The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Patron, Susan. 2006. The higher power of Lucky. Ill. by Matt Phelan. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 1416901949.

PLOT SUMMARY:
Fascinated by the twelve-step anonymous meetings held at nearby Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visiting Center, ten year old Lucky Trimble feels that she is need of a life altering event. Hoping to gain some wisdom from the anonymous meetings, Lucky seeks to find her own “Higher Power” that will change her life for the better. With the accidental death of her mother and an absent father who pawns her off on his first ex-wife, from France, Lucky struggles with her feelings of abandonment and fear of being shipped off to be a ward of the state.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

Characters are revealed through narration, conversation and through the thoughts of the main character. Five year old Miles is described by Lucky as “only five, and … not a neat eater, plus he didn’t mind when HMS Beagle licked his hands.” Another character Dot was considered, “the bossiest and crabbiest person in Hard Pan [California]…”. The main characters strengths and weaknesses are also revealed through action and narration. Lucky spies on various twelve-step annonymous meetings, her favorites being “…alcoholics, gamblers, smokers and overeaters…”. And in narration, “Lucky had a little place in her heart where there was a meanness gland.” Not the typical 10 year old girl, the character of Lucky is devoid of typical girlish stereotyping. Her guardian is an unrelated French woman who was lucky enough to be Lucky’s fathers first wife. Multiculturalism is added in with French words, such as maman (mother) and bisou (kiss). Illustrations in pen, ink and pencil bring the characters and desert California landscape to life.

Recently orphaned, Lucky has Brigette as her guardian until a foster family can be found. When her plot to find a Higher Power and a better life, fail to come about, Lucky decides to run away. Preparation for the event is evident in Lucky’s survival kit backpack mentioned through out the story and when she thinks to herself, “A ward must stay alert, carry a well-equipped survival kit at all times, and watch out for danger signs – because of the strange and terrible and good and bad things that happen when you least expect them to.”

The desert setting of Hard Pan, California a town with a population of only 43 people provided Lucky with a view consisting of a “jumble of trailers, sheds, outhouses, shacks and rusty vehicles”. Lucky’s own living arrangement consisted of three trailers connected together. The setting matches Lucky’s predicament of being stuck between a proverbial rock and a hard place.

Concepts of self identity, self worth and sense of community are evident in this story. Lucky see’s herself as a budding scientist as she searches for her Higher Power. After successfully removing a snake from her family clothes dryer and pondering on the ways to prevent snakes from entering in again, Lucky knows that she is a “… highly evolved human being.” She emphasizes with the numerous anonymous twelve-step meetings which detail the communities need for survival day to day. Lucky thinks to herself, “It’s almost impossible to get control of your life when you’re only ten.” The misguided solution to her dilemma is to run away and gain control of her life. The dialogue is straightforward and the author does a good job of balancing narration and dialogue.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S):

Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “This character-driven novel has an unusually complicated backstory, and a fair amount of exposition. Yet, its quirky cast and local color help to balance this fact, and the desert setting is fascinating. Lucky's tendency to jump to conclusions is frustrating, but her struggle to come to terms with her mother's death and with her new life ring true. Phelan's cover and line drawings are simple and evocative, a perfect complement to the text.”

Review from BOOKLIST: “With a personality that may remind some readers of Ramona Quimby, Lucky, who is totally contemporary, teeters between bravado--gathering insect specimens, scaring away snakes from the laundry--and fear that her guardian will leave her to return to France. … Patron's plotting is as tight as her characters are endearing. Lucky is a true heroine, especially because she's not perfect: she does some cowardly things, but she takes pains to put them to rights.”

Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Patron's poignant Newbery-winning story about a girl who fears being abandoned by her legal guardian-and her only semblance of a family-sails along with believable childlike rhythms and kid's-eye-view observations.”

AWARDS
Newbery Award 2007
American Library Association Notable Books for Children 2007
FOCAL (Friends of Children and Literature) Award 2007

CONNECTIONS
Activities
*Encourage students to create Acrostic poems for each main character in the story.
*Have students construct “Brown Bag Book Reports” by collecting objects with which to retell or summarize the story.
*Create bookmarks illustrating scenes from the story to share and trade.
*Science connection: Have students research Charles Darwin, the HMS Beagle and insects mentioned in the story.
* Encourage students to read books mentioned in other books by sharing the location of the two books, Tree of Life by Peter Sis and Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman, in The Higher Power of Lucky, in the school library.
*Have students draw, list or construct survival kits for school, bug collecting and other situations, such as camping, etc. Encourage students to share instances where survival kits might have been useful in their lives.

the first part last by Angela Johnson

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Johnson, Angela. 2003. The first part last. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689849222.

PLOT SUMMARY:
When Bobby finds out he is going to be a father on his sixteenth birthday, his life and attitude about life changes forever. He accepts his new responsibility with maturity and plays a supportive role in his girlfriend Nia’s pregnancy. Bobby is an average, young African American teen struggling to come to terms with his new life, the commitment of being a single teenage father and the needs of his baby daughter.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Another realistic fiction book about teen age pregnancy told from the teen father’s perspective. This short novel alternates between past and present perspectives demonstrating cause and effect. An urban tale set in modern day New York, this story centers on the self discovery of an African-American teen becoming a “man” and father for his newborn baby girl, Feather. As he walks away from the social worker and the notion of adoption, Bobby thinks to himself “I know I’m being a man, not just some kid who’s upset and wants it his way. I’m being a man.” Teens will easily relate to the notion of teen pregnancy and its affect on family and friends.

The mood of the story is full of sorrow and yet hopeful. The positive perspective of the teens support group aids in avoiding stereotyping. Characters are revealed though dialogue, the narration and thoughts of the main character. Half-listening to his literature teacher, Bobby thought “…he’s going to tell me how he’ll give me a break on my grades or something. …But that ain’t happening. He just hopes I’m getting help.” His mother allows him to experience parenthood without interference “She only changed, fed or rocked Feather to sleep when I didn’t need her help.” Stereotyping is again avoided when his girlfriend’s parents don’t interfere in his decision to raise his baby daughter alone and even support his decision to care for their granddaughter, “We’ll support you keeping the baby, Bobby,” was all they said in the end. But when they looked at the baby through the nursery glass, it was like they were saying goodbye.”

Figurative language is also used to tell the story from a teen perspective, from his mention of when he told his parents (Fred and Mary sat real still...I thought what I just told them about Nia being pregnant had turned both of them to stone.) to the the description of his girlfriends house (Stark white and so neat and clean you could probably make soup in the toilet.) His girlfriend’s revelation that she does not want to be a mother brings another perspective of realism into the story “I don’t want to be anybody’s mother. I’m not done with being a kid myself. I’m way too young and so are you.” Teen realism is again seen when Bobby has a “tagging” incident that details his need to let his frustrations out through the illegal artistic means of spray painting buildings.

Though not original or fresh, the plot, with no inclination of the climax towards the end, ends in an unpredictable manner that adds additional realism to this award winning novel. Even Bobby’s epiphany of “… if the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They’d be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end.” (the only mention of a moral to the story) soon fades as the plot progresses.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Starred Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “At 16, Bobby struggles to be a father to his newborn daughter while keeping up with school, maintaining his boyhood friendships, and trying to live up to his parents' expectations. Told in alternating passages of "Now" and "Then," the back-story that has brought Bobby to this point falls steadily but deliberately into place, with the revelation of why Bobby is a single father arriving only near the very end.”

Starred Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “In this companion novel, Johnson's fans learn just how Bobby, the single father for whom Marley baby-sits in Heaven, landed in that small town in Ohio. Beginning his story when his daughter, Feather, is just 11 days old, 16-year-old Bobby tells his story in chapters that alternate between the present and the bittersweet past that has brought him to the point of single parenthood."

Review from VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES: "Told through Bobby's eyes in spare, eloquent prose, this affecting prequel to Heaven (Simon & Schuster, 1998/VOYA February 1999) is no stereotypical teenage pregnancy story but the heartfelt tale of one young man's decision to keep his child, no matter the consequences. … This compelling tale of a teenage father provides a stellar addition to young adult fiction."

Teen Review from VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES: "I'm really glad that Johnson wrote this prequel to Heaven. Bobby was a character that everyone wanted to know more about. This well-written book is not like anything that I've ever read before. It goes fast and has realistic fiction, romance, and suspense all in one. Most teen pregnancy books are about what the girl goes through, but this one is written from a different, exciting angle. Both girls and boys can read it." -Teens' Top Ten nominator, age 13.

AWARDS
Coretta Scott King Award 2004
Michael L. Printz Award 2004

Connections
Other books by Angela Johnson on coping with loss, death and adoption:
Johnson, Angela. 1994. Toning the Sweep. ISBN 0590481428.
Johnson, Angela. 1998. Heaven. ISBN 0689822294.
Johnson, Angela. 2002. Looking for Red. ISBN 0689832532.

Activities:

*Read during Black History Month and as the introduction to Coretta Scott King Award discussions.
*Suggest this as a book club selection for upper grades.
*Share audio clips with classes during book talking sessions.
*Provide students with opportunities to create poetry or journal responses.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Pullman, Philip. 1995. The golden compass. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679879242

PLOT SUMMARY:
Eleven year old, Lyra Belacqua is an orphan child living on an Oxford College in a fantasy Victorian England. She and other humans of her world have an emotional connection to life long companions called dæmons who change and shift into different animal forms. When children start disappearing, Lyra fears that they and her now missing best friend may be intended for the rumored scientific experiments involving children in the Arctic regions. Thus begins her journey to save her best friends life. Aided by witches, armored bears, a gypsy-like clan, her dæmon and a golden compass to guide her along her way, Lyra finds herself in danger and on a quest to save children from evil scientists.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Mr. Pullman’s modern fantasy world is akin to England and the cold Arctic regions of Earth. With scholars, masters, lords and servants this story begins in Victorian Era England at Jordan College, which has “no rival, either in Europe or in New France, as a center of experimental theology.” This high fantasy novel includes: a good versus evil theme, a heroine, special magical animal characters called dæmons and a supernatural object in the form of a golden compass. With four clock like “hands” and thirty-six symbols, it is meant to resemble the old-world style mechanical objects. Good versus evil is the main theme in this story. Good and evil are personified in humans, their dæmons and the other creatures (armored bears, witches) of Lyra’s world.

The main characters include Lyra, her mysterious Uncle Lord Asriel, her best friend and kitchen servant, Roger, the equally mysterious and dangerous Mrs. Coulter and their personal dæmons, shape-shifting, talking animal “alter egos”. The characters are revealed through the shape and emotional state of their dæmons. When the humans reach adulthood, “their dæmons [lose] the power to change and [assume] one shape, keeping it permanently.” These fantasy creatures are connected magically and emotionally to their human counterparts and add to the fantasy world that is not quite real.

This story is told from the heroines point of view. The writing is at times stratightforward and at other times figurative. The dialogue is natural and suited to the differing characters and their roles. The overall mood of the story mirrors the main character. Lyra, the orphan protagonist, is a willful child of eleven wise beyond her years, due to lack of proper supervision by her guardians, the college scholars. She is deemed a “barbarian” and “a coarse and greedy savage” by the narrator of the novel. With past times of skipping lessons, stealing apples, and waging “deadly war” on other children, on the college grounds and in the adjacent town, the heroine has gained the experience and fortitude needed for her quest to rescue her abducted best friend from the evil experiments in the Arctic regions. The original plot builds to a suspenseful climax and contains unforeseen twists and turns. This first installment of a triology series ends with an introduction to an unknown new world and a new mystery and adventure for the young heroine.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “A novel set in London and in the Arctic regions of a world that is somewhat like our own. Lyra, apparently an orphan, lives among the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford. She becomes aware of a nefarious plot to steal children and transport them to the far north. As Lyra is drawn deeper and deeper into this mystery, she finds that the children are being made to suffer terribly. What she does not and must not know is that she is the keystone in an ancient prophecy...”

Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Young Lyra Belacqua and her daemon companion Pantalaimon leave their sheltered life among the scholars and caretakers at Oxford University to find Lyra's best friend, Roger, who has been kidnapped. Lyra's quest leads her to the Far North where she encounters battle-ready witches, talking polar bears and a team of evil scientists who plan to perform a hideous experiment on Roger and the other children they have captured.”

Review from KIRKUS REVIEWS: “This first fantastic installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy propels readers along with horror and high adventure, a shattering tale that begins with a promise and delivers an entire universe.”

AWARDS
Carnegie Medal 1995
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year 1996

CONNECTIONS
The other Dark Materials Trilogy books - by Philip Pullman:
Pullman, Philip. 2007. The Subtle Knife. ISBN 0375946721
Pullman, Philip. 2007. The Amber Spyglass. ISBN 037594673X

Other books by Philip Pullman:
1996. The Tin Princess. ISBN 0606099794
2003. The Ruby in the Smoke. ISBN 0375825452

Activities:
*Science/History connection: Have students create a time line of scientific tools and compare them to those used in the story.
*Discuss the themes of courage, fear, love, betrayal and good versus evil.
*Have students create a venn diagram comparing and contrasting themselves with a chosen character from the story.
*Encourage students to learn more about author's and their works, by visiting Mr. Pullman's website at http://www.philip-pullman.com/index.asp

Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion by Russell Freedman

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Freedman, Russell. 1999. Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The making of a champion. New York: Clarion. ISBN 0395633672.

PLOT SUMMARY:
Mildred “Babe” Didrickson Zaharias excelled at every sport she tried from childhood to her early forties. Nicknamed “Babe” by her childhood friends, due to her baseball abilities, she was naturally athletic and a hardworking young woman with the determination to be the best at each sport she tried.

She participated in and won a gold medal for Track and Field in the 1932 Olympics. At a time when women were still considered unequal to men in social, business and athletic ventures, she was named Woman Athlete of the Year four times and Outstanding Woman Athlete of the Century. Babe participated as an amateur and professional athlete in several sports, including track and field, basketball, tennis, baseball, diving, golf and bowling. Her personal life included many struggles and hardships, many of which she overcame with her positive attitude and determination.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Russell Freedman has written a complete biography that spans from her young childhood growing up in Beaumont, Texas to her adult life. This well written biography provides a balanced view of the real person, not a glorification of an athlete. A quote from a letter she wrote sums up her attitude and feelings about her early basketball teammates. “Heck, ‘Tiny, … if I get me another [offer], I’m gonna take it…These girls are just like they were in Beaumont High School. Jealous and more so because they are all here and trying to beat me. But they can’t do it.”

Another side of Babe is seen in her attention to the crowds who came to see her play. She would entertain them with “trick shots and wisecracks.” Sources for direct quotes are documented in the author’s “Notes” at the back of the book. Crude comments and her lack of femininity earned her some disrespect from the men in the sports business. One sportswriter even coined the phrase “Muscle Moll” in reference to her unladylike behavior and lack of attention to her appearance.

The design and layout are attractive and inviting to the reader. The large sized black and white photos aid in providing accuracy. She is pictured with Will Rogers, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope all well-known Hollywood actors of their time. The pictures themselves provide a photobiography chronicling her life in all her chosen sports and her personal life. This book includes a table of contents, Authors Note, Acknowledgements and and Picture Credits, bibliographical references and an index.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Starred Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Freedman is on top of his game with this engaging profile of one of this century's most remarkable athletes and larger-than-life personalities. … This attractive, oversized photo-biography recounts her life story and sets it into the larger context of the evolving role of women's athletics, and the development of professional sports in the U.S.”

Review from HORNBOOK GUIDE: “Freedman's measured yet lively style captures the spirit of the great athlete. The book is at its best in the chapters about Babe's track-and-field triumphs; the later account of her golf career drags a bit. Freedman's enthusiastic admiration, however, provides enough reason to read. Plenty of black-and-white photos capture Babe's spirit and dashing good looks, and the documentation is impeccable.”

Review from BOOKLIST: “Children used to athletes who limit their focus to one sport will marvel at Babe's accomplishments. Freedman does a good of job tracing her rise from scrappy neighborhood games to stardom and gives readers a sense of the way she was worshipped on the playing field and vilified for her unladylike appearance … .”

AWARDS
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 1999
American Library Association Notable Books for Children 2000

CONNECTIONS
Other biographies written by Russell Freedman:
Freedman, Russell. 1998. Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life. ISBN 0395746558
Freedman, Russell. 2000. Lincoln: A photobiography. ISBN 0395518482
Freedman, Russell. 2000. Eleanor Roosevelt: A life of discovery. ISBN 0395845203
Freedman, Russell. 2006. Out of darkness: The story of Louis Braille. ISBN 1422354385

Activities

*In March, for Women’s History Month, have student’s research famous American women and their achievements.
*Encourage students to create a biography collection of famous Olympic athletes.
*Have students create a “scrapbook” of other famous historical figures, including pictures and journal entries. Have students cite the sources for their findings.
*Have students read other Russell Freedman biographies and write an author and a biography book review for the library website.

Worth by A. LaFaye

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
LaFaye, A. 2004. Worth. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers. ISBN 0689857306.

PLOT SUMMARY:
After an accident leaves, eleven-year-old Nathaniel Peale crippled, he is unable to help out on the family farm. Questioning his worth and his fathers love, Nathaniel resents the orphan, John Worth, brought home by his father to help out around the farm. As both boys struggle to cope with their new roles and lives, they end up helping each other and saving the community.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The plot of ranchers versus farmers is a story students have been introduced to in textbooks, movies and other literature. The setting of 19^th century Nebraska is brought to life with the authors rich descriptions of the farm. The first person narrative of the main character tells the story of a young man in anguish over his situation. After he is told he may never walk again, Nate thinks to himself, “Half wished my mind would fog up again so there’d be no room for the new thoughts rolling in. I’d be a cripple. … Might not even be able to stand. What’s a man to do if he can’t stand? Sit around collecting dust while the rest of the world earned their living.” The attitudes of the times reflect in his thinking of himself as a man at eleven years old with a need to help his family by working on the farm.

Terms like Ma and Pa, “plugging chinks in the soddie” and “correcting my sums” convey the speech patterns of the time and add authenticity to the author’s historical fiction. Nate’s immigrant school friends from Greece and mention of Greek mythology add a multicultural view of early America. The themes of self-worth, family love, acceptance and courage are interwoven in this historical novel suitable for elementary and the upper grade levels.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “There's a world of pain in LaFaye's (The Year of the Sawdust Man) spare, lyrical novel set in 19th-century Nebraska. The author here assumes an unusual perspective on the Orphan Train theme, focusing on the adoptive family. … LaFaye paints a realistic picture of the hardships for average families at the time the Orphan Train rode the rails.”

Review from VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES: “The easy lilting cadence of the language combined with details of farming successfully evoke nineteenth-century frontier life, a time when a man's value was determined by his actions and capabilities. … This historical novel is solid in plot; Nate's reflective narrative balances the various conflicts smoothly. The subplot introduces a Greek family with whom Nate becomes acquainted, adding an unexpected multicultural flavor to the novel.”

Review from BOOKLIST: “Through Nate's narrative comes a sense of the grueling daily work, the family struggle to try to hold on to the land and avoid failure. In addition, there's some late-nineteenth-century history about the local wars between cattle ranchers (who want grazing land) and farmers (who need room for crops), … A great choice for American history classes.”

AWARDS
Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award 2005

Connections
Other books about pioneer/frontier life:
Greenwood, Barbara. 1998. A pioneer sampler: the daily life of a pioneer family in 1840. ISBN 0395883938
Moss, Melissa. 2001. Rachel's journal: The story of a pioneer girl. ISBN 015202168X
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. 2007. Little house in the big woods. ISBN 0061289809

Books about orphan trains:
Buchanan, Jane. 2002. Hank's story. ISBN 0142302112
Cushman, Karen. 2005. Rodzina. ISBN 044041993X
Kerr, Rita. 1994. The Texas orphans: a story of the orphan train children. ISBN 0890159629