Mr. Darcy

Quote from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen...

Other Darcy-related posts:
Austen and Alcott
Creativity and Innovation
Pride and Prejudice
Riding with Severus Snape

Challenging Your Own Assumptions

Yesterday, while doing a bit of reading about Perks author Stephen Chbosky, I stumbled upon this quote from an interview:

"You can learn a lot from challenging your own assumptions and admitting you don't know everything."

Love it!

Review: Unspoken by Henry Cole

2012, Scholastic Press
New York, NY
Unpaged (40 pp), $12.23 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780545399975; OCLC: 769141329

As a new addition to the children's collection at work, I couldn't resist taking a peek inside of Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole.

Synopsis
Unspoken, a wordless book, tells the story of a young farm girl, via illustrations, who discovers a former slave embarking on a northern trek towards freedom. An illustration depicts the girl looking curiously over her shoulder, towards shocks of corn drying in the barn, while completing her chores. On the next page, amidst a sea of corn, a single eye peers at the reader -- which startles the young girl. As the story progresses, the girl begins offering food to the slave and keeps their hiding place a secret when Confederate soldiers on horseback visit the farm with a "Wanted" poster. The story closes with the girl visiting the barn at night and finding a doll fashioned out of corn husks wearing a gingham dress -- a fabric napkin, which the girl had originally used to carefully wrap the food that she secreted the slave in hiding. 

Illustrations
Cole used Staedtler Mars 4B pencils on Canson charcoal paper. The illustrations were printed on beige paper which gives the book a vintage look reminiscent of the time and the use of brown endpapers pay homage to the earthy, farm setting. I'll admit: upon first glancing at the book, the cover illustration reminded me of Chris Van Allsburg's work...beautiful.

My Thoughts
Cole's exquisite and powerful illustrations did a phenomenal job of depicting a relatively deep and complex story without the use of words. Young readers are given ample opportunity to elaborate upon the panels by creating their own dialog between characters.

A lengthy author's note provides the reader with a brief historical synopsis as well as personal background information.

While the book typically shelved with children's picture books, I concur with a School Library Journal review that states this item is appropriate for grades 3 - 8.  Unspoken would be a great addition to any public library and school media center.

Tags: children's picture book, historical fiction, African-American history, Civil War, military history, slavery, Underground Railroad, wordless book

Whatcha Reading?

SP said, "Wondering what kids are reading these days? Our STACKS site asked, and this image depicts their answers. The bigger the text, the more kids who mentioned the title. For more information go to: http://ow.ly/gqtls"

Image courtesy of Scholastic Parents

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman (Golden Compass), Inheritance Cycle tetralogy by Christopher Paolini, and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan are on my radar this year.

A Part-Time Indian

Yesterday, I finished reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

As you can probably surmise, I was pretty irritated when I read an article about a recent challenge to this book in the West Valley School District.

Alicia Davis, a parent (and elementary school teacher in the district), expressed her concerns about the book -- citing a specific passage in which a racial slur was used against the book's protagonist. The slur was also offensive to African Americans. Davis read the book herself and came to the conclusion: "I just would not want my 12th-grader reading something like this in public school."

While I admit, the passage upset me, too...but I realize that was the very point of it. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is classified as a piece of contemporary realistic fiction which is known to focus on tough issues such as suicide, anorexia, racism, and bullying.

Alexie wanted to give the reader a true taste as to what Junior was experiencing in his life as a freshman in an all-white high school -- not a sugar-coated one. This is a story about a boy who experiences bullying and who is struggling with his identity -- all while attempting to hide his poverty from his classmates. Alexie touches upon at least two major issues, bullying and identity struggles, which I can see high school students nodding their heads in collective agreement.

Three cheers to Joshua McKimmy, the English teacher:

"Our job as English teachers is to promote reading and to give kids access to life through reading. If kids are just given the classics all the time — I wasn’t a student like that; I wouldn’t read classics or anything...Then I read some young adult books that I could identify with, and then I’ve become a reader because of those books...The book is a gateway for reluctant readers, and more, it deals with issues his students are very familiar with as teenagers...They really identify with Junior’s problems...One of his main problems is that he exists in the Indian world and the white world...Kids struggle with identity; that’s kind of what high school is."

Earlier today, I worked on my reflective essay (a requirement for graduation) and cited a quote by Lester Ashiem which is very relevant to this situation:

Selection, then, begins with a presumption in favor of liberty of thought; censorship, with a presumption in favor of thought control. Selection’s approach to the book is positive, seeking its values in the book as a book, and in the book as a whole. Censorship’s approach is negative, seeking vulnerable characteristics wherever they can be found – anywhere within the book, or even outside it. Selection seeks to protect the right of the reader to read; censorship seeks to protect – not the right – but the reader from himself from the fancied effects of his reading. The selector has faith in the intelligence of the reader; the censor has faith only in his own (Preer, 2008, p. 79).

My thoughts:
To the concerned parents: Would you rather have your child check this book out at the public library (which is very likely) and read it without the supervision, guidance, and subsequent classroom discussion? This is a teaching moment...an opportunity for growth and perspective taking. USE IT.

 I wish that I had something more profound to say about the book, but alas, I am still feeling under the weather. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and wholeheartedly concur with a colleague (Jaema) when she stated that she wished the book was longer. Like Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I found this piece particularly moving and felt empathy for the protagonist. If YA lit, and/or contemporary realistic fiction is your thing, this book should definitely be on your radar.

Relevant links:
American Indians in Children's Literature: Reviews of Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie: Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood
American Library Association: Top Ten Challenged Books by Year, 2001 - 2011
Hermionish: On Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Darkness Too Visible
Gurdon: My 'Reprehensible' Take On Teen Literature

A Bookish Holiday

Image courtesy of Simon & Schuster

Books this bibliophile got for Christmas:

• The Black Belt Librarian: Real-World Safety and Security by Warren Graham
• Broken Pieces: A Library Life, 1941-1978 by Michael Gorman
• The Librarian's Book of Quotes compiled by Tatyana Eckstrand
• The Inheritance Cycle (series) by Christopher Paolini
• The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember by Fred Rogers

Currently reading: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Recently finished: The Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse #12): Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

The Sound of Sirens

In September and October, I will be leading two discussions of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for Sandusky District Library's One Book, One Community program. The following is a passage in which I found particularly powerful:

"Not long before the sirens signaled the end, Alex Steiner -- the man with the immovable, wooden face -- coaxed the kids from his wife's legs. He was able to reach out and grapple for his son's free hand. Kurt, still stoic and full of stare, took it up and tightened his grip gently on the hand of his sister. Soon, everyone in the cellar was holding the hand of another, and the group of Germans stood in a lumpy circle. The cold hands melted into the warm ones, and in some cases, the feeling of another human pulse was transported. It came through the layers of pale, stiffened skin. Some of them closed their eyes, waiting for their final demise, or hoping for a sign that the raid was finally over.

Did they deserve any better, these people?

How many had actively persecuted others, high on the scent of Hitler's gaze, repeating his sentences, his paragraphs, his opus? Was Rosa Hubermann responsible? The hider of a Jew? Or Hans? Did they all deserve to die? The children?

The answer to each of these questions interests me very much, though I cannot allow them to seduce me. I only know that all of those people would have sensed me that night, excluding the youngest of the children. I was the suggestion. I was the advice, my imagined feet walking into the kitchen and down the corridor.

As is often the case with humans, when I read about them in the book thief's words, I pitied them, though not as much as I felt for the ones I scooped up from various camps in that time. The Germans in basements were pitiable, surely, but at least they had a chance. That basement was not a washroom. They were not sent there for a shower. For those people, life was still achievable" (p. 375 - 376.)

The Trilogy

In September and October, I will be leading two discussions of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for Sandusky District Library's One Book, One Community program. The following is a passage in which I found particularly powerful:

"Dear Liesel,
I know you find me pathetic and loathsome (look that word up if you don't know it), but I must tell you that I am not so stupid as to not see your footprints in the library. When I noticed the first book missing, I thought I had simply misplaced it, but then I saw the outlines of some feet on the floor in certain patches of the light.

It made me smile.

I was glad that you took what was rightfully yours. I then made the mistake of thinking that would be the end of it.

When you came back, I should have been angry, but I wasn't. I could hear you the last time, but I decided to leave you alone. You only ever take one book, and it will take a thousand visits till all of them are gone. My only hope is that one day you will knock on the front door and enter the library in a more civilized manner.

Again, I am sorry we could no longer keep your foster mother employed.

Lastly, I hope you find this dictionary and thesaurus useful as you read your stolen books.

Yours sincerely,
Ilsa Hermann"

(p. 369).

Death's Diary: Cologne

In September and October, I will be leading two discussions of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for Sandusky District Library's One Book, One Community program. The following is a passage in which I found particularly powerful:

"The fallen hours of May 30.

I'm sure Liesel Meminger was fast asleep when more than a thousand bomber planes flew toward a place known as Köln. For me, the result was five hundred people or thereabouts. Fifty thousand others ambled homelessly around the ghostly piles of rubble, trying to work which way was which, and which slabs of broken home belonged to whom.

Five hundred souls.

I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I'd throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms.

By the time I was finished, the sky was yellow, like burning newspaper. If I looked closely, I could see the words, reporting headlines commentating on the progress of the war and so forth. How I'd have loved to pull it all down, to screw up the newspaper sky and toss it away. My arms ached and I couldn't afford to burn my fingers. There was still so much work to be done" (p. 336).

The Mayor's Library

In September and October, I will be leading two discussions of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for Sandusky District Library's One Book, One Community program. The following is a passage in which I found particularly powerful:

(p. 134)
"Jesus, Mary..."

She said it out loud, the words distributed into a room that was full of cold air and books. Books everywhere! Each wall was armed with overcrowded yet immaculate shelving. It was barely possible to see the paintwork. There were all different styles and sizes of lettering on the spines of the black, the red, the every-colored books. It was one of the most beautiful things Liesel Meminger had ever seen.

With wonder, she smiled.

That such a room existed!

Even when she tried to wipe the smile away with her forearm, she realized instantly that it was a pointless exercise. She could feel the eyes of the woman traveling her body, and when she looked at her, they had rested on her face.

There was more silence than she ever though possible. It extended like an elastic, dying to break. The girl broke it.

"Can I?"

The two words stood among acres and acres of vacant, wooden-floored land. The books were miles away.

The woman nodded.

Yes, you can.

A Fair Assessment

From the epigraph in chapter 4 of Applications of Social Research Methods to Questions in Information and Library Science (Wildemuth, 2009): 

"To describe is to draw a picture of what happened, or of how things are proceeding, or of what a situation or a person or an event is like. Description is concerned with making complicated things understandable." --Keith Punch (1998)

This afternoon, I start my practicum at Caro Area District Library under the supervision of Library Director Marcia Dievendorf. To say that I am excited is an understatement and to mention that I am nervous is a fair assessment. For my practicum class, I am required to keep a blog (embedded within Blackboard) to record my candid thoughts, observations, and reflections. I plan on doing a watered-down version here that will just capture my experiences without reporting any sensitive or confidential information.

In other bookish news, yesterday afternoon, I picked up materials from Sandusky District Library for the upcoming book discussion groups that I am leading for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I've been squeezing in a chapter here and there in between my readings for LIS 7996 so that the story will be fresh in my mind. I should probably record my thoughts and a few of my favorite passages here...

A Hangover

Fifty Shades of Grey

I just finished reading Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. My favorite part: the ending. Ana was incredibly brave, strong, and honest -- characteristics in which I admire -- and to be completely honest, I felt that it was, singularly, the best written portion of the novel. I promised a review, but I don't think I can write one for this piece.

Will I read the other two books? Yes, even though this genre is not really my cup of tea as I much prefer historical fiction.

Would I buy this book for a public library? Yes. I am a firm believer that a public library's purpose is to serve the entire community and there is certainly an interest. In the words of Jo Godwin, "A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone."

Now onto Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy...

Adventures in the Z Class

Yesterday, I seized the day by visiting the Library of Michigan while I am still on break between semesters and got lost in the Z class for a few hours browsing my favorite topic: censorship and intellectual freedom.

Between interviewing directors and practicing librarians as well as reading a fabulous book titled True Stories of Censorship Battles in America's Libraries -- edited by Kathy Barco and Valerie Nye -- I seem to have a pretty good grasp on the patron-side of challenges and censorship which prompted me to explore materials from the view of  librarians that are actually pro-censorship. So...I picked up Censorship: Opposing Viewpoints and read Thomas Storck's essay titled, A Case for Censorship: Defending the Poor from the Jaded Rich. 

Needless to say, I was pretty floored and as a result ended up logging into Facebook to capture a sentence in the essay's introduction. My status update read, "There is something wrong with the following sentence: 'Storck, a librarian in Washington, D.C., insists that censorship can both prevent harmful acts and facilitate society's intellectual pursuit of truth.'"

Thomas Storck (1994) posits: 

"For, human nature being what it is, it is naive to think we can freely read and view things that promote or portray evil deeds without sometimes feeling encouraged to commit such deeds. And if this is the case, then censorship can sometimes be a necessity...[case for censorship]...It can be stated in the following simple thesis: ideas lead to actions, and bad ideas often lead to bad acts, bringing harm to individuals and possible ruin to societies. Just as the state has the right to restrict and direct a person's activities when he is a physical threat to the community, so also in the matter of intellectual or cultural threats, the authorities have duties to protect the community." (Pages 18-19)

Further... 

"The ideal censor is not some ill-educated, parochial bigot, but someone of liberal education and continued wide reading, someone with a grasp of first principles and enough experience and wisdom to see how they should be put into practice." (Page 23)

"A final point that must be noted is the connection between anti-censorship arguments and the free market...It is primarily the rich who promote and subsidize ideas and art that undermine traditional ways of life, and it is primarily the poor who suffer on that account. Society exists to protect and promote the welfare of all, but especially of the poor and the workingman. To exalt the free and irresponsible expression of the individual is to take up a position contrary to the community's duty of protecting the poor...Only those with sufficient money and ennui have the time or resources to produce ideas or art that corrupt or debase." (Page 23 - 24)

My thoughts...
I wholeheartedly concur with the sentiments of Lester Asheim -- "Selection seeks to protect the right of the reader to read; censorship seeks to protect—not the right—but the reader from himself from the fancied effects of his reading. The selector has faith in the intelligence of the reader; the censor has faith only in his own."

While some might be disgusted by the availability of a book they deem 'morally bankrupt', I align myself with good old Ranganathan and his 5 laws of library science -- specifically: (2) Every reader his (or her) book; and, (3) Every book its reader. We live in a free society and people have the right to read what they wish to read...and not be censored by some "well meaning" individual. I wholeheartedly believe that a good public library will truly have something to offend everyone...and if it doesn't...then it's someone's private library.

Bookishly Delectable

Random House Children's Books shared a bookishly delectable image courtesy of Victoria's Kitchen:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is one of my all-time favorite books...

Holocaust Literature for Young Adults

Four Holocaust-themed books with appeal to young adults were selected and evaluated for LIS 6530: Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn, The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman, Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, and Once by Morris Gleitzman.

Emil and Karl
Originally written in Yiddish and published in 1940, Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn, otherwise known as Jacob Glatstein, was translated into English by Jeffrey Shandler in 2006. While Glatshteyn’s bibliography consists of books written primarily for the adult audience, an article in The New York Times (2006, Newhouse) describes Emil and Karl as originally (in 1940), “...intended for students at Yiddish afternoon and weekend schools.” Shandler added that Emil and Karl is “...among the very first books written about the Holocaust for readers of any age and in any language.” Further, in the book’s foreword Shandler posits,

In 1940, [this book] asked Jewish children living in America to imagine what it would be like to face the challenges of life under Nazi occupation, on the eve of a war that had just begun and whose terrible course was then unforeseeable. The book also asked its readers to think how, even though they were still children, they might understand what was happening far away from America and how they might realize its importance to their own lives -- as Jews, as Americans, and as human beings.

Set in Vienna, Austria, Glatshteyn carefully weaves the story of two best friends, one Jewish (Emil) and one not (Karl), as they band together and struggle to survive after the death of their parents in the early days of the Second World War. Perspective varies as Glatsheyn has both Emil and Karl narrate the story. While being merely speculative, Glatshteyn transmitted snippets of actual current events to the readers by way Emil and Karl's experiences – Jews being forced to wash the streets with their bare hands and clandestine Nazi resistance movements. It should be noted that Glatshteyn does not sugarcoat interactions with the Nazi regime which might cause distress for some readers. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of a series of strangers whom come from all walks of life, Emil and Karl find some semblance of safety while they await transport out of the country via a child relief effort – which Glatshteyn is likely referring to the famous Kindertransport which ran out of money in the later part of 1939.

Differing from much of the historical fiction on the market, Emil and Karl was actually written prior to start of the Second World War and published in the time in which the story was set. According the Newhouse (2006), Glatshteyn was inspired to write Emil and Karl when he experienced anti-Semitism while visiting Poland in 1934 -- he immigrated to the United States in 1914. In addition to starred reviews by both School Library Journal and Booklist, Emil and Karl was recognized as a Notable Book for Older Readers by the Association of Jewish Libraries in 2007.

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
Born to Holocaust survivors Vladek and Anja Spiegelman, American cartoonist Art Spiegelman interviewed his father and produced a series of black and white comics which served as his biography documenting his parents' experiences during the Holocaust. With much controversy, Spiegelman chose to depict Jews as mice, Germans as cats, the Polish as pigs, the French as frogs, the Swedish as reindeer, and the Americans as dogs which closely resemble the Labrador retriever. In a 1987 review published by School Library Journal, Rita G. Keeler of St. John's School in Houston, Texas wrote:

Told with chilling realism in an unusual comic-book format, this is more than a tale of surviving the Holocaust. Spiegelman relates the effect of those events on the survivors' later years and upon the lives of the following generation. Each scene opens at the elder Spiegelman's home in Rego Park, N.Y. Art, who was born after the war, is visiting his father, Vladek, to record his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice, are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution. Vladek saves himself and his wife by a combination of luck and wits, all the time enduring the torment of hunted outcast. The other theme of this book is Art's troubled adjustment to life as he, too, bears the burden of his parents' experiences. This is a complex book. It relates events which young adults, as the future architects of society, must confront, and their interest is sure to be caught by the skillful graphics and suspenseful unfolding of the story.

First serialized in the 1980s, Maus was published in its entirety via two volumes – Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History, in 1986, and Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began, in 1991. It wasn't until November of 1996 in which The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale was published which combined volumes I and II. In volume I of Maus: My Father Bleeds History, Spiegelman tells the story of how his Polish parents first met prior to the advent of the Second World War and their subsequent placement into a Jewish ghetto. The second volume of Maus: And Here My Troubles Began, picks up where the first left off – the Spiegelmans had been betrayed and end up being sent to Auschwitz. With great detail, Spiegelman describes what day-to-day life is like at the camp, the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, and life afterwards in Sweden as well as America.

Worth noting, Maus, to date, is the only comic book or graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize which was awarded in 1992. In addition to the Pulitzer, Maus has also received the following awards and honors: National Book Critics Circle Award – nominee (1986); Joel H. Cavior Book Award for Fiction (1987); Angoulême International Comics Festival Awards – Religious Award and Best Foreign Album (1988); Urhunden Prize – Foreign Album (1988); Max and Moritz Prizes – Special Prize (1990); National Book Critics Circle – nominee (1991); Eisner Award – Best Graphic Album – Maus II (1992); Harvey Award – Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Material – Maus II (1992); Los Angeles Times – Best Prize for Fiction – Maus II (1992); Angoulême International Comics Festival Awards – Best Foreign Album – Maus II (1993); and the Urhunden Prize – Best Foreign Album – Maus II (1993). Twenty-five years later, after initially being published, Spiegelman released a companion piece titled MetaMaus which offers readers an in-depth look at the story behind the story. Earlier this year, MetaMaus received the Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book.

Milkweed
Published in 2003 by Alfred A. Knopf, Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli is narrated by Misha Pilsudski – an innocent and naive young orphan boy without an identity – who later in the novel proudly claims to be a Gypsy and even later a Jew. This book was selected for inclusion in this project due to the unique perspective it offered to the pool of historical fiction currently available on the market. A brief synopsis offered by the publisher reads:

He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.

He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.

What the synopsis fails to mention is that Milkweed concludes with Misha, an isolated and estranged grandfather living in the United States, who is haunted by memories of the past – a very bittersweet ending better which is suited for older readers. School Library Journal recommended Milkweed for grade 5 and up and Linda Leonard Lamme of Book Links recommended the piece for grade 7 and up. Further, Ginny Gustin of the Sonoma County Library System in Santa Rosa, California added her School Library Journal review, "This historical novel can be appreciated both by readers with previous knowledge of the Holocaust and by those who share Misha's innocence and will discover the horrors of this period in history along with him." Further, it was disappointing to find that Spinelli failed to provide readers with an author's note or include a foreword. Upon conducting cursory research for this project, it was found that the beloved character known as Doctor Korczak is actually based on Janusz Korczak, otherwise known by his pen name of Henryk Goldszmit – a Jewish children's author and pediatrician.

Milkweed has been awarded the following honors: Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators – Golden Kite Award (2003); Young Adult Library Association – Best Books for Young Adults (2004); Carolyn W. Field Award for Fiction (2004); National Jewish Book Award Finalist (2004); and the Great Lakes Great Books Award – Fourth and Fifth Grade Winner – 2005.

Once
Once, the first in a series of four books was written by Morris Gleitzman and originally published in Australia in 2005 and five years later (2010) in the United States by Henry Holt and Company. Like the three other books selected for evaluation, Once is set in Nazi-occupied Europe in the early years of the Second World War – 1942, to be exact – and is narrated from a naive child's perspective quite similar to the narrator, Misha Pilsudski, in Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. While also orphan and naive, Felix, the narrator in Once, happens to be a bit more sophisticated as he's older by a few years and is knowledgeable about his background; however, he fails to grasp the danger unfolding around him. In a review published in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (Ventura, 2011), Felix's naiveté is explored:

Felix loves books and is a great storyteller. He keeps a notebook full of his stories. After he sees Nazis outside the orphanage burning Jewish books, he runs away to find his parents and warn them so that they can hide their own books from the Nazis. He is greatly concerned about the hatred that Nazis have for books and cannot understand why they would want to destroy them. As he journeys, however, he begins to realize that the Nazis are out to destroy more than just books.

A review published in School Library Journal (Hastings, 2010) gives a succinct synopsis of the book:

...When the orphanage is visited by surly Nazis instead of joyous parents, Felix escapes with only his cherished notebook full of his stories into the nearby countryside, still hoping for a family reunion. He soon discovers a burning home with two slain adults in the yard and their young daughter bruised but still alive. He takes Zelda on his journey, shielding her from the reality of her parents' deaths in much the same way he's been comforting himself, by inventing alternative realities. But, as he encounters the escalating ugliness of the death marches that are emptying his old neighborhood, now a ghetto, Felix becomes increasingly conflicted about the need to imagine a hopeful order and the need to confront brutal reality head-on...

Once also has a connection to Spinelli's Milkweed in that Gleitzman was also inspired by Doctor Janusz Korczak. In an author's note, Gleitzman wrote:

Ten years ago I read a book about Janusz Korczak, a Polish Jewish doctor and children’s author who devoted his life to caring for young people. Over many years he helped run an orphanage for two hundred Jewish children. In 1942, when the Nazis murdered these orphans, Janusz Korczak was offered his freedom but chose to die with the children rather than abandon them. Janusz Korczak became my hero. His story sowed a seed in my imagination.

However, in Gleitzman's story, the caregiver archetype is portrayed by a man named Barney who runs a pseudo-orphanage in a basement in Nazi-occupied Warsaw.

Once by Morris Gleitzman has received the following awards and honors: Young Adult Library Association – Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011); United States Board on Books for Young People – Outstanding International Book (2011); and the Association of Jewish Libraries – Sydney Taylor Honor Award Winner for Teen Readers (2011). Once has three sequels – Then (2007), Now (2012), and After (to be released).

In conclusion, the four books selected – Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn, The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman, Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, and Once by Morris Gleitzman – are just a miniscule representation of Holocaust-related literature available to young adults today. Surveying the literature currently in print, some works are biographical while others are creative figments of an author's imagination or pulled entirely from nightmares; however, regardless of an author's chosen point of view, setting, or narrator, each book is truly poised to teach young adults about the history and atrocities committed against humanity during the Holocaust.  

References
Glatshteyn, Y. (2006). Emil and Karl. New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook Press.

Gleitzman, M. (2010). Once. New York, NY: Henry Holt.

Gustin, G. (2003, November). Milkweed. School Library Journal, 49(11), 149

Hastings, J. (2010, April). Once. School Library Journal, 56(4), 156.

Jewish Virtual Library. (2012). Janusz Korczak. Retrieved from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Korczak.html

Keeler, R. G. (1987, May). Maus: A survivor's tale. School Library Journal, 33(1), 124.

Lamme, L. L., Astengo, B. (2006, September). Book Links, 16(1), 40.

Newhouse, A. (2006). Emil and Karl. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/books/review/09children-newhouse.html

Spiegelman, A. (1996). The complete maus. New York, NY: Pantheon.

Spinelli, J. (2003). Milkweed. New York, NY: Alfred. A. Knopf.

Ventura, E. (2011, April). Emil and Karl. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 54(7), 546.

Exploring Books Across Genres: A Guide to Teen Lit for Girls

This bibliography was produced as part of my final project for LIS 6530 -- 30 books were selected from those presented by classmates throughout the semester. Each book selected for inclusion in this bibliography features female characters. Clicking on titles will bring you to the relevant WorldCat record.

PDF brochure for download: 
Exploring Books Across Genres: A Guide to Teen Lit for Girls

Adventure

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohen and David Leviathan

Lily leaves a mysterious notebook full of dares on a bookstore shelf in hopes that someone will find it and follow complete the dares. Enter Dash. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Biographies and Memoirs
I Am Scout: A Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields
A biography that tells the story behind the author of To Kill a Mockingbird – Nelle Harper Lee. (Grade 6 & Up.)

Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri
The story of twin Jewish sisters who were sent to Auschwitz and were subjected to the experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele. (Grade 6 & Up.)

Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals
Fifteen-year-old Melba was one of the Little Rock Nine – nine African-American students who enrolled at Little Rock Central High School in 1957 – this is her story. (Grade 7 & Up.)

While Other Children Played: An Autobiography by Erna Gorman
A Holocaust survivor who lives in southeast Michigan tells the story of her childhood – living in several Polish ghettos and even in the hayloft of a generous farmer. (Grade 7 & Up.)

Classics
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Scout and her older brother Jem learn about race in the 1930s when their father, an attorney, defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
A coming of age story that follows the life of orphan Anne Shirley with her adoptive family. (Grade 5 & Up.)

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)
A coming of age story told in diary format about a teen girl's addiction to drugs which ultimately leads to her death. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech
Written in journal format for a class assignment, 13-year-old Mary Lou Finney grudgingly records the days’ events until her cousin visit – Mary Lou’s life takes some unexpected and interesting turns. (Grade 6 & Up.)

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abel-Fattah
16-year-old Amel decides to start wearing a hijab and her life abruptly changes – taunts from classmates begin and she’s worried what her crush will think. (Grade 7 & Up.)

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Samantha Kingston dies, but is given a second chance – actual seven chances – to figure things out surrounding her death and perhaps find a path to redemption. (Grade 8 & Up.)

Page by Paige by Laurie Lee Gulledge
Graphic novel. A teenage girl who recently relocated to New York City keeps a sketchbook where she shares her innermost thoughts and dreams for the future. (Grade 7 & Up.)

How I Made it to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story by Tracy White
Graphic novel. A teen coming of age struggles with body image, self-esteem, substance abuse, and anxiety. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Dystopian Fiction
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
A society that is governed by The Sisterhood and protected by The Guardians from The Unconsecrated – zombies! Book 1 of 4. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Divergent by Veronica Roth
In post-apocalyptic Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior is required to make once choice that will change her life: which faction to join – Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite. Book 1 of 3. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Matched by Ally Condie
In a trusted society which dictates what to read and what to watch, even selecting one’s mate isn’t questioned until Cassia experiences a glitch. Book 1 of 3. (Grade 9 & Up.)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Unites States no longer exists and a country divided into 12 districts – each district is required to select two tributes who will battle on live TV until a child single remains standing. Book 1 of 3. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Fantasy
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
In a war-torn nation full of enemies and monsters, Alina discovers a hidden power in her that could save her country. (Grade 9 & Up.)

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Puck Connolly is the first girl to partake in the dangerous races – not by choice, but rather to help her family. (Grade 8 & Up.)

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
The younger of two princesses, Elisa was “chosen” and is now married to a king – but her life is far from perfect as she is being hunted. Will fulfill the prophecy and become her country’s savior? (Grade 7 & Up.)

Historical Fiction
A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
Orphan Mary Quinn is sent to Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls which actually turns out to not be a school at all, but rather a cover for an elite ring of female spies. (Grade 7 & Up.)

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Young Liesel Meminger is separated from all that she knows and sent to live with a foster family during World War II where she begins rescuing books from some very dangerous places. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Fifteen-year-old Lina and her family as well as thousands of others are torn from their homes in Lithuanian, placed in overcrowded cattle cars, and shipped to a labor camp in Siberia where they struggle to survive. (Grade 8 & Up.)

Mystery
The Mark by Jen Nadol
Cassie’s gift allows her to see a person’s imminent death by way of a glowing aura which she refers to as the mark. In this book, Cassie experiments with her gift and learns many valuable lessons. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Poetry
Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits
A collection of quirky and humorous stories in verse that focus on elements of Jesse's life: volleyball, playing the cello, her annoying little brother, and experiments with make-up and hair. (Grade 5 & Up.)

How to (Un)cage a Girl by Francesca Lia Block
In other words, this is a book for the girl who doesn't fit in; the girl who has loved and had her heartbroken; and, the girl who isn't comfortable in her own skin. (Grade 9 & Up.)

Sports
Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Quiet high school junior D.J. Schwenk, a star basketball player, learns how to better lead her team and soon Big Ten scouts visit her rural country town to watch her play ball. (Grade 8 &
Up.)

Suspense and Supernatural
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Sixteen-year-old Violet has a special gift – the ability detect dead bodies. Coupled with her boyfriend, Violet uses her gift to unravel a murder in her small town. Book 1 of 3. (Grade 9 & Up.)

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Not only does Chloe see ghosts, but she gets sent to a home for troubled teens and there is something more to her housemates than what meets the eye. Book 1 of 3. (Grade 7 & Up.)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Karou, a young art student living in Prague, has natural blue hair and can speak many languages – some of the them not human, but she has no idea who she truly is. (Grade 9 and Up.)

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Graphic novel. A coming of age story which follows a teenage girl struggling with conformity and the relationship with an intriguing new friend. (Grade 7 & Up.)

Light Bulb Moment

Yesterday morning, I visited Andrea and Don at their studio -- they were the very first friends I made when I settled in Sanilac County 7 years ago. It's hard to believe that I've lived in the peace and fresh air of rural Michigan for 7 years. I digress...

When I first started attending Literature to Film Club, back in September 2008, Andrea accompanied me for the first few months. We reminisced about leaving work early and heading to the suburbs for our bookish adventures which always included lengthy conversations over an early dinner before Club started. It was something that we both looked forward to every month and something that I'm now really going to miss.

I've done some inquiring and looked around for another book club, but without much avail -- the one club I was very much interested in joining is about 2 hours away. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to a drive as Oakland University is about the same distance; however, the difference is that my parents live close to the university...and I'll be working a practicum this fall.

*light bulb*

As part of my practicum, I am required to do a project...

Annexed

Thanks to a recommendation by a classmate, I've picked up another piece of Holocaust Literature: Annexed: A Novel by Sharon Dogar.

From Houghton Mifflin:

"Everyone knows about Anne Frank and her life hidden in the secret annex – but what about the boy who was also trapped there with her?

In this powerful and gripping novel, Sharon Dogar explores what this might have been like from Peter’s point of view. What was it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank, first to hate her and then to find yourself falling in love with her? Especially with your parents and her parents all watching almost everything you do together. To know you’re being written about in Anne’s diary, day after day? What’s it like to start questioning your religion, wondering why simply being Jewish inspires such hatred and persecution? Or to just sit and wait and watch while others die, and wish you were fighting.

As Peter and Anne become closer and closer in their confined quarters, how can they make sense of what they see happening around them?

Anne’s diary ends on August 4, 1944, but Peter’s story takes us on, beyond their betrayal and into the Nazi death camps. He details with accuracy, clarity and compassion the reality of day to day survival in Auschwitz – and ultimately the horrific fates of the Annex’s occupants

A bookish except:

August 26, 1942 -- Peter Discovers the Joys of Reading 

"I'm in the attic. The sun shines and I sit in it and read. The book makes time change. Stops it hanging. Somewhere I can hear the breeze in the tree behind me. I can feel the sun on my back and the pages turn and I forget. There are only the people on the page and what will happen next. What will happen to the people in the book, not what will happen to me -- or what might be happening to Liese. I forget everything. I even forget the time -- until I hear Papi behind me." (page 37, 2010 hardcover edition)

Side note: In just a few hours, I'll be heading to Marshall, Michigan to tour Marshall District Library!

Now

Yesterday morning, I picked up, from the library, a book which I interloaned: Now by Morris Gleitzman. Now is the sequel to Once and Then -- Holocaust / Historical Fiction. Here's a passage that can be found on page 24 (hardcover) which really struck me:

"Felix looks at me, gives me a nod, and carries on chewing.

He understands.

He knows that lockets on their own can't make everything okay. No jewelry can.

It takes more than that.

Felix knows the secret.

So many sad things happened to him when he was a kid. Losing his best friend and his parents and the strength in his legs. And yet he's the happiest person I know. Because he's really good at doing happy things.

Reading books and making cakes and having hot baths and dancing.

Felix knows that as soon as bad things have happened, they're in the past. Which is the place to leave them.

From now on, I'm going to do what Felix does.

Leave the bad stuff in the past and concentrate on being happy now.

If I can."

 I highly recommend these books and I am really looking forward to the release of the fourth book, After!