A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. Dell Yearling, 2003. 152 pages.

Plot: This story takes place in 12th-century Korea and centers around a twelve year old orphan name Tree-ear.  He lives homeless under a bridge with Crane-man who has graciously taken him in to help provide food and shelter which they must constantly scavenge on a daily basis.  Tree-ear becomes fascinated by the work of Min, a village potter, and after inadvertently breaking one of the potter’s creations, begins to work off his debt by collecting wood, carrying clay and cleaning.  After a year of “apprenticeship” Tree-ear, who has been dreaming of the day he can create his own pot, is devastated to learn the potter’s trade is only handed down from father to son as Min unkindly and with resentment states “You are not my son!”  Tree-ear is conflicted, but agrees to undertake a difficult and dangerous journey (which Min could never undertake because of his age) to carry some of Min’s work to the royal court in hopes of landing a commission.  Tree-ear is challenged by the journey, arrives with only “a single shard”, is successful and returns to tragedy, transformation and hope.

Review/Personal thoughts:  I was curious about the setting and theme of this book.  After reading about half of it, I was not impressed, but from the moment of the devastating realization about the requirement of father to son for the potter’s trade I was drawn in and held there for the remainder of the book.  The range of emotions and experiences of the main character are well-crafted and easy for the reader to recreate. The reader explores themes of family, homelessness, trust, perseverance, creativity, fear, honor and gratitude.  Although set in a place long ago and far away from modern America, tweens will connect with Tree-ear and share his journey with empathy and interest. I would have no problem recommending this book to a tween.

Genre: Fiction

Reading Level: 6.7  Interest level: Ages 9 to 13 years old

Awards:  2002 Newbery Medal

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Yearling Newbery, 2009. 197 pages.

Plot: Miranda is a feisty 6th grader living in New York City in the late 1970’s.  Life is going along at its predictable pace but not for long.  Strange events begin occurring when Miranda receives a mysterious note and a portion of it reads “I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.” As more notes arrive, showing up in the oddest of places, the note-writer shares clues that seem to indicate he/she has information that is of a predicting nature…as if, somehow, the future is involved in the present.  Added to the mix is the fact that Miranda’s best friend Sal is no longer speaking to her and she must find her way through the sometimes confusing roads of friendship.  Along with Sal, Miranda’s world is filled with other interesting characters:  the laughing man, Marcus, Julia, Annemarie, Colin, Richard, Jimmy, and Miranda’s headstrong mom.  Miranda is a young girl in the middle of a great mystery and time is of the essence. Will Miranda and Sal become friends again?  Will Miranda’s mom be a winning contestant on the $20,000 Pyramid? Will the mystery be figured out?  

Review/Personal thoughts:  In the page preceding the first chapter of the book, there is a quote by Albert Einstein that reads “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.”  The reader is immediately thrown into Miranda’s mysterious journey as she tries to figure out the events that are happening around her and piece together the notes that are meant for her…and her alone. Alongside the mystery, Stead also has our protagonist navigating the emotional roads of friendship – the loss (yet regaining) of a friendship, the attempt to build new ones, the misperceptions we may have of others and the assumptions some may make of us.  It is also a novel that explores the power of connection, the relationships we make in our lives.  It’s about the willingness to have an open mind, the desire to see life in as many ways as possible…and to see that anything is possible if we take away the constraints of the mind and time.  This novel is a fast-paced read that will draw the “tween” reader in from the first page. The beauty of this novel is most certainly found in its examination of the mystery of life. 

Genre: Mystery

Reading Level: 4.6  Interest level: Ages 9 to 13

Awards:  Newbery Award, 2010

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 2010 Winner

IRA Children's and Young Adult's Book Award, 2010 Winner

National Parenting Publications Award, 2009 Gold Books for Ages 9 & Up

Kirkus Best Children's Books, 2009

Notable Children's Books, 2010; ALSC American Library Association

School Library Journal Best Books, 2009

YALSA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, 2010

Morning Girl by Michael Dorris

Morning Girl. by Michael Dorris. Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, 1999. 74 pages.

Plot: The main characters are Morning Girl, who loves to get up early and set out into the day and her brother, Star Boy, who prefers to sleep late and loves the night.  They live with their mother and father on an island in pre-Columbian America.  The story alternates back and forth between the brother and sister who at times struggle with the misunderstandings that arise from sibling rivalry. Morning Girl loves to take walks on the beach and collect treasures. She loves to contemplate life and and herself.  She wonders what she looks like and her father helps her by telling her to “Look into my eyes, what do you see?”  Morning Girl answers, “Who are these pretty girls who live inside your head?” Father replies, “They are the answer to your question.” The family lives simply in a somewhat idyllic setting that is temporarily shattered by a violent hurricane. Star boy is stranded and must face the storm alone. The family deals with the grief of Mother’s miscarriage.  Morning Girl grows to understand and love her brother.  She goes for a swim one morning, but who are these strange looking people who arrive and does she understand how her life will never be the same?

Review/Personal thoughts:  This is an excellent novel for younger tweens. The characters are well-developed and the story flows easily. Universal themes of family, survival, grief, healing and coming of age transcend the dramatic cultural differences between Morning Girl’s culture and today’s modern world. The epilogue dated October 11,1492 is especially compelling and will surprise readers.  This is an award winning book and and should prove enjoyable for young tweens. 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading Level: 6.3  Interest level: Ages 8 to 13.

Awards: Scott O'Dell award for historical fiction

In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression

  It may seem odd to include an article on adolescent aggression in a blog space dedicated to library materials for tweens, however I received great insight into the developmental stages of life and especially those that affect tweens.  

  The focus of the article is an attempt to understand and perhaps find the root of those especially violent aggressive acts perpetrated by a relatively small number of adolescent males.  Primary to the understanding is the role that the brain plays as a response system in humans.  The primarily cortical system which is slow and analytical and the primarily subcortical system which is fast, conceptual and reflexive.  

Astounding to me is the fact that “We go through seven profound biological changes during our life, and three of these generally occur from ages 10 to 14 - the middle school years!”  Birth, death, loss of reproductive capabilities and loss cognitive abilities are four of the biological changes.  The three which occur in a portion of the tween years are; shifting from childhood to puberty (the beginning of reproductive capability), shifting from concrete to formal operations (the maturation of intelligence) and shifting from an authoritarian to consensus morality (the maturation of personal and social identities). (p.67)  It is important for adults in the lives of this age group to be aware of these profound biological changes and to relate appropriately.  

  I appreciate that the author declares that there is not just one cause that can be linked to aggression.  Parents and environment, technology, violence, malfunctioning brain activity, chemical imbalance, drugs, and testosterone can all contribute to events leading up to deadly violent acts.

  Offered as strategies to reduce adolescent aggression are “intervention programs that will help develop social skills and coping strategies” and reducing stereotyping and ridicule. 

The author has taken a contemporary issue and through a well- researched investigation attempted to articulate possible causes and even more importantly offered strategies to reduce the adolescent aggression which has produced some horrifically tragic results. 

Sylwester, R. (1999). In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression. Educational Leadership, 57(1), 65. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

The effect of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-old children's reading, spelling and phonological processing skills

     This article explores a research study that was designed to measure the effect of text messaging on children’s literacy skills.  The specific study group were children ages 9 and 10.  There were 114 children selected to participate in the study.  All of the students had never owned a mobile phone before.  The participants were randomly placed into two groups.  One group was given mobile phones to use on weekends and during a one week vacation from school. The mobile phones were only capable of sending and receiving text messages. The other group was the control group who did no text messaging.  The study was conducted over a ten week period.

The motivation for the study came about from two conflicting points of view on the topic.  There was a widespread concern in the media that texting (using shortened or abbreviated or phonetic substitutes for words) was having a negative impact on childrens’ performance and scores on standardized tests and spelling skills.  A previous study suggested that the children’s literacy skills were improved through the text messaging process.  The researchers in this study found that the previous studies had some limitations in that the used contrived text messaging scenarios and not real world use and they were unable to show causality.

Both groups were given pre and post tests in reading and spelling.  The researchers took into account individual differences in IQ and the children’s performance on the pre test. After all of the components of the study were complete the findings were “that the children who were given access to mobile phones for the purpose of text messaging did not perform differently from the children who were not given mobile phones in terms of their literacy development.”  Also, “textism use during texting was linked to spelling development and the number of messages sent and received was linked to lexical retrieval skills.”  So the conclusion is that even though literacy skills were not improved by the text messaging, there was also no adverse effect on literacy skills from the activity.

This study appears to have been founded in highly scientific procedures and measurements of the data collected.  The one question I would have concerns the group selected. In the researchers own words “The majority of children aged between 8 and 15 years in the United Kingdom and United States own mobile phones, and text messaging (SMS) is a popular function of the phones among this age group.”  So the requirement of selecting students who had never owned a cell phone makes me question if there is a significant factor in this minority that would affect the outcome of the research. 

Wood, C. , Jackson, E. , Hart, L. , Plester, B. , & Wilde, L. (2011). The effect of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-old children's reading, spelling and phonological processing skills. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(1), 28-36.

Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc.: Film, 2001  Studio: Disney/Pixar Director: Pete Docter

Run time: 92 minutes.

Plot: Monsters, Inc. is a power generating company that exists in a city known as Monstropolis, where no humans dwell.  The power is generated through the screams of children that the monsters scare... it’s their job.  The main monster characters are Sulley and his best friend and co-worker, Mike Wazowski. It is business as usual until one day a 2 year old human girl named Boo, is discovered to have been inadvertently brought into Monstropolis by Sulley after a long night’s work.  Chaos ensues as the human detection alarm is sounded (human children are believed to carry dreaded diseases that are fatal to monsters) and Sulley and Mike secretly attempt to return Boo through her door without being discovered by the other monsters and especially not by the CEO of Monsters, Inc., Mr. Waternoose.  Will Sulley and Mike save Monstropolis?  What happens to Boo?  Is there and alternative energy source for Monsters, Inc.?  Watch the DVD and find out.

Review/Personal thoughts:  This is another great animated film.  The monsters themselves are non-threatening physically and quite lovable characters. The relationship that develops between Sulley and Boo is endearing. Sulley and Mike are clearly the “good” monsters and Randall and Mr. Waternoose are clearly the “evil” monsters.  The animation is fantastic and the music is entertaining. Most tweens will surely enjoy this film.  Sulley is “friendly”, learns to “be himself” and  “follows his heart”. The classic themes of good vs. evil, fear, loyalty, and courage are additional messages for tweens to contemplate. I recommend this film without hesitation.

Rated: G

Interest Level: Ages 5 and up

Awards:  Academy Awards, Oscar, Best Music, Original Song, 2002

Nominated: Academy Awards, Oscar, Best Animated Feature, 2002

Day of Tears by Julius Lester

Day of Tears: a novel in dialogue. by Julius Lester. Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, 2007. 177 pages.

Plot: This story is based on the largest slave auction in United States history.  Approximately 429 human slaves were sold over a two day period netting over $303,000 (equivalent to 6.7 million dollars today.)  All of the slaves were the property of Pierce Butler whose gambling debts forced his choice.  Butler has two daughters named  Sarah and Frances.  Not only did Pierce grow up alongside many of the slaves as brothers and sisters, but the two Butler girls have been raised by Emma, also a slave. The lives of all of the characters are powerfully revealed by first person narratives that detail the story’s events.  Some of the dialogues are written in the present chronicling the events leading up to and including the auction and some are written as flashbacks 20 years after the auction.  The slaves have lived a relatively good life on the plantation, being well cared for and raising their own families.  The auction shatters the families as there are no guarantees families stay together.  In an incredibly devastating moment, Pierce agrees to sell Emma, even though he has promised her parents that he would not.  Frances and Sarah are stunned and in tears by their father’s heartless action.  Emma’s mother, Mattie doesn’t even get to say good bye to her daughter  She is left to say “I start thinking about Emma and tears rush to my eyes... Lord, please have mercy on my child! Please, I beg you. Have mercy on my child!”  More scenes are played out including escapes, the underground railroad, reunions and revenge.

Review/Personal thoughts:  I don’t believe it is an exaggeration to label this book as brilliant. The story is masterfully told and made powerfully believable through Lester’s dialogues. Even though I have been schooled in U.S. History, never has the horror of the reality of humans buying and selling other humans as personal property been made so strikingly evident. Slavery, betrayal, the consequences of our actions, freedom, abolition, courage, racism, family, love and incomprehensible demoralization are all themes that are revealed through the characters words.  Far be it from me to ever require anyone to read a book, but this book might be an exception.  My life was changed by reading it. I can’t help but believe the lives of tweens who read it will also be changed.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading Level: 4.4  Interest level: Ages 10 and up.

Awards: Coretta Scott King Award/Honor 2006

Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 2006