false 9 150 142 true 6132194 read 2 true 4948002 currently-reading 6 true 4948001 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78585647 to: The Muse's Tragedy and Other Stories (Signet Classic) by Edith Wharton
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78789963 Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Hardcover) by Art Spiegelman
Maus is a stunningly crafted graphic novel that recounts the horrors of The Holocaust. The art is fantastic, the story is engaging, and Spiegelman’s use of animals (mice, pigs, dogs, etc) as main characters adds a symbolic dimension to the text. The images were, at times, difficult to view, and parts of the story brought me to tears, but it is necessary for us to face the facts of horrible atrocities to gain empathy and understanding of each other. For me, Maus turned out to be a touching story that gave another perspective on the Holocaust. I would teach this text in a Holocaust unit and include other works like Hitler Youth or The Book Thief. It would also work well with Incantation by Alice Hoffman, which is about Jewish persecution in Spain. This book would be a good introduction to an extended project that asked students to interview someone close to them and write a narrative based on the interview. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78589258 to: If You Come Softly (Paperback) by Jacqueline Woodson
If You Come Softly is a touching, deeply moving novel that takes its name from a poem by Audre Lorde. The book unfolds the love story between two teenagers of different races and religions. Although Woodson doesn’t delve into their difference in religion, she brings their racial differences to the forefront with ease, making the reader question what he or she knows about race relations. Instead of taking the “colorblind” approach, Woodson chooses for her characters to acknowledge their differences and find them beautiful, which is an excellent lesson for young adult readers to learn. The book also captures the dizzy feeling of youthful infatuation, which will give young readers a point of empathy and identification. I would bring this novel into my classroom alongside teaching point of view, as the novel shifts between first and third person. I would also use the text as a lead into discussions about race relations, prejudice, and social injustice. It would be a good match with I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This or Hush, both by Woodson. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69881162 to: Image Grammar : Using Grammatical Structures to Teach Writing(Bk & Cdrom) by Harry R. Noden
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77206265 to: Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made a Difference (Hardcover) by Penny Colman
The nonfiction book Adventurous Women: Eight Stories about Women Who Made a Difference is a fascinating and inspirational collection of stories, essays, and letters that unfold the lives of eight notable women. Penny Colman makes the stories of these early Americans come alive again with skillful prose and intriguing facts. Her addition of photographs, artistic renderings, diary entries, maps, and documents adds another dimension to the text and makes the nonfiction experience much more enjoyable. Every reader will close this book with new knowledge and a deeper understanding of what life was like for women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We all know of the tremendous social constraints placed on women one-hundred years ago, and this book will open young adult eyes to a world of resistance they never knew existed. I would certainly bring this text into my classroom; especially as a supplement to American literature of the same time period—Edith Wharton or Emily Dickinson, for example. Colman has also written many other encouraging nonfiction pieces on women’s history.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73162131 to: Tangerine (Paperback) by Edward Bloor
Tangerine is a fiction novel that chronicles not only the city of Tangerine, Florida, but the struggles of Paul Fisher, a seventh grade soccer player with a visual impairment. Edward Bloor’s writing is concise and humorous, with a fluidity that pulls the reader along. Tangerine is not quite what the brochure advertized for the Fishers, and Bloor deftly paints the disappointing images of a never-quenched “muck fire,” gorgeous homes infested with termites, school-swallowing sinkholes, and deadly lightening strikes. The conclusion of the story is satisfying, tying together any loose ends and making final sense of everything, no matter how small, that happened in the novel. Almost any young adult reader can find something to identify with, as the book can cater to interests in sports, agriculture, environment, or science. It deals with issues like sibling rivalry, the blissful ignorance of parents, bullying, and what it’s like to go to school with an IEP. Teenagers struggling to speak up for themselves will find strength and inspiration in Paul. I would bring this book into my classroom alongside classic coming-of-age stories like The Catcher in the Rye or The Outsiders. It could also work well with the young adult novel Speak, as both Speak and Tangerine deal with a main character who sees injustice but has trouble speaking out about it. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76368730 to: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and Other Stories (Wordsworth American Classics) (Wordsworth American Classics) by Stephen Crane
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71693802 Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love (Paperback) by Dava Sobel
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76368616 The Portable American Realism Reader (Viking Portable Library) by Tom Quirk
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76248011 to: A White Heron (Paperback) by Sarah Orne Jewett
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