Module 5

Module 5

Zora and Me

Summary:

Carrie tells the story about her and her best friend Zora. She tells the story of the difficulties that she and Zora deal with every day in Eatonville, Florida. Someone has died and the girls seek out the reason and try to find out if the rumors about a member of their town, changing into an alligator and killing people. Life is not easy for the girls but together they can get through it.

My Thoughts:

Children are naturally inquisitive. Unfortunately, this is also a trait that could get them not only in trouble but could also put their lives in danger. In this book, Zora’s life is lain out for all to see and we see the experiences that inspired her as a writer.

Citation:

Bond, V. T. (2010). Zora and me. Somerville: Candlewick Press.

REVIEW. First published October 15, 2010 (Booklist).

Told in the immediate first-person voice of 10-year-old Carrie, Zora Neale Hurston’s best childhood friend, this first novel is both thrilling and heartbreaking. Each chapter is a story that evokes the famous African American writer’s early years in turn-of-the-last-century Eatonville, Florida, and the sharp, wry vignettes build to a climax, as Carrie and Zora eavesdrop on adults and discover secrets. Family is front and center, but true to Hurston’s work, there is no reverential message: Carrie mourns for her dad, who went to Orlando for work and never came back; Zora’s father is home, but he rejects her for being educated and “acting white,” unlike her favored sister. Racism is part of the story, with occasional use of the n-word in the colloquial narrative. Like Hurston, who celebrated her rich roots but was also a wanderer at heart, this novel of lies and revelations will reach a wide audience, and some strong readers will want to follow up with Hurston’s writings, including Their Eyes Are Watching God (1937). The novel’s back matter includes a short biography of Hurston, an annotated bibliography of her groundbreaking work, and an endorsement by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust.

— Hazel Rochman

Rochman, H. (2010, October 15). Booklist Review. Retrieved from Booklist Online: http://www.booklistonline.com/Zora-and-Me-Victoria-Bond/pid=4176593



 



 The Dreamer

Summary:

Neftali has a hard life with a hard father and struggles at school.  When a mysterious voice summons him he knows he cannot ignore it. He faces the ridicule of his peer and his father but that does not change his mind. He sets out on an adventure that will change his life forever.

Citation:

Ryan, P. M. (2010). The dreamer. New York: Scholastic.

My Thoughts:

This book is written in a poetic, flowing style that makes for an interesting adventure. The illustrations are lovely and they are an intregal part of the story.  They help the story to flow and fill in the imagery of the story.

REVIEW. First published February 1, 2010 (Booklist).

Respining the childhood of the widely beloved poet Pablo Neruda, Ryan and Sís collaborate to create a stirring, fictionalized portrait of a timid boy’s flowering artistry. Young Neftalí Reyes (Neruda’s real name) spends most of his time either dreamily pondering the world or cowering from his domineering father, who will brook no such idleness from his son. In early scenes, when the boy wanders rapt in a forest or spends a formative summer by the seashore, Ryan loads the narrative with vivid sensory details. And although it isn’t quite poetry, it eloquently evokes the sensation of experiencing the world as someone who savors the rhythms of words and gets lost in the intricate surprises of nature. The neat squares of Sís’ meticulously stippled illustrations, richly symbolic in their own right, complement and deepen the lyrical quality of the book. As Neftalí grows into a teen, he becomes increasingly aware of the plight of the indigenous Mapuche in his Chilean homeland, and Ryan does a remarkable job of integrating these themes of social injustice, neither overwhelming nor becoming secondary to Neftalí’s story. This book has all the feel of a classic, elegant and measured, but deeply rewarding and eminently readable. Ryan includes a small collection of Neruda’s poetry and a thoughtful endnote that delves into how she found the seeds for the story and sketches Neruda’s subsequent life and legacy.

— Ian Chipman

 

Chipman, I. (2010, February 1). Booklist Review. Retrieved from Booklist Online: http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Dreamer-Pam-Munoz-Ryan/pid=3796096