Module Ten: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Summary: Jin is trying to fit it in his school. He is the only Chinese American in the entire school. Reluctantly, he befriends Wei-Chen who is Taiwanese. In the graphic novel, there are twother plots that are being portrayed. There is the Monkey-King who is on a journey for redemption and Danny, who is a perfect Chinese American, must deal with his cousin who is not very good at fitting into American culture. Each story delas with finding oneself in their own culture.

Citation: Yang, G.L. (2008). American born chinese. New York, NY: Square Fish.

Impressions: This is the first graphic novel that I had ever read. I had heard several good things about it but, I was a little reluctant. I am now looking forward to reading many more because of this book. I persoanlly liked how the author uses the three different story lines that all carry a smiliar meaning. I think this is an excellenet book when teaching about other culutres. The style of the book has a way of making the reader feel for involved with lives of the characters. This book has opened a whole new genre for me.

Reviews:
“The graphic-novel format is particularly well suited to managing the flow of three simultaneous storylines, and the action sequences of the Monkey King’s tale and the over-the-top satire on the portrayal of immigrants in American pop culture settle right into their spacious frames on the generously white bordered pages. Compositions are tidy and the palette is softly muted, so that even the strongest colors in the action scenes never reach the intensity of a visual assault. Kids fighting an uphill battle to convince parents and teachers of the literary merit of graphic novels would do well to share this title.”- Elizabeth Bush

Bush, E. (2006). American born chinese (book review). The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 60(3). Retrieved from the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.

“With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes. Each of the characters is flawed but familiar, and, in a clever postmodern twist, all share a deep, unforeseen connection. Yang helps the humor shine by using his art to exaggerate or contradict the words, creating a synthesis that marks an accomplished graphic storyteller. The stories have a simple, engaging sweep to them, but their weighty subjects--shame, racism, and friendship--receive thoughtful, powerful examination.”- Jesse Karp

Karp, J. (2006). American born chinese (book review). Booklist, 103(1). Retrieved from Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.

Library Setting: In the library, I would have the patrons come together after they had read the book. I would then have the patrons draw the three stories, and their characters, as they would see it. I would have them color or paint the drawings bright colors. I would then make a large presenation board and have the pictures hanging from it. The title of the board would be "A Graphic Novel through Your Eyes." Make a presentation of other graphic novels by the presentation board.

Module Ten: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Summary: Charlie is becoming a teenage boy and beginning to discover himself. He is making friends, reading new books, and experiencing sexuality. In the form of letters, Charlie writes to an anonymous person about the his Freshman year in high school.

Citation: Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower. New York, NY: Pocket Books.

Impressions: I really enjoyed how realistic this book is. I also like how Charlie, the narrator, is very honest. I think that is the only way you can really trust him because everyone throughout the novel discusses how brutally honest, almost an innocently, Charlie is. This is an adult novel and I would only recommend it to older teens.

Reviews:
 “Charlie is an observer. A bright loner, the new high school freshman becomes the mascot and confidant of a group of older students. In a voice that is both naive and omniscient, he records the tragic and mundane events in the lives of his friends and family, using a series of remarkable letters addressed to his "dear friend." From Charlie we learn about one friend's suicide, experiments with drugs, heterosexual and homosexual love affairs gone wrong, bitter family memories, and his own mysterious Aunt Helen. Chbosky never falters, always maintaining Charlie's perspective perfectly. By getting to know Charlie's pals, would-be girlfriends, teachers, and family, we find out a great deal about Charlie himself. In the same matter-of-fact voice, Charlie describes watching the rituals of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, taking his sister for an abortion, and being hospitalized for acute depression. Even when he is urged by his English teacher to become a participant and not an observer, he remains oddly detached. Only at the very end of the story do we learn the real reason for Charlie's detachment. The novel has the disjointed and almost dreamlike quality of a music video. Charlie's freshman year provides a framework for the story, with flashbacks to his childhood. Designation of this title as an "MTV Book" should ensure wide readership. I would recommend this coming-of-age story to readers who enjoyed Catcher in the Rye.”- Jamie Hansen

Hansen, J. (1999).The perks of being a wallflower (book review). VOYA, 22(5). Retrieved from Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.

 Library Setting: Since this is a mature novel, I would probably set up a book talk. I would discuss with teen patrons about some questions they may have from reading the book. I would also ask the patrons what songs would they put on a mix tape to give another person. Have them design an album cover and shares the music that they would like to give to another person.

Module Nine: Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love by Pat Mora

Summary: This is collection of poetry that captures that passion of life from the teenage years. More uses different styles of poetry to show words can be used to portray deep emotions. There are several poems describing love, loss and growing up.

Citation: Mora, P. (2010). Dizzy in your eyes: poems about love. New York, NY: Alfred A.Knopf.

Impressions: Mora has written a fantastic collection of poetry that will appeal to teenagers. I am personally fond of the fact that she has given small definitions of certain poetic styles that she uses. It is an easy and realistic read for any teenager. This is great book to show students how poetry is not just a thing of the past. I also like that Mora chooses to emerge the Spanish language into her poetry as well.

Reviews:
“From family and school to dating and being dumped, the subjects in these 50 poems cover teens’ experiences of love in many voices and situations. Several entries incorporate Spanish words and idioms, as in “Ode to Teachers,” a moving tribute in English with a Spanish translation. A few poems hit a too-sweet tone with forced rhyme, but the best are wry, passionate, casual, and honest (“It’s nice having a sister especially when boys come over, / and some of them like you better”). One of the best is “Silence,” in which a girl speaks about waiting and waiting for her childhood friend to invite her to the prom. Mora writes in free verse, as well as a wide variety of classic poetic forms—including haiku, clerihew, sonnet, cinquain, and blank verse—and for each form, there is an unobtrusive explanatory note on the facing page. The tight structures intensify the strong feelings in the poems, which teens will enjoy reading on their own or hearing aloud in the classroom.”-Hazel Rochman

Rochman, H. (2009). Dizzy in your eyes: poems about love (book review). Booklist, 106(6). Retrieved from Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.

“Forty-nine poems, most barely a couple of pages long, broadly treat the topic of love, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly; sometimes happily, sometimes regretfully, and sometimes uncertainly; some relating to love of family and friends, some to romantic love. Additionally, Mora employs a variety of poetic styles and forms, with a brief explanation of the relevant form on the page facing the poem. While the poems are more often solid than sparkling, a few of them display imagery or authenticity that lifts them, and overall, they’ve got a grounded realism that makes them accessible to the poetry-skittish; the formal experimentation means they’ll be useful in the classroom.”-Deborah Stevenson

Stevenson, D. (2010). Dizzy in your eyes: poems about love (book review). The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 63(6). Retrieved from Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.

Library Setting: One of the most wonderful things about poetry is that there are different forms that can be used as guide to write. In the library, present patrons with some of the forms that are mentioned in the book such as villanelle, sonnet or sonnet. Read these poems or give them a hard copy so they can see the forms themselves. Have the patrons write poems using the forms you have discussed. Make two copies of the poem or poems they have created. One may go with home with the patron and the other can hang on the library walls.

Module Nine: Your Own Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Staphanie Hemphill

Summary: This book tells the story of Sylvia Plath's life from the her childhood through her adulthood. The author uses poetry to write her biography. Each poem or verse tells a different story either her or a person who played a significant role in her life.

Citation: Hemphill, S.(2007).Your own, sylvia: a verse portatit of sylvia plath. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: This is one of the very best books I have ever read. Loving poetry and Syliva Plath may have a lot to do with the adoration for this book. It uses verses that are similar to the style of Plath's to describe her life. I very fond of the different voices from her mother, friends and boyfriends who assist in the narration of this book. This a very unique way a telling about someones life. Bravo!

Reviews:
"Plath's own voice is evident in the poetic forms, though, with many of the poems written "in the style of" specific works. The result is an intimate, comprehensive, imaginative view of a life that also probes the relationships between poetry and creativity, mental fragility, love, marriage, and betrayal. Some readers may be slowed by the many poems that chronicle the bitter dissolution of Plath's marriage, and readers who know the Plath poems Hemphill references will have an advantage. But Plath's dramatic genius and personal struggles, particularly the difficulties of reconciling the writing life with the roles of wife and mother, have long attracted teen interest, and this accomplished, creative story may ignite new interest in Plath's original works.”-Gillian Engberg

Engberg, G. (2007). Your own sylvia: verse portrait of sylvia plath (book review). Booklist, 103(12). Retrieved from Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.

“With her brilliance, marriage to a famous fellow poet, and dramatic suicide, poet Sylvia Plath quickly became a legendary literary figure. Hemphill tells the story of that legendary life in poems, many of them closely modeled on Plath’s own verses, written from the viewpoint of the people in Sylvia’s life or in a third-person imagining of Plath’s own experience. Though there’s an un-Plathian grammatical carelessness to some of the writing, the poems are generally capably executed, especially in their technical underpinnings (the explanatory notes attached to each poem are inclined to be randomly if genuinely informative); the author clearly takes Plath’s side, but the poems honestly acknowledge the poet’s unlikable tendencies toward entitlement and superiority. It’s certainly an intriguing biographical approach, and teen fans of confessional poetry in general and Plath in particular will find it inviting; its main achievement is imitative, though, and readers ready for these verses will reach to their originals, so the book is likelier to contribute to young writers’ own experimental projects than to a readerly understanding of Plath or poetry.” –Deborah Stevenson

Stevenson, D. (2007). Your own sylvia: verse portrait of sylvia plath (book review). The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 60(1). Retrieved from Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.

Library Setting: In the library, the programmer could introduce some of Plath's poems to the patrons. On a much smaler scale, ask the patrons to write three poems that could descibe their usual day. The programmer could ask the patrons to describe their small daily task vivdly as seen in this book. Plath was also known for winning writing contest at a young age. The programmer could also have a youth writing contest for the patrons. There could be different categories such as short story, poetry and play.