LSSL 5360 GENRE 6 FICTION, FANTASY, AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

GHOSTS BY RAINA TELGEMEIER

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Telgemeier, R. (2016). Ghosts(First ed.). New York, New York: Graphix.

ISBN 9780545540612

PLOT SUMMARY

An endearing tale of two sisters and their view of life and death while battling a terminal illness.  Maya is a carefree, live for the moment young girl, who was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that can cause a buildup of mucus in the lungs, which can lead to other serious respiratory problems.  While her sister Catrina, on the other hand, is afraid of everything.  Due to Maya’s illness, the family decides to move to the Coast of Northern California, where the cool, salty air will benefit Maya’s condition.  Cat is not happy she has to move from South California to the gloomy Bahia del la Luna, where the sun only shines sixty-two days out of the year.  When the power goes out in their new home, Cat and Maya explore the neighborhood and stumble upon an old abandoned arcade where they meet Carlos the local ghost tour guide.  He enlightens the girls on the November 1^st  festival called,  Dia del los Muertos, a day when ghosts reunite with their loved ones.   Maya is determined to meet a ghost, but Cat wants nothing to do with them.  As the Day of the Dead rapidly approaches Cat must figure out how to overcome her fears for her sister's sake and her own.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Telgemeier takes us inside the lives of two sisters to explore real fear, loss, and anger, which many individuals and families with loved ones batting a terminal illness face on a daily basis. Although, death is a sensitive subject Telgemeier did an amazing job portraying the complexity and reality of it, by her choice of text, art, and colors used throughout the book.  Telgemeier allows the reader to experience death by making it less scary or ominous.  Like Maya, the main character, the book is sincere, fun, lighthearted and entertaining. 

Telgemeier’s message is about how we connect with our family both in life and in death, and how they can give us the courage to keep going when the odds are against us

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

"The story is consistently engaging, the plot is tightly built." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Raina Telgemeier's characters fizz with visual energy." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Telgemeier has her finger on the pulse of middle-grade readers, and this might be her best yet." -- Booklist, starred review

CONNECTIONS

 

“Stories are such a powerful way of communicating ideas and in comforting people. So even young readers, I would like to believe that it's a means of opening up conversations. It's a means of telling stories yourself and remembering people that you may have lost in your life. And that's a really powerful thing and a way that people can connect to one another while they're still here. And I think that's a lot of the message that I was trying to get across with the book itself.”  Raina Telgemeier

Students draw a story in four to six panels with thumbnail sketches — these can be very rough pictures created with any medium (pencil, pen, digital tools, etc.). The images can be as simple as stick figures with a few setting details if needed. Students draw speech bubbles where characters might be talking and leave space for words or sound effects to be added in.

Students then must illustrate their drawings— these drawings should get a sense of the characters, their movement, where they are, and the dialogue.

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/ghosts-teaching-guide/

RULES BY CYNTHIA LORD

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc.

ISBN 9780545036405

PLOT SUMMARY

Rules, a realistic fiction novel, written by Cynthia Lord, describes a young teen living with her autistic brother and the struggles she faces while trying to find her own identity.  Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. Catherine creates rules for him (It's okay to hug Mom, but not the clerk at the video store). When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is nervous about her reaction to David. Then, while at her brother's clinic, Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic, who uses a book of pictures to communicate. Catherine experiences some of the same awkwardness with Jason that others do in the presence of her brother. In the end, Jason helps Catherine see that her rules may really be excuses, opening the way for her to look at life with her brother differently.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Lord weaves together a heartwarming story, narrated by Catherine, detailing the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. The main character, Catherine tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. . Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance.  Lord‘s descriptions of autistic behavior are realistic and comparable to children David’s age.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Catherine is an appealing and believable character, acutely self-conscious and torn between her love for her brother and her resentment of his special needs. Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences. (Kirkus)

 A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.-Connie Tyrrell Burns (School Library Journal)

"The emotions in this fast-paced novel ring true." -The Horn Book

CONNECTIONS

ARTS

Drawing Words

Catherine illustrates the words she adds to Jason’s book. She asks herself, “What does awesome look like?” Challenge students to choose a word like gross, awesome, cruel, cool, embarrassed, or another descriptive word; ask themselves what it looks like; and then illustrate the word. Encourage students to display and compare their drawings.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Equal Access

With Catherine’s help, Jason gets a motorized wheelchair and takes it for a run. Explain to students that communities have a legal responsibility to provide equal access for disabled persons. Suggest that they plan a route around their community for someone like Jason who is in a wheelchair. What barriers would he encounter? What helpful things like ramps and automatic doors are in community buildings?

READING AND WRITING CONNECTION

Rating Rules

Cynthia Lord’s award-winning book is an introspective story that appeals to some students more than others. Challenge students to write a review of the book, giving it a rating from one to four stars. First, have each student create a rating system using stars, deciding what — for them — makes a four-star book as opposed to a one-star book. Then ask students to rate the book according to their own criteria and write an argument essay that explains their rating. Emphasize that every opinion is legitimate as long as it is supported by reasoning and evidence.      

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/rules-storia-teaching-guide/

AWARDS

Newberry Honor Book 2007

Schneider  Family Book Award

THE ARRIVAL BY SHAUN TAN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Tan, S. (2007). The Arrival. New York, New York:Arthur A. Levine Books.

ISBN 9780439895293

PLOT SUMMARY

In this wordless graphic novel, a lone immigrant, leaves his family and journeys to a new world, filled with strange, alien like objects, animals, words, and graphics.  An ominous dragon like dark shadow follows him at the beginning of the story.  Once he reaches his destination he embarks on a mission to discover this new land with its different language, customs, and people eventually making it into a home for his family.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Arrival is a wordless graphic novel, which tells an emotional story about a man who leaves his family.  The man travels for several days on a ship. The sadness on his face is easily seen.  The front cover illustrates a man holding a suitcase in his hand, while conversing with a white odd shaped animal. The story is full of pictures of people, strange symbols, and graphics. I think the writer’s use of metaphors, imagery and foreshadowing makes the story feel confusing, gloomy, and dreary.  

The majority of the artwork is in gray, black, and white.  The illustrator’s use of dark dreary colors, conveys an atmosphere full of sadness and hopelessness.  Some characters are realistic, but I feel this book may be a little advanced for younger children, due to the dark graphics, overabundance of pictures, and lack of words.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Tan captures the displacement and awe with which immigrants respond to their new surroundings in this wordless graphic novel. It depicts the journey of one man, threatened by dark shapes, that cast shadows on his family's life to a new country.  (School Library Journal)

 The Arrival proves a beautiful, compelling piece of art, in both content and form. (Booklist)

"Mesmerizing... Such visual eloquence can only motivate readers to seek out any future graphic novels from Shaun Tan, regardless of where they might be shelved." -- New York Times Book Review

"Astonishing." -- The Washington Post

The Arrival is a graphic novel (told in illustrations, not in comics) telling the story of an immigrant coming to a new land. The metaphor is brilliant: Shaun Tan sensitively illustrates a very human protagonist coming to a country where everything is literally alien: tentacled fruits, many legged animals, bizarre and fascinating architecture, and bewildering methods of transport. The result is an often laugh-out-loud funny study in magical realism.

CONNECTIONS

It is a wonderful book to use within a study of immigration, bringing together the essence of that experience today, historically, and always.

AWARDS

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book
Book Sense Book of the Year -- Honor Book
World Fantasy Award -- Best Artist
An ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel for Teens
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book
New York Magazine's Top Comic Book
A School Library Journal Best Book

LOST AND FOUND BY SHAUN TAN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Tan, S. (1998). Lost and Found.  New York, New York:Arthur A. Levine Books.

ISBN 9780545229241

PLOT SUMMARY

Lost and Found is a collection of three stories, written and illustrated by Shaun Tan, about how we lose and find what matters most to us.

A girl finds a bright spot in a dark world.  A boy leads a strange lost creature home. And a group of peaceful creatures loses their home to cruel invaders.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Shaun Tan’s book Lost and Found contains three separate short stories.  The first story is about depression and how a young girl experiences each stage of sadness and then achieves some peace at the end.  The second, is about finding a place for a lost thing that seems to not belong anywhere, and the third, is about rabbits killing the planet. Each story is emotional and heartfelt, but I found this book to cover topics that may not be very child friendly.  The colors and graphics are bright, vivid, and each page is covered in some form of art. The mix of illustrations used by Tan is visually appealing and will keep the reader engaged.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

"Mesmerizing... Such visual eloquence can only motivate readers to seek out any future graphic novels from Shaun Tan, regardless of where they might be shelved." -- New York Times Book Review

"Astonishing." -- The Washington Post

 "A silent, fantastical masterpiece... Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." -- Booklist, starred review

 "An unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 "Few will remain unaffected by this timeless stunner." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

CONNECTIONS

A school counselor may use this book to encourage a child to express his feelings about depression or loss.

AWARDS

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book
An ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel for Teens
A Publishers Weekly Best Book