Trash by Andy Mulligan

.My middle school had a Scholastic Book Fair and, like the bibliophile that I am, I went to do some shopping. Made selections, checked out and as I was looking at my receipt I noticed at the bottom an * and next to it a comment that said "This selection contains mature content." Of course this one will be my first read then :) I scanned the list of books to see what it was and laughed because the title was Trash! I have had fun all week with my students making comments that I am reading Trash :0

About the book: If you have ever seen Slumdog Millionaire think along those lines.

The story takes place in a poverty stricken country where families live at the dump and scrounge through trash for items to resale. they live at the dump that also has a makeshift school/church. Homes are built from recycled finds...mainly old garage doors.

Children work right along with their parent(s) searching the trash daily. One young boy finds a bag containing a wallet, a letter and a key with a bright yellow tag attached to it. The adventure begins as the police come looking for this bag and the boy realizes how important the information must be. He uses the resources he has available (church internet, street smart loner boy and a teacher) to piece the pieces together to the clues that are revealed to him. It is also told in the book that this countries president has been robbed of six million dollars and the news of this progresses into headlines questioning why anyone would have that much money in their home.

Its a great read for boys and girls alike. The author based it on a real scavenging dump he saw in Manila and the secret code actually came from code used during WW2 I believe

Mature Content: I really had to look for it. The word shat is used for toilet paper they find while sorting. There is also mention of bodies that are thrown away of the poor who cannot pay the 5 year rent on graves in the cemetery. Those bodies often make their way to the dump. Mild compared to other YA I have read recently. I would say its great for 7th and up.

Just spent an eventful day at the Texas Library Association annual conference in Fort Worth.  I brought home lots of books I will be sharing on this blog in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein

Silverstein, Shel. Every Thing On It: Poems and Drawings. New York: Harper, 2011. ISBN: 9780061998164

Twelve years after his death, Shel Silverstein’s family has compiled never before released drawings and poems. Anyone familiar with Silverstein’s talent and humor will find his posthumous contemplation just as odd, gross and hilarious as his other works. Every Thing On It includes 145 poems in all. Silverstein rejected these pieces from his earlier publications as they did not fit the tone he was trying to achieve in prior works.

The collection is arranged with a single poem taking up a page or a two page spread accompanying one of Silverstein’s black and white drawings. His use of figurative language makes the collection one that stimulates fun, as the use of play on words creates a laughing good time.

In Her…

In her mink coat

And her buckskin pants

And her lizard skin boots

With the rattlesnake bands

And her beaver hat

With the raccoon tails

We heard her shoutin’…

SAVE THE WHALES

Included in the book is an index, making it easier for readers to locate particular drawings. The book's opening, dedicated “For You” and the final poem, “When I’m Gone” causes the reader to reflect on the author, his other works and the part each has played in our lives.

When teaching about plagiarism/cheating to elementary students I would begin the lesson with a reading of Silverstein’s poem titled,

The Problem.

Jim copied the answer from Nancy

Sue copied the answer from Jim

Tim copied the answer from Sue, and then

Anne copied the answer from him

And Fran copied Anne and Jan copied Fran

The answer kept passing along

And no one got caught, but the problem was-

Nancy had it wrong.

Discussion could continue about the importance of doing one’s own work and giving credit to those we get information from.

Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto by Paul Janeczko.

Janeczko, Paul B. Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto. Somerville, Ma: Candlewick Press. 2011.     ISBN: 9780763647278

Poet Paul Janeczko takes a small part of the Holocaust and gives a haunting glimpse of Jews that were imprisoned in the Terezin Concentration Camp. This camp was noted as being the place where Jews of artistic talent were sent by Hitler.

While many of the characters found in Janeczko’s poetry in verse are fictitious, they were in fact researched by the author and are based on an actual place, time and facts of this horrific time period. The author weaves for the reader eye opening situations, pain and the feeling of despair. One short poem depicts the harshness of the situation and how desperate prisoners felt.

Blue sky

Beyond

Barbed wire.

I wish I were

Sky

The reader can envision what it would be like to stare at the big blue sky, looking at it through the wire fence and knowing there is no way out. The world keeps turning but for a prisoner in the camp, time stands still.

Free verse poems are cataloged in a Table of Contents by a person’s name, tattooed number or German military rank. Information about the actual encampment and people are included in a page provided by the author at the end of the collection. Also included are English translations for a few foreign words used in the book. Books, websites and multimedia resources are listed, so if the reader are so inclined, they may do additional research into the topic. Black and white charcoal drawings used to illustrate the camps life and its occupants are actual drawings that survived the Holocaust.

After reading this book with a group of students I would lead them in a research project about actual prisoners that were in the camp using library and internet resources. Students would select a prisoner and researchhis/her lives and outcome. I would then ask them to follow the “I Am From” poem template to write about their prisoner selection.

Poem template can be found at the following link: http://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/t/Target_I_am_from%20poem.pdf

To lead this project I would reread and spend time discussing this poem from the book.

I am Miklos

The younger boys in L410

call me professor.

Because I know many words?

Because of my large glasses?

Because I like to write

in a small notebook

that I conceal from the guards

in my shoe?

I am fragile

With fear.

Miklos talks about his love of writing and the lengths he goes to conceal it. Discuss with students the importance of writing/journaling to document someone’s presence. Then, lead in with the poem activity after research.

Falling Hard: 100 Love poems by Teenagers edited by Betsy Franco

Franco, Betsy. Falling Hard: 100 LovePpoems by Teenagers. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780763634377

Falling Hard is an anthology of poems written by teenagers from all over the world and were emailed at the request of the author. It is unclear how the project was launched but all poems contain the same theme:  love. Poems were sent from all ages, gender, sexual orientations and cultures. While the author only tells their name and age, from the poem one can get a sense of the poet’s background and their feelings about the topic. Teens will find the honest vocabulary, creativity and style of these poets, ones they can identify with, which makes this book a popular selection among teens.

Regardless

The phone rings

I feel a rush

The doorbell rang

It was you

I love you

The cops came

They asked me questions

They were looking for you

 I love you

The boys came

They swore and broke the windows

It was your fault

I love you

She asked where her money was

I knew it was you

I love you

We robbed the woman

I handed you $500

You disappeared

You’re a thief

I love you

You did that crazy thing to me and her

It felt good

It was you

I love you

As we rode side by side

Metal locking our wrists

We smiled

I love you

Lisa Vuolo, age 15

Poems range in content from infatuations, true love, love gone wrong and heartbreak. Many of the poems are mature in nature and need to be taken into consideration before sharing with an audience.

To introduce metaphors I would introduce the poem titled Love Poem.

I am

The flour

To your tortilla,

baby.

                By Juan Nunez, age 15

It’s short, simple and perfect for an upper elementary discussion.  To follow the lesson I would use the two worksheets listed below to adapt a library lesson suitable for the age group.

http://bogglesworldesl.com/metaphor_worksheets.htm

Seeing Emily by Joyce Lee Wong

Lee, Wong Joyce. Seeing Emily. New York: Amulet Books, 2005. ISBN: 9780810992580

Author Joyce Wong has written an engaging and rich book in the form of prose, and weaves together the story of a Chinese-American teen, Emily, as she is coming of age in two different cultural expectations. As Emily’s memories of youth are colliding with her present teenage angst, the imagery used by Wong is often point blank, lyrical and arranged beautifully. In a passage from the free verse titled, Sleepover, the reader see’s a glimpse of Emily’s maturity as she analyzes her friends after a tear-jerking discussion about family.

Suddenly,

watching the wavering spots

dance and slowly begin

to fade away into the light,

it occurred to me

That I hadn’t

really been seeing

my friends

fully  before.

I’d always considered them

from only one perspective,

my own,

but there was so much more

to each of them

than I had realized.

Along with the typical teen issues of friends, boys and parents, Wong dives deeply into Art and Emily’s way to use art as a form of self exploration. During the course of the novel, Emily works on her own art, class art and a mural for the school. These opportunities give Emily a way to communicate her inner self to the outside world in a creative way. A trip to her parents homeland, Taiwan, allows her to explore her own mothers early art and native art, deepening her appreciation of her roots.

Metaphors are used throughout the passages and are what makes the novel radiate poetry. Often Emily compares her feelings to that of animals.

I imagined I was a cat,

her eyes shining

as she watches a goldfish

that shimmers on the floor.

Her relationship with a boy from school also plays out in metaphors.  Her relationship is often depicted through the mural she is creating where a monkey and tiger represent her and Nick.

With the rustle of leaves

And a graceful leap

To another tree,

The monkey swings herself away,

Disappearing in to the green.

Even after she’s gone

Her screams echo back

So raucous and wild

They startle

A flock of birds.

The above passages are in response to her feelings after Nick refers to her in a derogatory way- his Geisha.

To begin a lesson about immigrants and immigration to America, I would share the below excerpt. I would find a picture as close to the description to display as the poem, Sailing for America, was read.

The young woman
in the photograph
wore a rose-colored qi-pao,
a long Chinese dress
with a slit at the ankles.
Looking
at this picture
I was struck by her features and expression
and I saw how much
she looked like me…

I could almost feel the salt breeze
teasing her dark, wavy hair,
styled like Au-de-li Hepburn’s in Roman Holiday.
Perhaps that day
the ship’s captain,
a friend of my grandfather,
passed her a red-cheeked apple he’d saved…

How did that apple taste
as my mother bit through the smooth,
shiny skin and crunched into sweet,
white meat? Perhaps
she licked a stray drop of juice
from her knuckle,
tasting ocean
and in that moment
of sweetness and brine
my mother looked out
over the endlessly waving sea
scattered with diamonds of light
and imagined the shores
of America.

We then would discuss the reasons for immigration. I would then have students create a mock passport to be used as journals, to be used in research about immigration to America, Ellis Island and their own family research. Passports would be used to write responses, take notes and hopefully, develop their own poem about their own travels.

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman.

 Sidman, Joyce, and Pamela Zagarenski. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Book for Children, 2009. ISBN: 9780547014944

A Caldecott Honor book for 2010, Red Sings from Treetops is an attractive book of poetry that takes the reader through a delightful literary journey through the seasons and the colors identified during that time. Sidman uses alliteration along with vibrant adjectives to make her poems come to life. Joyce Sidman uses colors to explore each of the four seasons through imagery, metaphor, personification and a variety of other delightful techniques that beg for the poems to be shared and read out loud. A beautiful example of personification can be found in the poem Fall.

Fall

In FALL,

Green is tired,

Dusty,

Crisp around the edges.

Green sighs with relief:

I’ve ruled for so long.

Time for Brown to take over.

Brown,

fat and glossy,

rises in honking flocks.

Brown rustles and whispers underfoot.

Brown gleams in my hand:

A tiny round house,

dolloped with roof.

The vocabulary throughout each selection is challenging enough to maintain the interest of older readers yet playful enough to keep the younger students involved as well. Regardless, any age will find delight in this book.

This is the second time Sidman and illustrator Pamela Zagarenski have teamed together to develop magnificent works of art, either through the use of words or illustrations. Using the same style of artwork from their first collaboration This Is Just to Say (another wonderful example of two voices), Zagarenski uses mixed media paintings of collages, wood and computer illustrations to develop images fitting each poem. Crowns adorn the triangular shaped people as the reader sees them interacting with the poem on each page. A little white dog can be found on each page which gives the book a “Where’s Waldo?” type of appeal as small children clamber to be the first to spot the pooch.

When using this book in a lesson plan, I would make sure to show the cover to students up close and discuss the four trees pictured. I would ask students to describe the characteristics of the trees and how those descriptions describe the four seasons. I would want to spend some time on the art work as well, because it is just too beautiful to overlook!

After reading the book to students I would go back to the poem, Green Is New in Spring, reread it and have students share their ideas of personification.

Green Is New In Spring

Green is new

in spring. Shy.

Green pecks from buds,

trembles in the breeze.

Green floats through rain-dark trees,

and glows, mossy-soft, at my feet.

Green drips from tips of leaves

onto Pup’s nose.

In spring,

even the rain tastes Green.

Yellow slips goldfinches

their spring jackets.

Yellow shouts with light!

In spring,

Yellow and Purple hold hands.

They beam at each other

with their bright velvet faces.

First flowers,

first friends.

After reading and discussing the use of personification in this work I would ask students to share their thoughts on what colors they associate various items and tastes.

What color does cake taste like?

What color does coffee smell like?

What color is loud thunder?

What color does mad look like? Sad? Happy?

From those ideas I would group students to work on personification in a color poem of their choosing.