BROWN GIRL DREAMING

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen books. 

Woodson’s award winning book, is comprised of free verse poems that chronicle her childhood up to the fifth grade.  Although a memoir, the book is classified as fiction because of her sporadic use of dialogue such as in the poem “graffiti”’:

Your tag is you name written with spray paint/ However yo want it wherever you want it to be.//…I press the button down, hear the hiss of pain, watch/J-A-C  begin.//Only know the sound of my uncle’s voice//…asking over and over again//What’s wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?// They’re just words, I whisper/They’re not trying to hurt anybody.

The book opens on her birth day.  She is finally given her name after a heated discussion between her parents. “Name a girl Jack, my father said,/ and she can’t help/ but be strong.” His words do come to fruition because by the end of the novel Jacqueline has become a strong girl with a sense of clarity of who she is:

When there are many worlds/you can choose the one/you walk into each day.//And all the worlds you are-/gather into one word//called You//where You decide//what each world//and each story//and each ending// will finally be.

This clarity, however, is something that does not come easily.  Most of the story takes place in South Carolina, and Jaqueline is witness to the turbulent Civil Rights movement. She is raised almost exclusively by her grandparents after her parents separate and her mother moves to New York to work.  She does not truly feel the loss of her parents because she is so young and because her maternal grandparents, especially her grandfather Gunnar dote on her.  Another obstacle that she must face is dyslexia, which in this era was not recognized as a legitimate learning disability.

Although the book deals with the rampant racism of the 1960’s South, it is her dyslexia that is the true antagonist in this story. This is first seen when instead of writing her full name on the board when asked to do so by her first grade teacher, she chooses to write down her nickname, Jackie instead.  Her learning disability, ironically, is able to fuel her love for the written word.  In the poem, “stevie and me,” Woodson recalls her visits to the local library.  It became a haven because there, no one told her to read faster or harder books; it is here where she discovers picture books “filled with brown people.”  She writes:

If someone had taken/that book out of my hand/said, You’re too old for this/maybe/I’d never have believed/that someone who looked like me/had a story.

This beautifully execute book is intended for 6^th- 8^th grade readers, however I would venture to say that it would be best understood and appreciated by those students in high school.  There are nuances that less mature students will not fully grasp without the guidance of a teacher.  

Fantasy Evaluation

In order for the reader to suspend their sense of reality and answer the previous question with a resounding, “Yes, it can.” Fantasy authors must have “internal consistency”. In other words, rules created by the author must be maintained and sustain the “alternative reality depicted in the book.”

Vardell stresses that fantasy stories must be engaging with an “unusual perspective that is outside the ordinary- yet not so outside that we don’t believe in it.”

CHARACTERS:

•Young readers should be able to identify with them, even if the characters are not human.

•Readers should care about what happens to the character

•Kinships are developed

•Reader believes that the character is worth the adventure

•Well written fantasies have believable characters who initially doubt the fantastical but when they are convinced of it, so are the readers.

•Their relationships shape both the conflict and plot

•

PLOT:

•Must be believable, logical and internally consistent

•Is both original and creative

•Is often firmly grounded in reality before gradually moving into fantasy.

•Involves quests, journeys, “tasks to accomplish, obstacles to overcome, and villains to vanquish.”

•MUST be “well-paced, clearly described…and should grow out of the character’s” behavior.

SETTING:

•Must have enough description to help the ”reader visualize the surroundings.”

•Has details that are integral to the development of the story.

•All of a reader’s senses should be engaged.

THEME:

•Should reflect universal truths

•Good > Evil

•Power < Love

•Transcends time and place

•Roots itself in “folklore” which is “why fantasy is so satisfying!”

STYLE:

•Must be clear and consistent

•“Encourages (a) willing suspension of disbelief.’”

•Often includes the coining of new terms

•Reader believes that the character is worth the adventure

•Includes a clear explanation of the fantasy world that does not overwhelm the reader.

•Creates a vivid world via the author’s pacing, description and dialogue.


Vardell, S. (2008). Children's Literature in Action: A Librarian's Guide (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Libraries Unlimited.

Gregor the Overlander

This first book in the Underland series begins firmly rooted in reality then moves into fantasy. Although the transition is fairly quick, Collins does a seamless job of transporting the main character and his baby sister from a basement laundry room in New York City to the darkly dangerous Underland and the sparkling city of Regalia.

Vardell writes that a good fantasy book has a strong plot that grows out of a character’s behavior.  Collins expertly does this with Gregor, who is responsible in helping mother raise two sisters and look after a grandmother who suffers from dementia.  When his sister toddles into an open air grate he doesn't hesitate to go after her.  This selfless behavior leads him to the underground world that is filled with over-sized rats, humongous bats, towering rats and translucent skinned people who believe he is their prophesied hero. His behavior also leads him on an adventure that will reunite all of his family. 

Collins, S. (2003). Gregor the Overlander. New York: Scholastic.

The Graveyard Book

Gaiman’s story begins quite horribly.  Our protagonist’s entire family is murdered by a shady character who, we later learn, is part of a secret organization known as the Jacks. Bod is able to escape and the toddler ambles into a cemetery.  It is here where he is named Nobody Owens by ghosts who reluctantly agree to look after him when his mother’s ghost makes an impassioned plea on his behalf.
Bod may live in graveyard with ghosts and a mysterious bloodsucking guardian but the reader is left with the relatable sense of home and comfort.  The characters in the book may be a little over the top, yet Gaiman is able to temper this with a realistic setting, and yes, a graveyard can be spooky but it is not outside the realm of reality.


Gaiman, N., & McKean, D. (2008). The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins Pub.

Rapunzel's Revenge

This graphic novel transplants the familiar story from the watercolor world of “fairytale land” to a gritty Wild West landscape.  In this retelling, the evil witch has been turned into a greedy (and absolutely successful) capitalist named Goethel, who makes an enslaved population work on land that was once theirs.
Upon learning Goethe’s true nature, Rapunzel sets upon a quest to release her mother and everyone else from Goethel’s evil clutches.  The journey takes our heroine through mining camps and badlands.  It also allows her to team up with another recognizable fairy tale favorite, beanstalk-climber, Jack.
The Hales have created strong characters that turn this traditional tale on its ear because of their determination and the reader’s ability to identify with them. Moreover, the world they have created is not that different from ours and leaves the reader with the sense that maybe magic isn’t so much a thing of fiction.

Hale, S., & Hale, D. (2008). Rapunzel's revenge. New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbur

Comics Squad: Recess!

This vibrant anthology varies in style from author to author, but a distinct framework is created by their irreverent humor. Many of the stories are grounded in reality while others are grounded in the fantastical.
Dav Pilkey fans will be tickled to read about the rivalry that George and Harold instill between their newest superhero, Dog Man and his nemesis Petey the Cat. In  this “graphic novella” the universal theme of determination in the face of evil is presented in a way that fans of Captain Underpants will recognize and find hysterical.
In the story, “Jiminy Sprinkles in Freeze Tag” readers are exposed to the universal theme of accepting others for who they are.  In this story, a talking cupcake becomes friends with a peanut called Goober.

Holm, J., Holm, M., & Krosoczka, J. (Eds.). (2014). Comics Squad: Recess! New York: Random House.

Skulduggery Pleasant

In his debut novel Landy introduces us to a witty 12 year-old who is courageous but not someone who is free of fear or doubts.  Stephanie inherits her Uncle Gordon’s house after he is murdered and what seemed to be a boring summer turns into a hazard filled one when she partners up with Skulduggery Pleasant.   

Readers will easily be able to connect with Stephanie because she is not a sudden superheroine, and she does not just blindly accept the fantastical spectacle that is Skulduggery.  ““How can you talk?  …you’ve got no vocal cords,” she asks him.  

Landy’s writing aptly captures the attitude and language of a regular pre-teen which helps with the relatability the reader has with his characters. It also encourages the reader, as Vardell wrote, into willful suspension of disbelief. The droll banter between Stephanie and the boney detective that Landy has penned is sure to spark the interest of even the most of reluctant readers. 

Holm, J., Holm, M., & Krosoczka, J. (Eds.). (2014). Comics Squad: Recess! New York: Random House.