I am glad I am ending on a positive note as my blogging for this course is coming to an end. Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was one of, if not my favorite novel that I read for this class. I think this book brings so much value to a classroom. That being said, I also think this would be a difficult book to bring into the classroom. I feel that many parents would potentially want to censor this novel. I however feel that students can relate to this book, Native American or not, and I am talking about the uncensored version.
"You can do it," said Arnold Spirit's coach (Alexie 189). I think the power of those four words is unmatched by just about any phrase that I know. Before arriving at his new school, Arnold always felt like he couldn't do it; and he applied that mentality to everything in his life. I think showing young people, your students, that you have confidence in them can go a lot farther than you could ever imagine. Arnold also talks about, "The power of expectations" in this novel (Alexie 180). School should be a place where a student feels confident wherever he or she turns. Students need to know their parents, teachers and classmates/friends have confidence in their ability to succeed at school and in life. They have to know that we WANT them to succeed, NEED them to succeed and EXPECT them to succeed. When a young adult feels all of the latter from those around them, then they are more likely to succeed. If as a teacher, I expect nothing out of student A, then student A will have no motivation to succeed; they will think they are good at nothing because you have given up on them by watching them fail and accomplish nothing. The next time you are with a family, member, a friend or a student, just remember that telling someone that 'They can do it,' can help that person believe that they can accomplish their goals and dreams.
Another huge theme that cannot be dismissed in this novel is racism . I think Alexie stresses this by using the word, 'Indian' in the title as opposed to 'Native American.' It takes Arnold a while to realize this, but we are all human and we should not judge each other based solely on the color of our skin. While we are all human, we are also each our own unique individual, regardless of race. We should not give up and let our skin color determine who we are as a person. "'I used to think the world was broken down by tribes,' I said. ' By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not'" (Alexie 176). Now, do I think the language was a little vulgar (assholes)? Yes. But I think this was intentional. I am not sure if this quote would have struck me and stuck with me if it had been written any other way. Arnold realizes that there are going to be people who treat you well form any race and there will be those who will treat you like dirt from any race. You can't just lump everyone from one race together and throw them on a reservation. I think this quote and this novel do an excellent job of explaining the thoughts in Arnold's mind from his observations on and off of the reservation. I think when young adults make this same realization, they will discover that they are not trapped or confined to the life that was lived by their parents or grandparents. They will realize that they can travel to a new place and succeed among people like them and among those that are different. Additionally, in the classroom, I think reading a novel such as this one by Alexie would help develop a community of learners. The development of this community would ultimately enhance the learning environment for everyone in the classroom.
I would fight to get a stellar novel like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian into my classroom. I think everyone in the classroom can learn from this novel, including myself as the teacher.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Book One: The Contest...Everest
When I first started to decide which books to read for this semester I quickly glanced over this book, Everest, because I thought to myself, how good can a book about mountain climbing really be? Fortunately I wanted to experience a book from the adventure genre and I found out just how thrilling and intense a book about mountain climbing can be. To me mountain climbing is just an activity, but to the characters in this book, mountain climbing is their life. This book was an easy read and would be great for middle school students or even reluctant readers in high school. While parts of this book were a little bit on the corny side, I think there are many great themes and lessons to be learned from reading this short book containing few challenging vocabulary words.
This book kept me in suspense because even in the training environment, these teenagers are risking their health and even their lives by all of the intense climbing they do. One wrong move can mean an injury or even death. I enjoyed this novel partly because it did a great job of showing the role politics plays in life. There is one climber who is not very good and does not love climbing. However, his uncle is a major sponsor and his uncle wants his nephew to be on the team to climb Mount Everest, so his nephew, Perry, takes one of the coveted spots on the team. This spot should be reserved for a serious climber who is passionate about the sport, not for a rich kid who is not even interested in climbing at all. I think students need to learn that unfair things happen all of the time in life. They need to be made aware that these kinds of things happen so they can then question whether or not the system is broken and perhaps find a solution to make things work better. Teenagers are often kept in the dark about the realities of the world. I think this book does a great job of shedding some light on a topic that is often ignored in schools.
I also like the character of Dominic. It kind of reminds me of the movie Rudy. Rudy is a student at Notre Dame who has had this lifelong dream of playing college football for the Irish. He is told he is too small and that he isn't good enough the entire time he is there, until one day he finally gets his chance after working with the football team for over three years. He put in his time and eventually he got his opportunity. Like the main character in the movie, Dominic is told he is too small to ever be anything more than a casual climber. Even thought he is smallest in physical size at the competition, he has the largest heart, the largest passion for climbing. I have always been one to cheer for the underdog. I think in our society we need people like Dominic to remind us that the biggest or the wealthiest person does not always come out on top. Often times that is the case, but I think we need that ray of hope to remind us that even the little guy always has a chance. It is important to always have dreams and to keep your dreams alive. If our hopes are dashed then there is really nothing much to live for. In my life I think I actually enjoy chasing the dream more than the act of actually achieving the dream itself.
This book is a great read for students at all reading levels. I also think that the lessons learned can be applied to middle school and high school students. This book is also great for reluctant readers because of the easy vocabulary and the short length of the book. I think students who read the first book in this series will be begging for you to give them the next book in the series.
This book kept me in suspense because even in the training environment, these teenagers are risking their health and even their lives by all of the intense climbing they do. One wrong move can mean an injury or even death. I enjoyed this novel partly because it did a great job of showing the role politics plays in life. There is one climber who is not very good and does not love climbing. However, his uncle is a major sponsor and his uncle wants his nephew to be on the team to climb Mount Everest, so his nephew, Perry, takes one of the coveted spots on the team. This spot should be reserved for a serious climber who is passionate about the sport, not for a rich kid who is not even interested in climbing at all. I think students need to learn that unfair things happen all of the time in life. They need to be made aware that these kinds of things happen so they can then question whether or not the system is broken and perhaps find a solution to make things work better. Teenagers are often kept in the dark about the realities of the world. I think this book does a great job of shedding some light on a topic that is often ignored in schools.
I also like the character of Dominic. It kind of reminds me of the movie Rudy. Rudy is a student at Notre Dame who has had this lifelong dream of playing college football for the Irish. He is told he is too small and that he isn't good enough the entire time he is there, until one day he finally gets his chance after working with the football team for over three years. He put in his time and eventually he got his opportunity. Like the main character in the movie, Dominic is told he is too small to ever be anything more than a casual climber. Even thought he is smallest in physical size at the competition, he has the largest heart, the largest passion for climbing. I have always been one to cheer for the underdog. I think in our society we need people like Dominic to remind us that the biggest or the wealthiest person does not always come out on top. Often times that is the case, but I think we need that ray of hope to remind us that even the little guy always has a chance. It is important to always have dreams and to keep your dreams alive. If our hopes are dashed then there is really nothing much to live for. In my life I think I actually enjoy chasing the dream more than the act of actually achieving the dream itself.
This book is a great read for students at all reading levels. I also think that the lessons learned can be applied to middle school and high school students. This book is also great for reluctant readers because of the easy vocabulary and the short length of the book. I think students who read the first book in this series will be begging for you to give them the next book in the series.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
They Called Themselves The KKK
After reading many great fiction novels, I decided to venture into the realm of non-fiction. I found the information and the slave narratives in this book to be fascinating. However, I think that it would be difficult for a middle or high school student to read the entire book. I think that this book would be a great supplement to a history textbook or to a novel in the English classroom. I would only take excerpts out from this book to give students to read in order to hold their interest level. I think that if I required for my students to read the entire book, many would quit halfway through or read sparingly. Even as I was enjoying this book, it was hard for me to feel excited about finishing this book. Some of the information became a little redundant.
What I did like about this book was it contained an element that I have seen in fictional novels I love reading. This book, while it contained factual information about American history, still left some things up to your interpretation. There were several instances where the author presented the opinions of blacks and poor white southerners in contrast with the opinions of the KKK members. The same was done with Democrats and Republicans, and for Northerners and Southerners. What I liked was as the reader, I was allowed to make up my mind on who to believe. The book did a good job of presenting information from both sides. It was not produced in a biased manner. It let both sides tell their story and allowed the reader to make their own opinions and judgments on the subject matter of America after the Civil War and in particular, on the KKK.
What I did like about this book was it contained an element that I have seen in fictional novels I love reading. This book, while it contained factual information about American history, still left some things up to your interpretation. There were several instances where the author presented the opinions of blacks and poor white southerners in contrast with the opinions of the KKK members. The same was done with Democrats and Republicans, and for Northerners and Southerners. What I liked was as the reader, I was allowed to make up my mind on who to believe. The book did a good job of presenting information from both sides. It was not produced in a biased manner. It let both sides tell their story and allowed the reader to make their own opinions and judgments on the subject matter of America after the Civil War and in particular, on the KKK.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Are we People or Monsters?
I was really moved by this book and found that the writing style hooked me in from the very beginning all the way through to the end. I enjoyed reading a book that read like a movie, it was different than going through a typical book. I think that this novel would entice reluctant readers because of how it is written. Additionally, it is fairly short in length, especially when you consider many pages contain only a small amount of words. The format coupled with the premise of the book would make it a great read in the classroom.
What I would like to focus on is the value of a HUMAN life. I stress the word human here because, as this book points out, some of us are monsters, or at least we are perceived that way. The scene where Detectives Karyl and Williams are questioning Steve really made me consider whether or not I value some people's lives more than others and whether or not we do this as a society. The detectives are discussing whether Steve will get a sentence of 25 to life or a death sentence. During the discussion Karyl says, "The victim was well respected in the neighborhood. Hard-working Black guy, worked his way up. He even sponsored a Little League team." I couldn't help but think after reading this passage how unfair this argument was, and not only unfair in the courtroom, but unfair in the world. I don't think the punishment for killing a person should vary based on WHO got killed. The same penalty should be given to the murderer no matter who was killed. It shouldn't matter if a poor homeless man who never contributed to society was murdered or a charitable billionaire who donated money to feed the hungry and shelter the poor was murdered. The penalty for murder should be the same. I am not arguing that either 25 to life or the death penalty is the answer. What I am arguing is that there should be consistency for murdering a HUMAN being. However, this scene implies that if a person with a troubled past was murdered instead of Mr. Nesbitt, then there would not even be the discussion of the death penalty. I wonder if there would even have been an investigation with the information I gathered from this novel if a poor person from a bad neighborhood was murdered. I think that a human life is a human life. All human lives should be valued equally.
The passage I quoted above continues on to show that not all lives are valued the same. Detective Karyl sees Steve as a Monster, not a human being as he is ready to hope Steve receives the death penalty. The passage starts with Williams saying, "This guy's only 16. They won't kill him." Then Karyl replies with, "What are you, a pessimist? Hope for the best." I am bothered by the fact that Karyl is hoping that Steve gets the death penalty. I don't think anyone should HOPE that another human being loses their life, even if that person committed a crime. I think this especially holds true for those employed in law enforcement and in the justice department. I think that kind of thinking will taint their judgment on the job. Karyl clearly does not value all human life equally; he is the type of person who considers some of us to be MONSTERS.
There are so many great topics that could be covered in this novel; I touched on just one. I encourage everyone to read this novel. I especially like the ending and how it doesn't tell you what to think. Walter Dean Meyers allows you to make up your own mind on the ending of the trial.
What I would like to focus on is the value of a HUMAN life. I stress the word human here because, as this book points out, some of us are monsters, or at least we are perceived that way. The scene where Detectives Karyl and Williams are questioning Steve really made me consider whether or not I value some people's lives more than others and whether or not we do this as a society. The detectives are discussing whether Steve will get a sentence of 25 to life or a death sentence. During the discussion Karyl says, "The victim was well respected in the neighborhood. Hard-working Black guy, worked his way up. He even sponsored a Little League team." I couldn't help but think after reading this passage how unfair this argument was, and not only unfair in the courtroom, but unfair in the world. I don't think the punishment for killing a person should vary based on WHO got killed. The same penalty should be given to the murderer no matter who was killed. It shouldn't matter if a poor homeless man who never contributed to society was murdered or a charitable billionaire who donated money to feed the hungry and shelter the poor was murdered. The penalty for murder should be the same. I am not arguing that either 25 to life or the death penalty is the answer. What I am arguing is that there should be consistency for murdering a HUMAN being. However, this scene implies that if a person with a troubled past was murdered instead of Mr. Nesbitt, then there would not even be the discussion of the death penalty. I wonder if there would even have been an investigation with the information I gathered from this novel if a poor person from a bad neighborhood was murdered. I think that a human life is a human life. All human lives should be valued equally.
The passage I quoted above continues on to show that not all lives are valued the same. Detective Karyl sees Steve as a Monster, not a human being as he is ready to hope Steve receives the death penalty. The passage starts with Williams saying, "This guy's only 16. They won't kill him." Then Karyl replies with, "What are you, a pessimist? Hope for the best." I am bothered by the fact that Karyl is hoping that Steve gets the death penalty. I don't think anyone should HOPE that another human being loses their life, even if that person committed a crime. I think this especially holds true for those employed in law enforcement and in the justice department. I think that kind of thinking will taint their judgment on the job. Karyl clearly does not value all human life equally; he is the type of person who considers some of us to be MONSTERS.
There are so many great topics that could be covered in this novel; I touched on just one. I encourage everyone to read this novel. I especially like the ending and how it doesn't tell you what to think. Walter Dean Meyers allows you to make up your own mind on the ending of the trial.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
These Games left me Hungry for More
There is so much I feel that could be discussed about this novel that I am not quite sure where to begin. The first point I would like bring up is that my practicum teacher this past spring taught it to his regular eleventh grade English class and he was very satisfied with the results he got from teaching this novel, so this is a book or series that should be considered for us future teachers!
While reading this novel I thought back to the old debate between whether or not a good leader is feared or respected. Other times it is argued that a good leader is considered to have a mixture of both fear and respect from his or her citizens. The President of Panem is feared, but not respected by the citizens of his country in this novel. He keeps them trapped in their own district, deciding their future career if they even make it past the age of 18. He requires that one boy and one girl tribute from each district excluding the capitol, to go into an arena and fight to the death until only one tribute remains. This is done to show the districts who is in control after there was a rebellion 73 years ago. Everything had gone according to plan until a girl, Katniss Everdeen, entered the arena without fear, without respect for the President. I think she also never quite realized what she was doing until it was too late, but acting before thinking is another story for another day.
I think students can learn about the qualities a good leader from this novel. As teachers we are preparing our students to become the future leaders of this country. Everyone may not grow up to be the President of this country, but that isn't the point. A leader does not have to be the head of a country. A leader in my opinion is anyone who sets a good example for others to follow. From that perspective, we all can and should be leaders. I think starting a debate about whether a good leader is feared or respected would also provide a valuable lesson for students while reading this novel. Students could provide examples of when they have been a leader or when they have seen someone else be a leader. They could also provide examples of when they have seen people be a poor leader or settle for being a follower. They can then take what they know about being a leader and compare it to this novel. If we as teachers aren't good leaders to our students who knows, maybe our country will resemble Panem some day in the near future. We need many leaders, not just one leader if we want to move forward as a society. The opinions of many are necessary, not just the opinion of one. If we have many leaders with multiple perspectives, we can avoid a society such as Panem in The Hunger Games.
While reading this novel I thought back to the old debate between whether or not a good leader is feared or respected. Other times it is argued that a good leader is considered to have a mixture of both fear and respect from his or her citizens. The President of Panem is feared, but not respected by the citizens of his country in this novel. He keeps them trapped in their own district, deciding their future career if they even make it past the age of 18. He requires that one boy and one girl tribute from each district excluding the capitol, to go into an arena and fight to the death until only one tribute remains. This is done to show the districts who is in control after there was a rebellion 73 years ago. Everything had gone according to plan until a girl, Katniss Everdeen, entered the arena without fear, without respect for the President. I think she also never quite realized what she was doing until it was too late, but acting before thinking is another story for another day.
I think students can learn about the qualities a good leader from this novel. As teachers we are preparing our students to become the future leaders of this country. Everyone may not grow up to be the President of this country, but that isn't the point. A leader does not have to be the head of a country. A leader in my opinion is anyone who sets a good example for others to follow. From that perspective, we all can and should be leaders. I think starting a debate about whether a good leader is feared or respected would also provide a valuable lesson for students while reading this novel. Students could provide examples of when they have been a leader or when they have seen someone else be a leader. They could also provide examples of when they have seen people be a poor leader or settle for being a follower. They can then take what they know about being a leader and compare it to this novel. If we as teachers aren't good leaders to our students who knows, maybe our country will resemble Panem some day in the near future. We need many leaders, not just one leader if we want to move forward as a society. The opinions of many are necessary, not just the opinion of one. If we have many leaders with multiple perspectives, we can avoid a society such as Panem in The Hunger Games.
Monday, June 11, 2012
The many shades of gray
The novel between shades of gray by Ruta Sepetys gives a voice to the 20 million people who suffered and died agonizing deaths at the hands of Josef Stalin. While this novel is fictional, it is a historical fact that Stalin was responsible for treating Lithuanians and many other PEOPLE from the small surrounding countries like animals. I do not want to take away from the terrible treatment of the Jews by Hitler and the enslavement of Africans, but I think that the pain suffered by these people should also be included. I feel like especially in history classes, all of the focus is on Hitler and the Jews; not much attention gets paid to the Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians who suffered in Siberia at the hands of Josef Stalin. Stalin and the Soviets hid this secret very well. It makes me wonder if the Soviets were not on America's "side" at the end of World War II that this would be a more openly discussed part of history.
These poor people had no idea why they were being treated this way, especially the children. They even thought that Hitler would be their savior; not knowing that if we gained more power they would just be trading in one evil man, Stalin, in for an even worse man, Hitler. I just couldn't imagine living under the rule of someone else who feeds me below the bare minimum, just enough to survive, but not enough to enjoy living. There is a quote from the book that really stuck with me after reading, "There were only two possible outcomes in Siberia. Success meant survival. Failure meant death. I wanted life. I wanted to survive" (Sepetys 319). These people did what they could to survive, but at the same time they had a limited amount of supplies available to them. There were times when getting shot actually seemed pretty painless compared to starving, freezing and working endless hours of hard manual labor.
While I think we all need our eyes opened to this horrible tragedy that began at the start of the second world war, we can also learn a lot from the fictional characters in this novel. I think Elena Vilkas, the mother of Jonas and Lina teaches a great message to everyone, but especially to young adolescents. "Her cup overflowed with love for everyone and everything around her, even the enemy" (Sepetys 316). She sacrificed so much during their imprisonment. She offered to help everyone who was shipped away from their native land, even if they were mean to her back. This character teaches us that we need to always be willing to help one another, no matter what, even if you do not like that person because in the end we are all human beings. She even shows respect to one of the NKVD guards and asks her daughter to apologize to him. This guard showed one act of kindness to her the entire time she was their prisoner, but she made sure her daughter apologized to him for yelling at him. He stood by and helped the Russians treat the Lithuanians like animals, but Elena still looked at him as a person.
The second character I found very intriguing was this very NKVD guard, Nikolai Kretzky. He was a young guard, thought to be no older than 20 years old. This character I think was intended to show that not all of the Soviets believed that people like the Lithuanians deserved the treatment that was issued. He was a Russian who was following orders and it is easy to hate him even though he wasn't as mean as the other guards. He went along with it and did nothing to prevent the imprisonment from happening. While he didn't necessarily make matters worse, he definitely didn't stand up and help these people. Throughout the novel though, you can see him in a conflict with himself. You can tell he isn't a Lithuanian prisoner, but he isn't a pure NKVD guard either. I like to think of him as a weak individual who knew what he was doing was wrong, but didn't stand up to the other guards. At the same time, I can't blame him for his silence. If he stood up for the Lithuanians, he would have been killed or treated as a prisoner. He provided one of act kindness earlier in the novel and when this act was discovered he was not killed, but he was sent up as a guard to the arctic circle as a punishment. It would be tough to live in a world where you know that if you act against the demands of an evil ruler like Stalin that you will be punished, even if you are being a loyal human being as opposed to a loyal subject. I think students could learn a valuable lesson from Kretzky's lack of action throughout the novel. It could create a good debate atmosphere on whether or not he was responsible to stand up to Stalin and his imprisonment of these innocent people.
This novel is great because not only can it be taught in an English classroom, but it could supplement learning in a history classroom. I think there is a lot to be learned about some history that gets glossed over in the 1940's. It blows my mind that something of this magnitude was a well-kept secret just 70 years ago. It would also be interesting to compare with a class how much harder it would be to cover something like this tragedy up in our current world with all of the new technology.
If it has not already been made clear, I think this book would be wonderful to teach in school. This especially holds true if you collaborated with a history teacher and taught this book while he or she taught a unit on Stalin or World War II.
These poor people had no idea why they were being treated this way, especially the children. They even thought that Hitler would be their savior; not knowing that if we gained more power they would just be trading in one evil man, Stalin, in for an even worse man, Hitler. I just couldn't imagine living under the rule of someone else who feeds me below the bare minimum, just enough to survive, but not enough to enjoy living. There is a quote from the book that really stuck with me after reading, "There were only two possible outcomes in Siberia. Success meant survival. Failure meant death. I wanted life. I wanted to survive" (Sepetys 319). These people did what they could to survive, but at the same time they had a limited amount of supplies available to them. There were times when getting shot actually seemed pretty painless compared to starving, freezing and working endless hours of hard manual labor.
While I think we all need our eyes opened to this horrible tragedy that began at the start of the second world war, we can also learn a lot from the fictional characters in this novel. I think Elena Vilkas, the mother of Jonas and Lina teaches a great message to everyone, but especially to young adolescents. "Her cup overflowed with love for everyone and everything around her, even the enemy" (Sepetys 316). She sacrificed so much during their imprisonment. She offered to help everyone who was shipped away from their native land, even if they were mean to her back. This character teaches us that we need to always be willing to help one another, no matter what, even if you do not like that person because in the end we are all human beings. She even shows respect to one of the NKVD guards and asks her daughter to apologize to him. This guard showed one act of kindness to her the entire time she was their prisoner, but she made sure her daughter apologized to him for yelling at him. He stood by and helped the Russians treat the Lithuanians like animals, but Elena still looked at him as a person.
The second character I found very intriguing was this very NKVD guard, Nikolai Kretzky. He was a young guard, thought to be no older than 20 years old. This character I think was intended to show that not all of the Soviets believed that people like the Lithuanians deserved the treatment that was issued. He was a Russian who was following orders and it is easy to hate him even though he wasn't as mean as the other guards. He went along with it and did nothing to prevent the imprisonment from happening. While he didn't necessarily make matters worse, he definitely didn't stand up and help these people. Throughout the novel though, you can see him in a conflict with himself. You can tell he isn't a Lithuanian prisoner, but he isn't a pure NKVD guard either. I like to think of him as a weak individual who knew what he was doing was wrong, but didn't stand up to the other guards. At the same time, I can't blame him for his silence. If he stood up for the Lithuanians, he would have been killed or treated as a prisoner. He provided one of act kindness earlier in the novel and when this act was discovered he was not killed, but he was sent up as a guard to the arctic circle as a punishment. It would be tough to live in a world where you know that if you act against the demands of an evil ruler like Stalin that you will be punished, even if you are being a loyal human being as opposed to a loyal subject. I think students could learn a valuable lesson from Kretzky's lack of action throughout the novel. It could create a good debate atmosphere on whether or not he was responsible to stand up to Stalin and his imprisonment of these innocent people.
This novel is great because not only can it be taught in an English classroom, but it could supplement learning in a history classroom. I think there is a lot to be learned about some history that gets glossed over in the 1940's. It blows my mind that something of this magnitude was a well-kept secret just 70 years ago. It would also be interesting to compare with a class how much harder it would be to cover something like this tragedy up in our current world with all of the new technology.
If it has not already been made clear, I think this book would be wonderful to teach in school. This especially holds true if you collaborated with a history teacher and taught this book while he or she taught a unit on Stalin or World War II.
Friday, June 8, 2012
A Monster Calls
When I first picked up A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness I didn't quite know what to expect. The book had some good, but dark artwork on the cover and throughout the book. The artwork made me feel like I was reading a children's book, but once I got into the story, I realized that this book was for young adults and adults only.
This novel deals with a young teenage boy dealing with his mother and her fight with cancer. He does not get along with his grandma and his father lives in another country with his new wife and their baby. The novel focuses on the young boy, Conor, and his daily struggles with his current situation.
He deals with his struggles and this frightening recurring nightmare by conversing with a Monster. The Monster tells him three tales throughout the novel, asking Conor to do one thing in return; tell his own tale. The tales told by the monster allow Conor to truly see his situation and his place in that situation.
I think this novel would be great to teach students in the classroom. First off, I think they would be attracted to a novel that included artwork. I think reluctant readers would feel welcomed by the artwork that accompanies the words on the pages. Secondly, this novel is broken up nicely. It contains three additional stories within the overarching story of the novel which circles around Conor and his struggles. The tales told by the monster are the complete opposite of boring and predictable. I think it would be a great exercise in the classroom to have the students predict what will happen at the end of each tale after reading the beginning of each tale. I am certain they will be amazed at the ending of each tale. The endings to these tales are far from the typical happy endings that exist in fairy tales. Lastly, I think students could look at Conor's situation, which I addressed earlier in this post, and realize that they don't have it so bad. If they are unfortunately in that situation, they can look at how Conor handled the situation and see how they could handle it better than he did. It will also give students in the class the opportunity to realize that if a student in their class is acting the way Conor did in this novel, then maybe that student is dealing with something difficult in their life. Maybe that student needs to be given some extra slack or maybe that student really needs a friend to talk to instead of a monster.
This novel was really enjoyable for me despite the fact that it deals with cancer. It made me look at my life and feel like I am really a lucky person. I also really enjoyed the tales within the novel. I still cannot get them out of my head. I think that a novel like this could bring a class together and create better human beings after the novel is read and discussed. Does anyone agree or disagree after reading this novel?
If you have not read this novel yet I strongly recommend it. It took me a few pages to get into it, but once I did, I could not put this book down.
This novel deals with a young teenage boy dealing with his mother and her fight with cancer. He does not get along with his grandma and his father lives in another country with his new wife and their baby. The novel focuses on the young boy, Conor, and his daily struggles with his current situation.
He deals with his struggles and this frightening recurring nightmare by conversing with a Monster. The Monster tells him three tales throughout the novel, asking Conor to do one thing in return; tell his own tale. The tales told by the monster allow Conor to truly see his situation and his place in that situation.
I think this novel would be great to teach students in the classroom. First off, I think they would be attracted to a novel that included artwork. I think reluctant readers would feel welcomed by the artwork that accompanies the words on the pages. Secondly, this novel is broken up nicely. It contains three additional stories within the overarching story of the novel which circles around Conor and his struggles. The tales told by the monster are the complete opposite of boring and predictable. I think it would be a great exercise in the classroom to have the students predict what will happen at the end of each tale after reading the beginning of each tale. I am certain they will be amazed at the ending of each tale. The endings to these tales are far from the typical happy endings that exist in fairy tales. Lastly, I think students could look at Conor's situation, which I addressed earlier in this post, and realize that they don't have it so bad. If they are unfortunately in that situation, they can look at how Conor handled the situation and see how they could handle it better than he did. It will also give students in the class the opportunity to realize that if a student in their class is acting the way Conor did in this novel, then maybe that student is dealing with something difficult in their life. Maybe that student needs to be given some extra slack or maybe that student really needs a friend to talk to instead of a monster.
This novel was really enjoyable for me despite the fact that it deals with cancer. It made me look at my life and feel like I am really a lucky person. I also really enjoyed the tales within the novel. I still cannot get them out of my head. I think that a novel like this could bring a class together and create better human beings after the novel is read and discussed. Does anyone agree or disagree after reading this novel?
If you have not read this novel yet I strongly recommend it. It took me a few pages to get into it, but once I did, I could not put this book down.
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