#tbt: Sycthe by Neal Shusterman

Image: Simon and Schuster

Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Arc of the Scythe #1. 464 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, November, 2016. 9781442472426.

#tbt features Scythe by Neal Shusterman. I was a fan of the author for a while, having read his Dark Fusion series, his Skin Jacker series and the Unwind Distology. He came to visit my last school before I left for a nearby middle school. His visit was quite memorable for several reasons, not the least being that his rental car didn't show and he had to scramble to find a new one. It made him late to us, but he was calm and unruffled. He really connected with the students, and I also loved the fact that he checked out the eighth grade LA teacher's classroom library!

I was blown away by Scythe, but hesitated to put it in the YA (grades 7 & 8) section, where the Unwind books were favorites. I opted for my 8th grade only shelf, where it too, soon became a favorite. 

It takes place in a future where death and disease are basically eradicated. One cannot even commit suicide. In order to control the population, an elite order of Scythes glean candidates. Is this a good thing? How does a Scythe choose candidates? How does one become a Scythe? Are Scythes immune from corruption?

I recently heard that a prequel, Rising Thunder, the first book of a planned series called First Blade. It's not due out until December and there is no cover yet. Still, I'm excited to revisit this incredibly realistic possible world.

Picture Book Review: The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen

 

Image: Candlewick Press

The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen. 96 p. Candlewick Press, April, 2021. 9781536215625. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

This extra-long picture book is told in five chapters and is as darkly humorous and delightfully deadpan as we have come to expect from Mr. Klassen. Turtle is standing in his "favorite spot" and invites Armadillo(?) to stand with him*. Armadillo has a bad feeling about the spot and moves to a different spot. Only, it's a bit difficult to carry on a conversation with Turtle from the long distance. Turtle leaves his spot in order to hear Armadillo just before the rock falls.

Chapter two is called, "The Fall," and shows Turtle on his back under the rock. Armadillo asks if he fell. Stubborn Turtle insists he did not, that he doesn't need help and he certainly does not wish to take a nap, as Armadillo plans to do.

In the third chapter, Turtle and Armadillo contemplate the future complete with a forest that has grown up around the rock and a space alien. Chapter four might be the most hilarious as Snake and Armadillo enjoy a sunset and in the final chapter, Turtle gets jealous. 

The artist's signature muted palette and bleak and dreary landscape allow the reader to focus on the characters and anticipate what is about to come next and also allow the character's eyes to pop. Much of the dry humor comes from the eyes. 

The book begs to be reread immediately, not just because it is still hilarious the second (and third) time around, but to savor the depth of storytelling and to ponder the enigmas. I know. This is heady stuff for young ones, but never underestimate them. This is definitely a picture book to share with older readers as well. 

The Rock from the Sky is a first-purchase. 

*I don't know why I choose to make these characters him. I tried using "it," but that didn't feel right. 

Picture Book(s) Review: Three Titles by Ryan T. Higgins

I recall reading rave reviews of Mother Bruce a year or so back but, being in a middle school, I don't always get to all the picture books I'd like. Then, I had the good fortune of hearing the author/ illustrator read Hotel Bruce at a rip-roaring Disney preview at Annual in Orlando. What a hoot!

Earlier this week, I attended the Disney preview at Midwinter in Atlanta. As soon as I spied the name Ryan T. Higgins, I grabbed an fng of Be Quiet!! It was read to us by the editorial staff and the room was highly amused. I could not wait to return and share Be Quiet! with my "period Kahn" students.

Because the main characters in this were from Hotel Bruce and because Bruce makes a cameo appearance in this one, I decided to read all three books to them to test the group's stamina and observe what my students noticed. Luckily, the amazing public library across the street from the school owned both Mother Bruce and Hotel Bruce. The story time was a huge success. I don't believe I have ever heard them laugh so hard or be so attentive. And, yes, connections were made!

So here's a sort of review of all three:

Mother Goose Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins. unpgd. Disney/ Hyperion, 2015. 9781484730881. (Review from copy borrowed from public library)

Hotel Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins. Disney/ Hyperion, 2016. 9781484743621. (Review from copy borrowed from public library)

Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins. Disney/ Hyperion, April 4, 2017. 9781484731628. (Review from fng courtesy of publisher)


We always start by examining the end pages if they are decorated. We always start by finding the copyright date because one student (a natural librarian) is intensely interested in copyright dates and NEEDS to know it before anything else. Then, we proceed to check out the front flap and whether there are decorated end pages. We often flip to the back flap, especially if the author and/or illustrator are new to us.

Often, a picture book story begins on the end-pages, but in Mother Goose Bruce, it actually begins on the front flap. 

Do you see the tiny little nest containing four eggs on the bottom left corner? Here:

Bruce is a bear so grumpy he could give Grumpy Cat a run for his money. He also likes eggs. Any eggs but he doesn't eat them raw. He is a connoisseur and has mastered various ways of cooking them. When he's interrupted while preparing four goose eggs, he returns to find them hatched. Since goslings imprint on the first thing they see, Bruce becomes, "Mama!"

Hilarity ensues.

In Hotel Bruce, the end-pages show Bruce's den in the fall, followed by a picture of snow covering the den. 

Spoiler alert for Mother Bruce - Bruce is heading south with his four wards for the winter because that's what geese do. After several amusing spreads of frolicking on the beach with gators, the family boards a bus and returns to the den the following spring. They discover that three mice have moved in and opened a hotel.

Bruce was not happy.

He sets about ridding his den of the intruders but things only get worse.

More hilarity ensues.

In Be Quiet!, the three squatting mice get a story. In fact, Rupert is planning a wordless story! Wordless, because wordless books are artistic. Then comes the title page with a goose piloting a plane dragging a banner reading, Rupert the Mouse Presents Be Quiet! So, he announces that it will be quiet starting now. Only he joined by Nibs, who wants to know what Rupert is doing. When he learns that Rupert is planning a wordless story, he wants to help but can't help talking. Rupert finally loses it, which attracts Thistle's attention. Thistle's exuberant commentary drives Rupert over the edge.

Be prepared for more hilarity.

The cast of characters include the aforementioned cameo by Bruce, his geese and a few other characters from the earlier books. It's also a bit of meditation on authorship and collaboration as Nibs' imagination runs amok.

I'm not sure what media was used to create the art but there is plenty of color, texture and visual humor to please the eye and tickle the funny bone. Fans of the previous books will be delighted to return to Bruce's neighborhood. If you are not already familiar with the Bruce books, remedy that asap and pre-order Be Quiet! Your story time patrons will love you for it, especially if you pull out all the stops during the read aloud. The students' aides who were in the room while I performed Be Quiet! asked what I was going to do to top my reading of it! I am not sure. It was quite fun to read aloud. I wouldn't mind doing it again. This is  crowd-pleaser and one that will elicit, "Read it again!" repeatedly.

Review(s) and Rumination: Jon Klassen's Hat Trilogy and Teaching Inference

Heads up, this is going to be a long and rambling post. I hope you stay. A series of events occurred that led up to my decision to revisit I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat before reading Klassen's latest, We Have Found a Hat. 

I was attending a meeting of the valley librarians (seven towns send to two high schools and we all meet several times a year), when an email popped up sent by a colleague whose students I work with daily. She was attending a dyslexia workshop. She went to a breakout session on teaching inference and the presenter recommended the picture book, Widget, to teach inference. J. wanted to know if we had the book in our library. We did not but I offered to borrow it from the public library for her. Neither of my two home libraries owned it so I submitted an ILL request. When it arrived a few days later, I picked the book up and popped it in her box. I must have been busy because I did not stop to read it first. 

A week or so later, I had to go to her classroom to work with her kids because the book fair was being held in my library and they couldn't come to me. Since it was the first day of picture book month, I brought a couple of picture books to read and told the kids we were reading picture books all month to celebrate. There was still time after I read the two I brought, so J. asked if I would read them Widget. (by Lyn Rossiter McFarland. Illustrated by Jim McFarland. Square Fish, 2006. 978037448369.)

It is a sweetly humorous story about a stray dog who has to masquerade as a cat in order to stay in a nice cozy home occupied by a grandmotherly lady who owns six cats. The "girls" do not like dogs so Widget meows and otherwise adopts cat behaviors in order to fit in. The illustrations are appealing. The climax is cute, if a tad predictable. I enjoyed reading it and could see why it was recommended as a text for teaching inference, but I wasn't bowled over.

And that got me thinking.

First, it got me thinking that I could think of many other books that teachers could use to teach inference. That if I were presenting, of course I would share my favorite; but I would also provide a list of possibilities because my favorite might not be a universally good fit. 

Then, I thought of all the pre-service and early service teachers studiously jotting this title down and trying it with their kids. I thought of myself in my early years of school librarianship, studiously jotting recommendations down at conferences and trying them with my kids. Some worked some did not. What I did find was that, if I felt passionate about the recommended title - it worked. If I used it because x, y, or z said to and I didn't love it? Well, it almost always fell flat. 

And that made me think about "required" or "all-class" reading. I've had four sons go through a highly rated high school that dictated what books were to be read in LA classes. The sons who had teachers that were passionate about the book got the better deal. 

I told you this would be rambling. 

I did like Widget very much. I would have no problem teaching inference using it. It's a fine example. But I would suggest others. My personal favorites are:

The Hat Trilogy by Jon Klassen:

I Want My Hat Back. Candlewick Press, September, 2011. 9780763655983.

Klassen's authorial debut won a Geisel Honor and made the ALA Notables Books list. In it, a big lug of a bear has lost his hat and he plods through the woods politely asking each animal he passes if they have seen his hat. All of them answer tersely and truthfully except rabbit whose word vomit ends with, "I did not steal a hat." It takes a solicitous deer's request for a description of the hat for bear to realize that he HAS seen his hat! He sure does get angry! There are quite a few opportunities to infer in this darkly hilarious tale.

This is Not My Hat. Candlewick Press, October, 2012. Candlewick Press, 2012. 9780763655990.

Not only did this win Klassen a 2013 Caldecott Medal, he also snagged an honor for Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett. In This is Not My Hat, there is a theft and the gleeful little thief is the narrator of the story. The tiny fish has swiped a blue bowler hat from a large lunk of a fish claiming it was too small for him and anyway, he won't even notice it's missing. Big fish does though and the chase is on. The deadpan humor is delightful as is the underwater environment - a black background with collaged aquatic plants and streams of bubbles indicating movement. As in I Want My Hat Back, we must read the eyes. The crab is especially hysterical, ratting out the fish.

We Have Found a Hat. Candlewick Press, October, 2016. 9780763656003.

The trilogy concludes with another hat, this time a found hat. Two turtles find a white Stetson hat on their travels. They each covet it, but since there's only one hat and two turtles, they decide to leave it. Only…Again, astute readers will check out the eyes. As one turtle's eyes narrow, they will wonder what it has in mind. The story is told in three acts and readers who think they know what will happen are in for a surprise. 

Not surprisingly, this title is showing up on quite a few "Best" lists of 2016. Also not surprisingly, not everyone feels the love for this. Some just don't get the humor. 

I love everything about these books from the dark, deadpan humor to the minimal, almost monochromatic, gritty art. They tickle me to no end and I never tire of reading through any and all of them.

And that's the point I'm longwindedly trying to make. Because I adore these books, (hopefully) my enthusiasm for them will entice my students to go along for the ride. Folks who don't like or don't get the books will have a harder time using the books to teach inference. The moral? One size does not fit all. If you are recommending books, it is fine to model the one that speaks to you but provide a list of others that do the job as well.

Picture Book Month: Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske

Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske. unpgd. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., May, 2016. 9780545865043. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Sometimes picture books can be sly. You think you have its number. You might even go into the book with a bit of an attitude, a kind of blasé,"Whatever, impress me." Then that book might just suck you in, turn on the charm and disarm you. Just as soon as you settle in, whoosh, out comes the chair you are sitting on or the rug you might be standing on. Tables are turned. Humor turns dark. 

The first time that happened to me was in 2005. I came upon a book called Tadpole's Promise. Luckily, I pre-read the book. (I have been known to occasionally read aloud cold.) Warily, I decided to read the book aloud to my youngest students. With class after class, there was this beat of something after the "punchline," perhaps it was surprise, perhaps dismay, perhaps confusion, followed by a variety of laughter from hearty to not-so-sure. I decided to read it all the way up to my eighth graders, who were mostly delighted with a side of shock. They didn't think a picture book could do that!

My next encounter with dark humor came with Jon Klassen's brilliant, I Want My Hat Back in 2011. Truth be told, I didn't totally appreciate it the first run through but soon became a fan. I Want My Hat Back won a Geisel Honor, a NYT Best Book Award and was an ALA Notable Book. He followed with This is Not My Hat in 2012, and nabbed a Caldecott Medal for his efforts. 2016 brings this picture book trilogy to a close with We Found a Hat. 

Back to our bored barnacle. Is he bored or having an existential crisis? Both maybe? Barnacle appears as a single, fleshy, tentacled blob hanging upside down under a dock. The pale blue water is calm and the dock is empty. Indeed, barnacle is quite alone as the tide comes in and makes him cold and wet; then the tide goes out and he's hot and dry. A simple change in eye-shape is oh-so expressive as insult is added to injury in the forms of rolling waves and errant seaweed. But wait, there's a new googly eye in the water along with a flash of yellow. A sunny yellow fish swims into view and barnacle is sure that guy is living the good life. He imagines all kinds of fun, diving, soaring, flipping and flopping until something dreadful happens.

Again, when I read this aloud to my fifth and sixth graders, there was that pause, that slight confusion as that sunny yellow fish disappears into the belly of an eel and barnacle decides he's not so bored after all. The rear end-pages reveal a twist in the story so don't skip them.

Kids today seem to be so easily bored. This playful book gently coaxes them to reflect. The cartoon style and colors are pleasing. The speech bubbles contain a single sentence and the large, bold, simple font is perfect for new readers. Barnacle is Bored is a fun read aloud and a great way to celebrate Picture Book Month!