre. An exploration of early genre benders may spotted lizards, the role of coincidence, Sachar’s use of provide some illumination, as well as an investigation the legend of Kissin’ Kate, the folktale qualities of of how many of today’s best YA novels are further Madame Zeroni’s curse, and the quest for treasure. We blurring the lines between genres. even delved into the archetype of Young Adult literature has a the “hero” as we analyzed Stanley’s long tradition of authors whose character. Most students remained Is it time to despair? I works defy genre classifications. unconvinced of the classification of Francesca Lia Block represents a Holes as a work of fantasy. think not. Rather, let us genre unto herself with the frac- Sixth graders are not the only celebrate the innovative tured fairy tales that surround her ones who struggle with the stan- quirky protagonist Weetzie Bat. dard conventions of genre. As I fashion in which today’s Patrice Kindl’s Owl in Love mixes revise my genre lists each year for myth, fantasy, humor, and modern my graduate level Young Adult YA authors are bending realism in her critically acclaimed Literature class, I find myself the traditional definitions novel. With innovative stories like shifting books from fantasy to The Mind’s Eye, Whirligig, and historical fiction and realistic fiction of genre. Seek, Paul Fleischman has long to fantasy. I have even considered challenged the conventions of style,

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

g43_50_TAR_Fall07 43 10/2/07, 2:59 PM format, and genre. Elements of the supernatural run returned to that successful formula with his newest through the mysteries and suspense stories of Robert novel Clay. In the best works of magical realism, one Cormier, Lois Duncan, Joan Lowery Nixon, and—more cannot easily determine where reality ends and recently—Nancy Werlin and Kevin Brooks. fantasy begins. Popular chick-lit titles like Sarah For the genre enthusiast, historical novels offer a Weeks’ So B. It, Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries, and variety of complex issues. The kingdom-and-the-castle Ann Brashares’ The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants story found in works like Megan Whelan Turner’s The can hardly be considered completely “realistic.” In So Thief, Gerald Morris’ The Squire Tales, and Kevin B. It, Heidi has developed a special touch with the slot Crossley-Holland’s The Seeing Stone blend medieval machines; she always wins. Only after she has settings with magic and completed her quest to uncover the secrets of her past legend. Donna Jo Napoli’s does her luck return to normal. The fairy tale quality Since the publication of retold fairy tales (Beast, of Mia’s rise from social outcast to crown princess is a Bound, Breath) borrow far cry from probable. The same can be for said for his critically acclaimed much from traditional those magical jeans in the Sisterhood series. Magical literature but abound with realism also plays a major role in numerous novels for Skellig and Kit’s Wilder- rich historical details. tweens. From Hiaasen’s Hoot to Hannigan’s Ida B., ness, David Almond has Napoli’s novels are clearly from many of the novels of Sharon Creech to the fantasy titles; they also allegorical works of Jerry Spinelli, elements of the blurred the lines between have much to offer to fantastic add a sense of mystery and wonderment to readers of historical many novels categorized as middle grade fiction. The fantasy and reality in a fiction. Time-slip and time- mixture of fantasy (the call of the sea, the seemingly genre that is often called travel novels present a supernatural powers of Mullet Fingers and Maniac similar dilemma—histori- Magee, the talking trees, anthropomorphic pigeons magical realism. cal fiction or fantasy/ and owls) with realistic stories appeals greatly to science fiction? Jane readers on the verge of adolescence. Yolen’s The Devil’s Numerous librarians and teachers have encoun- Arithmetic, Susan Cooper’s The King of Shadows, tered the adolescent reader who devours one fantasy Susan Price’s The Sterkarm Handshake, and Edward novel after the next but refuses to touch science Bloor’s London Calling are filled with history yet are fiction. On the other hand, there is the passionate sci- based on the premise of traveling back in time. One fi reader who dismisses every fantasy with the would be remiss to classify Philip Pullman’s trilogy statement “I don’t really like those types of books.” about Sally Lockhart and Eleanor Updale’s Mont- Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time provides one morency series as simple Victorian mysteries. One blueprint for a genre now labeled as science fantasy. cannot deny the historical qualities found in these Following in L’Engle’s innovative footsteps are authors novels. What about speculative fiction, those historical like Philip Pullman, Kenneth Oppel, and Joshua novels that ask the difficult question of what if? In The Mowll. In his masterfully plotted novels Airborn and Year of the Hangman, Gary Blackwood proposes the Skybreaker, Oppel begins with the premise of what if dilemma of what if the British had won the Revolu- the airplane had not been invented. The adventures tionary War. Finally, in which genre does one place that follow take readers into a world of airships, sky Aiden Chambers’ Postcards from No Man’s Land? pirates, flying felines, bat-copters, intricate diagrams, Chambers masterfully intertwines two narratives—one and high altitude monsters. Mowll’s Operation Red set in the 1990s and the other set during WWII—into Jericho and Operation Typhoon Shore are frequently his award-winning novel. Historical fiction or modern classified as adventure fantasies. However, the detailed realistic? Neither or both? diagrams will indubitably please even the most Since the publication of his critically acclaimed devoted science fiction reader. Acclaimed science Skellig and Kit’s Wilderness, David Almond has writers John and Mary Gribbin tackle the difficult blurred the lines between fantasy and reality in a concepts of string theory, the space-time continuum, genre that is often called magical realism. He has and quantum physics in The Science of Philip

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g43_50_TAR_Fall07 44 10/2/07, 2:59 PM Pullman’s His Dark Materials. After reading the with an entertaining dose of fairies and pixies to help Gribbins’ book, teens (and adults) will begin to move the narrative along. Set during the Civil War appreciate the theoretical physics that provides part of between the Puritans and the Royalists, Nell is the foundation of Pullman’s exceptional trilogy. Then accused by the minister’s unwed pregnant daughter of there is the difficult question of Anthony Horowitz’s being a witch, an agent of the Devil. Hysteria reigns as Alex Rider series. These wildly popular novels touch Nell’s grandmother is dunked, and Nell finds herself many genres—spy novel, adventure story, mystery, condemned to hang. As the novel alternates between and—because of the abundance of high tech gadgets two voices and two settings, the reader comes to Alex employs in times of peril—science fiction. understand the conflicts that led to the Salem Witch Having suggested that the lines between genres Trials and the deaths of innocent women who were have been blurred in Young Adult literature, I will now healers and midwives. I, Coriander is much closer to look more closely at three distinct categories and the traditional fantasy than Witch Child and The Minister’s recently published novels which exemplify them: (1) Daughter. Nonetheless, London at the time of Oliver historical fantasy as it moves away from the traditional Cromwell springs to life in this award-winning story. medieval setting to different historical periods; (2) Coriander is the only historical fantasy with magical realism and particu- daughter of a successful larly the trend of narrators and characters “from merchant and a fairy- . . . in today’s world of YA beyond the grave;” and finally (3), science fantasy. I princess whom the locals will conclude with an analysis of why, in today’s consider a witch. When literature, some novels world of YA literature, some novels make any discus- her mother dies and her sion of genre irrelevant and how this “death of genre” father’s finances fall into make any discussion of liberates teen readers from the stereotypes associated ruin because of the Civil genre irrelevant and how with genre fiction. War, Coriander finds herself at odds with her this “death of genre” History and Fantasy evil step-mother and a Puritan minister. After her liberates teen readers The Middle Ages provide the perfect opportunity father flees persecution from the stereotypes to blend history with fantasy. After all, witches were from the Roundheads, burned at the stake and medieval legend has knights Coriander’s life in London associated with genre hunting dragons and questing for treasure. From this rapidly spirals downward combination of the historical and the fantastic comes until she is able to cross fiction. that sub-genre known as the kingdom-and-the-castle. over into Fairyland where While Gerald Morris, Tamora Pierce, and Shannon still more peril awaits in Hale are still writing in this tradition, many authors the form of the wicked Fairy Queen. Eventually, are exploring different periods of history with fascinat- characters from the two worlds collide in a suspense- ing results. Celia Rees, Julie Hearn, and Sally Gardner ful conclusion. have written three haunting historical novels with During the past few years, Victorian England has Witch Child, The Minister’s Daughter, and I, Coriander. become the setting for several noteworthy historical Rees’ Witch Child differs from traditional Witch Trial novels. As with the novels set during the 17th century, novels in that her protagonist—fourteen year-old Mary these Victorian novels obscure the lines between Newbury—is actually a witch, not merely a young girl history and fantasy. Libba Bray’s gothic novels A Great accused of being one. Mary flees England after her and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels plunge readers grandmother is executed for practicing witchcraft and into the social conventions of Victorian England. Of comes to America where she again falls under suspi- particular interest are the arranged marriages of the cion for her pagan ways. Rees writes Witch Child as if young ladies at the Spence Academy. Bray explores the it is Mary’s own journal, thereby producing a fiction- limited roles of women during this time of history. She as-fact effect on the reader. Hearn’s The Minister’s also skillfully adds a haunted house, mysterious Daughter expertly intertwines two narratives into one, gypsies, visions of and trips into another realm, a

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

g43_50_TAR_Fall07 45 10/2/07, 2:59 PM gorgon, and an abundance of magic. Eleanor Updale’s process which literally saves her life. Nothing fantastic Montmorency series also portrays Victorian society. so far, correct? I have deliberately failed to mention More mystery than fantasy, these fast-paced novels the novel’s narrator, none other than Death. The introduce readers to a career criminal named Mont- brilliance of The Book Thief comes not only from morency. After a particularly horrific fall, the thief is Zusak’s adept characterization and his delicate “reconstructed” through a variety of experimental balancing of themes but also from the thoughtful surgeries. After his recovery, he assumes two identi- comments Death interjects throughout the narrative. ties—the gentleman Montmorency and Scarper, a Death is no antagonist in this story. Rather, he por- lowly thief with a special knowledge of London’s new trays a sympathetic character physically and emotion- sewer system. As the series progresses, Montmorency ally exhausted by man’s inhumanity toward man. His becomes less of a thief and more of an amateur observations about the tragic circumstances of the detective. While the books have no significant adoles- human condition and the horrors of war and the cent characters, they appeal to teen readers with their Holocaust are profound but are they the stuff of well-constructed plots, strong characters, and fascinat- historical fiction? ing setting. If Dickens, Conan Doyle, and Poe were to From the title of The Astonishing Life of Octavian collaborate on a project, the outcome might not be too Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party far removed from Updale’s successful series. Mystery? alone, the reader already knows that he/she is about Historical fiction? Fantasy? A little of all three? to encounter a book like none other. Anderson does Two of 2006’s most acclaimed novels could be not disappoint in this National Book Award winner. simply placed into the category of historical fiction. Octavian and his mother, an African princess, live on However, there is no simplicity in either Markus the estate of the Novanglian College of Lucidity with a Zusak’s The Book Thief or M.T. Anderson’s The group of radical philosophers. The young boy receives Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. In Zusak’s a classical education. As he grows older, Octavian multilayered novel, a young German girl named Liesel comes to understand that his lessons are part of an rebuilds life with a foster family before and during experiment to determine the intellectual capabilities of World War II. After the arrest of her father and the Africans. He also realizes that he and his mother are death of her younger brother, she is abandoned by her not free; they are slaves in Boston during the turbulent mother at the home of the Hubermanns. Life on times before the Revolution. After a physical alterca- Himmel Street is certainly not heavenly. In this tion with the College’s benefactor, the boy and his working-class suburb, mother are stripped and beaten. When the financial Liesel finds herself sur- woes befall the college, Octavian’s fortunes take a The Astonishing Life of rounded by angry neigh- further turn for the worse. Like Liesel, he possesses a bors intoxicated by the rise great love of reading, especially the Classics. His new Octavian Nothing is a of Nazism, vicious bullies, master forbids him from reading his favorites and stunning historical novel and a spiteful foster forces him to translate dull and difficult passages from mother. She finds solace meaningless texts. His mother dies after a failed of a history that might first with her accordion experiment with small pox inoculation, and Octavian playing foster father, her runs away. He is eventually captured, imprisoned in a never have been. best friend Rudy and their wooden mask, and brought back to the College. The neighborhood games of first book ends with the protagonist’s fate unknown. soccer, and Max, a Jewish refugee whom her family As with The Book Thief, this novel is as much about hides in the basement. Ultimately, her love for style as it is about narrative. Anderson has written the books—the first picked up beside her brother’s grave, story in a language much like the American English another taken from a bonfire, others stolen from the used at the time of the Revolution. That language mayor’s wife—transforms the young Liesel. By helps to transport the reader back in time but did that learning to read, she learns to live. As she reads to “time” really exist? Could there have been a others, she transforms their lives, too. Inspired by Novanglian College of Lucidity? Were such experi- words and stories, she begins to write her own story, a ments actually conducted on Africans? The Astonish-

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

g43_50_TAR_Fall07 46 10/2/07, 2:59 PM ing Life of Octavian Nothing is a stunning historical grave. Hautman’s suspenseful conclusion leaves that novel of a history that might never have been. question unanswered for even the most observant of readers. Realism and Fantasy A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb and Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin are farther removed from If the narrator is dead but tells the story from “reality” but still deserve consideration in this cat- beyond the grave, then is the novel realistic fiction or egory. Although Whitcomb’s protagonist Helen has it is fantasy? Perhaps the trend of the dead narrator been dead for over a century, she has been able to started with Alice Sebold’s cross-over bestseller The “live” by attaching herself to a human host. Her most Lovely Bones, but there is little doubt that many YA recent host is a high school English teacher. She authors have used a deceased character to relate their travels unseen and unheard, a mere observer in an stories. On the second page of Gary Soto’s The always shifting world. Afterlife, Chuy is stabbed to death in a restroom. That changes one day Ghost-like, Chuy floats around town checking on his when she notices a boy The ghost story might be family and his friends from school; he also spies on staring at her. James, too, his killer. Before he dissipates, he begins to fall in love is a ghost but one who fantasy, but the joy and with the “spirit” of another teenager. Jeremiah’s is but has learned to inhabit the pain felt by the characters one of numerous voices in Jacqueline Woodson’s living body of a human Behind You. Miah witnesses and comments on the whose spirit has died. His are as real as it gets in YA struggles of his friends and family as they try to deal host is Billy, an abused, with his tragic death, but he views them from above drug-addicted teenager. fiction. as his spirit floats over them. Helen learns from James In 2005, Adele Griffin received a National Book and finds a host in the Award nomination for Where I Want to Be. Narrated spiritless Jenny, the troubled only child of fundamen- with two voices in alternating chapters, this novel talist parents. James-Billy and Helen-Jenny fall in love, explores the difficult relationship between two sisters, have sex, and experience tragedy together. The ghost Jane and Lily. The reader immediately realizes that story might be fantasy, but the joy and pain felt by the Jane is telling her story “from the other side.” Griffin’s characters are as real as it gets in YA fiction. In novel is a powerful coming-of-age story about a Elsewhere, Zevin depicts the life and death of sixteen- grieving family coping with death and mental illness. old Liz whose life on Earth is cut short by a hit-and- Chris Crutcher also employs a dead narrator in The run accident. When Liz awakens in Elsewhere, she Sledding Hill. Billy dies early in the narrative but longs for her old life—her dreams of the prom, a continues to relate the events as they unfold. When a steady boyfriend, her driver’s license, college. From minister/English teacher launches a crusade against Elsewhere, she jealously observes her family and Crutcher’s novels, the small community becomes friends, wishing she could be with them. Slowly, she embroiled in heated debate over free speech and comes to terms with her new existence and begins to censorship. Crutcher even interjects himself into the let go of her old dreams. Reality or fantasy? Fantasy or story. Dougie, the protagonist in Pete Hautman’s reality? Invisible, is alive for most of the novel but readers The voice from beyond the grave is but one way immediately have questions about his best friend in which YA authors blur the lines between fantasy Andy. An unreliable narrator if ever one existed, and reality. Neal Shusterman’s humorous novel The Dougie is a social outcast compulsively obsessed with Schwa Was Here features the character of Calvin his model train set and the bridge he is building for it. Schwa. While he cannot disappear completely, Calvin Andy is a popular football player and a talented actor. is so normal, so run-of-the-mill average that he goes The two talk together each evening from their bed- unnoticed as if he were invisible. He is the ultimate room windows. As Dougie spirals deeper into mental wallflower, someone who simply fades away into illness, one is asked to question whether or not Andy background. Teachers count him absent and ignore his is alive or if he represents another voice from the raised hand during class discussions. Classmates look

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g43_50_TAR_Fall07 47 10/2/07, 2:59 PM directly at him and never see him. His best friend has no clue who sends him messages propels the plot Antsy conducts “invisibility tests” to prove the “Schwa and moves the novel away from the purely realistic Factor.” Calvin’s mission to be noticed often meets toward the magically realistic. The novel’s “deus ex with humorous results. The most hilarious of these machina” conclusion is even more improbable. In a occurs when he uses his savings to rent a billboard less successful novel, the implausibility of the climax with his photo on it only to discover that the Express- might undermine the author’s intentions. Only way has been closed for repairs and no one will see because he had previously established the premise of his picture. Calvin is also on a quest to discover what magical realism could Zusak have successfully happened to his mother. Did she just dissipate into accomplished the finale of I Am the Messenger. thin air one evening at the grocery store? Or did she merely abandon Calvin? The Schwa Was Here, winner Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, provides that perfect mix of reality and fantasy that provokes Many students will ask me how far back in the younger teens to think about themselves and their past a novel has to be set for it to be considered peers. historical fiction. Few ever ask how far into the future Marcus Zusak’s I Am the Messenger provides a does a novel has to be set for it considered science similar theme but for a much older audience. At fiction. That is, however, precisely the dilemma one nineteen, Ed Kennedy is going nowhere fast. He drives has with classifying Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now. Her a cab, drinks and plays cards with underachieving Printz-winning novel takes place in England in the not friends, and hangs out so distant future. There are no aliens, space ships, with his dog. Although he robots, medical miracles, or alternative communities. That is, however, precisely is not invisible like Calvin After Daisy leaves New York to visit her aunt and Schwa, life is certainly cousins in the English countryside, she realizes that the dilemma one has with passing him by, and he her relatives share an almost supernatural bond. Soon does not seem to care. His after she arrives, England is attacked by an unknown classifying Meg Rosoff’s “going-nowhere-fast” enemy, and the country is thrown into war. Her aunt How I Live Now. Her existence quickly changes is trapped outside the country, and the children are after he thwarts a bungled left to fend for themselves. As she and her cousin Printz-winning novel takes bank robbery. He then Edmond fall in love, Daisy begins to subconsciously starts to receive mysterious connect with her cousins As the characters adapt the place in England in the playing cards at home, all crisis around them, they themselves seem farther not so distant future. with coded messages. removed from the real world. Indeed, they seem Once he deciphers the transformed by the inhumanity which engulfs them There are no aliens, space code, Ed realizes that he is and their country. After Edmond and Daisy are being asked to help (and in separated, they develop telepathic capabilities; they ships, robots, medical a few cases, even hurt) are able to communicate with each other even though miracles, or alternative total strangers. Some tasks they are miles apart. Isaac and Piper display a psychic are innocent and uncom- link with animals. After the war, Edmond is seen communities. plicated—buying an ice tending an elaborate garden; we are left to wonder if cream for a harried he possesses mystic powers with plants. As with mother. Others are more Stephanie S. Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark and Flight of perilous and challenging—stopping a drunken, the Raven, How I Live Now forces us to question if the abusive husband from raping his wife each and every human psyche is capable of rapid evolution in re- night. Eventually, the cards lead him to his friends and sponse to a catastrophic future. family. As he changes the lives of others, Ed himself In her first novel for younger readers, Jeanette changes. Is he a pawn in an elaborate “practice Winterson also explores the possibilities that might lie random acts of kindness” scheme? A puppet on a ahead in her time-bending adventure story string of a “pay it forward” scheme? The fact that he Tanglewreck. The fabric of Time is literally coming

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g43_50_TAR_Fall07 48 10/2/07, 3:00 PM apart at the seams. Time tornadoes are ripping ticated readers,” “mature and complex,” through London, transporting people to and from “groundbreaking,” “thought-provoking,” “rich and different points of history. A young orphan named fresh,” and “advanced” are commonly used. As we Silver may hold the key to saving the world, provided stand on the cusp of a new era in Young Adult that she can find a clock called the Timekeeper and literature, I say move forward and challenge every keep it out of the hands of a malevolent alchemist and reader with fiction so magnificent it makes genre a mysterious sorceress. Fans of Pullman’s His Dark irrelevant. Materials and L’Engle’s Time Quartet will recognize the similarities and relish the differences. References Scot Smith is the librarian/media specialist at Robertsville to quantum mechanics, parallel realities, time travel, Middle School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He also teaches and even Schrodinger’s Cat—sometimes alive, some- courses in children’s and young adult literature for the times dead—are plentiful. Is it science fiction or College of Communication and Information at the fantasy? Like Herbie Brennan’s Faerie Wars and many University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He serves as a member of the selection committee for Tennessee’s Volunteer State of the works of Eoin Colfer, the line between fantasy Book Award (YA division. and science fiction in Tanglewreck is indeed an arbitrary one. Works Cited Almond, David. Clay. New York: Delacorte Press, 2006. Can We Declare Genre Dead? ———. Kit’s Wilderness. New York: Delacorte Press, 2000. ———. Skellig. New York: Delacorte Press, 1999. While numerous outstanding works of YA fiction Anderson, M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor fit nicely into the traditional definitions of genre, many to the Nation, Part I: defy those same conventions. If award-winning titles ———. The Pox Party. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2006. like How I Live Now, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Blackwood, Gary. The Year of the Hangman. New York: Dutton Nothing, I, Coriander, and The Schwa Was Here cannot Children’s Books, 2002. Bloor, Edward. London Calling. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. be conveniently placed into standard categories, Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. New should we declare the death of genre or merely York: Delacorte Press, 2001. redefine genres to include titles like these? Classifica- Bray, Libba. A Great and Terrible Beauty. New York: Delacorte tion by subgenre is an option but not a very appealing Press, 2003. one. Fiction should not become subject to the rules of ———. Rebel Angels. New York: Delacorte Press, 2005. Brennan, Herbie. The Faerie Wars. New York: Bloomsbury, nomenclature; classification by genre cannot be 2003. reduced to a science. Cabot, Meg. The Princess Diaries. New York: Harper Avon, 2000. If we announce of the death of genre, what are Chambers, Aiden. Postcards from No Man’s Land. New York: the implications for our students? For us as teachers, Dutton Books, 2002. librarians, and educators? For teens, I hope that Cooper, Susan. King of Shadows. New York: Margaret K. liberation, freedom from the familiar, would be one McElderry Books, 1999. Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Seeing Stone. New York: Arthur A. positive outcome. We have each seen a student (or Levine Books, 2001. adult) who reads one genre and one genre only. “I Crutcher, Chris. The Sledding Hill. New York: Greenwillow Books, would rather die than read a book that isn’t a mys- 2005. tery,” “Do you have any sports fiction?,” and “I am Fleischman, Paul. Mind’s Eye. New York: Henry Holt, 1999. looking for a book with dragons” are the typical ———. Seek. Chicago: Cricket Books, 2001. ———. Whirligig. New York: Henry Holt, 1998. comments I hear every day. I receive similar com- Gardner, Sally. I, Coriander. New York: Dial Books, 2005. ments from graduate students, some of whom fear Gribbin, John and Mary. The Science of Philip Pullman’s His reading outside their comfort zone. By denouncing Dark Materials. New York: Knopf, 2005. genre, we may perhaps begin to expand the horizons Griffin, Adele. Where I Want to Be. New York: G.P. Putnam’s of our adolescents. Sons, 2005. Skim the reviews of The Book Thief, I Am the Hannigan, Katherine. Ida B: . . . and her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World. New York: Messenger, Where I Want to Be, and other genre- Greenwillow Books, 2004. bending novels and note that phrases like “for sophis-

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g43_50_TAR_Fall07 49 10/2/07, 3:00 PM Hautman, Pete. Invisible. New York: Simon & Schuster Books, Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. 2005. Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones: A Novel. Boston: Little, Brown, Hearn, Julie. The Minister’s Daughter. New York: Atheneum, 2002. 2005. Shusterman, Neal. The Schwa Was Here. New York: Dutton Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Children’s Books, 2004. Horowitz, Anthony. Stormbreaker. New York: Philomel Books, Soto, Gary. The Afterlife. Orlando: Harcourt, 2003. 2001. Tolan, Stephanie S. Welcome to the Ark. New York: Morrow Kindl, Patrice. Owl in Love. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Junior Books, 1996. L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Farrar, Straus, ———. Flight of the Raven. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. and Giroux, 1962 Turner, Megan Whaley. The Thief. New York: Greenwillow Books, Morris, Gerald. The Squire’s Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. 1998. Updale, Eleanor. Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? New Mowll, Joshua. Operation Red Jericho. Cambridge: Candlewick York: Orchard Books, 2004. Press, 2005. Weeks, Sarah. So B. It. New York: Laura Geringer Books, 2004. ———. Operation Typhoon Shore. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, Whitcomb, Laura. A Certain Slant of Light. Boston: Graphia, 2006. 2005. Napoli, Donna Jo. Beast. New York: Atheneum Books, 2000. Winterson, Jeanette. Tanglewreck. New York : Bloomsbury ———. Bound. New York: Atheneum Books, 2004. Children’s Books, 2006. ———. Breath. New York: Atheneum Books, 2003. Woodson, Jacqueline. Behind You. New York : G.P. Putnam’s Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2004. Sons, 2004. ———. Skybreaker. Toronto : HarperCollins, 2005. Yolen, Jane. The Devil’s Arithmetic. New York: Viking Kestrel, Price, Susan. The Sterkarm Handshake. New York: Scholastic, 1988. 1999. Zevin, Gabrielle. Elsewhere. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. New York : Alfred A. 2005. Knopf, 1996. Zusak, Marcus. I Am the Messenger. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ———. The Ruby in the Smoke. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. 2005. Rees, Celia. Witch Child. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2001. ———. The Book Thief. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Rosoff, Meg. How I Live Now. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004.

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g43_50_TAR_Fall07 50 10/2/07, 3:00 PM LisaLori ScherffGoodson and & CandaceJim Blasingame Lewis Wright

Getting Beyond the Cuss Words: Using Marxism and Binary Opposition to Teach Ironman and The Catcher in the Rye

brief return to the high school classroom in Bird Sings—and we continued reading. It was this 2004 provided me with the opportunity to experience that taught me the most about labels and A teach young adult literature for the first time expectations. Perhaps I, too, had been guilty of in my career. In the six years I taught English and shortchanging my students. reading, from 1996 to 2002, I only used classic Never forgetting this lesson, I revamped two of works—Great Expectations, A Separate Peace, Romeo my courses (Teaching Fiction and Adolescent Litera- and Juliet, etc. It wasn’t that I didn’t like or want to ture), choosing to pair young adult with classic teach young adult fiction; my schools never provided literature and incorporate literary theory. One project such titles. Don’t get me wrong. It is not that I dislike requires students to (1) thematically pair a recently the canon either. Certainly, there are titles and authors published, award-winning young adult novel with a I hope all students have the opportunity to read: To commonly taught classic work (novel or drama) and Kill a Mockingbird for its social justice theme, use them to (2) create lessons to teach literary theory. Faulkner for his use of the Southern grotesque, and Moreover, their lessons need to focus on regular or The Scarlet Letter for its timelessness. However, most remedial students in grades eight through ten. of the classic titles we read were not interesting to, or Pairing of novels by theme and using literary at the appropriate reading level for, my remedial and theory are integral for two main reasons. First, my average level students, most of whom were at risk of experience as a high school teacher showed that upper failing. At one point, frustrated with the lack of track students, like those in honors and Advanced relevant literature for my students of color, I pur- Placement classes, receive more in-depth instruction chased titles I hoped they might like: Black Like Me with an emphasis on critical thinking skills (see also, and A Raisin in the Sun. The students were excited, Applebee, 1989, 1993; Finley, 1984; author, 2004). and we dived into them, moving beyond a great story Moreover, these students read a wider range of literary to analyzing themes, symbols, and characters. Relating works, whereas students in lower track classes are to the works and the characters, the often relegated to a narrow range of students moved beyond their labels literature. Second, as stated earlier, (remedial and/or average) and Students in lower track I was never provided with young became honors students. Seeing the adult novels to use with my increased confidence, competence, classes are often rel- students, novels which would have and attitude among my students, I interested them and, perhaps, egated to a narrow range borrowed books from the Advanced prompted them to participate more Placement program—Bless Me, of literature. in class. I had either nothing or the Ultima and I Know Why the Caged abridged versions of classic works

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h51_61_TAR_Fall07 51 10/2/07, 2:57 PM (A Separate Peace, Great Expectations, etc.) included in teachers with a starting point. Lastly, we present one the anthology which were at least two grades above idea in practice. Other young adult and classic litera- most students’ reading level. ture pairing ideas are provided as an appendix. Both of these factors—readings with little relevance to students’ lives and literature too difficult for Rationale for Pairing Ironman and The them to read—contribute to low interest and achieve- ment levels and provide a justification for using young Catcher in the Rye adult literature even if an exact definition for young Many literacy experts advocate pairing young adult literature may be elusive. Herz and Gallo (2005) adult literature with classic works. In the edited series note that there is “no agreed-upon literal definition of Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics YAL [young adult literature]. Others have defined it as (1993, 1994, 1997, 2000), Joan Kaywell’s contributors any kind of literature read voluntarily by teenagers, offer dozens and dozens of pairings of young adult while some describe it as books with teenage protago- novels and classic works with teaching ideas. Herz nists, or books written for a teenage audience” (11). and Gallo’s (1996) text, From Hinton to Hamlet: Young adult literature serves two primary purposes: It Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and gets students interested in reading and allows teachers the Classics, offers pairings, thematic connections, and to provide challenging assignments. The latter purpose archetypes in the works. Their updated and revised is where literary theory comes in. Young adult litera- edition (2005) has additional features including an ture, according to Ted Hipple, “must be read with example of an author paper and profiles of unique attention, not simply to its story lines, characters, or programs in libraries and schools. All texts make the settings but also and very importantly to its themes” same claim: Young adult literature, because of its (2000, 2). Lisa Schade Eckert (2006) adds to the focus on polemical and present-day problems and discussion, asserting that: issues meaningful to adolescents, is a natural scaffold

Teaching students to use literary theory as a strategy to con- to the classics (Probst, 2004). By reading modern-day, struct meaning is teaching reading. Learning theory gives relevant works they enjoy, adolescents will more likely them a purpose in approaching a reading task, helps them read and understand the classic titles assigned in to make and test predictions as they read, and provides a school. framework for student response and awareness of their Students in my fiction course were directed to stance in approaching a text . . . making literary theory an read a recently published young adult novel and select explicit part of instruction provides a teacher with opportunities to model ways of reading instead of merely translat- a commonly taught classic work with which to pair it ing a text (8). thematically. Out of the eight titles offered (Ironman, In this article we attempt to illustrate these Whale Talk, Postcards from No Man’s Land, Inventing opportunities as we present aspects of one university Elliot, A Northern Light, The House of the Scorpion, student’s (Candace) project, the pairing of two Mississippi Trial, 1955, and Crossing Jordan), Candace controversial novels—Ironman and The Catcher in the chose Ironman and then paired it with The Catcher in Rye—aimed at ninth- or tenth-grade students. Along the Rye. Ironman, by Chris Crutcher, is an excellent the way, we hope to provide access to literary theory selection to use as a bridge to a classic text because it for teachers who may not have background knowledge deals with several critical issues facing today’s in it and how to make it relevant for students. We also students, such as anger management, divorce, and hope to illustrate purposes of pairing a young adult moving beyond initial assumptions (race, sexual novel with a classic literary work, such as showing preference, etc.). Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the students that classics still have relevance in their lives Rye, pairs well because of the numerous thematic and that young adult fiction has significance beyond parallels that exist between the two works. The interesting plots and characters. First, we offer a protagonists, Beau and Holden, experience some of rationale for pairing of Ironman and The Catcher in the the same personal struggles and discoveries. Both Rye, brief summaries of the novels, and theme and authors employ writing styles that are personal and theory connectors. Then, short introductions to easily accessible to high school students. Both novels applicable literary theories are given to provide would work well in the high school classroom, as

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h51_61_TAR_Fall07 52 10/2/07, 2:57 PM Crutcher and Salinger have a gift for tapping into the and a few acquaintances. Because of his peculiar teenage experience through language and character- behavior, none of the encounters seem to turn out ization. right, and he is constantly disappointed by the “phonies,” “bastards,” and “pains in the ass.” Plot Summaries Holden is a teenager searching for purpose in life. The only times he appears happy are when he is with Ironman by Chris Crutcher children or remembering his dead brother. Holden’s Beauregard (Beau) Brewster appears to be your tale ends as he decides not to run away from home typical high school senior, making average grades, after all. The reader does not learn how he ended up playing on the football team, and working at an after- in a mental institution, only that he will try harder in school job. Two things, however, set Beau apart from school. most of his peers: his difficulty controlling his temper and his determination to compete in Yukon Jack’s Theme and Theory Connectors Eastern Invitational Scabland Triathlon. Through a series of letters to Larry King, Beau unravels the story Candace chose the five themes listed below to of his senior year. He quits the football team, setting focus on when creating her unit, believing that up a series of negative interactions with both his students would be interested in and identify with the former coach and his father. He then is sentenced to stories and characters through them. For example, three months of anger management classes, in lieu of high school is a time when adolescents search to find suspension, for calling one of his teachers (the ex- their individual identities, balancing physical matura- football coach) an obscene name. Through this tion and emotional self-control. experience and the relationships formed with other 1. Search for identity group members, Beau begins to understand where his 2. Maturation anger comes from and how to control it. He also starts 3. Confrontation of the cultural other to see some of the problems his peers face. As he gains 4. Self-control this valuable experience, it helps him cope with some 5. Truth versus deception/ Perception versus reality of the problems in his life. He attempts to address the Although the teen protagonists in Ironman and volatile relationship with his father and learns the The Catcher in the Rye are strikingly different (Beau is critical lesson of acceptance. All the while, Beau is a goal-oriented athlete, while Holden is a chain- training for competing in Yukon Jack’s Ironman smoking failure), their personal quests are the same. competition. In the end, Beau accomplishes his Both Beauregard Brewster and Holden Caulfield are on physical goals and is working toward repairing the a journey, with each striving to develop a sense of relationship with his father. The reader ends the book himself and the world around him. During their with a more mature, responsible Beau. journeys, the young men confront various situations that contribute to their developing sense of self. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Crutcher and Salinger establish similar contrasts in the From the outset, Holden Caulfield is not your worlds of their protagonists. Beau must learn to typical high school junior, failing out of four prepara- control his anger through distinguishing truth from tory schools because of what he calls their high levels deception, while Holden must learn to take responsi- of “phoniness.” Holden begins his tale from an bility for his actions by denying the fictions he creates undisclosed mental institution in California, the in face of the reality in which he lives. The cultural narrative taking the reader through a series of events other is represented in both texts through the presence happening between the end of fall term and the start of homosexuality. Beau must cope with his role of winter break. Expelled yet again, and not wanting model’s admitted homosexuality; although Holden to inform his parents, Holden decides to leave school never receives confirmation of his suspicions, he early and stay in a hotel until he is due home. In the thinks that one of his former teachers may be gay. city, Holden encounters and interacts with several Both texts leave the reader with a sense that both diverse people: nuns, a hotel doorman, a prostitute, young men are on the road to adulthood.

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h51_61_TAR_Fall07 53 10/2/07, 2:57 PM Literary Theories texts and their readers are socially constructed, and/or (4) the form of texts (Appleman, 2000; Moon, 1999). Two literary theories—Marxism and binary Through this theory students can examine issues of opposition—work well with the paired novels. As lack power, class, resistance, and/or ideology. Literary of power of his world is one of Beau’s major struggles, Terms by Moon and Critical Encounters in High School Marxist theory is a natural choice to introduce English by Appleman provide ideas and activities for Ironman (and then use with Catcher). Binary opposi- teachers to use. One exercise in particular works tion also applies, especially when using Ironman as nicely with the novels. Teachers have students list the bridge to Salinger’s book, due to the paired social groups that are presented in each novel; then, concepts such as right/wrong, adult/child, gay/ they plot the groups on a social ladder, explaining the straight, and ambivalence/certainty. Table 1 highlights power struggles between and among them (Appleman, how Marxism and binary opposition relate to the two 2000, 164-165). novels. Other literary theories also work quite well In creating a pre-reading lesson for Ironman, with these two novels, and these are provided in Table 2. Candace combined ideas presented in the Appleman and Moon texts. To introduce Marxism, the teacher Marxist Theory asks students to think about class and power struc- Marxist theory is accessible for teachers, even tures, through the cliques and groups, at their school. without having background knowledge on Karl Marx. Using the examples of jocks and nerds, students Through Marxist theory students can investigate (1) volunteer examples of some of these groups, listing how people are treated differently in texts (as in class them on the board. Students then rank the groups systems), (2) the political context of texts, (3) how from most to least powerful, providing justification for their responses. Some key questions teachers could pose include: Are there specific groups with power? Novel Marxism Binary Opposition Without power? Where does the power come from in these groups? Is your perception of power affected by Ironman A power struggle is There are many ex- represented by the amples of binary your personal experiences with some of these groups? conflict between the opposites in the text: the Are class structures fixed or is it possible to move people in power, presence of Beau, an among the class designations (think of the American composed of teachers, athlete, in the anger myth of rags to riches or the cycle of poverty)? She/he parents, college students, management group with will then explain that power and class structures are a and the adolescents. The the delinquent students, part of a literary theory called Marxism and that the adolescents struggle to Beau’s parents, the find their voices in a concepts of winners and novels they will be reading include issues of power world that often quitters, Elvis’s and between and among characters and groups. discounts their view- Beau’s family situations, points. anger and self-control. Binary Opposition Binary oppositions are words and concepts that a The Catcher in A class struggle is There are many ex- community generally deem as being opposed to each the Rye represented in Holden’s amples of binary other. People often have a black and white view of the plight to avoid becoming opposites in the text: world which can impact the way power is distributed one of the phonies he so success and failure, among groups (Moon, 1999). In studying binary adamantly opposes. direction and misdirec- opposites in a text, one does not necessarily have to Holden’s privileged tion, affluence and look for direct opposites. Students can be led to status is in stark contrast poverty, innocence and to the scenes and people experience, reality and examine how characters, actions, words, and events he encounters in New deception. All of these are positioned to be seen as contradictory. York. opposites are expressed Teachers can introduce the concept by writing in Holden’s experiences pairs of opposites (such as rich/poor, liberal/conserva- and observations. tive, or intelligent/unintelligent) on the board and Table 1. Two Books Seen through the Lens of Two Literary Theories asking students to make observations about the pairs.

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h51_61_TAR_Fall07 54 10/2/07, 2:57 PM To shift the discussion to how an author crafts Idea in Practice language, the teacher could place students in pairs To test and practice some of the ideas presented in and begin a discussion of word choice. For example, this article, an English teacher at a local high school she/he places an example sentence on the board and agreed to let me come into her 10th grade class (31 asks the class how word choice might change the students) and teach the introductory lesson for the meaning of the sentence (examples: “the boy ran” novel Ironman. I combined the ideas of Moon, versus “the boy fled;” “the winning team slaughtered Appleman, and Candace in a two-part lesson. This their opponent” versus “the team squeaked by with a pre-reading lesson works well because students begin win”). Students could then create 2-3 sentence pairs to study how power is assumed, granted, and shown where word choice impacts the meaning, then share in their day-to-day worlds before they read about it in and discuss the implications and interpretations. either of the novels. Because Ironman opens with Through studying binary opposition, students Beau’s power and control issues, the class discussion gain a better understanding of how an author’s will be fresh in students’ minds. Students were given a choices create meaning within a text. Students are copy of the handout shown in Figure 1 and instructed introduced to the idea that an opposite can be implied, to complete Step One. rather than directly stated. Hopefully, they will become more observant readers, noticing and appreciating the deliberate choices and juxtapositions that POWER AND CLASS IN SOCIETY AND BOOKS authors choose. Key questions related to Ironman and Step One The Catcher in the Rye that could be posed are: Think about the following public figures or groups and the 1. Why are binary opposites important in this/these power they have. Where does it come from? Why are they novels? Think about opposing forces (such as real considered powerful? Who is the most powerful? In small versus phony) and characters (such as Beau’s groups, rank the people from most to least powerful. Take 10-15 father and Mr. S). minutes. Be prepared to share your answers with the class. 2. Are all the binary opposites presented in the texts direct opposites? Why do we consider certain pairs George W. Bush opposites? Paris Hilton 3. How do binary opposites work together to create Oprah Winfrey meaning? How does Salinger use opposites to Bill Gates create Holden’s character? Consider the idea of a Fox News negative definition. 4. Can a binary opposite be implied in a text? In the Step Two texts are there any areas where an opposite is Now, think about power at your school. In your groups, think implied? about different groups here at ______High School, such as 5. Why is word choice important? Find an example in “jocks” or “teachers” or “nerds.” How is the power spread one or both of the novels. among groups at school? 6. How does word choice affect the tone and purpose of a piece? Use examples from the text to explain On a sheet of chart paper, list the groups here at school from your answer. most to least powerful. How did you arrive at this ordering? 7. Consider the characters of Mr. Redmond and Mr. Are you a member of any of these groups? Serbousek. Can characters function as binary opposites? What about Mr. Nak? Now, reconsider (and renumber if necessary) your list from the 8. Think about the language used in Ironman and The perspective of: Catcher in the Rye. Is the “foul” language necessary? Do you think the choices made by the authors —the least powerful on your list were deliberate? Are they accurate, offensive, —teachers excessive, understated? Figure 1. Introductory lesson for Ironman

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h51_61_TAR_Fall07 55 10/2/07, 2:57 PM My initial assumption was that students would select George W. Bush as the person/group with the most power. However, the student groups were split, with some choosing him and others choosing Fox News and Bill Gates. For those groups that chose the President of the United States, the reason was that the U.S. is the most powerful country on earth; thus, its leader is the most powerful of the names listed. Those who chose Fox News justified their choice with comments relating to the news channels being able to manipulate information. Bill Gates was seen as powerful because of his wealth and control over a large section of the technology market. I segued into the second part of the lesson by stating that just like there is disagreement over which public figures are most powerful, the same situation occurs in schools. Some people and groups, such as administrators and coaches, have power (or should) automatically due to age, title, and/or size. However, from school to school, that is not always the case. I went over the directions in Step Two, providing each group with markers and poster-size paper. The photographs in Figures 2 and 3 represent three groups’ interpretations of the power hierarchy in their school. What is interesting, and became even more so for Figure 2. This group took a narrow, stereotypical view the students and their teacher and I during the of school social hierarchy. discussion (which lasted so long that we did not finish the lesson), is not only the difference in the number of members are still power brokers over some in the power groupings that each student group identified, school because of the attention they seek and receive but some of the particular ones acknowledged as from others. The discussion that ensued from this having power. For example, in Figure 2, students activity was beneficial not only as an introduction to indicated that the “Promiscuous” group, though the themes in the novels, but to open awareness and ranked last on their list, exerted influence because tolerance among the class. their sexual activity made them popular and powerful. Those expected to have power—administrators—were Summary left off the list, and teachers were not listed at the top. Two additional groups interpreted the school’s What the teachers in my class and I learned is power players differently, listing a wider variety and that pairing young adult and classic fiction and number of them (see Figure 3). While both saw incorporating literary theory multiplies the benefits of administrators as having the most power, teachers both. First, young adult literature is a great hook to get were listed behind those in the senior class (and in students interested in and reading classic works. one case, after student government members, coaches, Because they are given a foundation of ideas, themes, and juniors). Students also noted power being held by and issues, the scaffold is in place for the more some atypical groups, namely “emo kids.” In fact, difficult reading. Second, when teachers use literary neither the teacher nor I knew what an emo kid was theory, students—especially those in the lower and had to ask the class. According to the students, academic tracks—are provided with higher-order and emo kids are the ones who either display mood critical thinking opportunities that they might not swings and/or emotional outbursts or cut themselves. receive. While I am an advocate for reading young Although this group displays unhealthy behavior, its adult literature for its own sake, I do not endorse 56

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

h51_61_TAR_Fall07 56 10/2/07, 2:57 PM Hipple, Ted. “With Themes for All: The Universality of the Young Adult Novel.” In V. R. Monseau & G M. Salvner (Eds.), Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 1–14. Herz, Sarah K., & Gallo, Donald R. From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. Westport, CT: Green- wood Press, 1996. Herz, Sarah K., & Gallo, Donald R. From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges Between Young Adult Literature and the Classics (2nd ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. Kaywell, Joan F. (Ed.). Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics (Vols. 1–4). Norwood, CT: Figure 3. These groups took a broader, more detailed view of school social Christopher Gordon Publishers, 1993- hierarchy. 2000. Moon, Brian. Literary Terms: A Practical Glossary. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1999. reading it without integrating more complex, in-depth Probst, Robert E. Response and Analysis: Teaching Literature in assignments and activities, a requirement that literary Secondary School (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, theory fulfills. 2004. Scherff, Lisa. “I Wish We Read Better Books.” What High School Students Reported about Required Reading. The Leaflet, 103 Lisa Scherff is assistant professor of English Education at (2004): 9–20. The University of Alabama, where she also co-directs the Longleaf Writing Project. Lisa and Susan Groenke Bibliography (classic text listings include recent (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) were recently named edition information) co-editors of English Leadership Quarterly. Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Pocket Books, 2004. Chambers, Aidan. Postcards from No Man’s Land. New York: Candace Lewis Wright lives and works in Knoxville, Puffin, 2004. Tennessee. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Avon, 1982. and a master’s degree in secondary education from the Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War. New York: Random House, University of Tennessee. She enjoys reading and watching 2000. Crowe, Chris. Mississippi Trial, 1955. New York: Puffin, 2003. HBO’s The Sopranos with her husband Mike. Crutcher, Chris. Ironman. New York: Harper Teen, 2004. Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. New York: Laurel Leaf, 2002. Works Cited Donnelly, Jennifer. A Northern Light. Orlando: Harcourt, 2003. Applebee, Arthur J. A Study of Book-Length Works Taught in Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. New York: Simon High School English Courses (Report Series 1.2). Albany, NY: Pulse, 2002. Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature, 1989. Fogelin, Adrian. Crossing Jordan. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Jr., 2002. Applebee, Arthur J. Literature in the Secondary School: Studies Gardner, Graham. Inventing Elliot. New York: Dial, 2004. of Curriculum and Instruction in the United States. NCTE Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial, Research Report No. 25. Urbana, IL: National Council of 1998. Teachers of English, 1993. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Harper Perennial, Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English: 2002. Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents. New York and Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown Urbana, IL: Teachers College Press and National Council of and Co., 1991. Teachers of English, 2000. Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Dover Publications, 1996. Eckert, Lisa S. How Does it Mean? Engaging Reluctant Readers Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: through Literary Theory. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2006. Puffin, 1991. Finley, Merilee K. “Teachers and Tracking in a Comprehensive Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: High School.” Sociology of Education, 57(1984): 233–243. Penguin Classics, 2003. 57

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

h51_61_TAR_Fall07 57 10/2/07, 2:57 PM Appendix

Reader Formalism Feminism Race Cultural Response Studies

Ironman

This approach The movement The situations of There is not a The category is can be taken of the plot Shelly and great deal of too broad to use using any of the powers this Beau’s mom material dealing as a critical lens. characters or critical ap- work with this with race. situations in the proach. The approach. novel. significant events are aptly placed.

The Catcher in the Rye

This approach The movement Female charac- There is not a The category is can be taken of the plot ters do not play great deal of too broad. One using any of the powers this a prominent material dealing could use post characters or critical ap- role. However, with race. WWII history, situations in the proach. The use one could make but it would be novel. of a frame the argument for a stretch. narrative could using feminist be discussed in theory to detail. examine Jane Gallagher or Holden’s sister.

Table 2. Evaluation of Additional Literary Theories for Ironman and The Catcher in the Rye

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

h51_61_TAR_Fall07 58 10/2/07, 2:58 PM Young Adult Classic Primary Rationale Novel Work Literary Theories

A Northern My Antonia Feminist Donnelly’s A Northern Light and Cather’s My Antonia share Light Race many features in terms of plot and theme. The pairing works well for these reasons alone, but also in light of the critical approaches of feminism and race theory. Because students can sometimes be resistant to the use of literary theory, teachers can introduce the unit with A Northern Light, a young adult text that is full of exciting events including a murder and the pursuit of a college education. This is a great strategy to create student interest for the more traditionally accepted My Antonia, which explores similar themes of farm life, death, and college education. After becoming familiar with the novels by exploring the connections of plot and theme, students will be better prepared to examine the texts through the literary lenses of feminism and race theory.

A Northern The Feminist A Northern Light is an ideal piece of literature to teach with Light Awakening Marxist The Awakening because the themes and subject matter appeal to students, particularly females. Some themes covered include love, familial duty, feminine stereotypes, race, educational aspirations, and loss. Concerning roles and stereotypes of women in early 20th century, both female protagonists Mattie Gokey and Edna Pontellier strive to achieve beyond their supposed place in society. Readers can examine the ways that education is a commodity only openly distributed to certain populations (men). As a woman, Mattie is already disadvantaged because she is supposed to rely on men for many things. Edna is similar to Mattie in that, as a woman, she is seen as under the control of a male, Mr. Pontellier.

Crossing Othello Race In Crossing Jordan, race is the line that divides the families, Jordan Structuralism although the divide is not caused by current human interac- (binary tion, but historical racial differences and past personal opposition) experiences. In Othello, differences in color and class are central characteristics of the play. By studying these texts through the Race Theory Lens, students can observe how misguided intolerance causes a disconnect in humanity that divides for the sake of division. The second lens of literary analysis is Binary Opposition. By analyzing the figurative and literal lines in these stories, students will gain a deeper and more educated point of view in the study of these texts. Continued on next page

Table 3. Additional Young Adult and Classic Literature Pairings with Applicable Theories1

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

h51_61_TAR_Fall07 59 10/2/07, 2:58 PM Table 3. Continued

They will see how the authors used this critical theory method to heighten the impact of separateness and compart- mentalization within the whole of the texts.

Whale Talk The Race One of the most pertinent theories applicable to both novels Adventures is race theory. Both novels deal heavily with the issue: Huck of Finn revolves around Huck’s adventures and friendship with Huckleberry a runaway slave, and his battle between his conscience Finn which states he must turn Jim in as a runaway, and his heart which tells him that Jim is human, and thus deserves freedom. Whale Talk deals with the expectations and stereotypes facing blacks today (good athletes, not that bright), and the hurt dealt to children by prejudice.

Mississippi To Kill a Race Mississippi Trial, 1955 and To Kill a Mockingbird both have Trial, 1955 Mockingbird Feminist the obvious racial issues, both with a trial that comes to an Marxist unjust verdict because of the racist jury members who feel a sense of pressure from their community members. The novels are both set in the deep rural South during the time of Jim Crow Laws that enabled whites to have a sense of power and entitlement over blacks. Feminism can be used in Mockingbird to discuss the role of Scout and how she is expected to be something that she does not feel. In Missis- sippi Trial, 1955 there are very few women. Can looking through a feminist lens help the reader understand why that the novel was written in that way? Is the story more effectively told with only three female characters, all of who play very small roles? Marxism can be used to look at the classes of the characters: Would the stories be different if the white families were of lower or higher classes than they are? Would there be a story at all?

The House of Brave New Race An excellent companion book to Brave New World is The the Scorpion World Feminist House of the Scorpion which addresses contemporary issues such as drug cartels and cloning. Students will easily relate to the story’s protagonist who must cope with thoughts that he is somehow different from everybody else. The main characters in Scorpion are Latino, a welcome change for minority students used to the traditional Anglo texts often found in their anthologies. Racism is shown through Huxley’s social slave system and Farmer’s clones. The women in Brave New World become the protagonists in sexual exploration while in Scorpion they are positioned in traditional roles, despite their strengths or weaknesses.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

h51_61_TAR_Fall07 60 10/2/07, 2:58 PM Crossing Roll of Race A great way to teach students about boundaries using race Jordan Thunder, theory is through Crossing Jordan and Roll of Thunder, Hear Hear My My Cry. Although the books are set in different times, one in Cry* the early 1900s and the other in the late 1900s, students are able to see how racial boundaries that were set have either changed or have remained unchanged. Students will be able to make personal connections between the books and their lives. Through this lesson, they will be able to understand how to begin to break down barriers that occur in their lives.

Inventing Chocolate Reader-Response Inventing Elliot serves as a great accompaniment to The Elliot War* Structuralism Chocolate War. The novel portrays similar themes without any controversial language or content. The novels will reach out to most students and generate some type of reaction that will cause students to compare the text to their own lives. Reader-response theory can help students who are bullies try to relate to the experiences of victims, such as those found in both novels. Structuralism as a binary opposition works well with Inventing Elliot. In the opening, Elliot reveals his desire to leave his old life behind and to create a new life. Even though Jerry’s life (The Chocolate War) is somewhat of a binary opposition because he alters from a sheer determination to “disturb the universe” to a panicked willingness to submit, this example is not quite as obvious as Elliot’s two sides.

* Although considered young adult literature, because they were originally published in the 1970s, students considered them to be “classics.”

Note 1. Additional pairings contributed by Zachary Best, Carmen Brown, Misty Daniels, Scott E. Jenkinson, Laura Keigan, Sarah McAffry, Beth Nelson, Elaina Robertson, Sherri Teske, and Hazel Tucker

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

h51_61_TAR_Fall07 61 10/2/07, 2:58 PM T ◆ H ◆ E

w ay ALAN 17-8 REVIEW

ealities

, Kathleen

aleigh, NC

other is all

er wanted to er wanted

Judy Beemer

. Told through . Told

Jennifer Funk

otters win Baby otters

Junction City, KS Junction City,

978-1-59078-502-7

ISBN: 1-59078-502-9

Choices

en more complicated, en more

ama.

oubled Teens/Animals

. A simple story, beauti- . A simple story,

eet life and more trouble. eet life and more

e—and Luke reveals a se- reveals e—and Luke

y’s struggle to learn ne y’s

e juvenile detention: aged- e juvenile

ISBN-13: 978-1-59643-2

ose will pull both males and females

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. First the dogs and then the P . First

y reach the finish line y reach

. The only crossovers between the two realities seem to realities the two between . The only crossovers

other Nick’s rescue from a party she ne from rescue other Nick’s

chologically thrilling emotional dr

x storyline make Jacobs’s book fitting for the high school Jacobs’s x storyline make

sterious appearances of Luke, a young man whose past loss a young of Luke, sterious appearances

esonate with Kathleen. Life becomes e esonate with Kathleen.

ail. Yet his understated comparisons of animals to humans will his understated ail. Yet

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by Deborah Lynn Jacobs Lynn Deborah by Identity/Death/Multiple R

by Joseph Monninger by

er. Then Bobby, an old boyfriend, draws her back into str draws an old boyfriend, Then Bobby, er.

ont Street, 2007, 173 pp., $16.95 2007, ont Street,

oaring Brook Press, 2007, 189 pp., $16.95 2007, Press, oaring Brook

wn set of conflicting memories

Choices R

the vulnerable voice of Kathleen, whose guilt o of Kathleen, voice the vulnerable consuming, the story is a ps open up—one with Nick aliv realities when more however, When Kathleen seeks her br When Kathleen choice. a heartbreaking to make Kathleen forcing cret, Mature content and a comple Mature student seeking an original story

Deborah Lynn Jacobs takes readers on a multiple reality odyssey in odyssey on a multiple reality readers Jacobs takes Lynn Deborah death and the m be Nick’s and present situation r and present

attend, dangerous driving conditions contribute to a fatal accident. Soon after attend, dangerous begins experiencing the unsettling feeling of ha begins experiencing o

Baby Fr

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YA Book Reviews YA

y hair

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169-2423-4

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Billie spends

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eal her own emo- eal her own

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a dialogue, refrigerator sticky notes refrigerator a dialogue,

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dia, learning to cook, cr

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e at my heart and made it sing. Cr e at my

as Here as Here

, 2007, 279 pp., $16.99 , 2007,

ritten in multiple formats including soap oper

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Am I Right or Am I Right? Alfred A. Knopf, 2007, 256 pp., $15.99 A. Knopf, 2007, Alfred Brash and sensitive, literal and over-imaginative, stubborn and sar and over-imaginative, literal and sensitive, Brash makes her way through Year 11 at her Australian high school. Balancing a part-time job at her Australian 11 Year through her way makes at Crazi-Cheep, wher at Crazi-Cheep, tration over her uncommunicativ over tration manages to engage her W between mom and daughter between teacher, and Calma’s “unreliable narrator” voice, the novel rockets along with humor rockets the novel voice, narrator” “unreliable and Calma’s teacher, and pathos. Calma intersperses newly acquired poetic forms to r acquired newly Calma intersperses and pathos. tional growth. Problems range from the dramatic to the mysterious to hysterically funny. to hysterically to the mysterious the dramatic from range Problems tional growth. A not-to-be-missed scene occur salon while prepping for her fir salon while prepping

Simon & Schuster

In this tale of friendship and healing, Nanc Standish, an 11-year-old girl from a small Missouri to girl from Standish, an 11-year-old flees town fearing a flood, Billie and L flees town form an unlikely friendship. While Billie’ form an unlikely Billie Standish W her afternoons with Miss L house. During that summer house. o This story both tor friendship as well as the value of being a part of the w as the value friendship as well mend this book to high school and matur adult themes. A1

oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 1 10/2/07, 2:38 PM T ◆ H ◆ E

Defect The Christopher Killer almost fly, from high places. F While David’s deformities (gifts?) cause him to be ostr a rural Minnesota high school, he begins to come to terms with his uniqueness in an alternative school environment where students are more accepting of each other’ fects.” Defect ing to terms with his ph Central to the novel is the question of whether Da v nature, and he is forced to confront this issue dir opportunity for corr Viking by Penguin Group, 2006, 274 pp., $15.99 The book should pr This dramatic novel revolves around a young girl named Cameryn who becomes an and tolerance with high school students these people, to the point wher assistant to her father how close Cameryn is to her father that make her sick, she becomes entr thrilling ride from the beginning to the surprise ending. into this plot is a subplot of Cameryn trying to find out who and wher The incredibly detailed descriptions of crime scenes ar Investigators television programs. Along the way we meet a psychic, a gothic friend of Cameryn’s, and a 1960s-style Fe

arrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007, 199 pp., $16.00

ariety of deformities

ALAN guson’s character development is so str REVIEW

is Will Weaver’s allegorical tale that e

b ilWae Allegory by Will Weaver

ompt interesting and productive discussions about differ

ective surgery that would make him “normal.”

, the county cor

, chief among them wing-lik

sical abnormalities

AaeFruo Murder Mystery/Family Problems Alane Ferguson

, spiritual best friend.

e you feel their pain and jo

oner. After several mishaps and crime scene vie

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enched in a case that will change her life

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. The protagonist, David, was born with a

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acized and eventually expelled from

e akin to the curr

It is also refreshing to see

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s journey of com-

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e her mother is.

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Todd Goodson

Manhattan, KS

0-374-31725-9

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. Woven

1725-6

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YA Reviews Book

two jobs to pay for things they think they need. Deet would rather they keep things simple. When Deet’s dad is arrested for drugs he used to sta r father in jail, he is surprised when tw in jail. Deet’s mom has to work, so Deet cares for his little sister Deet is pretty much a loner and a neat fr journal assignments than his own parents. His mother seems to r who love him even though they are so different from him, and that not e is a bad person. Deet becomes str end of the world.

Simon & Schuster

Do Not Pass Go

The Darwin Expedition Orca Book Publisher In a hurry to get in one mor Liam take a little used, and e loses control and the truck tumbles do and struggling to surviv The adventure is not only a test of their surviv and self-confidence doubt to save his friend. The Darwin Expedition suited to struggling r the reader in.

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. After Tej is injured, Liam has to struggle to o

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20,10p. 89 ISBN: 978-1-55143-678-1 2007, 100 pp., $8.95

manages to combine an e

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e snowboarding adventure before the spring thaw, Tej and

xtremely muddy, logger road up the mountain. When T

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citing adventure with a reading level

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ISBN-13: 9781416914006

Through Mr. Hodges’

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find themselves lost

come his own self-

Manhattan, KS

Fami

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olinde Young

Barbara Ray

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orks

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oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 2 10/2/07, 2:38 PM T ◆ H ◆ E ALAN

eup ying REVIEW

orkaholic

her father

el, seeking

oking book.

Jennifer Lee

Judy Beemer

. Both share a . Both share

Louisville, KY Louisville,

Junction City, KS Junction City,

ISBN: 0-316-16646-4

ose is a 13-year-old girl ose is a 13-year-old

acters—Sara Shepard’s novel Shepard’s acters—Sara

s death, while his w

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w of several different characters, this characters, different w of several

ence, in this thought-pr ence,

earning to have one person whom they one person earning to have

easured possessions. easured

, which are as fragile as eggshells as fragile , which are

by Sara Shepard Sara by Jock Mystery/Social

ets and deadly struggles behind the perfect mak

e the lifestyle of its char

, girls will race through the pages of this no through , girls will race

sically unavailable to him. Primr sically unavailable

eatens to tell all the secr

old from the point of vie old from

ets of their pasts

eals the scandalous secr

, the third book in the series , the third

by Jerry Spinelli by Fiction/Friendship/Loss

o kids find friendship, despite their age differ

erfect

Eggs Little, Brown and Co., 2007, 224 pp., $15.99 and Co., 2007, Brown Little, Tw

David is a 9-year-old boy who is coping with his mother’ boy is a 9-year-old David father is emotionally and ph who tries everything to stay away from her eccentric mother and only kno from away to stay who tries everything from a framed photo that is one of her most tr a framed from Both kids hide the secr

love for a drink called Mango Madness and a y love each can depend on. T book is one that should not be missed if looking for a good tale of friendship.

Flawless, a Pretty Little Liars Book Little Liars a Pretty Flawless, P HarperTeen, 2007, 330 pp., $16.99 330 2007, HarperTeen, ISBN: 978-0-06-088733-9 Glitzy, smooth, and fast—just lik Glitzy, Flawless and designer clothes of four bad little rich girls Seduced by gossip and glamour Seduced by the identity of A, who thr

s and

YA Book Reviews YA

der to

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e is a plot

Jennifer Lee

Louisville, KY Louisville,

Little Rock, AR Little Rock,

Judith A. Hayn

eaders who love eaders

on induced when his

azzle-dazzle lives in azzle-dazzle lives

, their new relationships, , their new

aerie by a young courtier. a young aerie by

s they want to become in or want s they

Clip & File

ood Academy for the Performing Arts for the Performing ood Academy

etold to be the one who can cr

and new love. From “Cats” to “Guy From love. and new

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enture will love Anita/Tania and her story Anita/Tania will love enture

orld of modern London.

ged from the twilight Ober ged from

, including those she trusts most. Ther

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en, 2007, 311 pp., $15.99 311 en, 2007, ISBN: 978-07868-3815-8

es? Will she learn who is friend or foe in time? R

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, run by a well-known Broadway director. Both are fans of Broadway Both are director. Broadway a well-known , run by

by Frewin Jones Frewin by Fantasy/Romance

E. Lockhart Fiction/Friendship/Theatr

d, only to be guided out of her r

oungest daughter disappear

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Hyperion Books for Childr and just how hard the kids must w hard and just how Sadye and Demi are two teenagers who are tired of their non-r tired who are teenagers two and Demi are Sadye boring old Ohio behind them once and for all. leave Brenton, Ohio, and decide to apply to the Wilde Brenton, Summer Institute musicals, and they adore Liza Minnelli. adore and they musicals, Their summer is one of friendship, jealous Dolls,” this book tells of the ups and do Dolls,” A3

oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 3 10/2/07, 2:38 PM T ◆ H ◆ E

about herself than she kne Gabrielle Zevin develops believable characters in a believable story of a 21st century teen. I enjoyed following Naomi through her journey of self-discovery, and I would definitely recommend this book to m

her boyfriend, her best friend, her r Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall F ISBN: 0-316-00218-6 Little, Brown, and Co., 2007, 251 pp., $16.99 Sixteen-year-old Tessa tells her story thr She lost one coin toss lovable loser—a shy girl who seems nice ten everything—how to drive, her parents’ divorce, all her friends. As she struggles to After being hit in the head during gym class r from her body, eventually ending up in the mall. She figur she had seen her o she’s dead or not. While in the mall, T possessions. She then goes on a journe each of the possessions comes into pla Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall death and the afterlife mistakes one makes along the way.

econnect with her “pr ALAN ISBN-13: 978-0-374-34946-2 arrar Straus Giroux, 2007, 271 pp., $17.00 REVIEW

wn crumpled body lying on the gym floor

, then lost four y

, but also about r

vious” life, she begins to question her r

w before her head injury

b arel ei Amnesia/Discovery by Gabrielle Zevin

is a story that will ha

b ed asSelf-Discovery/Relationships by Wendy Mass

elationship with her mother—and disco

y high school students

ears. Suffering from amnesia, Naomi has for

y through the various stages of her life

elationships, friendships, and all of those little

essa finds a new friend and a bag of her o

ough short poems in this quick r

, but doesn’t have many friends.

, Tessa finds herself being whisked away

Clip & File

eaders wondering about the

es it must be hea

, especially the girls

, but she can’t figur

ole in many parts of it—

ISBN-10: 0-374-34946-0

ead. Tessa is a

Louisville, KY

Elaine Clincik

Jennifer Lee

Wichita, KS

vers vers

en, since

, where

e out if

YA Reviews Book

got-

The Invention of Hugo Cabr

Scholastic, 2007, 544 pp., $22.99 It is 1931, and 12-year-old Hugo has spent the past y in a Paris train station. Since the deaths of his par the job he now occupies, Hugo has been trying to r father—an automaton. This mechanical man, whose pen is poised o

follows a picture with prose to continue the r The result of these juxtapositions is indeed cinematic black to resemble a movie screen. Part historical fiction, part m paper, draws a secret message from the past. will continue to inspir Selznick craftily combines print te films, and photographs from current events. Selznick startles the r sentences in mid-action and then continuing the story with a series of dr

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Margaret K. McElderry Books When Clary Fray witnesses a mur upside down. One of the mur and her mother disappear tive world of wonder and mystery that exists beside our o prise even the most astute r Clary finds herself joining forces with Jace and the m r trying to destroy Clary. Slowly, Clary discovers that everything she once belie herself and her mother ma tivate and astound r City of Bones

ace against time. The evil Valentine is seeking a po

is a suspenseful and captiv

eaders.

e readers and authors to invent.

y be completely wr

eader. This book is recommended for ages 14 and up.

, 2007, 485 pp., $17.99

derers, the very handsome Jace

b ra ezikHistorical Fiction/My by Brian Selznick

xt with crosshatch sketches, stills from Georges Méliès’

der at a popular teen club

ating fantasy. Clare creates a vivid and descrip-

b asnr lr Fantasy by Cassandra Clare

ong. The surprising r

ealing of Hugo’s story.

ents and his uncle

epair the only remembrance of his

ear winding and fixing the clocks

erful talisman, and demons ar

, and the pages ar

sterious Shadow Hunters in a

wn. The plot twist will sur-

, her life turns completely

, starts following Clary,

stery, Selznick’s work

ISBN: 0-439-81378-6

ISBN: 1-4169-1428-5

, who used to hold

eader by stopping

elations will cap-

Baton Rouge, LA

Jacqueline Bach

Manhattan, KS

olinde Young,

er a piece of

wings. Or he

e framed in

ed about

stery

A4 e

oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 4 10/2/07, 2:39 PM T ◆ H ◆ E , ALAN

e the REVIEW

frican-

ersities,

om this

aleigh, NC

y from the y from

eggy Jewell

Wichita, KS

es her away

Jennifer Funk

x past of Africans on

xt would be a suitable xt would

st-person narrative by narrative st-person

eative aid of interspersed eative

e perfect” family will fall

w book will captur

ent relationship issues that ent relationship

African-American/History/Song

om their home. As Phoebe learns om their home.

s first African-American univ s first

er of song, this te

On My Journey Now: Looking at A

and thrive when love, trust, and forgiveness when love, and thrive

amines the deeply comple

oung readers can easily relate to the themes of can easily relate oung readers

sue a business opportunity that tak

frican-American

Nikki Giovanni

passage, escape, and freedom. Giovanni also includes Giovanni and freedom. escape, passage,

s at one of America’

, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-689-87390-4

sonal relationships and their issues that ensue fr sonal relationships

0 spirituals, as well as the names and descriptions of influen- as well 0 spirituals,

w the development of soulful melodies connected and carried w the development

, social studies, and music curriculums , social studies,

oughout history.

ear that her mother is absent fr

al equation.

ough the Spirituals

by D. Anne Love by Relationships/Forgiveness Family

History Through the Spirituals History Through Candlewick Press, 2007, 116 pp., $18.99 116 2007, Press, Candlewick ISBN: 978-0-7636-2885-7

On My Journey Now: Looking at A American soil. Beginning with the kidnappings of Africans in their homeland and conclud- Perfect Picture ing with the Fisk Jubilee Singer K. McElderry Books Margaret Nikki Giovanni highlights ho Nikki Giovanni pp., $16.99291 0-689-87390-5 10: an entire population through a treacherous, but, ultimately, triumphant journe but, ultimately, a treacherous, population through an entire bonds of slavery to the freedom of the futur to the freedom bonds of slavery mother decides to pur When Phoebe’s In casual, opinionated, and passionate language that her “pictur Phoebe fears months, home for several from The brief book recounts African-American history with the cr The brief book recounts American History Thr apart. spirituals to tell the story of captur The different family and per The different situation are well written and defined. Y well situation are betrayal, feeling unloved, and distrust. This book is written in fir feeling unloved, betrayal, 14-year-old Phoebe, who involves the reader in all the differ the reader who involves Phoebe, 14-year-old beset her during the y though, such relationships can only gr though, such relationships are part of the surviv are the complete lyrics of nearly 5 and topics contained in this bright ne events The relevant tial African-Americans thr ages 12 and up. of readers interest A suitable source for learning the storytelling po A suitable source

supplement to language arts

ve,

YA Book Reviews YA

ery En-

opeka, KS opeka,

, especially

fascinating,

OR SPECIAL

Lara Copeland Lara

Little Rock, AR Little Rock,

Judith A. Hayn

odigious memory;

ISBN: 0-06-084108-7

ISBN: 0-316-05777-6

oung adolescents to con-

optha Curtain uses to send

oblem is that her mom will

erprotective mother, who knits mother, erprotective

and those who lo

Clip & File

uthie how to snag a guy is her sua uthie how

as once in love with. She can’t talk to as once in love

w more about love and boyfriends—she about love w more

, and the foursome must band together as , and the foursome

s help. Now, she’ll be faced with learning s help. Now,

aire’s behavior matches her name behavior aire’s

er the means Ledr

xtremely gifted 11-year-old, is a super puzzle- gifted 11-year-old, xtremely

ould she know about love; after all, Ruthie’s dad was after all, Ruthie’s about love; ould she know

by Trenton Lee Stewart Trenton by Fiction Family/Science

orld’s population. Curtain uses y orld’s

y agreeing to infiltrate the Learning Institute for the V to infiltrate y agreeing

eshman, needs to kno

, also 11, George “Sticky” Washington, has a pr “Sticky” Washington, George , also 11,

, the four answer Mr. Benedict’s challenge to save the world from the world challenge to save Benedict’s Mr. , the four answer

er this ad: “ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING F YOU er this ad: “ARE

uthie for seeking Marty’

ague mission is to disco

erry, about her situation either because he happens to be the one she erry,

Mary Hogan Coming of Age

and assist her in becoming the perfect girl. The only pr

ate Wetherall solves problems with ingenious use of common kid items problems solves ate Wetherall

uthie, a high school fr uthie,

uthie calls Aunt Marty, New York’s “Goddess of Love,” to travel back home to Dela- to travel “Goddess of Love,” York’s New Marty, uthie calls Aunt

erfect Girl

our orphans answ

The Mysterious Benedict Society P Little Brown & Co., 2007, 485 pp., $16.99 & Co., 2007, Little Brown 196 pp., $16.99 2007, HarperTempest, F R

her bucket and rope; and Constance Contr and rope; her bucket After a series of tests a criminal mastermind b lightened. Their v OPPORTUNITIES?” Reynie Muldoon, an e Reynie OPPORTUNITIES?” subliminal messages to the w needs to become the perfect girl. She can’t talk to her o solver; his best buddy solver; the minds and inclinations of his students trol K his plans. and thwart evil a team to overcome A lengthy read, the novel will appeal to puzzle-lo the novel read, A lengthy urbane Aunt Marty, who she has only met once Marty, urbane Aunt R wa baby blankets for a living. What w blankets baby be furious with R a sperm donor and not somebody her mother w than becoming the perfect girl. about more her best friend, P is swooning over. They only person who can tell R only person They over. is swooning complex plots revealed with wry humor plots revealed complex A5

oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 5 10/2/07, 2:39 PM T ◆ H ◆ E

same time, the Spanish terminology thr r Right Behind You R R Enriquito and Ernestina, adolescents gr any native Spanish speakers or students studying the Spanish language fantastic journey together as the incorporates many Spanish terms as a w It begins when a ps friends are fishing. She explains that, “Ther people in Havana are going to need all the help the w Little, Brown and Co., 2007, 292 pp., $15.99 “On the afternoon of his se tains elements of magic r

story of Kip McF of a child. Kip is committed to a ps therapy before being released to his father with a ne ov

up, and his father decides to mo deed. Will Kip, now living as “Wade,” be able to live life normally on “the outside”? Will he burn others? Can he ever escape his past? This book will lea their seats, turning pages fr

ead for students unfamiliar with the language

aining Sardines

oaring Brook Press, 2007, 160 pp., $16.95

aining Sardines

atch as Clara floats on to Havana, never realizing their lives will change for ALAN er in another state REVIEW

arland, who, when he w

b niu lrsGli Fantasy/Justice/Nationalism by Enrique Flores-Galbis

could be a useful demonstr

. Kip’s house has burned do

chic, Clara, floats across the bay on a large couch while the tw

Gi ie Realistic Fiction/Violence Gail Giles

chiatric ward for violent youth offenders and receives years of

ealism,. This book could also be useful to a classr

antically to get to the end.

enth birthday, I set Bobby Clarke on fire.” So opens the

y try to save the culture of their community

them far away, so no one will kno

oughout the text may make this novel a difficult

as 9 years old, was responsible for the mur

wing up in pre-revolutionary Cuba, tak

e are big changes coming soon, and the

ation of creative writing, because it con-

to emphasize the Cuban cultur

y can get.” (9) Enriquito and Ernestina

wn during the time he’

Clip & File

w name and the hope of starting

ISBN-10: 0-316-00203-8

eaders on the edges of

ISBN: 1-59643-166-0

w of Kip’s horrible

. Flores-Galbis

Louisville, KY

s been locked

alerie R. Frye

Jennifer Lee

Muncie, IN

oom with

e. At e.

YA Reviews Book

ever

e a

der

the

As the war in Iraq touches more and more lives, it is vital for teacher to trigger discussion about w the families of those who serv home in a remote part of Sydney and meets the sp The Red Shoe Silent Echoes survives a personal crisis that mirr Elizabeth, 15, Frances, 11, and Matilda, 6 gr The Red Shoe the Navy and a veteran of World War II, struggles with his horr R R mother battles isolation and fear Lucy and her father ar of the year as chronicled by newspaper clippings inter patrons. In truth, they’re nothing more than talented scam artists The narrative part of the story is told fr Lucy hears a voice from beyond seeking help. Soon Luc girls, primarily Matilda’ the future and finds herself caught between two powerful and intriguing men. Lindsay thinks she’s going crazy when she hear where she is hiding fr chilling events of the Cold W

herself admitted as a schizophr nation, but a voice from the past. Silent Echoes

chance for surviv much of the limited opportunities a victim of abuse.

oaring Brook Press, 2007, 178 pp., $16.95

azor Bill, 2007, 344 pp., $16.99

is the story of tw

could function as such a v

b ruaDbsrk War/Family/Suicide/Depr by Ursula Dubosarsky

Carla Jablonski

al lies in each other

om her stepfather

e spiritualists, or at least that’

Through her eyes the reader enters the world of a beach

ar and its aftermath; w

ar.

enic. Over time, Lindsay discovers Lucy is not a halluci-

o young women connected thr

. The plot is loosely interw

ors the strange fairy tale of the r

ailable to Lucy in the 1800s and Lindsa

. Jablonski weaves an intricate tale that mak

om the limited thir

. When Lindsay hears the voice again, she finds

ehicle. It is the story of thr

wing up in the early 195

s the voice calling her in the closet

e need to think about its effects on

y who lives next door. The family

spersed throughout the book.

s what they tell their wealthy

y is making predictions about

d-person point of view of the

ISBN-13: 978-1-59643-265-9

ISBN: 978-1-59514-082-1

or of the war, while their

en around actual events

ough time whose only

. That changes when

ee Australian girls,

0s. Their father, in

s to find a vehicle

ed shoes and the

Virginia Beesley

Science Fiction

Manhattan, KS

olinde Young

Quinter, KS

y as the

ession

A6 es

oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 6 10/2/07, 2:39 PM T ◆ H ◆ E ALAN

stery REVIEW

aitor’s

enture

aleigh, NC

Muncie, IN Muncie,

. But, within

Sarah A. Gale Sarah

Jennifer Funk

, who lives in , who lives

ground as John and ground

vior from that day. vior from

y day after classes she y day

es military secrets, and es military secrets,

emarkably good skill for art. emarkably

steries behind what has hap-

, is a page-turning adv

enture, mystery, and unwitting mystery, enture,

er of London with its T

ce much darker than an ordinary ce much darker

y as the theft of the statue in the

ace through the city’s crowded, maze-like crowded, the city’s ace through

est, John is nonetheless thrust into the midst

The Traitor’s Gate The Traitor’s

eryone he was only 14 years old. It was unreason- old. It was only 14 years he was eryone

es a remarkable drawing of the Virgin and Child of the Virgin drawing es a remarkable

ch of All Hallows—loom in the back ch of All Hallows—loom

century London—the T

by Rebecca Wade Rebecca by Religion/Spirituality/My

al. This is the same da

able, shadowy characters. shadowy able,

xpected mysteries when on one storm xpected mysteries

acle

oung Readers, 2007,oung Readers, ISBN-13: 978-0-689-85335-7

stery involving gambling debt, high-stak stery involving

Avi Fiction Adventure/Mystery/Historical

s suspect her because of her unusual beha

y find they are up against a for are y find they

theneum Books for Y

atherine Tegen Books, 2007, 351 pp., $16.99 351 2007, Books, atherine Tegen ISBN: 978-0060774936

enowned author Avi’s latest novel, latest novel, author Avi’s enowned

351 pp., $17.99 351 R

that will not disappoint those with a penchant for adv detective work. detective

The Theft and The Mir Gate The Traitor’s Huffam tried to tell e John Horatio K questionable dignity already his family’s him to restore able to expect hours of his father’s humiliating public arr of his father’s hours This captivating story is about a junior high girl named Hannah Price This captivating of a mind-bending m southern England. She struggles academically and has a r an eclectic mix of memor Her world whirls in une Her world of 19 Ominous trappings takes shelter in a cathedr takes cathedral, right after Hannah mak cathedral, statue. The police and other Hannah and her good friend Sam struggle to find the m pened, but then the thief. Gate and the neighboring Chur his unlikely companion Sary the Sneak r his unlikely streets in search of the truth buried beneath a puzzling jumble of lies in search streets

ed.

The

oss-

YA Book Reviews YA

other,

, hun-

othed.

and

opeka, KS opeka,

olinde Young

s one obstacle

Matt Copeland

ealistic Fiction

Manhattan, KS

of life. Although of life.

ought to life with

e every day. e every

ISBN: 0-7868-5171-6

ISBN: 1-59643-218-5

ostitution. She must fight

gument between Little Bill gument between

The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes

eader and cannot be ignor

eb. McCormick’s short and power- McCormick’s eb.

Clip & File

ecrow, a skinny, gray-haired hobo, and gray-haired a skinny, ecrow,

es in a small village on a mountainside

s own age—Collie encounter s own

ard accident, Collie and Little Bill quit school ard

ough her, McCormick tells the story of man ough her,

eams of the day they can have a tin roof on their small a tin roof can have they eams of the day

e ends meet. But when an ar

eight trains to track down his older brother and bring him his older brother down to track eight trains

es caught in the same w

the family’s crops, Lakshmi’s stepfather tells her she is going Lakshmi’s crops, the family’s

cellent research and survivor interviews. and survivor cellent research

, and the inherent dangers of the fast moving trains themselves. trains of the fast moving dangers , and the inherent

ear-old girl. Her family liv

ailroad workers, crooked policemen, scamming missionaries crooked workers, ailroad

es Collie’s brother to run away, Collie is left to fend for himself. His to run away, brother es Collie’s

eams of the day she will marry Krishna, to whom she is betr eams of the day

drop of the Great Depression, Ed “Collie” Collier embarks on a cr Depression, of the Great drop

by Don Brown by Historical Fiction

Patricia McCormick Patricia

tells the story of one girl sold into a heinous and terrifying w

dventures of Huckleberry Finn dventures

oaring Brook Press, 2007, 128 pp., $16.95 2007, Press, oaring Brook

eal girls who find themselv

Sold Hyperion, 2006, 264 pp., $15.99 Hyperion, 2006, Lakshmi is a poor 13-y in Nepal. She has dr Lakshmi loves her mother and dr Lakshmi loves hut. When monsoons destr

to the city to work as a maid. Instead, Lakshmi is sold into pr to the city to work against the despair and hopelessness that engulf her just to surviv Sold Lakshmi’s story is a work of fiction, thr story is a work Lakshmi’s r ful verse brings their stories of despair and hope to the r ful verse The book is based on e

The Train Jumper The Train R

Set against the back country adventure, jumping from one freight train to another, in search of his older br in search to another, train one freight jumping from country adventure, Little Bill. After the death of their father in a lumbery and work to help the family mak and work

and their mother driv solution is to jump a series of fr home. Along the rails—and with the help of Scar Along the rails—and home. Ike, an African American drifter about Collie’ Ike, after another: angry r ger, racism, dust storms racism, ger, An action-packed story told in the stark language of the times and br An action-packed vivid imagery, the novel conjures up connections to both conjures the novel vivid imagery, A A7

oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 7 10/2/07, 2:39 PM T ◆ H ◆ E

sorcery and cunning to destr dreamscapes inhabited b make her mission successful. Baroness Nicola Ceausescu is battling to maintain her po P R pathetic, noble yet flawed. Readers might benefit fr ported from her parallel life in Berkshir four-book sequence Graz and Lieutenant Pr slain Prince Frederick von Schenck to pr The White Tyger T T ISBN: 978-0-670-06101-3 Viking, 2007, 250 pp., $16.99

Do the right thing. Be a man. T both of these things An act of school v

his name, but Tyler’s efforts to pay off his debt to society help him acquir confidence to match. Ev honor. Tyler discovers what becoming a man is truly all about. looking up—until T T

are, instead of letting someone else decide that. Anderson’s first book from the male per r

to fit in with himself and his family

ooting for Tyler as he battles social hier

yler Miller—self pr

wisted

om Doherty Assoc

wisted

ark spins a comple ALAN omania. The kingdom’ REVIEW

is about more than fitting in with the popular cr

Laurie Halse Ander

andalism originally gets T

b alPr Fantasy/Coming of Age by Paul Park

yler attends a party with the “popular” kids

oclaimed “zit on the butt of the student body”—is trying to accomplish

. The trouble is that when he does the right thing, it gets

,20,34p. 2.5ISBN: 0765315298 ., 2007, 304 pp., $25.95

x, exciting tale peopled b

ochenko, (in the Berkshir

en the popular girl, Bethan

y sorcerers and shape-shifter

s rightful heir, Miranda Popescu, has been magically tr

o Fiction/Identity son

Miranda, who must na

. It is about thoughts and actions determining who y

spective is intriguing. Readers will find themselv

archies and power structures with integrity and

yler noticed. Not only do people at school kno

e County, accompanied b

otect his daughter

y richly drawn characters—evil yet sym-

es, Peter and Andromeda), pledged b

Clip & File

om his two previous novels in this

seems interested in him. Things ar

s to discover the powers that will

vigate a hidden w

d. It is about Tyler learning how

er amid political uphea

. Baroness Ceausescu uses

Jill and Ryan Adams

y the Chevalier de

e muscles with

orld of surreal

Lakewood, CO

Dana Waters

wisted

wler, KS

YA Reviews Book

al in

ans-

Victory Margaret K. McElderry Books Sam Robinson is young sailor aboar

of Trafalgar in 1805. Molly Jennings when her mother marries a “Y

book is enjoyable nonetheless.

Sam’s story is told with a po the two teens’ lives become connected acr that costs Nelson his life Sam begins life as a poor farm bo Charlie offers him an apprenticeship making r Sam and his uncle ar into a loyal sailor. Lonely, homesick Molly longs to r ness seems to create an obsession o

Publishers who wish to submit a book for possible r a copy of the book to:

To contact Lori Goodson at [email protected]

submit a review for possible publication or to become a r

SsnCoe Historical Fiction Susan Cooper

Lori Goodson 409 Cherry Circle Manhattan, KS 66503

e pressed into the Royal Navy, and Sam begins his tr

. Molly’s story is not as inter

, 2006, 196 pp., $16.95

erful and mesmerizing v

ank.” When Molly buy

Victory

y with an abusiv

d the

, an English girl, is for

er Nelson and the

is appropriate for grades 5-8.

H.M.S. Victory

oss time.

ope, Sam leaps at the opportunity

e father. When his mysterious Uncle

s a tattered biography on Nelson,

eturn to England. Her homesick-

esting or well developed, but the

oice, especially the fateful battle

, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle

Victory

ced to move to Connecticut

eview should send

ISBN: 1-4169-1477-3

Manhattan, KS

eviewer,

ansformation

olinde Young

. Both

oA1-A8_TAR_Fall07 8 10/2/07, 2:39 PM Diane Tuccillo The Library Connection

with Paulette Goodman, Joann Pompa, and Joan Arrowsmith

Spontaneous Combustion: School Libraries Providing the Spark to Connect Teens, Books, Reading—and Even Writing!

or the last Library Connection activities that you might think can develop a desire to continue the column, media specialist Lisa about suggesting to your media process of reading into their adult F Bowen from the Stapley specialist if you are a teacher, or lives. So with that philosophy in Junior High library in Mesa, implementing if you are a media mind as our library began, several Arizona, described how her library specialist. Of course, you will also years followed that were filled with is a vibrant, attractive hub of much want tell any interested students a smattering of visiting authors. school interest and activity. In the about these ideas! The number of these visits grew last few years, I have discovered and grew, until we reached an many other libraries like Lisa’s that How Our Library Resource average of about eight authors/ are becoming a school focal point poets/storytellers per school year, Center Became Center by directly involving teens and and I contract for additional developing a variety of fun, Stage presentations that are supplied by enticing, and educational activities. Paulette Goodman, Library our local book vendor, Anderson’s In schools that have such libraries, Resource Center Director at Bookstore in Naperville, Illinois. teens discover a place to belong, a Kennedy Junior High School in “In preparation for each visit, place to express themselves through Naperville, Illinois, shared with me teachers and students throughout reading and writing, a place to information about the inspiring the school read a copy of the explore literature, and a place to things she has done through her author’s work and plan to have encourage them to see that books school library media center: their students come to the library and libraries are wonderful for “In creating a new library for an author fest. The authors are research and entertainment alike. environment eighteen years ago, I often surprised by the seasoned In this issue, I am featuring knew that it needed to be interac- questioners and the quality of the three school libraries that have tive, allowing students to not only critical inquiries they receive. ignited the spark and have made roam the stacks, but also to partake Teachers have also hopped on the promoting the library, sharing of a different menu – a menu of bandwagon with three adult book books and reading, and reaching authors, storytellers, poets, musical discussions each year lead by me, out to their communities an groups, read-ins, contests and complete with a catered lunch and adventure. One library is from a anything that kept them coming sprinkled with lively discourse. junior high, one from a middle into the library and discovering its Reading is our mantle, and we wear school, and one from a senior high riches. Books are meant to crown a it proudly! school. All three have connected library’s mantle, and through “Among our students, fantasy teens with their libraries through connecting them with the authors is the genre of choice, followed by some impressive programs and of those books, young adult readers adventure and science fiction.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

i62_66_TAR_Fall07 62 10/2/07, 2:56 PM Inspired by the author fests, student that is handed out in the fall to all interest in these and other genres “In preparation for each students. There are always lots of has reached such heights that a questions about LLAMA and what unique young authors group was visit, teachers and stu- exactly its function is. formed, sporting the name ‘Scream- “I asked the club what they felt ing Pens.’ These young adults have dents throughout the our mission and purpose was, and committed themselves to writing school read a copy of the they said it was to ‘be with people now, and they each foresee a future who like books as much as we do.’ that will include writing as its main author’s work and plan to However, it goes beyond that as the focus, whether as an author, members also reach out to other reporter or newspaper columnist. have their students come students in the school, as well as to “The shining jewel of each to the library for an au- the community. Events and promo- year’s activities takes place during tions they have helped with include National Poetry Month in April thor fest. The authors are a book fair (it doubled my profits with a program entitled, ‘A Night at the first year they helped!), promot- the Blue Iguana Café: A Poetry often surprised by the ing National Library Week, and Blast!’ Young adult poets seem to seasoned questioners and doing a used book sale. The come out of the woodwork, and leftover books were sent to the students, parents, siblings, grand- the quality of the critical Hurricane Katrina area with a group parents, and even former students of teachers who drove down to help come to enjoy this glistening night inquiries they receive. during our spring break that year. of poetry, music and café desserts. “Our young adults have helped It’s a wonder to behold and leaves me decide on prizes for contests each participant with satisfied and figured out what those contests sighs. “Small but Mighty” should be, made posters promoting “Library work is a passion for Fosters Contagious events throughout the school, and me, and it is exciting to see my have even given up eating with Enthusiasm efforts gain momentum through the their friends to collect money for years. Each book, author, reader, or Joan Arrowsmith, Teacher- Heifer International, an organiza- performer leaves an indelible mark Librarian at Summit Ridge Middle tion dedicated to eliminating world with memories lingering for years School in Littleton, Colorado, hunger. For this project, they raised to come. They say I may never shared her perspectives on the enough spare change to buy four know what effect my library will LLAMA Book Club: flocks of chickens! They also have on the students in my school, “This group was formed to wanted to promote reading with but I have had some hints. Some- meet a need I felt to have some- younger students, so they arranged times a former student meets me at thing similar to a teen advisory to go read to the kindergarten a restaurant or train station and board at the public library. I was students at a nearby elementary remembers something that was trying to do promotions throughout school. significant to him or her from my the year by myself, and not too “For the past two years, they library program and its strong successfully. The name LLAMA, have been presenters at the Colo- connection between reading and League of Library and Media rado Teen Literature Conference. writing. It is then that I know that Advisors, was created by an They hear the special speakers, what is being done here goes assistant principal in response to attend the programs offered, and beyond a moment’s pleasure, my plea for help on a name for the participate in teen panels and leaving a taste for literature and a club. I didn’t want it to just be the discussions. All of this is done by a love for libraries that defies extinc- Summit Ridge book club. It is listed group of five! Sometimes there are tion.” as a school club in the document only two or three students at our

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

i62_66_TAR_Fall07 63 10/2/07, 2:56 PM •Relax and have fun! toward the end-of-the-year banquet. For this project, they “I have thoroughly enjoyed “We have six officers: Presi- sponsoring this club. I usually get dent, Anne Osborne; Vice-Presi- raised enough spare some really awesome kids who dent, Sarah Nagaratnam; Secretary, join, and their enthusiasm is David Leitman; Treasurer, Federica change to buy four flocks contagious. They have been a great Scarcella; Historian, Sarah Harvey; of chickens! help with so many things. I seem to and Publicity Manager, Anthony always have a new group each year Eftimeo. Anne had contacted the with maybe one or two repeaters, Thomas J. Pappas School for the meetings. They are truly small, but which has worked out just fine. It Homeless of Tempe late last fall and mighty!! doesn’t get old for anyone that way. asked if we could do anything to “At our meetings, we share I highly recommend it. assist the staff and students, information about books that we’re “I asked the kids what their especially after a storm had reading or have just finished, favorite thing about the club was, devastated the library. The principal promoting reading within the and without hesitation, one girl gave Anne a wish list of books, group. All the books can be answered, ‘Making new friends.’” flashcards, and workbooks. To different. This is not a book club support the school, we sold candy where everyone reads the same Book Drives, T-shirts, and and worked closely with Jamba book to discuss. They get enough of More: Friends of the Juice for our main fundraisers. We that in class. The book sharing is Library at Corona del Sol earned over $1,200 for this project, always the highlight of any meet- High School and donated $1,000 in Teaching ing. Otherwise, we plan for what- Stuff and Changing Hands Book- ever promotion or event is coming Joann Pompa, the Librarian at store gift certificates, $500 from up. Additional ways we’ve learned Corona del Sol High School in each business. We have also about new books is to go to the Tempe, Arizona, described the donated $100 to our CdS National public library or to a local book- active and involved ten-member Honor Society chapter to help the store for book talks about new and group in her library: Pappas School and visited a exciting titles. “I am co-sponsor of the club teaching supply store to purchase “Advice the young adults and I with Mrs. Gail Finney, who is our the requested materials for the have for others considering starting Information Specialist/Circulation school. Our goal next year is to try a group like ours includes: Clerk. This is our second year as a and raise $1,500 for the Pappas • Pick a day when everyone can club, and the teens are now School. come. We meet on Fridays officially student members of the “This year, the club has also because that worked best for Friends of the Library USA. The collected books in conjunction with most of the kids. club is promoted in the school the Student Council to help other • Meet weekly. handbook and at orientation. needy children. Last year, we did a • Don’t just talk about books. Do “The purpose of the CdS book drive for the Katrina victims, other fun stuff like the Colorado Friends of the Library Club is to as well as collecting eye glasses for Teen Literature Conference. promote our library programs as the Lion’s Club. Collecting the • Let the kids do as much as you well as to perform community glasses for the Lion’s Club is an are comfortable letting them do. service projects. We meet every ongoing project. I always try to let it be their Monday afternoon for about one “To promote reading among club. In fact, I’ve tried to have and one half hours working on their peers, the teens develop them be the ones to run the ‘monthly themes’ and creating a monthly themes and do promo- meetings, which sometimes warm, hospitable place to come tional activities for our school. Here works. It helps to have some and work or just ‘hang.’ Every are some examples: kind of agenda to follow. Usually student is welcome to join us, and • In the entrance lobby to our the book sharing is the priority. each person’s dues of $5 goes library, we have posted in cut-

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

i62_66_TAR_Fall07 64 10/2/07, 2:56 PM out letters in the school colors of the club get special credit for their students all over to join their orange and yellow that say, ‘One participation. They must put in 20 Friends of the Library club, or to School . . . Many Readers!’ The hours, 10 hours each semester, by start one if they don’t have one.’ two halls that lead into the attending weekly meetings and “We have done many things library have in large letters ‘CdS’ helping out in the library for our both inside and outside the Corona on one side and ‘AZTECS’ on the community service needs. We have community to give aid and to other and within these letters, an ‘awards banquet’ at the end of promote reading and literacy.’ we have pictures of students and the school year at a local restaurant “All the members are totally faculty caught reading! It is a where Mrs. Finney and I hand out committed to Friends of the Library wonderful collage. certificates and small tokens of and contributed their hard work • The students have come up with appreciation. After earning hours and talents. Of course, we had a lot fitting themes such as ‘Take a with us, students may earn commu- of fun too! We watched Harry Break! Read a Book!’ which was nity service hours through National Potter one day after school and ate just used in March when spring Honor Society projects. pizza!’ break occurred. Last year, in “Each officer in the club has “This club promotes great March 2006, we had, ‘Reading is special duties that help make ideas, fun, and a great creative your lucky charm!’ everything gel. The President runs environment. Even though I’m •We promoted the ‘ONE BOOK. our meetings and coordinates with graduating this year, this club ONE MONTH. ONE GOAL’ the Pappas School for its teachers’ showed me so many things and I program for April. The 2007 needs. She helps out everywhere hope that future members will ‘One Book AZ’ selection was she can. Our Vice-President fills in enjoy it as much as I did.’ Going Back to Bisbee by Richard for the President when needed and “I feel I that I had a part in Shelton. The club purchased is a very talented artist. She helps helping spread knowledge, because several copies of the books for with the displays and AZTYKE through our hard work we helped the faculty and students to read posters. The Secretary takes notes. spread knowledge of our library . . . for this theme. He is the ‘gopher’ of the group, I know that we all have busy • Our T-shirt theme this year is, doing just about anything he can. academic schedules, but we still ‘Reading is an International The Treasurer collects our money dedicated our time to do something Affair.’ On the back of the T-shirt and helps with the themes. The bigger than ourselves.’ we have the word ‘READ’ in the Historian takes pictures. She works “More people like to go to the languages taught here at Corona with Mrs. Finney in keeping our library now. One of my friends del Sol, plus all the English bulletin boards up-to-date with actually told me how she liked the Language Learner students’ interesting articles that highlight library once the place started to be languages! our school and/or students. She decorated. It is changing from a • The students help to promote works on the AZTYKE posters and deserted place to the focal point of books by using our display cases the lobby displays. The Publicity the school. It makes me feel better in the library and setting up manager helps make the posters that people are appreciating our books related to that monthly and/or flyers for our fundraisers. work.’” theme on carts. He also fills in wherever he can. There you have it: Three • The students also make posters The members are just fantastic! We interesting examples of school for the AZTYKES, our 3- to 4- are small, yet hard-working! libraries with a wide variety of year-olds who attend a day care “The members of the CdS relevant and enjoyable events and here, for their weekly reading Friends of the Library Club were activities, including lots of teen themes. Club members are anxious to share some of their participation. These libraries excited about helping the little comments with me, too: connect students, books, reading, ones to develop an early passion “It felt really heartwarming to and writing in ways that leave a for reading. help out children who don’t have lasting impression on their schools “Students who participate in much at all. I want to encourage and communities. When you hear

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i62_66_TAR_Fall07 65 10/2/07, 2:56 PM about students and libraries like (Scarecrow, 2005). She also does other Joan Arrowsmith is a Teacher- these, you can certainly envision writing projects, presents workshops, Librarian at Summit Ridge Middle many lifelong readers, learners, and and teaches virtually at the college School, Jefferson County Public library users developing as a result! level. Schools, in Littleton, Colorado.

Diane P. Tuccillo is the former Young Paulette Goodman is the Library Joann Pompa is a Teacher-Librarian Adult Coordinator at the City of Mesa Resource Center Director at Kennedy at Corona del Sol High School in Library in Arizona, is ALAN’s Past- Junior High School, Naperville No. 203 Tempe, Arizona. President, and is the author of Library Community Unit School District, in Teen Advisory Groups: A VOYA Guide Naperville, Illinois.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

i62_66_TAR_Fall07 66 10/2/07, 2:56 PM LoriRobin Goodson Mara & Jim Blasingame

Briar Rose: Jane Yolen’s Magic Touch Revealed

If you ask me, I would have to say all the world’s magic comes directly from the mouth. (15-18) —(from the poem “‘Once Upon a Time,’ She Said” by Jane Yolen)

s we grow older and supposedly wiser, most modern-day, holocaust novel Briar Rose (1992), of us put away fairy tales and folklore as if revealing it as the full-bodied incarnation of her A they were merely childish things. But insights regarding the elements of a true fairy tale, contemporary sages such as Joseph Campbell and which she so artfully argued in Touch Magic. (An Jane Yolen urge us to reclaim our birthright to this American Library Association Best Book for Young deep-rooted genre for our children Adults, Briar Rose was originally and ourselves. Far more than published for adults but has fanciful stories to dream on, fairy The story of Becca’s become a popular young adult tales and folklore are the primal book selection.) language for communicating search is compelling on its In Briar Rose, a mysterious, fundamental beliefs from one fractured account of the Sleeping own, and the strangely generation to the next throughout Beauty tale is entwined with a the centuries. disturbing fairy tale that riveting, classic search for identity Dubbed “America’s Hans amidst the historic horror of a Nazi Christian Anderson” by many, her grandmother compul- extermination camp. Fulfilling a Yolen speaks authoritatively about deathbed promise, a compassionate humanity’s basic need for fairy sively recreated—both young woman embarks on her tales, fantasy, and folklore, and she lovingly and sometimes personal quest to exhume the contributes voluminously to that cryptic past of her beloved, body of work. In her 1981 book of fiendishly—over the years, eccentric grandmother who essays Touch Magic—Fantasy, steadfastly clung to the belief that Faerie and Folklore in the Literature informs us that this story she was the Sleeping Beauty in the of Childhood (updated in 2000), is dark and perhaps Wood, Briar Rose. The story of Yolen elucidated the vital functions Becca’s search is compelling on its and attributes of fairy tales and treacherous. own, and the strangely disturbing lore. Here we explore her haunting, fairy tale that her grandmother

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

j67_72_TAR_Fall07 67 10/2/07, 2:55 PM compulsively recreated—both lovingly and sometimes [. . .] The tales and stories handed down to us from fiendishly—over the years, informs us that this story is the cultures that preceded us were their most serious, dark and perhaps treacherous. The tale calls Becca succinct expressions of the accumulated wisdom of (and the reader) to explore its depths and find herself those cultures” (18). It is wisdom perfected and among the shadows. The reader “hears” Gemma’s tale distilled as it looped through the centuries and became in flashbacks, presented in pendulum-like fashion, in expressed unconsciously as metaphor. alternating chapters of Briar Rose. The story swings Yolen’s Briar Rose exemplifies all these functions. back and forth in time, recounting the stories Becca It is a story that cultivates awareness of the elemental heard as a child and in turns moving to the adult archetypes and allegories without requiring the Becca’s story. This to and fro pulsation sets up the vocabulary. As a child, Becca certainly was endowed reader for seismic shifts of the heart and mind to with her “birthright” and steeped in story. Both Becca come. In perfect counterpoint, each revelation of the and Briar Rose readers experience all four functions tale is followed by a chapter in which Becca uncovers within Gemma’s tale and Becca’s own story. Yolen clues that painstakingly unlock Gemma’s past and paints a full “landscape of allusion” packed with support her outlandish story. In each chapter pair, archetypes, symbols and pattern, some quickly deeper renderings of Gemma’s tale and her past recognizable and others whose meanings surface only emerge. later, perhaps with a sudden shock of awareness. In Touch Magic, Yolen opens with a call for every Becca’s quest leads her from her home in Massachu- child to be steeped in the traditions of myth, legends, setts to the remains of a castle in Poland. This is and folklore, pronouncing it a “birthright.” She mythic archaeology at its finest—“probing now for contends that children then,” as Yolen says, and then for now. This section of have an inherent develop- the story is set near Chelmno, Poland, the actual site Yolen’s Briar Rose exem- mental need for these of a former castle-turned-extermination camp. It was stories, which serve four here that a youthful Gemma was gassed and dumped plifies all these functions. critical functions in the into a mass grave. In Chelmno, Becca meets the hero education of every child. Josef (an allusion to Joseph Campbell?) whose It is a story that cultivates First, they “provide a memories inform her and provide that “long backward awareness of the elemen- landscape of allusion” by reach” to solve the mystery and resuscitate Gemma’s which children will begin long-smothered story. It was this same Josef Potocki, a tal archetypes and allego- to recognize archetypes man of princely lineage, called Prince by his band of and patterns that they partisans in the woods, who breathed life back into ries without requiring the must understand. The the cursed, 16-year-old, “sleeping” princess—Gemma. vocabulary. second function these Briar Rose also clearly extols the third function: stories serve is to help the therapeutic merits of fairy tales. It was the Sleep- children view another ing Beauty tale that gave Gemma an identity when culture “from the inside out” and understand that gassing by the Nazis seized her mind and her stories and cultures build on the stories and cultures memory; Gemma’s tale was an effective, repressive that preceded them. Yolen says, “This is mythic tool to hold back the demons, allowing her to leave archaeology, probing now for then, splitting the her horrors behind and start anew. Readers also present to find the past. It works because humans witness the therapeutic nature of the sharing of the have always had, in folklorist Joseph Campbell’s fine story and the satisfaction of the quest as these phrase, ‘a long backward reach’” (17). Thirdly, vehicles deliver Becca—helping her grieve Gemma’s symbolic functions serve as a useful therapy tool (as death and discover her own identity, as well as her promoted by Bruno Bettelheim), helping individuals grandmother’s. (Becca’s editor and advisor Stan also understand the human experience and themselves. reveals his need for shared story while divulging his Yolen introduces the fourth function as the most own cloaked lineage.) important: “The great archetypal stories provide a However, it is the fourth and most important framework or model for an individual’s belief system. function that Yolen discusses at length throughout

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j67_72_TAR_Fall07 68 10/2/07, 2:55 PM several essays in Touch Magic: fairy tales and lore as and the promises given in return; it is a way of recording the distillate of the passed-down stories, crystallized our human emotions and desires and taboos. [. . .] Further, the best new stories have something serious into a framework for living, expressed unconsciously to say about the writer and his or her particular world. All through metaphor. And metaphor is the language, the writers write about themselves, just as the old storytellers heart, of Briar Rose. chose to tell stories that spoke to and about themselves. In her essay “The Lively Fossil” (in Part One of They call it the world, but it is themselves they portray. The Touch Magic) Yolen explains, “The old stories had a world of which they write is like a mirror that reflects the habit of changing as they passed from one tongue to inside of their hearts, often more truly than they know. (25- 26) another, kept alive by some sort of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation” (21), and later, “From mouth to ear to Gemma’s life ends, and Becca’s quest begins with an mouth, the old tales went. It was a generational art, a outright promise. The fulfillment of the promise in regenerational art, passed on and on” (22). These effect does record the images are the core of Briar Rose. Like storytellers emotions, desires, and before her, Gemma changed the tale to suit her taboos—Gemma’s, Becca’s, However, it is the fourth purpose. Becca’s two older sisters came to resist the our culture’s, and Yolen’s, strangeness of Gemma’s story, as did many others, not too, particularly as they and most important func- wanting to recognize its shadows. But Becca—the relate to the Holocaust. classic, good, fairytale protagonist—listened with her Toward her closing of “The tion that Yolen discusses heart and was compelled to probe the story’s depths Lively Fossil,” Yolen quotes at length throughout and pass it on in her own way, “from mouth to ear to G. K. Chesterton, “If you mouth” (a phrase that appears repeatedly throughout really read the fairy tales, several essays in Touch Briar Rose and much of Yolen’s other work). One can’t you will observe that one help but see the parallel structure of Yolen’s words in idea runs from one end of Magic: fairy tales and lore Touch Magic “from its misty origins to the contempo- them to the other – the as the distillate of the rary rendition” as they relate to Briar Rose. Gemma’s idea that peace and story was clouded in mist; it was frequently observed happiness can only exist passed-down stories, and integral to her tale; only later do we realize that on some condition. This the mist was the Nazi gas. And, this story of Briar idea, which is the core of crystallized into a frame- ethics, is the core of the Rose is certainly “the contemporary rendition.” work for living, expressed Particularly recognizable in Briar Rose is that image of nursery tale” (27). This is “mouth-to-mouth resuscitation” as Josef awakens the certainly the core of Briar unconsciously through Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. Furthermore, we can see Rose (though it is hardly a this story was changed by the culture—the atrocities nursery tale): Peace cannot metaphor. and the legacy of the Nazis as the powerful “erosion/ exist until the dark eruption.” shadows have been Yolen explores this passage of story in Touch exposed and stripped of their power. Magic, “The best of the old stories spoke to the In her Touch Magic essay “Once Upon A Time,” listener because they spoke not just to the ears but to Yolen recounts the wolf and Red Riding Hood’s ritual the heart as well” (25). This motif presents itself in litany of “Oh, Grandmother, what big ears you have . . .” Becca—she who listened with her heart was the one and describes the listening child’s realization that who truly heard. (It is also true for this reader; this is “Something else, something sinister, is lurking under a story whose images and symbols reappeared the bedclothes” (32). Readers observe Becca occasion- frequently in dreams and periods of near-wakefulness, ally feeling that startling recognition as her grand- sometimes gently and other times jarringly, spawning mother spins her twisted Sleeping Beauty tale. its wisdom.) Yolen says: Something is palpably wrong and frightening in her grandmother’s words. Yolen continues in “Once Upon Storytelling is our oldest form of remembering the promises we have made to one another and to our various gods, A Time:” “But to filter out the opacities for the child

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

j67_72_TAR_Fall07 69 10/2/07, 2:55 PM reader is to rob the tale of its magic. And this is a loss resembles Yolen herself to a great degree in her for the adult reader, too. If a story is totally transpar- interests and background: residence in Hatfield, ent, it has no interest beyond that first reading or Massachusetts; education at Smith College; journalism hearing” (36). Gemma certainly did not shield her work; reading preferences (Robin McKinley’s Beauty); young listeners from the shadows—although she never and Berlin family name; to list some of many com- fully revealed their nature (to her listeners or her- monalities. Yolen next proceeds to disclose the magic self)—and that was the pull that kept Becca wanting of the storyteller: more. Yolen reminds us in Touch Magic: Each storyteller has the ability to select [. . .] the glass moun- Look back into folklore and legend, myth and religion, and tain that must be climbed, the thorny bush that must be you will find much of the emphasis is on the shadow. A passed or the ring or sword or crown to be won. The story- shadowless man is a monster, a devil, a thing of evil. A teller is an artist, and selection is essential to art. There are man without a shadow is soulless. A shadow without a thousands upon thousands of characters, thousands upon man is a pitiable shred. Yet together, light and dark, they thousands of details, thousands upon thousands of motifs. make a whole. And these light/dark chiaroscuro figures To know which one to choose requires a kind of magical walking about a magical landscape illumine all our lives. touch, and that is what characterizes the great storytellers. (36) (46)

As does Gemma illumine ours. Yolen revisits and This description is an intimate portrait of Yolen expounds on this theme again in the essay “The Mask herself, and also of Gemma, with the magical story on the Lapel:” she spun of mystery and metaphor. This passage calls to mind the careful collection of telling talismans Every person’s father is a dragon—and also a dragon slayer, Gemma left behind in the carved wooden box (graced the two eternal opposites. Only very special fathers have the ability to integrate the two sides, and only very special with a rose and a briar) that would ultimately lead children can actually see that integration. Mother and step- Becca to the truth. The details Yolen selected for that mother, godmother and witch, hero paragraph also spoke foretellingly and villain, over and over the contra- of Briar Rose (which wasn’t puntal dance goes on. And so the chil- Chelmno was a lesser- published for another 11 years): dren in their turn become dragons— Becca’s story opens with her and dragon-slayers. (66-67) known Nazi camp, con- chugging up a “slippery hill” (a It is clear that Becca is one of those ceived solely for extermi- glass mountain) in her trusty, little rare children who can integrate the car to attend to—and ultimately shadow and light and accept the nation, where 320,000 rescue—Gemma, who lies dying, dark side of her grandmother. restrained on the uppermost floor A reader of Briar Rose likely people were gassed in of a nursing home in a corner feels a flash of recognition upon vans and dumped in mass room (like a princess imprisoned reading the title of Chapter Four of in the high turret of a castle); the Touch Magic, “The Eye and The graves. Only four men—no thorny bush is the briar thicket Ear.” Stronger flashes occur while surrounding the sleeping princess, reading Yolen’s opening words: women—survived to tell of as well as the barbed wire that “Once upon a time, a long time ago, punctuates the ironclad grip of the terror there. In sharing there was a child who loved to Chelmno’s walls; there is a man’s listen to stories. [. . .] We were this true story strength- ring of unknown origin bearing the there, all of us, caught up in the initials JMP and date 1928; and centrifugal force of the spinning ened by allegory, Yolen there’s a crown, too, although it is story. And we would not be let go a figurative one, to be won. until the teller finished and the tale shines glaring light on Yolen continues in “The Eye was done” (41-42). Here Yolen is that dark evil, informing and The Ear:” “Thus humans both describing herself as a young girl, shaped and were shaped by the and, interestingly, perfectly describ- our culture. oral tradition. The passage of ing the child Becca, as well. Becca culture went from mouth to ear to

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j67_72_TAR_Fall07 70 10/2/07, 2:55 PM mouth” (46). Gemma and Becca and those who hear is when the prince asks the duplicitous peasant, “But Becca’s story, Briar Rose readers included, are shaped do you know courage?” (77) and the prince plunges by that story and are an integral part of the passage of himself into the thorns to free the princess, foreshad- culture “from mouth to ear to mouth.” This is, in fact, owing Becca’s own courage in recovering her true. Although Gemma is a fictitious character, grandmother’s past and rescuing her own future. Chelmno was real. Chelmno was a lesser-known Nazi It is the chapter called “Tough Magic” in which camp, conceived solely for extermination, where connections to Briar Rose become crystal clear. Yolen 320,000 people were gassed in vans and dumped in states, “[. . .] it is not the expectation of a happy mass graves. Only four men—no women—survived to ending that carries us on. Rather it is the unraveling of tell of the terror there. In sharing this true story the story itself; it is the traveling and not the destina- strengthened by allegory, Yolen shines glaring light on tion” (71). In Briar Rose, when Stan warned Becca not that dark evil, informing our culture. to expect Gemma’s story to have a happy ending, Yolen further explains her craft in the fifth Touch Becca said simply: “I won’t. How happy can it be? Magic essay titled “Touch Magic:” “Using archetypes Gemma’s dead, after all” (94). This young woman was and symbolic language, they [fairy tales] externalize raised on a fairy tale that lacked the traditional happy for the listener conflicts and situations that cannot be ending; why would real life be more charmed? Becca spoken of or explained or as yet analyzed. They give never discovered her grandmother’s inherited family substance to dreams” (50). And she provides this name, so the bad fairy’s curse on all who bore her caveat: “So when the modern mythmaker, the writer name held fast; but, at the same time, Becca did reveal of literary fairy tales, dares to touch the old magic and her grandmother’s story as true, and that was enough. try to make it work in new ways, it must be done with Yolen continues in this vein in “Tough Magic,” the surest of touches. [. . .] Unless the image, charac- discussing “the joy behind the shadow:” ter, or situation borrowed speaks to the author’s The same rule greets us in every age, in every mythology: condition, as cryptically and oracularly as a dream, without evil and the knowledge of its possible continuance, folklore is best left untapped” (51). there can be no hope for redemption. This is what every Perhaps this is why Briar Rose did not appear memorable story, every tale of dimension is about: the until 11 years after Touch Magic. One takes great risk working through evil in order to come at last to the light. in treating the ultimate human tragedy of the Holo- [. . .] Stories of “Tough Magic” are never easy stories, nor should they be. As they call upon the possible caust in tandem with a fairy tale; magic is surely sacrifice of hero or heroine, they ask a similar sacrifice on required to create such a ghastly treasure that will the reader’s part: “Hold on,” they cry out. “Delve deep,” speak the truth for those who cannot or will not. they call. “Dare to reach out and touch the face of the un- “The Mask on the Lapel,” the following essay in known.” (72) Touch Magic, announces the great words of power that Gentle, sweet, determined Becca is the unlikely hero Yolen declares are largely absent from adult vocabular- here—with the love, faith, honor and courage to ies: “Good. Evil. Courage. Honor. Truth. Hate. Love” confront the darkness when others will not. (Josef and (62). This is certainly the stuff of fairy tales. Yolen Stan, too, have been down other roads as unlikely proclaims that “with these magical words, anything is heroes.) possible: the transformation of human into beast, dead Yolen finally closes in on the subject of “Tough into living, night into day, year now into year then or Magic” and her own need to light the darkness: year 3000” (62). Following this imagery, Briar Rose witnesses humans turned into Nazi beasts, humans It is important for children to have books that confront the evils and do not back away from them. Such books can treated as less than beasts, Gemma transformed from provide a sense of good and evil, a moral reference point. If dead to living (literally and figuratively), a fairy tale our fantasy books are not strong enough [. . .] then real transported into the far future, and the darkness in the stories, like those of Adolph Hitler’s evil deeds, will seem vans of Chelmno brought to the light of day. Briar like so much slanted news, not to be believed. Rose conjures great acts of “Good. Evil. Courage. Why do so many fantasies shy away from Tough Honor. Truth. Hate. Love.” Readers discover that little Magic? [. . .] Because writing about Tough Magic takes courage on the author’s part as well. To bring up all the dark, Becca’s favorite part of Gemma’s Sleeping Beauty tale unknown, frightening images that live within each of us

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j67_72_TAR_Fall07 71 10/2/07, 2:55 PM and to try to make some sense of them on the page is a task Knowing that, that magic has consequences, whether it is that takes courage indeed. It is not an impersonal courage. the magic of wonder, the magic of language, or the magic Only by taking great risks can the tale succeed. (73-74) of challenging a waiting mind, then it is up to the artist, the writer, the storyteller to reach out and touch that awesome Is Yolen speaking of the courage that she must magic. Touch magic—and pass it on. summon to make the journey she knows she must, to It will be changed by that passage, of course. But so, tell the true story of this horror and sufficiently endow in the passing, will we. And so, too, will our listeners, those it with allegory to give it who come after. (91) the full power it deserves? And so the magical human story continues, as Is Yolen speaking of the Here in Touch Magic Yolen Yolen refrains: “From mouth to ear to mouth,” fairy highlighted the framework tales—penetratingly true—speak across the ages. courage that she must for the powerful and true summon to make the tale of Briar Rose. Yolen’s Robin Mattis Mara is currently a graduate student in K-12 first story about the Reading Education at the University of North Carolina at journey she knows she Holocaust was a young Charlotte. She was previously an elementary classroom adult novel, the critically teacher and a literacy teacher/tutor for the Charlotte- must, to tell the true story acclaimed and multiple Mecklenburg Schools. award-winning The Devil’s of this horror and suffi- Arithmetic, published in 1988. The research and Works Cited and Consulted ciently endow it with Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment. New York: Alfred writing for it took several A. Knopf, 1976. allegory to give it the full years. After that emotion- Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. New York: Doubleday, ally wrenching writing 1988. power it deserves? endeavor, Yolen swore she Jane Yolen Official Web Site. Ed. Dave Stemple and Jane Yolen. would never write another 22 June 2005. http://www.janeyolen.com. Holocaust book. Fortunately, she had a convincing McKinley, Robin. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast. New York: Harper & Row, 1978. editor who persuaded her that this story of the Yolen, Jane. Briar Rose. New York: Tor Books, 1992. Sleeping Beauty should be told. On her Internet ———. Favorite Folktales from Around the World. New York: homepage, Yolen says her idea for Briar Rose was Random House, 1986. inspired by the documentary program “Shoah,” where ———. “‘Once Upon A Time,’ She Said.” The Endicott Studio she first learned about Chelmno: a concentration camp Journal of Mythic Arts. Ed. Terri Windling. June 2005. The Endicott Studio. 22 June 2005. . people were gassed to death. The image of Sleeping ———. Touch Magic—Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in the Beauty came to her and would not let her go. And so Literature of Childhood. New York: Philomel Books, 1981. it was Jane Yolen who resuscitated the Sleeping ———. Touch Magic—Fantasy, Faerie & Folklore in the Literature Beauty in the Wood in a form to speak deeply about of Childhood, expanded edition. Little Rock, Arkansas: August our culture—its triumphs and its terrors. House Publishers, 2000. Von Franz, Marie-Louise. Interpretation of Fairytales. Irving, Yolen consummates Touch Magic (the 1981 Texas: Spring Publications, 1978. edition) with these words: Von Franz, Marie-Louise. Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales. Zurich: Spring Publications, 1974.

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j67_72_TAR_Fall07 72 10/2/07, 2:56 PM LoriLisa Goodson Arter & Jim Blasingame

Pushing Good Books: Alleen Pace Nilsen, Winner of the 2006 Hipple Award

s Alleen Nilsen pushes her to defend her Ph.D. dissertation, which heavily laden book cart down was on the subject of sexist language in A the halls of the Language and school materials. Literature Building on her way to class The newly graduated Dr. Nilsen at Arizona State University, she is often then proceeded east to the NCTE lovingly teased about a resemblance to meeting in Philadelphia 34 years ago, the librarian in the Shawshank Redemp- mainly to work with the Women’s tion film. “That’s not such a bad image Committee, but she happened to see a to have,” Alleen laughs. And truth be handmade sign inviting anyone inter- told, seldom do her fellow passengers on the elevator ested in adolescent literature to attend an organiza- fail to skim the colorful and intriguing covers and ask tional meeting. She went to the meeting and, as about this book or that book, often even asking to Robert Frost said, “and that has made all the differ- borrow one. Quick with a two-minute summary/ ence.” Only a dozen or so people attended that very review, Alleen most often says “Sure. Just bring it first meeting, and there might never have never been back to LL 215 when you’re finished,” unless they are an Assembly on Literature for Adolescents since the asking for the newest Harry Potter book or for one of rules for forming NCTE Assemblies required twenty Stephenie Myer’s vampire stories, books which could members. fly off the English education bookshelves before Alleen went to work. She signed up her new Alleen could show them to her students. friend, fellow University of Iowa graduate and Arizona “Guardian of Young Adult Literature” might be a State University professor, Ken Donelson, and her old good title for Alleen as someone friend and University of Iowa who has served the genre well for professor, Bob Carlsen, and paid many years. Like the late Dr. Soon she was out in the their two-dollar membership fees. Hipple, for whom the ALAN hallway, canvassing for Soon she was out in the hallway, Service Award is named, she was canvassing for members and one of the founders of ALAN and members and lending a lending a dollar here or there to has been a constant nurturer to the reach the necessary 20 members. organization from its inception. On dollar here or there to Because of such generosity, she her way from Arizona to the NCTE was appointed to be the treasurer. reach the necessary 20 Convention in Philadelphia in By the next NCTE meeting held in 1973, Alleen stopped off at the members. New Orleans in 1974, there were University of Iowa just long enough enough members that Alleen was

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k73_75_TAR_Fall07 73 10/2/07, 2:54 PM afraid she would get the money confused, and so she ALAN Award in 1987. She was also recognized by the asked if she could do the newsletter instead. The International Reading for lifetime contributions to group was thrilled to have a volunteer, and she reading and children with the Arbuthnot Award in immediately went home and asked Ken if he would be 2005. Alleen has been a regular presenter at the ALAN the co-editor so that they could use Arizona State Workshop, sometimes alone, sometimes with her University’s bulk-rate postage permit. husband, Don, and sometimes with ASU students. Dr. Ken also saw the potential for great things for Nilsen recently authored a book on one of the most young adult literature, and between 1974 and 1978, popular and most loved authors of young adult fiction, they developed the ALAN Newsletter. A major con- Joan Bauer, Joan Bauer: Teen Reads, Student Compan- tributor to ALAN’s growth ions to Young Adult (Greenwood, 2007), but her most at the time may have been original contribution to YA studies may be an even that to use bulk-rate more recent book, Names and Naming in Young Adult Alleen’s contributions to postage, a minimum of Literature (Scarecrow, 2007), coauthored with her ALAN and to the field of 200 copies had to be husband, Don, Professor of Linguistics and also in the mailed. Once someone’s English Department at ASU. Names is the latest in young adult literature name was on the list, they Scarecrow Press’s Studies in Young Adult Literature never took them off. Series, edited by Patty Campbell. It illustrates how have continued these 34 Based on their work as skilled writers use names for more than identification. years. She was president ALAN co-editors, Ken and Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of naming Alleen applied to be co- ranging from having fun (M. E. Kerr, Gary Paulsen, of ALAN in 1978 and won editors of the English Louis Sachar, and Polly Horvath) to establishing Journal. When they got imagined settings (Yann Martel, Orson Scott Card, and the ALAN Award in 1987. this job, they turned the Ursula K. Le Guin), and from building a dual audience newsletter over to Guy (Daniel Handler and the Lemony Snicket books) to She was also recognized Ellis at the University of establishing tone and mode (Robert Cormier and by the International Read- Georgia. Francesca Lia Block). What Alleen most wanted to Inspired by the establish in the book is that the best YA authors create ing for lifetime contribu- success of these two their books with consummate skill and care. partnerships, Dr. Donelson This reflects Alleen’s belief that the field of young tions to reading and chil- proposed the duo write a adult literature is now so rich with both authors and dren with the Arbuthnot scholarly book on young scholars, that our next step should be to focus on adult literature. He went establishing criteria for measuring quality and for Award in 2005. to Scott-Foresman publish- working to advertise and promote the books that ers, who were already teachers can use to help students advance in their well known for their development of literary appreciation. She laughs at textbooks in children’s literature, and Literature for herself for sometimes being viewed as a “kiddie lit Today’s Young Adults, currently the bestselling groupie,” i.e. a cheerleader, rather than a “respected textbook on young adult literature, was born. LFTYA scholar,” i.e., a critic. But all in all, she feels fortunate was the first comprehensive textbook used in English to be working and teaching in a field where it is Departments, Colleges of Education, and Schools of possible to know authors who are alive in more than Library Science. The first edition came out in 1980 and one sense of the word. She also loves working in a cost $10.95, about one-tenth of its present price. field that is so enjoyable that even when she’s tired LFTYA will soon be in its eighth edition and has been she can “Keep on Reading!” used at colleges in every state in the union, as well as Alleen Nilsen is very much loved by her students, in England, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. undergraduate and graduate alike. In the state of Alleen’s contributions to ALAN and to the field of Arizona, she and her husband, Don, recently received young adult literature have continued these 34 years. The Arizona English Teachers’ Association Distin- She was president of ALAN in 1978 and won the guished Service Award, and as a Ph.D. advisor in

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k73_75_TAR_Fall07 74 10/2/07, 2:54 PM ASU’s English Education program, she is always tenure-track positions in institutions of higher learning willing to read student articles and make suggestions. including Arizona State University West, University of In the acknowledgements to his dissertation, recent Louisiana at Monroe, University of Northern Colorado, ASU doctoral graduate Bryan Gillis, wrote: “I would Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, and Kennesaw not be a published author if it were not for the State University in Georgia. constant encouragement of Dr. Alleen Pace Nilsen. She is always available when I need advice on writing an Thanks to ASU doctoral student Lisa Arter for gathering article and will never let me submit my work until it information for this piece. Ms. Arter is a doctoral student exceeds even my own expectations . . . One of my and faculty associate in English Education at Arizona goals . . . has to been to make Dr. Nilsen proud of my State University. Ms. Arter supervises student teachers and contributions to the ASU English education program.” works in the ASU Center for Teaching and Learning Alleen’s former students now hold tenured and Excellence.

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

k73_75_TAR_Fall07 75 10/2/07, 2:54 PM JimLori Blasingame Goodson & Jim Blasingame

2006 ALAN Award Winners: Virginia Monseau and Marc Aronson

Jim Blasingame had the opportunity to visit with in collaborative writing. As early members of both 2006 ALAN Award winners by email. Here, NCTE’s Women’s Committee (as it was called Jthose interviews give us insights into the philoso- then), we wrote together at the sentence level, phies and motivations behind two careers that have meeting at each other’s homes, enjoying/struggling impacted our thinking and our profession. with the pleasures and pains of writing and editing. It was truly a bonding experience. Reading Their World, another collaborative effort, gave Virginia Monseau me a chance to publish a book with my longtime colleague and friend, Gary JB: You have made so very many Salvner, whose teaching I have always contributions to English education admired. (and so, also, to young people, Presenting Ouida Sebestyen was teachers, schools, authors, librarians my first solo effort, and the joy of and parents). You were the editor of traveling to Colorado and spending time English Journal, president of ALAN, with Ouida Sebestyen is one of my and editor or author of so many fondest memories. I interviewed her as important books, such as Missing we walked among the flora and fauna of Chapters: Ten Pioneering Women in the foothills near Boulder, and we rode NCTE and English Education, Reading there in an old Volkswagen bus driven Their World, Responding to Young by her son Corbin. What an experience! Adult Literature, A Curriculum of Peace: Selected Doing the research for and writing of Re- Essays from English Journal, Presenting Ouida sponding to Young Adult Literature gave me a Sebestyen, and A Complete Guide to Young Adult chance to go back to my dissertation roots by Literature: Over 1000 Critiques and Synopsis from returning to the ninth-grade classroom and working the ALAN Review. Which of these many contribu- with students and teachers there. It also allowed tions did you find especially rewarding? me to draw on my experience with an adult YA literature book club in which I participated with VM: Wow, that’s a difficult question, Jim. Each one of some of my Youngstown State University colleagues those projects has been special to me in a different and local high school teachers. A Curriculum of way, so if you’ll bear with me, I’ll address each one Peace was a labor of love, giving me the opportu- briefly. Missing Chapters was my first “big” contri- nity to share with teachers the many fine articles on bution to the field, and coediting the book with my teaching for peace that had been published over the friend Jeanne Gerlach was a wonderful adventure years in the English Journal. 76

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l76_80_TAR_Fall07 76 10/2/07, 2:46 PM Becoming president of ALAN, of course, was inscription over and over on the plane ride home. a dream come true. I remember sitting in the Little did I know then that he would later become a audience at the ALAN Workshops and watching valued friend. with awe as former presidents so effortlessly (it seemed) presided over the proceedings. I never JB: When you think of young adult literature, where dreamed then that I would some day be one of them. it has been and where it is now, what work do you Finally, I must say that becoming editor of the see as needed for the future? What are your hopes English Journal was the highlight of my career—the for the genre and/or for ALAN? most challenging and rewarding professional experience of my life! Again, I had been so much in VM: One of the criticisms of YA literature over the awe of previous EJ editors that I never could even years has been that it lacks a strong “critical base,” countenance having that coveted position. I feel so that teachers and YA scholars focus almost exclu- fortunate to have had the opportunity. It really did sively on the pedagogical and sociological value of change my life. the books rather than examining them critically as pieces of literature. I know that’s not completely JB: If you were to characterize the evolution of ALAN true—there are plenty of thoughtful, insightful over the years, how would you do so? publications that delve deeply into the literature and its place in the literary world—but I would like VM: I’m so proud of the way ALAN has evolved from to see more of that, both in the journals and at the a tiny organization with a mimeographed newslet- ALAN Workshop. I would also like to see more YA ter to the polished, influential force it has become authors take risks with the literature—break the today. I believe that the publication of such books mold, so to speak. I think more and more authors as S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders and Paul Zindel’s are doing that these days, and I see that as a The Pigman helped ALAN to be taken seriously as a positive force for the genre. viable professional organization with important things to say about literature for young people— JB: As are all your books, Teaching the Selected Works views that were not being voiced by any other of Robert Cormier, is a valuable resource. What can organization at the time. And ALAN is still the only you tell us about the writing of that book and/or professional organization devoted exclusively to your relationship with Robert Cormier? young adult literature, its teaching, and its criticism. Seeing the attendance at the ALAN Workshop VM: Oh, this is one of my favorite topics. I have been each year is evidence of how much teachers need an admirer of Robert Cormier’s work since I first and value this wonderful organization. read The Chocolate War and I Am the Cheese as a high school teacher in the late ’70s. I think I had JB: What are your strongest memories of ALAN and been building up to writing a book like Teaching the ALAN Workshop? What humorous moments the Selected Works of Robert Cormier for many and what emotionally moving moments stand out years. I was devastated by his untimely death, and I in your memory? wanted somehow to help keep his work alive for teachers and students. As I mention in my introduc- VM: My strongest memories involve listening to tion to the book, the idea came to fruition when I authors like Robert Cormier, Will Hobbs, and Chris was teaching a graduate class I called “A Little Crutcher speak—especially in the early years. I Touch of Cormier in the Night.” So many of the remember sitting behind Will Hobbs at a workshop teachers in the class expressed a need for a ratio- in Seattle, when Betty Poe was president, and not nale to bring to their school districts and a desire knowing who he was until he got up and took the for ideas on how to approach the books with their stage to speak. I immediately went out and bought students. As we well know, Cormier’s books have two of his books—and I’ve been buying them ever generated much controversy over the years, and I since. And Bob Cormier—the first time he realized that there were probably many more autographed a book for me, I kept reading the teachers out there who wished to read his books 77

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l76_80_TAR_Fall07 77 10/2/07, 2:46 PM with their students but were fearful of censorship beautiful award occupies a place of honor in my attempts. I really wish I could have addressed all of living room. his works in my book, but that would have been quite a tome, so I came up with the idea of address- JB: If you could pretend for a moment that accepting ing just his later works, which perhaps some the ALAN Award is like accepting an Oscar from teachers are not as familiar with. Then I thought the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences how great it would be to publish a series of these and list all the people whom you would like to short books on teaching the works of various YA thank, who might be on that list? authors, which I proposed to Heinemann. They loved the idea, and here we are. I must say, too, VM: Oh, my! If I do a list, I’m afraid I’ll forget somehow touched I was to receive a letter from Connie one important. But I’ll try. First, I must thank my Cormier, Robert Cormier’s wife, complimenting the husband, Paul, who has encouraged me from the book and thanking me for writing it. beginning to pursue my goals and interests. He changed many a diaper and gave many a bath to JB: Youngstown State University has been such an our two little daughters, while I went to classes, important institution in the growth of the genre of wrote papers, and studied for tests—and he never young adult literature and its increasing presence in once complained. He still continues to support me schools and libraries. What has it been like in everything I do. I would also thank Gary Salvner, working there? who encouraged me to pursue a Ph.D. in the English Education Program at the University of VM: I loved working at Youngstown State. Not only Michigan, the program from which he graduated. did it give me the opportunity to do English And there are several people who have passed education work with my colleagues Gary Salvner away to whom I owe a debt of gratitude: Carol Gay, and Hugh McCracken, it also gave me the chance to my YA literature professor during my master’s teach graduate and undergraduate classes in young work, who encouraged me to pursue the genre as a adult literature. In addition, I did many summer field of study when very few doctoral students were workshops and institutes with area teachers, doing so; Stephen Dunning, my program chair at introducing them to various YA books and authors. Michigan, for agreeing to let me do a dissertation in YSU’s English Department was a wonderful place to a field of study that no student at the University of be for an English educator. All disciplines within Michigan had ever approached; and Ted Hipple, English are valued there—English ed., professional who somehow saw potential in me during my early writing, journalism, composition, and literature. We ALAN years and encouraged me to run for the all worked with and learned from each other. In ALAN Board of Directors. Bob Small also deserves fact, even though I “retired” in 2005, I’m back my thanks, as it was he who first suggested that I teaching during the fall semester this year. The run for ALAN president. And there are many others classroom still has a strong pull for me. I could thank if we had the space here, but I don’t want to go on and on. JB: What does winning the ALAN Award mean to you? JB: What are you up to these days and what projects VM: This is another honor that I never dreamed I’d are on your horizon? receive. All those years at the ALAN Breakfast, watching that impressive parade of honorees, I VM: I’m working as the series editor for Heinemann’s never thought it would be me joining them. When Young Adult Literature in the Classroom Series, as I David Gill called to tell me I had been selected, I mentioned earlier, and I really enjoy that work. was speechless for several seconds. When it turned Along with Chris Crowe’s Teaching the Selected out that I couldn’t attend to accept the award in Works of Mildred Taylor, which was published person, I was devastated. My one chance to thank along with my Cormier book, we are releasing this ALAN for all it had given me over the years was fall Teaching the Selected Works of Katherine lost. I couldn’t help but shed some tears. That Paterson, by Lois Stover, and Teaching the Selected 78

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l76_80_TAR_Fall07 78 10/2/07, 2:46 PM Works of Walter Dean Myers, by Connie Zitlow. Marc: Two reasons: I enjoy meeting kids—they ask tough These will be followed by books on Chris Crutcher questions, and they are, or can be, very responsive. and Gary Paulsen in the near future. But also, since I am not a teacher and my boys are I’m also working on promoting young adult quite young, I do not have a great deal of contact literature in the area where I live in Central Florida. with my readers. Going out and meeting them helps I hope to be doing a book signing at the local me to envision them. I also like sending out early Barnes and Noble after the first of the year, where I drafts of my books to teenagers—to learn from them can promote the books in the Heinemann series, as what they are or are not finding interesting. well as the works by the authors we’re featuring. JB: Your regular column on nonfiction for young readers, “Consider the Source,” in School Library Marc Aronson Journal is one of our favorites. What is it like coming up with something new each month? JB: What are your views on world citizenship? In what ways can we be preparing our young people to Marc: Thanks, glad you like it. It is great fun to have make a better world? a soapbox, and I have never had trouble thinking of things to say. But now I also have a blog on the Marc: When I was a kid, School Library Journal site called “Nonfiction world citizenship was a Matters.” I am a bit worried that I’ll use up my choice—we took our column ideas in the blog. We’ll see. orange UNICEF box with us when we went JB: What did winning the 2006 ALAN Award mean to trick or treating; I you? joined the model UN in high school (we were Marc: It was a thrill, and for a special reason. I started Mongolia one year, not out working in books for younger readers in the exactly a highly sought- late ’80s. By the ’90s after country). Today, people often said, “YA is world citizenship is not dead.” I never believed I enjoy meeting kids—they an option; it is a fact. that, just as I always American high school thought there should be ask tough questions, and kids are competing with kids in other countries for an award for books too they are, or can be, very future jobs, and they are affected by the politics, old for the Newbery culture, ideas of other lands—whether directly in Medal, and that teenag- responsive. the music, clothing, or causes they favor, or ers should be invited to indirectly through the games and products they BBYA (American Library buy. Teenagers in Finland invented text messaging, Association’s Best Books for Young Adults) meet- which is why American teenagers can do it. ings. It has been so gratifying to see YA flourish— The first step is just to recognize the obvious: the ALAN Award felt like someone patting me on we are all global citizens. Once we do that, we can the head and saying, “Yup, we’ve been through the look at how, for example, we teach history, or read hard times together, now let’s look back and fiction; do we show kids the same connections in celebrate together.” the past that they are experiencing today? JB: What is the value of nonfiction, especially histori- JB: You continue to make school visits even though cal or sociological, in young adult literature? your success as an author has made that an optional activity. Why do you still get out there and Marc: I don’t think there is just one value—there can talk with young people? be many. Nonfiction should challenge you, invite

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l76_80_TAR_Fall07 79 10/2/07, 2:46 PM you, to think. Teenagers, more than people at any Marc: I love sports. This Father’s Day my wife and other age, have epiphanies, moments when a truth older son planned to whisk me off to a chamber (positive or negative) can strike them with life- music concert being held in a beautiful part of shaping power. Nonfiction can provide those central park. I am a classical music fan and would moments. But nonfiction is also a form of narrative, have enjoyed that. But I had bought an adjustable a way of organizing thought and telling a story. In basketball hoop for my boys (who were 6 and 2 at that way, it can be a model not only for a the time) and me. It took my wife and me (and a teenager’s school work but also for the kind of helpful neighbor) all day to figure out the instruc- writing, and thinking, he or she will have to do in tions and assemble it. We missed the concert, but I college, and as an adult. Thinking specifically in was thrilled. I grew up in New York playing ball on terms of history, social studies, or sociology, public courts, and I had never had a hoop of my nonfiction can introduce teenagers to people, to own. Seeing that hoop in our driveway made me events, to ways of thinking they did not know. very, very happy. Someday I’ll tell you the story I often hear people about how Bruce Brooks beat me playing horse— say that kids won’t care and to whet your interest, we were playing in a about that. Perhaps. But court in a home once owned by a famous college History books for teenag- I think there is a kind of basketball coach. ers should be, can be, an adult miserliness behind that seeming bow to Virginia Monseau is Professor Emeritus at Youngstown act of generosity—we who teenage interests. We are State University, where she taught courses in English hoarding the past, methods, young adult and children’s literature, and have a sense of the past hoarding our knowledge, composition. She is past-president of ALAN and former we are refusing to share editor of English Journal. Among her many works are feel teenagers are impor- Missing Chapters: Ten Pioneering Women in NCTE and what we know with English Education, Reading Their World: The Young teenagers. History books tant enough to be given Adult Novel in the Classroom, Responding to Young Adult for teenagers should be, that knowledge. Literature, A Curriculum of Peace: Selected Essays from can be, an act of generos- English Journal, Presenting Ouida Sebestyen, and A ity—we who have a sense Complete Guide to Young Adult Literature: Over 1000 of the past feel teenagers Critiques and Synopses from The ALAN Review. She is the are important enough to be given that knowledge. series editor of Boynton/Cook’s Young Adult Literature Like elders in some native community, we are Series and wrote the first book in the series, Teaching the inducting young people into a sense of their past, Selected Works of Robert Cormier. their place in the world. Refusing to do that under the cover of teenagers’ busy and preoccupied lives Marc Aronson, winner of the 2006 ALAN Award, is an is silly. Of course, teenagers are self-involved, that author, editor, publisher, speaker, and historian who is what teenage is. Our job is to find a way to believes that young people, especially pre-teens and teenagers, are smart, passionate, and capable of engaging break into that world and bring wider knowledge, with interesting ideas in interesting ways. As a spokes- bring learning, so a teenager can grow. man for YA literature, he was directly involved in creating Finally, not every teenager prefers fiction. the Printz Award, the LA Times YA fiction Prize, and the Shaping thoughtful history books with teenagers in revived young readers’ National Book Award. Among his mind is saying that a teenager need not only love most recent books are Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for novels to be a reader. Why should fiction readers El Dorado, winner of the ALA’s first Robert L. Sibert have all the fun? Every kind of teenager deserves a Information Book Award for nonfiction and the Boston good book: the one who wants to read about Globe-Horn Book Award; Race: A History Beyond Black teenage life, and the one who has no interest in and White (Ginee Seo Books); and, For Boys Only that, and wants to know about battles, or presi- (Feiwel and Friends) [co-authored with HP Newquist]. dents, or scientists. Marc writes frequently on YA topics and appears both in a monthly column for School Library Journal and in a daily blog on their website. JB: What might be people be surprised to know about you? 80

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l76_80_TAR_Fall07 80 10/2/07, 2:46 PM ClaudiaLori Goodson Anne Katz & Jim Blasingame Middle School Connection

Splish, Splash: The Story of a Book and a Bath A Review of Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Readers

[Lesesne, Teri S. Naked Reading: pond. I held the book aloft as I Uncovering What Tweens Need to leaned back in the gently lapping Become Lifelong Readers. Portland, water. Then I positioned the book ME: Stenhouse, 2006. 118 pp. US on a hand towel that I had prepared $19.00.] for the purpose on the generous lip of the tub. After a moment of Who would have thought that the peaceful meditation on the plea- pink hotel would have a bathtub sures of my present position, I two feet deep? It was a wonderful opened the book and began to read. surprise to discover this capacious I read this book in two ways. I basin when I arrived late on a read as a middle school teacher Wednesday night after an intermi- might who served in public school nable summer plane ride and a trip classrooms for thirty-eight years in a rented car through an award- and collected a classroom library winning rain storm. I could not that swelled to the classroom next resist the potential pleasures the Teri Lesesne door. In that role, I witnessed the petite pool presented and, as the power of the proximity of books to young teachers in the room next to time in the bathroom reading books captivate even the most reluctant mine were relaxing to some rather in uninterrupted quietude and that reader. I also read this book as the loud heavy metal music, floating in her granddaughter does the same teacher I-am-now, a teacher of a warm bath seemed like the right after her bath. In this delicious tub, Adolescent Literature at National way to prepare for sleep. I had I would be in the proper place to Louis University. I am always brought with me a book I was to peruse Naked Reading. searching for a textbook for my read and review and, as it is my The inn provided a jar of course. One that could fill in the habit to read and do really deep fragrant bath salts, and I added a blanks I must leave out because I thinking in the bathtub, everything few dollops of these to the warm don’t have time to cover every- seemed right for the occasion. The water along with some of the thing. As I read, I wondered, would book in question, Naked Reading: contents of the small bottle of Teri’s book satisfy this essential Uncovering What Tweens Need to shower gel displayed on the counter requisite? Become Lifelong Readers by Teri top across from the tub. Soft As still steaming threads of Lesesne, begins with the author’s bubbles received my body as I slid vapor rose off the water, I reflected confession that she spends extra into this pint-sized yet pungent on my Adolescent Literature course.

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m81_83_TAR_Fall07 81 10/2/07, 2:41 PM Students in my class are expected reading, my own daughter honed Captain Underpants and ends at the to read two to three books of her reading skills immersed in the graphic novel version of The adolescent literature every week. A world of the Sweet Valley Twins, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. I professional text with long, windy and students who claim reading is am always looking for good graphic chapters gets in the way of this boring, find graphic novels irresist- novels so this list was welcome in requirement. Teri’s book has ibly enticing. Teri candidly informs that respect as well. Another concise, comprehensible chapters us that what teens like to read suggestion invites the teacher to that can be simply scanned in a sometimes flies in the face of introduce books by setting up a short stretch after the necessary conventional thought. Yet these survey in the classroom. Teri reading is completed. Because this materials are the stuff that initially suggests covering the titles of five book is inexpensive, I don’t think capture reluctant readers. Teri gives or six books and asking students to students will resent buying it and, I suggestions for “subliterature” such rank them for “read-appeal” by believe, they will retain it as a as comics, series books, and their covers alone. Students can be resource for their own use. It will magazines. The list of current challenged to read the books and also prop up my lessons by provid- periodicals Teri provides in Chapter determine if their assessment was ing students with an extensive 2 is most useful. This chapter also accurate. A similar survey and examination of the materials that I includes a list of “Books to Tickle ranking can be done with books’ can only momentarily mention. Your Funny Bone” and a fine list of titles minus the cover art. Teri mystery titles that have been warmed my heart by challenging For example, I usually cover “Winners and Nominees for the the assumption that only long the psychology of adolescents by 2005 Edgar Award.” books are worthy of student showing a few minutes of the film, I took a moment to slide a consideration. She includes a fine Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This lightly scented square of rose soap list of “Skinny Books” for which hardly addresses the topic. Teri’s over my arms and neck, dab a size does not equate with easy chapter entitled “Naked Reading: soaking wash cloth on the soapy reading. The Bare Essentials” describes the areas, and, after a gentle rinse-off, I My bubbles were disappearing physical and psychological make-up returned to my reading. The so I added more bath gel and as I of what she calls “tweens.” Teri classroom teacher in me was floated on the foam, I was de- defines tweens as students between gratified by Chapter 4, “How Can lighted to discover that “A Baker’s fourth and eighth grade who are, We Energize Tweens? T-A-R-G-E-T: Dozen of Un-Book Report Ideas” “between children’s books and Six Ways for Teachers to Reconnect veered from the usual offerings of young adult novels.” These stu- Kids to Books.” T-A-R-G-E-T is a diorama projects or conventional dents are among and amid in their short form for these beliefs: Trust, book reports. I am always search- interests and desires. Having taught Access, Response, Guidance, ing for ideas that require little effort this age group for over twenty- Enthusiasm, and Tween-appeal. on the part of teachers and a great seven years, I can wholly champion The section entitled “Guidance” deal of effort on the part of stu- this observation. Teri perceptibly includes a description of reading dents and I looked for that sort of portrays what she calls “the Five ladders, a short list of books based suggestion in this book. Teri Cs,” Competence, Confidence, on students’ interests which proposes that students write Connection, Character, and Caring. literally scaffolds readers in short “Annotations” as a response to the A useful figure inserted in the increments of difficulty from easy books they’ve read. The “Annota- chapter lists the Five Cs and books to more challenging ones. tions” are created in three parts: a provides suggestions for texts to Teri provides two sample ladders. brief summary addressing four support thematic units in these “The Humor Ladder” takes the questions, a short response answer- areas. reader from Captain Underpants by ing one of the suggestions from a Chapter 2 addresses a topic I Dave Pilkey to No More Dead Dogs list of questions, a bibliographic usually gloss over. I observed that by Gordon Korman. “The Graphic citation. The results are a written monthly publications jump-start Novel Ladder” also starts with reading response that is only about

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m81_83_TAR_Fall07 82 10/2/07, 2:41 PM six sentences long. This could be annotations that accompanied it. students’ observations about the easily read and graded by the The water was turning tepid students as readers, and their goals teacher in a very short time, yet it when I realized my refreshing for the students as readers. The role holds the students answerable for respite was almost over. I would of the teacher as researcher is also their independent reading. Another leave the tub with only one discussed in Johnson-Kuby, Sue check for accountability is SWBST. objection to this book and it is not Ann, and Claudia Anne Katz. This is an acronym for “Somebody a serious one. In two places Teri “Return of the Vampire.” Journal of Wanted But So Then.” Students are cites research describing what Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 40.2 asked to draw five columns on a motivates students to read. I felt so (October 1996): 144-48. In the form sheet of paper. Each column is many connections to this book, of a conversation with a vampire, headed with one of the words from that when the results of these this article details the results of a SWBST. Using the book they are surveys did not match my experi- teacher’s research on middle school currently reading, students write ence, I was interested in determin- students’ reading preferences. It the name of the main character in ing what questions had been includes a list of favorite books the first column, the goal of the asked. Perhaps the questions were mentioned, favorite authors character in the second column, the phrased in such a way that they mentioned, and how students obstacles facing the character in the would provide answers that might found these favorite books. third column, what the character not actually mirror students’ real Unfortunately I must report does about it in the fourth column, interests? When I went to the that the book did not survive the and in the fifth column the student bibliography, I discovered that the drenching it suffered in the tub. places a prediction of what might studies reflected the results of Even though I carefully dried each happen next in the story. The unpublished doctoral dissertations. page, I learned that soapy water is teacher can collect and assess these Short of requesting these studies, not easily removed. When I pages at a glance. Students can be there was no way I could check on returned home, I discovered that asked to fill out the sheet once or the details of the surveys. It would the pages were cemented together. I twice a week and the resulting have been helpful if Teri had had to purchase a new copy of notes can be used by the students included the questions the re- Naked Reading. However, I am to create a summary or an annota- searchers asked, or cited published hoping that this review will forever tion. accounts of such surveys. I am link a book and a bath. It may have been because my humbly suggesting two articles that fingers were pruney, but before I describe investigations regarding Claudia Anne Katz is past-president got to the “Appendix: More Than student interests and what moti- of the Illinois Reading Association and One Hundred Great Books for vates their book selection, Katz, past-president of the Middle School Tweens,” the book slipped into the Claudia Anne, and Sue Anne Special Interest Group of the Interna- water. I swiftly pulled it out and Johnson-Kuby. “Visit from the tional Reading Association. She taught middle school English for 38 dabbed the soaking pages with a Vampire.” Journal of Adolescent & years before joining National Louis fluffy towel. I hoped little damage Adult Literacy 39.2 (October, 1995): University in Chicago, where she now had been done, and, although the 156-59. This article, in the form of teaches classes in adolescent literature pages were wet, I was able to read a story, presents research results as an assistant professor. the book list and the excellent regarding parents’, teachers’, and

THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007

m81_83_TAR_Fall07 83 10/2/07, 2:41 PM EllenLori Goodson Wayman-Gordon & Jim Blasingame

The Center for Young Readers Honors M. Jerry Weiss

“For so many of us who studied with Dr. Weiss, we learned not only what and how to teach, but we learned by Dr. Weiss’ daily example, the power of the teacher’s position,” said Ms. Winkler. “As a role model, Dr. Weiss shaped my commitment to teaching and my passion for young adult literature.” Lisa K. Winkler, eighth-grade language arts teacher at South Orange Middle School. (The Gothic: The Magazine of Jersey City State University, winter 2005, p. 27) Gathered at the dedication were (from left): Mr. Fleischman, Helen Weiss, an author and wife of the honoree; Dr. Weiss; Dr. Allan De Fina, an associate professor of literacy education and a member of the Center’s Advisory Board; Dr. Carlos Hernández, president; Dr. Fran Levin, an assistant professor of literacy education who was then interim assistant vice president of academic affairs, immediate past president of the New Jersey Reading Association, and a member of the Center’s Advisory Board, and Dr. Joanne Z. Bruno, interim vice president for academic affairs.

The M. Jerry Weiss Center for Children’s and with Donna Connolly, an assistant professor of music, Young Adult Literature was dedicated on the Jersey and adjunct faculty Adria Firestone and Michael City State University campus on October 5, 2006 in Hirsch of the Department of Music, Dance and honor of the distinguished service professor of Theatre; and the presentation of a plaque. communications emeritus who is a nationally recog- Dr. Weiss taught at NJCU for 33 years before nized expert in the field of children’s and adolescent retiring in 1994. He created and coordinated the literature. “Adolescent in Literature” series, which brought many The dedication of the center, located in distinguished authors to campus. Grossnickle Hall, Room 103, included addresses by The author and editor of dozens of books, Dr. award-winning author Paul Fleischman and Dr. Weiss; Weiss has held leadership positions in the New Jersey vocal presentations of selections by Mr. Fleischman Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers

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n84_85_TAR_Fall07 84 10/2/07, 2:40 PM of English, and the International Reading Association. Many thanks to Ellen Wayman-Gordon, Jersey City State The New Jersey Reading Association’s “M. Jerry Weiss University Press. Reprinted with permission from Jersey Book Award,” affectionately known as “The Jerry,” City State University. was established in his honor in 1993, and he was also the first New Jersey resident to receive the Interna- tional Reading Association’s Arbuthnot Award.

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n84_85_TAR_Fall07 85 10/2/07, 2:40 PM

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