Linda Samaritoni – Page 5

June 20, 2017June 19, 2017

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Synopsis

Esperanza lives in the projects in Chicago. She knows she’s poor, but not as poor as many of her neighbors. She knows the streets can be dangerous, and she fears people of a different color. She sees the abuse endured by some of her friends. Someday, Esperanza’s talents will help her escape the poverty and the violence, but she will never forget. This is her mission: to advocate for those who cannot leave Mango Street.

Recommended for children older than ten.

Pros

The book’s setting will resonate with any child who lives in the setting of inner city poverty.
The story is simple. It’s pithy. It grabbed this reader so she could not turn away. The author succeeded in her message and challenges us to do good for others where it is in our power to do so.

Cons

Cisneros writes in short vignettes, which I normally do not enjoy, but these are tied together so well, I didn’t mind.
I’m not sure if this story works for a middle grade reader, at least, not for a protected middle grade white girl like I was. The real life scenario of the inner city reads more like urban fantasy to kids who don’t live in the culture.

Discussion questions

How is your life at home the same or different from Esperanza’s?
How is your neighborhood the same or different from Esperanza’s?
Esperanza meets several different kinds of people in her neighborhood. Who was your favorite, and why?

Conclusion

Sandra Cisneros keeps Esperanza’s promise. While the story is not autobiographical, it does reflect the culture of her childhood. But I can’t help believe that the promise itself comes straight from the heart of Cisneros.

May 20, 2017May 14, 2017

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Published in 1943, The Little Prince is still in print today. Why? Because its characters are ageless.Synopsis

The Little Prince leaves his tiny planet and explores several other planets, including Earth, and it is on Earth where most of the story takes place. Told from the point-of-view of a pilot stranded in the desert, he relates his tale of meeting this strange little prince who becomes his companion as he struggles to fix his plane and return to civilization.

Doesn’t sound like much, but listen to what the Little Prince has to say. “Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” His statement reminds me of the words from the author of Hebrews: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In natural conversations, the Little Prince is full of deep wisdom, which reminds me of Jesus’s words, “Let the little children come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Thus, it is far more than a cute little story about a cute little prince.

Pros

Saint-Exupéry zeroes in on what is important in life, and children have no problems getting to the heart of a matter (see my Pinocchio post from a while back).

The author also pokes fun at adults’ eccentricities, always returning to the premise that the soul of an innocent child sees Truth.

Cons

I had a hard time getting connected to the story. By the end, I was fascinated, bit it took time, and time is what most readers in today’s world refuse to give. Not only does the story lack shoot-‘em-up action (which isn’t quite true at the climax), it’s difficult to gauge the author’s intent among the seeming disparate stories of the minor characters as each is introduced. Maybe I’ve lost my child’s sense of wonder—I’ll see what my grandchildren think and report back.

Discussion Questions

NONE.

Because of my own reactions to this story, I don’t believe it’s a book meant for the classroom. It seems “sacredly family.” A parent can ask a dozen questions per page—there are so many possible avenues to follow, which is why it’s a classic and still available almost seventy-five years later.

Let Mom and Dad direct any discussions as they see fit.

Final Thoughts

The Little Prince was published in the middle of World War II. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a pilot for the French resistance. His plane went down during a reconnaissance mission in 1944. I wonder what other jewels he might have created that this world will never read.

April 29, 2017April 24, 2017

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

“Everyone knows a Wanda.” I stole that from a recent Amazon review of The Hundred Dresses. Winner of the 1945 Newbery Honor Award, The Hundred Dresses has never been out of print. Why? Because it’s an ageless story about bullying.

Nineteen-forties America wasn’t familiar with cyber-bullying, but every generation has had to deal with sinful human nature, bullying being one of those sins. In this case, the bullying is among girls.

Wanda is a from a Polish immigrant family, she has a single father who’s doing his best to keep her clothed and clean and fed. But the wealthier girls in class notice Wanda wears the same blue dress every day. Wanda claims she has one hundred dresses in her closet, and of course, everyone laughs. The ringleader never lets her off the hook and baits her constantly.

The book is written from Maddie’s point-of-view. She’s one of the more popular girls in class, and she wants to keep it that way, so she never crosses the bully. But she feels guilty about not standing up for Wanda, especially when Wanda suddenly moves away.

Based on a true story from Eleanor Estes’s childhood, The Hundred Dresses teaches children the world over the painful lesson of causing someone else’s hurt.

Pros

The entire story is a lesson in empathy. Our world needs more of it!
While targeted for girls seven to ten years old, it’s a great story to read to younger children, or to read aloud in a small group of upper elementary students. And while considered too juvenile, even junior high and high school students will get the universal message of “Love your neighbor.”

Cons

Because it was written more than half a century ago, the illustrations and style of language are dated. That’s not a bad thing in and of itself. The language is perfectly understandable to any reader at a third-grade level (unlike Elizabethan English!), but if your child will only read a book with bright colors and high action, The Hundred Dresses is not his or her cup of tea.

Discussion Questions

Have you ever known a person like Wanda who was new and different and didn’t fit in with your classmates?
Maddie felt badly for Wanda. Why didn’t she do anything to help? Were her reasons good or bad? Why do you think so?
What did you think when Wanda sent Maddie one of her dresses?

Final Word

As you may have guessed from the last discussion question, Wanda really did have a hundred dresses! Each one was a beautiful creation.

April 8, 2017April 6, 2017

Painting the Rainbow by Amy Gordon

Painting the Rainbow is a beautiful, multi-generational story of the Greenwood family’s summer reunion. The Greenwoods appear healthy, supportive of one another, ideal—except for the mystery of Jesse’s death more than twenty years earlier.
Thirteen-year-old Holly narrates, but a neat twist is added. Her cousin, Ivy, also thirteen, provides point-of-view through her diary entries. The girls stumble upon various clues about their Uncle Jesse’s past, but no one will discuss it. Ivy’s dad, Jesse’s twin, goes ballistic if Jesse’s name is mentioned, and even their beloved grandmother Gigi refuses to enlighten them.

Set in 1965 as the Vietnam War gears up, parallels between the generations become more and more focused, and the girls learn of an unusual connection between Uncle Jesse and a young Japanese man who came to their town shortly before World War II started.

Dozens of threads of the individual characters’ personalities and actions intertwine, and Amy Gordon weaves them skillfully into a sublime story tapestry—one I’ll read again.
And I rarely read a book twice.
Pros
1. The voice, the prose, the style—they all drew me in immediately. I didn’t want to put down the book. Forget lunch, dinner, housework, or writing tasks.
2. The story is a great vehicle to teach the issues of the 1960’s. We can see the results of those issues fifty years later.
3. Some books deal with dark subject matter and make me feel soiled by the end. Not with Painting the Rainbow. Every character, while containing a flaw, or two or three, is a realistic, valuable human being, and none of the flaws compromise a Christian reader’s values.
Cons
1. As per number three on my Pros list, the Greenwood family isn’t particularly Christian; however, they reflect moral values of the Golden Rule.
2. My own little pet peeve: the choice of Holly and Ivy for names of the main characters. Too cutesy of a combination!
Discussion questions
1. What were the repercussions of keeping a secret for twenty years?
2. How were the Japanese camps in America in 1942 similar to Nazi concentration camps? How were they different?
3. How was Jesse’s attitude toward war with Germany and Japan the same or different from Randy’s attitude toward the Vietnam War?
4. If you discovered a mystery about your family’s past, would you keep searching for answers like Holly did no matter if people got upset with you, or would you back off like Ivy wanted to?

March 18, 2017March 18, 2017

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Three weeks ago, I promised reviews based on my granddaughters’ favorite books. The oldest finally decided she loved Jane Eyre the best. She’s six, so she read the children’s version from the Treasury of Illustrated Classics. Voracious reader that she is, I give her four more years before she tackles Charlotte Brontë’s original text.

If you have never read Jane Eyre, Jane tells her story beginning as a young girl in a Cinderella-type of existence with her stepmother, stepbrother and stepsisters, none of whom have sympathy toward her. They send her to an orphanage claiming she is a terrible child, so the people who run the place don’t trust her either. Jane’s one friend, an older girl and a devout and kind Christian, dies of tuberculosis.

Once Jane grows up, she finds a position at Thornfield Hall as governess to Rochester’s ward, Adele. Thornfield Hall is an eccentric household but comfortable. Strange laughter from the attic is explained as “Grace Poole, one of the servants, who just goes up there to sew.” When Rochester and Jane fall in love and plan a wedding, a stranger enters the church in the middle of the ceremony declaring Rochester is already married. Jane runs away. If you want to find out the ending, read the book. I don’t want to spoil it!

Pros

Children love to read about other children in precarious situations, and Jane Eyre delivers, as orphaned Jane endures many hardships through childhood and must make her way in the world as a young adult.
Children, girls especially, love a good love story, and once again, Jane Eyre delivers. Her love story seems star-crossed, but just when all is lost, Brontë writes a happy ending employing unusual circumstances.
Parents who want their children to appreciate literature will find this story and many other Treasury titles a wonderful way to introduce the classics.
Jane’s character perseveres in every circumstance. She is not perfect, neither in beauty nor in temperament, but she never gives up on worthwhile goals, a quality I tried to instill in my own children.

Cons

As an adult, I admit disappointment in the truncation of plot. But this is a review for kids’ satisfaction in reading, so I guess it’s not so much of a negative.
With all the craze for fantasy and fairy princesses, Jane Eyre will not satisfy. But then, I have always promoted variety in the literary diet, so again, not much of a negative.

Discussion Questions

If you had been another child at the orphanage, how would you have treated Jane?
What would you have thought of Mr. Brocklehurst?
Was it right or wrong for Rochester to lie about his crazy wife who lived on the top floor?

Conclusion

Modern Publishing has three dozen classic titles under the Treasury of Illustrated Classics logo, all of which boil down the plots to a third/fourth grade vocabulary. Of course, the nuances in the adult versions are missing, but the adaptations remain true to story. In this case, credit goes to Sara Thomson.

February 25, 2017March 30, 2017

Ed’s Egg, by David Bedford and Karen Sapp: A Picture Book Worth Reading Over and Over

While Scriblerians focus almost exclusively on middle grade and YA fiction, the occasional picture book review adds some extra fun, especially if a personal story is attached.

I’ve been on “Baby Watch” for all of February. Three little granddaughters are waiting for their baby brother’s arrival. In the middle of the month, I received The Call.

“She’s had contractions all day,” my son informed me. “You’d better start driving.”

Since I live five hours away, this has worked well for the three previous births. However, once I arrived, the latest news was disappointing. Everything had stopped. No more labor. Baby Samaritoni was not interested in joining the rest of the family. Not yet. His decision left ample time to play with his sisters. Ample, as in days, not hours.

I decided to ask my granddaughters to name their favorite books, and I would do my next two posts on their choices. The oldest is a voracious reader. She couldn’t decide what her favorite story was, but her sister next in line immediately handed me her choice.

Ed’s Egg by David Bedford and Karen Sapp. What a delightful picture book.

Ed is a little chick who doesn’t want to hatch. (Can you see the connection with my own family drama?) He’s gotten too big for his egg, so it cracks in more and more places, but he still won’t leave the shell until it finally leaves him.

Once Ed is forced to walk around without his egg, he discovers it’s more fun to play with his brothers and sisters than to stay squashed inside an egg. And when he gets tired, the best place of all is to be tucked safe and warm under his mother.

Of course, small children love the aura of mother love and family fun, and the illustrations contain detailed textures vibrating with color, sure to capture a toddler’s attention.

For older children, the author provides several discussion questions which utilize language skills, science, expressing feelings, and art. Explaining how a mother hen must incubate her eggs. Asking for children’s reactions when they feel shy and want to hide.

The author question we’ve been asking in our family: why do you think Ed didn’t want to come out of his egg?

Ed’s Egg has a happy ending, and our story does, too. Baby brother was born on February 22nd, healthy and heavy–and just like Ed, his happiest place to be is tucked close against his mommy.

February 4, 2017February 3, 2017

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien

Anthropomorphic. What a mouthful! But many children’s stories are anthropomorphic. Simple definition: a literary device attributing human qualities to animals or objects. However, Robert O’Brien’s Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, an anthropomorphic story, is not merely fantasy. In my mind, it’s science fiction because many of the human characteristics of the rats originated with a science experiment in a mental health laboratory at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Synopsis

Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse, seeks help from a band of odd-behaving rats who are extremely intelligent. As she becomes acquainted with them, she learns they escaped from the laboratory at NIMH. The rats help save her son’s life, and she in turn, is able to save theirs when danger hunts them down.

I suppose that’s more of a hook than a synopsis, but I don’t want to give a whole lot away. The book is too good. Read it and find out how the story unfolds!

Pros

Every plot detail has a positive message. Animal neighbors help animal neighbors. In cliché form, “one good turns deserves another.” That may sound dull, but with the continuous threat of Dragon the cat and the research scientists at NIMH, helpful neighbors risk their lives doing “good turns.” One particularly positive message: since the rats have gained so many abilities, they want to be able to live without stealing from others.
The villains (humans and cat) aren’t filled with demonic evil. The rats consider the lab personnel likable, but resented, for incarcerating innocent animals. And the experiments in the lab aren’t painful. The obnoxious kid is simply—obnoxious. An impulsive boy who likes to observe and get involved with anything that interests him. Human reactions to rodents on the loose is typical of humans. Even the cat is just being a cat.
While the rats are the heroes, they aren’t portrayed as perfect. Their relationships are real. When disagreements among them occur, they are handled without violence. How refreshing.

Cons

Amazon labels this a teen book, but I think middle-graders would love it. The end might prove upsetting for younger readers under age nine. (SPOILER HERE): While the rats escape from those who seek their deaths, success comes at a high price.
A warning about the movie, The Secret of NIMH: the plot focuses on Mrs. Frisby and her son more than the rats, a complete divergence from the book. As a result, the movie uses formulaic magic to bring about success in Mrs. Frisby’s quest, which Hollywood deems as necessary in children’s films. Not a fan. Worse, the disagreeable rat is violent in the movie.

Discussion questions

Why were the rats willing to help Mrs. Frisby when they had never met her before?
When you do something nice for someone, what good things might happen because you were helpful and kind?
If you could become the size of a rat, would you want to be friends with the rats from NIMH? If yes, how would you help them in their goal to have a safe place to live?

Conclusion

The Newbery Award winner of 1972, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH became an instant favorite of mine. After the movie was produced, Scholastic published the same book under the movie title, but the plot is the original version. Two NIMH books have followed written by O’Brien’s daughter, Jane Conley: Racso and the Rats of NIMH and R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH. I’ve read Racso, so I know Ms. Conley was faithful to her father’s legacy by using many of the same characters and maintaining their original charm. Reviews of R-T indicate the same.

If you’re interested in an excellent readable article on the history of how O’Brien’s novel got its start, here’s the link: The Doomed Mouse Utopia that Inspired the Rats of NIMH.

January 14, 2017January 13, 2017

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

Growing up, I had always heard of the book, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, yet had never read it. I guess a story about penguins just didn’t draw my attention, but since my hometown is stuck in the deep freeze right now, Antarctica and penguins came to mind.

A 1938 Newbery Honor recipient, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater, is written in a more narrative style than what we’re used to almost eighty years later. Don’t let that stop you. There are several laugh-out-loud moments, and by the end of the tale, I adored the daddy penguin, Captain Cook, as much as Mr. Popper did.

I finished the book in one sitting. The vocabulary is easily handled by fourth grade and above, so this might make a great family read-aloud for younger readers. The plot probably appeals to the seven to ten-year-old age range rather than those bordering on junior high school. That said, since the story entertained me, preteens will also find it amusing.

Pros:

1. The book educates readers on the topics of penguins and Antarctica’s history and geography with no hint of an academic lecture.

2. You can’t find a more family-friendly story. With cheerful attitudes, Mr. and Mrs. Popper and their two children work together to help keep innocent animals healthy and happy.

Cons:

As I mentioned before, the narrative style might turn off the modern reader. If that happens, they’ve missed out on a great story. As I’ve mentioned in previous Vintage Reads (see Rickshaw Girl), let your kids try out new flavors of literature.

Discussion points:

Popper created several items to keep the penguins comfortable. If you had a pet penguin, what might you make to keep them cool or to give them a toy to play with?
This book was written a long time ago. What technology do we use in our everyday lives that Mr. and Mrs. Popper never used because it had probably not been invented yet?
Do you think it was a good idea for the penguins to travel all over the country? Why or why not?